Andrew
"He gave me a green light," Cassandra said. She had called for a team meeting inside the office they had first met up. It felt empty now that there wasn't a sixth person to fill the circle.
Andrew became hyper aware of the tattoo of his chest. It was his fault Lee was dead. He had done his best to help Squad 6, but there was only so much he could do. He couldn't go against Majesty, not while she had Maya. Not while he owed Maya the lives of his mother and siblings.
Most of these kids are orphans, Andrew realized as he looked around. Cassandra had a few papers sprawled out in front of her, looking through them as she spoke.
"We should be going as soon as Damon gets back to me with the results of the vile."
"Wait, he hasn't told you who made them yet?" Bill asked."What if he can't find the manufacturer?"
"He was close when we were leaving."
They had stayed with Damon and Emma for longer than they intended.
Andrew never thought he'd have to watch anything more heart-breaking than his father hitting his mother. After seeing Diana break down as they buried her best friend, he wasn't so sure.
Ç'est ta faute, the little voice in his head whispered. It's your fault. Usually, the voices in our heads whisper nothing but empty promises and horrible lies, but Andrew knew this lie was about to become his truth.
He wished he could unhear every detail about these people and their lives, everything he'd picked up on, because not so far in the future, he will use it against them.
"Okay," Bill sighed. It was the first time Andrew had seen him back away from a confrontation.
Cassandra sighed. "Before I let you go and rest, there's something I need to tell you."
Please don't. Not in from of me, Andrew thought.
"I know some of you have a motivation to go after Majesty. She has killed your family," Her eyes flicked over to Bill. "Friends," They moved to Diana. "But I also know some of you don't want to be here." They were on Chloe. "Before we go into this, I need to know where we stand."
Silence ensued. Andrew's stomach twisted.
"Who's Maddison?"
Cassie looked up at Diana. "She's not important right now."
"With all the respect, she is. My best friend died because Majesty was looking for that girl." She swallowed hard. "I need to know who he died for."
Diana's face was determined as she spoke, her green eyes full of contempt, but not to anyone in the room. She was out for revenge.
Cassandra broke eye contact.
"Maddison is Snakehead's daughter." She looked at Bill as she said this, like she was looking for support, recognition. Or maybe Andrew was projecting. There weren't many who would support his choices. Or the choices he was going to make.
"Why would Majesty go after Snakehead's daughter?" Diana asked.
"Because," she stopped. "because Maddison is Majesty's sister."
Diana didn't look nearly as surprised as Andrew had when he found out.
"I'm in," she said, leaning back into her wheelchair.
Cassandra looked at Andrew.
He nodded. "Me too."
She turned to Bill.
"Do I look like I mind dying?" he joked.
Chloe bit her lip, as if she was thinking it over. "When do we leave?" she asked.
#
Andrew entered the training room, going over to his punching bag and taking a good, hard swing. His hand ached when it connected to the material but he felt the tension rising from his shoulders.
He didn't tell the team Majesty had her people in the hotel, didn't warn them when he gave out Lee and Cassandra's location. He had brought them the empty briefcase.
He only told Philips about Cassandra and Lee hoping they'd escape and he didn't know the briefcase was empty when he took it, but he should've known better. He needed to be smarter and see through the trick. Majesty doesn't make mistakes.
If eh was going to try and help them, he needed to be smart and he couldn't lose his calm.
George was at the meeting and when he comes in, Andrew—
"Jackson."
Andrew didn't turn around when he heard George's voice.He kept punching the bag, until he felt a pull on his shirt. He fell to the ground, George holding an elbow under his throat. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you."
"I didn't know she had that vile. She didn't tell us."
"Next time, you make her tell you. You listen and you report."
Andrew said nothing and rose to his feet.
"I hope you understands what will happen if you don't report to me and if you try to help them. I'm sending you to New York to stop her."
"New York?" Andrew asked, but George dismissed it.
"Do you want to know how Maya's doing? Do you want me to tell you how she pleads for me to kill her, how she pleads that I spare you and let you go? She had such a change of heart since she brought you."
Andrew closed his eyes. "I already said I'll go with them, you can stop."
George smirked. "I knew you'd listen to reason."
This isn't reason. This is madness, he thought. But he'd do it anyway.
#
Cassandra closed the door to the bedroom, dropping on the bed. She said nothing, watching Andrew as he read, squinting at his bedside lamp. "Do you ever do anything other than read?"
"Not really." Reading had been his passion since he was a little kid. It helped him detach from reality. He needed that more and more these days.
"Where did you even get those books? Phi doesn't have," She read the title of his action novel. "Phi definitely doesn't have those."
Andrew closed the book, knowing he wouldn't be able to focus when Cassandra was around. "My mentor got them for me before she died," he lied. The lie rolled off his tongue so easily. Maya wasn't dead but for the moment, it would be better if she was. Andrew felt a pang of guilt at his thoughts.
"That's nice."
He listened to her pace around the room, packing.
"Do you trust Snakehead?" he blurted. If he was going to go against Phi, he hoped he could find something to drive him forward. A reason that Snakehead was somehow worse than Majesty, worse than the man torturing his fiancée, worse than a double agent.
She stopped. "Should I?"
"That's not an answer."
She lowered the pile of clothes in her hands into a duffel on the bed. "The primary assumption in this business is that you shouldn't trust anyone. I need his resources and he needs my knowledge." She looked at him.
He switched off the reading light above his bed and turned to his side, facing the wall. "Good night, Cassandra."
"We leave in the morning," she said. There was a pause. "Goodnight, Jackson."
#
Andrew was at the park, reading a Spiderman comic book. He was sprawled on the grass in Parc de Buttes-Chaumont, the late afternoon sun reflecting off the water of the lake. It was a pretty park, had a lake, a waterfall and really cool bridges, but he had always preferred going to Le Jardin du Tuilleres. Mom always took him there when she was home. But, recently, she had been spending more and more time in the hospital or at home.
He flipped the comic to the next page, rubbing his nose. It was getting cold, but he had only a few more pages left.
Andrew had spent about a week convincing his sister and brother to talk to dad about going to the park. He pleaded, offered his toys to them, gave them his cookies after dinner, but they didn't want to. Finally, after they'd both become bored of sitting in the house all day after school, Nicole stepped up to ask their dad.
He closed the comic book, not very satisfied with the ending and looked around. The park still had a few people walking around. Nicole was laughing at something a few feet away. Andrew rose to his feet and walked over to the lake, smiling at his reflection in the water. He could see small fish swim just below the surface and he crouched down to try and catch them. "Venez à moi," he said, laughing. "Come here."
He chased the fish who moved as soon as the sun cast his shadow over the water. "You can't swim more quickly than I can catch you!"
He tripped over a stone, falling. He groaned, hopping to his feet and wiping his hands on his pants. He turned to see what had tripped him. It was a twig.
He can catch fish with the twig, he thought, lifting it off the ground.
"You can't escape me now! The great huntsman Andrew is coming for you, you creatures of the depths!"
He played in the field, running around the lake, until he could no longer see his face in the water and his shadow had disappeared along with the fish. He dropped the stick, running onto the path from where his sister's laughter was coming from. She wasn't there. He looked at the strangers around him, hoping for a familiar face. Any face. "Papa, ou es-tu? Papa!"
Tears began to sting his eyes as he ran down the path, his too-big shoes making him trip. Nicole and Felix wouldn't leave him, even if dad would. Where were they?
Andrew tripped, landing on his knees. He got up, ignoring the ache and sprinted down the path, toward the exit fence of the park. His vision was blurry from tears. That's where they usually went when they left home. Maybe he can find his way back.
He slammed into something, falling again.
Someone grabbed his arm. Andrew closed his eyes as he was hauled to his feet. He stiffened when a hand dusted his pants off. He opened his eye.
It wasn't his dad that had gotten a hang of him. It was a woman. A young woman with brown hair like the cream he put on his crepes. She had a pretty face.
"You look like Mary-Jane. From the comics, not the cartoon."
The woman laughed. "Vraiment? Really? Nobody guy has ever said that before."
Andrew wiped his tears away. The woman took his hand in hers, her expression hardening. Andrew looked at the ground. "Désolé, madame. I'm sorry, ma'am. My hands are dirty." She looked angry just like his dad. He got very angry when Andrew would get dirty. His dad was scary when he was angry.
The woman said nothing, trailing over the bruises on Andrew's arms. He had gotten them after he came home with grass stains on his pants the last time they went to Le Jardin du Tuilleres. Dad wasn't happy Andrew had laid on the grass in his new pants. Andrew had said mom told him it was okay. He didn't see her for a few days after that.
"Comment t'appelles-tu?" she asked. "What's your name?"
"I'm Andrew, ma'am."
"Nice to meet you, Andrew," she smiled. "I'm Maya." She paused. "Let me ask you something, Andrew."
He nodded.
"Aimes-tu, ton mère? Do you love your mom?" the woman asked.
Andrew nodded.
"Et ton père?"
His dad was good. Andrew did bad things all the time so he got punished. If he was better, his dad would never be mad and his mom would come home and stay there for a long time. The woman frowned again when he answered and Andrew apologized. She obviously wasn't happy with his answer and he didn't want to make her unhappy.
"Regarde ici. Look here."
She put a hand inside her coat, pulling out a book. Andrew's eyes glinted in curiosity. She handed it to him. "It's yours."
"Mais,"
"No but's."
"But, it's yours. I can't take it."
The woman smiled. "You'll give it back to me once you read it. Do you think you could come here next week too? I'd like it back then."
Andrew nodded. He'll have to be really good until then.
"When you give it back, you can tell me more about your dad. I can talk to him then if he's still not nice to you."
Just then, he hard Nicole calling for him. He thanked the woman and ran to his sister.
"Don't run off like that. Dad was about to leave you here."
"Sorry, Nikki."
She ruffled his hair. "It's okay, Andy." She glanced at the direction he had just come from."Who was that?"
Andrew hugged the book closer to his chest. "Her name's Maya."
__________
Hey there!
I'm hoping this chapter clears some stuff up regarding Andrew and what he's been up to. What do you think? Do you still blame him for what he did or do you feel his pain now?
Whose side to you think he'll end up on and why?
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I have already started working on the next week's update, so hopefully I won't be late.
As always, vote and comment and have a great Saturday.
Happy writing,
Sara