hiddencait

Chapter 2

I don’t know where we’re heading
I’m willing and ready to go
We can’t drive it so fast we just need to slow down
And just roll

Anything that’s worth having
Is sure enough worth fighting for
Quiting’s out of the question
When it gets tough gotta fight some more
We gotta fight fight fight fight fight for this love

“Fight for this Love” – Cheryl Cole

Nick burst through the door to the stairwell and started climbing up at a run, knowing he’d need to move fast now that his Shadow was heading to another part of the building. At least Emily and Bryce might get safely to Hook without a Sniff catching on to that goal.

He was on his own, not that he’d really thought a Shadow would help much at this point anyway – any Division goon worth their paycheck would know exactly where Nick was headed. He kept climbing, keeping his mind on Cassie as his goal, knowing he needed that mental encouragement. He heard a slam and looked up startled as he reached the first landing and looked through the window slit in the door to see an agent pounding on the door to the stairwell. For some reason the door wouldn’t open even when he swiped his access card. Nick grinned and tossed a quick salute at the camera in the corner then kept climbing to the next floor.

He paused at that landing, seeing several other agents waiting through the window, all apparently having the same trouble getting through the lock that their counterparts downstairs had. Nick let out a long breath and twitched his fingers as he brought his power to mind, then he nodded at the camera and hearing the lock disengage with a metallic click, he wrenched open the door off its hinges with his gift and then sent it slamming back through into the hallway knocking two of the waiting agents sprawling. The other few were handled with another quick wave of Nick’s hands slamming into the walls, ceiling, and floor like pinballs.

Nick barely spared them a glance beyond a quick check to make sure they were well and truly out cold, before he was moving again and heading through the blast doors down the hall. They slid open as he approached. He paused a little into the hallway, surprised that no one was waiting to attack. Then he just shook his head, chalking it up to the Tech guardian angel watching from through the security system. He half jogged down the hallway, counting doors until he reached the fifth door, still half cringing at the thought of the sound of phantom footsteps around him.

He took a deep breath, feeling something inside him tremble in hope that this really might be the door he’d been looking for these past many months. Then he softly pushed it open.

“Hey, Nick,” her soft voice reached him before the door was even open, and he felt his knees go weak as he finally saw her smile, alive and in front of him. Her eyes were glassy, likely due to some drug Division had shoved through her system, but they were steady despite it. Nick smiled to himself remembering how she’d long ago told him that she and her mother both saw more clearly when drunk off their asses. Cassie had since proven that more than once on their time on the run, and he had a sudden suspicion that held true to just about any type of intoxicant. Clearly the Division goons were even dumber than he’d thought. Though that certainly explained how Cassie’s mom had managed to keep her schemes in motion, even in Division’s hands.

“Hey, you,” he replied softly, stepping into the room and wrapping his arms around her, allowing himself a slow shaky breath at the feel of her back where she belonged. “You ready to get the hell out of here?”

“Oh yeah.” The grin was clearly forced, and Nick felt himself cringe inside at the dark circles under her eyes, but something about the tilt of her head said her attitude was still there. That part of her that was always willing to step up against anyone who wanted her to back down. Whatever they had her on, they hadn’t managed to break his feisty little Watcher. With that reminder firmly in his mind, he pulled out of the embrace, his hand finding her’s instinctively as they turned back to the door and slipped quietly out into the hall.

They were almost to the blast door when he heard the sound he’d been so paranoid and waiting for, light footsteps with that click of high heels. He stiffened and then turned to put himself between Cassie and the woman at the other end of the hall. The pair of women he realized as a second moved from behind the first, her dark form almost more a shadow that a person.

The first, of course, was Kira as he’d known in the pit of his stomach it would be.

She strode forward slowly, as if stalking toward her prey. Nick glanced back over his shoulder looking for a way out, but the blast doors were closed, and in any case, there though the glass were at least some of the agents he’d knocked out on his way in, and it wasn’t likely they’d let the pair of psychics past them easily. Not after the humiliatingly easy way Nick had gotten past them to get to Cassie’s room there in the first place.

“Well shit,” he heard Cassie mutter from behind him, and he heartily agreed. This was not going to go particularly well.

“Hello, Nick,” Kira said as she paced toward him. Her voice was serene and almost casual, and Nick suddenly remembered the way her voice had been all those years ago back in Hong Kong when he’d gone to find her in Carver’s thrall. She’d been cruel then, and she’d only gotten worse with time. That didn’t seem to have changed either. “So nice to see you again, though not exactly what I would have expected. Not considering your promise to me.”

Nick swallowed at the reminder of the times he’d told her, always told her that he would find her if she went missing. She was right – he hadn’t, but there’d been a damned good reason. That reason pressed more closely against his side and back, and Nick drew strength from the feel of Cassie beside him. It had been Kira’s own fault he hadn’t gone after her. He wasn’t about to go regretting it now. He strengthened his resolve.

“Yeah, the guilt trip’s not a good look on you, Kira. Not when you went looking for Division.” He half shrugged, plastering on a bright smile as her mask of calm slipped a little. “I kinda considered the terms of that promise null and void at that point.”

She scowled, abandoning any attempt at the pretense of civility.

“I ought to kill you, you know. You deserve it.” The agent at her side stepped forward, the movement just enough to distract Kira from her own jealous petulance. As if the other agent had spoken, Kira straightened and smoothed down her suit, as if reminded that she was the professional here. “Unfortunately for me, Division wants you and your pet Watcher alive and in custody. Until it’s your turn to try the drug for real anyway. I doubt you’ll survive that.”

She started to turn on her heel and then paused, her face turning cruel for a moment before she smoothed it away.

“Of course, alive doesn’t necessarily have to be painless.” She raised an eyebrow at the agent beside her. “Agent Rose…”

Nick set his feet, ready to sweep the woman off hers with his gift, but a shove from Cassie knocked him off balance. Just in time too – he stumbled to the side and narrowly missed the arch of electricity that sparked from the silent agent’s hand. Cassie wasn’t so lucky; the bolt sent her sprawling, her tiny form arching up from the floor as it tried to fight the electricity flowing through it.

Nick tried to go to her side, but a second bolt flashed from the agent’s free hand, this time finding its target and sending Nick slamming into the wall in a painful mimic of the treatment he’d given the other agents only moments prior.

“Interesting,” Kira remarked, and Nick wanted to strangle her, but couldn’t find the ability to do anything at all. “I wouldn’t have though he’d still be conscious. McLauren did say something the other day about Movers being closer to elementals in gift. Something to do with the nervous system.”

Nick tried to shout at her in rage, but even his voice seemed to betray him. Cassie’s wasn’t as gone: wild shrieks ripped from her throat with each new pulse Agent Rose sent her way, and the sound made Nick cringe. Then Cassie stopped screaming, and that was so much worse.

Panic shot through him, and Nick struggled to get his feet under him as the dark-skinned agent stepped carefully across the hallway to her victim’s side, electricity still pulsing from her fingertips to the Watcher writhing in agony on the floor. Agent Rose tilted her head as she watched Cassie twitch, the very slightest trace of interest showing on her otherwise blank face. Kira just stood at the end of the hall and watched silently, and Nick knew he’d likely never hate another person more than he hated his ex right then. He tried to get a hold on his powers but the shock seemed to have short circuited them. He pulled himself up as best he could against the wall, determined to bodily force the electrokinetic away from his love if he had to.

He didn’t get the chance. There was a blur and a crash as something flew through the air, narrowly missing the agent by Cassie. It was just enough to distract the electrokinetic from her task, and the sparks died out as she turned to face the new threat. A ragged figure in a hospital gown and pajama pants was at the other end of the hall, a pair of what looked to be glass balls clenched tightly in her fists.

“Get away from her, you bitch.” The woman barely raised her voice, but the threat implied was no less clear. She suddenly threw another of the glass balls, once again, her aim right on target. With a sudden crack, a bolt of electricity shot from the electrokinetic’s fingers reaching the ball and shattering it on contact. However, the agent missed the woman’s next throw, the last ball throwing as the second was destroyed. She landed a direct hit to the agent’s temple, and with a vaguely shocked look on her face, the electrokinetic collapsed to the floor, out cold.

At the opposite in of the hallway, Kira stood up straight in surprise and started forward, but Nick was already moving, taking advantage of the brief distraction to lunge down and lift Cassie as best he could with his muscles still twitching in the after effects of the electrokinetic’s attack against him. He dragged his burden down the hall, heading for the stranger who was waving them forward weakly, as if those throws had drained most of her strength.

“This way,” the older woman said, pointing to another blast door which was held barely ajar by yet another of the glass orbs. Nick tucked his free arm around the woman’s weight, praying his strength would hold out long enough to get them past the door and out of Kira’s reach.

They managed it barely, kicking the ball out of the way, sending the door slamming closed precious inches ahead of Kira. She slammed into the door, beating it with her fists, and Nick just knew if any of them had the codes to get the thing open, she’d be Pushing them to do it. As it was, she slid her access card through the reader over and over again, screaming in frustration when it didn’t open as it should.

“Big brother is watching,” Cassie breathed with a weak grin and she waved slightly at the camera above them. “Hi, Matt.”

“You can say hi later, baby. We gotta keep moving,” Nick admonished, and she nodded and let him help her and her mother, as he’d finally recognized now that he was able to take a breath long enough to see the glaring similarities between the other psychic and the love he’d come to rescue. He took a tighter grip on both Holmes women, and set off down the hallway, turning corners when Anna Holmes directed him, seemingly almost at random.

They turned right at another hallway, and Nick came to a sudden stop at the sight of another agent standing in their way, pistol held up and pointed directly at the escaping trio.

“End of the road, champ. I’m impressed you got this far though. Not many people do.” The man tried to keep his voice steady and flippant, but Nick could read the anxiety in the agent’s posture. “Time to go back to your rooms, ladies. You don’t really have a choice in that.”

The gun trembled in the Division agent’s hands, and Nick tried to shift Cassie’s weight to free up a hand to move the weapon out of the bastard’s hand if need be. He didn’t get a chance to, though.

Anna shook off his other hand and stumbled forward to stare into the agent’s eyes. Then she spoke just one word:

“Austin.”

The agent blinked and then swayed, the fight going out of him all at once. He lowered the gun with a ragged, near hysterical laugh.

“Austin. Right, of course, it would have been you, Mrs. Psychic Extraordinaire. Shit shit shit.” Nick stared in confusion as the other man shook his head and reached out to pull Anna’s arm around his own shoulders, making sure to avoid her broken ribs as if he somehow already knew they were there. Hell, Nick thought, maybe he did. Who knew what this guy’s ability was. The agent steadied Anna and then raised an eyebrow at Nick and Cassie. “Well, you coming or not? Because I really don’t want to owe this lady any more favors. Or worse, have her pissed at me when her darling girl doesn’t get the fuck out of here.”

Nick blinked and smothered a laugh under his breath at the surprise of the agent’s sudden change of heart. Just how many psychics owed Anna Holmes a favor or three, anyway? He had the feeling she was the only one who’d ever know. Certainly he’d lost count at this point. Nick tugged Cassie’s weak form up higher against him, and the pair followed as the now-rogue Division agent led the way down the halls.

Chapter 3

There comes a time we all know
There's a place that we must go
Into the soul into the heart
Into the dark

There was fire there was death
There was lying on your breath
I turned away I would pretend
But the burning never ends

“Into the Dark” – Melissa Etheridge

The former agent led them down other corridors only to run them headlong into the middle of a firefight between a group of agents and some other as yet unknown gunman. Nick only had the moment’s warning of Cassie swaying and clutching at his hand before, he heard a yelp of “Shit!” from the agent ahead of them, and then bullets began to fly. The agent shoved Anna back toward them and opened fire into the hallway he’d just ducked out of, but Nick couldn’t help but doubt the man would be any good with his weapon what with the way it was shaking in his hands. Nick pushed Cassie to her mother and moved to the edge of the hallway, praying with every part of him that it had been long enough for his telekinesis to come back online.

Only one way to find out. He took a quick glance over his shoulder to see if either woman looked liked they’d Seen something that might stop him from this idiotic stunt. Both looked worried, but neither tried to stop him, and with that thought as an albeit weak comfort, he shoved the agent back towards the woman and the lunged into the hallway directly into the path of the bullets coming from either direction.

Thank all that was holy, his gift kicked in instinctively, blocking the bullets before they could reach him. He realized just a little too late though that the ricochet might be an even bigger danger to those he protected down the hallway than the original trajectory of the bullets. One nicked the agent in the arm, and the tall man let out a long stream of curses that Nick might have been impressed by on any other occasion. He gritted his teeth and switched from blocking the bullets to actively Moving them from their current path back to the agents who’d fired them.

He only vaguely noticed that the shots had stopped coming from the agents original opponents, but he was too distracted by the agents who were still firing to readily realize what it meant. Not until a shout of his name from behind them had him half turning to see the Holmes women and the rogue agent had slipped past him to escape down the hallway and join the trio of figures the agents had been firing on. It was Emily, Bryce, and Hook, and Nick felt another burst of relief flow through him at the sight of his allies still alive, if not well.

That relief brought a wave of both determination and new found strength in its wake, and with that strength Nick sent the agents still firing on those he cared about slamming backwards into walls and blast doors and anything else he thought might leave a mark. Then, almost as an after thought, he Moved the weapons out of the agents hands and into his own. No telling how much ammo they’d have, but 3 handguns would definitely even the odds a bit. Or so he hoped at least.

He didn’t spare the agents another glance, just flicked the safeties on his new toys, shoving one into the waist of his pants and leaving the others in his hands. Then he turned and broke into a jog to catch up with the group of his friends and family as they straggled around another corner. When he reached them, he almost gagged at the sight. It looked like the agent who was again supporting Anna and now Cassie wasn’t the only one injured. Nick took Cassie’s weight from the agent, nearly missing the grateful nod as he stared at the pair he’d last seen two floors down. Bryce had his cousin over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry, though judging by the grayed cast to the Shadow’s face, he wouldn’t be able to carry his cousin for long. Nick couldn’t see where Bryce had been hit, but the blood at the edges of his ears and nose likely meant there’d been at least one Division Bleeder in the building. Other than those few signs though, Nick couldn’t gauge the Shadow’s damage, and if a Bleeder was involved there would definitely be more damage. Nick felt his skin crawl at the memory and hoped like hell they’d be able to get Bryce Stitched up properly before the internal damage took too much of a toll. In the reverse of his cousin’s hidden wounds, Nick couldn’t see a place where Hook wasn’t openly injured. Division had apparently chosen to beat the shit out of the Shifter in his time in their care. Nick prayed both would be able to hold out until the group reached safety. And they had to reach safety. Nick couldn’t allow himself to think they wouldn’t.

At the head of the group was Emily who he hoped had memorized the layout of the facility enough to actually lead them back out of the building. Nick was shaken to see a gun in the slender woman’s hands – she hated guns, and any weapon in a Sniff’s ungloved hand was likely to send them shaking at the deaths that always seeped into such an object. That she’d needed to carry one this far said more about the hell she and Bryce had gone through getting Hook than Nick wanted to think about.

He pushed the worry aside for a brief moment of relief as they finally, finally reached a door he recognized and pushed through to the stairway he’d taken on his way up. Nick once again was silently grateful to the Tech he knew had to still be watching their backs. They’d have never gotten this far otherwise. He resolved to find someway to thank the younger man – maybe a new processor or something. Cassie would know what to get.

Then Bryce stumbled on the stairs just below them, and Nick stopped thinking about Matt and started Moving the pair of men hopefully quick enough to keep them both from careening down the steps and adding concussions to the likely lengthy list of injuries both were sporting. Once he was certain both men were relatively stable, Nick handed Cassie back off to the agent, only half snorting when she insisted weakly that she could walk on her own damn it. Then he lifted Hook from Bryce to his own shoulders, only staggering slightly before he adjusted to the weight. Bryce didn’t even argue, and Nick tried not to think about how done in the man would be not to toss a sarcastic comment his way.

He kept silent, and just tried not to fall as they continued past the landing down the stairs to the ground floor, trusting and praying everyone else was able to keep going behind him. That they’d be safe to do so, even with the former Division agent traveling with them.

They reached the ground floor, but it only took one look through to glass in the door to see that getting out was not going to be as easy as getting in. There were at least a dozen Division goons waiting for them, weapons out and ready to aim at the door the moment it opened.

“Shit, shit, shit.” Nick wasn’t the only one cursing his head off at the sight – the agent was once again letting out a steady stream of creative profanity. Nick could only guess Cassie was taking notes; it was the sort of thing she’d enjoy bringing up at a later date. Assuming they had a later date. Nick’s gaze darted around their enclosed box of a safe zone, trying desperately to figure out a way out of there.

“Emily,” he asked, trying to keep his voice even. “Can you remember from the schematics if I’ve got an exterior wall here?”

The Sniff’s hands were shaking around the pistol in her hand, but her voice was steady when she answered.

“I…yes, the emergency stairs were at the corners of the building.” She let go of the gun with one hand and lifted a trembling hand to trail against the walls, her eyes drifting closed for a moment as she traced her way around all four walls, finally coming to a stop on the wall opposite the doorway. “This one should be exterior.”

Nick nodded slowly, the barest glimmer of a slightly batshit plan forming in his head. It would be all about timing – if he didn’t get it right, his allies would be buried under rubble before they could get through his escape route. He eased Hook carefully off of his shoulders, holding him steady until Bryce could pull his cousin’s arm over his shoulders. Emily took Hook’s other arm, and Nick nodded at the pair, trusting them to hold up for the moment no matter how their strength was fading.

“Alright, everyone stay as close behind me as you can and be ready to run.” He allowed himself one brief glance at Cassie, swallowing hard as she gave him a slow nod of support. “OK then…” He took a deep breath, and then without allowing himself to doubt, he shoved forward with his gift like a battering ram, Moving the wall until it shattered beneath his touch, bricks and cement and rebar flying outwards into the parking lot beyond. The stairs and walls above began to crumble and he shot his free hand up, struggling to hold his telekinesis against the rubble falling down until the others had run past him to escape through the jagged hole in the wall.

“Nick, now!” Cassie’s shout was the signal he was waiting for, and he lunged through the hole he’d formed, only allowing his hand to fall away as he reached open air on the other side. He coughed as a wave of dust and debris followed behind him, but he didn’t have time to catch his breath. The Division agents would be right out the front door behind them if the entire building didn’t collapse. Nick and the others needed to get to the vehicles as quickly as they could.

There was just one problem though, Nick discovered as he turned to look in the direction of where they’d left the SUVS. He could see them, or more the fiery heaps of what was left of them.

“Damn it, Lex,” he murmured, wondering just what the fuck they were going to do now.