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Chapter Text

(Chicago, Fall 2013)

It all happened so fast for Clara.

One moment, she had been torturing herself with guilt while approaching Lena's grave with flowers clutched underneath her fingers, and the next bleeding out from her shoulder by a sudden gunshot wound.

She can faintly remember Aiden calling out to her as she secures herself in front of Lena's gravestone for cover. The pain stings her shoulder and she clutches onto the flesh wound. She starts to process her surroundings, her gaze falling onto Aiden's as she watches him duck in and out of cover while firing at the men.

As much as Clara wants to question who these men are, a part of her already knows.

Mercenaries.

They deliberately shot at her first which means these people can only be from one group. The Chicago South Club. Damien wasn't joking when he told her she was going to wound up dead.

More blaring gunshots ring through her ears as she attempts to control her breathing. She continues to focus on Aiden who is doing his best to fight off the hitmen.

He shouldn't have to pay for her mistakes. A painful knot forms in her throat and her lips quiver with sorrow overwhelming her.

"Aiden!" Her voice strains out, her eyesight becoming blurry with tears forming. "Leave me!"

In this moment, she starts to accept her fate. She knows she's going to die. She deserves it. Why should he waste his time trying to save her? This was inevitable from the start.

Aiden huffs as he ducks down behind cover once again while reloading his pistol. Did he hear her right? No way he would leave her.

His heart races as adrenaline runs through him. As he watches Clara carefully, a familiar emotion comes over him.

A familiar feeling he had when Lena died.

Fear.

As much as he is angry at her, he can't bring himself to let her die. She didn't know.

Aiden can't begin to get into these thoughts as he resurfaces from his cover and fires at more of the men.

"Clara! Stay down!"

There is no way he can let her die like this. She has to be safe.

She needs to be safe.

As Aiden keeps track of all the hitmen, he catches a glance at Clara who is now staring at him with teary eyes. Aiden can tell just by her pained frown that she wants him to ditch her. He can tell she feels guilty and at this moment, he considers giving her another chance.

Time seems to slow as Clara lets out a pained grunt from a sudden bullet striking her shoulder. She collapses onto the cool grass and she blacks out.

Aiden's eyes widen at the sight of Clara going limp.

"No!" He exclaims.

His teeth clench as fear turns into anger. She can't be dead.

His grip on his gun tightens as he aims and fires more rounds on the remaining men. Blood splatters onto the ground as more hitmen collapse.

Five bodies turn into ten. Aiden takes in deep and exhausting breaths after finishing off the last hitman. Ensuring nobody else is out to shoot him, Aiden catches sight of Clara's limp body. A puddle of blood had already formed beneath her.

He can tell that she had lost a lot of blood as he makes his way towards her. Even though Aiden doesn't want to realize it, there can be a chance she isn't breathing.

He approaches her still body and kneels down. A frown reaches the vigilante's face as he places his hand on her back to turn her over. As soon as Aiden sees her lifeless face, realization hits him.

Massive loss of blood.

No breathing.

The exact horrific sight he had of Lena.

She's gone.

Another person losing their life because of him. His eyebrows furrow and a painful twinge stings his chest. Guilt overwhelms him as he reaches the back of his hand across her cheek and caresses her soft skin.

She didn't deserve this. Aiden can't help but wonder what might have been. If they could have just talked things out instead of him pushing her away, maybe this wouldn't have happened. All of the rage and bitterness he had for her vanishes in this moment. He catches a glimpse of the flowers resting beside Clara.

"She was leaving the flowers," Aiden realizes.

He picks them up and studies them. He releases a small chuckle thinking of how she had been more present than he previously thought.

He sets them on top of Lena's grave as he holds back tears from the thought of Clara coming by to leave Lena flowers.

Aiden gives one last glance at Clara's lifeless body before catching sight of her phone. He picks it up and sees a voice message ready to play. Aiden brings himself back to his feet as he stands and presses play.

While listening to her message, his hearts breaks even more. He hears the sorrow and pain in her voice and he can tell she had felt remorseful for her involvement in Lena's death. His trench coat grows drenched as he only now realizes it had started pouring down raining. The sky is grey and dull as more rain droplets make their way onto Clara's phone.

Thunder roars as Aiden tucks Clara's phone into his pocket. He turns and takes one last glance at Clara before releasing a shaky sigh. He starts to leave the cemetery thinking of all the destruction he caused not only to his family, but Clara too.

His breathing feels harder to control as he leaves the cemetery. He has to get away from here, or he might lose it.

A young woman makes her way into the cemetery. She pulls out her umbrella and opens it to where it hovers over her dark platinum blonde hair that reaches the tips of her shoulders. Her dark brown eyes scan the cemetery as she makes her way towards her mother's grave.

Cool heavy rain patters against her dark umbrella while she grits her teeth at the memory of her mother's death. She didn't die of old age or health issues. Her mother was murdered in cold blood by none other than one person.

Aiden Pearce.

The woman makes her way further down the cemetery until she halts at the sight of someone lying on the ground.

She walks closer to confirm what she is seeing and realizes it is a woman bleeding out on the ground. The woman carefully checks for any potential attackers before rushing over to the body. She kneels down and inspects the goth woman.

Who could have done this? Was she caught in some kind of shootout? And why-

In the corner of her eye, she notices a gravestone. She turns to look at it and the gravestone reads the name, "Lena Pearce."

"Lena?" She wonders, "Aiden's niece?"

It can't be a coincidence.

She raises her brows in surprise as she presses a finger to the her neck for a pulse. The woman lightly gasps. There is a pulse, but not a strong one. She had to get this woman medical attention.

Could this be an opportunity for her to test her device out?

At that thought, the woman wastes no time pulling out her phone all the while dropping her umbrella. She dials a number, doing her best to huddle her phone close from the rain and hits the call button. It only takes two rings before a man' voice picks up.

"Rachel?" He says.

"Call the med team," she demands hurriedly while reaching her arm around the woman's back, applying pressure to the wound. "Make sure they get here quickly."

Rachel applies more pressure to the woman's wounds as she explains what happened. Once the call ends, Rachel notices the woman taking faint breaths.

This could be what Rachel had been working towards her whole life. Could her tech save this woman in time? She is only left to wonder as an ambulance truck pulls in by the cemetery gates.

"This better work."

Beep. Beep.

Clara's vision shifts in and out. She blinks rapidly before her eyes adjust to the gleaming yellow lights on the ceiling. As her sight settles, she glances around the room she's in. She notices the beeping monitor, the blue blanket resting over her, and the chairs. She realizes she is in a hospital.

"It worked." Clara faintly hears a woman's voice to the left of her. "I told you it would!"

Clara turns her head towards the voice. A woman with dark platinum blonde hair and a man with hazel brown hair come into her view. They are both gazing at Clara with glowing grins on their faces.

Clara grows confused as to how she got here. It only takes a second for Clara to think back. She can recall the excruciating pain from the gunshots tearing into her flesh. Her stomach churns at the memory of Aiden calling out her name as he worked his hardest to try and protect her. Questions scatter in Clara's mind. Where is Aiden? Did he bring her here? Who are these people?

"I'm sure you must be confused, dear, so I'll keep it brief," Rachel says ecstatically while giving the man's shoulder a good squeeze. "You are alive right now because of this device behind your neck."

Rachel displays a picture on a wide screen TV hanging on the deep blue wallpaper. Clara continues to blink as she studies the picture that shows a neon blue chip attached to the back of Clara's neck.

Realizing the chip is on her skin, Clara instinctively reaches her hand behind her neck and feels the cool metal device beneath her fingers. It has to be the size of a penny. Being unsettled and bewildered at the thought of such a device being attached to her, she turns to look at the man and woman, her mouth agape as if she is trying to form a question.

Rachel continues, "Don't worry, it's not going to hurt you. You were in a critical state and that little piece of tech kept you from bleeding out since it's connected to some of your vital organs."

"There's no way," Clara ponders, being amazed, but also skeptical not just for the tech, but for these people as well.

"You're one of the first we've tested who's survived," the man speaks up, his eyes gleaming with wonder.

Clara weakly props her arms up the bed and winces at the pain coming from her shoulders. Managing to keep herself up, the pain subsides as she sits up and studies the two.

Both have warm smiles on their faces which gives Clara the impression that they may mean no harm. Clara doesn't understand how such technology could have saved her, but she still has mixed feelings about being alive. In a way she feels disappointed since she didn't receive the punishment she deserved, but on the other hand, she's glad since she wonders if Aiden is alright.

As Clara continues to stare at her two saviors, she realizes that she doesn't know their names.

"Who are you?" Clara asks.

"I guess we haven't properly introduced ourselves. I'm Rachel," she says while she places her hand over her chest and gestures her head to the man beside her. "And this is my brother, Stephen."

"I could have introduced myself," Stephen argues while shooting her a glare with his lips quirking up.

"Please. I'm in charge of things and plus I'm older than you, so please let the adults talk," she sneers at him fully knowing that Stephen is an adult.

Stephen rolls his eyes before Rachel speaks again.

"We already found out who you are, Clara Lille. We got some records of you."

Clara's heart pounds quick in her chest at the thought of these people having some records of her. What kind of records are they? Do they know her affiliation with Dedsec, or Aiden? She still doesn't know these people too well.

What kind of people were they to develop a device capable of saving her from near death? They can't be regular doctors despite them wearing white coats. Are they part of Blume, or some other high tech company?

"Mainly we have your profession, age, and other basic knowledge," Rachel explains.

Clara quietly exhales in relief. They don't have deeper information about her at the moment. She continues to rub her neck, astounded at the tech.

"We can tell you're surprised," Stephen says with a wide grin, "Believe me we are too."

Clara chuckles lightly while still feeling uneasy.

"Yeah...I...I am," Clara says while she tries to form her next question. "How long will it take me to recover?"

"Well that's to be determined," Rachel explains, "Judging from where you were shot and the device helping with the healing, it should take half a year or possibly longer, so you'll be here for a while."

Clara nods and wonders if she will be able to get in contact with Aiden while she stays here.

"Well, we'll be out running some tests. We'll be back in a bit, so you can get some rest," Rachel says warmly.

Clara nods once more, still trying to process everything as Rachel and Stephen make their way out of the room. The door shuts and Clara is left wondering what is in store for her. The people seem friendly enough, but Clara can't shake off an uncertain feeling.

As Clara rests her head back onto the pillow, a growing sense of dread creeps its way into her. Are these people as friendly as they seem? Clara doesn't know much about how gunshot wounds are treated, but she still finds it strange that a piece of tech she has never heard of saved her life.

Just who are these people?

Clara scans her eyes around the room for clues and only then does she catch sight of a hospital gown that she is wearing. She continues to inspect the room until her eyes land on the mini table that sits next to her hospital bed. She sees bold letters in white that read, "Impulse." That has to be the company name.

The name is unfamiliar to Clara. She sighs before turning her head back to the window in front of her while the pouring rain patters against it accompanied with roaring thunder.

Would it be possible for her to contact Aiden? Despite the generosity, she can't come to trust these people. She especially can't tell them about Aiden. Would Aiden even want to see her? She's selfish for thinking he'd even care.

A part of her knows this isn't true since she clearly remembers him trying to save her, but there is always that self depricating voice in her head.

As Clara thinks more about contacting Aiden, she starts to wonder where her phone is. She didn't see any of her belongings while looking around. Did they take her things too? Maybe they had to take her things out of the room. She doesn't know.

Exhaustion wears on Clara, her eyes growing droopy. Her shoulders stiffen from her wounds being sore. She groans as she takes deep breaths while trying to relax herself. She hopes she hasn't gotten herself in too much trouble.

Meanwhile, Rachel makes her way over to her laptop, her brother having already gone off to another room, and she opens it. Curiosity finds her as she shifts through the information she has on Clara.

"There has to be more to her," she thinks to herself, going back to when she had found her by Lena's grave.

Why was she there out of all places near death?

Rachel rubs her forehead while reading through the same information she previously found. She wonders if the cemetery has cameras. She isn't an expert on info deep diving, or hacking, so that is something Aiden is one step ahead of her on and she hates that fact. Still she can find different ways around him.

She always finds another way to get what she wants.

Despite Rachel's lack of ability to hack, she knows someone who can work somewhat close in those areas, even if he is an amateur at it. She dials her close friend, Jonas, and calls. He promptly picks up.

"Jonas, I need another favor from you if you don't mind."

"Sure. What is it?" He asks, his husky voice sounding optimistic to help her.

"I need you to dig up the security footage of the cemetery. I'm trying to find out what happened to this Clara woman."

"Already on that."

A notification pops up on Rachel's phone. She notices a video file.

"When did you get that?"

"I had already tapped into the cameras when you called me to the cemetery. I'm sure you would have requested it given the woman was next to the gravestone of Aiden Pearce's niece."

"That was quick thinking," Rachel notes with a smirk.

"One of the many reasons you have me," he says.

Rachel can practically hear him grinning through the phone and she rolls her eyes.

"Thank you."

She keeps Jonas on the line as she views the video file. The camera feed is positioned just above Lena's gravestone along with many others, so Rachel can get a vast look at the cemetery.

The video starts with Clara making her way towards the gravestone with flowers in her hand. Rachel hums as Clara gets closer to the gravestone.

"Knew it wasn't a coincidence," Rachel says as she continues to watch the footage intently.

Rachel spots four men rushing behind larger gravestones from a distance, all of them holding guns. Were they fixers?

In the corner of Rachel's vision, she spots someone sprinting towards Clara from the opposite side of the cemetery. The video doesn't have audio, but Rachel can tell the person had shouted something.

Clara seems to have heard him as turns around and receives a bullet. Rachel watches her huddle behind the stone and catches the other person, who she suspects is a man, duck behind cover as well.

Once Rachel gets a glimpse of his attire consisting of a cap and a brown trench coat, she attempts to take a closer look at him. It only takes a quick glance at Aiden's face and the design of his coat for her to realize the man she is looking at is in fact Aiden Pearce. She had memorized his face multiple times leading up to this point, so it isn't difficult for her to identify him.

Upon recognizing Aiden, Rachel leans foward in her chair and brings the phone and inch closer to her face with the video now capturing her full attention.

She watches Aiden carefully as he engages in a shootout with the men. Every gunshot and movement of muscle from Aiden secures Rachel's attention. She makes sure to never miss a beat. The footage continues to show Clara collapsing from the second shot and Aiden approaching her.

Rachel studies Aiden intensely as he kneels down to Clara's body and caresses her cheek.

"As you can see, they know each other," Jonas states causing Rachel to jump in her chair.

She forgot that he is still on the line.

"Yeah..." she sighs, recovering from being startled. "No kidding."

As Aiden leaves the cemetery, Rachel grows even more curious as to where he is going.

"Did you get any footage of where he went?"

"No," he says with disappointment, "There weren't any other cameras around the cemetery, at least ones that worked anyway."

"Damn it," Rachel mutters with gritted teeth.

She clenches her hand into a fist at the missed opportunity.

"I'm sorry about that, Rachel," he says with remorse clear in his voice.

"No, don't be," she reassures him while rubbing her forehead. "You did what you could."

Rachel shifts her gaze back to Clara in the video. A moment of silence passes before Rachel speaks.

"I have to go."

She hangs up. It's about time she has a chat with this Clara Lille.

Clara was drifting off to sleep before Rachel opens the door and enters the room. With just a glimpse of Rachel's hardened eyes, Clara can tell that Rachel doesn't appear as welcoming as she was earlier.

Rachel stares at Clara for a moment before speaking.

"Hello, miss Lille."

Her colder tone rubs Clara the wrong way. Shivers run down her spine as Rachel takes a few steps towards her with her hands behind her back.

"Did she find out?" Clara wonders while attempting to appear unafraid.

"I see that you're still awake," Rachel stops right beside Clara's bed. "Why don't you tell me what happened to you at the cemetery?"

Rachel's eyes burn into Clara's with such intensity as she waits for an answer. Clara gulps, her heart starting to race. She tries to think of a response.

This woman definitely knows something.

Clara doesn't want to give up Aiden. She can't betray him like that again.

"I..." Clara clears her throat, "I don't know. It all happened so fast. I think I got caught in a shootout."

Clara sighs while hoping the delivery of her lie is good enough. She observes Rachel cautiously, the woman shifting her arms to her chest and crossing them.

"You were dying in front of a little girl's gravestone, specifically the niece of a man named Aiden Pearce, or the fox as the media loves to call him." Rachel rolls her eyes. "I'm sure you've heard of him."

Clara can see Rachel tapping her finger on her arm. She almost appears impatient. Clara doesn't respond and her mouth goes dry.

Rachel continues, "You had to have been visiting."

"I was just leaving flowers."

Rachel cocks an eyebrow.

"What's your affiliation with Lena Pearce?"

"I used to babysit for her," Clara says quickly before what she said even registered.

"Hm," Rachel nods as she glances away from her for a few seconds.

Clara can only hope that Rachel buys her lie as the silence becomes excruciating, but deep down she already knows that the mystery woman figured out what happened.

Rachel eyes Clara once more and leans down towards her causing Clara to grow tense.

"You're a good liar, Clara. I'll give you that," Rachel's voice is more mellow than before, "I already saw the security footage, so I'll spare you the interrogation."

Clara's lips press into a hard line and briefly wills herself to shut her eyes in defeat. Of course she saw it. Rachel straightens her posture back to where it was previously.

"You're going to help me find Aiden Pearce."

Clara freezes, dread consuming her. It's clear that this lady wants to hurt him.

"No," Clara shakes her head with furrowing brows.

No way can she sell herself out again to help shady people.

"No?" Rachel scoffs.

"Whatever you plan on doing with him, I'm not going to help you," Clara states firmly.

Rachel wants to laugh at Clara's sharp glare, but her bitterness gets the better of her.

"I'm giving you a chance here," Rachel warns her.

If she plans to kill Clara then she might as well do it. She is willing to die instead of making the same mistake twice. Clara remains silent and stares at Rachel directly in the eyes. She maintains her composure, her expression never changing.

Silence fills the room and the tension is evident. Seconds go by as Rachel anticipates a response from Clara. The quietness grows deafening with only the beeping of the monitor and the pouring rain outside to fill the void. When Rachel senses that Clara won't budge, she sighs.

"You do realize you're going through a lot to protect a monster who killed many people, right?"

Clara lightly gasps at Rachel's words and frowns.

"The people you must be referring to are the human traffickers and gangs hurting people," Clara defends him, her accent coming off strong.

Now Rachel can't contain her laugh at the sight of Clara being so passionate in defending Aiden.

"Of course you wouldn't know of his other atrocities. He must have really wooed you, huh?"

Pain forms in Clara's throat. She isn't about to go into any sort of feelings she had for Aiden at this given moment.

"Well since you're so loyal to him, it'll be difficult to get anything out of you, but believe me when I tell you that I'll find a way," Rachel says, her tone shifting from being to teasing to being filled with malice.

What is that supposed to mean?

"Just know that you're not going to be leaving anytime soon," Rachel grumbles before she turns towards the door.

Clara attempts to keep her composure as she watches Rachel open the door, but before she closes it, Clara can hear Rachel mutter, "Don't let her leave."

Clara doesn't know who Rachel is talking to, but she can only assume that someone is guarding the door.

As soon as the door shuts, Clara releases a shaky breath. What is supposed to happen now? How far would Rachel go to get information out of her? She may have screwed herself by defending Aiden's honor.

Despite Clara's willingness to take a bullet, a part of her is still frightened. She doesn't know who these kinds of people are and they definitely aren't some innocent scientists who made a ground breaking piece of tech.

Clara shudders at the possibility of torture or being used as bait against Aiden. She can't tell what would happen now and she can't escape even if she wants to. Not only are there potential guards outside, but her shoulders ache from pain as well.

All she can do is dread the oncoming future.

Chapter Text

(London, Fall, Before the Bagley Attack)

Fifteen years. It had been fifteen years since Clara had been gunned down at that cemetery. Fifteen years since Rachel had found her and changed her life for the worst. Ever since Rachel decided to keep Clara captive, she has controlled almost every move Clara made. No exaggeration. Clara has hardly had any freedom and instead was left to do Rachel's dirty work.

Now, Rachel has caught a tip that not only is Aiden in London, but so is his nephew, Jackson. Clara wouldn't be worrying about Rachel finding them given Aiden's track record of being undiscovered if it isn't for the fact that there's a bit more concrete evidence this time.

Since Rachel and Clara are now in London, Rachel is pushing towards new heights by making a deal with the Kelley's in order to infiltrate them so if there's any information on Pearce, she'll be the first to know.

And she's going to use Clara in order to do that.

Currently, Clara is venturing through the royal halls of the Sandstone Residence, a fortress for Clan Kelley. Everything from the walls and pillars to the floors gleam with gold, silver and black. The marble floors are spotless to where Clara can view her own reflection.

"Yep. Definitely royalty," Clara thinks to herself, not feeling too thrilled with what she is getting into, well, what Rachel wants her to do.

She walks down the halls with several of Rachel's soldiers. Clara senses Rachel behind her practically breathing down her neck as she continues to walk on the marble floors. Her chest stings as pent up bitterness rises in her, but this feeling isn't anything new. Looking back on when she first met Rachel, she can't believe that for a second she had thought she and her group meant well, but she should have known better.

They continue to travel through the grand building with the melodies of violins and choir echoing throughout the walls. There are Clan Kelley soldiers standing at their posts eyeing Rachel's group coldly with skepticism. Clara doesn't pay any mind to them as she and the others arrive at a room which looks to be a bar.

Strangely enough, there is a giant statue of a doberman coated in gold sitting directly in the middle of the room. Whatever criminal work they do must draw in quite a bit of money.

In the corner of Clara's vision, she spots two people, one behind the bar preparing drinks and the other setting down drinks for a few Clan Kelley soldiers lounging on one of the black leather couches. The workers are attired with white tank tops and pants which stand out from the red leather jackets the Kelleys are wearing.

She takes a glance at one of them serving the drinks. The server is a pale man who looks to be in his early forties and his hairline is receding. A dull frown appears on his worn face as he makes his way back to the bar, moving away from the two Kelley soldiers who are chatting and cackling away with champagne resting in their hands.

Clara finds it a bit odd and can't shake off the feeling that something sinister is happening with this group. She knows they do criminal work, but Rachel had never specified what sort of work they do. She had never heard of this group before given that this is Clara's first time in London. Everything is new from the people to the confusing roads, at least from Clara's perspective.

Clara shifts her attention away from the exhausted looking man as she continues making her way towards the stairs behind the doberman statue. With each step she takes, Clara secretly hopes that Rachel's lead on Aiden would be a cold one. She is surprised that Rachel is still hot on her pursuit for Aiden after several years. Clara thinks even Aiden would have given up on finding Lena's killers by now if it were him at this point.

Who is she kidding? She is one of Lena's killers. Clara had learned a long time ago that it's best to keep all of her guilt and worries buried. She has been dragged into Rachel's hatred for Aiden for more than a decade and she had learned to adjust even if she didn't want to.

Clara reaches the top of the stairs while being mindful of how fast or slow she walks considering that Rachel is lingering behind her. A young man enters their line of view to the left of them as he stands above a shorter set of stairs. He isn't wearing a red leather jacket like the others. Instead, he is wearing a black suit jacket with a green collared shirt.

"You all must be here to meet Mary Kelley," he says with a heavy accent.

"Thats right," Rachel says as she stands next to Clara.

A small grin appears on the mustached man's face. "Right this way."

He waves his hand and gestures the group to follow him. Clara releases a heavy sigh before she and the group continue up the other set of stairs until they are directly following the man.

Clara catches sight of three more people wearing similar white clothing to the other people she saw earlier. Two women and one man. One woman stands while holding a tray with drinks and the other two are sweeping the floor. The same worn down look are apparent in their faces. Clara can't help but wonder who these people are and why there aren't any Kelley members cleaning.

Are they maids? Even if they are, they look too miserable to be working.

"You have intrigued Mary with the tech you're offering Miss Williams," the man interrupts Clara's thoughts while nodding to Rachel. "Deals like this are difficult to make with her since we use our own microchips, but this must be something new."

Clara can sense the excitement in his voice and she can visibly see his eyes gleam beneath his tinted glasses.

Microchips? Similar to the one behind Clara's neck? What exactly is Rachel planning here?

"I can assure you that my chips will be very beneficial to you," Rachel responds with an enthusiastic smile.

Clara listens to their conversation deeply. A part of her wants to know everything Rachel has planned, but Clara has become adjusted to being strung along and controlled by her to the point that she doesn't bother anymore.

They continue to pass more tough looking soldiers, some chandeliers dangling from the roof and some royal looking paintings of London before entering a seperate room with automated doors opening for the group.

"This way," the man guides them towards the elevator in the center of the small room.

They enter the elevator. The man presses his hand against an electric palm reader on the left side of the elevator walls before the door closes. The orchestral music playing is only heard faintly as the elevator ascends. Even though it's only a couple of floors, Clara feels like it's lasting for an eternity. The silence in the elevator makes Clara shift uncomfortably given how close she is to Rachel.

The doors finally open and they are greeted by a hallway leading to a large set of black doors. The man is the first to exit the elevator and Clara follows with the group. More Kelley guards are positioned by the walls, some of them wearing armor. They must be ready if the deal goes sideways.

"There's so many of them," Clara observes them as she starts to develop goosebumps.

Rachel had only brought a handful of people with her who are trained intensely for combat. Despite Clara being trained to be one of Rachel's greatest soldiers, she can still sense the intense power radiating off the Kelleys.

They continue to follow the man until they reach the doors. The man gently nudges the door open and positions himself beside it to hold it open for the group.

"Your guests have arrived," he announces with his head turning towards someone Clara can't see.

As Clara enters the room, she takes in her surroundings. The black and white marble floor showcases the Kelley wolf logo, and she sees another white clothed maid sweeping next to a metal table sitting towards the end of the room. The somber melody of a hushed piano plays throughout the speakers.

"Right on time," a woman with an english accent can be heard on Clara's right.

Thats when she sees the woman. The old woman who looks to be in her sixties uncrosses her legs and sets down her book upon the seeing the group. The clacking of her heeled boots can be heard as the woman rises from her chair and saunters towards the group.

Her piercing green eyes first make contact with Clara before shifting to Rachel. Her wrinkles show through the growing smile on her face.

"Good evening, Mrs. Kelley," Rachel says with a nod of courtesy.

"Ah, just call me Mary. No need for formalities, dear," Mary replies while extending her hand out for Rachel to shake. "You must be Rachel."

Clara observes Mary as she shakes hands with Rachel. The elder woman is wearing a crimson leather jacket with a black shirt and slick black leather pants to match. She accessorizes with silver earrings along with gold and silver bead and chain necklaces, and her grey hair is presented in a pixie cut. From her smokey eye makeup down to her jewelry, everything about her sceams authority and luxury.

Her attire does justice for her title.

"Yes, I am," Rachel responds while placing her hand back down to her side.

"Well I'm quite interested in this erm...controlling device you've offered," Mary speaks a bit too enthusiastically, "So let's get right into it. Show me what you've got for me."

Rachel clears her throat before speaking, "The device is fairly simple. I will demonstrate with my subject, Madison."

Rachel gestures her hand towards Clara. Clara releases a breath and frowns. Madison is the fake name Rachel had come up with for Clara to keep her identity hidden from potential groups such as Dedsec.

"Madison, come here," Rachel commands.

Clara grows sour at the nickname, but her body forces her to move until she is standing directly in front of Rachel.

"Compared to your chips which give pain to your subjects, this chip will allow you to have them do whatever you tell them to do with no fuss. They will immediately respond to your command."

Mary rests her knuckles under her chin while listening intently.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but that sounds like mind control don't it?" Mary notes with an amused chuckle.

"Yes." Rachel returns a smirk. "That's precisely what it is."

The two women share a few polite laughs as Clara's stomach churns. Just listening to their laughter makes Clara scowl as little as her face allows her to due to the chip. Resentment dwells within her. How can Rachel criticize Aiden and his actions when she goes out of her way to enslave her?

"That does sound ideal. Although the microchips are useful, sometimes it can be a hassle puttin' up with our merchandise wearin' them. I've even had a few try to cut their chips out," Mary states with an eyeroll, "But I'll believe your offer when I see it."

Rachel plasters a smirk on her face.

"Allow me to demonstrate then. Madison, look at Mary."

Clara turns to make eye contact with the matriarch before Rachel utters the final word of her sentence. Clara's irises flash a neon blue color briefly while maintaining her eye contact before returning back to their normal color. Mary's eyes slightly widen, feeling stunned at the sight.

"Her eyes don't normally flash, but for presentation purposes, they are," Rachel explains, "There would be no worries about suspicion from others."

Mary ponders for a moment while watching Clara. Despite being intrigued by the visuals, she isn't fully convinced.

"How do you particularly control her? With a remote?"

"Yes," Rachel reaches into her pocket and pulls a small remote fitting the palm of her hand.

"Whoever possesses the remote has control of the subject."

Upon seeing the remote, Clara lightly shudders at the memories of it

"Could I have a go at it then? Mary asks "It would only be fair if I tested it for myself."

Rachel is hesitant for a moment, but she realizes she has a backup plan if the Kelleys decide to steal her device.

"Sure," Rachel responds before handing the remote to Mary.

Clara grows anxious as she observes Mary taking the remote. Rachel has never passed on the remote to anyone outside of Impulse, so the idea of being put into the hands of someone unknown makes Clara a bit more nervous than with Rachel. At least she knows what to expect from Rachel, but the Kelley woman can't be any more mysterious.

Mary inspects the remote while trying to figure it out even though it only has two buttons.

"You'll have to push the top button to get it accustomed to you. Then you, should be in control," Rachel explains while secretly hoping things go smoothly.

Mary hums before pressing the button. She watches Clara's eyes shine blue neon colors while feeling bewildered and a little thrilled for something new. Mary toys with ideas for what her first command should be. Clara can practically catch a whiff of cigar smoke coming off of her.

"State your name," Mary commands.

"Madison Chambers, "Clara states her fake name quickly.

Clara shifts uncomfortably at Mary's penetrating stare. Mary appears to be lost in thought before a mischievous smirk reaches her face.

"Kneel." Mary points towards the floor.

Before Clara can process the command, her legs force her knees to touch the floor and she is now kneeling to Mary Kelley. What kind of command is this? Clara catches sight of the white clothed maid a few feet behind Mary. Her sweeping comes to a slow pace as she seems to be investing in what Mary is doing. Her frown and furrowed brows suggest her worry at the sight of Clara being controlled, but a quick sharp glare from one of the Kelley soldiers averts her attention away from the scene and back to her sweeping.

Witnessing that makes Clara realize what the Kelleys are doing to these people. No wonder something feels off.

"Look up at me. Don't be shy now."

Clara tilts her head up and her eyes meet Mary's. She looks delighted at Clara being at her will. Clara's chest stings at the feeling of humiliation taking over her. Is this all her life would be? Being at the service of others and being used as a toy? She had pondered this long before, but the question is ever so present now.

"Ha," Mary says, "Would ya look at that. I've never had someone comply so quick."

"Precisely," Rachel notes. "You'll never have to worry about delays."

"Now you've snagged my attention. Out of curiosity Rachel, what exactly do you plan on getting out of this? Money?"

"Specifically, funding. I'm hoping for more resources for our organization."

"Hm." Mary crosses her arms. "We can certainly do that. This does seem promising afterall."

Rachel eyes Mary cautiously as she makes a swift turn and walks towards her desk with the remote still dangling from her hand.

"Welp. It looks like we've got a deal, eh?"

Mary reaches for a champagne glass only to discover it's empty.

"Peter, do you know if there's any champagne left?" She asks while inspecting her glass for any remains.

"There's more downstairs, ma'am."

Mary takes a glance at him being ready to command him to bring more alcohol until she catches sight of Clara with her knees to the floor while keeping her eyes glued to Kelley's.

"Why don't I have you fetch the drink carrier for me?"

Mary stares at Clara with a playful grin on her face. She really is getting a kick out of this, isn't she?

"You are our servant for the day, yes?" She stiffles a giggle. "Would that sit right with you, Rachel?"

Rachel thinks about it before responding, "Sure, but I would like it if one of the members of my crew go with her in case something goes wrong."

Mary holds her gaze onto Rachel's with a hint of skepticism while her grin remains on her face.

"Well this is supposed to be working tech. It shouldn't go wrong."

"What I mean is Madison could lose her way. This is her first time being here."

Mary crosses her arms. "If thats the case, I'll have one of mine accompany her, unless..." Mary takes a few steps towards Rachel, "you're afraid I'm trying to snag this thing away from you." She waves the remote in her hand.

Rachel maintains her composure while being wary of her next choice of words.

"You can never be too careful," Rachel says while playing off a smirk.

Mary's eyes bore into Rachel's causing her heart to beat quicker. This has to work. She needs eyes and ears within the Kelleys. Clara can sense potential tension between the two as she is still awkwardly kneeling to the floor.

Mary chuckles. "Thats fair. You'll have one of your own and I'll have one of mine go with her."

Mary gestures for one of her armed soldiers to come over to which they comply.

"Kindly show them where to go."

While the soldier settles himself, Mary shifts her gaze back down to Clara.

"You can stand up now, sweetheart."

Clara promptly gets to her feet and she notices a smirk dancing with humor on Mary's face.

"Well," Mary clasps her hands at the sight of Rachel's soldier and her soldier near Clara, "off you go."

Clara quietly sighs before she begins following the Kelley soldier with one of Rachel's by her side. Clara notices Rachel carefully watching her as she passes her and makes her exit out of the room. Upon exiting, the doors close and Clara is now left with silence among the two soldiers. The three enter the elevator and the Kelley soldier uses his hand print to activate it before the doors shut.

Seconds go by and the elevator can't be any more quiet. The only noise she can pick up on is the faint choir music and the soldier's breathing. She wonders if this is all going to Rachel's plan. Rachel definitely has proper funding and resources for Impulse. She always knew Rachel was the type to never reveal too much information during a deal in case it goes wrong, so she probably isn't revealing her true intentions because of that.

The doors open and they exit the elevator. Clara proceeds to follow the Kelley soldier out of the automatic doors and she is lead towards the white leather couches where she is met yet again with the white clothed workers. Knowing what she has to do, Clara approaches the woman with a tray of drinks in her hand.

"Mary Kelley needs..." Clara starts to speak to her until her mouth stops moving.

Clara freezes.

That ongoing force from the chip making her do things isn't present. She doesn't feel it. Clara attempts to shut her mouth and to her surprise, they do on her command. Clara blinks rapidly as she willingly moves her head around while receiving a confused glance from the woman.

She can't believe it. She is doing this on her own.

"What is going on?" Clara wonders as her hearts starts pounding.

Is this some kind of test from Rachel, or is the chip disabled?

"What's the hold up?" The surly voice of the Kelley soldier is present behind her.

Rachel's soldier takes notice. Time seems to slow for Clara as she takes everything in.

"You're free," a voice says through her ear piece.

She can't begin to tell if the masculine voice is familiar as both the Kelley soldier and Rachel's soldier surround her, their gazes remaining sharp.

"Free?" She tries to process the sentence.

Her feet shift lightly and she can barely register the complaints of the Kelley soldier towards Rachel's. She tries to decide her next move. Is this real? Is this some game? Who could have freed her? Clara wonders is she should risk an escape, but with the soldier's approach towards her, she has to act quick.

Building up as much courage as she can muster, she mutters, "Fuck it."

Clara launches her fist towards the soldier's face and lands a brutal hit across his jaw. She swiftly positions herself behind him and grabs the pistol from his holster. Keeping a firm grip on the soldier's neck, she aims her gun at Rachel's soldier who is readying his pistol. Clara gasps as she fires a bullet towards his head just in time before he can shoot.

The bullet punctures his head causing blood to gush out. This alerts another Kelley soldier nearby and they retrieve their rifle. Clara catches the sound of the rifle loading while struggling to keep the first soldier within her grasp.

Clara positions him directly in front of her while aiming her gun towards his head. He grunts and his struggling comes to a slow upon seeing the gun. The other soldier quickly aims her rifle towards Clara and clumsily fires. Instead of landing on Clara, it hits the side of the first soldier's head.

A splatter of blood sprays on Clara's cheek while the soldier's head falls limp. The other soldier's eyes widen at her mistake before Clara shoots another bullet towards her chest. The bullet strikes her and she collapses to the ground.

Clara releases the dead soldier from her grip with heavy breaths and wide eyes. She can only now process the ringing in her ears from the gunshots. She faintly hears the shaky breaths of the white clothed woman staring directly at her while the other two hide beside the couches.

Clara presses her lips into a hard line and contemplates helping them, but with their microchips and the gunshots being loud enough for the whole building to hear, it might not work out and she doesn't have time. She shifts her gaze away from the woman and onto Rachel's dead soldier on the ground.

Clara attempts to maintain her now shaking body as she kneels down to rummage through the soldier's backpack and finds a crossbow and a quiver with a set of arrows. She promptly opens the straps of the quiver and wraps them around her shoulders. She has to get out of there fast.

If this is her only chance at escape, she has to take it now.

Clara knows the gunshots were loud enough to have alerted the people upstairs and she can hear more Kelley soldiers rushing upstairs.

As Clara makes a run for it, Mary has already been alerted by the noise. Both Rachel and Mary freeze as they process the noise.

"Was that..." Mary starts until her eyes land on Rachel's and glares at her.

Rachel can't help but feel penetrated by her stare. What is going on down there? Rachel attempts to keep her composure while Mary makes her way towards her. With a frown, Mary snaps her fingers and the soldiers surrounding the room aim their weapons towards her and her group.

"So this is just a game to you, eh, Rachel?" Mary's lips quirk up mischievously. "Comin' in here actin' like you've got us fooled."

"I can assure you that I have no idea whats going on down there," Rachel explains, although she has a fair idea of the possibility of Clara's chip not working.

She mentally prays that isn't the case. Her blood boils at the thought of Clara escaping.

"Ma'am," one of the armoured soldiers speak, "Just got word of a few of our own down. It was that woman."

Mary furrows her brows and her poker face vanishes. Rachel clutches her hands towards her pocket along with her soldiers readying their grenades. Mary's emerald eyes slowly make their way back to Rachel's.

"Hm," Mary clenches her fists. She never likes when things don't go her way. "Who you workin' for? The inspector?"

She practically spits out the last sentence while keeping her eyes narrow. Rachel frowns. Her plan is ruined now. There's no way this would turn out good no matter what she says.

"No. Even this would be too much for a cop, so what are you really after, Rachel?"

"The chip most likely malfunctioned and the subject is trying to escape."

"See I don't think I believe you. Even if you were telling the truth, if you can't get your merchandise to work then we have no business here." Mary's face starts to grow as red as her jacket.

Rachel watches Mary carefully as she starts to raise her hand. Suspecting she is going to open fire, she nods towards her soldiers and they each throw their smoke grenades. Smoke fills the room, blinding the Kelleys. A few of the soldiers blindly fire at them with Rachel spotting the remote being dropped to the ground. She sprints over and retrieves it from the ground before Mary can even get a glance at her.

Rachel and her crew rush out of the room. She pulls out her assault rifle from her bag and fires at the other soldiers standing by. It takes a few shots, but the bullets pierce through their armor and they go down. They make it to the elevator only to discover that a handprint is required.

"Shit!" Rachel exclaims while turning towards her soldiers. "Cover me!"

The doors burst open as more Kelley soldiers file out. As Rachel dashes to retrieve one of the dead bodies, two of her soldiers toss explosive grenades while the others open fire on the Kelleys.

"Don't let her get away!" Rachel hears Mary call from a distance.

Rachel drags one of the bodies towards the elevator while nearly missing bullets. Rachel breathes heavily while placing the soldier in the elevator. She picks up his hand and presses it against the handprint device.

"Get inside the elevator!" Rachel shouts through the soldiers ear pieces.

Finishing off their last rounds, the soldiers sprint inside the elevator. Rachel grows tense hearing the Kelley soldiers approaching the elevator.

"Come on," Rachel mutters while watching the hand print process.

The box turns green much to Rachel's relief and the doors shut just in time before the Kelleys can get in. Everyone catches their breath before one of the soldiers speak up.

"Now what do we do? Clan Kelley is on us and they know who we are."

Rachel sighs exasperatedly. "Don't worry. We'll cover our tracks. Thats what we always do. Right now, we need to focus on finding our escapee."

Meanwhile, Clara races towards another set of automatic doors. They open and she is greeted by gunfire to her left. She shields herself and fires back before making her way towards a downward set of stairs. Once she reaches the bottom, she huddles herself against the wall for cover. She glances around for any soldiers and spots one cautiously aiming his gun in search her around a pool table.

Clara releases a slightly relieved breath. That means they've most likely lost her for the moment. Clara pulls one of the arrows from her quiver and adjusts it onto her crossbow. Once it's loaded, Clara aims towards the soldier with his back turning to her. She fires the arrow and it pierces the man's neck.

When the soldier falls to the ground, Clara practically tip toes away from her hiding spot and keeps her ears open for any more footsteps. She glances around the room and spots a door to her left. Clara gasps at the possible exit and approaches the door.

"Please be unlocked," she repeatidly whispers.

Getting closer, she notices that there is a red key pad next to it. She huffs realizing it requires a system key. Her ears perk up when she hears a female soldier's voice from a distance.

"There she is!"

Clara ducks at a few bullets heading to her direction and takes off towards another set of stairs leading upwards. She reaches the top of the stairs and realizes she is back in the same room where the white leather couches are sitting. Clara catches her breath and constantly glances around.

"Câlisse. How am I supposed to get out of this place?" She says to herself.

She spots the three way stairs she encountered when she and Rachel first walked in the building. She recognizes the doberman statue and realizes that has to be her way out. Clara almost makes a run for it until her heart drops.

She watches three Kelley soldiers go down by bullets along with Rachel emerging from her cover. Clara's hands grow sweaty from her anxiety at the sight of Rachel's fuming ecpression. Rachel can't possibly have any control over her now, right?

Clara attempts to keep a firm grip on her crossbow as she gulps.

"Come on," she groans. "Just make it across the stairs."

But it isn't just Rachel. Clara sees five more of Rachel's soldiers stepping over the dead Kelley soldiers. Are there even any Clan Kelley soldiers left?

She sees the optiks on two of the soldiers flash an orange color as they nod to each other. Thats Rachel's soldier's form of hidden communication. From the distance she's at, she can't interpret what they are saying to each other.

Clara quietly removes her quiver and searches for an explosive arrow. To her luck, she fishes out one. Putting the quiver back on, she adjust the arrow onto the crossbow and releases a long shaky sigh.

She has to make this shot count.

Clara looks over the railing and sees Rachel and a few of her soldiers approaching the stairs. Clara aims the crossbow towards her group. Clara tries to control her breathing, but for some reason, she can't properly do it. Does Rachel's presence scare her that bad?

Clara gulps and does her best to keep her growing panic under control. Clara's finger pushes the trigger before she can think about it. The arrow lands directly at the bottom of the steps and explodes. The impact knocks Rachel back, but fatally wounds her other soldiers.

Well that is not what Clara planned.

Not having time to mentally scold herself, she takes the opportunity to sprint across the stairs. Clara can hear Rachel groan as she runs across the hall. There has to be another door somewhere.

Clara reaches another doorway and she is now in another section with a railing showing a view of the main entrance, but to her misfortune she can see two guards blocking that area. Clara's feet become sore as she glances around for any more doors until she spots a metal one. Praying that it's unlocked, she is about to head towards it until smoke clouds her vision.

It takes her only a few seconds to process that it's a smoke bomb before a sharp pain hits her back as she is kicked to the ground. The smoke starts to clear a little as Clara scrambles to her feet and winces at the pain in her back. She makes out a figure emerging in the smoke and a pair of nails grab a fist full of her grown out hair.

A rush of air hits her as her head is slammed into the railing. Clara cries out and she collapses onto the ground, her head pounding from the impact.

"You're not going anywhere!" She hears Rachel's infuriated voice.

She wraps her arms around Clara's neck attempting to put her into a chokehold. Clara's breath tightens and her heads starts to spin. Her hands scramble to fight back against Rachel, but fails to do so.

More pressure is applied to Clara's neck causing her to whimper. Her hands scramble once more until she feels her gun. Remembering that she has it, she clumsily aims it backwards and fires at whatever she can. Rachel cries out as she releases her arms from Clara and clutches her shoulder.

The pressure is released from Clara's neck and she inhales a sharp breath. Her head pounds while she slowly gets back to her feet. She tumbles backwards away from Rachel, still catching her breath. With Rachel on the ground bleeding out from her gunshot wound, Clara readjusts her stature and checks around the room for the metal door she saw, or any potential exit that can get her away from Rachel.

With her mind growing clearer, Clara spots the door. The possibility of it being locked only briefly crosses her mind as she makes a run for it. Feeling too afraid to finish off Rachel, she doesn't look back as she reaches for the door and pushes into it.

To her surprise, the door bursts open and she is greeted by a set of metallic stairs leading downward. Without a second thought, Clara rushes down the steps. She encounters a door with a small window showing the oustide. Clara charges towards it and to her surprise, she manages to push the door open.

Once she steps outside, a chill breeze hits her face and a shower of rain washes over her. She immediately spots a mini van parked up a small hill just a few feet away from her. She must have reached some sort of parking lot with only one car. She makes a run for the van and reaches it. She tries to open the doors only to remember that the doors require an automatic unlock.

Rachel bursts through the door while clutching her shoulder. Clara instinctively pulls out her phone, hacks into the car's locks, and enters from the left side. Rachel toughs through her pain all the while readying her rifle and aiming towards the van. Clara realizes she is in the passenger seat instead of the driver's side and mentally cringes at herself.

The glass shatters from the trunk window as Clara attempts to shield herself and make her way to the driver's side. A shower of bullets nearly miss Clara with her postioning herself to the driver's seat. She starts the car while more bullets intrude the van. The engine starts and she shifts the car in drive.

Clara breathes harshly. Pushing her foot on the gas pedal, she speeds off. The van pushes through the open gate leading Clara out of the small hill and into the main road.

"Shit!" Clara screams as soon as she realizes she is about to collide with a car on the right side of the road.

Clara swerves towards the left side and starts to panic. How is she even supposed to drive on this road?

"Just follow the arrows and other cars, Clara. You've got this."

Doing her best to act like she knows what she is doing, Clara stays on the left side of the road while glancing over at the mirrors every few seconds. After a short period of time driving, she tries to relax a little. She presses a hand on her chest to steady herself and checks the mirrors again. To her horror, she spots a black car tailing her and she can only assume it's Rachel.

"She got a car that quickly?" Clara states breathlessly.

She floors it and races her way down the confusing road. Gunfire erupts and Clara does her best to maneuver past other vehicles. Clara presses both of her hands firmly on the steering wheel and takes a sharp turn towards the left. Rachel is quick to follow pursuit and gains speed.

The front of Rachel's car grows dangerously close to Clara's, requiring her to think quickly for any ideas. She pulls out her phone. There has to be something she can hack into, but from the looks of it, her access is blocked from traffic lights, or anything else she can possibly use.

Clara searches around and discovers a row of closed blockers. Clara connects to it, being mindful of Rachel following close behind her, and waits for just the right moment to activate the blockers. Nearing the in ground blockers, Rachel swerves her car over to the right, avoiding the blockers entirely.

"Damn," Clara grunts.

Of course Rachel would have guessed she'd do that.

Avoiding oncoming traffic, Rachel cuts a sharp turn back towards Clara's van. She scrapes just the edge of the back of the van. With Clara not seeing much options for hacking, she secretly panics. Her chest tightens at the thought of having no escape and potentially getting captured by Rachel once again. No, she has to get away. This is her one and only shot.

She can't go back.

Just when things can't get any worse for Clara, blaring sirens surround the two of them as drones hover around them. An Albion car also follows hot in pursuit. Clara clenches her fists on the wheel. She knows this would draw some attention, but this fast?

The gleaming red lights and screeching sirens of the drones overwhelm Clara as she tries to plan an escape route. Clara cuts a turn to the right and directly cuts off an oncoming vehicle. She knows she's on the wrong side of the road, but she can care less at the moment.

A red line coming from the drones aims towards Clara. She ducks her head down just in time before a bullet blasts through her window. She pops her head back up to see that there is a crack in the window. She glances towards her rear view mirror and witnesses the Albion officer exchanging gunfire with Rachel.

The Albion vehicle suddenly swerves off the road and crashes onto the sidewalk, barely missing pedestrians. Clara can briefly see the Albion officer bleeding out from his head onto the steering wheel before facing the road again with a gulp.

The drones remain hovering around Clara and Rachel's vehicles. Clara holds her phone again and a brief idea pops in her head. Wondering if the drones are linked to ctOS, Clara connects to one of them and discovers options to either control the drones, disable them, or have them attack her pursuer. She swiftly disables two drones and has the other two direct their attention towards Rachel and open fire.

Watching the drones do her bidding, one of the drones aims at Rachel's tires while the other at her. Clara is slightly relieved to hear one of Rachel's tires blow out and she takes the opportunity to increase speed. What started as a nuissance turns into Clara's weapon. Rachel loses pace behind her from one of her tires being blown out. Clara takes a sharp turn towards the left and continues until she gets further and further away from Rachel.

Once she can hardly see Rachel anymore, she cuts a few more corners as a precaution. Clara wonders if Rachel is truly gone while driving for a minute and still configuring the rules of the road. Praying that she's in the clear, Clara takes a deep breath and searches for a place to park the now rough looking van.

After searching for a few seconds, Clara discovers a back alley wide enough to park her van. She turns into it and secures the van into park. Clara breathes in and only now notices the bitter metallic smell of blood on her face. Not wanting to get out of the car like this, Clara searches for anything to clean up. She notices a half filled water cup from Quinkie's and opens it up.

It looks like enough.

Clara dips her hand in the cup and soaks it with water. She splashes it across her face and wipes it only to realize that the blood is smearing on her hand. Clara shudders and reaches for the glove compartment for any napkins. Rummaging through, she manages to find two and uses one sparingly across her face.

The napkin does its job with getting most of the red fluid off of her face. Once the napkin is colored red, she sets it aside and wipes the remainder of the blood with the other one. When she finishes, Clara sets the napkins down and huffs.

What does she do now? Is Rachel truly gone?

Clara thinks about it. She can potentially still be looking for her, so Clara's best bet is to leave her vehicle and hide out since the van is riddled with bullet holes. Clara crumples the napkins and shoves them in her jean pocket. She inspects herself in the rear view mirror. She runs her fingers through her fully grown layered hair sitting past her shoulders. Her makeup is very light and nothing like her old punk rock self.

With there only being a touch of mascara and some gentle pink lipstick, one would not recognize her looking like this. The only hint of familiarity to her is the three piercings on her cheeks and the underside of her chin. Clara releases a pained sigh at not being able to recognize herself anymore.

Before she can burden herself with it, she remembers the possibility of Rachel searching for her. Clara does a quick check up on her appearance. She doesn't catch any traces of blood on her face. She sticks her gun in her jacket pocket and only then realizes she still has her crossbow resting on the passenger seat.

"How can I hide that?" She murmurs.

It doesn't seem like anybody is around, so for now she can get away with holding it. She briefly considers leaving it, but she knows she needs as many useful weapons as she can have. She shuts off the van before stepping out into the cool rain. Clara holds her crossbow close while walking out of the alley. She peaks around the sidewalks and can only see a few people walking around. The rest are huddling under their umbrellas and doing their best to stay out of the rain. She glances around for Rachel, but doesn't see her or her car anywhere. Tucking her crossbow underneath her jacket, she prepares herself to go onto the sidewalk.

It feels awkward to keep the crossbow underneath her jacket, but by the looks of it, people only seem to keep to themselves and could care less about what she is doing. Keeping her arm positioned over it, she exits the alley and ventures onto the drenched sidewalk. Clara makes herself appear as inconspicuous as possible while walking casually through the small area of the city.

As she keeps a look out for Rachel, Clara takes in details of the city. Black flags with the logo "Albion" on them come into her view. A car with the same logo along with a disgruntled looking soldier standing in front of it also catches her eye. She sighs. She has always been aware that London is under heavy authority, but she has never realized how much control Albion really has on the city.

The neon blue lights from the Blume drones hovering above the streets and all the other drones racing above the main roads only add to that thought. One of the smaller Blume drones scans a nearby pedestrian for identification who looks to be pissed off. Clara wonders how people can deal with that. She is already familiar with the predictive algorithms of ctOS, but this is a whole new invasion of personal space. Feeling bad about not being able to do much about it, she continues walking while going out of her way to avoid the drone. She doesn't need any more attention drawn to her.

Clara proceeds to walk. She every so often looks over her shoulder and occasionally takes in London's castle like architecture. A gentle breeze brushes against her face and she breathes in the smell. She doesn't care for the rain practically soaking her clothes or her body growing cold.

This is freedom. Freedom from Rachel. Freedom from her mind being enslaved. It almost doesn't feel real to her. She spent those fifteen years doing things she never wanted to do. Hurting innocents and being trained into some kind of killing machine.

"Who could have saved me?" Clara ponders.

Does she deserve to be saved after everything? From Lena's death to harming good targets, including Dedsec, is it too late? A pit forms in her stomach and that familiar guilt returns.

Should she just...?

Rachel's car appearing from a distance snaps Clara out of her thoughts. Clara's heart quickens in pace and she becomes freightened. She can't get caught.

Clara jogs towards the side of a nearby bar with the company of two trash cans and some bushes. With others around, she would appear too strange hiding behind those. With swift thinking, she decides on hiding her crossbow behind the dumpster and making a run for the bar. Clara makes it to the front of the bar with a sign that reads, "The Earl's Fortune." Not caring for onlookers, Clara gets to the bar entrance and bolts her way inside just in time before Rachel's car passes.

Clara slams the door shut once she's inside the bar and breathes heavily. She blinks rapidly and processes the bar's surroundings.

"You alright there, love?" Clara hears a deep feminine voice close by.

Clara darts her eyes foward and catches sight of a woman with her raven black hair put up into cornrows, and golden brown skin. She has her tattooed arm leaning against the bar while she studies Clara curiously.

"Um...yeah...yeah." Clara collects herself and holds both of her arms with a slight shiver. "Just trying to get out of the rain."

The woman relaxes her brows and her lips quirk up.

"I hear ya. It's gettin' pretty bad out there," she notes while approaching Clara.

Clara, attempting to appear calm as possible, puts on her best poker face as she checks herself to make sure she isn't too drenched.

"The name's Connie. I own this place."

Upon hearing this, Clara frowns feeling like her presence inside the pub is overwhelming given her messy state.

"I apologize, Connie, if I look like a trainwreck," Clara says awkwardly.

"Meh. You don't look too bad. I've seen drunks that have looked worse," Clara laughs before observing her. The woman continues. "And I mean no offense by this, but you look old enough to be in here, so just stay out of trouble, yeah?"

Clara manages to chuckle given her terrifying circumstances.

"Not sure if that is a good or bad thing, but thanks," Clara replies knowing that being in her mid-forties would wear on her face a little.

"You get used to it," Connie says with a smirk.

A brief moment of silence passes after that before Connie gestures towards one of the vintage leather chairs sitting near the fireplace.

"You can lounge there if you'd like. It'd be much warmer than standing there."

Clara nods while subtly taking a look out of the blurry windows for any potential car lights heading in her direction. When she doesn't see any, she turns back to Connie.

"Thank you," she says, feeling grateful that she has a hiding spot.

"It's no problem, dear."

Watching Clara make her way towards the chair, Connie can't shake off the feeling that there's more to her story than just being caught in the rain. She decides to leave it alone, but plans to keep an eye on Clara just in case.

Clara sits down on the chair and she can already feel the heat coming off of the fireplace next to her. She watches Connie return back to the bar while reclining back in the chair still pretending to not be anxious. Clara can only briefly take in the environment, catching sight of a few drinkers chatting away and others not looking too pleased as they drink.

With the rain softly tapping against the window, the crackling of the fire, and the calm chatter, she would have found this place to be cozy and relaxing if not for her being hunted down by the woman who has kept tabs on her life for several years. She still can't believe she managed to survive, or let alone escape. She can even argue that she feels like a child running away from home. Well an abusive home.

It seems like a silly comparison in her head, but it tells how secluded she was and being around people in a nonhostile space is a breath of fresh air. Her eyes continue to scan the window, checking for any potential cars pulling up to the pub. After a few minutes, Clara has a brief moment of tranquility, feeling like everything could be alright now. It's short lived, however, when she makes out neon blue car lights coming from the window. She can make out the color and shape of the car and realizes it's Rachel's driving by the bar slowly.

"Does she know I'm here?" Clara's mind scrambles.

Her throat goes dry, feeling the rising panic build in her chest. She mentally pleads for Rachel's car to not stop at the pub as she watches carefully. She drowns out her surroundings while staying completely focused on Rachel's car. Five seconds feels like an eternity as she watches the car pass and leave her view.

After not seeing the car for a few seconds, she slightly relaxes her shoulders and gulps. She wonders if she should stay put, or bolt out the door. For all she knows, Rachel could have parked behind the building and can be approaching it this second.

"You alright, dear?"

Clara jumps in her chair being startled at the sound of a woman's voice. Once she sees that it's just Connie, she sighs in relief and places a hand over her chest. Connie stares at Clara with a frown and knitted brows. She had clearly taken notice of her state.

"Yeah...yeah. You just startled me," Clara says shakily.

She does her best to put on a brave face, but from Connie's look of skepticism, she isn't buying it. Connie squints her eyes at Clara, trapping her in her gaze. Clara wants nothing more than to keep an eye out for Rachel, or let alone leave the pub at that point, but being under the woman's stare forces her to tread carefully.

Clara is about to get up until Connie's expression softens and she asks, "Do you need help?"

Clara's brows raise from being slightly taken aback by her question.

"What do you mean? Help with what?

"Is it Albion? Clan Kelley?"

Clara presses her lips into a hard line finding it more and more difficult to hide her fearful expression. Who exactly is this woman? Clara isn't going to stick around and find out.

Clara stand up from the chair and prepares herself to leave.

"I can help you," Connie speaks in a soft voice and seems to hesitate before letting out her next sentence quietly, "I'm with Dedsec."

Clara freezes.

Dedsec?

Now it makes sense. Thinking about it, Dedsec can benefit her in this situation, but even so, she feels undeserving of their help after what she has done to some of their members. A glum frown crosses Clara's features and she is consumed with regret as she starts to walk away.

"It's not too late," Connie's voice trails behind her.

She stops in her tracks. Not too late. Memories of her involvement in Lena's death nearly bring her to the verge of tears.

It's definitely too late.

Clara glances at Connie over her shoulder before saying, "Thanks for letting me stop here."

Clara doesn't let Connie get her next word in as she rushes out the door, leaving the pub owner with a defeated sigh. Being greeted by a heavy downpour once again, Clara shivers. Clutching her arms, she darts her eyes around the roads to see if Rachel's car is anywhere nearby. When she doesn't see it, she paces down the sidewalk and heads back to where she left the crossbow.

Clara finds the dumpster and peaks behind it. She is pleased to still see her crossbow in the spot. She picks it up and sheathes it under her jacket before making her way back to the sidewalk. Clara walks around for a few minutes being paranoid from the sounds of cars passing by. She wonders where Rachel is and if she is still in the area. Her best bet now would be to find another car.

The cool autumn air and the rain is getting her to the point where she is becoming irritated. Thinking of having to steal someone else's car, she shifts her focus towards the parked cars by the buildings. It doesn't take her long to find an SUV parked with an autodrive symbol on it near a small theater.

Striding over to the vehicle to get out of the rain, Clara unlocks it with her phone and is about to open the door until she realizes it's the wrong side.

"Passenger's side. Right."

She goes to the correct side and opens the door. She huddles herself inside, shuts the door, and huffs. She gets chills from the cold and the discomfort of being drenched with rain. She starts the car and promptly turns on the heat. Clara groans at not only feeling icky from her soaked clothes, but her nervousness as well. It had been a few minutes so Rachel has to be gone by now.

She wonders what her next move should be. There's no way she can move on and go about her day after this. Rachel is hounding her now. Impulse would pursue her and she doesn't know if she can bear a life of running. Clara buries her face in her palms. She dreads the possibility of that Connie woman notifying Dedsec of her being suspicious.

Would Connie sound the alarm and have Dedsec hunt Clara too? She curses at the thought of having two dangerous groups after her. Her heart races as another familiar person comes to mind. An old ghost she has been chasing.

Aiden.

Is he actually in London? Is Rachel's source correct? Even if he is, Clara doesn't have the strength to face him. She recalls his hurt and angered expression upon realizing that she had wronged him. She killed his niece and there's no going back from that. Aiden would most likely resent her and the person she became. She shouldn't bother. He is better off thinking she is dead.

She should have died anyway.

Her stomach churns at her overwhelming thoughts and she clutches her stomach. Tears sting at her eyes. She feels like she is going to be sick.

She shifts the car into drive, not wanting to be tormented any longer and takes off down the road. Not caring if she doesn't know how the rules of the road works, she focuses on getting her mind off things even if it's temporary. Her breathing grows heavier as she has trouble doing this.

An oncoming car honks at her from the side causing her to jump in her seat and swerve out of the way. This isn't working. She has to stop somewhere, but where? Hell what is she supposed to do at this point? Clara brings her attention back to the road. She has to focus. She'd stop somewhere and figure things out with what she is going to do about Rachel, Aiden, and with herself.

Well...hopefully.

Chapter Text

The night grows calm as the rain comes to a halt. Clara had left the SUV moments ago and is now walking down a stone path. She doesn't know where she is going, but she figures getting out of the vehicle once the rain has settled would do her some good. She had left her crossbow in the SUV, but her gun remains with her. She had made sure she kept tab of where the SUV was.

She wanders through the path while passing some people chatting along the way. Her mind is clouded as she tries to push away any recurring thoughts about Aiden, Rachel, or anyone else. Her anxiety lingers, but she withholds the pressure of her emotions. She blankly studies the view to her right showing some calm water along with the tall buildings further down.

With every passing second, Clara finds it harder to push away her past mistakes. Eventually, she caves into her feelings and that familiar pain returns to her chest. A knot forms in her throat.

"These fascists think they can run our city!" The harsh voice of a female protester shouting through a megaphone immediately causes Clara to jump a little, making her now realize she is passing a group of protesters.

The sound of the woman's voice irritates Clara due to her already intrusive thoughts. She makes an effort to walk faster to get away from the noise. Her self depricating thoughts are coming back full force.

Images flash in Clara's mind. Aiden's torn expression when she saw him at Lena's funeral. Seeing his eyes filled with anger, betrayal, and disgust after pushing her to the ground. The faces of others she had severely hurt for Rachel.

Their tears. Their lives being fucked over.

Clara's stomach tightens and she becomes nauseous. What kind of person is she? How could she not give a damn who she gave out information to? She was only after money. What a pathetic excuse.

Not being able to take it anymore, Clara rushes towards a set of stairs leading down to a small shore. Not caring about potential onlookers, she paces down the stairs and enters the small area. Sand reaches the bottom of her combat boots. There are no waves. There's just the subtle sound of water gently grazing the sand.

Clara collapses down to her knees and holds her stomach. Her anxiety grows more apparent and she takes quicker breaths.

A monster. That's all she is.

Goosebumps cover Clara's body. She hovers over, feeling the urge to vomit. She coughs a few times and a painful knot forms in her throat. Each cough makes her stomach cramp even more. Tears prick at her eyes before her body finally gives out.

Vomit plunges out of her throat and starts coughing it out onto the sand. Without getting a chance to get a grip, nausea overtakes her as more puke escapes her mouth. Clara's body shivers at this point and tears roll down her cheeks. She sniffles and tries pushing down anymore puke threatening to come out. She turns away from the mess she made and continues to swallow until she feels that most of her nausea has subsided.

Clara's mouth hangs open while she tries to control her breathing. The scent of the wet sand fills her nostrils. Her stomach continues to cramp and she keeps her arms huddling around it. She rests her side onto the cool sand and curls up into a ball. Her lips tremble and she breaks down sobbing.

Her voice strains and she chokes out her sobs. A trail of tears trickle down her cheeks accompanied with her nose running. This is what she has become. A shell of her former self. All of her wrong doings are eating her alive. Is there even a chance for her to redeem herself?

It's not too late.

Those words come back to haunt her and she despises it. It is too late. It has always been too late.

Monster. You're a monster.

The words repeat through Clara's head. Her chest stings through her cries and she doesn't know if she can take much more pain. Clara sighs heavily as she gets back up to her knees, her sobbing turning into a soft whimper. Tears stain her face. She tries to calm herself through deep breathing. Only now does she view the sight of the city and the calm water in front of her.

The London bridge rests to the left of her view with its lights glowing in the night. She sits alone gradually feeling more and more numb as time goes on. She can't even get into the possibility of having to run from Rachel for the rest of her life. She doesn't know if she can bear a life of that.

Hell, she doesn't even know if she can withstand life of living with all of this guilt.

After some minutes go by, she sighs shakily, wipes her face and slowly gets to her feet. Her brain scrambles through memories on repeat over and over again. Her eyes are droopy and exhaustion threatens to consume her. The scent of salt water clings to her nostrils as she inhales sharply before heading back to the stairs with her head hanging down.

This time, she doesn't regard her surroundings. Feeling mentally drained, she starts to not care about what happens to her. This world is better off without her anyway.

After moments of her walking through the streets, she makes it back to her SUV. She sits in the driver's seat having turned the vehicle on and a british woman's voice gently speaks through the radio talking about the latest news. Clara can care less. Her tears stain her face. Feeling numb and tired, she watches the trail of leftover rain trickle down her window.

Cars pass by. People walk by at a distance being unaware of Clara's state. The world continues to turn. Nobody would know if she is still alive. She sits and sits. Minutes pass as she starts to contemplate her own life. Her eyes dart down to the pistol sitting on the passenger seat.

Can she ever redeem herself?

Her fingers graze the weapon. No. She can't change anything. Nothing will change.

Nothing.

The world seems to stop as Clara slowly picks up the gun. A lump forms in her throat while brings the gun towards her and inspects it as if it's her first time seeing one. It would just be one shot. Quick. Easy.

"It...it'll be quick," Clara repeats the idea back to herself.

At this moment, any hope she had about escaping Rachel, or her past is gone now. Her hands now shaking, Clara brings the pistol towards her temple. New tears temporarily blur her vision and she prepares herself to leave the world. There's so much pain inside carving her like a knife.

She wants it to stop. She can disappear just like she always wanted. Yes...disappear.

She holds the gun there, waiting to pull the trigger, for her vision to go black, but it never comes. She is stuck trembling with a gun inches away from taking her life. She can count to three. Maybe it'll be easier that way.

"Okay..." she murmurs and readjusts the pistol. "One..."

She gazes out into the city taking in the view for the last time.

"Two..."

Tears trickle down her face, her breathing becoming hollow.

"...Aiden...Pearce...spotted..."

Her ears perk up suddenly upon hearing Aiden's name on the radio. With her gun remaining on her temple, she glances down at the radio. Did she hear his name? She had to. She is hypersensitive to his name at this point.

"Reports say the widely known Vigilante of Chicago was seen stirring up trouble for Albion along with other groups around London such as Clan Kelley."

Clara listens intently as the woman continues.

"This could all be speculation, but could Aiden Pearce, the Fox, be right here in London? Or is it all just a rumor?"

The reporter leaves the question unanswered and goes on to report other new events. Clara continues to stare at the radio for several seconds while processing what she heard.

She already knows Rachel has a lead on Aiden being in London, but she still finds herself frozen in place. Why is she hesitating now? More seconds go by and a new thought reaches her mind.

What if Rachel actually finds Aiden, or let alone Jackson? What if they need help? Clara shakes her head.

"No. Aiden can handle himself."

Clara sighs and focuses on pulling the trigger again, but another question haunts her.

What if he can't?

Clara knows Aiden is not someone to be messed with. She has been made fully aware of that, but Rachel is driven. Determined. She always finds a way to get what she wants.

"Come on, Clara. It's been how many years? She would have killed him by now."

Her statement doesn't seem to satisfy her as she eases her grip on her pistol. Where are they? How are they doing now? What if she only checked on them?

No. They wouldn't want to see her. Why would Aiden want to see her after killing his niece, or let alone stripping Jackson of a sister?

Clara continues to sit there pondering. She can't shake off images appearing in her mind of Rachel potentially capturing Aiden, his sister, Nicky, and Jackson. Her brain conjures the best picture it can of how his nephew could look now. She imagines them tied up, bruised, battered.

Pleading for help.

In an instant, Clara gasps. Can she really allow that to happen? Can she truly allow Rachel to win?

Clara sets down the gun into her lap while sniffling. She processes the fact she almost took her own life. Seconds turn into minutes. Clara looks off to the city once more. Was she actually about to kill herself? Clara shivers.

"No. I can't die now," she mutters.

Clara regains herself and takes deep breaths.

"Okay..." she says after a long sigh.

Placing the gun onto the passenger's seat, she looks out to the buildings and the vastness of the city.

"They have to be out there somewhere."

Judging from Rachel's lead and the news report, she has a hard time doubting that Aiden is in London, but it'll be difficult to track him if he is in the city.

"What about Jackson?" She wonders.

She remembers Rachel's source for Jackson being in London was him attending the Imperial College of London. Maybe she can start there?

Clara releases a heavy breath, her body still trembling, but milder than before.

"Calm down..." she says to herself.

She takes a deep breaths. After some time, she manages to relax. Her shoulder slouch and she reclines back in the seat.

"Alright...Jackson."

Clara pulls out her phone and stares at it for a moment. Even if Aiden or Jackson could be mad at her, at least by trying to reach out and help, there is a lesser chance that Rachel can get to them.

Without anymore hesitation, Clara turns on her phone and starts to run a search for any potential Jackson Pearces in the network. Nothing. At least nothing comes up with a Jackson Pearce related to a Nicole Pearce. Perhaps he changed his name, but if thats the case, why does Rachel's lead suggest that Jackson still uses his full name? She probably not digging deep enough.

She decides to take a deepdive into scholarships, financial aid, or any type of info that include background information on him. After some scrolling through different names, she finally finds a Jackson Pearce under the Larson family scholarship, however, she only manages to dig up his age and his major. She checks into the financial aid account.

Bingo.

Jackson Pearce, 26 years old, relations to...a Nicole Pearce.

This has to be it.

She sees his state of residence which is in Camden.

"Perfect."

Clara puts a pin at his address and readies her hands onto the steering wheel. What exactly would she do when she gets there? Is she supposed to say, "Hey. I'm someone who you don't know and has quite frankly fucked your entire family up, but these shady people are after you, so you should totally trust me."

No. She definitely can't do it like that. She would have to gather evidence of her claim first. She still can't help but feel curious as to how Jackson is doing. Maybe a secret part of her hopes that Aiden would be there to.

How is he now? Is he still mad at her?

Clara sighs before putting the car into drive and pulling out of the parallel parking spot with the intent of peaking into Jackson's apartment to see if he's alright.

"Checkmate!" Jackson exclaims with a proud look on his face after checking Aiden's king.

"Yeah, yeah. You win again," Aiden says with a chuckle.

Jackson resets the chessboard.

"Wanna go for another game, or are you afraid to lose again?" Jacks says while waving a chess piece in front of him.

"I'll play again just to wipe that smirk off your face."

"Good luck with that."

They play again. It's currently two in the morning and both Aiden and Jacks couldn't sleep with Jacks being up working on his studies and Aiden having trouble getting some shuteye, especially in his car. Jackson had decided to take a break and to invite his uncle over for a long overdue game of chess at his apartment being well aware that Aiden is the type to stay up late. Now, here they are.

Despite his losses at the game, Aiden is content to be spending time with his nephew. With the rain picking back up and pattering against the window, without any sort of life threatening conflict to follow suit, for once in a long time, Aiden is at peace.

"Seriously though. You used to be an expert at chess," Jackson notes while making his next move.

"I guess it's been awhile since I've played. I don't think I've played since...since..." Aiden's voice trails off.

"The funeral?" Jackson finishes Aiden's sentence, his mood growing somber.

"Yeah."

Silence fills the room. They don't say anything for a minute or two as they both continue to play.

"So um...have you thought of an exit strategy? You know, retiring as you'd put it?" Jackson breaks the silence.

Aiden sighs. "I think I'm better off doing work for your Dedsec friends. I want to put my old work behind me and it is for a good cause. Isn't it?"

Aiden looks to Jackson for approval. The last thing he wants is to repeat the mistakes of the past.

"Yeah," Jacks nods, "You'll have a lesser chance of killing someone, and it's definitely helping. How did you get along with them last time?"

Aiden shrugs.

"They were alright. Seemed like good people."

"Really? They were just alright?" Jackson says while folding his arms across the table. "Connie told me you were a real worrywart with Angel and Claire. She said you worried about their safety."

Aiden laughs quietly. "I didn't come off that worried. I just wanted to make sure they got out alright."

Jackson shakes his head and grins at Aiden.

"You're such a terrible liar. I've always known you were a big worrier so there's no point in hiding it."

"Jacks..."

Jackson chuckles. "Mom always told me when I was a kid that you had a heart on your sleeve."

"Sounds like something she'd say."

They grow quiet for a few seconds, making their next moves before it's Aiden's turn to break the silence.

"How is she by the way?" He asks out of curiosity knowing they never got to reunite with one another.

"She's been doing pretty good actually. She's going to therapy and she's been more active lately. I remember she wasn't doing so great after Lena, but," he pauses, "she's found a way to heal over time."

Aiden nods along, listening intently on his sister's well-being.

"I'm glad to hear that."

Despite Aiden being happy for Nicky, he can't shake off an underlying feeling of guilt with the loss of her daughter. He knows Jackson has helped him through a lot, but every so often, those negative thoughts creep back in.

Aiden may have given up his role as the vigilante, but after spending his entire life with a need to protect, avenge, and feeling immense guilt, he sometimes finds it difficult to let go of his past.

"She wants to meet you by the way."

Aiden's head perks up in surprise upon hearing Jackson's words.

"She does?"

"Yeah. I told her you're in London and that we've gotten along recently. I didn't tell her about the Rempart situation though. Figured that would freak her out."

"Yeah," Aiden says, his lips pressing into a hard line.

"But she says she wants to set up a day to talk to you. I was honestly surprised that she told me that."

Aiden's heart skips a beat at the thought of Nicky wanting to talk to him. Does she want to make amends? Whether if she wants to check in on him, or scold him, he still wants to see her.

"Is that all she said?" Aiden leans foward, wanting to know more.

"Pretty much. She seems ready to meet you, but the real question is are you ready to see her?"

Aiden absentmindedly gazes over the black and white patterns on the chessboard, feeling conflicted. After all of the distance and arguments, could Nicky truly reconnect with him again? With the amount of pain she has to endure because of him, Aiden feels uneasy despite wanting to check on her.

Jacks tilts his head while waiting for his Uncle's response, not paying much attention to the game anymore. Aiden can't form an answer considering the subject to him is just too complicated.

After some thought, he manages to form a response, "I'd like to think so."

"You can be honest with me, Aiden," Jackson says, seeing right through him.

Aiden takes a deep breath before glancing back up at his nephew. He opens his mouth to say something, but closes it as he is still awkward opening up about his feelings.

"It's just..." Aiden gently cracks his knuckles, "After everything that's happened, I..."

He stops, his heart growing heavy. He shifts his gaze away from Jackson with shame.

"Hey," Jacks speaks softly causing Aiden to look at him, "I'm not gonna judge you."

Aiden's shoulders loosen at the sound of Jackson's voice and with just one look at him, he feels like he can talk to his nephew about anything. He explored through the depths of his mind afterall, so there would be no point in hiding.

"What if if gets silent? What if while we're talking it gets...tense?" Aiden finally says.

Jacks is quiet for a few seconds before he gives Aiden a reassuring smile.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Mom has learned to let go over the years, so if anything, she probably wants to talk to you because she wants to make peace."

Aiden nods, having been relieved to hear that, but he still has doubts.

"Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't blame her for still being upset," Aiden clarifies, "but I still worry."

"Honestly, the conversation is going to get tense if you both talk about what happened before, but I'd say it would be good for the two of you to talk about it. Maybe it can help you both heal in a way, so don't worry about it too much, okay?"

Jackson gives Aiden's knuckles a light pat as he sensed his tense body language. Aiden's anxiety still lingers, but his nephew's words do manage to soothe him for a bit. In a way, it feels good for Aiden to get it off his chest. He isn't used to opening up to anyone, so it feels refreshing to him.

"Okay," Aiden replies and gives Jacks a genuine grin. "Thanks, kiddo."

The nickname slips out of his mouth before he realizes it. Jacks is taken aback by the nickname having not heard it in years. A strange sense of familiarity and safety briefly comes over him like he is a kid again.

After realizing what he said, Aiden takes it back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. It slipped out."

"No. No, it's fine," Jackson shakes his head. "I'll let it slide."

Another moment of silence ensues as they both try to figure out what to say next.

"Right," Jacks clears his throat, "Let's get back to the game."

They continue to play chess without knowing that someone is currently watching.

Clara finds herself drawn to watching the two through her phone. She had made it to Jackson's apartment a couple of minutes ago and figured the best way to see if he was home discreetly was to tap into the ctOS hub on the roof while making sure she is not detected. What she found was not something she expected.

Both Aiden and Jackson are playing chess and judging from what they're saying, their relationship seems to be going smoothly. To her surprise, they both look different. She barely recognizes Jacks compared to the last time she saw him which was at Lena's funeral. Perhaps it's good so he can be harder to recognize.

While taking a good look at Aiden, she can tell he had changed too. His wrinkles and his slight grey patches of hair tells a story within itself. She knows all too well that it's normal to get wrinkles when you're getting old, but the way his beard is grown out and the few scars showing on his face, he must have been struggling throughout the years.

She continues to watch them.

"Checkmate," Aiden says with a smug grin.

"Ah, son of a bitch," Jacks says with a laugh. "You got me."

They remove their pieces from the board and Jacks gets up to put the board back into the box.

"Hey, Jackson?"

"Hm?" He turns towards Aiden.

"Let me know when Nicky wants to talk. We're overdue for a conversation anyway."

Jackson nods with a gentle smile.

"She's usually off during the weekends, so I'll make sure to let you know."

Clara watches Jacks get up and put the box back in his shelf. Once he places it in the shelf, he turns towards Aiden.

"I'm starting to get hungry. I'm gonna have some food delivered. Do you want anything? It's my treat."

She sees Aiden looking to be thinking about it. Jackson crosses his arms.

"It's a really good bar nearby open 24/7," Jackson leans foward and smirks. "They have a strawberry shortcake."

That catches Aiden's attention.

Despite not being hungry, he can't resist such an offer.

"Fine. You've sold me."

"I knew I would," Jacks says before pulling out his phone to make the order.

After some time goes by, they chat about Jackson's college life and any potential friends he's making. As Clara listens, she is aware that she should leave by now, but instead she finds herself drawn to seeing the two interact.

It has been too long since she has seen Aiden and she thinks it's intriguing to see him so relaxed. She feels bad that she'll eventually have to break the news to him that he and his family are in danger.

She pushes those thoughts to the side for now and focuses her attention towards Aiden and Jackson talking away until their food arrives. Jacks goes to get the food and brings it to the table. They sit down and eat.

Aiden savors his cake although he tries not to show it. Clara finds it a little heartwarming and comedic for Aiden to hide his obvious delight for a delicious sweet treat. Eventually, Aiden gets drowsy and he is the first to fall asleep on Jackson's couch. Jacks takes notice and chuckles at Aiden's quiet snoring. Jackson picks up the blanket sitting on top of the couch and rests it over Aiden's sleeping figure.

"Always was a snorer," Jacks speaks softly, but loud enough for Clara to hear before making his way over to his bed.

Without realizing, a small smile reaches Clara's lips at the peaceful sight. Spending fifteen years of her life in captivity with nothing but bloodshed and constant preparation for attacks or missions, the sight of Aiden bonding with his nephew brings her a moment of serenity making her forget everything that happened earlier.

Once reality sets in for her, she knows without a doubt that she needs to help them. Any hesitation she had prior is out the window. She has to help them. She needs to protect them.

She sighs heavily before turning away from the camera. Is she prepared to meet Aiden again?

"Get away from me."

His words echo in her head. She never forgot them.

Regardless if she's ready or not, she has to come face to face with him at some point. Clara is overwhelmed at the thought and pushes it away.

"Alright," she murmurs.

Taking one last glance at Aiden and Jackson sleeping in the apartment, she gets to work on strengthening Jackson's security system with the hopes that everything will turn out alright.

It has to. For her own sake.

Chapter Text

(A few days later)

"Come on. You got this."

Clara applies the hair trimmer towards the last bit of hair she needs to remove from her head. She knows it's risky to even think about cutting her own hair, but she has already had experience with cutting it and even though it's been a long time since then, it still feels freeing to do it.

She has always been stuck with the same hair, not being able to do anything with it. With each stroke and bits of her hair falling down towards the towel sitting in her lap, she feels like she can breathe again just by hearing the familiar buzzing.

As Clara does this while being in her car and using the rear view mirror for visuals, she is currently parked at a close enough distance away from Connie's pub while being silently tapped into the Dedsec channel, knowing full well that Rachel will try to put spies into different well-known groups to try and sniff out Aiden. So far, Clara hasn't picked up on anyone that sounds familiar from Rachel's group. She has only been hearing things about the deaths of powerful people such as Skye Larsen, Nigel Cass, and Mary Kelley. In the meantime, she continues to try and bring her old hairstyle back while listening in.

After a few tries, Clara gets through the last pieces of hair that need to be clipped and sets the trimmer down in the passenger's seat with a pile of makeup and other items such as weapons she stole from smaller Clan Kelley hideouts. She figures she needs other weapons aside from her crossbow and pistol, so she managed to snag some non-lethal guns and a bullet proof vest. She only stole the trimmer and makeup out of spite.

She studies herself in the mirror and views the work she did on her hair. She is pleased to see that her hair looks to be the way it was many years ago. Clara runs her fingers across the shaved side of her head. It feels surreal to her. She was always used to having a full head of hair while being imprisoned, so it'll take some getting adjusted to. At the same time, however, it feels liberating to have her old hair back.

Her fingers reach through her grown hair. She tosses it to the side. She catches sight of her white birthmark growing back into her dark hair and a genuine grin reaches her face without her knowing it. Seeing her hair and makeup on her face, she is briefly reminded of her old self for a moment. She is reminded of a time when she was free.

A time when she felt happy.

Once she notices the old scars on her face and the ones on her bulky shoulders from the bullet wounds she endured, her lips falter and she is reminded of the dark side of her past.

"Hey, it's good to have you back," she hears the voice of an aussie woman come through, interrupting her thoughts.

"I'm always happy to help," she hears another voice, specifially a man's. It sounds smooth, deep, and strangely familiar to Clara. She listens closely as he continues to speak. "I think it serves Nigel Cass right to get what's coming to him. It's all part of the plan, right?"

All part of the plan...she's heard that somewhere. But who-

She stiffens.

"Jonas," she mutters.

Clara leans forward intending to listen more carefully.

"Fuck yeah. I'm with you there," the Dedsec member says. "We did a pretty good job, didn't we?"

"We certainly did. It's about time we took the city back," Jonas says enthusiastically.

Clara can obviously tell it's all just an act, but it still makes her blood boil none the less.

They continue to boast about the death of Nigel Cass and it seems like there is some sort of party going on judging from the music in the background. Eventually, Clara doesn't hear Jonas anymore and it only makes her desperate to find out what he's really up to. This almost seems too good to be true for Clara to stumble across one of Rachel's allies so quickly. Still, she finally has a lead on one of Rachel's partners and she can't pass this up. She still needs to tread carefully. She has to at least tap into Jonas's phone to keep tabs on him, but she would have to be within proximity of him.

She spots people going in and out of the bar and an idea pops in her head. She could hack into their phones in order to give her a view of the inside, but it would have to be a Dedsec member. From her knowledge of Dedsec, they use firewalls to protect their bases. There also has to be a hideout inside the pub since that is where the source of the channel is coming from. Her guess is that it's located underground. She can't just stroll in there. She would have to wait for a Dedsec member to come along and show up on her profiler.

Clara rests her arm across the steering wheel as she waits anxiously, her eyes continuously scanning the area. She catches sight of a few people heading towards the pub. She profiles them, but there's nothing about Dedsec. She sighs and continues searching. She goes through profile after profile and she becomes more impatient as time passes.

She considers coming up with a new plan until her profiler latches onto someone approaching the bar while looking down at their phone. Their info showcases them being potentially affiliated with Dedsec.

Clara's eyes light up. She is swift to hack into his phone camera allowing her a view of the bar entrance. She hunches foward and watches through his camera as he makes his way up to the pub and enters through the doors. The recruit walks around the bar until Connie briefly appears into view on the right.

"Ey there, Connie!" He calls to her and the camera is pointing downwards towards the floor.

"Hey," she greets him back.

Hearing Connie's voice again causes Clara to feel unsettled by memories of their last interaction. She shakes it off, however, and keeps her ears open.

"You here for the party up here or downstairs?" She asks.

The recruit laughs. "I'm just here to have a good time with my mates!"

She hears footsteps that she assumes are Connie's heading somwhere.

"Well since Nigel Cass is gone, everyone's celebrating downstairs if you wanna join."

The man's phone moves back up and Clara sees Connie unlock the bypass. The door opens for the recruit and it shows a small room filled with chairs and barrels cluttered around.

"I won't pass up a chance on that," the man says excitedly as he makes his way towards the room.

The phone camera shifts upside down and she can only assume he is holding it to his side. The door closes behind him as he walks towards a small lever positioned in front of a blank wooden wall and pushes it down. The wooden wall suddenly moves sideways revealing a black door which reads, 'Dedsec London.'

The man opens the door and Clara is greeted to what looks like an underground base with stairs leading downward. She watches the man trot down the stairs. Once he reaches the bottom, Clara catches a view of all the tech in the hideout ranging from servers and computers to their AI, Bagley.

With the graffiti on the walls and the amount of people coming together to celebrate what they've achieved, Clara can't help but admire Dedsec for what they've done for others and how far they've come the past several years. When she first joined Dedsec, she could have only dreamed of these accomplishments.

The man continues venturing into the hideout seeming to take in his surroundings of people drinking, dancing, and talking themselves away. Clara finds herself taking in the environment until a familiar voice makes her ears perk up.

"I see you made it finally," Jonas's voice comes through.

Clara readies herself to tap into his phone once it's in view. The man talks to Jonas while moving his phone around. She finds it difficult to get a latch on Jonas's phone with all of the movement, but he eventually stops and gives her a direct view of Jonas's phone. She promptly hacks into his phone. Having successfully tapped in, Clara leans back in her seat and settles down a bit. At least now she'll know if there's any plans from Rachel.

They both finish their conversation and the recruit goes off to get a drink somewhere. She doesn't pay much attention to the man's phone anymore. She is more interested in what Jonas has to say. So far, she only picks up more chatter about Dedsec's celebration. Clara sighs.

The best thing she can do now is wait.

"Welp, this is it," Aiden thinks to himself.

He is currently parked close enough to St. James Park which is the one place Nicky wants to meet him at. He takes a deep breath as he contemplates getting out of the car.

Is he truly ready to see her again?

Aiden tries to think back to what Jacks told him.

"She probably wants to talk to you because she wants to make peace," his nephew's words echo in his head.

Aiden taps his fingers on the steering wheel and tries to get himself together. He has to do this. He needs to see her again and he can't run away now. Even if the conversation gets awkward, he owes it to Nicky, Jackson, and even himself to try and make things right.

After some time passes, he finally steps out of his car and a cool breeze brushes against his face. He shuts the door and makes his way towards the park entrance. Nicky has let him know prior that she would be sitting on one of the benches by the path to the right.

Upon reaching the entrance, Aiden sees two paths leading forward or to the right into the park. He follows Nicky's directions and heads towards the right. As his eyes scan the park, he's drawn to the sight of the colorful orange and red leaves falling from the trees surrounding the park. The wind rustles through the trees and he gets a slight chill from the breeze as he tucks his hands inside the pockets of his brown jacket.

Aiden wonders why Nicky wanted to meet here instead of her own home, but when he thinks about it, she probably doesn't want to run the risk of trouble showing up at her doorstep because of him. He can't blame her. She's been through enough already because of him.

He continues searching for his sister until he spots one of the benches. He makes a out a blonde woman sitting on it with her legs crossed while looking out into the lake in the middle of the park. It's difficult for Aiden to see her face from the distance he's at. He starts to walk closer while mentally preparing himself for the possibility of it being his sister.

As he gets closer, he gets a look at the woman's face and releases a breath once he realizes it isn't Nicky. The woman doesn't pay any mind to him as he walks past her and continues his search. He listens for any voices that sound remotely similar to Nicky's, but all he can hear is the laughter of children running around the park and the birds singing as they fly by.

"Aiden?" He hears an all too familiar voice come from the left of him that stops him in his tracks.

His heart skips a beat. He turns to see another blonde woman with loose straight hair and blue eyes staring up at him. Lines are visible on her face from age and she dresses herself with a loose grey sweater with a golden necklace resting over it and dark blue jeans.

"Nicky..." he breathes out.

It doesn't take long for Aiden to recognize her. They both take each other in for a few seconds with Aiden not knowing what to say. Nicky continues to look up at him with raised brows before breaking the silence.

"Okay. I have to admit, I did not recognize you at first because of that beard," she says while pointing at him with a small grin forming on her face. "Never thought I'd see you with that look."

Aiden chuckles softly.

"Yeah well I thought I'd try it out." He returns a smile.

They grow silent. Aiden swallows and he is at a loss for words again. He doesn't know how to begin the conversation or whether or not he should just let Nicky be the first to speak. Luckily, his sister continues the conversation.

"Well, you look older," she notes while trying to defuse some potential tension.

Aiden scoffs and resists the urge to playfully nudge her.

"Hey, you don't look much younger yourself."

They both smirk at each other. Normally with greetings like this, they would give each other a hug, but it doesn't feel right for either of them, so they decide to keep to themselves. Nicky clears her throat.

"Let's walk." She gestures towards the path in front of them.

Aiden nods as he and Nicky start walking down the path. He only now notices Nicky holding a cup of iced tea. She takes a sip before turning to Aiden.

"So, how's life been going for you?" She asks. "I mean I haven't seen you in how many years?"

He thinks about his answer. Not knowing where to begin with his previous ventures, he replies, "Let's just say it's been eventful for the past several years."

"I can imagine it is for a vigilante." Nicky lightly chuckles.

"Yeah, I'm uh...I'm trying to put it all behind me."

She glances at him. A part of her feels skeptical that he'll follow through with what he's saying. She sighs, knowing she has to give him some benefit. With everything Jackson told her about their reconciliation and Aiden's willingness to change, she has to at least try to believe Aiden.

"Are you doing it for Jackson?" She asks out of curiosity.

Aiden presses his lips into a hard line. He admittedly is doing it partly because of Jacks, but he knows that isn't the only reason.

"Not just for him." He draws his attention towards the pond that centers the park. "I've been trying to retire for a long time, but it doesn't come easy."

"I can imagine it doesn't, especially with all the attention you've drawn to yourself," she notes before taking another sip of her tea.

Aiden wants to chuckle at that, but then remembers that being the reason his family had to leave their home.

"But..." she starts, "you're trying and that's what matters. I'm...honestly glad you came here today. It's nice to see you again."

Aiden relaxes a little with there not being any hostility from Nicky. He takes a deep breath.

"I'm glad to see you too," he says with sincerity.

Although Aiden doesn't show it, speaking with Nicky again means everything to him. It's been too long since he's seen her.

They continue to walk down the path in silence as Aiden thinks of a question to ask her.

"So what about you? How's life been?" He asks.

Nicky thinks about his question.

"Well, it's been okay I guess. Getting used to the changes in the city with all the extra security and drones flying around, even in parks, feels weird." She points towards one of the Blume drones hovering beside one of the park lights to prove her point.

"Yeah, I can see that. Seeing the city you live in change overnight has to feel strange," he says, thinking of Chicago.

"Yeah. It does irritate me sometimes, but with the bombings and all the people being persecuted and sometimes being found missing, I've learned to not involve myself in any of it," she frowns. "Jackson, on the other hand, wants to throw himself into it."

Nicky grips her cup a little tighter.

"I keep telling him not to go to those damn protests, but he never listens. I mean he recently got arrested because of it." She sighs. "I worry about his stubborness. I get what he's doing, but he could get himself hurt."

Aiden catches on to the slight shakiness in her voice. He's tempted to place his hand on her shoulder to calm her down, but after thinking about it, he thinks it's best to avoid any physical contact. Instead, he sticks with his words.

"He's a smart kid. I'm sure he knows when to back out of trouble when it gets bad," he says, trying hard to not give away any of their recent escapades with Rempart.

Nicky glances at him and a small grin appears on her face for only a second before fading.

"He's always been the peacekeeper and I know he tries to help people as much as he can, but I'm still worried that he'll be dragged into trouble. I want him to take my warnings seriously, but I guess you can't fix a stubborn boy." She lightly chuckles. "I swear he gets that from you."

He smiles. "It couldn't have all been me. I think I remember you talking back to mom when we were kids."

Nicky scoffs. "Nuh uh. You were always the one who never listened to her when you would try and sneak out all the time."

His smile grows wider knowing that what she's saying is true as he thinks back on his youth.

"Yeah right."

"It's true!"

They both laugh it off and turn their directions back towards the path. Aiden misses taking little jabs at Nicky to tease her. It's a sense of familiarity that makes him feel normal. He hasn't felt this way in a long time and it feels nice.

Little does he know that Nicky feels the same way.

They both continue until they reach a small bridge hovering over the calm water. Nicky is the first to stop walking. She leans against the railing with her back turning to Aiden. He follows suit. Nicky takes in the breeze and the orange hues of the sky as the sun sets.

Aiden shifts his eyes around the park and ponders on what has been bugging him ever since he first heard that Nicky wanted to meet which is him breaking his promise. For all the years he's been isolated from his family, he has always beaten himself up over Lena's death and forcing Nicky and Jackson out of the city. He always thought of how it all affected Nicky personally and he feels no different now.

He wants to bring it up somehow because God knows he owes Nicky a raw an honest apology, but the thought of it makes his stomach churn. Where can he start? Is it too abrupt to bring it up right now? If not now then when? Will he ever bring it up in the future or will he just shy away from the issue like he always has with his issues? The more he thinks about it, the worse he feels.

"You okay, Aiden? You look stiff."

Aiden bolts his head towards her and notices her staring at him with a concerned frown. He gazes at her for a moment and is reminded of being in front of Lena's grave on that chilly rainy day. He recalls those familiar blue eyes pleading him to stop thinking of revenge. Those are the exact same eyes of the woman who believed in him.

But also the eyes of a woman who was betrayed by him.

He takes a deep and steady breath and gulps. He turns his full body to her. 

"Nicky..." he flattens his lips before speaking. "Are you okay? You can be honest."

Nicky is taken aback by his question as she lowers her tea. She gathers herself, however, and thinks of how to answer the question. 

"I know..." he sighs, "I know I've messed up. I lied to you when you trusted me. I never should've put you and Jacks in more danger and...I'm sorry."

Nicky listens intently, her heart growing heavy.

"And..." he pauses. This is usually the part where he runs away from the conversation, but something in him keeps pushing to continue. "I've always thought of how hard it must have been for you...and I want to try and make things right."

After finishing, Aiden does his best to read Nicky's face. He becomes anxious for any sort of reply from her as she stares up at him in silence. Her chest stings as painful memories resurface in her mind. She almost can't believe that Aiden said those words. She isn't used to him being so open.

After a few seconds of unbearable silence, she finds her words. "Well if you want me to be honest, it's been rough." She feels a lump forming in her throat. "You broke your promise to me and...and that hurt a lot."

Aiden nods along with a frown. Bad memories creep back into his mind.

"And everything with Lena caught up with me too." Her voice shakes and she tries to hold her tears back. "You know, I thought maybe if I focused on a new and fresh start here with Jackson then I would get some closure from it."

She swallows her own saliva and attempts to fight off the growing pain in her throat.

"But it wasn't that easy. Throughout the years I was so bitter and angry about it all. I was even starting to rub off on Jacks. I spent so long believing that I couldn't recover from what happened to my daughter. That there was no way out." Her eyes are glossed with tears now. "I didn't know if...if I could forgive you."

Aiden's skin goes cold, her words cutting him like a knife. Her teary eyes burn into his and he finds himself feeling vulnerable. She quietly stares at him and she is yet to say anything. With each second, his heart pounds faster. The silence wears down on him to the point where he feels overwhelmed. This is the moment he has been dreading.

The tension. The pain. The silence.

Aiden shifts uncomfortably. He tries to come up with something. Anything he can say to defuse the tension, but his mind goes blank.

"But." Her voice snaps him out of his panic. "I realized that it wouldn't do any good for Jacks, or for me. I needed to find a way to heal."

A tear rolls down Nicky's cheek and she quickly wipes it away, not wanting to break down in the middle of the park. Aiden wants nothing more than to console her.

"And I did that with Jacks and it's helped a lot."

Nicky shifts her gaze over towards the calm stream of water flowing beneath the bridge. Aiden is relieved to hear that she has gotten better over the years, but there's still a part of his mind that nags at him.

She pulls herself together. She releases a long sigh and wills herself to face her brother.

"Listen, Aiden. I know you want to change and judging from what Jacks has told me about you, it seems like you're trying. I'm not having you meet me here so I can put you on the spot. The real reason I wanted to see you again was because...I..." she hesitates, "I want to try and give you another chance."

His mouth drops open slightly. Wait. Does she really? After everything, he almost feels guilty to even be given a second chance.

"Nik, you don't have to-"

"Yes, I do," she interrupts him. "If Jackson is able to make peace with you then so can I. Plus, I miss making fun of you."

They both manage to smile at each other, making the moment feel bittersweet.

"In all seriousness, I feel like I need to give you another chance for my sake. I can't...I can't let what happened before eat me up. I have to do this."

Aiden takes in what she said. He should be relieved that Nicky wants to give him another shot, or let alone give him the time of day, but a part of him still believes he doesn't deserve her forgiveness. No matter how much he wants to let go of the past and become a better person, that guilt always follows him.

On the other hand, forgiveness clearly means a lot to Nicky and if he wants to help her then he has to allow this despite him feeling undeserving of it.

"Okay," is the only word he can say before falling silent.

They stare at each other without saying another word. Deep down, they both want to disregard their surroundings and engulf one another into a hug with Aiden repeatidly apologizing to her and Nicky expressing how much she missed him, but they stay frozen in place.

"No, it's too soon," they think to themselves.

After some time passes, Nicky grabs her bearings and the uncomfortable feeling in her throat dissipates. She only now realizes that the sun has fully set and it's dark out with only the park lights shining down on the park.

"So," she breaks the slience, "why don't we stop somewhere to eat. Maybe a pizzeria. I know one that has the best Chicago deep dish pizza." She give him a wink. "We can eat it for old times sake."

Aiden can't help but grin at Nicky's attempt to diffuse the awkwardness.

"I'd like that," he decides to accept her offer with the grin never leaving his face.

Afterwards, they exit the park and they head over to the pizzeria close by with the atmosphere being more comfortable than it was prior. Once they reach the pizza place, Nicky orders a sausage and pepperoni pizza for the both of them after taking their seats. After some time, they had gotten their pizza and the two of them chat away.

"No because why did we always feel the need to piss off mom and dad?" Nicky says while stiffling her giggles with a half slice of pizza dangling from her hand.

"We were bad kids," Aiden laughs with her while wiping his lips with a napkin.

"Well you were more of the bad kid than I was, but we did some stupid things."

Aiden plops his napkin down on the table.

"Hey, you were the one who stole mom's jewelry and lost some of it. If I remember correctly, she had to spend thousands to either get them found or for replacements."

Nicky rolls her eyes with a smirk.

"Okay, that's true, but you were also the one who stole dad's motorcycle and proceeded to crash it into a parked car all because you wanted to show off in front of your friends. I remember that costed a lot of money to fix too."

They both laugh and continue to eat their pizza. Aiden starts to get full.

After a few minutes, Aiden is the first to get done along with Nicky finishing last. She catches him leaning back in his chair and chuckles softly.

"We're definitely gonna need some boxes," she notes.

"You can have it," he waves her off.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he reassures her, not wanting to admit that he's still living in his car. He won't have a way to store the leftovers anyways.

"Suit yourself then."

Nicky calls over the server to bring them back a to-go box. As she waits, she takes a drink of her iced water and stares at her brother with deep thought.

"So," she stirs her straw in her cup. "Out of curiosity, have you met anyone recently, or throughout the years?"

Aiden squints at her knowing all too well of where she is getting at and he shakes his head.

"You're asking me that?" He cocks an eyebrow.

"Well yeah," she shrugs.

"It's been years and you still want to know about my love life?"

"I mean you can't blame me for being curious. Ever since we grew up, I've never seen you with anyone, or maybe you were secretly dating, but you didn't want to tell me because you didn't want me to embarrass you." She wiggles her brows and he folds his arms in response.

"Maybe I did."

Nicky eyes him for a moment before snorting.

"Alright, alright. If you're so hesitant on telling me about your love life, I can start off with mine if you want. Believe me, it's been a trainwreck."

"You might as well start then," she gestures to her.

She hums. "Okay, so the first person I got with around the time I moved here with Jacks was weirdly sneaky. Like he would never try to talk to me about any problems he had in the relationship. Instead, I found out he was talking trash about me constantly to his friends and family. He was even badmouthing Jacks. Jacks, who was twelve at the time."

"Really? The hell was his problem?"

"Apparently I came off too needy and he thought that Jacks was too annoying," she rolls her eyes. "He didn't really give me a good reason why, but we split shortly after. Another guy I was with not too long after had some major issues and he had confessed to me that...he was in love with his mom," she whispers the last part.

Aiden's eyes widen.

"I'm not kidding. That's why he was interested in me because I reminded him of her or something." Nicky's face scrunches up.

Aiden stares at her with his mouth dropping open. Nicky awkwardly laughs.

"Yep. So, it's been a wild ride for me."

"And you're not joking?" He asks, getting creeped out at the thought of her meeting someone like that.

"Nope," she shakes her head. "And I made sure I cut all contact with him and he hasn't turned up since, so don't worry."

Aiden quietly sighs in relief, still being just as weirded out about the story as she is.

"Anyway," she pushes a strand of lose hair out of her face. "That makes up the majority of issues I ran into in relationships besides a few others which mainly consisted of me having some trust issues about things that happened before moving here." She stares down at her drink and sighs.

Aiden tucks his fingers into his palm resting on the table and frowns.

"I'm sorry, Nik," he says softly.

She quickly glances up at him and senses his guilt. She's quiet for a few seconds, knowing that he is the reason she has to be vigilant of the people she dates due to the possibility of them secretly knowing she's related to Aiden Pearce, but she is aware that not all of her trust issues are because of that.

"I was bound to have trust issues anyways," she assures him. "Especially after the fallout with...you know who."

It takes Aiden a few seconds to realize that she's referring to Jackson's father. His jaw ticks at the thought of him.

"After he just up and left like he did when things got rough, it's also been hard to open up and trust people," she continues.

As much as he wants to be mad at Jackson's father for leaving after her miscarriage, he starts to realize that he shares more traits with him than he is comfortable with. He also abandoned Nicky and Jacks after Lena. He wasn't there when they needed him. He winces at himself for being a coward. He was too focused on himself. That's why his family had to flee to London to begin with.

It's all because of him-

"Aiden." Nicky's voice snaps him out of his thoughts with him realizing he had zoned out for a second. "You're not him, you know?"

His heart stings. He knows where she's going with this and he can't bring himself to believe what she's saying.

"How am I not?" He says before he can hold back. "I...I should have been there."

He gets uncomfortable after speaking. It's surreal to him to express his feelings like this even if it's in front of his sister. He's held those thoughts in for too long.

"Aiden," she sighs. "You still made an effort to be there for the kids. Even if it wasn't too often, you still did what you could. You're here now. As far as I'm concerned, he has not come back at all for us." She reaches out and places a hand on top of his. "And from what I've heard, you've even helped Jacks. Don't beat yourself up, okay?"

She gives him a wink in hopes of lightening the mood. Aiden looks at her and manages a light grin. She pats his clenched hand before pulling away and smiles despite old memories weighing in on her. He softly chuckles after seeing her pat his hand. It reminds him of when Jackson did it.

Like mother, like son.

"Okay?" She asks, making sure he's paying attention.

"Okay," he nods, finally getting his bearings.

She's right. He can't back away.

After a short silence, Nicky takes a deep breath.

"Alright. Didn't mean to get too personal there," she laughs softly and clapses her hands together. "So, back to you. You've had plenty of time to think about it, so have you met anyone?"

Knowing that Nicky won't let up, he eventually finds himself thinking about it. Being in love and having relationships isn't exactly Aiden's strong point. Throughout the years, he hasn't been with anyone. He has never had the time or lifestyle to be in a relationship.

"Well there's not much to tell because I haven't been with anyone," he answers truthfully.

Nicky doesn't want to be surprised, but a part of her is.

"You weren't interested in anybody at the very least?" She furrows her brows.

Aiden stares off for a moment and tries to recall if he has been interested in anyone. After some time passes, he is prepared to say no to Nicky.

Then a familiar face pops up in his mind. An all too familiar face that has haunted him throughout the years and even to this day.

Clara.

His heartbeat quickens at the thought alone of her face. Why is she coming up? He couldn't have been in love with her. Was he? He could never figure it out. His feelings back then were conflicted between anger and something else?

After her death, he came to accept that he did have some fondness to her and he ended up forgiving her. That's all there was. So why is her face glued to his mind? He tries to shake it off.

"Nope," he finally answers.

Nicky eyes him skeptically. "It took you a little bit to answer. You sure?"

Aiden attempts to bring his breathing back to normal which he only now realizes starting to get out of control.

"Yeah," he nods.

Nicky isn't buying it, however, as she leans foward.

"There was somebody," she says in a hushed tone.

"No. There was noone," he says, feeling irritated all the sudden.

"I can tell when you're lying, Aiden."

His lips flatten as he attempts to keep his previous thoughts at bay. The only other person who appears in his mind briefly is Connie, who he only has a slight interest in. Admittedly, Connie does remind him of Clara in some ways. He grows irritated with the himself the more Clara resurfaces in his head.

"I'm not lying," he fakes a chuckle. "Nicky, do you really think I'd have the time to worry about relationships with the lifestyle I had? It's not cut out for guys like me."

"Oh come on, Aiden. You seemed like you were thinking of someone."

"Well I'm not, so you can stop asking."

They both have a stareoff, trying to see who would crack first. She squints at him and searches for any cracks. When he refuses to show her any, she sighs and leans back.

"Fine," she says, deciding not to pry any further.

It's evident Aiden is withholding something, but she doesn't want to bring out any heavy baggage. She understands that far too well.

Afterwards, there aren't anymore conversations regarding relationships, or any other ghosts of the past, but rather simple topics about Nicky's career. Aiden can't help but be proud of her for living a stable life with Jackson.

The more they chat, the more relief seems to wash over him. Nicky has found different ways to heal and she has stayed safe along with Jacks for more than a decade. Maybe everything will be fine.

All those years of being alone, he desperately wanted Nicky and Jacks to be free of any emotional or financial burdens. It has always been his principle. Take the hits so his family doesn't have to.

But now it's different.

There isn't some impending danger just waiting to arrive any second. The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes Jacks is right.

"Mom doesn't need you to protect her anymore. I don't need you to protect me anymore. We just want you to be there."

And if Nicky wants him to be there then he sure as hell will be. That's a promise he will never break.

Clara has been in the car for the past half an hour waiting for any suspicious conversations on Jonas's phone or for him to leave the pub. Much to her disappointment, there has only been the same chatter about the death of Nigel Cass.

She continuously taps her fingers on the steering wheel and does her best to stay patient. With Jonas still remaining in the building, she wonders if she's wasting her time. Something feels off about this though. It seems way too easy for her to tap into Jonas's phone and pinpoint where he is fairly quickly despite Rachel being as cautious as she is.

Clara still gets paranoid about Rachel potentially finding a way to gain control of the device stuck to the back of her neck and enslave her once again. She wonders if all of this is still just a test for whatever reason. She's bewildered that she was set free so easily.

Could this all be on purpose? Is Rachel lingering around the corner waiting to trap her again?

She shudders as she reaches her hand behind her neck and glides her fingers across the metal. She shakes her head. No. Why would Rachel risk setting her free and jeopardizing her deal with the Kelley's? She seemed hellbent on getting Clara back, so the thought of her setting her free on purpose isn't holding up. The whole idea sounds ridiculous now that she thinks about it. Still the question remains.

Who freed her?

Was it someone she knew from Dedsec or from some other time in her life? Are they setting her up too?

Her head tenses from all these overwhelming questions. She shifts her attention back to the Dedsec network after realizing she is trailing off.

"Come on, Clara. Focus," she says to herself.

She continues listening and only the semi interesting conversation she has picked up on is a convo between one of the recruits talking to one of their captives, Richard Malik. He only criticizes the group for not looking deep enough into who Zero-Day is. Nothing too special to Clara.

She takes a breath and gazes out into the city lights. She notices small drops of rain tapping against her car window and whether she like it or not, she is reminded of the last time she was in a car surrounded by rain. She doesn't like to think about it too much. Still, there's a part of her that wonders what truly stopped her from pulling the trigger.

All she really knew at the time was that she needed to help Aiden and his family, but was that all? Did she only stop for Aiden? For herself?

Her thoughts are cut short by a sudden alert in the Dedsec network from Bagley informing the group about an uninvited guest downloading all of their tech and uploading it somewhere else. The sound of static fills her ears and a filtered voice takes over the channel.

"Dedsec. The name is Zero Day. We've met before, in a past life. This city needed a villain and you were perfect for the part."

Villain? Clara doesn't know the full details of Dedsec's recent activities, but from what she has gathered, they've been tracking down Zero-Day. As the filtered voice continues to threaten Dedsec, Clara keeps her ears open for Jonas. The voice goes on to tell Dedsec that they have been unknowingly arming Zero-Day for a war.

The voice cuts off shortly after and the chatter from Dedsec members consist of people saying 'what the fuck' and plain confusion. Bagley urges one of the member's to track the signal and they go on their way.

Clara notices that Jonas is still remaining inside the safehouse. Maybe this will make him leave the safehouse at some point. Still, she has to be patient.

After some time passes, the recruit manages to find a bunker where the source of the data is being collected. They search through the bunker and they find their data being collected from Brocatech, SIRS, The Kelleys, and Themis. More conversations stir between Dedsec and Bagley about who can potentially be behind all of this.

Bagley urges the recruit to check a data source within the bunker that can have more information. Upon looking through it, everyone on the channel is shocked at what they've discovered.

"Sabine?" The recruit says.

Listening to the amount of anger and disbelief from other Dedsec members makes Clara's gut turn.

"She's been manipulating us this whole time?"

"She's sick!"

"How could she kill Dalton like that?"

She shifts uncomfortably in her seat. She knows that this Sabine woman has done some twisted things while realizing it, but she can't shake off the feeling that these people aren't screaming at Sabine, but rather at her instead. She attempts to shrug off her sudden discomfort.

The recruit searches through another source of data and discovers that Sabine is uploading some sort of ctOS patch and isn't sure if it can be stopped.

"Noone can stop it," Sabine's voice can be heard through the channel. "That's the whole point."

It doesn't seem like she is actually speaking through the channel, but rather in person.

"While Dedsec runs around fixing bugs, I'm deleting the source code. Frying the hardware too...all of it. It's actually a beautiful thing you've done by helping to steal all that tech," Sabine continues.

"It's sick that what you think you're doing is right!" The recruit fumes at her. "And when do the rest of your Zero-Day buddies show up?"

Sabine can be heard chuckling. "Oh, it's just me. I learned a long time ago that noone is willing to fight for real change."

As Clara listens, she notices that Jonas has gone silent. Almost everyone except for him has said at least something negative about Sabine.

A loud bang is heard from a distance and a man's voice shouting, "Spread out! Search the area!"

Clara can only assume it's Albion. Sabine says her farewell to Dedsec before seemingly scurrying off. As the recruit tries to fight off Albion inside the bunker and escape, she hopes that they do make it out okay. She wonders what the ctOS patch is for. Judging from Zero-Day's previous actions with the bombings, it can't be good.

There's sudden chatter in the network about Albion chasing after other Dedsec members around the city. Apparently, Sabine has leaked every Dedsec member's location to Albion. Wait, if she did that then does she know Jonas's whereabouts? No. Jonas had to have given Dedsec a fake name and address.

She has to give the asshole some credit.

"We have to get out of the safehouse!" She hears a Connie's voice. "Follow me! I'll get you out safely!"

"I'll get myself out, Connie." Her ears perk up once she finally hears Jonas's voice. "If she's leaked our locations, my family could potentially be in danger."

"It's too dangerous. Just stick with us. Albion could be waiting for you," Connie pleads.

There is brief silence along with some shuffling noises.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow this," he says.

She hears footsteps and she can only guess he's walking away. She looks up from her phone to keep an eye out for Jonas to leave the building while refraining herself from rolling her eyes at his good guy act.

She eyes the pub entrance with so much focus and determination that she is on the edge of her seat.

"Come on. Come out already," she mutters.

Finally, she sees the doors open and Jonas appears in front of it. He glances around causing Clara to lean back a bit, being cautious to avoid detection. He turns his attention away from her direction luckily and starts walking towards a parked car nearby. He enters the vehicle, but doesn't start it.

Still having access to his phone, Clara listens in. He dials on his phone and it starts to ring. She fully expects him to be calling Rachel and she turns out to be absolutely correct.

"Jonas?" Rachel's voice comes through.

Goosebumps erupt around Clara's body from hearing her voice again.

"Rachel, I've just left Dedsec's hideout. One of the members, Sabine, backstabbed them. She plans to upload some sort of ctOS patch. Turns out she's responsible for the bombings that happened not too long ago."

Rachel sighs. "Jesus. You think she's planning another bombing?"

"I don't know, but whatever patch she is uploading, it's going to spread throughout the whole city."

Clara takes the opportunity to trace the call to see if she can track Rachel's location.

"If I were to guess what it is, I'd say she is going to use ctOS as her weapon," Jonas continues.

"You think there's a way to stop it?" Rachel asks.

If Clara doesn't know any better, she'd think Rachel actually sounds worried. Why should she be worried about others? Unless it's worry for herself.

Clara peaks down at her phone and notices her signal is blocked from tracing Rachel. She furrows her brows.

Something definitely isn't right.

"I don't think we'll be able to do anything about it. Dedsec is already trying to stop the potential attack, and I hate to be insensitive here, but I see an opportunity here, specifically to get Aiden out of hiding."

Clara can picture Rachel leaning closer to the phone.

"What do you mean?"

Jonas clears his throat. "Ever since the bombings, Jackson's college has been closed throughout the week. It's been difficult to catch him there, but I've been monitoring their cameras and they're finally back open today. Guess who is currently at the campus library right now?"

"Wait. Are you suggesting...?" Rachel says hesitantly.

"Using the potential attack as a distraction to take Jackson without anyone noticing," Jonas finishes that thought.

Pent up anger lingers within Clara after hearing Jackson's name. Rachel is silent for a moment.

"I can gather a team and be there in just a few minutes," Jonas says. "It's your call."

Clara glances around the seats of her car to make sure she has all the weapons she needs as she anticipates Rachel's response.

"Fine. Do it," she caves in.

Clara readjusts herself in her seat, her heart pounding.

"Alright. I'll contact the team."

She takes a deep breath and wants so desperately to shoot Jonas's car down and try to stop him, but given the way this entire situation is set up, they're making it too easy for her to discover all of this. There can be several soldiers hidden and waiting for Clara to come out. She has to tread carefully, but at the same time, she can't allow this to happen.

Static noises suddenly fizzle in Clara's car radio before a filtered voice starts speaking.

"London, this is Zero-Day. Nice to finally meet. Those little bombings a few months back were my way of saying hello. Now, we'll really get to know each other."

Clara notices some of the large TV's around the city being disrupted by a hooded blue figure appearing on their screens.

"All that technology you've come to love so well. Texting your nan, driving your car, pumping your heart. It's all about to turn against you."

Clara gets worried. Judging from what Jonas said, it sounds like Sabine is going to try and pull a similar stunt to what Damien did back in Chicago with ctOS all those years ago.

"Tonight, your modern world will become a living hell. I don't expect you to understand this, but what I'm doing is good. Destruction is always the cure."

The figure disappears and the TV's return back to their original state. She gulps.

Something terrible has to be coming.

"Did you catch that?" Jonas asks.

"Yeah."

Clara sees one of the drones flying above the roads abruptly stops and aim towards someone standing at the sidewalk. A red beam appears in front of it as the person being targeted looks at the drone confused for a second before ducking down in panic when it fires at him. Clara watches the man run away as more drones start to do the same to others. Her mouth gapes open as she starts to worry for Jackson's wellbeing.

"Looks like the attack is starting now," Jonas says. "You still alright with this?"

"Erm...yeah...yeah I am. It's just a shame people are probably going to die."

Jonas starts his car.

"Yeah, I know, but we can't lose sight of what we're here for."

"I know...I know."

They don't speak for a moment. Clara puts her hands on the wheel and readies herself to start her car. Best she can do now is follow him and try to sneak up on him when he least suspects it.

"Well, Jackson is still at the library studying like normal, so it looks like the attack hasn't gotten to him yet, so I need to get moving."

"Okay. Keep me updated."

The call ends and Jonas starts to pull out of his parking spot. Clara waits for a moment to start her car. She spots more people running down the sidewalk with more and more drones chasing after them. She feels sorry and is tempted to help them, but with Jonas starting to drive away and Jackson and Aiden's lives being put on the line, she doesn't have time.

She starts her car once Jonas is at a certain distance and she starts to follow him. Keeping a steady pace, she prepares herself for what's coming. She wonders if Jackson really is at the campus, or if they're just bluffing in order to bait her. Regardless, this could be the only chance she has of having a lead on Rachel.

The screeching of an oncoming car to her right catches her offguard as she hits the brakes. The car collides with a building and an explosion erupts. Clara winces at the impact and presses her hand on her chest while trying to catch her breath. She blinks a few times and snaps back to the reality of the task at hand.

Once she glances back towards the road, her heart drops. Jonas's car is gone.

Her forehead creases and she knits her brows while searching for his car. No way did she lose him that quickly. With more cars behind her ramming into themselves, Clara picks up speed again all the while searching for Jonas. After some time looking, she groans.

"Damn it."

The best she can do now is head towards the campus in the midst of the chaos. Clara marks the location in her GPS device which shouldn't be impacted by the attack.

She takes off towards the campus in hopes that she can get there in time. If it is a trap, she has to be ready. With all the destruction happening around her, it's hard for her to think. She focuses her attention on the road and keeps Jackson's safety in mind. She can't take the chance of not stopping Jacks from getting kidnapped. She has to make sure.

Chapter Text

Jackson taps his fingers on the table as he hums to the rock music blasting through his earbuds while his friend sitting across from him has Lofi beats playing through his. They're both trying to get the last bit of their homework done with Jacks being the only one keeping his eyes open. His friend on the other hand is fried.

Jacks takes a glance at him and laughs quietly at the sight of his friend's head planted down onto the table, his eyes threatening to shut.

Jacks removes his earbud and taps him on the shoulder.

"Hm?" He manages to say with his eyes halfway open.

"Dude, you can go home." Jacks gives him a sympathetic grin. "I'll finish here."

His friend removes one of his earbuds.

"No, no. I said I'd get this done." He raises his head up and sits properly in his seat. "My grades are already going to shit and I'm supposed to be helping on our project. Sorry that I'm so tired."

Jackson sets his pencil down.

"Jordan, I can finish this. Just go home. The library closes in an hour anyway."

"I..." He sighs, feeling tempted to leave. "No. I'm up."

Jacks laughs again while Jordan slaps his cheeks and picks up his pencil.

"I'm gonna get it done with you."

With determination, Jordan tries to keep himself awake and continues where he left off.

A minute later, however, he is drooping his eyes again and on the brink of plopping his head back on the table. Jackson shakes his head and is about to reach out again.

"Tu música no puede tocar," Bagley's voice interrupts Jordan's music causing his eyes to fully open.

He furrows his brows.

"The fuck? I don't have this set to spanish."

Jacks peeks his head up curiosity. His own music is interrupted as well with bits of Bagley's voice cutting in and out. He takes out his last earbud and stares at it confused.

"Yours isn't working either?" Jordan asks.

Loud static coming from the row of computers to the left of them grabs their attention. A blue hooded figure appear on their screens.

"London, this is Zero-Day. Nice to finally meet," a filtered voice speaks.

Jackson's blood runs cold once he hears Zero-Day's voice.

"Those little bombings a few months back were my way of saying hello. Now, we'll really get to know each other."

Jordan also takes notice and freezes up.

"All that technology you've come to love so well. It's all about to turn against you. Tonight, your modern world will become a living hell. I don't expect you to understand this, but what I'm doing is good. Destruction is always the cure."

Static returns to the computers, leaving the two feeling uneasy. They both take a glance at their phones sitting on the table before giving each other a look.

"Nope." Jordan abruptly stands up, takes out his earbuds and optik, and throws it down on the table. "I'm not sticking around for whatever the hell's happening."

"Wait, wait. We don't even know what's happening," Jackson says while also getting up. "Let's calm down and think for a second."

"Are you kidding?" Jordan grabs his bookbag. "You know what Zero-Day did last time, right? Now they got into the computers and our phones. They literally said they'd use it against us, so there's nothing to think about. Hell there could be a bomb in here for all we know."

Jordan slings his bag over his shoulder. Jacks would be comfortable with him leaving if it weren't for the possibility of the drones being hacked as well.

"What if it's dangerous outside too?" Jackson argues and takes a glance out the window.

Jordan looks out as well, but neither of them see anything bad going on. Cars and drones busy the streets as usual.

"Jacks, there's nothing happening outside. I say we get the hell out of here while we still can."

Jordan is already readying himself to go downstairs until he notices that Jacks hasn't collected his things. He is still standing in the same place.

"Well come on. Let's go," he urges Jacks.

"There's still a few people here. They might not have heard Zero-Day's message."

"They can sort that shit out themselves. We need to go now."

Jacks lips flatten and he puts his hands on his hips.

"If there's is an attack coming, I can't just leave them."

Jordan scoffs.

"You do understand that you could be getting yourself hurt, right? I'm sure they heard it."

Jacks still isn't budging.

"I have to make sure." He grabs his own bag. "You can leave if you want. I don't want anyone left behind."

Jordan stares worriedly at his friend. He wants to try to convince him more, but with how Jackson is, he knows his warnings won't get anywhere. He always has to be the hero. He frowns and pats Jacks on the shoulder.

"Take care of yourself," he says before turning around and making his way down the stairs.

Jacks watches him as he goes and sighs. He takes a glance at the computers still giving off static. He starts to collect his things into his bag. Admittedly, he is nervous and and takes Jordan's words into consideration, but he still can't fight off the guilty feeling nagging at him.

The image of his mother being dragged away by those men. He sat there hiding, cowering. He did nothing.

He grips the handle of his bag tighter and strides his way over to the set of stairs leading downwards.

He has to be sure nobody else is in the building.

He'll check the library and then he'll call his mom and uncle to see if they've heard anything.

Jackson makes his way down the stairs. He notices more televisions and computers filled with static. The noises echo throughout the whole building.

His breathing picks up speed as he tries to remain calm through all of this. The library is quieter than usual with only the sound of Jackson's footsteps and the static being the only source of noise.

Jackson makes it halfway down the stairs while searching for anyone who could still be in the cafe. He continues down the stairs until the lights cut off and the room is pitch black. The city lights glowing through the windows is the only thing helping him see.

He freezes.

Did someone cut out the lights? Is it Zero-Day?

He wants to go downstairs to see if anyone is tampering with the lights, but stops once he catches a glimpse of a figure appearing at the main entrance holding what appears to be a gun. He spots a few others coming from different entrances, all of them also holding rifles.

Jackson's heart drops. As the shadowy figures enter the building, Jackson slowly starts to back his way upstairs. The figures look towards each other and he notices flashing blue and red colors coming from the sides of their heads. He can only assume they are optiks.

Another figure nods before spreading out and searching different parts of the cafe area.

Jackson does his best to keep his breathing quiet as he continues to back up. He keeps a steady grip on the railing while doing so. He can't begin to wonder who these people might be, but his only assumption is Albion.

He doesn't want to stick around to find out.

He gets to the top step and nearly slips on his foot. The noise isn't loud, but it's enough for one of the figures to dart their head towards his direction.

Jacks turns around and tiptoes his way over to one of the computer desks. Looking around and not knowing where else to hide, he ducks underneath the desk. He scoots himself further beneath it. He mentally cringes at the thought of hiding somewhere as predictable as a desk, but he doesn't have time to dread on it.

He hears slow footsteps coming from the stairs and does his best to keep himself perfectly still.

The footsteps draw closer until they reach the top of the stairs. There's a halt.

Jackson listens for anymore noise through the sound of his heart pounding in his ears.

After a brief moment of silence, he hears a voice whisper, "He went up here."

Jackson halts his breath. They have to be talking about him. Who are these people? He can't see them being Albion because he hasn't gotten into trouble with them recently.

Are they- no. They can't be Zero-Day. Can they?

Jacks picks up multiple footsteps heading up the stairs. He swallows. Maybe Jordan was right. He should have gone with him.

The footsteps linger towards the desks, only a few feet from where Jackson is. He may have just fucked himself by not finding a better place to hide.

Are these people here to kill him?

Jacks doesn't have any weapons on him and all he has to rely on is his fists, but with there being multiple people with loaded weapons, he won't stand a chance. Their footsteps draw closer towards where he is and he braces himself.

Should he play it smart and raise his hand up in surrender, or should he lunge for the first person he sees and try to disarm them?

With each step, Jacks finds it harder and harder to settle on a decision. He decides to go with the ladder and readies himself to strike until the footsteps stop right next to the desk.

Jackson jumps when he hears a loud thud. He stays frozen in place trying to figure out what caused that noise. A grunt coming from a distance also catches his attention before another loud thump is heard.

He hears new footsteps this time sounding like...boots? He isn't sure. There aren't any holes or gaps he can see through.

The boots quietly wander around the room and he desperately wants to see what's going on. He decides to be brave and poke his head out slowly. His eyes widen when he sees a limp body leaning next to the desk.

He takes a glance around the room and stops dead in his tracks once he sees someone standing in front of the body with their back turned to him. He quietly gasps and huddles himself back under the desk.

The stranger takes notice of the noise as they turn around and cautiously walk towards his hiding spot. A pair of combat boots come into view and Jacks prepares himself to pounce on whoever is there. He spots the person holding a gun. He recalls his training on how to disarm someone.

The figure clutches their gun close and leans downward. Jackson's nerve tense up.

It's now or never.

He launches forward and grabs a hold of the gun. Just before he's able to kick them, they grip his arm tightly and toss him onto the floor.

Jackson's shoulder stiffens from the impact as he sits himself up. He looks up and sees the attacker aiming their gun at him. They hunch forward to take a closer look at him.

"Jackson?" He hears a feminine accented voice.

She lowers her gun. Jacks stares at her dumbfounded.

"What? Who...how do you know my name?"

The woman looks around.

"We don't have a lot of time." She takes a step towards him, causing him to lean back. "There are people here looking for you and they want to kidnap you to get to your uncle."

Jackson's forehead creases.

"Wait, what?"

No way Aiden would have fucked with more people. Not after all the progess he's made.

She takes another step towards him, but it only prompts him to scoot back. She sighs.

"Look, my name is Clara." She places a hand on her chest. "And I came here to get you away from them. I...I knew your uncle."

Clara turns her head towards the stairs and hears more soldiers.

"There's more of them coming," she whispers and reaches a hand out to Jackson. "I know you don't trust me, but if they capture you, it's not going to be good."

Jacks warily looks at Clara's hand.

"I know you have a lot of questions, but right now we have to get you out of here."

Clara keeps her hand out, trying to be patient with the kid. Jacks studies Clara with knitted brows. He only now manages to get glimpse of her features.

His mind is all over the place. How the hell did he go from a normal night of studying to being wrapped up in yet again another kidnapping heist involving his uncle?

"Why should I trust you?" He manages to form a question.

She takes another glance towards the stairs before saying, "If you don't, they'll end up taking you."

Jacks is still hesitant, wanting to know how this woman knows Aiden. Sensing his reluctance, she sighs.

"I helped your uncle get your mother back when she was taken."

Jackson's shoulders loosen. Is she being truthful? How else would she know that?

The sound of boots shuffling downstairs intensifies Clara's panic. She is about to grab her stun gun until she feels Jacks grab her hand. She sighs in relief as she pulls him up.

"This way," she signals him to follow her.

Jacks reluctantly follows her towards the other side of the room and she urges him to hide behind one of the desks as she does the same.

The soldiers approach the top of the stairs. Jacks glances over at Clara who looks to be typing something on her phone.

She points the device towards him with a text reading, "Try not to make too much noise. They have sensitive hearing."

He grows confused, but stays silent none the less. Clara readies her stun gun and peaks over the desk. She spots two soldiers spread out and searching.

Clara aims her stun gun towards the first one and fires. The soldier's body convulses before collapsing onto the ground. The other soldier picks up on the noise and takes cover behind another desk.

Clara huddles herself back into cover and looks over at Jackson who is slightly relieved that she has a nonlethal weapon instead of a lethal one.

"Stay there," she mouths to him.

Jacks can faintly hear her, but manages to understand.

Clara, still crouched down, moves over towards another desk while keeping her footsteps light. Clara uses her own sensitive hearing to track the other soldier. It's a skill Rachel teaches to all of her soldiers, including Clara.

She picks up on the soldier moving over to another desk and takes the opportunity to corner them. Once she spots them, they only have a split second to react before she fires at them. She watches them shiver before joining their partner on the floor. She focuses once again and tries to pick up any more noise.

She doesn't hear anyone else. Once she feels comfortable, she stand up. She walks over to see Jacks still in the same spot.

"We should be clear," she informs him.

He stands up and looks over the bodies.

"Who are they and why are they after Aiden?" He asks with an edge to his voice.

She keeps her gun and starts leading him to the stairs.

"They're from an undercover organization called Impulse. Each person who's part of it has a reason for going after him whether if it's because Aiden has done something to them personally, or if they just dislike him in general."

Jacks walks slower with a familiar bitterness building inside him.

"So you're saying Aiden has fucked with these guys? I thought he was done with all of this."

Clara frowns, knowing what Aiden told Jackson back at his apartment.

"These people have been after him for years. They still want him dead regardless if Aiden is done with his old life."

Jackson has a troubled look and she can't help but feel bad.

"I'm sorry Jackson."

It's the best thing she can say.

He stops walking causing Clara to stop too.

"So are they with Zero-Day?"

"No. They're using the attack as a distraction to get to you."

"What attack?"

She's silent for a few seconds.

"Zero-Day has hacked into Bagley. Any device that Bagley is connected to like drones, computers, and cars has been hacked. They are being weaponized against the city."

The color drains from his face.

"They're trying to destroy the city...again."

Aiden and his mom pop up in his head as he becomes worried. He knows they're supposed to be meeting tonight. He can only imagine what's happening.

"Hey." Her voice catches his attention. "Dedsec is working on shutting down Bagley."

"How do you know that? How...how do you even know all of this?"

"Because I've been listening in." She tries not to unsettle him. "I've been keeping track of Impulse too. That's how I know about the attack and their plan. Look, I know I just got here and all of this sounds confusing, but I'm sure Dedsec will find a way to-"

"Oh you're sure?" Jacks interrupts while trying to control his rising panic. "I mean just a few minutes ago, I was doing homework and then all of the sudden the computers stop working, Zero-Day shows up, the lights go out, and now you're here telling me that there's this group, Impulse, or whatever the hell they're called, after me because of Aiden?"

Jackson almost wants to laugh at the pure chaos his day has turned into.

"And you. You said you helped Aiden. How long did you know him and why has he never-"

"Listen," she interrupts. "Right now we need to focus on getting you out of here. I understand. You just met me, but you don't want these people to capture you. Believe me. Just...let me help you. Please."

Jackson eyes her skeptically, analyzing her for any sign of her lying, but he only sees her pleading eyes staring back at him.

"Why do you want to help me?"

Clara gazes into his blue eyes. He may look different, but she remembers those same blue eyes when she saw him at Lena's funeral.

"I owe it to your uncle. Let's leave it at that."

His stare pierces into her like daggers, making her avoid eye contact with him.

"We have to go. Now."

His suspicion is still present, but judging from what he saw earlier, he is inclined to believe that what she's saying is the truth.

"Fine."

Clara sighs in relief.

"Okay. Stay close," she advises.

She clutches her gun as she leads him outside. He stops once he is introduced to a group of cars wrecked across the road.

"Jesus," he mutters. "You weren't kidding."

How did it change this fast? He saw people driving normally earlier.

"As you can tell, it's not safe to drive either."

"Is it like this everywhere?"

"From what I saw before I got here, this is pretty tame."

"So you're saying it's worse than this?" He freezes when a sudden realization hits him. "Jordan."

She stares at him quizzically.

"Jordan? Who's-"

"Oh no," he breathes out.

He can only imagine the possible scenarios of what's happened to him as he opens up the channel they set up to contact each other. He patches through.

"Jordan?" He calls out.

His heart races when there's no answer.

"Jordan, come in. Can you hear me?"

Still nothing.

Jacks rummages through his hair.

"Is he a friend of yours?" Clara asks.

"Yeah. He was with me, but he left. If the attack got to him then..." He quickly pushes away his growing dread. "No, he has to be okay...has to be."

Clara keeps her eyes open for more soldiers as Jacks calls out his name one more time, but there's silence.

Jackson gulps. His stress causes his mouth to go dry.

"Jacks?" Jordan's voice patches through.

"Jordan?" He relaxes. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"If I'm okay? I'm home. I should be the one asking you if you're okay. I'm seeing some of the shit going on outside and it's pretty bad."

"Thank God you're okay. I just left the library and yeah it's bad."

As they continue their conversation, Clara scans her surroundings. She can't fight her growing suspicion that they could be lurking somewhere, anticipating her every move.

Could they be here? Her paranoia is getting the better of her. Even the slightest sound makes the hair on her arms stick up.

"Alright, take care of yourself man."

Jackson ends the call and places his hands on his hips.

"Now...now we have to..." He glances around seeing the wreckage of cars in front of him accompanied with the blaring sirens in the distance. He becomes overwhelmed with all of the questions lurking in his mind and his worries of Aiden and his mother's safety. "We gotta find Aiden and my mom."

He thinks of dialing his mom, but remembers Bagley not working correctly.

"Shit," he mutters to himself and tries contacting Aiden through the channel. "Aiden, can you hear me?"

Silence.

"Aiden? Mom?"

He waits for a response while tapping his foot. He repeats their names, but nobody picks up.

"Why isn't he answering?"

Clara senses his worry and has fear lingering in the back of her mind as to whether or not Aiden and Nicky really are okay. She has to shake off those thoughts. It's possible that they're fine. Right now, her priority is the kid.

Jacks grips his phone tighter.

"Hey," Clara's voice grabs his attention. "Try not to panic. I'm sure they're both fine and..."

She stiffens. She hears clicking sounds from a distance. He stares at her confused, being unable to hear the sounds. She tries to pinpoint where the noise is coming. When she picks up on footsteps with the clicking growing louder, her face falls.

"You've got nowhere to go, Clara."

With a sharp turn, Clara points her gun at whoever spoke, coming face to face with Jonas.

On queue, several soldiers emerge from behind buildings and some appearing on top of others close by with rifles and crossbows aiming at them. She recognizes a few of them as the ones she took out earlier.

Clara peeks over at Jacks and urges him to stay behind her. Soldiers surround the two from a safe distance with Jonas appearing in the middle.

Jacks glances around while trying to keep his cool.

"Definitely not what I had planned today."

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be. Hand him over," Jonas warns.

Clara unknowingly starts to shake. Seeing Rachel's crew again brings back horrible memories. Too many.

"We don't want to have to shoot you. Do we?"

Clara clenches her trembling fists knowing full well why they don't want to kill her right then and there. All they want is for her to surrender so they can control her again. She'd be too vulnerable for them to kill.

"I can't let you take him." She stares Jonas down. "He has nothing to do with this."

Jonas's lips quirk up.

"He has everything to do with this. Don't act like you're the good one all of the sudden, especially after everything you've done."

Her glare sharpens. Pangs of guilt nab at her, but she can't let him get to her. She tries to think of any opportunities to escape as she continues.

"You mean all of the things you made me do?"

Jonas chuckles.

"The things we made you do? It was you who destroyed him and his family, am I correct?" He gestures towards Jacks. "Why don't you enlighten the poor boy about all the damage you've caused?"

Her blood runs cold. She knows exactly what he's trying to do.

Jacks gives Clara a look, feeling uneasy while he also tries to map out an escape plan. He wonders if he should say something, but decides against it.

"Quit acting like you have the moral high ground. You are not taking him." She tightens her grip on her gun.

She knows it's a nonlethal one. She can shock him, sure, but eventually he'd recover and he would try to go after Jacks again. She wants to curse herself for not pulling out her lethal weapons, but she didn't want to scare Jackson.

They continue to have a stare down. Unbeknownst to both of them and the other soldiers, Jacks slowly retrieves his phone and hovers his thumb over it.

Jonas squints at Clara before shaking his head. He attempts to hide his growing frustration.

"You can't control me anymore," she declares, hoping what she's saying is true and that they didn't somehow get the remote working.

Jonas's jaw tightens.

"I'm giving you one last chance to get out of the way."

Clara doesn't move and holds her ground. She is preparing to shoot at any moment.

The blaring sirens of several drones can be heard by Clara and the soldiers. The soldiers are too late to react as multiple smoke bombs cascade from the drones blinding both Jonas and the soldiers.

While also being blinded, Clara gets a few shots in at where she believes the soldiers are.

"This way!" She hears Jackson's voice.

She feels a tug on her arm as he guides her through the smoke. Being sure to keep up with him, they both sprint towards a hidden parking garage. Once they get inside, Jacks hacks into the garage door and closes it. They take a moment to catch their breaths.

Despite them being in a hidden place, Clara knows Jonas will find them eventually. Jacks looks over at Clara, wanting to know what that man meant by her destroying his family, but he'd have to worry about it later.

Clara dusts herself off and only now remembers she is wearing a bullet proof vest. As Jacks searches around the garage and tries to figure out how to get out safely, Clara removes her vest.

"Here." She hands him the vest. "It's a bullet proof vest."

Jacks looks down at it and takes it hesitantly.

"Wear it just in case. You need it more than me."

"Alright I guess." He adjusts it on himself.

"Do you know your way out of here?" Clara asks.

The garage is wide with only two exits.

"Um...I've only been in here a couple times, but there's only two doors that will get it us out. The one we just came through and that one." He points towards the one at the far end.

"And they could be outside waiting for us," she finishes that thought.

Jackson bites his lip knowing that his family is still out there. It takes everything in him to not panic given his circumstances.

Clara keeps her ears open, but she knows how quiet Rachel's soldiers are. Where is Rachel? Clara would expect her to be with Jonas, but for her own sake, it's probably best that she isn't here.

Clara hears one of the garage doors opening and prompts Jacks to hide behind one of the parked vans while she hides behind another.

The door opens and Jonas appears behind it with a rifle in hand along with a few other soldiers. Clara and Jacks give each other a glance. She presses her finger to her lips as she goes to retrieve her stun gun. She tries to figure out a way out of this as they search the garage.

The sound of their footsteps increase and Jackson tries to be mindful of any noise he makes. He adjusts himself behind the van and his foot scrapes against the concrete. He freezes.

Clara jerks her head over at him. Her worry increases. Did they hear that? They had to have. There's silence.

The footsteps stop. Clara readies her weapon. After a few seconds, Clara debates if she should peek her head up.

The screeching of a van's wheels startles her as the van Jackson is hiding behind launches forward, heading straight for the one Clara is behind. Jackson jumps back from the van's sudden movement, leaving him wide open.

The van crashes into the car Clara is behind. She jolts back and sees Jacks being surrounded by soldiers. Clara aims and fires at two with only one going down and the other falling over injured, but still conscious.

She's about to aim again, but a hand latches onto her arm and twists it, causing her to yelp. She uses her other arm to try and strike at her attacker, but misses him. She jerks her head back and headbutts her attacker, striking him directly in the nose.

The attacker lets go as Clara swiftly turns around and swings at the person who she discovers is Jonas. He dodges the attack while clutching his nose.

As the two engage in a brawl, Jackson charges towards the injured soldier and brings his head down to his knee. The soldier passes out and he heads for the other one. Jacks tries to throw a few punches at the soldier, but he blocks and counters his attacks with ease and swiftness that he's never seen before in his martial arts class.

The soldier elbows him in the face. Too stunned to react, Jacks is kicked against the wall. He slouches down and holds his nose. Looking up at the stern soldier, he notices a pipe he can hack into. He tries to sneak his phone out, but the soldier fires at it with his pistol.

The phone tumbles out of his hands and he raises his hands up, his heart pounding.

"Don't even try it," the soldier warns him. "You're coming with us."

Jacks keeps his unsteady hands raised. Clara catches sight of him and shoves Jonas back. She retrieves her gun off the ground and aims it at the soldier. Jonas grips her arm once again and pulls her back. He kicks her in her side repeatedly before slamming her against a parked car.

Her gun drops out of her hand and she winces from the impact. She grabs her bearings and attempts to sweep him with her boot. He steps back in time and stomps against her head, launching her further against the vehicle. She groans and holds onto her head.

Jonas stares down at her, looking calm as if he hasn't broke a sweat.

"It's over, Clara."

Clara keeps her hand on her head and starts to flutter her eyes shut, pretending that she's going to pass out. As Jonas steps forward, Clara sneaks her phone out from behind her and lock on to the parked car beside the soldier pointing a gun at Jacks. She hacks it to go forward and the soldier jumps back.

With him being out of sight, Jacks makes a beeline for one of the pillars in the garage and hides behind it. Clara hacks into more vehicles, forcing Jonas out of the way. Clara takes the opportunity to pick up her gun and stand up. She heads towards a pillar and hides herself behind it.

She glances around the garage and looks for Jackson. She panics when she doesn't see him. Did they take him already? She never saw what happened to him after she hacked the cars. After searching frantically, she finds Jacks behind one of the pillars and sighs in relief. He catches sight of her as well and he doesn't try to hide the nervous look on his face.

Jonas recovers along with the other soldiers and searches for them once again. Clara bites her lip nervously. She sees Jacks mouth out, "What do we do?"

Her lips flatten. If she's being honest with herself, she doesn't know. Both exits are too far for them to reach with them being at risk of getting caught. Jonas is already shutting down multiple cars. The best she can do is start a shootout, but that will endanger Jacks.

But what other options does she have?

Sirens blare from a distance outside of the garage, causing Jonas and his soldiers to spread out and hide behind the scattered vehicles.

Clara and Jacks stay in place as the garage door ahead of them opens and a squad full of Albion officers burst in.

"This is Albion! Come out with your hands up!"

They must have heard the commotion.

"Just when it couldn't get any worse." Clara grits her teeth.

She peeks over at the officers searching the area and wonders what Jonas is planning to do. With Albion drawing closer towards the cars, she realizes she may be able to use this to her advantage. She makes sure Jackson is still behind cover before pulling her phone out to see if Jonas has disabled all of the cars. She discovers a few still hackable.

She connects to a few of them and triggers the alarm. The sound is enough to alert one of the officers as they go to investigate. As they get closer, a cloud of smoke covers their vision. The soldiers emerge from their spots and fire at Albion. The officers draw their guns out and fire, causing a full blown shootout between the two groups.

Clara looks towards the garage door behind them and wonders if they should make a run for it. Jackson has the same idea as he hacks into the garage door and unlocks it. Once the door opens, Clara urges Jacks to run. She takes off with him following suit. He does his best to keep up with Clara's incredible speed. She has already gotten a few feet away.

She glances back every so often to make sure Jacks is still with her before they both make it out of the garage. They make an effort to cut a corner in order to stay out of sight until Jacks abruptly hunches forward and cries out in pain.

Clara halts and turns to see Jacks clutching the back of his shoulder.

"What the fuck?" He grips onto the tender spot, feeling like he had been punched hard.

Clara looks behind him and spots an Albion officer pointing a rifle in their direction. She aims one of her lethal guns and fires relentlessly at the man. She gets him in the head and he goes down.

Still hearing gunfire, Clara places her hand behind Jackson's back while guiding him away from the violence.

"Are you okay?" She asks while searching for any blood stains. Luckily there isn't any.

"I don't know. Did I get shot?" He tries to steady himself with the throbbing pain in his shoulder.

"Yes, but it looks like the bullet didn't go through." She sighs feeling thankful she had the vest.

Jackson would normally be grateful, but with his skepticism and anxiety, he doesn't say anything.

They make it through parts of the city without any run-ins with drones or Albion. Clara stays vigilant for Jonas or any other potential danger. After some time, it's safe for her to assume they lost them.

She studies the empty street they've stumbled across. She wonders if Dedsec has already stopped the attack.

As they continue to walk around, Clara realizes she made that thought too soon.

They reach another street and they are greeted by the sight of multiple buildings on fire with smoke clouding the sky. Several demolished cars decorate the sidewalks and roads. From a distance, Albion exchanges gunfire with protestors. Tear gas is sprayed and bottles are thrown.

Jacks stops in his tracks along with Clara and they witness the destruction of the city. Jacks remains frozen in place, his eyes being captured by the chaos in front of him. There's no way it could have gotten this bad.

"How...how did Zero-Day manage to do this? There's no way..."

If he wasn't already panicking before, his nerves are on overdrive now.

"We need to keep moving," Clara says softly. "Just focus on me. We're going to get out of here."

"And how are we gonna do that? Aiden and my mom are still out there and we can't leave them."

"Jackson, right now we need to focus on getting out of here. The last thing we want to do is try and look for them. That's exactly what Impulse wants you to do. Look, what I know about Aiden is that he's capable. And believe it or not..." She glances at the sparks of fire emitting off of the buildings. "He's been in worse situations than this. He's probably found a way out with your mother."

Despite her efforts, Jacks still tries to contact Aiden through the channel with no luck. He listens for any type of noise that might signal Aiden being on the other line, but there's still nothing.

"Why isn't he answering then?" He asks with an edge to his voice.

His anxiety gets harder to control with his pounding heart feeling like it's going to pop out of his chest. His tense nerves don't help. Clara keeps her composure.

"We shouldn't jump the gun. He and your mom could have gotten out for all we know, so let's not assume the worst. Okay?" She keeps her voice light.

"Or they might not have I mean..." He gestures towards the demolished buildings.

The smoke clings to his nostrils, agitating him.

"Do you know where they are?"

"They're supposed to be at a park. St. James Park."

Clara pulls up the city's map on her phone and checks the traffic. She frowns once she sees red lines surrounding the area signaling road blockages.

"That area is closed off by Albion. We can't get to where they are."

"Are you serious?" He peeks over at her phone and sees the same thing.

"The best thing we can do right now is take shelter."

Jacks lips press into a hard line, still not being satisfied with her answer. He wants to use common sense and consider Clara's advice, but the thought of not knowing if his family is alright drives him crazy.

The screech of a car grabs his attention as he whips his head away from Clara to see where the sound came from. He catches sight of a swerving vehicle with two people in the front seat panicking. The driver attempts to get a grip on the wheel, but his car has a mind of its own as it jerks them towards a row of wrecked vehicles at high speed.

Jacks watches the car slam into a pick up truck and jumps once he hears a loud bang. A scream from the woman in the passenger seat paralyzes him.

Flashes of a car flipping over and Lena's bloodied body intrudes his thoughts. The woman's scream turns into Lena's. His heartbeat accelerates and his hands shake.

What if there's no way out of this? Roads are blocked off. The whole city is on fire. People are dying. Everybody's dying.

Could his mom and his uncle be alive? No. This is too bad. They have to be dead and he'll end up dead too just like his sister.

His chest heaves as it tightens, making it hard for him to breathe. He tries to fight away the negative thoughts and come with the terms that he's having a panic attack. He only trembles worse than he did before and it becomes harder and harder to control his body.

"Jackson?"

Clara's voice barely registers to him. His head spins. She notices Jackson's shaking hands. His eyes are wide like a deer caught in headlights. It takes her a moment to understand what's going on with him as she steps closer.

She follows what his eyes are looking at and she sees the wrecked car.

It clicks with her.

She looks for any secure place to get Jackson away from the disaster. She spots an empty cafe a few feet away.

"Hey," she speaks gently. "Let's go inside that cafe. You'll be safe in there."

Jackson hears her, but he's stuck in place.

"Jackson, focus on me. We're going to that cafe. Follow my lead."

It takes Jacks a moment until he manages to turn his quivering body to her.

Clara almost wants to panic with him because of her worrying if she did something wrong. The pure terror on his face by itself tenses her up. She keeps on a brave face as she gestures him to follow her.

"Take deep and slow breaths."

She guides him over to the cafe, being mindful not to touch him. Jackson clutches his chest, feeling like an elephant is sitting on top of it. Is he dying? No it's...yes he has to be. He's going to d-

"Hey, look at me. In..." She inhales slowly. "And out."

Jackson attempts to follow her lead, but fails to do so. His rampant breathing proves it to be a challenge to control his breaths as much as he wants to.

They go inside the cafe. Clara makes sure there isn't anyone around before pulling out a chair from one of the tables.

"Sit here." She pats the seat.

He sits himself down and tries to control his breathing again. Clara grabs another chair and sits down. She silently prays that Impulse doesn't find them or the attack doesn't spread over to the cafe.

"Okay. Whenever you're ready, I want you to count backwards from five. Take a deep breath with each number."

Jacks is silent for a while. Sweat forms on his forehead and the back of his shoulder is sore from all of the tension. He manages a small nod.

"Five..." He inhales shakily. "Four..." He exhales.

He continues counting slowly until he reaches one. He repeat this a few times with higher numbers. Sometimes he counts out of order, but the more he does it, the more grounded he feels.

"That's it. You got it," Clara encourages him.

While trying to appear calm, she takes a few worried glances outside. She spots a few drones from a distance hovering around some of the buildings. Hopefully they don't head over in their direction. She directs her attention back to Jacks who is starting to breathe a little slower.

Several minutes go by with Clara talking Jackson through his panic attack. Jacks gradually stops shaking. The softness of Clara's accent and her words helps him come back to reality.

After some time of Clara sitting patiently with him, he gets his breathing under control and he takes in his surroundings. His anxiety still lingers, but he at least has his panic under control. It takes him a minute to finally speak again.

"God, I hate those," he says with an edge to his voice, his mouth dry.

He winces at the soreness behind his shoulder and holds onto the tender spot where he had almost been shot. He huffs, being embarrassed with himself. It has been a long time since he's had a panic attack that bad.

"Yeah, I've gotten them too." She remembers having bad anxiety as a kid and she has even had an attack recently. "They always suck. My Papa would always talk to me about other things to try and calm me down."

"That's what my mom does," he says before his heart stops.

Wait. His mom.

"We need to find shelter," she advises, trying to take his mind off of his worries. "It's the best for both of us right now."

She notices some of the drones and a few Albion trucks moving around from afar. If they stay there any longer, they could eventually reach where they are.

Jackson doesn't respond. He zones into the cafe menu, not paying attention to what's written on it.

"If we don't hear back from them in thirty minutes afterwards then we can try and look for them. Okay?"

Although Jacks does hear her, he still continues to stare at the objects around him.

"They'd want you to be safe."

Jacks closes his eyes and inhales deeply.

"Fine...fine. Okay."

Clara holds her hands in her lap.

"Is there any place you know of where we can go?"

Jackson is quiet for a few seconds. His heartbeat only now starts to slow down.

"Yeah, but it's in Brixton."

"Brixton..."

She pulls out her phone and checks the traffic map on her GPS. Luckily, there is a way to Brixton without any traffic.

"Mark it." She hands the phone to Jacks which he slowly takes.

He studies the map for a moment before pinning Wrench's hideout. He hands the phone back to her. She stands up and holds the phone in her hand. Jackson still remains seated. She doesn't want to rush him into getting up, but they do have to go soon.

"Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, just give me a second."

She's silent as she waits for him to grab his bearings. Eventually he stands up.

"Okay," he says. "Let's get going."

(Earlier)

Aiden and Nicky had both gotten done with their pizza. Nicky already signed the bill and they are getting ready to leave.

"This was nice. The two of us getting together and talking," Nicky says while slinging her purse over her shoulder. "It's been too long."

Aiden grins.

"It has. We should...we should do this again."

Nicky gazes at him with a growing smile. A glimpse at his green eyes takes her back to when they were kids.

"Yeah." She nods.

They stare at each other for a few seconds. They're tempted to hug again, but refrain once more.

"Well, I'll see you-"

The window shatters beside them causing them to jump as a drone appears and shines a beaming red light directly at Nicky. She stares at it quizzically, trying to process what's going on as Aiden calls out to her.

He rushes over to her and pushes her out of the way. The drone fires and nearly hits both of them. They land on the floor with Aiden pulling out his phone to disable the drone. Within a second, the drone shuts down and falls to the ground.

Aiden is the first to get up while he along with everyone else in the restaurant looks to see where the drone came from. He doesn't see anyone controlling it remotely nor does he see any other drones around. He makes sure before reaching his hand down to Nicky.

"What was that?" She sounds breathless as she grabs his hand and pulls herself up.

"I don't know."

They cautiously look out the window and what they see shocks the both of them. Multiple people rush out of shops and restaurants with drones chasing after them. The beep of an oncoming car causes them to look over. The car spins out of control and collides into a nearby building. They jump back wide eyed.

"What the hell is going on?" Nicky asks growing concerned.

"I thought you'd know the answer to that," he says, not being sure if this is a regular occurrence in London with all of the tech it has.

The loud bang of the car exploding causes Aiden to jerk Nicky back. Although the impact doesn't reach the restaurant, it's enough for everyone to start running outside. Aiden doesn't want to stick around to figure out what's happening. All that matters to him right now is getting Nicky out of whatever's happening.

"Come on." Aiden grabs her hand and leads her out of the restaurant before she can even blink.

They make it outside and witness more drones chasing after people along with a few Albion trucks speeding by them.

"What the..."

Nicky doesn't get to finish her sentence as Aiden grabs her hand and leads her away from a few oncoming drones. He leads her to an empty alley. They stop to gather themselves.

"Are you okay? Did they hit you?"

She inspects herself.

"No, I'm good." She takes a peek around the brick wall and takes in the scene in front of her. "Is there a problem with ctOS or something?"

"I don't know, Nik. Probably."

"What do you mean probably? You're the expert on this stuff."

The blaring sirens of several drones captures their attention. The drones detect Aiden and Nicky and charge after them with their guns aiming at them. Aiden hacks into one of the bigger ones and gets it to turn on the others by firing at them. It isn't enough to distract all of them as five more aim at the two of them.

Before one of them can fire, Aiden hears a gunshot beside him. The bullet strikes the drone and it's enough for it to go down. He turns to Nicky holding a pistol.

"Get behind that dumpster!" She orders while pointing towards it.

Aiden complies with Nicky following close behind him. They huddle behind the dumpster while the drones fire their rounds at it, missing the both of them.

Aiden is taken aback seeing Nicky with a gun, but he doesn't dwell on it too much as he tries to configure a plan. He already disabled the one drone that was behind the window and it'll take him a while before he can do it again.

The drones close in on them as Aiden tries to think of something quick. Then he remembers his system crash hack. He wastes no time activating it. The drones shut down in response along with all the other ones down the street. Aiden stands up.

"What did you do?" She asks.

She reluctantly gets up as well.

"I shut down everything for a few seconds. We need to get out of here now."

He keeps his hand on the small of her back as he guides her out of the alley. She keeps her gun close to her while checking the street.

"I never knew you owned a gun," Aiden notes, knowing Nicky has never been the violent type.

"Yeah well I have to take precautions. Jackson doesn't approve of it, but I figured I needed one after everything that happened."

He should have figured.

Aiden leads her to one of the London Underground spots. They go down the steps. They don't see anyone else down there.

"What do we do now?" Nicky asks.

Aiden is about to answer until a voice comes through on his optik.

"Aiden? Aiden are you there?"

He recognizes the voice.

"Connie?"

He patches through the channel. Nicky looks at him confused.

"Thank the heavens you picked up. I was worried the attack got to you."

Aiden furrows his brows.

"What attack?"

"Who are you talking to?" Nicky interjects.

"A colleague. I'll patch you through." He patches into her optik and connects her to the channel. "Sorry about that, Connie. What attack are you talking about?"

"You don't know? It's Zero-Day. They used our tech to get into Bagley and cause a wide spread attack on the city, so if you notice drone or cars going on the fritz, that's why."

Nicky's heart drops, recalling the bombings.

"The whole city...?" Aiden mutters.

"Yeah. Is Jackson there with you? I've been trying to get a hold of him, but he hasn't answered."

"Wait, how do you know Jacks?" Nicky joins the conversation.

Connie pauses before speaking.

"You're his mother I presume. We know each other through Dedsec."

"And how do you two know each other?" She asks, referring to her and Aiden.

"I've done some jobs for her," he explains and brings his attention back to Connie. "Jacks isn't with us."

"Bloody hell. I hoped he would be. There's already reports of fires and roads being blocked off through different parts of the city."

Nicky hovers her hand over her mouth. Aiden finds himself getting worried too.

"What-"

"So you're saying that Zero-Day used your tech to get into Bagley and is trying to burn down the city with it?" Nicky interrupts, wanting to make sure she heard her correctly.

"That's their plan. Dedsec's working to shut down Bagley and we're nearly there."

"Jacks isn't home," Nicky says under her breath.

It's loud enough for Aiden to hear and he looks over at her. Concern is written all over her face.

"He's at his college right now, or at least that's what he told me." She inhales a sharp breath. Her panic rises. "Oh no."

Aiden gently places his hand on her shoulder.

"Try to stay calm. He could have gone home."

He tries to disguise his own worry and put on a brave face for her.

"You try calling him. We'll continue shutting down Bagley. Stay safe and let me know if Jackson answers," Connie says.

"Okay. Thanks for letting us know," Aiden replies before closing the channel.

Nicky is already dialing Jackson, but fails to connect because of Bagley giving her errors.

"I'll call him through our channel. You won't be able to call him through Bagley."

"You guys have a channel set up?"

"Yeah. Bagley can't interfere with that." Aiden opens up the channel. "Jackson, come in. Are you okay?" He patches Nicky through.

No answer.

He anxiously waits a few seconds before trying again.

"Jacks, do you hear me?"

More seconds pass and not a single sound can be heard from the other end.

"Jacks?" Nicky chimes in. "Can you hear us? Are you there?"

She taps her foot and waits for a response. She sighs heavily when there isn't one. They repeat his name multiple times with no luck. A familiar dread overcomes the two.

"Why won't he answer?" She's on the brink of tears. "We have to find him."

"No," Aiden says firmly. "I'll look for him. I can take you somewhere to find shelter and-"

"No, Aiden. We're going to look for Jacks together. I need to make sure he's okay."

"You'd be safer-"

"Not everything can be up to you!" She raises her voice while pointing a finger at him. "I'm not going to sit around and wait. I'm coming with you whether you like it or not. This is my son we're talking about so don't try and leave me out."

She shoots him a sharp glare and waits for any sort of opposition from him. Aiden stares at her deadly eyes. As troubled as he is about her safety, he knows he won't win this one. She's stubborn like him and would go to great lengths for her child. He caves in.

"Fine. Stay close. Alright?"

"Yeah, I hear you."

With that, Aiden inspects the entrance to the train station and sees the trains lights flashing.

"Looks like we're not taking the subway," he notes.

"I'll take us to his school. I remember where it is," she says while making her way up the stairs. "Please be okay," she mutters.

Aiden follows closely behind her with his pistol held behind his jacket. They exit the underground and they're alarmed to see the place looking worse than it did before with backed up traffic and the fire getting worse. Several drones search for people to chase with some of them turning on each other.

"Watch it," Aiden warns her to stay out of sight from the drones that haven't spotted them yet.

"I see them," Nicky assures him. "This way."

Aiden follows her through the city while making sure there's no drones on their tail. Every once in a while, he glances at the destruction around the city. Witnessing the fires, destroyed vehicles, and people being arrested or beaten by Albion makes him worry if Jacks is really okay.

He can't get into that. Jacks is a smart kid and he's tough. He has to be okay. They have to keep going.

Aiden does what he can to help other people by hacking into some of the drones and disrupting Albion's earpieces. He wants to reserve some for the drones in case they come looking for him and Nicky. He can't save everyone.

They jog a good mile until they both stop. A group of Albion trucks block the way they need to go.

"You've got to be kidding me," Nicky grumbles. She looks for any other ways they can go, but she only sees more roads being blocked off by Albion. "They're closed off too?"

"Do you know any other way there?" Aiden asks, keeping his voice soft.

"N...No. No, this is the only way over there."

She pushes her fingers onto her temples. The stress gets to her with her head tensing up. Are they trapped?

"Oh God. How are we gonna get out of here? Jacks could be...oh no what if he's-"

"Don't think that. We'll get to him," he comforts her while searching for any potential ways they can get across without running into Albion. "I'll think of something."

He scans his surroundings and spots a boat parked at a distance. He considers taking the boat across until a few Albion boats appear in his view. It's too risky.

Aiden continues searching for opportunities. He catches a glimpse of more drones passing by and he has an idea.

"Okay. I have an idea, but I don't think you're going to like it," he says while drawing his phone out.

She turns to him.

"What is it?"

Aiden doesn't answer. He looks down at his phone and taps away at it. Nicky looks over at it curiously, not understanding any of the coding gibberish on it.

"What are you doing?"

"Wait for it."

She stares at him bewildered and worries that he might be coming up with a terrible idea.

"Aiden, what - oh Jesus!"

Nicky jumps back, startled at the sight of a giant cargo drone hovering in front of her. She points her gun at it, waiting for an attack. Much to her surprise, the drone stays in place.

"You can put the gun down. I'm controlling it."

"You are?" She slowly lowers her gun. "But how? Bagley runs the drones."

"As long as I have access to it, Bagley can't interfere with this drone."

Nicky takes a step back from the drone and inspects it carefully.

"Okay, so what are you going to do with it?"

"This is gonna sound crazy, but we're going to get on top of it and ride across."

Nicky stares at him dumbfounded.

"Excuse me. What?"

"You're going to have to trust me on this one."

He goes towards the drone and climbs on top of it. The drone wobbles as he adjusts himself on top of it. Nicky watches him wide eyed like he's a mad man.

"Can...can that even hold the both of us?"

"Yeah. Don't worry I've done this before."

She blinks repeatedly.

"What do you mean you've...why are you riding on top of cargo drones?"

"It's not as scary as it looks. We'll get across without being seen."

Her jaw drops.

"That thing can go up to a hundred feet in the air," she argues.

"But it'll get us over." He reaches his hand out to her. "Nothing is gonna happen to us."

Nicky stays in place, contemplating if she should consider his idea.

"This is the best way for us to get to Jacks. None of the drones will catch us and Albion won't either because we'll be too high up. We'll be safe." He extends his hand out closer to her. "Come on, Nik."

Aiden tries to stay patient as Nicky still thinks about it.

"Unless you have any other ideas."

Nicky eyes him before slowly making her way towards the drone. She cautiously takes his hand and steps onto the drone. The drone tips to the side nearly making her trip.

"Oh God. This is insane.

"Don't worry. I got you," he reassures her.

He helps pull her on top of the machine with her clinging to him for support. He makes space for her to sit on the drone. She adjusts herself onto it.

"I swear if I fall..."

"You won't fall."

"I'm dragging you down with me."

He chuckles.

"Trust me. You won't fall." Aiden activates the drone once again. "You ready?"

She clutches his shoulder.

"Not really, but what else can we do?"

Aiden pats her on the back before slowly lifting the cargo done off the ground.

"I'm doing this for Jacks. I'm doing this for Jacks," she murmurs.

The drone lifts them further into the air. The slight wobbling of the drone causes Nicky's whole body to tense up. The drone raises them until they are above the city. Nicky sweaty hands latch onto Aiden's jacket.

"This is insane," she says shakily. The breeze brushing against her doesn't help.

"Relax. Try not to look down."

"Aiden, you know damn well that's going to make me look down." She scoots as close as possible to him and tries to keep her eyes away from the city below them. "And you've done this before?"

"Yeah."

"You've never fallen off?"

"Nope."

"Will the drone stay stable?"

"Yes, Nicky." He turns to face her. "As long as you stay still, it's safe. Dedsec uses these all the time believe or not."

She takes a deep breath.

"Okay then."

Aiden continues controlling the drone across the city. He has an idea as to where Jackson's school is, but he has a hard time pinpointing which building it is. He would use his GPS, but with Bagley going nuts, it won't work properly.

"I know I said not to look down, but I'm gonna need you to point out which of these buildings is the school."

Nicky hesitantly looks down and gasps at the growing fires around the cars and buildings below her. She prays that the destruction hasn't reached Jacks.

"Nicky." His voice snaps her out of her daze. "Which one?"

"Let me see." She surveys the area and spots a grand building. "That one."

Aiden follows where her finger is pointing and hacks the drone to go downward. They descend towards the school until the drone reaches the ground. Once they reach the front of the school, Aiden is the first to shift himself off of the drone. He lands on the ground and reaches his hand out to Nicky.

"Come on."

Nicky takes his hand and scoots herself off of the drone. She scans the building and looks for a library. She spots it.

"It's this way," she directs him towards the library.

She leads him towards the entrance and they go inside. Nicky notices the lights are shut off and she finds it difficult to see.

"Jacks?" Her voice echoes throughout the building.

With there being no response, Nicky heads towards the stairs with Aiden following. He keeps his guard up.

They reach the top of the stairs and call for Jackson again, but the whole building is empty. No bookbags, papers, or any sign of life.

Nicky paces around the library, searching frantically for her son.

"Are you sure he was here?" Aiden asks.

"Yes. I talked to him earlier today and he said he would be here."

"Maybe he evacuated with everyone else."

"Or maybe Albion has him."

She runs her hands over her face. Her feet are getting sore from all of the pacing, but she doesn't care.

"Let's not assume the worst. We can still look for him." Aiden tries to console her but she continues to panic.

"Where is he?"

Clara and Jackson had ventured through the city and they hadn't had anymore run-ins with Impulse or Albion. The attack dies down with there not being as many fires or car crashes. People are no longer running and screaming on the streets. The city is quiet with the crackling of the flames filling the void.

With all of the cars halted, it's safer to drive. Clara managed to find an undamaged car to drive. She found it parked on the side of the road and didn't know who it belonged to, but she took it regardless. Jackson was too exhausted to protest it.

Now they are driving towards Brixton with Clara behind the wheel. Both of them are still feeling sore from the hits they took from the fight earlier. The silence between the two is deafening. No radio. There's only the swiping of the windshield wipers and the rumbling of the engine to fill for noise.

It's been a few minutes since either of them said anything. Jacks is still recovering from his body going into overdrive as he looks out the window, observing the damage done to the city.

Clara focuses on the beaten road. She feels fortunate that there aren't as many cars in their way. She is tempted to say something to Jacks, but she doesn't want to make things awkward. She doesn't exactly know where they are headed. She only knows the location she needs to follow. She assumes he's leading her to one of his friend's places.

Clara hears Jacks shuffle in his seat while clutching his shoulder. He turns his attention to Clara and studies her. He tries to figure out if he's seen her before or not since she seems to know Aiden so well. Nothing about her rings a bell to him.

He rubs his arms and dwells on how he panicked earlier. He opens his mouth to say something, but closes it. After a few seconds, he brings himself to speak.

"I know I don't really know you, but...thanks for getting me out of there." He expresses his gratitude while rubbing his hands. "And...and sorry for freaking out. I don't know what came over me."

He wipes off the sweat from his forehead.

"Don't apologize. I get like that sometimes too. It's nothing to be ashamed of," she answers.

She gives him a side glance and quirks up her lips to try and lighten the mood. Jacks works up an awkward smile back with a short nod despite him still feeling ashamed.

He turns back to the road with burning questions nagging at him.

"How did you know those guys? It looks like you have history with them."

She takes a deep breath and leans back in her seat.

"You're right. I do whether I like it or not."

His brows draw together.

"What do you mean?"

She shifts her eyes around, becoming uncomfortable with the topic.

"They erm...they forced me to work for them."

Jacks stares at her momentarily. He wants to bring up more questions about it, but decides to drop it given her facial expression.

"So..." He thinks up another question. "Why hasn't Aiden ever mentioned you? You never answered my question before."

Clara is reminded of her past with Aiden. She shivers, remembering everything she did to him.

"Why would he mention me?" She shrugs. "Aiden and I left on bad terms, so I'm not surprised."

She wants to believe what she's saying, but does she really? Knowing that Aiden has never talked about her makes her feel like a piece of heart is torn out. She suppresses the pain in her chest. She has no right to be hurt.

Jacks attempts to put the pieces together as to what happened between them. He recalls what Jonas said.

"Did it involve me and my mom too? What did that guy mean when he said-"

"He was lying."

Her stomach drops. She doesn't know if she has the heart to tell him.

There's an uncomfortable silence as Clara tries to keep it together.

"He was just trying to make you afraid."

She feels guilty for lying, but she's so close to getting Jacks to safety. The last thing she wants him to do is bolt out the door.

Jacks eyes her skeptically. There has to be more to it. He feels it.

"Well...what made you and Aiden split then?"

She avoids looking at him, her mind racing for a possible answer. She can't bear lying to him again.

"It's...complicated."

"How is it complicated?"

"Just drop it," she states firmly.

Jacks falls silent. Clara starts to feel bad. She sighs.

"Sorry. It's...touchy."

"I can tell." He pauses before asking, "Were you two close?"

Clara grows silent as she thinks about it.

"Sort of, but we were more like friends, or acquaintances, however you want to put it."

"Do you plan on talking to him again if we manage to get in contact with him?" He asks, his anxiety still lingering.

She is quiet for a moment.

"Yes. I know I have to. I just...don't know how it's going to go. It's been a long time since we spoke. After everything, I wouldn't blame him if he doesn't forgive me."

Jackson takes everything in, having more questions than he did prior. Clara drives slower once she reaches Brixton and keeps an eye out for the building. Jacks is so lost in thought that he almost forgets to point out the spot.

"That's it. Right there," he instructs her and points at Wrench's place.

Clara sees it and pulls into a parking space. As they both get out of the car, Jacks watches Clara for a moment. Should he ask anymore questions, or does he even have the energy for it?

"J...Jacks?" He hears a gravelly voice through his optik. "Can you hear me?"

He gasps when he recognizes the voice.

"Aiden? Is that you?"

Clara turns her attention towards him when hearing Aiden's name.

"Jackson, you're alright!" Another voice comes through.

"Mom? Where are you guys? I...I tried calling over and over," he explains while pacing back and forth.

"We're at your school looking for you. Where are you?"

"I'm at Wrench's place. A friend of mine.

"Where is-"

"I know where it's at," Aiden interrupts. "Stay there. We're on our way."

Jacks sighs in relief knowing they're alive.

"Are you guys okay? There were so many car accidents and everything was on fire."

"We're okay," Aiden replies. "Are you hurt?"

Jackson feels his muscles aching, but he doesn't want them to worry before they get there.

"No, I'm fine," he lies.

He wonders where he should begin with informing Aiden about more people being after him, and Clara.

"There's um...there's something else."

He glances back at Clara who is listening intently. She knows he's about to tell Aiden about her. She needs to talk to Aiden at some point and she can't hide forever. She gives him a nod of approval.

"What is it?" Aiden asks.

"There is this woman who helped me get away from the attack. She says she knows you."

Clara braces herself, her heart pounding. This is it. She has to be ready.

"Who-"

"Jackson!"

He doesn't get to hear the rest of what Aiden's saying when he looks up to see Wrench standing on top of the apartment complex. He leans over the railing, trying to get a good look at Jacks.

The color drains in Clara's face when she sees the masked man. The spikes. The blonde hair. No. How? What is he doing here?

She instantly recognizes him, her eyes growing wide. The world around her stops. Her chest heaves from her rapid breathing. She can never forget his face for what she did to him and his friends. His strained voice echoes in her head.

Get away from him!

You're gonna pay for this!

Her hands shake as painful memories resurface. She can't stay here. No way can she stay here. Why is she even thinking of trying to be a savior?

It's always been too late for her.

The thought of being surrounded by the people she has hurt sets her into full panic mode.

She needs to get out of here.

"Wrench!" Jacks calls back to him.

"Holy shit, man! Did you see what was happening out there?" He makes his way down the stairs.

"Yeah. Sorry, Aiden. I was talking to Wrench. She's right here." He turns around and is taken aback when he doesn't see her. "What? Where'd she go?"

He looks around, but he still doesn't find her. She couldn't have vanished that quickly.

"Why'd she...?" He walks dawn and pokes his head around cars, but she's nowhere to be seen.

"Who is she? You don't see her?"

"No. She was just here."

Wrench reaches the bottom of the stairs and heads towards Jackson. He notices the sweat on his face and his worn eyes.

"Dude, are you okay?"

Jackson jerks his head around thinking Clara is the one behind him, but he only sees Wrench.

"Yeah," he answers as he searches for Clara. "Look, Aiden. I'll explain when you get here. I want you guys to travel safe."

"Alright, we'll meet you there."

Several minutes go by until Jacks spots Aiden and his mom riding on top of a cargo drone.

"You're shitting me." He releases a breath, relieved that they're both alright.

The drone descends onto the ground.

"Jacks!" Nicky gets off of the drone and rushes over to him.

"Mom!"

A wide grin forms on his face as they both embrace each other.

"Oh, baby. I was so worried," she mumbles into his jacket while running her fingers along his scalp.

Aiden hops off of the drone and strides over to the two.

"Jackson, you okay?" He asks, his racing heart slowing down.

Jacks winces from the contact with Nicky, but he does his best to hide it. When they pull away, Jacks turns to Aiden.

"Yeah," he says. Although he is relieved that his uncle is okay, he can't shake off what he encountered. "But you have some explaining to do."

"What do you mean?"

Jacks huffs, feeling breathless.

"I just had a run-in with some assholes who were after me because of you."

Aiden's forehead creases.

"What?"

Nicky gives him a side glance.

"Yeah. You said you were done with all of this." He points his finger at him with narrowed eyes.

"Hold on. Who was after you?"

"I don't know. Some group called Impulse? Does that ring a bell to you?"

Aiden shakes his head.

"No," he says.

How could someone be after Jackson? He was so careful. He stiffens from the situation. The sharpness of Nicky's glare doesn't help.

"I've never heard of a group with that name. I haven't crossed anyone lately. When I said I was done, I meant it."

Jacks eyes him and searches for any sign of dishonesty. When he doesn't detect any, he exhales.

"Well they were apparently using the attack as a distraction to try and kidnap me. That's what that woman, Clara, told me."

Aiden's heart skips a beat.

"What did you say?"

Jackson rolls his eyes.

"I said they were trying to-"

"No, I caught that part. I meant that name. The woman's name."

"Her name was Clara," he repeats.

His breath is caught in his throat. It's hard for him to take in all of this information at once. He's already stressed about the fact that there is someone out to get Jacks, but hearing Clara's name alone runs a chill down his spine.

"C...Clara?" Her name rolls off his tongue. Saying her name again is strange to him. Almost surreal. "Clara who?"

"I don't know. She never gave me her last name." He notices Aiden go pale. "Look, I don't know what happened between you two, but those people who were after me were serious."

"Let me step in here," Nicky interjects. "You mean to tell me there are people after you? After us?" She narrows her eyes at him. Her face heats up as she clenches her fists.

"Nicky, I don't know who any of these people are."

"It doesn't matter! There's people coming after my son to get to you! We're in danger again!"

Aiden is left speechless. He knows she's right. His blood runs cold, being reminded of the day Lena passed away. The same anger and sadness is present with Nicky just like how it was back then.

Jackson watches both of them argue. He wants to be angry at Aiden, but he doesn't know if he can bring himself to. It's clear from looking at his uncle that he feels guilty and he has proven himself to want to change.

"You just couldn't let things go could you? We have to constantly pay for your mistakes! Why did I even think you could change?!"

Her eyes tear up as she yells her heart out. The louder her voice gets, the more Jacks feels the need to say something. He can never forget what he saw in Aiden's mind. He had suffered just as much as they did and he knows Aiden wouldn't want this.

"You're the same as you were before!"

"Mom."

"You should have never come back!"

"Mom!"

Nicky turns to Jacks with tears running down her cheeks and her lips trembling.

"Hey," he lowers his voice and rubs her shoulder. "Don't say that. Aiden has changed."

He looks over at Aiden who is trying to hold it together. Nicky's words carved into him like a knife.

"And we...we can figure it out. Aiden and I can find them and we can shut them down."

"Absolutely not. Whatever this is, you are not getting involved."

"She's right," Aiden finally speaks.

Jacks wants to laugh.

"Both of you need to stop treating me like I'm a kid. I can get Dedsec to help too." He nods over to Aiden. "We can find them."

Nicky stares at Jacks with reluctance. An awkward silence plagues them.

"I can help too," Wrench proposes.

All of them face him. Jacks had forgotten he was still there.

"I mean if you want." He raises his hands up. "I'm not leaving anytime soon anyways."

"We'd appreciate it," Jacks says.

Nicky ponders about it. She desperately wants to swoop Jacks away from all of this, but she can't baby him forever.

"We'll work through this."

Nicky wipes away her tears and sniffles. She glances at the two of them with her lips flattened. She gathers herself and takes a step towards Aiden.

"I want you to listen to me carefully," she begins. "Whatever is going on. If it doesn't get resolved, if anything and I mean if anything happens to Jacks, we are done. Do you understand?"

Guilt clouds Aiden's features. Should he let Jackson be involved again? Hell, should he even stay in London? Maybe he's done too much harm. But then he sees Jacks. His eyes gleam with optimism for Aiden. Despite him being shaken up, Jacks still cares about his uncle and he doesn't want to lose him again.

Aiden can sense that. One look at Jacks makes him feel like he has a chance.

Finally, he manages to look Nicky in the eyes.

"I promise you-"

"Don't promise me, Aiden," she stresses.

He takes a deep breath.

"I will fix this," he corrects himself.

"We'll fix this," Jackson adds. "It'll be okay, mom."

He pulls her in for another hug. Deep down, he is nervous, but he'll always put up a front for his mother.

Nicky sighs heavily into his shoulder and releases a shiver.

"We're all okay. That's what matters."

Aiden observes them with an unsettling feeling. He has second thoughts. What if they are better off without him?

No. He needs to fix whatever he may have caused. He can't run away again.

"So...this is awkward. Um, I'm gonna go inside." Wrench clear his throat while pointing back to his hideout. "Let me know if you need anything."

Aiden gives him a quick nod. Wrench makes his way back to his hideout leaving Aiden shifting uncomfortably. Just when he thinks his life is getting back on track, something snatches that opportunity away.

He can't dwell on it. He has to figure out who this Impulse group is, but more importantly, Clara. He wonders if it's the same Clara he knew a long time ago, or if it's someone else. But who else would he know named Clara?

He grimaces as the ghosts of his past have come to haunt him again.

Chapter Text

A day passed since the Bagley attack. Corrupt leaders were exposed, more people rally for Dedsec, and the city is working to recover.

Gray clouds gloom over the city, the atmosphere quiet. Aiden observes the destroyed buildings from Jackson's apartment window lost in thought. His nephew filled him in on what he understood about Impulse and is only now getting into his run in with Clara. Aiden is still trying to wrap his head around the possibility of Clara being alive.

"So that's all she told you?" Aiden asks while making his way to the couch where Jacks is sitting.

"Yeah. She said you two had a rough falling out. She never told me why," Jacks explains. He raises his brows, expecting an explanation from him.

"And you're sure her name was Clara?"

"Yeah. Do you know her or not?" Jacks crosses his arms, growing impatient.

"What did she look like?" Aiden presses on, trying to imagine what Clara would look like now compared to years ago.

Jackson thinks back to what he can remember.

"She had piercings on her face and her hair was half shaved. I remember she was wearing a leather jacket too. She looked kind of punk rockish."

Aiden rests his hand on the back of the couch. A familiar image of Clara pops up in his mind judging from Jackson's description.

Could it have really been her?

"Did she have an accent?" Aiden asks. He can never forget her voice.

"Yeah. She sounded....I don't know. French?"

Aiden removes his cap and rummages his fingers through his hair. He starts to doubt that this woman could be anyone else. Jackson's descriptions sound too familiar. They suit the Clara he knew perfectly.

Jackson watches Aiden pace around the room. He studies his uncle and tries to search for any cracks or clues as to what went down between them. Aiden's stiff shoulders told more than enough to him that it must have been something terrible.

"There's no way," Aiden mutters loud enough for Jacks to hear.

Jacks furrows his brows. "What do you mean there's no way?"

Aiden stops moving with his back facing Jacks.

"There's....there's no way she can be alive."

Jacks is taken aback.

"What?"

Aiden doesn't face Jacks. He looks absentmindedly at the row of boardgames in his nephew's shelf while stroking his beard. He hesitates for a second before reaching into his pocket and retrieving Clara's phone. He holds it in front of himself and inspects it.

After he took it at the cemetary, he never let anything happen to it. He always kept it with him along with a few of his other prized possessions such as some old photos he has with Nicky and Jacks. There are no cracks or any signs of damage to it. The phone looks as good as new. Seeing such an old phone makes Aiden feel way older than he already is. It's a fossil compared to phones in the modern day.

He finally turns to Jacks.

"I'm going to play you a recording," he says while making his way over to the couch. "And I want you to tell me if this sounds like her."

Aiden sits down and turns on the phone. He made sure he charged it before bringing it with him. Her phone comes to life with its light glowing on Aiden's face. He pulls up the recording and sets the phone down between them on the couch. His finger hovers over the play button. He doesn't know if he's ready to hear it again. He only listened to it once and it was at the sight of Clara's corpse. He shivers.

Jacks notices his reluctance to push play. "Are you okay? Do you need me to do it?"

"No, no." He licks his lips. "No, I got it."

He prepares himself before pressing play.

A beep is heard.

"Hello, Aiden."

Aiden's heart stops from the first sentence alone.

She takes a deep breath and pauses. "I can't decide where to begin."

Her greeting makes him believe for a split second that Clara is in the same room with him. It's as if things haven't changed, like he's back in time.

"The first time I saw you, you were playing chess with Jackson in the park. Both of you still very sad from...the um...funeral."

Jacks leans forward and shoots a look at Aiden. Questions form in his mind, but he remains silent. He wants to hear the whole thing.

"I can see how you made him feel safe."

Aiden recalls the day of the funeral. He'd never forget it. The heavy rain hitting his shoulders. The sight of Nicky and Jackson's tears. The silence. The God awful silence. He never would have noticed that Clara would have been there.

There's a pause. "In our world, we hide in the dark behind monitors. That's the only place we feel safe. It isn't enough to say that I didn't know..." Clara's voice cracks. "That lives would be lost or that it was only a job."

Jacks absorbs what she's saying, trying to figure out what she means.

"I thought...if I could help you heal...help you find answers....maybe I could heal myself." There's a long pause.

Aiden's entire body goes cold, the hairs on his arms stick up with goosebumps forming. A knot forms in his throat as he attempts to compose himself.

"But I can't." She is silent again. "When this is all over, I hope we can at least talk, or if not...at least I can disappear. That's something I'm good at."

The recording ends. Tears prick the corner of Aiden's eyes. Once he realizes they're threatening to fall, he suppresses them. He doesn't move. Clara's words paralyzed him. It's been too long since he's heard her voice and if what Jackson says is true, he doesn't know if he'll keep himself together.

"Aiden?" Jacks notices Aiden's trembling lips. "You alright?"

Aiden shuts his eyes briefly and takes a deep breath. He swallows, his throat swelling.

"Did that sound like her?" Aiden asked with an edge to his voice.

Jackson studies Aiden as he thinks back to how Clara sounded.

"Yeah. Yeah that sounded just like her. Look, obviously there's some rough history between you two, but I need you to fill me in here. What was she doing at Lena's funeral? Who even is she?"

Aiden rubs his hands together and leans forward from the couch. He always knew Clara was a heavy subject for him, but he wasn't prepared for how severe his reopened scars would be. He contemplates telling Jacks about her involvement in his sister's death, but given the situation, there's no point in hiding it.

"She was a Dedsec member who was a close friend of mine. She was the only person I could trust at the time, really. If it wasn't for her, I don't know if I ever would have found Nicky."

He thinks back to her doing everything she could to help him. He remembers her staying up on nights where he needed assistance despite her baggy eyes. She always put on her best smile and her flirty eyes. Thinking about it makes his heart skip a beat.

"She helped me track down Lena's attackers and Nicky. She...was one of the best hackers I knew. She could track anyone."

Jacks listens intently, being sure to never miss a word. Witnessing Aiden's tense body language, he and Clara had to have been much closer than what she painted their relationship out to be.

"Okay, but that doesn't answer my first question. What was she doing at Lena's funeral?" He repeats the question.

Aiden shifts his eyes away from Jacks, his nephew's stare penetrating him. He sighs.

"Her job was to dig up information on people. If anyone hired her to find someone who was hard to track down, she would get paid more. Before she met me, she was hired to track me down. After I stole money from the Merlaut, I caught the attention of some higher ups, specifically, the Chicago South Club, and they hired Clara for the job." Aiden explains.

He can tell Jacks is starting to put the pieces together.

"That's how those men found us," Jackson says with the realization setting in.

Aiden only nods in response. Jacks falls silent, feeling conflicted. There's no way she only got information on Aiden. She had to have found info on him, Lena, and his mom.

A part of him wants to be bitter and wonder how she could work for such terrible people. On the other hand, should he be quick to judge? He doesn't know her that well and judging from how she was acting last night, she seemed determined to get him to safety. He clenches his fists, his mind clouded.

"Don't hate her, Jacks. She didn't know what they'd do. She was only doing her job and she made her amends by helping me."

Jacks unclenches his hands and rests them in his lap. "I'm guessing you didn't know at first."

Aiden shakes his head.

"No, but when I finally found out, I pushed her away." He clenches his teeth. "I should have tried to understand her and maybe talk with her, but the Club found her and....they shot her. I watched her die."

Jackson can only imagine what Aiden saw.

"I'll never forget the way she looked at me. I..." Aiden can't bring himself to talk about it anymore as he falls silent.

Is it really the same Clara? It has to be if Jackson is confirming it. This is too much of a coincidence. Still, a part of him wants to stay in denial. It unsettles him to think that Clara could be alive, but he wants answers regardless.

"You sure you didn't see where she went?" Aiden asks.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I don't know why she left, unless she wasn't ready to talk to you."

Aiden pulls out his phone. "If she's alive, then I have to find her. I'll call Connie and see if she knows anything."

He dials Connie. It doesn't take long for her to pick up.

"Aiden?"

"Hey, Connie."

He tries to think of how to start his next sentence. If Clara's still with Dedsec, what if they're hiding her? Would she tell Dedsec to hide her from him? He doubts it, but the speculation is there. Would Connie really hide something like that? He'd have to take the gamble.

"There's someone I'm looking for. I'm wondering if you can help me find them."

"Depends on who it is."

He scratches his beard. "They are....well they were part of Dedsec a long time ago."

"How long ago are we talkin'?"

He thinks back. "Around the time Dedsec first started."

"You mean back in the ctOS 1.0 days?"

"Yeah."

She's silent for a moment.

"Oh, dear. That was a long time ago. I don't have that many contacts from Chicago's Dedsec besides a few. The person you're looking for must be special if you're going back that far."

"We knew each other a long time ago. We worked closely."

"Well I'm stumped. Who is it then?"

He pauses, wondering if he should use Clara's real name or fake one, but what would be the point? He recalls Ray informing him about Dedsec already knowing about him working with Clara. Did London's Dedsec know about them? He'd like to think Connie would have said something if they did. He'd stick with her fake name.

"Her name was Badboy17."

The name feels alien leaving his mouth. Never in a million years would he ever hear himself saying that nickname again. He mentally cringes at the memory of walking up to some random stranger and calling them 'BadBoy.' He almost wants to laugh at it.

"Badboy....17..." Connie ponders for a moment. "Why does that sound familiar?"

Aiden presses his ear more closely to the phone.

"Is there anyone with that name in the Dedsec database?"

"Hold on, let me check." He hears her type for a few seconds. "No. I'm not seeing anyone with that name. It still sounds familiar though."

Aiden is left in thought. Would she change her name? Is she even part of Dedsec anymore? Connie seems to recognize the name. No way could they have know each other. Could they?

"Do you know her real name?" She asks.

Aiden contemplates if he should tell her, but he has already made it this far.

"Clara. Clara Lille."

A shiver runs through him. He doesn't know if he'll ever get used to saying her name without feeling strange. Connie is silent again, leaving Aiden in suspense. He waits for her to speak, but there is nothing. He starts to suspect she hung up on him.

"You there?"

"Give me a second," she finally answers. "I've definitely heard that name before."

Aiden's heart races. As Connie types away at her computer, an onslaught of questions, thoughts, and fears overtake him. He tries to keep them under control as his eyes scan the room. Jackson watches him quizzically.

"Oh, I know who you're talking about now," she says while having a picture of Clara pulled up. "I heard she was gunned down. What the hell happened?"

His lips crease. "The Chicago South Club went after her. They thought she knew too much about them."

He recalls seeing the emails Quinn's men had sent to their boss when he was at the Merlaut. He was so caught up in his hatred for Quinn. If he could go back and do it all over again, he would have warned Clara, but the reality is that he didn't.

"I....couldn't get to her quick enough."

The atmosphere goes quiet between them. Aiden already feels the guilt weighing in on him.

"I'm sorry to hear that, love, but why are you asking me to track someone who's....gone?"

"That's the thing, Connie. She might not be dead. Jacks says he met her yesterday." He glances over at Jacks who is still sitting on the couch and looking out the window. "I know it's a long shot, but have you seen anyone who might look like her?"

Connie takes a look at the picture and hums. "No, she's not ringing any bells for me."

He sighs in disappointment, but he isn't surprised. "Alright. Thanks anyway, Connie."

"Wait a second."

Aiden halts his finger moving towards the end call button. "What is it?"

Connie stares long and hard at the photo again. Something about her features are familiar to her. Another face appears in her mind.

"She looks like someone I saw not too long ago, but I'm not sure if it's worth mentioning."

"Who was it?" He asks, becoming more interested.

"I never got her name and she didn't look a thing like how she does in this photo besides the piercings. One night I was runnin' the pub until this woman barges in. She told me she was trying to get out of the rain, but the poor girl looked terrified. She kept looking out the window as if she was hidin' from someone. I offered to help her, but she took off."

He furrows his brows. "What did she sound like?"

"I know she had a french accent, but it was more on the canadian side."

First Jacks, now Connie. He almost doesn't want to believe it.

He clenches his fists softly before asking, "Do you have cameras at the pub?"

"We do. I'm guessing you want to see the footage?"

"Please," he says, hoping that Connie would follow through.

Jackson gets up and heads over to Aiden, becoming invested in the conversation.

"Alright, let me look back." It takes a minute for her to recover the footage. "I've just found it. I'll send it to ya."

Less than a second later, a video file appears on his phone. He hits play. Jacks leans forward to watch too.

The video starts with the pub running like normal with people at the bar drinking away. He catches sight of someone bursting open the door to the bar. The person slams the door shut with their chest heaving as if they've run a marathon.

Aiden looks closer at the person who appears to be a woman. Strands of her short wet hair branch out and her clothes are drenched in rain water. He searches for any familiar features that could resemble Clara, but he doesn't notice anything aside from her piercings. Her shoulders are more broad, her tattoos are absent, and her makeup is much lighter than her traditional smokey eye makeup. She almost looks nothing like Clara, but he continues watching anyway.

"You alright there, love?" He faintly hears Connie say.

The woman shivers and clutches both of her arms. "Yeah....yeah....trying to get out of the rain."

Aiden turns up the volume as loud as it can go and listens to the woman's voice carefully. Connie introduces herself to the woman.

"I apologize, Connie, if I look like a train wreck."

Aiden can hear her better this time. Her voice is soft and sounds slightly familiar to him. He'd have to hear talk more to be certain.

"You don't look too bad." Connie continues. "I mean no offense by this, but you look old enough to be in here, so just stay out of trouble, yeah?"

"Not sure if that is a good or bad thing, but thanks."

His heart drops once he detects and accent. It's familiar. Too familiar.

"That could be her," Jackson interjects.

"You think so?"

"I'm not a hundred percent on it, but it kind of sounds like her. She just looks so different here."

The woman now has his full attention. He watches her make her way towards a leather chair and sit down. Her eyes scan the room as if she's on the lookout for something. Was she running from someone? He watches her shoulders stiffen and her eyes go wide. He leans down to get a closer look, trying to see what she could be so afraid of. Connie walks into view and approaches Clara.

"Right here, I was trying to get her to tell me who she may be running from," Connie talks over the footage.

The video continues with Connie asking Clara if she needs help. She stares at the pub owner with raised brows.

"Is it Albion? Clan Kelley?" Connie continues in the video.

Aiden observes Clara's face. He can get a better look at her now that she's closer to the camera. He takes notice of her eyes. He has to squint to see them clearly, but once he does, he freezes.

The accent, the piercings, and those bright blue eyes. His heart pounds in his ears. Everything in his mind screams at him to not believe what he's seeing. How can she be alive? Too many questions race through his mind.

Clara paces out of the pub, making Aiden all the more curious.

"Did you see where she went?" Aiden asks once the video ends.

"No."

"Do you have any other cameras around there?"

"I'm sorry, Aiden, but there aren't any other cameras near the pub."

He sighs in frustration and his lips flatten. Jackson heads over to his computer.

"Damn it,"  he curses to himself.

He keeps it together.

"Thank you, Connie."

"Not a problem. If it helps, I can ask around if any of my close colleagues have seen her. She seemed like she needed help."

A sense of worry stirs inside of him. If this is his Clara, he prays she's okay.

"I hope so too. I'll talk to you later. Let me know if you hear anything."

The call ends. Aiden hears Jacks tapping away at his keyboard and turns to see him searching something.

"No, that's not it," Jacks murmurs to himself as he continues searching.

"What are you looking for?"

Jacks doesn't reply at first. He sighs and after a few more clicks, he gives up. He leans back in his chair and taps his fingers on the table.

"I don't see anything about this 'Impulse' group. No records. No footage from what I'm seeing." He combs his fingers through his hair. "She had to be running from them. I remember she told me that they forced her to work for them. I'll see what leads I can turn up and maybe we can find her."

"You shouldn't get involved with this one. This is too dangerous." Aiden crosses his arms.

"Aiden, I'm already involved anyway, so I'm going to help."

Aiden's forehead creases. "You were almost kidnapped yesterday."

Jacks rolls his eyes.

"As if I haven't been kidnapped before," he says while turning his chair to Aiden. Upon seeing his uncle's disapproving look, he sighs. "Look, I'll be careful, alright? I learned from last time. I'll lay low."

Aiden still eyes him. Admittedly, Jacks is a huge help. Whether he wants him to get involved or not, Jacks has always been smart about digging up information.

"Okay?" Jacks asks.

"Fine," Aiden answers eventually.

"Alright." He glances back over at his computer. "I'll see what I can dig up about the group and maybe she'll turn up somewhere. I mean for all we know, she could contact us. She said she wanted to talk to you at some point."

Something about the thought of him talking to Clara again makes his stomach turn. Imagining it feels surreal.

Jackson's buzzing phone snaps Aiden out of his thoughts. Jacks reaches for it and reads a text from his mom.

"Shit, that's right." He rises from his chair and goes to put his shoes on. "I gotta get to mom's. I promised after yesterday that I'd go see her. She's worried out of her mind. She's actually trying to get me to move back in with her."

Nicky's harsh words still linger in his mind. She never talked to him after yesterday, leaving him wondering if she'd ever contact him again. He brushes those worries off as he is now anxious about Jackson's safety.

"Be careful on the way there," he warns.

"I know. I know. I'll make sure to keep my head down," he says while heading over to the door. He grabs the doorknob, but stops with something nagging at him. "I want you to be honest with me. Were you telling the truth when you said you didn't know those guys and that you're done with all of this?"

Jackson's question burns into him. He can't blame his nephew for doubting him, but it still stings none the less.

"I was," he can only say.

Despite his answer, Aiden still spots doubt in Jackson's face as he continues to stare at him. Jacks doesn't have as much doubt as the day prior, but this is the second time his life has been put in danger because of his uncle, and he doesn't want to have to leave London. He's grown attached to it despite its flaws.

He grips the doorknob tighter. "Okay." He opens the door. "Let me know if you find anything. I should be back later."

Aiden nods. "Drive safe."

Aiden watches him go. He plans to track Jacks to make sure he's safe. He shakes his head.

"Stubborn kid."

His mind turns to Clara once again. The image of her inside the bar is glued to his mind. He's left with even more questions than he had before. He is tempted to prob Jacks for more answers, but he had asked enough earlier. The whole situation boggles his mind. So many different things are being thrown at him at once. He never could have suspected Clara was one of those things. The more he thinks about her, the more impatient he gets.

"I need to find her."

With that, he makes his way out of Jackson's apartment, hoping to find answers.

Chapter Text

(December 14, 2013)

Clara tiptoed around the facility, her heart pounding. She tried to keep her breathing shallow and quiet as she snuck by the Impulse guards. Her gunshot wounds had just healed. Whatever Rachel's device did, it helped her wounds heal faster, so it didn't hurt as much to walk.

As she continued to try and sneak out of the facility. She prayed that the first guard she snuck past fell for the noise distraction she set up by throwing an object. He did walk off didn't he? Yes, he did. But what if he saw her?

"No, he couldn't have saw you, Clara." She scolded herself, trying to shut her brain up.

She hid behind a wall and noticed the exit. Her eyes widened. She could make it. All she'd have to do was stay quiet and-

Clara's legs stopped moving once she was about to get to the door. She tried to move her arms, but they went numb. Her muscles froze, feeling paralyzed.

"Why can't I move?"

She pushed herself with all her might to go forward, but her body wouldn't respond.

"Tarbanak, why can't I move? What's wrong with me?"

Her body was stuck like a statue. Soldiers emerged from different rooms around the facility with their guns aimed at Clara. She was able to move her eyes, seeing five of them blocking the door and a few more behind her.

How could they have heard her? She was quiet. She made sure she was.

"You can put the guns down." She heard Rachel say.

She failed to turn her neck to look at her with it being paralyzed too. Was she having a stroke or something?

Clara saw Rachel walk past her with what looked like some kind of remote in her hand. She struggled to move herself once again as Rachel came face to face with her. The sharpness of her dark eyes made Clara more uncomfortable than she already was. A smirk reached Rachel's face.

"Looks like this is working out nicely." She said while observing the remote in front of her.

Clara managed to move her eyes down at the remote, becoming more and more terrified. What was going on? She pushed herself to speak, but only managed a small groan from her throat. Her breathing became more unstable. Rachel took notice.

"What? You thought we would just let you walk out?" Rachel stalked towards Clara like a lioness hunting her prey. "I told you I would find a way to get something out of you."

Clara's breath caught in her throat. She tried to piece together what Rachel meant. Her shaking lips managed to form a question.

"W...W...Why can't...I move?"

Rachel crossed her arms while she still held the remote.

"You're under my control now." Rachel continued to stride towards Clara with each step making the hacker want to step back. "Everything you do and everything you say will be controlled by me."

Rachel pushed a button on the remote causing Clara to collapse to her knees. She winced at the impact and she instinctively tried to catch her fall by moving her arms, but she was reminded that her arms wouldn't move. Dread consumed her. How could Rachel be doing this? What was the remote connected to?

The chip. It had to be the chip Rachel planted on her. How could this be possible? No way could she be doing this with ctOS.

Rachel hovered over her, her smirk vanished.

"Now." Rachel kneeled down to Clara, appearing more stern. "Where is Aiden Pearce?"

"The bunker." Her lips moved on their own before she could process what was happening.

Her heart stopped. Why did she say that? Her body trembled. This couldn't be happening. This had to be a dream. Yeah that was it. So why wouldn't she wake up?

"What bunker?" Rachel asked with furrowed brows.

"It's an island," Clara spoke again with no control over what she said.

"No, no don't say that! Stop it!" She screamed at herself.

Rachel studied her for a moment. She stood up. Clara wanted to break down. The growing horror was becoming to be too much for her. Her eyes latched onto Rachel's

"Show me."

No less than five minutes later, they had her in a car. She unwillingly gave them directions to the bunker by pointing her fingers as to where to go. She desperately wanted to stop talking, but she had become a slave to her own body. All the panic, shock, and anger she was feeling was trapped inside of her. She couldn't scream, or cry. It was pure torture. She grew nauseous at the thought of Aiden potentially being at the bunker. She couldn't bare to have these dangerous people find him because of her.

Please don't be at the bunker.

Her heart pounded more and more by the minute as they approached the bridge. The bridge was turned towards them, allowing them to drive across. Her heart stopped. That meant Aiden had to be here, or at least someone else was.

Rachel along with three other cars full of soldiers made their away across the bridge, making sure to keep their lights dim because of it being night time.

As they slowly ventured the island, memories flooded back to Clara when she was last back here. She could remember leaving the bunker after Aiden snapped at her. She was in tears as she dwelled on her own mistakes. She couldn't dread too much on it as Rachel questioned her.

"Which one?" She pressed on while driving past the various shipping containers.

She gulped.

"That one." Clara pointed towards the familiar red bunker.

Rachel brought her car to a halt along with the others. Rachel gestured Clara to get out of the car which she did so without resistance.

With each passing second, Clara's stomach churned more and more, not knowing what to expect. Different scenarios ran through her head. One of Aiden emerging from somewhere and getting into a full blown shootout with Rachel and her crew. Another was Aiden seeing Clara causing him to get captured of it. She hoped that wouldn't be the case.

Rachel readied her rifle along with her soldiers before slowly approaching the entrance with Clara being forced to follow behind her. She studied the door, trying to figure out a way to get inside.

"How do you get this open?" Rachel asked.

Clara's shaking hand reached for her phone and hacked into the entrance. The door slid open. Rachel scanned the interior of it. It was littered with papers and other trash. Clara watched her search the inside of the container as she tried to will her body to move again. If it wasn't for her immobility, this would be the perfect chance to escape.

After some time searching, Rachel frowned and glared at Clara. "He's not in here. Is there something you're not telling us."

Clara stood like a deer in headlights as she and her soldiers stared her down, waiting for an explanation.

"It's...it's supposed to be an elevator. It should take you to a room...under...ground." Clara attempted to fight the words flooding from her mouth.

"Take us down there," Rachel commanded.

Clara's hand hovered over the controls on her phone.

"No. No..."

Any attempt at struggle was pointless for her. Her body moved on its own as she walked inside the elevator. A few soldiers followed suit.

"I need some of you to stay out here and be ready for anything," Rachel instructed her soldiers.

They all nodded. Clara pushed a button and the bunker's doors closed. They descended. Her hands grew clammy. A part of her hoped that Aiden would be here so he could free her from whoever these people were. Yet again, she hoped he wasn't for his own safety.

She stayed conflicted on it as they reached the bottom of the bunker. The door slid open again and they were greeted by a strong set of lights blaring down at them and stairs leading down to a row of screens showcasing footage of the city.

Clara caught a whiff of the old dust lingering around the bunker. The smell wasn't always pleasant to her, but she'd take it over the smell of metal and hospital quality food. She saw Rachel observe the place for a moment before she saw her freeze. She motioned for everyone to duck down.

"There's someone in here," she whispered.

Clara's heart raced. It had to be Aiden. Who else would it be? T-Bone? Although she couldn't see anything, she could hear shuffling. She could have sworn she heard a voice. A few seconds went by and she picked up on a voice she didn't recognize.

"How did they even stay here? There's dust and shit everywhere." The voice sounded deep, but nothing like Aiden's.

"It doesn't matter," another deep voice spoke. "Let's grab whatever we can before Blume hogs it up."

Despite the voices not belonging to Aiden or T-Bone's, she could detect a voice filter. They sounded like...Dedsec. Aiden couldn't have been here then, but why wasn't he?

On one hand, she was relieved, but on the other, she was a little disappointed. She shouldn't have been surprised. No way could he stay here forever.

Clara noticed Rachel peeking over to see the intruders.

"Who are they?" Rachel asked her.

"They look like Dedsec," she answered while she got a good look at the men who were wearing balaclavas that completely covered their faces. They were also wearing black clothing from what she could tell.

Maybe she could find a way to get their attention and they could help her. She had to know some of them at least. She saw at least five members from where she was sitting.

Rachel contemplated her next move. This could have been the biggest lead she had on Aiden so far and she wasn't going to leave with nothing.

"Don't move," Rachel commanded and signaled a few of her soldiers to have their crossbows ready to cover her.

She moved from her spot and headed towards another lone Dedsec member who was just below the balcony. She tiptoed her way down the stairs and snuck by the other two members who were too distracted by all the tech.

She made her way towards her main target, who had his back turned to her. She launched herself forward, grabbing the guy around the neck and yanked him backwards. He struggled against her, but she made sure to keep him in a chokehold. She didn't apply too much pressure to strangle him, but enough to keep him in place as she dragged him behind a wall. She stopped as he still flailed around. She tightened her arm around his neck.

"The more you struggle, the less likely you'll survive," she whispered with gritted teeth. "If you co-operate with me, I can keep you alive."

The man gripped on her arm that was wrapped around his neck.

"Who the fuck even are you?" He choked out through her grip.

"I'm the one who's going to be asking questions here. Not you. Answer them and I'll let you go. Understand?"

With Rachel's arm being wrapped tighter around his neck, it became harder to breathe. Eventually he stopped his struggling.

"Okay...okay," he croaked out while he patted her arm.

Rachel loosened her grip. "Glad we understand each other. So tell me, what are you all doing here?"

The Dedsec member hesitated for a moment. "We're...we're grabbing tech. That's all."

Rachel eyed him skeptically.

"Just grabbing tech, huh?" She leaned closer to him. "You wouldn't have happened to see Aiden Pearce here, did you?"

"Aiden Pearce?" He sounded confused. "He...he hasn't been here in months."

"Months? What was he doing here?"

"He was staying here with one of our old members, but Blume found this place."

An old member? He had to be referring to Clara. So she had to be telling the truth about where Aiden was, but she remained suspicious none the less of Dedsec's true intentions with the bunker. A part of her was paranoid that Dedsec could be here to rescue Clara.

"You better not be lying to me," she warned.

"I swear we're just grabbing what we can." He said, losing faith in her promise to keep him alive.

She had to be working with Blume, or some fixer. No way could she keep him alive. He started to panic as she loosened her grip slightly. Through his panic, he shouted for a split second before Rachel snapped his neck.

She sighed out of frustration and braced for the other Dedsec members to attack. She was proven right when one Dedsec member heard the noise and spotted Rachel with the limp body in her arms. Rachel tossed the body to the side as the member fired shots at her.

Clara jumped at the sound as the other soldiers drew their weapons and started firing. A full blown shootout ensued between the two groups with the Dedsec members being severely outnumbered. The bullets of Dedsec barely touched Rachel and her soldiers and she had the upper hand.

Clara listened in horror knowing that they were killing people who could have been her friends. Her throat was closing up, not allowing her to scream. All she could do was listen as the Dedsec members went down one by one. One still remained hidden behind the desk displaying the computers. It didn't take long for him to start firing.

Rachel motioned for her soldiers to surround the guy while she prompted a few others to keep an eye on Clara. He proved to be hard to ambush as he pulled out a few grenades he had in his pocket and rolled them out from behind the table. They heard it and dived behind cover as the grenades exploded. The impact was enough to hurt Rachel's hearing. Clara winced as well, but was unable to cover her ears.

The man made a beeline for the stairs leading to the bunker's exit. Clara didn't hear him make his way upstairs. It was only when she caught him reaching the top of the stairs did she notice him. He jumped back when he noticed Clara huddled by the railing. He aimed the pistol at her and was about to shoot, but once he studied her for a second, he stopped. He hesitated once the woman became familiar to him.

"Cla-"

Clara jolted back as a gunshot rang out and blood splattered on her face. She stared at him wide eyed, seeing a chunk of his head blown off. He had fallen towards Clara, who was horrified at the sight of his lifeless body falling flat in front of her. She shivered with the stench of blood hitting her nostrils. She saw Rachel with smoke escaping her gun. She glared at Clara.

"Was this supposed to be a set up?" She grumbled through gritted teeth.

Clara shook her head, her body trembling. "N...No. Aiden was here. I don't know what Dedsec was doing here."

Her throat tightened and her breathing grew out of control. She wanted this nightmare to end. She wished that Dedsec member had shot her. She could have finally been dead like how she should have been at the cemetery. She could have been free from these people, but that wasn't her reality right now.

Rachel released a long breath.

"Clean this place up," she ordered to her soldiers. She rubbed her forehead and eyed Clara again. "As for you, we'll have to change your appearance. We'd have to start with removing those tattoos."

Clara gasped with tears rolling down her face. "What?"

"That guy almost recognized you. We can't take any chances."

Clara panicked. Her tattoos were everything to her. They defined her.

"But...can't we cover them up?" A lump formed in her throat.

Rachel shook her head. "It's too risky. Take her back to the facility and get someone who can remove tattoos."

As Rachel walked away, Clara did everything in her power to resist the soldiers moving towards her. The best she could do was twitch her ankle as more tears pricked at her eyes.

This couldn't be happening.

Her stomach churned as she became nauseous. The soldiers escorted her out with some of them feeling remorseful. She was whimpering at this point. No way could she live like this. Did Rachel plan to stop this at some point? She prayed that Aiden or someone from Dedsec was still around to get her out of this, but they never came. She was still being taken to the car.

She was trapped.

Clara tosses and turns on her mattress, wincing from her nightmare. She can still feel the stings of the needles from her tattoo removal. With each passing second, more sweat forms on her head as she jerks her body around. Her eyes bolt open and she leaps put of bed. She snatches the pistol lying on the table beside her and aims it at her attackers. She breathes heavily, expecting them to come out at any moment.

Once she glances around, she realizes she is inside an abandoned gym she had found not too long ago. She huffs when she realizes she had fallen asleep and she was only having a nightmare. She takes long deep breaths while setting her gun down. She rubs her arms, still feeling the stinging. She stares down at her forearms and notices the scars and frowns.

Despite her having grown numb to the loss of her tattoos over the years, the memories of the removal still haunts her mind sometimes. Her cries of pain, her pleas for them to stop, and Rachel using the remote to make sure she didn't struggle.

Rachel.

The image of her alone makes her clench her fists. She needs to find out what she's up to, but where should she start? She's yet to get the power running in the gym, or let alone get some tech. Hell, she doesn't know if she can stay here for too long. Someone could come along and look for this place, but she hasn't seen anyone and the gym looks run down. She doesn't think anyone will be here anytime soon.

Her mind drifts back to Rachel. After having met Jackson, she wants to be determined to find Rachel before she can do any harm, but she has doubts within herself. When she ran away last night, she stayed hidden while listening to Aiden and his family talk to each other. She heard Nicky tear Aiden apart with her words. Clara dreads how Nicky would react if she ever were to find out about her involvement in the death of her daughter.

She wants to smack herself for being such a coward by ditching Jacks like that. Yes, she knew he was safe, but she should have stayed and taken accountability. Something about seeing that masked man made her want to run and hide. Never in a million years would she have expected to see him there.

Her mind grows overwhelmed as she slowly sits back down on the mattress and buries her face in her hands. She can still remember Jackson's shaking body when he had his panic attack. Sure, she's had panic attacks of her own, but the way Jackson's horrified eyes stared at her gives her goosebumps.

Do they really need you?

She taps her foot with frustration towards herself.

No, they don't.

Yes, they do.

You cause nothing but pain.

You can't let Rachel get them.

She grips her hair with her fingers before standing up, grabbing the table next to her, and flipping it over. She watches the glass plaques that were sitting on it shatter on the ground. She breathes heavily while observing the pieces of glass on the floor. She doesn't care that she has to clean it up. The loud thud from the table and the broken glass makes her feel satisfied in a way.

After glancing around, however, she notices a punching bag hanging from the ceiling. It doesn't register until a few seconds later once she realizes she could have used it instead. She glances back down at the mess of glass on the ground and sighs, feeling ashamed. She sucks in a breath and tries to calm herself. Only now does she realize her hands are shaking.

"Why did I do that? What was I thinking?"

Clara contains her wobbling hands as she leans towards a nearby window, now worrying too much about cleaning up the mess at the moment. She has to keep a clear head. It's the very least she can do to make amends. She would be too much of a coward if she backs out now.

After taking some time to calm down, she wonders how she's going to make this work. How well did that Wrench guy know Aiden? Would he recognize her? She looked different back then, but it's still a possibility. Maybe she can try and avoid him from seeing her. She'd have to figure that out later. Right now, she needs to focus on finding any leads on Rachel and contacting Aiden.

She knows she keeps stalling, but it's best she contacts Aiden sooner rather than later. She decides to push it to the side for now and tries to think of any potential leads on Rachel or Jonas. She would look into Dedsec, but after the whole ordeal with the Bagley attack and the failed attempt to kidnap Jacks, it's safe to assume he's not with Dedsec anymore. She tries to think of any other potential groups they could undercover in until she remembers.

"Clan Kelley."

She wants to smack herself for not thinking of looking into them sooner. She could break into one of their bases and try and dig up some names. She knew Rachel's deal with the Kelleys went sideways, but it's possible for her to have bribed some members. Mary's death has left Clan Kelley vulnerable so it wouldn't be a surprise if they needed extra help. Still this is just a hunch so she has to be careful.

Can she go alone? Rachel has sent her to do tasks by herself before, but knowing how resourceful she be, it might be dangerous. The only person she can think of to ask for help is Aiden, but it's been too long. Would he really help her after she screwed him over? Perhaps he should. She helped him all those years ago, so why shouldn't he return the favor?

She grabs her phone and stares down at it for a moment, contemplating her decision. She knows how to connect to the channel. She can talk to Aiden with a tap of a button. She almost feels selfish with having the nerve to demand his assistance. Yet again, this is his problem. She grips her phone and turns it on, her finger hovering over the call button. She gulps.

It's now or never.

Aiden slouches back in his car, lost in thought. Jackson managed to get to Nicky's safely, so that's one worry lifted off his shoulders. Now his mind is troubled by something, or preferably someone. Ever since Clara's 'death' Aiden always fought to keep her out of his thoughts. The only times he could ever picture her was in her nightmares, but now he thinks of her every second.

It's like a twisted game his mind is playing with him. At first, he sees the good memories with her flashy smile and her attempts to cheer him up with a few jokes here and there.

But then there were the bad ones. From the smaller moments when she would seem annoyed with him to her teary eyes piercing into his soul, his thoughts are all over the place.

His phone lighting up to alert him that the channel is open catches his attention. He glances down to see an unknown person present. He picks up his phone from the passenger seat and inspects it carefully. It couldn't have been Jacks or Wrench. They would have already said something.

He presses his ear into the phone, trying to detect any noise, or a voice. He doesn't pick up anything, but the person is still present, but silent. He freezes.

What if it's her?

Or what if it's someone from Impulse to taunt him similar to how Rempart did?

He waits a few more seconds for the caller to say something.

When he doesn't hear anything, he hesitates before asking, "Who's there?"

He anticipates an answer, but all he hears is a soft shuffling sound. Then there's silence again. He leans forward in his seat as he becomes more anxious.

Could it really be Clara? Was Jackson right?

Aiden opens his mouth to say something until he hears a voice.

"Hello, Aiden."

The voice is soft, accented. It's just like Clara's. Aiden's heart pounds in his chest. This has to be a trick. Someone has to be messing with him. He can't believe what he heard.

He clears his drying throat. "Clara?" That weird feeling strikes him again after saying her name.

The caller remains silent. He anxiously waits for a response and grows more impatient by the minute. He hears shaky breathing in the background. He clenches his knuckles before unclenching them.

"Is it really you?"

He keeps waiting for a response while tapping his fingers against his leg.

"Yes...yes, it's me. I know it's...um...been a long time."

The familiarity of her voice is too much for him. His phone nearly slips out of his hand, but he catches it. He tenses as he goes speechless. Some part of him wants to believe this is a recording playing back, or an AI voice, but this sounds too real. He tries to form the right questions.

No way. There's no way.

"Listen, I..." She isn't sure where to begin. "We need to talk things through. I'm sure Jackson has already told you that people are searching for you."

Aiden's mouth is still hanging open while taking in her voice. A mixture of emotions dwell inside him. Shock, relief, anger.

"After all this time...thinking you were...dead, you..." He can't bring himself to finish his next sentence.

"I know," she said with a sigh. "These people who are looking for you, they made me do work for them. Believe me, I would have talked to you way sooner, but I wasn't able to."

Shivers run through his body. This is all too much. The awkwardness is evident between them.

"Look, we should meet. It'll be easier to clear things up and we're long over due for a conversation anyway."

"Yeah, yeah we are."

There's a pause.

"We can meet later on tonight around seven down at the underground parking lot beneath the Wind Tower?"

He wonders if he should even consider going. It could be a trap for all he knows.

"I swear if this is a trick."

"I promise it isn't. Please, Aiden, just meet me there and I'll explain everything."

He ponders about it, feeling conflicted, but since he is desperate to see Clara again, if it even is her at all, he accepts it.

"Okay. It better be everything. Don't leave anything out," he states.

"I won't," she answers, although she can't guarantee it.

They grow silent after that. The air between them is tense with neither of them not being sure how to end the conversation.

"Well erm...I'll see you there."

She lingers for a few more seconds before leaving the channel. This time, Aiden does drops his phone. He leans back and runs his fingers through his hair. Did that just happen? He replays the conversation over and over.

These people held her hostage? Does he truly believe it, or could it be fake? There's only one way for him to find out.

On Clara's end, she is a nervous wreck. Her fingers couldn't keep the phone steady throughout the entire call. She had been trembling. Hearing his rough voice made her travel back in time to when she was younger. She felt relieved and dare she say it, soothed in a way, but she was also nervous.

She can only imagine the possible scenarios as to how he'll react when he sees her. She bites her nails, dreading it.

Hours go by and the clock reaches six thirty. Aiden is the first to get ready. He never told Jacks he was going to meet Clara. He figures this is his own problem, not his nephew's. Jacks hasn't found anything on Clara anyway. This is the only thing he has going for him.

He starts up his car and follows the coordinates. Throughout the entire ride, he doesn't know what to expect. Would she be angry at him? She didn't sound mad on the phone. The whole ordeal is too difficult to wrap his head around.

Once he gets closer to the tower, he grows more and more nervous. Observing the city's vibrant lights and the busy streets at night reminds him of the first time he was on the way to meet Clara, or 'Badboy17.' He was disgruntled that he had to take the time out of his night to meet this mysterious person.

If only he knew how much Clara would have impacted him. He regrets being as aggressive as he was back then to this day. He sighs with goosebumps forming on his arms.

It takes some searching, but once he spots the Wind Tower sign, he tenses. Driving towards the open garage door gives him an unsettling feeling as he treads carefully inside. He enters the garage and searches for anyone standing by who could look like Clara. He also keeps an eye out for any ambushers. He doesn't see anyone besides a few people on the other side of the garage chatting about their business.

Once he doesn't detect anything suspicious, he makes his way over to a parking spot. Parking his car, he clutches his pistol and his phone close to him. He steps out of the car with caution and scans the garage. The brightness of the garage lights shine down on him as he slowly walks along the black and yellow floors.

He grows more suspicious by the minute. A text pops up on his phone by an unknown number.

"Follow the arrow."

At first, he's confused, but he then spots the big arrow on the garage floor. He is hesitant and it takes everything in him to not go back to his car and forget this whole thing. Is he truly suspicious, or is he trying to run away from this? He isn't at all mentally prepared, but he has to stick to this.

He grinds his teeth before continuing to follow the arrow. He keeps his eyes moving from the arrow to the entirety of the garage. He keeps watch of the other parked cars on either side of him, staying alert for anyone, or anything coming out from behind them. He controls his growing nerves as he makes it towards the end of the path.

He looks down and the path is now directing him to turn right. He does so with growing agitation. He sees a large TV on the wall to the right of him and an empty parking lot to his left. If he wasn't feeling uneasy before, he most certainly is now.

"Where are you?" He wonders.

He sees the TV fizzle with static before a black background appears with a large white text reading, 'Look behind you.'

Aiden stiffens. It's all too familiar. He isn't ready to turn around and he almost doesn't want to. He wills himself to do so anyway and he isn't prepared for what he sees in front of him.

Clara emerges from behind a pillar and slowly makes her way over to him. He is able to see her clearly underneath the lights. He takes in all of her features, never missing a detail. She looks exactly how Jacks described her down to her tossed hair, her piercings, and the jacket. She has her signature smokey eye makeup with some lines being visible beneath them. She is also wearing leather pants accompanied with combat boots. One thing he notices is the absence of tattoos.

He can tell she feels just as nervous as him. Her stiff shoulders and her wide eyes tell him more than enough. She stops once she is in close proximity to him. His green eyes lock onto her bright blue ones.

"Clara."

"Aiden."

Chapter Text

Time slows down for the two of them. The air grows still. 

Clara knows she has seen Aiden through Jackson's camera, but seeing him up close like this and being able to catch every wrinkle, every scar, and every bit of hair from his beard feels different. His tough yet captivating emerald eyes allure her. Seeing him like this again gives her a strange sense of calmness, but once she's reminded of the current situation, it vanishes.

Aiden releases a breath. 

"You're....you're alive?" He shakes his head, confused. "But how?"

His mouth remains agape as he tries to process everything. 

To process her.

Clara doesn't expect her chest to swell so much, but the intensity is getting to her. She tries to force away her tears threatening to reach her eyes. She clears her throat.

"Those people who have been looking for you, they found me that day when I was shot," she explains while watching his face carefully. "They managed to save me in time by taking me to some hospital of theirs. That was before I found out they were horrible people."

She rubs her shoulder.

"Look, Aiden, I know we....have a lot to talk about and things were rough between us before and I want us to at least try to talk things through. I want to try and make up for things and I thought by helping Jackson it would...." 

She is almost about to say it would fix things, but it's like he said. There's nothing to fix.

She grows tense while trying to find her words.

"I thought it would....um....help."

She becomes nervous from his intense stare. It's difficult for her to read him. She can't tell if his shocked expression is anger, or disbelief. Is he going to shut her out again? She can't bear that. She digs her nails into her palms.

"Say something please."

He remains quiet. He takes a step towards her and then another. Clara stands firmly in place while trying to figure out what he's doing. She is taken aback when he leans forward and pulls her close to him, engulfing her in a hug. 

He rests his head onto her shoulder and releases a long and heavy sigh, feeling relieved that she's alright, that she's alive and breathing. His breath brushes against her ear causing the hairs to stand on her body.

She wears off from her shock and returns the hug by wrapping her arms around his back. She buries her face into his jacket and inhales the strong scent of leather while he catches a whiff of her perfume. She holds him tighter with the scent reminding her of old memories. She can't control a tear slipping from her eye and seeping into his jacket. She feels warm and safe in his embrace and she doesn't want to let go.

They stay like that for a few seconds which feels like a whole minute for them before they pull away, the both of them missing the contact. His hands linger a little more on her shoulders before completely pulling away. 

"What's going on, Clara? What happened for the last several years?"

This is the part she has been dreading the most. Reopening her old scars. She avoids eye contact with him. 

"A lot has happened. Those people who went after Jacks, they've been after you for a long time. When they took me to their hospital, the one who's in charge of their group, Rachel, told me they managed to prevent me from dying because of this thing they put behind my neck."

Clara turns around and moves her hair to the side to give him a better view of the chip. Aiden leans forward and squints at the chip, never having seen something like it before. 

"I thought it was weird at first because I've never heard of these people. She and her brother, I think his name was Stephen, told me they were trying to do good for people with this chip, but after she found out who I was, she wasn't so nice anymore."

"What do you mean?"

She sighs. "She found out I knew you. She was trying to get me to tell her where to find you, but I couldn't do it. I remember she threatened me by saying she'll find a way to get me to talk."

Aiden listens closely with his arms crossed, already feeling guilty. 

"Later on, I realized the chip she planted on me wasn't just there to heal my wounds. She found a way to control me with it."

Her breathing picks up pace with her getting anxiety from the memory. Aiden senses her discomfort and is tempted to comfort her. 

"And I mean that literally. I....I don't know how she did it, but she used some type of remote that was connected to the chip to control my body. I know it sounds crazy, but I wouldn't make this up."

Her chest squeezes, but she tries to keep her voice steady. Tears prick at the corner of her eyes.

"They made me lead them to the bunker. Luckily you weren't there, but when that didn't work they..."

She stiffens, not being ready to get into the next part.

"They put me under training and turned me into one of her soldiers. I.....I hurt a lot of people. I ended up attacking and....killing some people. I...I....didn't..."

Her voice cracks and tears break through as her lips tremble. Aiden clenches his fists as he processes everything she's telling him, his stomach forming into a knot.

"I didn't want to. You....You have to believe me. I didn't-"

"Hey, hey," Aiden speaks softly and places his hands on her shoulders. "Relax."

She can't bring herself to look at him as she stares down at the floor. She hates herself for crying in front of him and she wants to hit herself.

"Look at me," he says in a hushed tone as he rubs her shoulders. 

Clara bites her lip, while keeping her eyes away from him for a moment. Eventually, she looks at his warm eyes. She isn't used to seeing this softness in Aiden. For a second, she feels like she is looking at a different man. Something about it makes her feel a bit offput. It's a strange feeling that she can't describe, but she brushes it off.

Aiden, on the other hand, is torn inside. He knew he shouldn't have left her at the cemetery. What was he thinking? He assumed someone had found Clara and called an ambulance. Never would he imagine someone with some weird tech finding her and holding her against her will. The tears in her eyes and the mascara running down her face is enough to break him.  

"I'm sorry." She pulls away from him and holds down her tears. 

She wipes away the mess on her face while sniffling. Aiden can't help but frown at the sight of her. 

She wonders if she should tell him about her encounter with Wrench. The more she thinks about it, the more she decides against it. It would make things worse and her emotions were already at an all time high. Getting into the terrible things she did to Wrench and his friends would only cause her to break down.

What if Aiden doesn't stick around if she tells him? They have to know each other well if Wrench knows Jackson. She can't risk him leaving and she needs his help. She collects herself and turns to him again. 

"It was only recently that I was freed by someone. I don't know who it was, but they managed to block Rachel's access to the chip, so she can't control me anymore. It happened during some deal Rachel was trying to do with Mary Kelley, but it failed because I escaped her," she explains with an edge still present in her voice. "I mean I'd like to think she can't control me. It's been a week since then, so she shouldn't."

Clara gets paranoid about it since she is afraid she'll jinx it. She sometimes still hears Rachel's voice giving her demands. At times she can't tell if they're real or if it's all in her head. Regardless, she'd have to remain hopeful for now. 

"Rachel always had either me or someone else working undercover for different groups like Mary Kelley in order to try and find you. Now since Mary Kelley is dead, Clan Kelley is vulnerable right now. I was thinking of finding one of their bases and trying to dig up a name. There's someone she works closely with named Jonas and I know it's just a hunch, but I believe he may be working undercover for the Kelleys and it's the only lead I can think of right now on finding Rachel."

She rubs her shoulder as she starts to feel awkward about her next request.

"And I was wondering if you could help me."

She wants to laugh at herself with her being the awkward one asking for help instead of him. 

Aiden takes in what she's saying. All of this is happening so fast. He is still processing everything and the whole thing bewilders him, especially Clara asking him for help. She grows nervous at his silence.

"We could go....as a team."

His heart leaps in his throat. 

"A team?"

She nods with a small smile forming on her face. Aiden's heart flutters from her smile alone. 

"You mean you want us both to go in?" He asks, not used to Clara being with him when breaking into places. 

"Yeah. Besides, it's not like I don't know how to handle the guards. I figured I needed some backup, you know?" She explains while still feeling awkward about her request. 

Aiden gazes at her, still taking in her request. Having seen her worn eyes and listening to her tear up sparks something inside of him. Something about her is amiss. She may talk the same, but the spark from her eyes is missing and it makes him all the more curious of the severity of what she's been through. The worst part of it all is it's because of him. 

There's no hesitation in his mind. He can't abandon her again.

"I'll help you."

Clara blinks a few times. "You will?"

"Why wouldn't I?" He states at her confused. 

She releases a sigh of relief.

"Well I...." She shakes her head, regaining herself. "I mean...okay. I appreciate it."

There's a pause. Aiden still has questions, but he'd ask them in the meantime.

"When did you plan on doing all of this?" 

Clara stops to think. She never had thought about when she'd do it.

"I would say as soon as we can. They could be planning anything right now." She glances down at his signature trench coat. "I'm guessing you have your weapons."

"Yeah, but we need to be careful," he says even though he's mainly referring to her.

A smile reaches her face. "You know I'm always careful, Aiden."

"Clara, these people are dangerous. You know what they do, right?"

"Yes, I know, but don't worry about me. The sooner we find Rachel, the better." She adjusts her jacket, feeling her gun and her phone inside her pockets. 

Aiden frowns at her, still not being convinced, but he keeps his thoughts to himself.

"I've already mapped out a place and it's about twenty minutes from here. There shouldn't be too many Clan Kelley members right now. I checked their patrol hours, so we can be in and out."

As she went through her plan, Aiden can't shake off a bad feeling hitting him, but maybe it's a feeling he's always used to. With Clara in the picture, the feeling is stronger than ever. 

Clara senses his unease and her face softens.

"It'll be fine, okay? Besides, I have you helping me." 

She tries to comfort his worries by giving him her best smile and it does soften him a little.

He sighs. "Okay. Show me where we need to go."

With that, they were on the way to the Kelley hideout in Aiden's car. They agreed to go in his car until they were done and then he'd take her back to the garage. 

The ride feels awkward and tense. There's so many questions, thoughts, and feelings. Aiden can't decide where to begin with it all. 

"So..." He taps his fingers against the steering wheel. "We never got to talk about what happened before." He already tenses up inside from the subject. 

Clara cradles her fingers in her lap. "No, we didn't."

He tries to think of what to say. His thoughts trail back to the incident at the cemetery and he remembers something. He digs through his pocket and feels around for her phone. Once he detects it, he pulls it out and hands it to her.

"Here."

Clara glances at the phone, surprised. "You took it?"

She inspects it and is amazed at it looking as good as new. She's shocked he kept it after all this time. 

"Yeah. I also heard your message," he says without looking at her.

For a moment, she doesn't remember what message he is referring to. She thinks back to that day when Aiden was still angry with her. She stayed up long nights hating herself for what she did. She kept trying to rehearse what she'd say to Aiden. At that point, she felt like her life was over. She recalls rehearsing several different messages. She starts to remember what she had said and she cringes at herself for the way she sounded in it. 

"You heard that too? I know it doesn't fix anything. I'm sure I sounded pathetic."

Aiden shakes his head with furrowed brows. 

"No, you didn't. Clara, none of what happened was your fault."

"Are you serious? They wouldn't have found you or your family if it wasn't for me."

"You didn't know what they'd do to us. You were just doing your job."

Clara can't believe what Aiden is saying.

"How could I not have known? They were the Chicago South Club. I should have known better." She raises her voice a little. "Stop making excuses for me."

Aiden opens his mouth to say something until Bagley informs him that he has arrived at his destination. He almost misses the turn, but he makes it in time. He parks in front of the building and turns to Clara, who is already checking her gun. 

"Clara."

"Let's go." She doesn't let him get another word in as she steps out of the car. 

He watches her head towards the building and sighs. He follows her and checks himself to make sure he has everything he needs. He heads up to Clara who refuses to face him. 

"We can sneak in through there." She points towards the back gate with only two guards patrolling it. "You can take out that guard and I'll get the other one."

As much as he wants to continue their previous conversation, with her being deadset on breaking into this place, he knows she won't budge. 

"Okay, just be careful and stay close to me," he instructs her. 

This time, she looks at him. 

"I will. It's not like I have anywhere else to go."

She continues to head towards the building before he can even blink. He makes sure to follow her while keeping an eye out for anyone who could sneak up on them. 

Going into this, he grows uneasy. He's thrilled to work with Clara again, but he never imagined it would be like this. Sure he has seen Clara use a gun before, but with her being willing to leap into dangerous territory is new to him. 

Aiden can see a path leading beneath the building. He gets a good look at the inside and sees a set of glass doors leading inside with the two guards still patrolling it. 

Clara gets a good look at it as well. Once she's made up her mind, she gestures Aiden to follow her. He complies, feeling reluctant going into this with her. He watches her carefully as she approaches one of the unsuspecting guards from behind and places them into a sleeper hold. 

Aiden almost gets distracted from watching her, but catches himself as he takes out the other guard with a few swings from his baton. Clara is already on her feet as she makes her way over to the glass doors. She peeks through the glass. When she doesn't spot anyone, she hacks into the door, opening it. 

They go inside with Aiden still keeping an eye on Clara or any other potential attackers. The place looks like a worn down warehouse. British rap music plays through a rusty radio in a corner and graffiti litters the walls. They spot a few more Kelley thugs holding their guns. They appear to be young, probably in their 20s so they have to be amateurs. 

Clara wastes no time sneaking behind one of them and knocking them out with the butt of her gun. She neutralizes the other by hacking into one of the power boxes and electrocuting them. She is surprised at the lack of challenge and wonders if she even needs Aiden's help, yet again Rachel or the people working for her could be lurking out there. It gives her comfort to know she has Aiden as backup if that were to happen. 

She gestures Aiden to follow her up a set of stairs leading to another room. 

"It looks like there is a computer up there," she whispers while pointing towards it. 

Aiden nods, seeing it as well. They keep themselves crouched as they go up the stairs. They take a few more guards out before unlocking the door to the room and going inside. 

"I'll search the computer. You keep a lookout," she instructs him. 

"Okay," Aiden replies with his pistol at the ready. 

Clara makes her way over to the computer. She sifts through names, profiles, or anything that could lead her to Jonas or Rachel. 

A minute goes by with no sign of any Kelley soldiers around the corner. Aiden continues to scout the area while occasionally glancing at Clara. He notices her growing frown as she clicks away at the computer. 

"Everything alright?"

Clara doesn't answer with her full attention being captured by the screen. He turns himself fully to her. 

"Clara?"

She jerks her head towards him. "Hm?"

"Do you need help?" He asks while walking towards the computer. He sees multiple profiles of Kelley members and affiliates. 

She doesn't answer again as she continues searching, hoping for anything to turn up. 

"I don't see him anywhere," she states with a sigh. 

She is disappointed, but should she be surprised? She steps back, feeling like giving up. 

"I guess it was worth a shot." She bows her head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to drag you here for nothing."

"I'm sure we'll turn up other leads. Don't stress yourself out with this," he reassures her. 

Clara is still disappointed none the less. A light banging noise grabs her attention as she jerks her head towards the direction of the sound. She scans the room, trying to pinpoint where the thuds are coming from. She readies her weapon as she cautiously walks around the room. Aiden takes notice.

"What is it?" He asks.

"Do you hear that?"

Aiden goes silent while trying to pick up on anything, but he hears nothing. 

"Hear what?"

The noise comes to a halt out of Clara's frustration. She doesn't hear anything for a few seconds before the noise comes back again accompanied with what sounds like muffling. She grows even more confused. 

"What is that?" She mutters. 

She continues tiptoeing around the room while following the noise. It becomes louder once she approaches a large shelf filled with boxes. She stops and leans towards the shelf. It's hard for her to tell if the sounds are coming from in front of her or beside her. 

Aiden also makes his way to the shelf, but he still doesn't pick up any noise, making him wonder how she is hearing anything. Is his hearing getting bad? A part of him starts to doubt her, but she is determined to figure out the origin of whatever she's hearing. 

She puts her gun away and grabs the edges of the shelf to move it. She only manages to scoot it a little bit. 

"Come help me with this," she says.

Aiden obliges hesitantly. 

"What are you trying to do?" He asks while pushing the shelf with her. "What are you hearing?"

"It's like a weird banging noise and something else. It's hard to describe it, but I know I hear it."

He glances at her quizzically, but says nothing as they continue moving the shelf. After a few good shoves and pulls, they manage to move the shelf out of the way, but they are only met with a blank wall. 

Clara glares at it, knowing that she's still hearing the sound. 

"What?" She mutters under her breath. 

"Are you sure you're not hearing something else?" He crosses his arms. 

"I know I hear it. The sound is coming from here. I know it."

"What if it's just-"

"Shh," she hushes him as the noise grows louder. 

The banging grows loud enough to where Aiden can now partly hear it. Her eyes scan the area with the noise sounding like it is coming from multiple directions. Her eyes glance down to the floor and she notices a square outline camouflauged into the concrete. She kneels down to take a closer look and can see the lines more clearly. 

"This is a hatch. It's coming from down here," she states, getting more puzzled by the minute. 

She digs her nails under the lines, searching for a loose spot. She feels it and pulls the hatch up slowly. They're both taken aback at the disturbing sight of five people huddling underneath the hole with tape strapped around their mouths and bodies. Some of their eyes are bruised while others had blood trickling down their faces. They all stare up at the two of them with tears staining their eyes. She can tell their lips are quivering beneath the large tape that barely gives them room to breathe

"Oh my god," she breathes out.

They have to be Kelley slaves judging from their white clothes. Aiden shudders beneath the thick layers of his clothes. Human trafficking is never something he takes lightly. No matter how many times he has seen this type of corruption, it still gets to him. 

Aiden and Clara briefly glance at each other before turning their attention back to the slaves. She slowly leans towards them, causing them to scoot back. She catches a foul odor, making her wonder how long they have been kept down there. 

"It's okay," she whispers. "We're not with Clan Kelley. You're safe."

They still tremble and they notice Aiden come into view. Clara reaches her hand down and works to remove the piece of tape stuck to one of their mouths. The sweat on the captive's face clings to her fingertips as she remove the tape. The tied up woman gasps for air, her lips trembling. Her hazel brown eyes never leave Clara's as she continues to be untied. 

Once the tape is removed, the woman scrambles over to the others and unties them as well. Aiden reaches down to untie another captive. They seem to trust him as they lean more towards him. With them all being untied, they rush out of the cramped area while catching their breaths. Some mutter in different languages while others are too shocked to say anything. The first woman Clara freed speaks up.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," she says quickly towards the two of them. "I don't know if they were ever going to let us out of there."

"How long were you in there?" Aiden asks.

"I.....I don't know. It was so cold and dark and-"

"Hey, it's okay now," Clara speaks gently. "What's your name?"

She struggles to form her words. 

"Estelle. I recognize him." She points towards Aiden before looking at Clara again. "And I think...you look familiar."

Clara takes a good look at Estelle as she finds something familiar about her too, but she can't quite put her finger on it. She notices a few others staring at her as if she is a spider that broke into their home. She can hear one of them speaking french. She is able to understand them.

"I saw her."

"She was with the Kelleys."

It takes Clara a split second to realize what they're talking about. 

"You were at the Sandstone Residence that night." Clara points out, being able to recognize Estelle more clearly. 

She recalls her being one of the maids carrying the trays on the night she escaped Rachel. Estelle begins to recognize her as well. 

"Were you the one who ran away?"

"Yes," she answers, recalling that night. "I promise I wasn't with the Kelleys. I was forced to be there."

Estelle nods with a light grin. "I know. I could tell."

Aiden stares at the two, puzzled as to what they're talking about.

"Wait, what happened?" He interrupts. 

"That's right. I didn't mention it to you." She turns to him. "That night I escaped Rachel, she was trying to cut a deal with Mary Kelley by using that device she was controlling me with. She was going to help the Kelleys control their slaves, but the only reason she did it was to drop some of her spies inside the Kelleys. She thought it would help find you. That's why I wanted to look here first."

Aiden doesn't respond while absorbing what she's saying. The fact that Rachel was trying to help a sick organization like Clan Kelley control people against their will makes his stomach turn. Now he is even more eager to meet this woman. 

Clara notices the others peeking out the window while trying to find a safe way out. 

"There's still guards outside. Stay close to us. We'll get you out," Aiden says as he nods to Clara before gesturing them to follow. 

Estelle is eager to follow while the others are a bit hesitant, but comply none the less. They make their way out of the room, being sure to stay crouched. Clara searches for a way out while Aiden keeps a lookout for more guards. They ran into a few more guards on the way out and were successful in taking them down. They all make it safely outside. 

The rescued scan the parking lot, paranoid of Kelley thugs lurking around.  They take one last glance at Aiden and Clara while murmuring something before taking off. Only Estelle stays behind. She watches the other freed captives run off and she gives Aiden and Clara an apologetic smile.

"Don't take them the wrong way. I'm sure they're grateful."

Clara waves her off. "Don't worry about that. We're just glad you're alright."

Estelle nods. "Thank you both again. I'm very grateful that you showed up."

"It's no problem. Really." She assure her, still being disturbed by what she saw earlier. 

It takes Clara a few seconds to remember why she came here in the first place. Estelle is about to leave before she stops her.

"Wait."

Estelle turns around.

"I hate to bother you with this, but I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. Did you happen to see anyone with dark hair, brown eyes, facial hair? His name is Jonas."

Estelle thinks back. She has seen many Clan Kelley members and it's difficult for her to pinpoint anyone who fits Jonas's description. 

"What does he sound like?"

"He has a deeper voice. He doesn't have an accent if thats what you're wondering."

Estelle folds her arms and thinks hard about it. She remembers different faces, but fails to remember anyone who looked or sounded like Jonas.

"Maybe I've seen him. I don't know. I haven't heard anyone with that name."

Clara, although disappointed, doesn't dwell on it that much. Estelle still appears to think about it for a moment until a face appears in her mind. 

"Does he have a scar across his eyebrow?"

"Yes," Clara answers quickly, wanting to know more. 

"Maybe that could be him. I saw him somewhere." Her forehead creases, trying to remember where. "I know I saw him, but....ugh I can't remember right now."

"It's alright. Don't stress yourself out about it. If you can't remember, that's fine. Just focus on getting back to your family."

"No. You saved my life, so I owe you that much. I wish I could remember."

Clara wants Estelle to get back home and move on with her life, but can she really let an opportunity like this slip? 

After some consideration she says, "We could set up a channel for you to contact us."

Clara glances over at Aiden for approval. He can't shake off a bad feeling, but since Estelle doesn't seem to have a problem, he doesn't argue. 

"Yeah." He glances over at Clara before turning his attention back to Estelle. "You can contact us through there. We can patch you in."

He taps his optik and connects with hers. 

"You can let us know if you remember anything."

"I'll keep it in mind. Thank you both again."

"You don't have to keep thanking us. Get home safe." Clara pats Estelle on the shoulder and gives her a warm smile.

Aiden watches Clara intently, missing this softer side of her. 

Estelle manages to form a grin, feeling comfort in Clara's gaze. She nods to the two of them before taking off. Clara watches her go and sighs before turning to Aiden. 

"Now what do we do?" Aiden asks.

Clara's lips flatten. "I think it's best that we call things off for tonight and get some rest. We could try looking at different groups, but that could lead to nothing as well."

Aiden doesn't feel right with Clara getting so involved with his dangerous life again. The sight of those captives alone is enough to make him worry. He observes her as she continues to talk about other potential plans with him not processing anything she's saying. He pays attention to the way her eyes shift around as she speaks. He listens to the tone of her voice. There's a slight edge to it as she rambles on and on. 

"I'm not sure right now. I say we sleep on it for the night," she continues. She notices Aiden watching her and stops. "Aiden?"

He collects himself. 

"Yeah, yeah. I'll take you back," he says while gesturing her towards his car. 

Clara is taken aback by his bluntness, but follows him none the less. The ride back is silent at first. The two are not sure what to bring up besides what they've already said to each other. Aiden taps his fingers on his lap while keeping his other hand on the wheel. 

"You don't have to do all of this," he finally says. "I'm sure I can think of a way to find these people."

Clara glances over at him. 

"Don't be ridiculous. We need each other's help in this and I don't mind helping either."

"It's not worth risking yourself for this."

As Aiden pulls into the garage, Clara turns herself to him. 

"Aiden, I don't mind. Really. I want to help." She grins lightly. "We're a team, remember?"

Dread lingers inside of him as he puts the car in park. He doesn't say anything as Clara removes her seatbelt. 

"Well, thanks for coming along with me even though it was a bust. We could meet up tomorrow night to talk if you want."

She rubs her shoulder before opening the car door. 

"Where are you staying?" He asks, not ready for her to leave.

"I'm currently staying at some gym. I don't think there's anyone coming back for it. What about you?"

He chuckles.

"You're sitting in it."

Clara blinks a few times, trying to understand what he means until she looks around the vehicle and notices the tech. 

"You're staying here in your car?"

"Yep. I know it's not the bunker, but it does the job."

Clara grimaces, knowing how uncomfortable it was for her to stay in her own car. 

"You should consider stopping by my place. Trust me, it's way comfier than a car."

Aiden shakes his head.

"Don't worry about it. Believe it or not, I've been living like this for a long time. I'll be fine."

She eyes him, still not pleased, but she'd let it go for now. She pulls out her phone.

"If you change your mind, here is the address."

His phone buzzes and he sees the address pop up. When he looks back up, he already sees Clara stepping out of the car. He follows suit and they both shut the car doors. She makes her way around the car and faces him. They both stare at each other, feeling the awkwardness in the air. She clears her throat.

"I'm going to head back," she says while nodding towards her car. "It was good seeing you again, really."

"Likewise."

He keeps his gaze on her and he almost wants to keep her longer. 

She is quiet for a few seconds before saying, "I'll see you tomorrow."

She gives him a small wave before turning herself around and heading towards her car. Aiden clenches and unclenches his fists, needing to say something. 

"Clara," he calls out to her, causing her to turn around. 

"Yeah?"

Aiden opens his mouth to say something, but the words won't come out. There is more he wants to get off his chest, but too many thoughts and questions plague his mind, leaving him at a loss for words. He closes his mouth, realizing it's all too much to get into right now. 

"Drive safe," is all he can say.

Clara raises her brows, not being sure if she heard him correctly. 

"I'm sorry, did I just hear you say drive safe?"

It takes Aiden a second to process what he said. He isn't sure what possessed him to say that. 

"Yeah, what about it?" He tries to play it off.

A grin grows on her face.

"I don't think I've ever heard you say that." She shoots him a devious smirk. "Who are you?"

Aiden manages to work up a laugh.

"Come on, I'm not that cold. Is it really that bad?"

She keeps her gaze on him for a few seconds as he buries his hands inside his pockets. She softens.

"I'm just teasing." She starts to turn around. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She laughs lightly before heading towards her car. Aiden's smile remains as he watches her go. It vanishes, however, when he starts to worry about her safety. He considers tracking her to make sure she gets back safe, but maybe it's too much. His heart races while he watches her get in her car and back out of her spot before driving away. He almost expects a hoard of cars with armed men tracking her down. He attempts to calm himself as he heads back to his own car, already missing her company.

Chapter Text

Beams of sunlight peek through the windows of Nicky's house as she and Jacks prepare breakfast. After the Bagley attack, Jacks has offered to stay the night at his mom's so she can feel comfort about his safety. He has also had to switch to online classes until this whole mess blows over. He isn't as worried for his well being as much as he should be, but he is more worried about his mother's. He watches her work to prep breakfast by scrambling to get eggs out of the fridge. She appears calm, but he can tell she is one edge.

"Mom." He walks over to the fridge and places his hand on the door. "I'll get it. You can make the toast."

She glances at him and her lips quirk up. "Thanks, but I'm sure I can handle cooking some eggs." She grabs four of them before shutting the door.

"But you've already cooked everything else. I barely did anything besides getting stuff out," he notes while observing all of the pans scattered on the stove consisting of bacon and potatoes. "I'll cook the eggs."

"Don't say that. You've helped me a lot and like I said, I can cook a few eggs. You can sit on the couch and I'll have it all ready."

Jacks frowns as he watches her work in the kitchen. He knows she is only trying to distract herself from her worries. He suspects she is trying to keep her mind off of Aiden as well. He hates to see them being cold towards each other again. His thoughts are side tracked when his phone rings on the coffee table in the living room. He glances at it and hesitates to get it, but considering the situation they're in, it could be Aiden telling him something important. He walks over to it and sees Aiden's name. He picks up.

"Morning, Aiden."

Nicky looks over at Jacks once she hears Aiden's name.

"Morning, Jacks. How are things going over there?"

"Things are alright. Mom and I were making breakfast, well mostly she is because she is refusing my help." He shoots her a grin, prompting her to roll her eyes and continue cooking.

"I didn't mean to call you at a bad time, but I thought I'd let you know that you don't have to keep searching for Clara. I met her yesterday."

"Really?" He sits down on the couch. "How did it go?"

Aiden thinks back to the awkwardness between the two of them and how tense he became when she left. He made sure to check in on her a while after she left to make sure she made it back okay. Thinking about it now, it sounds silly for him to do that.

"We talked through some things. Turns out she was trying to find leads on Rachel, the person Clara told me was in charge of Impulse. She called me to help her go inside one of Clan Kelley's hideouts."

"Clan Kelley is involved in this?"

"That's what she told me. She thought she could find one of Impulse's members named Jonas."

Jonas. Was that the man he saw that night of the attack?

"She said he could have been disguising himself as one of the Kelleys, but we never found anything about him in their databases. Instead, we ended up finding people the Kelley's were holding captive, so we let them go."

Jackson's stomach turns, having seen images of Kelley slaves either chained up or left to rot in a cellar. He can only imagine what Aiden and Clara saw.

"Jesus."

"Yeah. One of them told us they could know something about Jonas, so she can contact us through the channel. We're still searching for any other leads and I'm supposed to see her again tonight."

Aiden scratches his neck, feeling a bit nervous for where their conversation could lead to. Maybe things would get tense. Maybe they won't and he's overthinking it.

"Alright. Just be careful and let me know if you guys turn up anything."

A part of Jacks wants to talk more about Clara. Learning about her involvement in Lena's death has been picking at him, but he suspects Aiden would gloss over her since he seems more forgiving. The best way Jacks would feel satisified is to talk to Clara directly, but he'd hold off on it for now.

"Okay. I didn't mean to interrupt you and your mom. I'll let you go."

Jackson's lips quirk up. "You're always welcome to call anytime and I kinda need to know this stuff anyway."

Aiden chuckles softly. "Right."

"Well I'll talk to you later then," Jacks says. "Be safe out there."

"Likewise."

With that, they hang up. Jackson makes his way back to the kitchen.

"Sorry about that. Aiden was calling me."

Nicky keeps her eyes on the food she is cooking in the pan. She can't fight the bitter feeling brewing inside her.

"What did he have to say?" She asks with disdain in her voice. It doesn't take Jackson long to catch on to it.

"He's working out a plan on finding the group that's after him."

"You mean us," she states as she stirs the food a bit faster.

Jackson falls silent for a moment, feeling the conversation going south. He knows she's right, but he can't bring himself to be mad at Aiden.

He clears his throat. "He has someone helping him. Her name is Clara. They worked together a long time ago."

He contemplates telling her about Clara's involvement in Lena's death. She has a right to know, however, the more he thinks about it, it's not the right time to tell her. She is already on edge. Bringing up that horrific tragedy would make things worse. He'd tell her when the time is right.

"I'm sure he'll find a way to mess everything up again."

"Mom."

She doesn't say anything as she sits down the spatula and opens the cabinet to get plates.

"I know he doesn't want us to be in danger. Deep down you know it too."

Nicky's hand comes to a halt for a split second before she resumes what she's doing. She continues to stay silent while rummaging through another cabinet for silverware.

"You know, maybe you should talk to him. Give him a call or something."

She shakes her head. "He'll give me the same excuses that he always does."

"He won't. He's trying to be better. I know you didn't mean what you said the other night."

"Can we drop it?" She states a little harsher than she intended, her hard exterior faltering. She notices the growing frown on his face and sighs. "Sorry. I didn't mean to raise my voice at you. This whole thing has been stressing me out, okay?"

He nods with a comforting smile and places his hand behind her back, rubbing it. "I know. I get that, but it might do some good if you talk to him again."

She crosses her arms. Although she doesn't want to admit it, she does feel empty without her brother around. She did enjoy his company at the park and the restaurant, but right now she feels too confused and angry. She turns to Jacks.

"Let's eat before the food gets cold."

She brushes past him and assembles her plate. He shakes his head, deciding to drop the subject.

"Okay."

The night is cool and crisp as Clara leans over the railing and takes in the view of the London Bridge illuminating the city with its lights. The autumn breeze brushes against her jacket as leaves fall from the trees and down to her feet. She waits for Aiden to show up as she listens to the calm water and the chatter from others around her.

"Clara?" She jumps when she hears a voice come through her optik. "Can you hear me?"

She recognizes the voice.

"Estelle?"

"Good. You can hear me. I wanted to tell you that I remember where I saw that guy. You know, the guy you're looking for."

"Really? Where?"

"I saw him in one of Clan Kelley's buildings while I was held captive. He was talking to another Clan Kelley member about meeting at a place called the Walkie Talkie Club. I've never been to it, but I'm pretty sure that's what he said."

Clara thinks about it. Walkie Talkie Club. She's never heard of it. "Do you know when they were supposed to meet?"

"No. I know the building is owned by Clan Kelley and they meet routinely there. I can't remember when they said they'd meet, but I'd like to think it's soon, or maybe they already have. I know it isn't much, but that's all I can remember."

"No, that's good. I appreciate you telling me this. I'll see what I can dig up on that."

"Oh okay. I'm glad I could help you out."

As antsy as Clara is to do some digging on the club, she can't help but ask, "Did you get home okay?"

Estelle wants to laugh from her question. "I don't really have much of a home, but I got back safe."

"Where are you staying?"

Estelle bites her lip. "In some beat up tent, but it does the job. I've been homeless for a few months now and it's my fault I got here if I'm being honest."

Clara's brows draw together and she grows vaguely curious. "What do you mean?"

"It's...I'm sorry. I shouldn't dump this on you."

"No, no. It's alright. Talk away if you need to."

Clara rests her cheek in the palm of her hand while still leaning over the railing. Estelle sighs, trying to work up the courage to speak.

"Well...I screwed things up with my family. A couple of years ago, I...I was pretty hooked on drugs. My parents tried to get me to quit, but I was too stupid to listen to them." She shivers, knowing that she has opened up old wounds, but she continues. "It got so bad that even when I got pregnant, I was too doped up to care. It's a miracle my baby survived."

Clara hears a crack in Estelle's voice and she frowns. She knows of all people to not judge since there could be more to the story.

"And I know that makes me a horrible mother. My parents had to be the one to take care of my daughter because I was so fucked up." Her voice shakes and she tries to hold back her tears. "They...They eventually had enough of me and they threw me out. I remember begging them to let me back in. That I'd stop, but they already warned me several times and that I could've...risked killing my own child before she was...even born."

Clara hears sniffles. She removes her hand from her cheek and grips the railing. She is left speechless. The information is a lot to take in.

"For the next few years I got clean, but it didn't matter in the end since I didn't have much money left. I remember seeing this ad for a modeling job. They were offering a lot of money and I was desperate. I should have known that it was fake, but I didn't learn that until they...they um..." Estelle voice trembles and she whimpers. She isn't able to hold back as she sobs.

Clara grows unsettled. She can already predict where this is going.

"The people who put up the ad, who I later learned were Clan Kelley, forced me to do things I didn't want to do. They never let me go. They told me that nobody would help me. I was a nobody. No friends. No family left. I sometimes wonder if I deserved it."

"No, don't say that. You didn't deserve that," Clara says, her heart aching for the girl. "Don't ever blame yourself."

Estelle's throat dries up as she wipes away her tears.

"How old are you?" Clara asks.

Estelle's lips tremble, making it harder for her to speak. "T...Twenty three."

"Mon Dieu, you're that young?"

"I know. I fucked up my life before it even started. It's pathetic."

"No, your life is far from over. I know it feels like it, but it's not too late to set things right with your family. I'm sure they miss you."

"You're saying that to make me feel better. There's no way my parents would want to see me, or let me see my daughter as much as I want to.

"You're still young and you made some mistakes, but you're clean now and that's all that matters."

Estelle bites her nails. "They'd be ashamed of what I've done for Clan Kelley. I wish I wasn't so stupid."

"Estelle, nobody else here is to blame but Clan Kelley. You did nothing wrong and you didn't have a choice. Don't blame yourself, okay?"

Estelle doesn't answer as she sits in silence.

"Okay?"

Estelle releases a long breath while rubbing her arm. "Okay. I'm sorry I piled all of that onto you. It's not your problem."

"Don't be sorry. It's good that you got it all out and...I know what it's like to be alone." She takes a breath. "Whenever you're ready, try reaching out to your family. I'm sure they're worried about you and maybe they'll let you see your daughter."

"I doubt that, but thanks for the advice."

Clara taps her fingers, wanting to do more for the young woman. "Just consider it, alright? And thank you for contacting me. It's a good lead."

Estelle's tears start to dry up on her cheeks. "It's the least I can do."

"Be safe out there please and if you ever want to talk or if you need anything, you know how to contact me."

For the first time, a genuine smile reaches Estelle's face. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Clara."

Estelle exits the channel, leaving Clara to her own thoughts. She can't help but feel a connection with Estelle. A wave of protectiveness washes over her. Whether Estelle will contact her again or not, she'll make sure to check in with her. Her mind drifts back to the Walkie Talkie Club and only now does she realize that Aiden still hasn't shown up. She taps her boot. She'd give Aiden ten more minutes to show up before she'd call him.

She pulls out her phone and searches the club Estelle was talking about. A tall round building pops up with a description summarizing it as a high class club with a fancy dress code. Besides a few other websites praising Clan Kelley for the club, that's all she can find on it. Judging from the height of the building and with the club being located at the very top of it, she would have to go in manually if she decides to infiltrate it.

Her eyes scan the photos showing the inside of it and she gets the general layout. Still, she has no idea when Jonas is supposed to show, or if he'd show up at all. He is already a difficult man to track. He could be under any name and this is the best lead she can get. She can't waste it.

A few ideas come to mind such as spying through the cameras, but there's a possibility that he won't show up and she'd waste her time. She'd also be out of range from because of the club being located so high up. With every avenue she thinks of, she realizes it won't work without her going directly inside the club. Another idea comes to her mind. It's risky, but it could work, but she isn't too sure if Aiden would approve of it.

Right on cue, she finally catches sight of Aiden from a distance making his way past people with his hands tucked in his pockets. His jacket flows in the wind as he spots her by the railing. She gives him a small wave and he returns it while approaching her. She leans her back onto the railing and watches him do the same beside her.

"Hey," she greets him with a small grin. "Was something holding you up?"

"Yeah. Sorry I'm late. I'm still getting used to the city."

"Tell me about it. I nearly got into an accident on the way here. I might as well walk everywhere from now on."

They both laugh quietly before they turn their view to the bridge. They stand in silence and take in the scenery in front of them. Some awkwardness lingers between them, but not as much as before. This time, they feel more comfortable in each other's company. Aiden glances at her. She looks off into the city lights across from her while appearing lost in thought.

"So." She breaks the silence. "That girl we found last night, Estelle, she called through the channel and told me that she heard Jonas would be meeting with the Kelley's at a place called the Walkie Talkie Club. Have you heard of that place?"

He thinks about it, but nothing rings a bell. "Not that I've heard of. Does she know when this is supposed to happen?"

Clara bites her lip. "No, and that's the issue, but I do have an idea and you probably won't like it."

He watches her lean forward over the railing before pulling back. Her body language makes him wonder how bad her idea could be.

"What were you thinking?"

She breathes in before turning to him. "I was thinking that we go in and try to lure him out. If he gets word that we are there, he will have no choice but to come out. He may even call Rachel and we can finally get her."

It takes Aiden a few seconds to process if he had heard her correctly. He stares at her dumbfounded. "You mean use ourselves as bait?"

"I know it sounds crazy."

"It is crazy."

"And since when have you ever cared if a plan was too crazy or not?" She remarks while growing annoyed all of the sudden.

He falls silent for a moment and is taken aback at her change of tone.

"Since when did you start coming up with these types of ideas? This doesn't sound like you."

"Yeah? Well things have changed, Aiden," she states, her tone still sounding harsh.

Her blue eyes harden as she stares him down. He's put on the spot as he senses the hostility in her voice. Upon seeing his furrowed brows, she realizes the conversation is going south and catches herself. Her eyes soften.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to come off angry. It's just...I can't stand the fact that he and Rachel are out there and helping worthless scum like Clan Kelley."

She grips the railing with Estelle's story still haunting her. He notices the corner of her lips twitch and the sense of urgency in her face. There's a fire in her eyes that he can recognize. It's a fire he once saw in his own eyes so long ago. He digs his fingers into his palms.

"You do realize this could go wrong."

"I know, but you don't understand how difficult it is to keep track of these people. Rachel and Jonas aren't just part of any group or gang. They are very good at hiding their tracks. Most of the tech they use isn't linked to ctOS which makes it more difficult." She turns to him. "This is the best lead that we have right now and I am going to follow through with this plan whether you come with me or not."

Aiden crosses his arms. "And what do you plan to do if Jonas sees you? You could be walking into the lion's den with an ambush waiting for you. You're not worried that people could get hurt or killed, especially you?"

"Nobody will get hurt. I hate to give Rachel credit, but she most likely won't kill anybody else. She'll only be after me. She seems to have a moral code." Clara rolls her eyes.

"But what if something happens to you?"

Clara can't help but feel like she is being scolded by her father. She huffs. "I'll be fine. I'll be a step ahead of them. I know how they operate. How they react. I'll be able to handle them and then I'll find out where Rachel is."

"It's funny that you came to me asking for help, but now you're saying you want to do this all by yourself?"

Clara is tempted to snap at him, but she stops herself once she takes in what he's saying. Why is she feeling so bitter towards him?

She breathes in. "I guess you're right. I...I don't know what has gotten into me. It would help if you went with me since you're the one Rachel is after. We could sneak our weapons in and wait until we are inevitably spotted and we can make the jump on Jonas and whoever else could be coming with him. Hopefully we can capture him and we can find out where Rachel is and we can get Impulse shut down. We have to be quiet on what we say while we're there though. Rachel has trained her group, including me, to have enhanced hearing, so they can pick up sounds that others can't hear."

"Great." He scoffs.

"Oh come on. I'll be able to pick up on their movements and you can be an extra set of eyes. Besides, you get to wear a fancy suit. They do have a dress code."

Aiden is not amused.

"As if this plan couldn't get any worse," he grumbles.

He never was a fan of suits. He can imagine Jordi in the back of his mind laughing at him in a suit. This would be right up his alley.

She grins to try and cheer him up. "Are you coming with me or not?"

His frown stays on his face and shakes his head. "As if I can convince you otherwise."

"So is that a yes?"

"What do you think, wildcard?" He slips her a nickname before realizing it. He isn't sure where it came from and he usually isn't the type to give people nicknames.

Clara laughs at it and shrugs it off. "We'll go Saturday night. Does nine o'clock sound okay?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Where am I supposed to find a suit?" He grimaces while thinking about it.

"I'm sure there's stores around here." She smirks at him and leans towards him. "If you want, we could go shopping together."

"God, no."

They share a few laughs at the idea of them walking into a mall together. Clara gazes at him under the city lights and he smiles at her, despite him still being troubled. She is drawn to the way the neon blue lights bounce off of his jacket. He's always a natural at blending into cities no matter where he is. He looks nice like this. She realizes that she has been staring at him for too long and looks away from him.

"I didn't think so. It's a plan then."

Aiden still isn't pleased with her idea, but he'd deal with it for now. Besides, this isn't the first time he has used himself as bait in order to lure an enemy towards him so he understands where she is coming from, but he knows it's also reckless. He watches her pull back from the railing.

"Well I'm going to head back to the place I call home. I still think you should stop by and consider staying."

"I'll be alright."

"You sure? The gym has its own showers, it's a nice wide open space, and you'd be much comfortable there sleeping since there are couches."

"What are you? A real estate agent?"

She chuckles. "Just consider it okay? Plus it would be easier anyway since we're working together."

He realizes she has a point. "I'll think about it."

"See? I knew my skills as an agent would come in handy. Feel free to come up if you want." She winks at him before shuffling her hands inside her leather jacket pockets. "I'll see you around, Aiden."

She starts to walk away from him, but she stops and grins.

"Oh, and send me a picture of you in your suit. I imagine it would look very cute on you."

"Very funny."

Clara laughs to herself and continues walking. Aiden watches her leave with her plan still troubling him. He worries not only for her jumping straight into danger, but he also worries about her mentally. The Clara he knew years ago wouldn't dream of doing something this risky. It makes him all the more concerned as to what she went through.

"Incoming call from Jackson. Do you want to answer, or ignore it?" He hears Bagley through his optik.

"Answer."

Bagley complies and answers the call.

"Hey, Jacks," Aiden says.

"Hey. Was just calling to see if you met Clara yet."

He takes a deep breath. "Yeah. She left just now."

"You don't sound too happy."

"That's putting it mildly."

"What happened?"

He continues to watch Clara until she's out of view. "She told me about this plan of hers. She has a lead on where Jonas could be. It's a place called the Walkie Talkie Club. You ever heard of it?"

"I know that it's run by Clan Kelley and they collect blackmail of anyone that goes in there. Why?"

Great, Aiden thinks. Another reason why this isn't a good idea.

"She wants to go inside and try to lure Jonas out by using herself as bait."

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was."

Jackson leans back in his computer chair with a bitter feeling growing in his stomach. "Does she not realize people could get hurt? How can she think of an idea like that? It sounds crazy."

"That's what I told her, but she's deadset on doing it. Her plan is to go into the club long enough for her to be spotted. She told me that Rachel wouldn't open fire on anyone else besides her, but I'm still skeptical."

Jackson takes a deep breath and works to subdue his rising anger. "So what are you going to do? Can't you come up with another plan?"

"Honestly, I don't have any alternatives. It's hard to find any information about this group and Clara says this is the best lead we have." He is reluctant of what he's going to say next. "I hate to say this, but I'm going in with her."

"What?" Jacks wants to laugh. "Don't tell me you're buying into this."

"Believe me. I hate the idea as much as you do, but I can't talk her out of it and I can't let her go in alone."

Jackson runs his fingers through his hair and he worries for Aiden's safety. "I still don't like this. Look, if you're going to do this, I would bring backup at least. Maybe Wrench could help out. I'm pretty sure he's still in the city."

"That's not a bad idea, but he would have to be careful and stay hidden."

"That's true. I can help too and use some drones to peek into the building and get you more coverage."

"No, that would draw attention to yourself. You're not getting involved in this. It's too dangerous. I'll call Wrench and we'll work out a plan.

Jacks rolls his eyes. "What's the point in filling me in on these things when I can't help out?"

"Jacks, the best way you can help out is by staying home. The last thing you want to do is expose yourself. I'll get Wrench to do that so don't worry about it. You need to stay low right now."

Jackson sighs. "Fine. Be careful, okay?"

"I will. I'll talk to you later."

Their call ends and he is quick to dial up Wrench. It only takes a few rings before Wrench picks up.

"Yo, Aiden! What's up? You haven't talked to me in a while." He gasps. "Am I not part of the uncle club anymore?"

"Reggie, I need you to be serious for a second."

"You know I'm always serious. What's going on?"

"I need your help with something. You ever heard of a place called the Walkie Talkie Club?"

Wrench gags. "You mean the sweat filled shithole where rich assholes drown their lives away? Yeah it sounds familiar. Why do you ask?"

"Those people who went after Jacks the night of the Bagley attack, one of them is supposed to be at the club. I've been working with someone to track them down. Her name is Clara Lille."

Wrench drops his tools. "Wait. Did you say Clara Lille as in 'Badboy17' Clara Lille?"

"Yeah. Do you know her?"

"Everyone from Dedsec knew she was shot, but that was a long time ago. You're telling me she lived?"

"Yeah. I couldn't believe it either."

Questions marks form on Wrench's mask. "So how is she alive?"

"I'll explain that to you later, but right now I need to know if you're able to help us infiltrate the club this coming weekend. Are you busy?"

"Is that even a question? No way I'd turn down a secret mission with you. What do I need to do?"

"Well I need you as backup. We're planning on going inside so we can lure out one of the people we're after. His name is Jonas. Basically we're using ourselves as bait."

Wrench's jaw drops. "That is so ballsy. I love it!"

"It's mainly her idea. Not mine."

"Hold on. You're going inside which means you're gonna be wearing a suit. Ha! I got to see that. Am I going to be wearing a suit? I'd be the best looking guy there."

"Wrench."

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Go ahead."

Aiden sighs. "I need you outside of the club and to keep an eye out for Jonas, or anyone else showing up."

"How the hell am I supposed to keep watch for him if I don't know what the dude looks like?"

"Clara described him as having dark hair and he has a scar on his eyebrow. That's the only description we have to go by."

"Ah, gotcha. I'll pay extra attention to everyone's eyebrows."

Aiden rolls his eyes. "I also need you to stay on Jonas's tail in case he decides to run."

"Meh, that sounds kind of boring. I thought you would be having me blow up stuff."

Aiden is hesitant to tell him about his other idea. "Well...I may need you to do something like that."

"Oh? I'm listening."

"But you have to be careful about it," Aiden warns. "Am I clear?"

"Of course. Have I ever let you down?"

A smug grin reaches Aiden's face. "Let's see. You did almost kill me not too long ago."

Wrench grows silent for a few seconds. "Oh, come on! That was one time and it was by complete accident!"

"And you put Jackson's life at risk."

"Which was also by accident! I promise I'll be careful. Now I need to know what you need me to blow up."

Aiden releases a breath. "Okay. Here's what I need you to do."

Chapter Text

"Wait a minute. You're doing what?"

"I just told you, Marcus." Wrench adjusts his green bowtie. "Aiden is having me do a special mission, in a suit may I add!"

"Really?" Marcus snorts behind the computer screen. "Aiden Pearce told you that?"

"Yep. I'm just that important."

Marcus crosses his arms. "Are you sure you're not high?" First you tell me some bullshit about you fighting Aiden Pearce on top of a drone and now you're saying that he needs you for a 'super secret and special mission?' I'm not buying that shit."

"But it's true! You're just jealous that it isn't you who gets to do this."

"Right cause fighting Aiden fucking Pearce is on the top of my bucketlist. Even if you did take the man on, there's no way you'd win." Marcus laughs. "Matter of fact, you would've went missing and I would have had to have bought a plane ticket to come get your ass only to find you in a body bag floating down the river or some shit."

"Fine. If you don't believe me then I'll call him right now."

Marcus continues to stare him down while he tries to contain his growing smile. "For real?"

"For." He taps his phone. "Real."

"Alright let me hear it and it better not be some AI shit."

"Really? You think that lowly of me to do that? Just listen."

Marcus rolls his eyes before leaning forward in his computer chair. Wrench brings the phone close to his computer screen. He waits for Aiden to pick up, but the phone continues to ring. He grows anxious while trying to keep his best poker face.

Please pick up. Please pick up.

But the phone continues to ring. Marcus eyes Wrench with a grin growing on his face. Eventually the phone stops and Bagley's voice can be heard.

"I'm sorry. Aiden Pearce is unavailable at the moment. Would you like to leave a message?"

"Fuck," Wrench swears under his breath. "Shut up, Bagley."

Wrench redials Aiden again and the phone rings.

"This time he'll answer. I know it."

Marcus shakes his head. "Come on, man. You're doing too much. Just admit that you're lying."

Wrench glares at him. "I'll have you know that the vigilante is a very busy man."

"But I thought this mission you're on with him is very important?"

"It is important which is why he's gonna pick up this time."

"Dude, listen. I'm tired as fuck and I want to go to bed. I don't know why you woke me up for this. You know it's one in the morning over here, right?"

"Marcus-"

"Wrench?" Aiden's gravily voice comes through on the phone.

Wrench sighs in relief. "Aiden, hey! I just wanted to check in and make sure that you still need me in position outside of the club."

"Yeah, I do and you need to make sure you're out of sight until I give you the signal."

Wrench watches Marcus lean closer towards his screen as he listens carefully.

"No problemo," Wrench replies while shooting Marcus a glance. "By the way, do you still have the sticky bombs I gave you?"

"Sticky bombs?" Marcus mouths with furrowed brows.

"Yeah and you made sure they're non lethal, right?"

"Of course I did, Aiden. I know how to make explosives. They're loud and bright enough to stun anyone. All you gotta do is plant them, I'll push the button, and boom. You've got a spectacular light show by yours truly."

Wrench's gaze never leaves Marcus, who is still trying to process what he's hearing. He almost doesn't believe it. He doesn't want to believe Wrench, but the voice on the phone sounds too much like the voice clips of Aiden Pearce that he heard online.

"Alright," Aiden says. "And remember to wait for my signal."

"Yes, sir." Wrench does a salute. "I'll let you know when I'm there."

He hangs up the phone, leaving Marcus staring at him in disbelief.

"Well as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I've got a party to attend so you can tuck yourself back in bed."

"Ayo, hold on. Was that actually-"

"Sorry. Don't have time to answer your questions." Wrench grabs his weapons. "And if you don't believe me, watch the GBB later."

"Wait a damn minute! You got some explaining to do-"

"Bye!"

Wrench presses the end call button before Marcus can get another word in. He snickers to himself and he can imagine Marcus's confusion.

"Oh, Marcus. You poor soul."

He retrieves the last of his equipment before placing it inside his bag. He checks himself out in the computer's camera and he moves strands of his hair back. He flicks off any potential spots on his suit, making him feel sophisticated. A pop up of an incoming call from Marcus catches his attention. He grins mischievously before turning off the computer and making his way out the door.

The blue neon lights of the club made themselves vibrant along the busy streets of London as Aiden pulls into a parking spot off to the side before shutting his car off. He leans back in his seat and braces himself for what he's about to do. He had dressed himself in a black bowtie suit with bronze patterns decorating it. He already feels uncomfortable in it. The lines of the blazer hug his shoulders. It isn't tight on him, but something about the fabric makes him cringe. Yet again, suits have never been his thing and he'll adjust to it at some point.

He knows that Clara is around somewhere waiting for him since she told him she was just outside the club. He has no idea what she's going to be wearing. It's hard for him to imagine her in anything fancy. Did she choose a dress or a suit like he did? He'd have to find out. He checks through his pockets to make sure he has his guns, baton, and his phone before stepping out of the car.

A chill breeze hits him as he makes his way over to the club. He keeps his eyes scanning to make sure there isn't anyone watching him. He doesn't see any guards around the entrance, but he still keeps his guard up. He looks around for Clara and it doesn't take him long to spot her approaching him from a distance. His breath catches in his throat once he takes in what she's wearing.

A long white strapped dress hugs her toned body with a v-neck which allows her to show some of her cleavage. A large black belt is wrapped just above her waist with a squared golden buckle in the middle. Her hair is put up in her familiar mohawk and her look is completed by a thin faux scarf resting behind her gloved arms. Aiden has to admit she looks beautiful and elegant. She really went all out.

"I almost didn't recognize you," Clara says while she looks him up and down with a grin. "Look at you, fancy pants."

"Glad I fit into this place." He adjusts his neat hair more to the side.

Clara chuckles beneath her lips at the sight of him. They grow silent as they gaze at each other. She rubs her arm and clears her throat.

"So." She extends her arms out and spins herself around halfway to show off her attire. "What do you think? Do I fit in?"

His eyes become drawn to her dress again and his heart beats faster than normal.

"Y-Yeah," he stutters before clearing his throat. "You um...you look really nice."

She notices him scratch the back of his neck and she smirks at him. She takes a step towards him. "Oh? Are you too stunned to talk correctly?"

Her eyes pierce into him and he can feel the heat rise in his face. He's almost at a loss for words. He attempts to laughs it off.

"You're in a flirty mood tonight aren't you, Lille?"

She giggles at him. "You practically look delirious. I only say it because it's true."

They keep their gazes on each other before Clara's devious smirk turns into a soft grin. Aiden shakes his head at her and chuckles with his face cooling off. Clara glances at his blazer again before her eyes reach his.

"For what it's worth, you look really nice as well. I can tell it's not your style though."

"Tell me about it."

He sighs while glancing around, not spotting any Kelley members. There's only a few other people in suits and blazers heading towards the elevator. His jaw ticks.

"I still don't like this plan."

"I know." She makes her way over to him and sneaks her arm around his. "But this has to work, so have faith in it and just act natural."

She winks before nodding at him to take her arm. He's reluctant, but he locks his arm around hers. They head to the elevator and they ascend to the top floor. The elevator dings and the doors slide open. They are greeted by the serene atmosphere of the club. The holographic blue lights illuminate the dimmed club. They can see a bar just ahead of them with the booth full of dressed up people wasted out of their minds. Clara takes a deep breath.

"Alright." She turns her head towards Aiden. "Let's go."

His lips press into a flat line as he follows Clara's lead. He already can't stand the rich snobby vibe of the place. Clara, on the other hand, takes it all in. Despite the building being run by Clan Kelley, she can still appreciate the gorgeous patterns of the blue and purple lights above them and the decor of plants around the tables. Her eyes are drawn to the grand view of London visible from the glass windows around the club. She can admit the place looks nice for what it is.

As they make their way inside, there are already people observing them. Clara spots a few of them taking in their outfits, but more people are checking her out. She smiles to herself. She knows the dress isn't her usual style and in any other situation, she wouldn't be caught dead wearing it, but at the same time, it feels good for her to wear something she wants to wear. She has always been confident in her body and it feels freeing to her to finally show it off again instead of having to wear whatever Rachel wanted her to.

She notices more people staring at them and she's glad to know her plan is working. She keeps her eyes scanning for Rachel and Jonas. She notices more and more eyes locked on her as the extent of her plan begins to set in. At this point, she's put on the spot and she slowly gets the urge to shrink. Her heart pounds. She realizes the risk of doing something like this with the club being cramped and a part of her doubts if this is a good idea, but she's already made it this far. She can't back out now.

"Where did you want to go?" Aiden asks while keeping his eyes moving.

She looks around. "Well with the choice between sitting with the drunks at the bar and the nosy people sitting on those couches, I'd say our best option is to go out on the balcony."

She points towards the set of doors ahead of them leading to a large view of the city.

"Lead the way," he says.

As he starts to follow her, his eyes scan the area for any corners or hidden spaces he can place the sticky bombs Wrench gave him. He walks by a few empty tables and sneaks his hand underneath to place the tiny bomb. He makes sure to keep an eye on Clara, who is still facing forward and oblivious to what he's doing. He places a few more on the creases of the walls before reaching the glass doors.

They step through the doors leading them to a more quiet space away from the thumping music and the chatter. Clara doesn't pay any mind to the others standing around as she's blown away by how vibrant the city is. They have a view from the London Bridge to the rest of the city. Sirens blare at a distance along with a fair share of car horns. The city is as lively as ever even at night.

Clara leads Aiden to a bench and they sit down. She observes the club and she laughs to herself.

"This place is way out of our leagues. I've never been to a club before, especially like one that looks like this."

"Definitely isn't your average club."

She stares at the city lights. "Have you ever been to a club before?"

Her question makes him think back to his youth. He wants to cringe looking back on it.

"Yeah, when I was younger."

She turns to him. "You? At a club?"

"I know. It's hard to believe, but I used to sneak away to clubs. Hell, I'd sneak out to go anywhere in general."

Clara smiles at him. "Why am I not surprised by that?"

"Probably because I'm still getting in trouble now."

They both share a few laughs before they bring their attention back to the city view.

Clara shakes her head. "Still, the image of you partying at a club is insane to me. You must have been quite the troublemaker back then."

"Hey, I thought it was cool at the time. I'd never hear the end of it from my mom."

Clara is slightly taken aback. Aiden has never told her much about his past, or let alone his family. It's almost foreign to her, but it makes her all the more curious about him.

"I can imagine," she answers.

They stand in silence for a moment and keep their eyes out for Jonas. After a few seconds, Clara speaks again.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'd also sneak away when my Papa wasn't looking. I was always trying to sneak into concerts even though I was just a teenager. It would never work though and he'd always catch me. He always looked so funny when he was mad."

She can't contain a laugh rising out of her as she remembers the rapid french words spewing out of her father's mouth and his reddened face. Aiden smiles down at her as she clasps a hand over her mouth. He finds himself enjoying her laughter a little more than he should. He's drawn to her bright blue eyes as she slows her laughter. The blue and purple lights cascade down on her, bringing out the color of her eyes and her white dress. He has to admit she's beautiful.

He realizes he's been staring for too long and he jerks his head back towards the club before she can spot him looking. He almost forgets what he's supposed to be doing. He gets himself together, however, and goes back to keeping his eyes open.

"I remember he'd always get me to focus more on my future instead of going to stupid concerts. I'd imagine he'd have my head if he found out I got into tattooing. I know he wouldn't like it, but it was always my calling." She glances over at him, still intrigued about his life. "Was there anything you wanted to be when you grew up?"

Aiden shoots her a side glance. "Do you think now is the best time to talk about this? You know we need to keep a look out, right?"

"And you know we need to act natural, right? We are keeping a look out. I figured we'd make some small talk while we're at it." She squints at him. "Or are you too afraid to answer my question?"

He squints back at her and he grins. Eventually, he turns away from her and crosses his arms. He did remember having dreams and aspirations as a kid, but his lifestyle would never allow him to achieve them. He contemplates if he should tell her since he feels a little sheepish to say it. A strange feeling inside him grows, however, as he works up the courage to speak.

"Well...when I was a kid, I thought about being a chef."

She raises her brows. "Really?"

"Yeah." He snorts. "Nicky was always a bad cook so my mom got me to help her with dinners instead. Ever since then, that was what I wanted to do."

He feels weird telling her too much about himself, but at the same time, it feels nice for him to open up and connect about things, especially with Clara. It almost feels natural with her.

Clara is humored by the thought of Aiden wearing a chef hat and running a whole kitchen full of chefs by barking orders at them with his deep voice. He catches her giggling and he scowls.

"What are you laughing at?"

She waves herself off. "Nothing. I think it's a great dream to have. I can imagine you being a very strict chef though."

Shs tries to keep a serious face, but her lips form into a smile once again. He shakes his head.

"I shouldn't have told you anything."

"I'm sorry, Aiden. I don't mean to make fun of you. I just didn't expect it. I thought you'd be into something more...I don't know. Exotic?"

Aiden cocks an eyebrow. "Exotic?"

"Yeah like cars or wrestling. It's sweet that you helped your mother. Never took you for a mama's boy."

"This conversation is ending now."

Clara snickers as she decides to let go of the topic. They grow silent as they continue to scan the club. As time goes by, Aiden becomes more and more impatient. He searches for anyone who could be looking in their direction, but people are too focused on their own conversations and their booze to give them the time of day.

"How long did you plan on hanging around here? Nobody has raised the alarm about us."

Clara shifts her eyes around the club, feeling troubled. "They should have spotted us by now."

"Unless they're not here and we're wasting our time."

"No, they have to be."

She sneaks out her phone and turns on the profiler. Aiden notices her tapping into people's phones and peeks over.

"I thought you said Impulse doesn't use ctOS."

"They don't, but I know that Clan Kelley members do and there's some of them around here."

She taps into calls, texts, or any conversation the Kelleys could have, but she doesn't hear anything about her and Aiden. She can't even hear anything by ear. Aiden watches her as he starts to lose hope in this plan, not that he had any to start with. Regardless, he's antsy to get out of the suit he's wearing. He feels like a fraud in it. The stentch of the alcohol and cologne in the club isn't helping his own sanity either. At this point, he might as well break it to her that Wrench is part of the plan too. Considering the plan is going sideways, there's no point in keeping it from her now.

"Clara?"

"Hm?" She gazes up at him from her phone.

"I know we agreed that it would just be us doing this, but I brought backup just in case."

She furrows her brows. "What kind of backup?"

"He's a guy I've been working with lately. He's an old Dedsec member named Wrench. I have him watching from a distance just in case..."

Clara doesn't register the rest of Aiden's words as they turn into muffled noise for her once she heard Wrench's name. Her stomach drops, her blood running cold. She tunes out her surroundings with only her pounding heart reaching her ears.

"Clara? You okay?" He notices her tense body and her wide eyes.

She's unable to form a proper sentence as she tries to find her words.

"Wrench..." She recalls seeing him on the night of the attack. "The man with the mask."

"Do you know him?" He asks while observing her.

Clara stands frozen for a moment as anxiety creeps its way inside her.

"You said he's...he's watching from where?"

"Outside. Why?"

Her mouth hangs agape and this time she's starting to worry him.

It takes her a few seconds before she says, "You have to tell him-"

A loud slam interrupts them. They turn to see Clan Kelley escorting people to the elevator. One minute, the bar was vibrant and full of people, but now the bar is empty and the music shut off. The people located in the upstairs bar are also being escorted downstairs and out of the building. They spot Clan Kelley members from the upper levels down to the lower floor staring directly at them with guns and rifles strapped to their backs. The air grows stiff between them.

"Clara."

"I know." She says with her pulse quickening as the last person exits the club.

She is mindful of her pistol strapped to her leg and her hand hovers over it. She ignores her worries about Wrench as she watches the Kelley's approach them. Aiden braces himself as well as the elevator dings and the doors open. Clara tenses when she sees Rachel and Jonas appear from behind the doors. She snakes her hand beneath her dress slit and she draws her gun out towards Rachel. Aiden is quick to follow suit with his pointed at Jonas. Rachel doesn't bother to point her gun at the two. She grins.

"Don't shoot," she commands when she notices the Kelley soldiers tightening their grips on their rifles. Her eyes meet Clara's and her smirk grows. "Hello, Clara. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Clara's shoulders stiffen as she keeps her shaking hands steady on the gun. She stays silent with her eyes still targeting Rachel's.

"Honestly, I didn't expect you to do something like this, or let alone drag him into it, but here we are." Her eyes pan over to Aiden with her stare becoming more intense. "And hello to you too, Aiden Pearce. I'm surprised you're not too busy killing people like you usually do. Can't say I'm impressed though." Hatred laces in her voice.

Aiden glares at her. "Says the woman who held someone captive to do her dirty work."

"Oh. I see Clara is playing victim again." She turns her gaze back to her. "I wouldn't put it past her."

Clara grits her teeth. "Shut up! You're the one who plays victim. I'll make you pay for what you've done."

"That I've done?" She presses her hand onto her chest. "You're reaching at this point."

Clara's grip tightens on her gun.

Is she serious? She thinks. How can she be this full of herself?

"I'll give you credit. I didn't think you'd actually show up here, but I'm glad you did. You made it much easier to find him." She nods over to Aiden. "You're both coming with us."

"Like hell we are!" Clara exclaims

"Clara, let's face it. You're outnumbered. You can try to shoot me, but you'll be dead if you do."

Her blood boils as shs stares Rachel down. "Then I'll make sure to take you with me."

Aiden is taken aback by Clara's words as he glances over at her. He grows worried when he sees her hands trembling around the gun.

"Please. You can't even hold your gun right."

Clara only realizes now that she is on the brink of dropping her gun. She doesn't understand why her body is trembling. She has Rachel right there and she can take the shot.

But why won't she do it?

With Clara losing control of her body and the Kelleys gaining on them, Aiden knows he has to take charge and give Wrench the signal. He waits until the guards get close enough to where he planted the bombs.

"Now," he signals Wrench through his optik.

Within a second, the bombs go off, the force knocking the guards back. A sonic wave discharges from the bombs with the high pitch sound intruding their ears, including Rachel and Jonas. Aiden takes the opportunity to fire his stun gun at the guards. Clara, being confused by what's going on, glances over at Aiden and decides to mimick his actions. Unlike Aiden, Clara didn't hesitate to bring an actual pistol. She fires her own rounds at whoever she can catch. She searches for Rachel, but she is blinded by the sparking lights ejecting out of the bombs. She scans her eyes frantically and tries her hardest to find Rachel and Jonas through the chaos.

"Clara, get down!" Aiden calls to her while pulling her behind a wall for cover.

"Where the hell is that coming from?" Clara hears Rachel say.

She doesn't have time to hear anymore talking as gunshots ring out. Bullets graze the edge of the wall she's hiding behind as she scoots back.

"What is that?!" Clara exclaims through the exchange of gunfire and flashing lights.

"They're stun bombs! I planted them!"

Clara turns to Aiden. "And you didn't tell me?!"

She doesn't have time to argue as she works to take out more guards. She gets a few good shots in and knocks down three of them. As she still searches for Rachel and Jonas, she hears more stun bombs going off and more Clan Kelley guards are blinded. Aiden and Clara take the opportunity to take them out before more sparks emerge from the bombs, blinding her once again.

Clara ducks behind cover and reloads her gun. She peeks up and catches Rachel and Jonas rushing upstairs while being huddled down. She watches them out of frustration while working to reload her gun faster. No way they are getting away from her. Growing irritated with everything in her way, she grabs a grenade from her strap and tosses it. The others see it and duck behind more cover.

Clara rushes out of her hiding spot and makes a beeline for the stairs. She's be damned if they'd gotten away.

"Clara!" Aiden calls out to her as she runs up the stairs. "Damn it."

He works to catch up with her as he spots more guards heading her way and firing. His heart leaps in his throat as he fires relentlessly at her pursuers. The more guards he takes out, the more seem to show up. There are more guards coming from every corner, making it much harder to get to Clara. Considering his last resort, he activates his system crash hack with a click of his phone, disrupting the guard's coms and weapons.

He sprints by them, being sure to get a few rounds in before making his way up the stairs. He doesn't see Clara. His breathing grows harsher as he frantically glances around for her. He makes it to the upstairs bar and spots Clara and Rachel exchanging gunfire.

He's about to rush over until a gunshot causes him to duck down behind a nearby chair. Another gunshot blows past him when he tries to look over. He huddles behind the chair, contemplating his next move. He can still hear the gunfire between Rachel and Clara, but he is unable to see them. He desperately wants to get to Clara, but he has to be patient.

Aiden jolts back and squints when a bright light impairs his vision. He feels the butt end of a gun strike him from behind, just barely missing his head. He grunts with a sharp pain growing in his neck. He's quick to recover, however, as he manages to look up and see Jonas. Another gunshot rings out from behind them. He notices Jonas's gaze shifting behind him and his eyes going wide.

Aiden takes the opportunity to draw out his gun. He fires at Jonas, but narrowly misses him as he manages to duck in time and lunge behind cover. Aiden takes a glance behind him and finds Clara chasing down Rachel, who is now bleeding from her side. He sighs in relief as he starts to sneak his way over to her, being mindful to stay behind cover.

Meanwhile, Jonas makes his way over to Rachel, who is huddling herself behind a leather couch and clutching her wound. He kneels down to her and frowns at the sight of blood gushing out from her side. He sees the rest of the guards make it upstairs to deal with Aiden and Clara before turning his attention back to Rachel. She grits her teeth and leans her head back.

"I can't believe I let her do that," she groans.

Jonas glances around and realizes that more and more of the Kelleys are being shot down. It's only a matter of time before they would be backed into a corner.

"I hate to say this, but we can't stay here," he says.

"Don't give me that shit now. We have them right there," she argues.

"I know, but I have a plan. Trust me. Now come on."

He goes to gently pull her up. Rachel doesn't protest as much as she wanted with her gunshot wound weighing her down. He wraps her good arm around his neck and they make their way to the elevator.

Clara had already taken down two more guards with her pistol when she spots the two leaving.

"They can't be serious," she grumbles under her breath before taking off downstairs.

It takes a second for Aiden to catch sight of her through the gunfire. Once he spots the elevator doors closing with a glimpse of Rachel inside, his heart races when he realizes what Clara is doing.

"Not again," he mutters before sprinting after her once more.

As they reach the bottom of the steps, more guards stand in their way towards the elevator, forcing them to hide behind a bar. Clara groans, dreading the thought of them getting away. She relentlessly fires at the guards, not bothering to have as much awareness to her surroundings. As she unleashes more of her bullets, Aiden is still working through more guards while trying to make it to Clara.

"Aiden, I think the guy you were talking about just left the elevator. There's a woman with him," Wrench, who is sitting in an armoured Albion truck outside, informs him through the optik.

Aiden grows confused. There's no way they would try and escape now. It's not difficult for him to suspect a trap.

"Okay. Keep your eyes on them and if they leave, tail them."

"Ay, Captain!"

The channel closes as Aiden huddles himself behind the bar next to Clara. She ducks back down to cover and reloads her gun. She spots him out of the corner of her eye.

"We need to make a break for that elevator." She nods over to it.

"Okay, but we're going on my signal," he states.

His system crash hack is nearly done recharging and it's their only hope to get out of this cleanly. With each second of charging, more soldiers crowd around them. One soldier fires with the bullet grazing the bar, nearly missing Clara. Aiden glances down at his phone. Only a few seconds now. The guards inch closer as Aiden's finger hovers over the button. As soon as it reaches its full charge, he presses the button, activating the hack.

The guards fall to their knees as their earpieces pierce their ears with their guns no longer operating.

"Go now!"

The hack tricks the elevator doors into opening and they are already making a break for it. Aiden tails Clara closely as they both enter the elevator. They take the chance to shoot down more guards before the hack deactivates and the elevator closes. They lean against the elevator walls while trying to catch their breaths. Clara gathers her bearings and processes what just happened.

"Do you want to tell me what was with those bombs back there?"

Aiden huffs. "They're Wrench's bombs. I planted them in case we got cornered which I knew we would."

Clara freezes and shoots him a glare. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He sighs. "Because I knew you'd be against it."

Her stomach tightens and her anxiety lingers. "You still should have told me! That could have gone wrong!"

"And your plan was better?" His brows knit together and he crosses his arms. "Face it, Clara. There was no way out of that situation."

Her eyes shift around the room in panic. "You don't understand. If Wrench sees me..." she trails off and falls silent.

He notices her tense up again and his curiosity grows. "What do you mean if he sees you?"

He tilts his head, trying to get a view of Clara's expression. Her eyes stretched open, her lips agape.

Aiden continues to stare her down.

"Clara." He takes a step towards her. "Do you know him?"

Her eyes finally meet his and her throat tightens. She isn't able to speak. The elevator dinging breaks their tension and the doors open. Clara doesn't wait for them to open all the way as she's already out of the elevator. Aiden follows her.

"Answer me."

"Aiden, we don't have time," she says, her eyes searching around for Rachel and Jonas.

Aiden is about to press her further until the channel opens again.

"They just drove off. I'm tailing them now."

"Alright. Stay on them." Aiden catches up to Clara. "Wrench told me they took off just now, so they shouldn't be too far."

Clara shakes off their previous arguement.

"Good." She steps through the automatic doors sliding open for her and she spots a parked motorcycle from a distance. "We'll take that bike."

Aiden nods. "I'll drive."

They rush over to the bike and sit themselves into the leather seats. The engine roars to life as Clara wraps her arms around Aiden's torso. His shoe hits the pedal and they speed off. As they glance around the area, it doesn't take them long to find a particular Albion truck swerving around traffic that looks to be following another car. It has to be Wrench.

The engine screeches as Aiden catches up with him. Wrench catches a glance through his rear view mirror and spots the pair catching up with him. He turns the wheel to the right and moves to the other lane to allow them to pull up beside him. Upon getting a closer look, he is shocked to see Aiden in a suit.

"No fucking way," Wrench says to himself.

He feels like he's in an alternate dimension. Aiden and Clara manage to pull up beside him. Wrench rolls down his window and looks over at the two.

"No way you actually wore a suit!"

Aiden suppresses his growing embarrassment as he his eyes dart back to Rachel's car up ahead.

"Did you see any more people around them? Any other cars?" Aiden asks, his suspicions still present as he watches Rachel's car carefully.

Wrench shakes his head. "No. There's only that one those shitheads are in. It's a total pain in the ass to stay on them."

As their conversation continues, Clara's body grows stiff. The memories of her terrible actions flood back to her. Why does he have to be here? The emoticons on his mask shift over to her causing her mouth to go dry. Her heart races as a swarm of thoughts intrude her mind. Does he recognize her? Were his friends with him?

A gunshot interrupts the three of them as they all turn around. To everyone's surprise besides Aiden, a swarm of tinted cars surround them from every angle.

"That doesn't look good," Wrench remarks.

"No shit," Aiden replies before speeding up.

Clara's eyes widen, realizing this plan is going sideways.

"Clara, cover us! I'll look for a back alley we can cut through!"

She blinks rapidly, trying to rid herself of her rising panic.

"It's okay. Just focus," she murmurs to herself.

She pulls out her gun while keeping one arm on Aiden. She watches Wrench as he says something to Aiden about spliting up before taking off. She turns and sees the familiar faces of the soldiers in their vehicles, trying their hardest to aim at the motorcycle's tires. As Aiden maneuvers around traffic, the strong wind brushes against her face while she steadies her aim. Her grips tightens around him with her arm trembling. She shakily aims towards one of their tires and fights to bring herself to shoot.

But she can't.

Rachel's voice echoes in her head, her harsh voice making demands.

Kill them.

Her muscles stiffen, paralyzing her.

No this isn't happening, she dreads. The chip doesn't work anymore.

Does it?

Sweat forms in her palms and she attempts to aim for her pursuer's tires once more.

Shoot!

She jumps and pulls the trigger. The image of the woman with the purple scarf flashes in her head. Her scream invades her ears as the gunshot rings out. The guns slips out of her hand and lands on the road.

"Tabarnak!" She curses as the gun disappears from her sight.

Aiden turns his head. "What's wr-"

The sound of a bullet busting one of their tires halts them. Aiden tries to control the bike, but to no avail. The bike swerves off the road with the tires screeching, the sound piercing their ears. They both brace themselves as they are flown off. Aiden can feel his back slide across the concrete before he is rolled off a ledge and his body is suddenly submerged in water. It takes him half a second to realize he's plunged somewhere in London's murky waters.

Soreness creeps through his back with an uncomfortable amount of salt water intruding his nostrils. He positions himself upright before stretching his arms out and swimming his way back to the surface. He inhales sharply as he emerges from the water, causing him to cough. He glances around for Clara, but he only sees the dark surface of the waves.

"Clara...?" His voice comes out hoarse with another cough.

The air grows quiet with the waves brushing against the dock. He still doesn't see any sign of her.

"Clara?" He calls out to her more clearly.

He starts to panic until a splash of water hits his face. He squints, seeing Clara's head pop out of the water as she inhales deeply.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He asks.

She shakes her head while coughing. "No, no. I'm fine."

She looks up ahead of her and notices their pursuers cars coming to a stop. It won't be long before they're found.

"Let's go," she announces before swimming her way towards the ladder resting by the dock.

Aiden doesn't have time to think as Clara is already moving. He swims as well, being sure to stay close before they reach the ladder and climb. The chilling air shocks Clara's skin and she clutches her arms with her jaw shivering. Only now does she realize her scarf is missing, but that is beyond her worries. She spots rows of cars making their way towards them. She searches for her gun, but she remembers she dropped it. She looks around for it, but at this point, it's safe for her to assume it's long gone.

"No," she murmurs.

She can't quit like this. There has to be something, anything she can use to fight her way through the guards. Then she can finally get to Rachel.

"We have to go," Aiden's voice interrupts her thoughts.

He had already made his way out of the water before she even noticed. She continues to search for any opportunities to get past the army of soldiers who are now covering every side of the road, blocking off any exits they would take by driving. She digs her nails into her palms, her frustration growing.

"Clara." He places his hand on her arm. "Come on. We have to go."

"But...but we could..."

He turns her to look at him.

"There's nothing we can do. We're being outnumbered. You lost your gun." He pulls out his own pistol and checks it. "And I'm running out of ammo. We can't stay here."

"I..." She trails off.

She slowly starts to understand that he's right. This was a terrible idea. All she wanted was to trap Rachel, but in the end, she trapped herself.

She feels Aiden tug at her arm as she takes one last glance at the soldiers.

"Okay, okay."

She sprints against the concrete while following closely behind Aiden.

"Stay behind me," he tells her while keeping his sights on the alley.

He remembers using it to escape Albion a few times. He hopes it can come into clutch now as he and Clara cut past several buildings while trying to stay out of sight.

"Bagley, call Wrench."

"Calling."

It takes a few seconds for him to pick up. The screeching of tires and a burst of strong wind hitting the phone are the first things Aiden's hears from Wrench's end.

"Aiden, where the hell did you go?" He asks, sounding out of breath. "I'm still on the road. I would have turned around, but these Robin Hood fuckers won't get off my ass. Seriously, one of them shot a literal arrow-"

"I need you to lose them. We're cutting through a few buildings and we're trying to map out an escape since we lost our bike."

Wrench hisses through his teeth. "Right. Hard to forget that image. I'm glad you guys are okay, but are we seriously backing out?"

He leads Clara through the alley and he pulls her behind a nearby dumpster a split second before their pursuers speed past them. He keeps his hand over his stomach while breathing heavily.

"Let's stay here for a minute."

She nods while catching her breath as she sits back. Aiden keeps his eyes open for any other escape routes.

"You still there?"

He's slightly startled when he hears Wrench's voice on his optik, forgetting he was still talking to him.

"Yeah. We're hiding out behind an alley. We're being outnumbered here, so you're gonna have to lose them."

"Alright. I'm gonna try...to..." His voice cuts out until there is nothing but static.

The calls ends abruptly.

"The person you are trying to reach has poor connection," Bagley informs him.

"Shit," he curses, assuming the worst.

He remains a little optimistic that Wrench could escape knowing how resourceful he is. He turns his attention back to Clara, who is staring at him concerned.

"What is it?" She asks.

"I can't get a hold of Wrench. Looks like we're on our own."

He looks over at the numerous cars ahead of him and he checks his sytem crash hack again. It has been fully recharged and ready to use once again. He considers using it until he feels Clara's hand reach his wrist

"That won't work against most of them. Their tech is not linked to ctOS so we'll end up getting shot."

"Damn, that's right." He remembers.

As Clara tries to think of a plan, she keeps hearing a thumping sound. It sounds like it could be footsteps, but she can't see where they're coming from. A series of voices accompany them. She tries to decipher what they are saying. She freezes when she makes out the words.

"They are in that alley."

She gasps and turns to Aiden. "We have to get out of here."

He looks at her confused as she rushes to her feet. "Why?"

"They know we're..." She stops when she spots a grenade being tossed towards them. "Watch out!"

Her eyes widen as she leaps forward and tackles Aiden. The grenade releases a bright flash of light. Clara rushes to pull Aiden up before the light completely blinds their vision. They both get to their feet and they run towards the opposite side of the alley. Clara squints through the smoke and she halts once she makes out several figures heading towards her. The smoke disperses as she turns the other way only to realize more of Rachel's soldiers are coming towards them.

Aiden draws out his pistol while keeps a firm stance as the soldiers surround them. There is no way he can shoot through them all and with there being no cover, they are cornered. Clara's heart races in her chest with guilt setting in about dragging Aiden into this mess. As the soldiers inch closer and closer towards them, Aiden and Clara found themselves pulling each other closer together, their backs colliding. They brace for the worst until a sudden flash of green light reaches their eyes, blinding them once again.

The piercing sound of sparks violate their ears causing the two to cover them with their hands. The light vanishes as they look ahead to see the headlights of an armoured truck parked at the end of the alley. Aiden gets a closer look and he's relieved to find out it's Wrench.

"Come on! Get in!" He exclaims while lighting up another one of his bombs.

They notice the soldiers around them had been knocked to the ground while clutching the burns on their skin. Clara and Aiden run towards the truck as Wrench tosses another bomb. The explosion knocks their enemies back as the two open the backdoor and climb inside. It takes less than a second after the door is slammed shut when Wrench pushes the pedal and speeds down the road.

"Holy shit!" Wrench huffs. "I can't believe I found you guys."

"No kidding," Aiden replies, keeping his eyes towards the window. "I thought they captured you."

"Oh, please. It's gonna take a lot more than arrows to catch this handsome face," he says with a wink.

He takes a glance at his rear view mirror, seeing Clara avoiding his gaze and rubbing her shoulder.

"There's more guns if you need them back there. I saw you lost yours."

Clara catches Wrench looking at her, causing her to shift her gaze away from him once again.

"Thanks." She stares down at the floor and spots a pistol.

She grabs it and holds it close to her. Wrench's emoticons change to big 'O's' when he glances at his mirror, spotting more cars speeding after them.

"Ah shit. Hang on!"

Wrench cuts the wheel to the right, causing Aiden and Clara to jerk to the side as the cars stay hot on their trail. The truck moves upright once again, allowing them to get ahold of themselves. Aiden can finally see groups of drones flying about their day as Wrench speeds on. He pulls out his phone and hacks into one of them.

One of the combat drones moves to his command and plants little spider bombs on the hood of the cars. Each of them explode, blocking their pursuers view of the road. Wrench spots an open parking garage door up ahead and takes the chance to increase his speed. He races his way inside while Aiden hacks the door shut. The tire screeches as Wrench hits the brakes once he sees a slew of parked cars.

He drives towards an empty parking space, put the truck in park, and reclines himself back. They wait for any sign of Impulse as they catches their breaths. After a minute of silence, Wrench sighs.

"Do you think they saw us come in here?"

"I don't know, but we shouldn't stick around to find out," Aiden says.

He is about to step out of the car until he feels Clara tug at his blazer. He looks over at her not facing him.

"Wait." She sits quietly for a moment until she hears familiar sirens. "Albion is heading this way."

Question marks form on Wrench's mask, not being able to hear any sirens. "Wait, how do you-"

"It doesn't matter." She opens the truck door. "We have to leave while we can in case they come in here."

Aiden nods. "And since Rachel and her guards are still outside, they'll be busy fighting each other and we could make our escape."

They both step out of the truck, leaving Wrench to take in his last moments in it.

"Aw, man. And I was just bonding with this truck."

His goodbye to the truck is shortlived as he grabs his weapons and exits.

"So are we snatching another car, or are we going on foot?"

"On foot would be best. We'd blend in more," Clara explains to him.

Her accent strikes a hint of familiarity in his mind, but he can't figure out why. He ponders on about it as he follows the two out of the garage. They sneak their way towards the back exit, being sure to look around. With there being no sign of Impulse or Albion, they blend their way into the crowds of people who are pushing their way past each other amidst the commotion.

They find an empty alleyway with it being much more spacious, leaving them more room to escape if needed. More sirens blare at a distance accompanied by gunshots and bypassers screaming. They hide behind seperate dumpsters as they watch people running for their lives down the sidewalk. Seconds turn into minutes of exchanged fire. Clara can only guess what's happening as the gunshots come to a halt.

After a few seconds of hearing nothing, she pokes her head out. To her surprise there are no Albion officers in sight. A mess of Albion trucks decorate the streets with only trails of blood spreading across the road to hint at what happened to the drivers. Her breath hitches when she spots Rachel pacing down the street, her white hair disheveled, her eyes lacing with anger. She watches her stomp over to Jonas while still being hunched over and holding her dried wound. Clara can only make out a few sentences.

"We should have never left."

"How the fuck do they keep getting away?"

She can see Jonas bracing Rachel's shoulders as he appears more composed. Eventually, Rachel doesn't say anything else and only nods at what he's saying. As Clara watches them walk away, she realizes now how tight of a grip she has on her pistol. Her eyes stay locked on Rachel. She could just aim and shoot her. She wouldn't have been any wiser. Her issues could finally end. But as she brings the pistol closer to her, she catches Aiden in the corner of her eye staring directly at her.

She turns to look at him sitting across from her. The intensity of his emerald eyes could stun anyone. Her throat goes dry as Aiden slowly shakes his head. A familiar bitter feeling stirs inside her. She can't help but feel judged under his stare.

"Looks like they're gone." Wrench's voice breaks their tension as they both glance over at him standing up from his spot.

Clara sighs heavily, still shaken as she and Aiden get up as well. They inspect the area and they're relieved to see no sign of Impulse anywhere.

"Woo!" Wrench wipes sweat off of his forehead as he turns to Aiden. "See? I was careful as promised. What would you do without me?"

Wrench shoots Aiden a wink which prompts him to give him a grin.

"Incoming call from Jackson Pearce. Would you like to answer?" Bagley speaks through the optik.

"Yes."

It takes less than second for Jacks to speak. "Aiden are you there?!"

He's surprised by his nephew's sudden outburst.

"Yeah I'm here. What's wrong?"

He can hear him release a long sigh.

"Oh thank God. I was seeing all this shit on the news and I thought..."

"Jacks, we're all okay. Don't worry."

As they continue to talk, Clara watches from a distance. She feels a twinge of regret for making Jackson worry. If something could have happened because of her, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. She sighs before turning around and jumping once she sees Wrench appear in front of her. He looks to be studying her with his eyes squinting. His eyes widen once he realizes he scared her.

"My bad." He raises his hands. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no. It's okay."

She tries to collect herself as she comes face to face with him. Her hearts pounds in her chest as they grow silent. She can feel the weight of his stare as he still observes her. Eventually he clears his throat.

"So, you're the one and only Clara Lille? Or should I say Badboy17?"

Her heart stops. "You know who I am?"

"Well duh. Dedsec talked about you like you were a prophet. I just never expected you to actually be alive, or let alone meet you, but here we are. What are the odds of that?"

Clara is surprised that Dedsec would mention her that much. A part of her always wondered if her death ever effected them at all. It would have been nice for her to hear if it wasn't for the person in question informing her about it.

She chuckles nervously. "Yeah. What are the odds?"

"I'm guessing Aiden already told you who I was," he says while crossing his arms.

He studies her once again, not being able to shake off a familiar feeling. He doesn't know if it's the piercings or her eyes, but it never seizes to bother him. Clara feels like a deer in headlights.

Could he actually recognize her?

The air grows stiff for her as she waits for him to say something. Anything. He takes a step towards her and cocks his head to the side.

"Have we actually met before?

Her mouth dries up. She does her best to not avert her eyes from him, not wanting to give anything away. Sweat forms beneath her gloved hands.

"No. Probably not," she lies. "I would have definitely recognized a mask like that."

Wrench would normally take this as a compliment and make jokes, but his arms never drop and his eyes still inspect her. Clara isn't sure what to do at this point. No way can she tell the truth. He would kill her right on the spot. Her mind races, trying to come up with a way out of this, but her thoughts turn up blank. What can she do without making herself look worse?

After a short while, he speaks. "Yeah, I didn't think so. It's just that..." He pauses before shaking his head. "Ah, forget it."

Aiden ends his call with Jacks and turns to see Wrench talking to Clara. It's not hard for him to pick up on Clara's tense body language. He furrows his brows as he makes his way over to them. Wrench finally shifts his attention away from Clara and looks over at Aiden.

"Well since there's nothing left to do, I'm gonna head back to the hideout. It was good meeting you, Clara."

He nods to her before turning around. They watch him exit the alley before Clara glances back up at Aiden and his eyes trap her again. They are laced with suspicion. She shifts her gaze away from him, knowing she owes him an explanation, but she doesn't have the energy for it at the moment.

"We should get out of here too."

She doesn't look at him for a response as she begins to walk away. Aiden watches her with his suspicion never leaving him. It's obvious that she's keeping something from him and he's determined to find out what it is.