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Six got the call in the middle of the night. He was in a safehouse in Pennsylvania, having just finished up a job. Quick, easy, in and out just how he liked it. The target was one that he’d been waiting to get his hands on for a while because of his crimes. Particularly disgusting—a grown man deciding since he couldn’t hold his own in a fight against men his age and stature, he’d go after women and children. He left a trail of bodies where he went, the last one being a little boy around seven years old and his mother.
It was arguably the most satisfying he’d ever been with the job. He didn’t let the man die quickly.
As Six cleaned up, changing into a fresh t-shirt and jeans, his burner phone rang. The one he specifically hoped not to hear from. He’d given his brothers—twins, Ryland and Colt—his burner’s number in the event of life or death. Otherwise, they couldn’t contact him without going through Fitz. That was the safest way he got to speak to them. He hated it even years later, having to jump through so many loopholes and secure lines just to talk to his only living family.
Six picked up the phone on the second ring.
“Court, something’s wrong with Ry and I don’t know what,” Colt’s voice came from the other end of the line, severely distressed as he struggled to take a full breath. “I-I can feel it, something’s wrong.”
“Calm down,” Six said calmly, though his heart raced uncomfortably. The twins were always so in tune with each other that they could tell what was wrong with the other without even looking. If Colt was on the brink of a panic attack, something was definitely wrong. “Calm down, Colt. Breathe. Talk to me.”
He heard his brother take a few breaths. Shaky, controlled.
“Ry called me about two minutes ago. Y-you know he’s on that project, right? The one that deals with the Astrophage?”
“I saw the news. He named them.”
He didn’t see where this was going.
“He called me and—God, Court, he sounded awful. H-he was sniffling and his voice was cracking. He was scared,” Colt whispered. “He told me there was an explosion at one of the testing sites. Took the lead scientist and their backup scientist meant to be launched in the spaceship in nine days.”
“I mean… yeah, that’s bad, but what’s got him so worked up about it?”
Colt took another breath, a stuttering whimper escaping him. “He told me they don’t have another scientist prepped for the mission. He’s scared about the possibility that his supervisor is gonna ask him to go on the mission.”
Six’s heart froze. Ryland, his genius baby brother, be sent on the suicide space mission? Why, simply because he was most qualified right now? More importantly, how the fuck did the backup scientist die? How did they let the two most important scientists in this operation die together? That’s why they had backups, in case the main choice died unexpectedly. But for the both of them to die… talk about horrible timing.
Six knew all about Eva Stratt. He’s kept tabs on her since Ryland was recruited on the mission. From what he gathered of her, she was ruthless in her pursuit of this mission. She was working every single person on the project down to their bones, and while it was for a good cause, it was truly baffling knowing she held the most power of any person in the world right now. She had governments wrapped around her fingers. And if those governments didn’t comply, she found a way to get what she wanted anyway.
That was the scary part. Ryland was perfectly qualified for the mission, from what Colt said.
A flood of urgency hit him like a freight train, the same kind of wrongness he bet Colt was feeling that very moment. He immediately started packing up.
“Listen, I want you to stay where you are. I’m gonna go check on him, but I need you to stay put.”
“What? Bullshit.”
Six slung his bag over his shoulder, turning off the lights and exiting the house. “Don’t do this to me right now, Colt. I need to know you’re in a safe spot. These aren’t normal people we’re dealing with here.”
“I don’t care! He’s my brother, Court. Our brother. I’d be stupid not to show up, too.”
“These are highly classified, highly fortified facilities we’re talking about. There’s no way you’d be able to get in.”
“So help me!” Colt exclaimed. “Help me, Court. I can… I can feel it, he just… he’s scared and I need to be there for him no matter what.”
As much as it pained him to deny Colt this one thing, he had to. He couldn’t risk both of this brothers. Never. He promised himself that long ago.
“Colt, stay put. I’ll track him down and see what’s going on. I’ll keep you updated.”
“Court, don’t you dare hang up on me—”
He hung up. He reached for his other phone, his work one, scrolling until he reached a familiar contact. He dialed the number.
“This better be good,” Miranda said as she picked up.
“I need intel on the locations of the Project Hail Mary worksites. Specifically where the explosion occurred.”
“Explosion? What—”
“Do you have intel or not?” he snapped. Each step he took felt like he was falling one step behind Ryland, wherever he was.
“Fine, fine, give me a second. I have to make a call.”
Six let the phone come down to his side when Miranda hung up. He looked up at the night sky. Stars littered the dark above like a canvas.
When Ryland was six, he became obsessed with knowledge. He’d pick out all sorts of informative books about space or science that he’d force Six to read to him even if he didn’t know all of the big words. Ryland would curl into his side, staying on track with Six’s words through the pictures the books would provide. Six didn’t find them particularly interesting at all, but he loved the feeling of his brother pressed into his side, hanging off of every word he said with gleaming eyes. He loved that feeling of being needed.
Now, Ryland needed him again. Six would not falter.
Miranda rang again. “I have a location.”
“Give it to me.”
Six memorized the address, thanked Miranda, and started planning.
Courtland Gentry was fucking stupid if he thought Colt was going to stay put and do nothing.
As soon as Court hung up, Colt cursed. He threw the paper plate on his counter, watching it hit the wall. His lungs struggled to take in a breath. His hands shook with intense frustration. His heart beat erratically in his chest.
Ryland needed him. He was in trouble, and he needed him. Colt refused to sit on his ass and wait.
“Colt? What’s going on, why are you up?” Jody asked blearily as she entered the kitchen. She sobered when she noticed his near catatonic state. She rushed forward, cupping his cheeks. “Hey, hey, hey, talk to me. What’s happening? Is it your back?”
“No, fuck my back—” he said in a stuttering breath, earning a small glare from her “—it’s Ryland.”
Her eyes widened a fraction. “What about him? Is he okay?”
“I don’t know! I-I can feel that something’s wrong—” Colt couldn’t breathe “—he… he’s so scared, Jo. Something’s wrong.”
“It’s alright, breathe with me.”
Jody took exaggerated breaths, which he tried his best to follow. Every time he closed his eyes, he could picture his little brother tucked away in some dark corner, hiding, with the phone raised to his ear as he talked in a low tone. His voice never really cracks unless he’s been crying, but that phone call was nothing but voice cracks.
“God, Colt, they’re dead. Dubois and Shapiro are dead and—” Ryland had stuttered, inhaling deeply. Colt heard sniffling on the other line. “I don’t know what to do. There’s no one else for the mission.”
He didn’t have to be in person to read Ryland’s mind. Ryland was suspicious that his boss would dub him the new lead scientist on the mission. His twin couldn’t tell him specifics about the mission with all of it being classified to high clearance personnel, but he could tell Colt that he’d been in pretty much every major meeting regarding the project. He was the lead scientist in Astrophage developments. He apparently had a coma-resistent gene that the astronauts had to have to go on the mission.
He was qualified. Perfectly, horrifically qualified.
It’s why he called Court in the first place. If anyone could break Ryland out of a top-secret government base, it would be him. He called for backup, not for his older brother to take the reins completely.
When Colt’s lungs could finally take a full breath, he focused on Jody. She seemed exhausted, having been woken up by his outburst. But she was one of the many people in this world who cared deeply about Ryland. Hell, she thought of him as her little brother, too. She loved getting coffee with him and catching up, or helping him come up with lesson plans.
“What’s wrong with your brother?” she asked softly.
He explained the details of the phone call to her, watching Jody’s expression twist in horror.
“Oh my God.”
“Yeah…” he breathed. “I’m going after him.”
“Rightfully so,” Jody said. “If there was an explosion, surely there’s news about the location, right? The whole world’s got their eyes on this project. It’d be really difficult for them to not show this to the world when we’re nine days before launch.”
God, she was brilliant. He kissed her forehead.
“Yes. Yes!”
Jody scrambled to turn on their TV. “I can’t find the remote!”
“Where was it last?”
“I dunno!”
Colt found it below the coffee table. He mashed the power button and squinted when the screen came to life. He scrolled past his movie channel he always had it on in search for any news outlet.
“Come on come on come on…”
“There!” Jody exclaimed.
He stopped, sure enough, finding a national news channel.
“Breaking news coming out of Kazakhstan tonight,” the anchor started, “an explosion occurred at a research site for the world’s highly anticipated Project Hail Mary. We are still receiving news from our sources, but there are confirmed fatalities in the destruction. Particularly those of would-be astronauts Dr. Martin Dubois and Dr. Annie Shapiro.”
The screen flashed pictures of the two scientists. Headshots taken probably the second they were brought onto the project. They had patches with their names on them and the mission logo. Beside him, Jody covered her mouth with her hand, more awake now than she was in the last few minutes.
“Dr. Dubois and Dr. Shapiro were the lead and backup scientists, respectively, for the mission which is scheduled to launch in nine days’ time. With both the lead and backup scientists gone, who will take their places?”
Jody looked at him. “Colt…”
“I have to get there. Kazakhstan? I’m sure I can find a ride.”
“Colt, I’m not going to stop you from going. You already know what I’m about to say to you—”
“I know, be—”
“—safe, and—”
“—don’t be stupid, yes, I know,” he said. He rubbed her arms that had goosebumps on them, suddenly feeling a twinge of guilt for waking her up. “I’ll be careful. I’ll have backup, I promise.”
“Good,” Jody said, brushing his hair away from his eyes. “Give Ry a big hug for me, okay? Tell him he’s always welcome.”
“Of course.”
He leaned to give her a chaste kiss before he was off to pack his bag, wondering who the hell he had to contact in order to get him to Kazakhstan.
Getting to the facility was easy. It took three days, but it was as fast as Six could go.
He mapped out the facility. One of Miranda's contacts had a buddy who worked on the project—not as important as Ryland—which meant leniency. The contact provided him with blueprints to the research centers and meeting halls and whatnot. Six was camped up on a nearby hill with binoculars and paper, jotting out the guards’ routes and times.
It took another two days of watching for him to memorize the pathways and posts. In those two days, Six saw no sign of Ryland. The people that moved about the compound moved with great urgency, but none of them shared the same dirty blonde hair or blue eyes as him. He should've been relieved, but it just felt… wrong. Like Colt said. Something was amiss.
The contact also said all personnel working on the project had their own designated quarters on the compound. They were far from the research center and not too far from what Six called the Plaza, where most of the buildings coalesced. Six made a note to check there first, since it seemed to be the least guarded building somehow.
He watched, and watched, and watched even if every fiber of his being was telling him to infiltrate. To get Ryland out of there before something could go wrong, to grab his brother and never let him go again.
The sun was starting to tilt on the other end of the sky when Six heard something approach from behind.
He whirled around, knife at the ready, only to grow pale at the sight of his knife so close to Colton's neck. Six did a quick once-over, finding that Colt had… brought a dog with him. What the fuck?
Six lowered his knife and grabbed Colt, bringing him to lie down on his stomach and out of sight. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I told you, I'm not leaving him behind. And the feeling's only gotten worse,” Colt said as a hand absentmindedly rested over his gut. “I swear, something's happening. We need to get in there.”
“No, I'm going in and you're on lookout.” Six pushed his binoculars into Colt's chest.
“Fuck that, that's my twin in there, you're crazy if you think I'm planting my ass right here and doing nothing. Jean-Claude is ready to go and so am I.”
The dog's name was Jean-Claude. Great.
“I have more firepower and more guts to actually pull the trigger,” Six hissed. “What happens if we both go in there and you hesitate? Huh? You're not like me—you carry sentiment for every living thing when I don't. I have no problem pulling this trigger. You going in is a liability on both me and Ryland.”
“I've shot a gun before,” Colt argued. “Remember that whole Ryder scandal? I was shot at, drugged, attacked while drugged and I still made it out alive! I can do this, Court! I am doing this whether you like it or not!”
“And why the fuck did you bring a dog to a gunfight?”
“He's great at biting people. And he loves Ryland too much to let anything happen to him.”
The dog panted, almost looking like he was smiling. Happy to be in a classified government property. Six rolled his eyes and put the scope on his rifle. Whatever. He needed to deal with the outside guards quickly. They were coming upon a shift change.
He loaded the magazine and propped up the scope on the hill. He watched, seeing the guards on the inner gate start to head inside. Good. Six aimed his scope at the guard in the left watchtower. A single shot straight through his neck knocked him down. Six cocked the gun, hearing the bullet fall into the grass.
“God damn,” he heard Colt whisper.
Six trained his sights on the rightmost tower and shot. Instant kill. Then he moved on to the two guards in front of the chain link gate. As he prepared to take the shot, he noticed their postures tense, their hands raising to their ears. Their comms.
“Something's happening…” Six muttered. Whatever it was, they were running out of time before someone noticed the guard tower's vacancies. He couldn't pack up his guns and shit and bolt down there in time.
But Colt… and the dog… they didn't have the same weight of weaponry as him. They didn't have firepower nor did they have protective gear. Colt was wearing a t-shirt and jeans and the dog had a vest on but no leash. They would be walking into the line of fire.
Not if Six could shoot the guards down first. He was a better shot while stagnant, anyway.
Six huffed, handing Colt an earpiece. “Fuck. Go, now. I'll cover you from up here. Get inside, find Ryland, get him out. I'll meet you down there once you're inside.”
Colt nodded, eyes alight with fire, determination as he put the piece in his ear. “Jean-Claude, allons-y!”
He watched the two take off down the hill and adjusted his earbud; the guards were too occupied listening to their earpiece to scan the horizon. Six watched through his scope as Colt and Jean-Claude started across the field in step with each other. He looked ahead. The guards had put their weapons away, arms at the ready for something.
Then, they perked up, eyes set dead ahead. Six followed their line of sight.
Oh fuck. Ryland.
He was running. He was running and glancing behind him at the three men chasing him, face contorted with fear. That’s what the guards were getting ready for. They were trying to catch him. Six steadied his fingers and checked on Colt. He was maybe thirty yards away and closing in. He could see the moment Colt understood what was happening, for he sped up into a sprint. Six focused on the lock on the chain link fence. He exhaled and took the shot, the lock falling to the ground.
He set his sights back on Ryland. He had spotted Colt. Desperation filled his eyes as he continued to run, his beloved yellow raincoat billowing behind him. His arm reached for his brother.
Come on, Ry, you’ve got this…
As Colt started closing in on the fence, one of the guards tackled Ryland, and the yellow raincoat was suddenly obscured by four men pinning him down. Six’s blood ran cold. Even from his perch a good distance away, he could hear Ryland’s desperate pleas through his earbud and travelling with the wind.
“No, don’t do it! I can’t do it!” he screamed. His hands clutched the dirt and pulled up blades of grass, his glasses skewered on his face from being pressed into the Earth. “Colt! Colt, I can’t do it! NO!”
Every fiber of Six’s being wished he was in Colt’s position, opening the fence and sending the dog to attack, being close enough to throw punches and feel bone break under his force. He wanted to hurt, to kill, to make those men pay for even daring to hurt his brother. He could with his rifle. And he did. He set his sights on the men holding Ryland down, on the guy in the white lab coat sticking a needle in Ryland’s neck. He took the shot.
The white coat stained red, the bullet having penetrated his shoulder, but the needle was still in Ryland’s neck. Six cocked the rifle and focused on the next man, who was still holding his brother down as the other guards focused on Colt and Jean-Claude. He aimed for the leg. He shot, the anger in his chest calming considerably seeing the men suffer. He shot again at the man’s chest piece, which was no match for the rifle’s caliber. The man fell into a heap beside Ryland, who had stopped moving.
Six focused back on Colt, who was violently lashing out at the guards. He threw punches, dodged, and said commands to the dog who seemed equally hellbent on tearing the guards apart. He worked around the two, shooting where he could and ensuring no one got near Ryland’s limp body. Colt thankfully worked quickly, Ryland’s name the only thing spewing from his mouth. Six shot the last guard in the neck, allowing Colt to rush to his brother’s side. The dog went to Ryland’s other side, licking his limp hand and pushing it, trying to wake him.
“Colt, talk to me, what’d they give him?” Six said urgently. He continued to watch through the scope. More guards would be out there soon. They had to be quick.
“I don’t know, some sort of sedative. He’s not waking up,” Colt replied breathlessly, carefully taking the needle out of his brother’s neck. “Come on, Ry, get up! I’ve got Jean-Claude with me. You love him. He’s right here, I’m here, too. Ry?”
He could tell Colt was still hearing Ryland’s broken sobs because Six was hearing them, too. The sound refused to leave his mind as he watched Ryland be tackled over and over again. Six wanted to keep shooting, to storm the facility and put an end to the people who would no doubt hunt his brother down to the ends of the Earth. They were running out of time. He could see people running about in the windows of the nearest building.
“Colt, you’ve gotta get out of there. There’s more on the way.”
“Fuck, fuck fuck, okay. Okay. Jean-Claude, en avant!”
He heard the dog bark, saw him give Ryland’s hand one last push before running back to the fence. Six watched Colt toss Ryland over his shoulder. As Colt began his retreat, more guards stormed the compound. Six exhaled. His pointer finger happily pulled the trigger, giving Colt the necessary cover to make it back to the hill. The guards took a few minutes to spot his position, but it didn’t matter because by the time they did, he was already packing up and running alongside Colt.
“Over here,” Six said gruffly as he exposed a getaway car he’d stashed earlier. He popped open the back door for Colt before running around to the driver’s side, tossing his rifle case in the passenger seat and starting the car.
Colt carefully lied Ryland across the backseat. Jean-Claude hopped in and sat beside Ryland’s head, whining. Colt lifted Ryland’s legs and sat down, letting his brother’s legs sit across his lap. Six wordlessly started the car and sped off. Colt didn’t complain about his driving like he certainly would’ve under regular circumstances. The car was eerily silent, both brothers reliving the gut-wrenching cries Ryland expelled before being forcefully sedated.
Six couldn’t get them out of his head. He’s heard his younger brothers scared before—horrified in the face of a monster—but this was… primal. Colt was right. Those bastards were going to send Ryland to space whether he liked it or not. Six’s grip on the steering wheel was murderous. He wished it was that woman who was under his white-knuckle grip, Eva Stratt. He wished he could turn the car around and decimate that facility because fuck the greater good, this was Ryland they were talking about. His brother who had done very little wrong in his life and who was a teacher for Christ’s sake.
Colt didn’t seem to be faring any better. His gaze was hardened, murderous, though his hands rested gently on Ryland’s shins. His thumbs rubbed circles in his brother’s jeans absentmindedly. He seemed far away, deep in the whirlwind of his mind, but every time the car jostled he came back to his senses; relief was evident, seeping through his every pore as he realized no, they weren’t too late. They were right on time and Ryland was safe. Colt leaned back in his seat, sighing quietly, exhaustion tugging his eyelids shut.
Good job, Colt, Six thought. He kept driving well into the night, eyes drawn between his brothers in the backseat and the road. The adrenaline still flooded his veins, itching to run when there was no need.
They were safe. No one was being sent to space.
Six reached for his work phone.
“How’d it go?” Miranda questioned when she picked up.
“I need a safehouse.”
She hummed. “Sending coordinates.”
She hung up, and Six finally let his shoulders relax, his gaze returning to his brothers once again like they would disappear if he wasn’t watching. They were safe.
The world was quiet. Ryland’s ears rang. His tongue was dry. His lips were cracked. His limbs were heavy, like they were being held down.
Held down.
“No, I can’t do it! NO!”
Ryland sucked in a breath as he abruptly sat up. His vision was fuzzy. Where were his glasses? His lungs refused to take in a full breath. His heart rate spiked uncomfortably.
Stratt. She’d tried to… she was going to…
Someone’s hand gripped his shoulder. Ryland shoved the hand away, forcing his shaky limbs to crawl across the… the soft… was that a mattress below him? He couldn’t hold back a panicked mewl when he felt two hands try and grip the back of his shirt.
“No, NO!” he cried, falling to the floor. His stupid arms and legs were so heavy he couldn’t move them. The hands fell away from him. He blinked back tears, sniffling as he crawled across the floor. He had to get away, he had to. He wasn’t brave. He was a coward through and through. He’d be useless on the mission, too busy wallowing in grief to fix the Astrophage problem.
Through his panic, he could hear a faint voice.
“Ry? It’s okay, it’s just us. Ry?”
Was that… Colt? Where was he that Colt was here? Or was he hallucinating his brother before being shipped off to space on a one way trip?
“I need you to breathe, bud. You’re not getting enough oxygen. Breathe.”
His breaths stuttered. Courtland? He was here, too?
“Open your eyes, Ry, we’re here.”
Ryland’s tongue darted out to wet his chapped lips. He took a deep breath, counting in for three and out for three. He repeated the motions, feeling his constricted chest begin to loosen, gaining feeling back in his tingling fingers and toes. Ryland stilled when he felt something lick his face. He opened his eyes, seeing a blurry Jean-Claude in front of him. The dog whined, licking his face again to get rid of his tears.
“Jean-Claude…?” he muttered. He didn’t even notice his hands coming up to pet the dog before he was already running his hands along the dog’s back. “H-how are you…?”
Ryland looked past him to see Colt kneeling a few feet away, eyes fixed on him, pained. To his left stood Courtland, his hands outstretched like he was trying to contain a wild animal. Ryland’s breaths stuttered again. Was this even real? Or was Stratt letting him say goodbye before being sent on the mission?
But she didn’t know about Court. He’s been wiped from any database you could think of, only existing in the government’s gray area. She knew about Colt for sure, but not their oldest brother. He raked his eyes over his brothers, finding them both tensed like a coil, watching him with a sense of worry and grief.
“Colt?” Ryland said.
“Yeah, it’s me,” his brother responded, voice somehow shaky and steady at the same time.
“Court?”
Court nodded. “We’re here.”
“H-how?”
Colt slowly made his way to Ryland’s side, offering his hand. “Come on, we’ll explain in a second. But right now, you’re still fighting the drugs. Let’s get you back in bed before you hurt yourself.”
Ryland stared at his hand for a moment. If this were just his imagination, he wouldn’t be able to touch or hold, right? He was petting Jean-Claude, who preened under the touch, but what about Colt?
He took his brother’s hand, letting Colt haul him to his feet. The world swayed, and suddenly Court was on his other side holding his other hand to steady him. Colt guided him back to the bed he’d flung himself out of, helping him lie back down in the center of the mattress. Jean-Claude jumped up and plopped himself in between Ryland’s legs, resting his head on Ryland’s thigh with a huff, like he was saying finally, we can get back to cuddles.
Ryland opened and closed his mouth like a gaping fish. “Is this even real?”
Colt sat on his left close enough that their thighs pressed against each other. “Yeah, it’s real.”
“But they caught me.”
“And we broke you out.”
“How’d you find me?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Court said as he sat on Ryland’s right, though he kept a few inches of distance as if fearing Ryland would lash out again. Always considerate of the twins, Court was. “Those… people sedated you, yes, but Colt and I took care of them and got you out of there. We weren’t going to let you go without a fight.”
“I thought…” Ryland said shakily, a fresh wave of involuntary tears flooding his eyes as the images came back to him. He remembered seeing Colt and Jean-Claude, and remembers reaching for them before his world went dark. “I thought it was over, it… they were gonna send me on the mission—”
A sob crawled its way out of his throat. He covered his mouth with his hand, trying to stifle them. Jean-Claude nuzzled his leg.
“I-I wouldn’t e-even have been able to say goodbye,” he sobbed. “N-never would’ve seen you again—”
“We weren’t going to let that happen,” Colt said firmly. “No one messes with you without going through us.”
Ryland didn’t fight this time when Colt’s arms wrapped around him, bringing his head to rest on his shoulder. He felt like he was little again, crying in the middle of the night with his brothers surrounding him, comforting him from whatever nightmare he had. Colt’s arms were loose, allowing him to move if he wanted, but protective, as if he were somehow shielding him from the world. Exactly like those sleepless nights.
Court’s arm wrapped around his waist, a comforting weight as opposed to the feeling of knees and elbows holding him down against the Earth. His other hand reached to gently card through Ryland’s hair.
“We’ve got you, Ry,” Colt said, rubbing Ryland’s arm. “We’ve got you.”
Through his gut-wrenching sobs, he reached out, holding Colt and Court’s arms as if they’d disappear if he didn’t. With his (loving) overbearing brothers cradling him, and Jean-Claude lying protectively in between his legs, thoughts of the mission receded completely. His only thoughts consisted of how much he loved his family, how close he came to losing it, and how lucky he was to have two brothers (and an amazing French-listening dog) who would go to the ends of the Earth for him.
When he exhausted himself from crying, the Astrophage in the back of his mind, he slowly fell asleep with his family surrounding him knowing they would always have his back no matter what. His heart was heavy, though not with betrayal or hurt, but relief and bliss.