The man walked slowly, almost too cautiously through the ruins of the city. The two were an odd pair, he was clad in a dark and dirty jacket with jeans bloused at his worn out work boots, and she was wearing an off white dress that was stained in dirt and dust. He was nervously glancing around the alley, he didn't want another run in with the city's other inhabitants. Around every corner he could hear danger, jaws ready to clamp down on them lurking in the ruins, and malicious eyes seemed to peer from every shadowy building. Or perhaps that was just his imagination, he had been on the run for a while and having a child to look after was not helping his situation at all. He held her hand tightly as they walked through a cramped alley, closed spaces always made him nervous. He slowly reached into his bag and grabbed the pistol that had gotten him in and out of so much trouble. He didn't know what to expect, with Lamb's group still looking for him and the rebels also looking for the child. This place was going to hell, and the people here were liars, murderers and thieves. Even he wasn't innocent of such crimes, but this girl offered him a second chance, and he wasn't keen on turning it down.
"Don't be a slow poke, Daddy!" Eleanor called out, looking up at him with her soft blue eye full of a happiness he never knew. The small girl pulled on his arm, making an unsuccessful attempt to pull him forward. He looked at her guiltily, knowing what he was going to do. He wasn't so willing to hand her over to that Tenenbaum woman anymore, but god knows he needed the money. And he kept telling himself that.
"Angels don't wait for slowpokes, Daddy!" Eleanor said excitedly. Yes, they were going to see the angels. He had almost forgotten. He tried to ignore his guilty conscience as they reached the end of the alley. He swiftly glanced around, he didn't want to walk right into a trap. He pulled the small girl behind him, he couldn't risk her getting hurt. Looking down at her, he reminded himself that she wasn't his real daughter in an attempt to ease his heavy mind. He quickly tore his gaze from her, he couldn't let himself get distracted. Not now. He kept reminding himself that a bite was fatal, and that bullets could be just as bad.
He slowly walked out into the open, hoping that he could reach the next building. He grabbed Eleanor's small hand and made a run for the safety of the large office establishment, just as he had done on his first visit to Tenenbaum. Before he could get very far, a group of three appeared from behind the rubble of another collapsed building. A woman and two men, they were well armed and looked like members of the rebellion.
"Drop your guns and raise your hands," one man shouted, "we don't want to kill you, but we will if we have too."
The man gave an annoyed growl and dropped the pistol, letting it slide from his hand and onto the ground. The men looked toward the woman, who seemed to be their leader. Her face was badly scarred, and she was wearing a shirt with suspenders and jeans and a bag was slung across her chest. She nodded her head to signal to the man next to her to go and retrieve the gun. The man quickly approached him, the knife in his hand ready to strike at a moments notice. He snatched the pistol from near the other man in a swift jerk before running back to the woman. She was now looking at a portfolio, her eyes travelling between the papers and the man. A smile graced her marred lips as she spoke.
"Vallette, hold your fire," she called towards one of the buildings, "we need this one alive."
She walked slowly over to him, but was blocked off by the small form of Eleanor, who had stayed quiet for most of the encounter.
"I'll not let you hurt my Daddy!" she shouted, her arms spread apart.
"If he's your daddy then I'm your long lost cousin," she said sarcastically, grabbing the girl and pulling her away. "What's your name?"
"Johnny," the man replied, swallowing hard.
"Well, it says right here on this sheet that your name is Subject Delta, formerly Jonathan. Your last name was redacted," she said, showing him the sheet with a picture of both himself and Eleanor. "It says that you were a clinical testing subject. You want to explain why that bounty on both your heads is so high?"
"No," he replied.
"Well, we only need the girl, and Sinclair is paying us good money to get her to him unharmed," she started. "Never said anything about you, though. So I'm going to make you a deal."
"What?" Johnny asked, trying not to show his panic.
"I'll let you walk out of here, you just have to leave us the girl," she said, her voice low and harsh. "You get your life and we get the girl."
"Like hell you are!" Johnny yelled, lowering his hands. The woman took a few steps, her hand still gripping Eleanor's wrist.
"You're not in the position to make demands," she stated plainly, pointing the pistol that she had quickly drawn at him, and he raised his hands again.
"Diane! We need to get the fuck out of-" the man was cut off by a bullet. The woman stared in shock as he dropped to the floor.
"McGee! Vallette! Fall back, we'll find them later!" she called, running for cover. "Sinclair will just have to wait!"
The man ran behind her, and they both disappeared into the ruins. Johnny quickly looked around, and his heart skipped a beat as soldiers moved forward towards him. Fucking shit. No. No. No. Not now, not while I was so close, he thought again. A tall slender woman, with blond hair set in a neat hairdo appeared from a van that had pulled up after the soldiers had moved in. He hadn't even gotten the chance to run, he didn't even get the chance to lower his hands before they were lowered for him as he was pushed to his knees. The woman grabbed Eleanor and pulled her towards herself.
"This is not your daughter," the woman started, "her name is Eleanor. And she is mine. You will not be coming for her again."
Without another word, she signaled to one of the soldiers to come forward. Eleanor looked at him, her eyes full of fear, and he could feel anger rising in his chest.
"Kill him," the woman commanded, and the soldier raised his gun to the man's head. No. NO. NO. NO. This can't be how this ends. The last thing he heard before the shot rang off was Eleanor's scream.
"Daddy!" the sound of her voice echoed in his head as he fell.
(Meh, I might revise this later, but it's late and I'm tired so just have this. I'm probably going to ditch my other fic to work on this. I already realize that I've only written aus. Sorry for the short chapter.)