Chapter 3
There comes a time we all know
There's a place that we must go
Into the soul into the heart
Into the dark
There was fire there was death
There was lying on your breath
I turned away I would pretend
But the burning never ends
"Into the Dark" – Melissa Etheridge
The former agent led them down other corridors only to run them headlong into the middle of a firefight between a group of agents and some other as yet unknown gunman. Nick only had the moment's warning of Cassie swaying and clutching at his hand before, he heard a yelp of "Shit!" from the agent ahead of them, and then bullets began to fly. The agent shoved Anna back toward them and opened fire into the hallway he'd just ducked out of, but Nick couldn't help but doubt the man would be any good with his weapon what with the way it was shaking in his hands. Nick pushed Cassie to her mother and moved to the edge of the hallway, praying with every part of him that it had been long enough for his telekinesis to come back online.
Only one way to find out. He took a quick glance over his shoulder to see if either woman looked liked they'd Seen something that might stop him from this idiotic stunt. Both looked worried, but neither tried to stop him, and with that thought as an albeit weak comfort, he shoved the agent back towards the woman and the lunged into the hallway directly into the path of the bullets coming from either direction.
Thank all that was holy, his gift kicked in instinctively, blocking the bullets before they could reach him. He realized just a little too late though that the ricochet might be an even bigger danger to those he protected down the hallway than the original trajectory of the bullets. One nicked the agent in the arm, and the tall man let out a long stream of curses that Nick might have been impressed by on any other occasion. He gritted his teeth and switched from blocking the bullets to actively Moving them from their current path back to the agents who'd fired them.
He only vaguely noticed that the shots had stopped coming from the agents original opponents, but he was too distracted by the agents who were still firing to readily realize what it meant. Not until a shout of his name from behind them had him half turning to see the Holmes women and the rogue agent had slipped past him to escape down the hallway and join the trio of figures the agents had been firing on. It was Emily, Bryce, and Hook, and Nick felt another burst of relief flow through him at the sight of his allies still alive, if not well.
That relief brought a wave of both determination and new found strength in it's wake, and with that strength Nick sent the agents still firing on those he cared about slamming backwards into walls and blast doors and anything else he thought might leave a mark. Then, almost as an after thought, he Moved the weapons out of the agents hands and into his own. No telling how much ammo they'd have, but 3 handguns would definitely even the odds a bit. Or so he hoped at least.
He didn't spare the agents another glance, just flicked the safeties on his new toys, shoving one into the waist of his pants and leaving the others in his hands. Then he turned and broke into a jog to catch up with the group of his friends and family as they straggled around another corner. When he reached them, he almost gagged at the sight. It looked like the agent who was again supporting Anna and now Cassie wasn't the only one injured. Nick took Cassie's weight from the agent, nearly missing the grateful nod as he stared at the pair he'd last seen two floors down. Bryce had his cousin over his shoulders in a fireman's carry, though judging by the grayed cast to the Shadow's face, he wouldn't be able to carry his cousin for long. Nick couldn't see where Bryce had been hit, but the blood at the edges of his ears and nose likely meant there'd been at least one Division Bleeder in the building. Other than those few signs though, Nick couldn't gauge the Shadow's damage, and if a Bleeder was involved there would definitely be more damage. Nick felt his skin crawl at the memory and hoped like hell they'd be able to get Bryce Stitched up properly before the internal damage took too much of a toll. In the reverse of his cousin's hidden wounds, Nick couldn't see a place where Hook wasn't openly injured. Division had apparently chosen to beat the shit out of the Shifter in his time in their care. Nick prayed both would be able to hold out until the group reached safety. And they had to reach safety. Nick couldn't allow himself to think they wouldn't.
At the head of the group was Emily who he hoped had memorized the layout of the facility enough to actually lead them back out of the building. Nick was shaken to see a gun in the slender woman's hands – she hated guns, and any weapon in a Sniff's ungloved hand was likely to send them shaking at the deaths that always seeped into such an object. That she'd needed to carry one this far said more about the hell she and Bryce had gone through getting Hook than Nick wanted to think about.
He pushed the worry aside for a brief moment of relief as they finally, finally reached a door he recognized and pushed through to the stairway he'd taken on his way up. Nick once again was silently grateful to the Tech he knew had to still be watching their backs. They'd have never gotten this far otherwise. He resolved to find someway to thank the younger man – maybe a new processor or something. Cassie would know what to get.
Then Bryce stumbled on the stairs just below them, and Nick stopped thinking about Matt and started Moving the pair of men hopefully quick enough to keep them both from careening down the steps and adding concussions to the likely lengthy list of injuries both were sporting. Once he was certain both men were relatively stable, Nick handed Cassie back off to the agent, only half snorting when she insisted weakly that she could walk on her own damn it. Then he lifted Hook from Bryce to his own shoulders, only staggering slightly before he adjusted to the weight. Bryce didn't even argue, and Nick tried not to think about how done in the man would be not to toss a sarcastic comment his way.
He kept silent, and just tried not to fall as they continued past the landing down the stairs to the ground floor, trusting and praying everyone else was able to keep going behind him. That they'd be safe to do so, even with the former Division agent traveling with them.
They reached the ground floor, but it only took one look through to glass in the door to see that getting out was not going to be as easy as getting in. There were at least a dozen Division goons waiting for them, weapons out and ready to aim at the door the moment it opened.
"Shit, shit, shit." Nick wasn't the only one cursing his head off at the sight – the agent was once again letting out a steady stream of creative profanity. Nick could only guess Cassie was taking notes; it was the sort of thing she'd enjoy bringing up at a later date. Assuming they had a later date. Nick's gaze darted around their enclosed box of a safe zone, trying desperately to figure out a way out of there.
"Emily," he asked, trying to keep his voice even. "Can you remember from the schematics if I've got an exterior wall here?"
The Sniff's hands were shaking around the pistol in her hand, but her voice was steady when she answered.
"I…yes, the emergency stairs were at the corners of the building." She let go of the gun with one hand and lifted a trembling hand to trail against the walls, her eyes drifting closed for a moment as she traced her way around all four walls, finally coming to a stop on the wall opposite the doorway. "This one should be exterior."
Nick nodded slowly, the barest glimmer of a slightly batshit plan forming in his head. It would be all about timing – if he didn't get it right, his allies would be buried under rubble before they could get through his escape route. He eased Hook carefully off of his shoulders, holding him steady until Bryce could pull his cousin's arm over his shoulders. Emily took Hook's other arm, and Nick nodded at the pair, trusting them to hold up for the moment no matter how their strength was fading.
"Alright, everyone stay as close behind me as you can and be ready to run." He allowed himself one brief glance at Cassie, swallowing hard as she gave him a slow nod of support. "OK then…" He took a deep breath, and then without allowing himself to doubt, he shoved forward with his gift like a battering ram, Moving the wall until it shattered beneath his touch, bricks and cement and rebar flying outwards into the parking lot beyond. The stairs and walls above began to crumble and he shot his free hand up, struggling to hold his telekinesis against the rubble falling down until the others had run past him to escape through the jagged hole in the wall.
"Nick, now!" Cassie's shout was the signal he was waiting for, and he lunged through the hole he'd formed, only allowing his hand to fall away as he reached open air on the other side. He coughed as a wave of dust and debris followed behind him, but he didn't have time to catch his breath. The Division agents would be right out the front door behind them if the entire building didn't collapse. Nick and the others needed to get to the vehicles as quickly as they could.
There was just one problem though, Nick discovered as he turned to look in the direction of where they'd left the SUVS. He could see them, or more the fiery heaps of what was left of them.
"Damn it, Lex," he murmured, wondering just what the fuck they were going to do now.
