There was a huge crowd of people. While Hilda had expected a large gathering of people would want to attend a press conference held by one of the best detective inspectors Scotland Yard had, she was a little nervous considering what was about to unfold.

Actually, there were definitely too many people here, Hilda thought as one of the victim's families walked in. What had Justin said to the press when he called this conference?

She adjusted her baseball cap, making sure her hair stayed secured underneath it. Makepeace was going to be here, and Hilda was ready for him. She glanced at her pocket watch. It was 3:45 in the afternoon. Fifteen more minutes. Makepeace was going to show up. Between the phone call this morning until now, Hilda had gone through every possible scenario, every conceivable turn this press conference could take. Every time, she predicted it would be dangerous.

But Hilda didn't care. She was going to get Alfendi back, no matter what.

Several police officers walked past her and she pulled up the collar to her leather jacket to cover her face. They glanced in her direction, but continued on walking. Good, if her coworkers who she worked with daily didn't recognize her, Makepeace surely wouldn't either. Sunglasses, jeans, and leather boots were hardly her style.

She flipped open her pocket watch again and growled in frustration. It was now 3:57, where was he?! Hilda paced along the back fence, inspecting every face gathered in the roped off section of the park.

There was a tapping on a mic and Hilda glanced up to the podium with a sense of dread. All hell was about to break loose.

"Good evening, everyone." Justin's voice rang out. As much as Hilda wanted to watch, she forced herself to pay attention to the crowd. Makepeace was here somewhere, hidden in plain sight.

"I am Detective Inspector Justin Lawson and I have called this press conference this evening. There has been some suspicion regarding a string of serial murders over the past several months—" The crowd erupted into chatter, news reporters shouting questions and people murmuring to one another. The tension building in the crowd was unsettling. A small part of Hilda's brain wondered what Justin had said to the commissioner about this…

Justin cleared his throat to silence everyone. "I am here to clear up suspicion. Over the past few months there have been fifteen murders conducted by the jigsaw killer." The crowd roared in shock and horror. Barton took a step forward but paused. Hilda was slightly relieved. Stopping Justin now would be worse than letting him finishing at this point. Justin continued over them. "In addition to this…" Justin took a deep breath. Hilda had never felt this much apprehension and fear in one place before, she hoped Justin had gotten himself some protection…

"In addition…" The man restarted. "There were eleven more murders connected to this case, committed by an accomplice of the serial killer."

Spit it out, Hilda thought to herself. This was getting bad. Justin was nervous, understandably so, but the more he delayed the worse things were going to get.

"That accomplice…"

The room was silent as everyone held their breath.

"…was me."

The crowd paused for a second, stunned as things sunk in. After that, things began to get violent. People began shouting and pushing forward, trying to reach the inspector. Officers charged him, others had frozen in utter disbelief.

It was bedlam. People were shoving and shouting. Hilda nearly forgot what she was supposed to be doing and scanned the crowd, getting more and more nervous as people continued to bump into her, nearly knocking her over. Makepeace was here, he had to be here. Hilda started pacing again, trying to find a calm place to look around.

There! On the far side of the crowd to her right. There was a man in an oversized coat and hat was standing relaxed, armed crossed, watching the scene unfold.

Bingo.

Justin had been arrested and thrown into a waiting car. A riot had formed at the podium being held back by police, Hilda could see Barton rushing over to the podium along with several other officers. Hilda kept her focus on Makepeace, as people either joined or fled the riot.

The man stayed back, watching calmly until the car holding Justin left. As soon as the vehicle was out of sight, he turned casually and began strolling out of the park. The path was flooded with people who were too frightened of the riot to stay. Hilda pulled down her hat and hung back, keeping a group of people between her and Makepeace.

Hilda followed him to the parking lot and got into her car, watching Makepeace climb into an old, inconspicuous looking car. It wasn't the one he legally owned, so Hilda assumed he must have stolen it. Hilda crossed the street and climbed into her car, thankful for the backup of cars holding Makepeace in the lot. She was able to pull out of her spot a few cars after he left the parking lot.

They traveled through the city, Hilda making sure there were always cars between them. It wasn't long before Hilda realized they were going to be leaving London. The man ahead of her was clearly en route to the highway to get out of town.

The car felt so quiet after all of the chaos from this afternoon and Hilda felt herself focus now that all distractions were out of the way. This was it. She was after Makepeace. All that was between her and Alfendi was a drive to wherever he was being kept.

A loud buzzing noise nearly made her swerve off of the road. What was going on!? Her ringtone started going off and she nearly felt lightheaded as the possible threat vanished. She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, flipping it on speaker without checking the name.

"Now isn't a good time." Hilda pulled onto the highway.

"Agent Pertinax." Came the agitated voice of Commissioner Barton. "Do you mind explaining what the hell just happened?!"

"I'm sorry, Commissioner, but it was the only way to stop Makepeace."

Barton laughed humorlessly, his voice rising an octave in disbelief. "By using one of my best officers as a scapegoat?"

Oh.

"Well… not exactly a scapegoat, sir."

"Explain." Hilda didn't think she had ever heard the commissioner this angry in her career.

"What Justin said was true. He gave me a full confession this morning." Not that the man had a choice, Makepeace had all but said so on the phone.

"…why was I not informed about this foolhardy plan of yours?"

"Makepeace called this morning and demanded a press conference… he was torturing Alfendi, sir." Hilda explained. "Makepeace and Justin had definitely spoken before this, but he wanted to keep that hidden from us to avoid giving away his secret."

The commissioner didn't cut her off so she kept going.

"I knew Makepeace would show up if Justin held it and he did. I'm currently tailing Makepeace as we speak to find out where he is hiding. I had assumed Justin wouldn't be a complete idiot and speak to you before holding it, but evidently he's a bigger one than I anticipated. I apologize, sir." Hilda rubbed her temples with a free hand.

"We discussed the plan this morning, he was supposed to organize the press conference and touch base with you while I planned out what Makepeace might do once we held it. I had locked Justin in his office so he couldn't get away and personally escorted him to the conference.

Commissioner Barton sighed and there was the sound of people talking in the background.

"Commissioner," Hilda began, sensing the commissioner had other things he needed to focus on right now. "I have this situation under control if you need to handle the press conference…"

"I'll have backup waiting for you." He answered after a minute. "Good luck, Agent."

"Thank you, sir."

The call disconnected.

Hilda exhaled slowly and refocused on the road. Makepeace had started changing lanes, cutting people off to quickly work his way to the exit that was rapidly coming up. Hilda cursed and just managed to get over, glad her conversation with the commissioner hadn't gone on longer or she might have been too distracted to move over in time. Makepeace nearly caused an accident after his wild turn.

And men thought women were bad drivers.

Hilda assumed the man would drive into town, but they drove around the edges of town, never going into the heart of it. She gave him a little more space as they went into less populated roads. They eventually reached a business park full of warehouses located on a dead end and he drove to the very last one, which appeared to be long since abandoned. Hilda pulled into a parking lot several warehouses away to watch him. Makepeace pulled his car into a large garage and got out of the car.

She had found it.

Hilad ditched the sunglasses, as she would have no use for them now that he had led her here. She tossed them aside as she got out of her car. She pulled out her phone and quickly silenced it, not wanting it to go off while she was doing recon.

It was too early to call for backup just yet; they might escalate the situation much worse than it had to be. The sun was just setting, casting large shadows throughout the park. Hilda stuck close to those using them to stay hidden as she approached the building to find better cover.

She pulled out her gun and took a deep breath. Alfendi was here. She could feel it.

There were two ways she could go about this. She could go right inside or scout the perimeter. After a moment of thought, Hilda decided to circle the building from the outside first to get a feel for the layout. Who knew if there were many places to hide on the inside? She started walking, peering into every window and working her way around.

Most of the place was empty. If she hadn't seen Makepeace walk in she'd be worried that she was in the wrong area. She kept going, the complex was huge, it would take a while to find two people.

Storage, empty, storage, storage, kitchen, storage… here was something…

It looked like someone had turned this room into a bedroom. Books littered the walls, there was a small cot in the corner, and men's clothing in the closet.

This place was being lived in. She moved on.

The room next to that looked like a young girl's room. Posters hung on the walls and a wide variety of dresses were in the closet. There was a girl laying down on the bed in the corner. Hilda moved on, was it possible she was a captive too?

Another two storage rooms…

"—we feeling this evening?" A voice came out of the next window. Hilda didn't risk peeking in and instead squatting beneath it, listening intently.

"…"

"I just returned from a lovely visit with your partner…" Makepeace continued. "…things didn't go so well for him."

"What did you do!?" Alfendi's voice rang out of the room. Hilda felt tears coming to her eyes and fought them back.

He was alive.

"I didn't do anything. Inspector Lawson did everything to himself when he decided to start working with me."

Alfendi's voice got quiet. "What are you talking about?"

"You had no idea, did you? Your 'partner' was working with me the whole time." Makepeace explained wickedly. Hilda felt her heart break. This wasn't how Alfendi should have found out.

"No he wasn't." He denied.

"I don't lie, Alfendi."

"No he wasn't." Alfendi repeated, forcefully.

"I could find the press conference for you, I'm sure it's gone viral by now…I'm surprised no one killed him before he was dragged away by the police…"

"Shut up!"

Makepeace sighed deeply and clicked his tongue. "You'll learn this lesson someday, son."

Hilda heard the sound of the man standing up from a chair. There was a quiet click before Hilda yelped and covered her mouth in horror, as Alfendi suddenly started screaming. She looked up at the window. It was too small for her to climb through and by the sound of the voices, Makepeace was facing her. If she tried to shoot through the window he would definitely see her before she could do anything.

Hilda sprinted off to the entrance of the warehouse. She was ending this now.

Hilda walked into the garage without hesitation. She began working her way through the inside quickly, gun at the ready. She was about to round a corner when she heard a door open on the other side. She waited.

"Papa?" A girl's voice called out. Another door opened further down and Hilda heard footsteps approaching.

"What is it, Diane?" Makepeace's voice answered. Hilda's eyes widened. The girl was his daughter? He had children? That had never come up in their research of the man.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." She said quietly. Judging by her voice, the girl was in her early teens.

"Go ahead." The man urged.

"Is… is it true, when we kill someone… it hurts their families…?" She asked quietly.

Makepeace was silent for a full minute before continuing.

"Have you been talking to Alfendi?" He asked, voice very low and angry.

"I—I just—"

"You know he is a bad influence." His voice was getting louder.

"I know, but—" The girl's was getting more desperate.

"You trust what he said to you over what I told you?"

"No! I just—AGH!"

There was a loud smack and the sound of something getting slammed against a wall.

"Do I need to teach you a harsher lesson?" The man hissed.

"No! Papa! Please!" She gasped. "I can't— breathe!" Hilda decided that she had heard more than enough. Stepping around the corner, she raised her gun. Makepeace heard her and turned to face her, keeping on hand still firm around his daughter's neck against the wall, and his eyes widened in surprise. She fired without hesitation. She watched as the murderer collapsed to the floor, motionless. Hilda walked over cautiously and confirmed her shot made its mark.

Keelan Makepeace was dead. Hilda sent a quick message to the commissioner requesting paramedics and backup.

Once the message was sent, Hilda turned to Diane, who had slowly dropped to the floor and was trembling and coughing.

"Are you alright, dear?" She asked kindly. The teenager, with tears in her eyes, sat up with Hilda's help and looked over at Keelan's body on the floor.

"Is—is he, d-dead?" She asked, still gasping for air.

"Yes. He was killing you, I couldn't let that happen." Hilda said calmly, years of experience in the field helped her stay focused.

Diane nodded, before burying her head in her arms. Hilda put a comforting hand on her back.

"Would you like me to stay here with you?" She asked. "Backup should be here soon and they'll help take care of you."

"No… you can go… I'll be fine…" The girl said looking down.

"Just stay put okay?" Hilda instructed, standing up. Diane nodded and Hilda proceeded down the hall. She went straight for the room with light coming underneath. She opened the door and stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.

Hilda's gun nearly slipped out of her hand as she took in Alfendi's beaten up appearance. Alfendi opened his eyes and did a double take.

"H-Hilda?" He nearly whispered, as if he didn't believe it was her. To be honest, she couldn't believe it was him either. It seemed like he had been gone for centuries instead of just a week.

After a moment, he seemed to regain his wits. "T-Took yah long enough, s-sweetheart," He said with a dumb, exhausted looking smirk. Tears filled up her eyes again. He was alive. "Q-Quit cryin' w-willyah?"

"You…"

Hilda struggled to find the right words to express her relief he was alive, how much she loved him, and how this was all over and never happen again.

"You idiot." She settled on before rushing over to untie him.

"Name c-callin' huh?" He said, resting his head back, closing his eyes, and smiling. "N-Nice to see yah t-too…"

"Shut up." She tried to say angrily, attempting to fall back into their usual banter, as she released his ankles. She found she couldn't even pretend to be mad at him. Hilda was too relieved he was alive. "Are you alright?"

"Erm… h-honestly… No." He admitted, opening his eyes again looking pained. "N-Not at all."

"I know. I know, dear." She untied his legs completely and paused for a minute to stroke his face gently. "But it's going to be alright now." He relaxed and closed his eyes again.

"Hey Hild'… Where's J-Justin?" He asked quietly. Hilda froze. She didn't want to talk about that with him now. First, Alfendi needed to get far far away from this place.

"Don't worry about that right now, let's focus on getting you out." She started on the restraints holding down his torso and hands.

"Okay… what about K-Keelan and D-Diane?" He asked.

"Makepeace… Makepeace is dead, Alfendi." Alfendi nodded, seeming to handle this information well, so she continued. "And Diane is waiting for us in the other room." Alfendi would be comforted to know that the girl was alright, wouldn't he? Evidently they had been talking from what she had heard.

"D-Diane's w-waiting?! Hild'!"

…Or maybe he wouldn't be. Alfendi started panicking and squirming under the restraints. "She—ouch—she—!"

"Shh, calm down!" He was going to hurt himself thrashing this way. Hilda turned his face so he was looking directly at her. "I need you to stay calm Alfendi!" She urged.

"No! She's with him, Hilda!"

"She… What?" That didn't make sense. "Are you certain? He… he was trying to kill her, Alfendi."

"I—I don't know— she was jus' as bad as he was…" Alfendi said with a shiver, now glancing at the door frequently. Hilda released Alfendi from all of the ropes and pulled her gun out of her pocket. She helped him sit up slowly, wincing whenever he would flinch or hiss in pain.

Death had been too good to Makepeace. She should have made him suffer.

Alfendi swung his legs around and let them hang off of the side of the bed. He looked uncertainly down at the ground, before looking back up at Hilda.

"I dunno if I can walk, Hilda…" He admitted.

"That's alright, we can wait here for the paramedics to arrive."

"No!" He said with an edge of panic in his voice. "Hild' I can't be in this room for another second. Please." Alarmed at his forcefulness and use of the word 'please,' Hilda obliged, supporting him on the side of his uninjured shoulder.

"We'll go together then."

Together, they left the room. When they entered the hallway, no one was there except for Keelan's body further down the hall. They exchanged a nervous glance at the absence of Diane, but they didn't have to wait long before the police came rushing down the hall.