Stiles and Jackson sat quietly in the room, both of them tired and in pain after god knows how long waiting for Cassie and Cal to come back. In reality it had only been about twenty-five minutes but their sense of time was beyond a mess right now.
"You think they're going to kill him?" Jackson asked.
"Only if… only if Derek doesn't stop them," Stiles said.
"Or maybe he'll just get killed too," Jackson said.
"You're just a ball of sunshine aren't you?"
"Sorry I think I left my optimism back at the loft," he said.
"Yeah well let's hope Derek picked it up," Stiles muttered.
"Is that a joke? At least you haven't lost your sense of humour," he sighed.
Stiles closed his eyes again, trying to contain his tears as he thought about what might be happening and the fact that he was sitting there useless.
"Hey Jackson?" he said and Jackson looked up at him.
"Yeah?"
"Do me a favour, look over into that corner and tell me what you see," he said.
"What am I supposed to be looking for?" he asked as he craned his neck and tried to get as high as he could.
"Just… what do you see?"
He focussed his eyes and used his nose to fill in the gaps. "It's a body."
"Alive?"
"Just… I can hear her heart beating anyway," he said.
"It's Daisy, right? It's her," Stiles asked, almost already sure.
"I think so, smells like her," Jackson said. "It's faint but I recognise it."
Stiles sighed, the ache in his chest throbbing, not just from his bruises.
"We need a plan," he said.
"Okay, I'll yell at them and you throw sarcasm their way," Jackson said.
"I don't know, you see pretty good at the sarcasm."
"Alright, okay, fine. Did you have anything in mind?"
"Cassie, the girl," Stiles began. "I'm almost entirely sure that she's in love with Isaac."
"Why?" Jackson asked.
"Why what? Why do I think that or why is she in love with him?"
"… both."
"You're an idiot, would you just listen to me?" Stiles snapped.
"You think you're the only one who uses sarcasm as a defence mechanism?" Jackson snapped back.
"Okay, we have to stop arguing, alright? I know the situation isn't doing either of our moods any favours but take this seriously for one fucking minute," Stiles said.
Jackson sighed. "She loves him, huh?"
"I think so, I mean I already sort of suspected that but all this quality time I've spent with her has made it even clearer."
"So what, you want to use that to manipulate her?" Jackson asked.
"Well, no… but maybe…" Stiles said.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"I get the impression that she gets manipulated a lot, and the other guy, Cal, he's a real jerk―"
"I'm sorry, are you sympathising with the kidnapper? Again?"
"Maybe I am, you haven't seen everything, okay? I don't want to tear her down but I think she is our best shot at getting out of here alive," he said. "I'm not even sure she knows Isaac's a werewolf."
"Yeah well it's not exactly something you go around telling everyone," Jackson said.
"So does that mean―"
"No," Jackson said, cutting him off and looking over at him.
"You don't even know what I was going to―"
"I haven't told Danny and right now I don't want to either," he said.
Stiles nodded, "Right, why not?"
"Stiles, why do you think you're here?" he said with a raised eyebrow. "You're human, if you weren't involved with werewolves you wouldn't be here."
"I know, but I also know that he's getting sick and tired of feeling like you're lying to him."
"This is getting a little too personal for a hostage situation."
"What else are we going to talk about?" Stiles asked.
"How about you get some sleep and I'll wake you us when I hear them coming back," he said.
Stiles sighed. He could tell that Jackson was trying to be considerate, that he could obviously see how tired he was. Stiles knew that he was covered in bruises, he could feel them on his skin, he didn't need to see them.
As much of an ass as Jackson was, Stiles could see the concern on his face and knew that his bruises must have been worse than he first thought.
"I don't think I can sleep. Even if I could, it'd be uncomfortable and restless and my ass is asleep as it is," he said and Jackson managed to crack a smile.
"Fucking warehouse flooring, you'd think they could have at least got a couple of chairs in here," he said.
Stiles smiled. "Maybe a couch, a mini-bar," he shrugged.
"Could do with a flat-screen," Jackson said and Stiles actually managed to laugh before realising that it hurt his sides to do so.
"Do you think Scott's going to be okay?" Stiles asked and this time it was Jackson's turn to sigh.
"I might not be an optimist, and I hate admitting that McCall is good at anything… but if anyone can figure out how to make this go his way, it's probably him."
"This is probably the only time I'm ever going to hope you're right," Stiles said, changing his position.
Sadly it did nothing to quell the twisting of knots in his stomach.
Erica tapped her foot loudly as she dialled the number for Isaac's phone.
"Pick up you idiot," she said and Boyd just gave her a look as he tried to scoop up what was left of Derek's.
"You know that doesn't help," he said.
"Well it doesn't hurt anyone," she snapped.
"What?" Erica jumped as Isaac's voice came through the line.
"Where the hell are you?" she hissed.
"I'm going to find Scott," he said.
"Isaac, don't. They're going to kill you both!" she said.
"You think I'm just going to let him die out there?"
"You're both idiots!" she yelled. "Stiles just called."
"What? He did? What did he―"
"That they're going to kill Scott," she said. "If you go, they'll kill you too."
"Not if I can stop him first," he said before hanging up the phone.
Erica snarled, holding her phone so tightly in her hand that Boyd was afraid she was either going to crush it or throw it against a wall just like Derek had.
"If either of those two monumental idiots make it out of this alive I am going to strangle them both," she said.
"You need to keep a level head," Boyd said. "We can't have both you and Derek losing your minds."
"I haven't lost my mind," Derek said, walking down the stairs. "Did you call Scott?"
"He's not answering. I got Isaac but he's just going after him," Erica said.
Derek's nostrils flared and his knuckles cracked as he squeezed them tightly together.
"I got a message from Allison," Boyd said. "She said she knows what it was that Stiles found, she just needs Danny to unlock them again. She only has a physical copy."
"How does she know it's the right one?" Derek asked.
"Because it's the same one he kept going back to," he said. "She said it was a report about the death of a professor in Denver."
"That has to be it, you said Danny told you the files he unlocked were from Colorado," Erica said.
Derek nodded. "If they can do it safely tell her and Lydia to do it now."
Boyd nodded in agreement and Erica folded her arms. "So what now? Are we going to help Scott?"
Derek sighed. "There's nothing we can do, we don't know where he was going. Our best bet is to find the files, figure out who's doing this, and track them down."
"So what we have to wait all night before we do anything?" she said.
"What choice do we have? We find the hunters we find the rest of them," Derek said.
"What if they kill Scott and Isaac?" Erica said.
"What if we go out there and die as well?" Boyd said.
Erica sighed. "Are we ever going to have a quiet year?"
"We find out what we can from Allison and Lydia, we see if they make contact with any of us, otherwise we're going looking at dawn," Derek said.
Allison already had the papers in her bag when she got to Lydia's, she had intended on staying there anyway and had come straight from dropping Isaac off at Scott's. It wasn't long after getting to Lydia's that Boyd sent her a message explaining what had happened.
Danny agreed to come over, Lydia told him that if he could help it might bring them one step closer to finding Stiles and Jackson.
"You know he's going to ask why we're trying to solve this and not the police, right?" Allison said as they sat in the front room waiting.
"He said the sheriff called him already to ask him what he knew, if there was anyone out to get Jackson or Stiles. He said they asked if this could be someone from a rival lacrosse team gone too far," Lydia said with a sigh.
"He's really grasping at anything he can get, isn't he?" Allison said.
"His son's gone, his only son, I think you would be too," she said.
"Did you call Jackson's parents?"
Lydia nodded. "Right after I got here, they'd already left me a few messages."
"What did you say?"
"I cried and promised I would call if I heard anything," she said. "Are you okay?"
"Me?" Allison asked. "Why wouldn't I be, aside from the obvious?"
"They're your friends too, and I know your dad doesn't approve of you spending time with them."
"He's coming around," she said.
It wasn't much longer before Danny was at the door. He and Lydia embraced for a minute before she was leading him into the study.
"So you think this has something to do with―" he started to say as Allison took out the papers.
"No time for that Danny," Lydia said, giving him two pats on the back. "We're just trying to connect some dots."
"You know, I do know how to keep a secret, if this is some shit you need kept quiet you know I can help," he said as he looked up the information on the computer. "I don't know what you guys have gotten yourselves into and I know Jackson likes to think he can handle anything, but you know…"
"Thanks Danny," Allison said.
He opened some of the news files, using the information in the document to retrace the records. He spent a while looking through the code on the page, sitting back in the chair after a few moments scanning through the lines.
"That's interesting," he said.
"What is it?" Lydia asked, even with her mathematical brain computer coding was beyond her.
"When I did this for Stiles I just wanted to get him out so I could talk to Ethan so I didn't even notice…"
"Didn't notice what?" Allison asked, staring at the lines and trying to see something that might be vaguely 'interesting'.
"I thought this would have been censored because of the cops or the feds were working on the case but this here…" he pointed to a few lines in the middle of the page. "These aren't blocks from law enforcement or the government, these were put in here by someone like me. Someone hacked in to hide this stuff."
"So someone out there wanted to keep this hidden?" Lydia asked.
"Clearly they found it important enough to do so," Allison added.
"The article said that it was probably an animal attack, do you think there was something in here that maybe suggested otherwise to someone who knew the guy?" Danny asked.
"Maybe… can you still find everything you got for Stiles?" Allison asked.
"Yeah, it's all here. Give me a minute…" he said as he typed quickly and Allison gave Lydia a look.
Lydia smiled weakly, her fingers tapping on the back of the chair as she impatiently waited.
After a few moments a few new windows popped up and Danny sat back to let the girls give it a look over.
"It's a police report," Lydia said. "Isn't this basically what we know already?"
"No, something here has to be different," Allison said.
"The way he ran out of my house made it seem like he had something really important," Danny said.
"He kept coming back to this, it's definitely got something to do with this guy but he's dead. Does it say anything about the guys family―" Allison asked.
"Not his family…" Lydia said, pointing to a line in the report. "His student…"
Allison read the name and it took a moment to realise where she recognised it from. "Oh my god!" she said.
"Where do I know that name?" Lydia asked as she looked up and Allison already had her phone in her hand.
"Get all of that stuff and put it on a thumb drive, or email it to me, something," she said. "You're a genius Danny."
Allison put the phone to her ear and walked out of the room while Lydia just stared off after her. Danny sighed and looked up.
"I take it you don't need anything else?" he asked.
"If we find out anything about Jackson I'll let you know," she said as he stood up and pulled her in for a hug.
"I get it, alright? You guys are involved in something and right now that seems way too dangerous to let me in on, but honestly I'm not going to judge," he said.
Lydia nodded. "I know."
He gave her hand a quick squeeze before he was heading out and she was beginning to wish she could just explain it all to him. Instead, she walked quickly into the other room to see Allison hanging up the phone.
"Would you like to explain this to me now?" she asked with folded arms.
"Cassidy Calhoun is that old friend of Isaac's, the one they went to Denver with," she said.
"Oh my god…" Lydia said, closing her eyes with a sigh.
"As if that wasn't a big enough coincidence, I know for a fact that she was working at the sheriff's station. I don't know exactly what for, just that's what Stiles told me."
"So she had access to old files and records―"
"She had access to anything she could get her hands on," Allison said. "She wouldn't have been legally allowed to look through a lot of stuff but it's not like that matters much when you're going around killing people."
"You called Derek?" Lydia asked.
Allison nodded and sighed. "Erica knows a little, otherwise we have nothing. I don't think he liked my idea about going to the sheriff."
"Well how are we going to explain it to him?" Lydia said.
Allison sighed, "I don't know, he's just going to ask us how we know she's involved."
"So we need to find a link," Lydia said.
"Well who's she working with?"
"I guess if we figure that out then maybe we can figure the rest out."
"I can't believe I didn't put it together," Erica growled through her teeth as she paced. "How could it have been so close and we all missed it?"
"Erica," Derek began but she was still pacing.
"I knew that little bitch was trouble, even if it was just because she was flirting a little too much with Isaac…"
"Erica," Derek said again.
"How were you supposed to know that―" Boyd tried but she just snapped.
"Because I was the one who spent time with her, I should have been able to tell something!"
"Erica!" Derek said loudly. "Don't blame yourself."
"People are dead Derek, if I had of just―"
"Sometimes people who do bad things do a very good job of hiding it," he said. "You're not the first one to be tricked by a hunter. You won't be the last."
They just looked at one another and Boyd hated to break up the heart-warming moment but other issues were weighing heavily.
"It's not anyone's fault that we missed this, but can we please focus on how we're going to find them?" he said, handing Derek his phone. "I put your card in it seeing as everyone usually tries to call you."
Derek took it a little sheepishly and shoved it in his pocket.
"Do you know anything about her?" Boyd asked.
She snarled a little, folding her arms over her chest. "No, she was either asking me questions or pumping the music when we drove back from Denver. I should have noticed that she was dodging my questions."
"You had no reason to realise she was doing it on purpose," Boyd said.
Erica just sighed. "How long since Stiles called?"
"Nearly a half hour I think," he said.
"Isaac and Scott are both idiots," she said, her face changing as she made a realisation. "Oh my god, they don't know."
"What do you mean?" Boyd asked and Derek looked over at the two of them.
"They don't know that it's Cassie," she said.
Boyd tensed up and Derek knew that whatever way this went, it was going to get even more complicated.
Isaac ran through the streets, following Scott's scent as fast as his nose and feet would allow him. He had to stop him.
There was no way these people would contact Scott before Derek and use Stiles as the bait unless their plan was to kill him.
He raced quickly, he could have been getting closer or Scott could have been moving away just as fast. Either way he had to find him, he had to stop him.
"Scott!" he yelled, knowing that though it was a bad idea he might just hear him.
If he did, he stayed silent. Isaac knew he didn't have much time and kept pushing forward.
He had tried to call him but it kept going to voicemail. He hadn't even thought about what he was going to do if he caught him but he didn't have a choice.
Scott had denied the calls from Isaac, and Erica, and anyone else who was trying to get hold of him. He knew exactly what they'd say.
He had a plan, and even if that meant he was in danger to give them all a better chance at getting out of this then so be it.
Besides, he still didn't totally feel like a member of Derek's pack, and he wasn't bound under the alpha's control. That's what came from being bitten by a different alpha to the others.
He walked a little further into the woods until he heard the ping from his phone to let him know he'd reached his coordinates. After pressing a few quick buttons he slipped the phone back into his pocket.
His honed his senses in on his surroundings and it didn't take long to realise that they were already there waiting for him.
He couldn't smell them, but the air was still and there were no overt animal sounds nearby and that always meant that something had disturbed the quiet peace.
"I know you're here," he said slowly. "Where is Stiles?"
There was a little rustling in the trees before a figure in all black with a hood over their face dropped from a high branch of the tree, regaining their balance before holding a gun towards Scott.
"Where is he?" Scott growled.
"Oh Scott," the voice came out scrambled, just like it had sounded on the phone. "Did you really think we'd let him go in exchange for you? He'll be what links us to the alpha. You're just a beta."
"So why me then?" he asked. "If I'm just a beta then why lure me out here?"
"Maybe you're just an itch under my skin."
Scott's eyes narrowed a little in confusion. "Why?"
"Don't ask questions," the figure hissed. "Not that it really matters now anyway."
"Can you at least promise me that Stiles and Jackson aren't hurt?" Scott asked.
"They're alive, I can't promise they aren't hurt," the figure cocked the gun. "Anything else?"
"Why are you doing this?" Scott asked quietly and the figure tilted their head to the side.
"Creation, destruction, restoration," they said.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that in order to restore the natural balance then things like you must be destroyed!" Scott flinched a little and the hooded figure stepped a little closer. "Any last words?"
He sighed. "You can't beat them. It doesn't matter what you do or how many of us you take they aren't going to stop fighting."
"That all?"
"I'm not about to make this easy," he said.
Scott had a hand behind his back, his claws extending slowly before he snarled. His eyes flashed and clearly the figure had noticed and anticipated the swing of his arm, trying to take a better aim with the gun as Scott swiped at the arm.
He barely clipped it and as the gun went off the bullet only just scraped Scott's arm. He let out a loud growl as he managed to grab his assailant's other arm before he was cracked in the nose with the barrel of the gun.
He shoved them back and they reached into a pocket and pulled out a blade, swinging it inches from Scott's face before setting off the gun again, this time aiming for his leg and this time it was enough to pierce the skin and draw blood.
His leg gave way under him and he fell, the figure managing to slam their foot down into his chest and hold the knife to his throat before something caught Scott's eye.
"No…" he said quietly and the figure had only enough time to turn their head before Isaac was slamming his shoulder into them, sending them flying into a nearby tree with a thud.
Isaac stood between them, his face sprouting hair and his eyes shining golden as he let out a thunderous roar.
The figure on the ground was frozen and seemed to be staring up at them. "Isaac?" the voice disguiser was damaged and the sound that came out was even more contorted than before.
Isaac snarled again, lurching forward as if to lunge at the figure before he was being propelled back by an arrow though his shoulder.
He cried out in pain before something small landed beside the two of them, flashing quickly before detonating in a cloud of smoke.
Isaac felt instantly dizzy and Scott was trying to pick himself off the ground to no avail. It worked fast and before either of them could make a move they were in a motionless heap on the ground.
Cal came jogging down to meet them, pulling back his hood and staring at them with his nostrils flaring.
Cassie was still on the ground, staring over with glassy eyes and a look of near horror on her face. She pulled the hood off slowly and took the disguiser away from her mouth with her shaking hands.
"No… no Isaac…" she whispered.
"Go get the car," Cal said coldly.
"No, no, how could this happen…" she said.
"Get, the car… now," he said, turning to give her a sharp stare.
"He can't be one of them, no, no he's not―"
"Oh come on, don't tell me you deluded yourself into thinking that your precious little Isaac wasn't one of them?" he spat. "It's about time you knew the truth."
She looked away from where Isaac lay and up at Cal. "You knew," she said.
"Of course I knew," he said.
She pushed herself up and stared at him, a tear falling from her eye and the rage coming back to her.
"You knew and you let me believe he wasn't―"
"You were never going to believe that your little prince was actually the big bad wolf," he snapped. "Not until you saw it for yourself. This is the real world, and it bites back. Not get the car!"
She was breathing heavily but flinched at his words and ran in the direction of the car as Cal stared down at the two of them.
"Now the real fun begins."
Erica and Boyd spent a few minutes arguing, Derek just sat back and shook his head. If he didn't have to be strong for this he would have already broken down.
He was trying to listen to the two of them, hear their suggestions, but none of it was working.
When the phone in his pocket began to ring it was at his ear in almost an instant, Scott's name flashing on the screen.
"Scott? Where are you?" he said, Erica and Boyd going silent immediately.
"I know you're here," Derek looked up in confusion as Scott's muffled voice came through the line. "Where is Stiles?"
He pulled the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker for the others to hear.
There was a little rustling before Scott was growling again, asking where Stiles was.
"What is he thinking?" Erica hissed as they listened in.
None of them answered, they just let the call play out, Derek motioning for Boyd to write down the three words that were mentioned. In a few short moments they heard the starts of a scuffle and then a gunshot.
There was a noise from Scott and more heavy movements before another gunshot went off and this time there was an even louder yelp before a thud and the line cut out.
"Why would he call now?" she asked.
"He was fishing for information," Derek said, putting the phone in his pocket. "We're going to his house, follow the scent and find him. If we're lucky he'll still be there."
"And if we're unlucky?" Boyd asked.
Derek looked up with a sigh. "He'll still be there, just―"
"Please," Erica said. "Please don't give me an end to that sentence."
Derek nodded and the three of them were heading out hoping there was still some luck on their side.
