Chapter Seventeen: The Mystery of Miami

Once Virgil took the vial from Milton, both raced through the gate to Little Plaza. The streets of Miami's market district were void of customers, which wasn't unusual. All shops usually closed a half hour before sundown. Virgil sped through the streets with the crescent moon above his only light.

They were expecting us, thought Virgil. The Big Three wanted us to return to Miami.

The thought made him almost want to take down the leaders of each family himself. But he knew he wasn't the type of ghoul to shoot his way out of a fight. At least, not if he could help it.

His heart hammered in his chest as he turned right onto another street and spotted Miami guards further down the road. Two groups of three guards lined either side of the street. All had their weapons withdrawn as they paced. He raised a brow as he abruptly stopped.

What the hell, he thought before his eyes widened in realization. They've trapped my group. Or at least, some of them.

He ran back the way he came and turned left into a nearby alleyway. He tip-toed down the backstreet, doing his best to be as quiet as possible.

"Psst, Virgil," came a familiar voice.

The ghoul looked up to find Saoirse on a neighboring rooftop. She motioned to a set of stairs and Virgil rushed toward them. He climbed as fast as he could.

"So, you're the reason the guards are here," Virgil whispered.

Saoirse shook her head. "It's not just me they've cornered."

She led him toward the edge of the roof and pointed. Ariadne and Noelle were stationed on a rooftop across the street. Noelle gave a half-hearted wave as Ariadne, with her arms folded, simply nodded.

"The gates to Waterside are just up ahead," Saoirse whispered with a sigh as she turned away from the teenagers. Virgil followed her to the right side of the roof and sure enough, there was the gate to Waterside.

Virgil flinched when a shot was fired into the air. He and Saoirse stepped away from the edge as he searched for who had fired the shot. Neither of the other teenagers had their weapons withdrawn, but the guards converging in the middle of the street did.

Shit, he thought. We're screwed.

"Alright, you three," called one of the guards in the otherwise quiet street. "We know one of you has the virus. I'm going to count to three, and if you don't hand it over before then, we'll start shooting."

Virgil turned to Saoirse expectantly.

"I really hope you have a plan," he whispered.

"One," said the man.

Virgil could see the other guards begin to pace, holding their weapons at the ready.

Saoirse nodded as she removed a frag grenade from her belt. "I do. Do you have any more explosives?"

Virgil's heart pounded as he searched his pockets. When he pulled out a frag grenade, she took it and quickly moved to the edge.

"Two," the man said.

"This should decrease their numbers enough for us to get by," she said.

She locked eyes with Ariadne, who also held a frag grenade, and pulled the pins of both explosives.

"Three," the man said as the two teens dropped the explosives.

Noelle, Saoirse, Ariadne, and Virgil panted as they rushed through the gate.

"I think that stopped them," Noelle said.

"For now," said Saoirse. "No doubt they'll assess their wounded and come chasing after us again."

"Either way, we should get going," said Ariadne. "Does anyone know who has the vial?"

"Why, I'm so glad you asked," Virgil replied. All three teenagers looked to him as he removed the flask from his pocket. "Any volunteers?"

"I'll do it," Noelle said before either adolescent could respond.

"Noelle, are you sure?" Saoirse asked.

Noelle felt her friend's gaze remain on the virus as Noelle took the container and placed it into her jeans pocket.

"I'm sure," she said with a nod.

Their gazes snapped to the gate as shouting accompanied footsteps on the other side.

"We'll meet you at the Opal Garden," said Ariadne.

"Be careful," Saoirse said.

And with that, the four split up once more. As Noelle ran down a residential street, she briefly glanced behind her to see numerous guards. She shifted her gaze as she turned onto another deserted avenue.

Just a little further, Noelle thought. Just a little further, and then I can stop running.

Her gaze darted over the empty residential street as she ran. Her legs pumped faster as the sound of shouting and footsteps approached.

Come on, you can make it, a voice inside her said. Run like your life depends on it, because it does.

As she sprinted, she could just make out the silhouette of various plants across the skyline near a sign. She removed the vial from her pocket the closer she came to the garden. Just as her legs were about to give out, she chucked the vial as far into the garden as she could. She watched a thick branch grab the container, before pulling it into the garden. Noelle shuddered, but didn't have time to consider as gunfire erupted around her.

As she withdrew her pistol, Travis, Milton, Zeke, and James take cover behind nearby vehicles or buildings. She withdrew her Chinese pistol as she sped behind a nearby rusted semi.

"Does anyone know what happened to Virgil, Ariadne, and Saoirse?" shouted Travis from behind an adjacent building.

Noelle peered out from behind the truck and focused on a man with a 10mm pistol. She aimed at his chest and fired twice.

"Last I saw, they'd passed through the gates to Waterside," she replied as she ducked behind the truck again.

The guard she'd shot had fallen and she moved out from behind the semi once more. As she aimed at another guard's head, she could see three figures being escorted to the fight by more guards. Gritting her teeth, she fired at the man's head.

You all are going to be sorry for what you've done, she thought as she scurried behind the vehicle again.

As their three group members advanced toward the group, Noelle felt her blood boil.

"Everyone stand down," one of the guards yelled. "By order of the Big Three, stop shooting."

The sounds of gunfire immediately stopped as Noelle lowered her weapon.

The Big Three, she wondered with a raised brow. That doesn't make any sense. They're the ones who wanted us dead, and now they don't?

"What?" asked one guard.

"Are you kidding?" said another. "They're the ones who ordered we take care of these guys."

The man sighed as Noelle slowly emerged from behind the semi. She joined Travis, James, Milton, and Zeke as they met the other three members of their group in the center of a pile of dead guard corpses.

"Yeah, well now they're saying to leave them the hell alone," the first man replied. "You want to go against their orders?"

After the guards had let Ariadne and her compatriots go, the group decided to get something to eat at the Shangri-La. It was the only place Milton and Virgil could afford, now that they weren't getting paid. The eight of them sat in a booth in the back corner of the mostly empty restaurant.

A waitress came to deliver their drinks, before she departed. As Ari sipped on her Nuka Cola, a woman in a turquoise floral dress approached them. None of the other patrons even noticed her, let alone the large pouch she carried.

"You were the group hired by Luciano Reyes," she said.

Everyone shared a confused look before focusing their attention solely on her.

"Who's asking?" said Travis with a raised brow.

"My employer has heard of your group," the woman replied. "She wishes to thank you for disposing of the Reyes' weapon, as the Reyes Family would have become too much for Miami." She then tossed the bag into the middle of the table. "As proof of her gratitude."

Without another word, she walked away. Ariadne looked to Saoirse and Noelle with a wide and curious expression. The others were exchanging similar looks. Eventually, Ari looked suspiciously at the pouch.

"Does anyone know who that woman was?" Zeke asked.

The others shook their heads or confirmed they didn't know her.

"Who wants to open it?" enquired James.

"Since I almost died tonight, I will," Virgil volunteered as Milton snorted.

The ghoul reached a hand toward the bag and loosened the string. His eyes widened to the size of a Gatorclaw.

"Holy shit," said Milton, as he leaned over to view the contents of the pouch. "I've never seen this many caps before in my life."

"How many are in there?" asked Travis.

60,000 caps. Enough for each member of the group to receive 7,500. Travis was still trying to wrap his head around that number as he stood on the balcony connected to his bedroom later that evening. He placed his hands on the black railing as he looked out over Miami.

Saoirse had invited Ariadne and Noelle to stay over, all of whom were sleeping in Saoirse's room. Despite being away from home for several months, Travis found he couldn't sleep. A million questions fired off in his head the moment they'd split the caps and gone their separate ways.

Such as, who was that woman who'd approached them? How did she know they would be there? How had she, or her employer, known about them? And who was her boss?

He sighed as he looked down at the watch on his Pip-Boy. It was currently 12:45 AM.

I'm not going to answer any of these questions tonight, he thought as he pushed off the railing. Might as well get some sleep.

He did, however, know someone who might be able to help him. Alejandro Navarro was the oldest citizen of Miami and a dear friend of Travis'. If anyone knew who this woman, and her employer, was it would be Alejandro.

Travis closed the screen door to the balcony, before going to Saoirse's room. He opened her door as quietly as possible and smiled at seeing all three girls asleep on the floor.

"Sleep well, kiddo," he whispered before closing the door again.

He then went back to his room, stripped off his jumpsuit, and slipped into bed. As he lay his head on his pillow, he thought over the events of the last few months.

Saoirse and I have been through a lot. Especially Saoirse, he thought. But we've both come through the other side.

With that, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Hello fellow readers! I hope everyone, especially my audience in the US, are staying safe and healthy.

I figured since we're so close to the end that I would give you treat and post two chapters at once. I hope you like it! Also, before I get a flurry of messages/reviews about a possible sequel, you may want to read the epilogue first.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Travis and Saoirse Mason, Aria, and Caleb.

Please feel free to leave a review and I'll see you next chapter!