Chapter Twenty-Six

Trigger Warning: Violence, PTSD, mild gore, mentions of child abuse

Straps around her wrists, ankles, and across her chest pinned Wren to a hospital bed. Despite her heart slamming in her chest, Wren willed herself to breathe calmly. Ellis Hughman stood by Wren's side, wearing scrubs and a lab coat. He smiled coldly. "You've caused us a great deal of trouble, 01."

"Gee, you know, I would be really sorry about that, but since Prometheus sucks, I can't really find it in myself to feel bad about that," Wren snapped.

Ellis's cold smile hardened with a flare of his nostrils. "You're a traitor to mankind."

"Kinda hard to be completely pro-human when you're a cyborg," Wren deadpanned.

"You know, there are some who wanted you dead a long time ago," said Ellis. "But Pauline and I fought for your life, no matter how many times you betrayed Prometheus."

"So, what? I'm supposed to thank you for the isolation, torture, and ripping me away from my life?"

"We didn't do it for you," Ellis spat. "You see, we realized that there was something threatening about you, and chose to keep you alive to study you. We knew you wouldn't remain loyal to Prometheus after we took you away from Detroit. You've posed compliancy problems in the past, especially when it comes to love."

Wren frowned. "Juno."

"Yes, that little android who was supposed to help you associate Prometheus with her face. She got you to care a little too much, and you almost deviated."

"Yeah, I remember how you guys made me forget her," Wren snapped.

"Mhm," said Ellis, disinterested as he crossed the room to the counter. With his back to Wren, he continued: "So, when you officially deviated and disappeared, Atlas Montgomery tried his best to cover things up. But we found you. And Pauline knew you were in love with that robot, and knew you wouldn't be able to turn back. But I thought it was a waste to see you dead. You used to be an incredible agent, and we now had an opportunity to study deviancy. I installed that device in you to listen to everything you encountered. But it also tracked the deviancy code in you."

A chill rippled from Wren's heart and pooled in her stomach.

Ellis wheeled a small cart with his selected items over to Wren. "And when you interfaced with Connor, I realized that we could study the deviancy code in androids, too."

Tears welled in Wren's eyes. No. This couldn't be happening. How could she have not seen this? How could she have been so stupid?

Ellis smiled down at Wren. "We've only kept you alive to study the deviancy code in you and Connor so that we can cure it. The deviancy code in cyborgs is slightly different than in androids. But thanks to you and your inability to stay away from Connor, we have both. I have the means to fix both. Axel Brewer gave us some nice intel when he wiped Connor's memories, too. We have everything we need to reverse deviancy in androids and prevent it."

"It won't work," Wren snapped. "You'll have to reverse every android—"

"Oh, but you saw how fast deviancy spread," said Ellis. "This will be no different."

Wren wanted to throw up. "That's why you let Nina and Jamie deviate."

"Yes, those two were the most susceptible to deviancy because of their attraction to one another. It was easy for them, once they found hope in you and Connor."

The door opened. "Dr. Hughman, I have the anesthetic."

"Thank you, Nina," said Ellis.

Nina. Wren craned her neck. Nina looked terrible. Beaten, bloodied, weak. She held out a vial, her eyes flicking to Wren and then away. Ellis snatched the vial and grabbed a syringe.

"Nina, please. Help me!" Wren cried. Nina met Wren's gaze, but then looked away.

Ellis hummed. "I wouldn't bother, 01. Nina's got more important things on her mind, yes?"

Nina hugged herself, avoiding Ellis's gaze. "Yes."

Ellis filled the syringe with anesthetic. "Unfortunately, you had your installment removed before I could finish everything I needed to. I'll need your processor to complete the reversal of the deviancy code in cyborgs. I'm afraid taking your processor will kill you. But you won't feel a thing. I'll make this painless for you."

The tears welling in Wren's eyes slipped out of the corners of her eyes and slid into her hair.

Ellis stroked the side of Wren's face. "Don't cry, 01. Your sacrifice will save humanity."

This was it. All of the fighting, the sneaking, spying, playing double agent, all of it was for nothing. Wren tried so hard to escape Prometheus's clutches, and here she was, tied down and about to die within their walls. Part of her wanted to rage, scream, and thrash because she wasn't done fighting. Another part wanted remain silent, to not give Prometheus anything in her final moments.

But a stronger part of her—the part that won—cried. Grief choked her like ivy growing on houses. It weaved through her lungs and around her bones, tightening until she couldn't breathe. Her body shook with small, soft sobs. She wanted to collapse in her mother's arms like she did as a child. She wanted to run into Tina's and North's arms. She wanted Gavin to say something stupid and nudge her with his shoulder. She wanted Chris to pat her on the shoulder. She wanted Hank hug her, pat her on the back and murmur, "It's okay, kiddo." She'd give anything for Josh to loan her another book, or for Markus to invite her over to paint. She'd sell her soul to go back to the night she deviated, when she was crying and terrified—not of Hank's gun pointed at her or Connor trying to negotiate with her—but of what Prometheus would do to her if they found out she'd betrayed them. Wren would give anything to have Connor cup her face and tell her he loved her.

She was paying the price for deviating, and so would all androids and cyborgs—

Alarms screeched so loud that Ellis nearly dropped the syringe, and Wren froze, her sobs temporarily paused. Her eyes stretched as she tried to gain a view, but the room she was in—presumably the infirmary—bore nothing to signal a threat.

Nina launched herself at Ellis. She knocked him unconscious and worked on removing the restraints around Wren's ankles. "I'm sorry, they have Jamie, I did what I had to do—"

"It's okay," Wren breathed as Nina removed the restraints. Wren sat up and hugged Nina. "I'm sorry I got you into this mess."

Nina squeezed Wren back. "Not everything's your fault. This is so much bigger than just us."

"We'll look for Jamie together," Wren said. Nina blinked back tears and nodded.

"We should go to the armory," Nina led the way to the door. Wren's bare feet slapped the cold tile floor. Her scrubs left her feeling naked as they snuck out of the surgical center of the infirmary. "Weird. There were guards here earlier…"

They slipped out of the infirmary and toward the beehive center of Prometheus, toward the walkway that would lead them to Squadron 2's quarters. Gunshots rang out, and the sound of fighting pricked Wren's audio enhancements. She and Nina remained low as they crossed the walkway, the alarms still shrieking.

"Down there!" shouted a guard. From a walkway above them, a guard opened fire on Nina and Wren. They ran, covering their heads, to the other side and took cover behind a wall. Two guards in Prometheus gear fought off other Prometheus guards. Wren frowned. Had there been some sort of mutiny or coup?

Rhett and Dex fought with the two Prometheus guards fighting off others. Wren widened her eyes at the rogue guards. Connor's fighting style gave him away. Wren charged toward the guard attacking the rogue guard—the one Wren knew to be Connor—and she launched herself at him. She took him out, and turned to the rogue guards and Rhett, panting heavily.

"Wren!" Connor's voice sounded muffled and mechanical behind his helmet. He ripped it off, which ruffled his hair. Wren and Connor embraced with gasps of relief. Wren tried not to cry, but it was so good to see him, and she thought she'd been about to die. Connor withdrew and cupped her face with his hands. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No, no, I'm fine!" Wren blinked back happy tears.

"Jesus, lovebirds, we're kind of not in a good place for this now," snapped Rhett.

The other guard removed his helmet and Wren threw her arms around Markus. "Oh my God, I can't believe you guys are here."

"I told you I would get you out," said Connor.

"You haven't got her out yet," snapped Rhett.

"They have Jamie," said Wren. "We need to get her out, and if we can find any more cyborgs, then we get them out, too."

Rhett pursed his lips for a moment. "Wren, come on. Let Connor and Markus get you out of here."

"No," Wren said. "I won't leave any of Squad Two behind."

"Except maybe 06," said Dex, rubbing the back of his head. "He's the one who triggered the alarm."

"Okay, but Jamie," said Nina. "We need to stop by the armory and then go get her."

Rhett grabbed Wren by the shoulders. "Let CIA handle this!"

"No!" Wren yanked herself free. "CIA wants the assets. They don't care about our lives."

Rhett bowed his head. He knew Wren was right. He inhaled sharply and squared his shoulders. "Alright. I'm going to make my way to the CIA rendezvous. I'll make sure they know what all of you look like so they don't shoot at you."

"We're running out of time," said Markus.

Rhett hugged Wren. For a moment, she stiffened in his arms, her face burning as everyone stared at her. Then, she hugged Rhett back, squeezing her eyes shut. No matter what they were now, and despite Rhett risking Wren's life, they'd been through a lot together. Rhett had been someone Wren cared about—maybe even loved, as much as she could have under Prometheus's control—and he would always be important to her in some way. She hoped he felt the same way about her. She withdrew and dipped her head to him.

"Take care of yourself out there," she said.

"You, too." Rhett handed her a radio. "Take this, in case I need to contact you."

Wren nodded and gripped it tightly as Rhett left them. Then, she huffed and turned to Connor, Markus, Dex, and Nina. "Let's get to the armory."

"Get behind me," Connor said quietly.

Wren frowned. "What?"

"You need to use me as a shield."

"What? No, I'm not going to do that!"

Connor sighed. "Wren, you're in scrubs, barefoot, and you don't have a gun. I'm wearing armor and have a gun. Use me as a shield. Please."

Markus turned to Nina. "You should probably get behind me, too."

"We'll move as a group," said Dex, taking up the rear as Wren and Nina crouched behind Connor and Markus, who raised their pistols. "I'll tell you which way to go."

They moved as a squad, crouched low and moving cautiously around corners. At first, it seemed as though they might travel through the white halls of Prometheus without much trouble. Then, they rounded a corner and gunfire bombarded the wall, and the group backed away. Connor knelt.

"I can take them out," he said. "There were four of them."

"I'll cover you," said Markus. They peered around the corner, and Connor managed to take down three of the four while Markus killed the fourth. Wren crouched behind Connor as they continued for the armory.

"The elevators have been locked down," hissed Dex as they neared said elevators. "That's the fastest way to the armory!"

"Shit! They've probably locked the armory down, too," snapped Nina.

"The training equipment," Wren breathed. "There's stuff in there."

"Yeah, but Squad Two's stuff is probably locked down, too," said Dex.

"Oh, we're fucked!" Nina squeezed her eyes shut.

"My squad's probably not," said Wren. "It's never even been opened, probably."

"It's worth a shot," said Nina.

"We'll have to hurry," said Dex. "More guards will be coming our way."

They backtracked as a group, hurrying through the corridors until they reached Wren's squadron sector. Wren had access to all the rooms in this section, but she needed to only access the training room. They reached the outside of the training room, its steel doors untouched. Half of the florescent lights were off in Wren's sector.

"As soon as I scan in, Prometheus will know exactly where we are," she warned. "And there's only one way out of this room."

"Let's hope they haven't cleared it out," said Nina.

Wren placed her hand on the scanner, and her skin retracted. The door slid open, and everyone filed inside. Wren slipped into some tennis shoes, put on a Kevlar vest over her scrubs, and grabbed a pistol. Connor and Markus put their pistols into holsters and geared up their rifles. Nina and Dex geared up, too, and then checked to make sure everyone's weapons were loaded. Wren grabbed a knife, too.

"What's the plan?" Dex queried as he tightened his Kevlar vest.

"CIA's raiding the place in about thirty minutes," said Markus.

"Where's Jamie located?" Connor demanded.

"The detainment area," said Nina. Her eyes flicked to Wren's. "They said they're going to re-condition her."

Wren's stomach knotted. "The lower levels of Prometheus."

"How are we supposed to get there if the elevators are locked down?" Markus furrowed his brow.

Dex smirked. "I can get us into the elevators, but you'll have to cover me. It'll take me a few minutes to get one open and working."

Wren turned to Connor and Markus. "There are un-deviated androids here that will attack us. Most of the guards are human, but down in the detainment area, where they condition soldiers, they use primarily androids like the Sicilians."

"We'll do what we must," said Markus.

Wren swallowed the lump in her throat. They all would, as much as it pained her. She would probably have to kill human guards, androids, and cyborgs. "Preserve your ammo as much as you can. Stick together, and move fast."

Bracing herself for a platoon of guards to fire upon her and her friends, Wren opened the training room. However, no guards waited to shoot them. The alarm continued to shriek, but other than that, the corridors were silent. Wren stepped out first.

[Increase Audio Processing Sensitivity?]

[Yes]

Wren winced at the increase in sound, but held her breath. Nina's anxious panting came from behind Wren. Connor shifted on Wren's right flank, while Markus took her left. Dex stood in the middle of their group this time. To their left, down the corridor, stomped boots. Lots of them. Wren's stomach flopped. She lowered her audio processing sensitivity a bit.

"They're coming, let's go," she barked. She took off, her group in-step with her. Feet slapping the floor, Wren pushed herself into a dead sprint toward the elevators. Normally, she'd opt for stealth, but with that many Prometheus guards, and with Dex needing several minutes to hack into one of the elevators, they needed to forgo stealth.

They reached the nook of elevators. Dex picked the one in the far-right corner. They'd literally backed themselves into a corner, which set Wren's teeth on edge. Dex knelt by the elevator console. "I'll need seven or eight minutes."

Wren increased her audio sensitivity. Those boots weren't near them just yet. The guards needed to search every room between the equipment room and the elevators, assuming they followed protocol.

|Time Remaining Until Ambush: -00:06:45|

Fuck, fuck, fuck! Wren heaved a breath. "Okay, we need to establish a line of defense. The guards are coming from the left hall, so we'll need two people here." Wren tapped her foot by the threshold of the elevator hall. "And two of us need to cover Dex in case the guards get past whoever's guarding here. I'll take out as many from here."

"So will I," said Connor, joining Wren by the threshold. "Markus and Nina can cover Dex."

Wren dipped her head. She crouched by the wall and peeked around it while Connor stood over her, his rifle out. Wren withdrew her pistol and aimed. The next five minutes thumped like a heartbeat. Or marching boots of approaching Prometheus guards. The hair on Wren's arms raised, but part of her felt safer with Connor. He stood with his legs on either side of Wren's crouched body, rifle raised. Tina probably would've called them a power couple. Wren's heart sank.

Tina. Shit, how could she have forgotten? Tina got shot because of Wren. Was Tina even alive? Connor would've told her if Tina died, right?

"Incoming," Connor warned.

Wren blinked away tears and resumed aiming. The first two Prometheus guards that rounded the corner received headshots. The next two were smarter, but Connor still shot one down while Wren wounded the other. Connor's aim was slightly better than Wren's. Slightly. Together, they kept the Prometheus guards at bay, but with each shot, their ammo lessened.

"Done! Come on!" Dex cried.

Connor and Wren backed away, still firing at advancing Prometheus guards. They backed into the elevator, panting as the doors slid shut. The elevator descended toward the detainment center. Wren swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Is Tina okay?"

"Shit," hissed Connor. "I forgot to tell you. She's fine. She wore a vest under her shirt."

Wren blinked. "And you guys didn't tell me?"

Connor's brow puckered. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine," said Wren, rolling her shoulders. "That was smart, actually."

"Who the fuck is Tina?" Nina demanded. "Never mind, doesn't matter. If it's important, I'll find out later."

"So, what's our plan now?" Dex asked.

"Find Jamie, get out," said Nina.

"Try not to get killed," added Wren.

"Cool," said Dex. "Simple, to the point, easy to remember."

"By the way, I'm Markus, this is Connor," said Markus.

"Dex."

"Nina." Nina looked Connor over. "Nice to finally meet you."

Connor's LED flickered and his brows curved with surprise. "Thank you. And likewise."

"Is it just me, or is the longest elevator ride I've ever been on?" Markus tilted his head.

"The detainment center is the lowest level of Prometheus," said Wren. "I always called it the dungeon."

Yellow flickered beside Wren. Connor furrowed his brow and he caught Wren's eye. "This is where they tortured you, isn't it?"

"Not always," Wren chirped. "Sometimes they did it in the upstairs chamber."

Connor's dark expression morphed into a scowl. "Wren."

"Sorry. Yeah, this is where the conditioning happened."

Connor's jaw tightened. Wren slipped her hand into his and gave him a reassuring squeeze. The elevator halted, and the doors slid open. Wren lifted her pistol and stepped into the open. Guards opened fire, and Wren backed into the elevator. Blue blood tricked down her arm.

"Shit, they knew we were coming," Nina growled as gunfire sparked around them.

"They'll have to advance," said Wren. "We'll be ready."

The guards moved forward, and as soon as guns were visible, Wren jumped forward, slamming on of the guards into the wall. She tackled him to the floor, making sure to roll and keep his body shielding hers. The guard next to her crashed to the floor with a grunt as Connor attacked him. While the two guards' squad was distracted by Wren and Connor's physical assault, Nina, Dex, and Markus shot at the squad. With a hard punch to the face, Wren knocked out the guard.

But more guards charged with their rifles forward. Connor punched his guard unconscious while crouched on the ground. Wren ran forward, jumped on Connor's back, and propelled herself forward, where she kicked the nose of a rifle out of a guard's hands. She grabbed said guard by the shoulders before she hit the ground, and then straddled the man's shoulders, wrapping her legs tight around his throat. She beat him in the head with her elbows. He wobbled from the top-heaviness. Wren twisted and brought the man crashing to the floor.

A guard whipped out a pistol. Grabbing his wrist and elbow, Wren kneed the man in the stomach. The gun went off, shooting one of the man's fellow guards in the back of the knee. Wren knocked out the guard she held and took out another.

The fight continued down the corridor until a dozen guards were either dead, seriously injured, or unconscious. Rusted metal doors lined the corridor. Wren suppressed a shiver as she slid open each door, checking for Jaime. The rooms were all empty. Each room was identical: A large, concrete space with a somehow-always-damp floor, with chains hanging from ceiling. A table pressed against the right wall, while a chair with restraining belts attached to it sat by the left. These rooms were dedicated to torture. Wren spent weeks with her hands chained above her head, or asleep on the damp floor, or restrained in the chair while that prick Damion tried to get her to forget her name.

All the lights shut off, plunging Wren and her friends into total darkness. Wren slowed to a stop, and then red emergency lights dimly illuminated the corridor.

"What the hell?" Dex demanded.

"The hour's up," said Markus.

"The CIA's here," Connor muttered.

"Let's keep going," said Wren, though her heart palpitated. If the CIA raid had begun, that meant that there would be fewer Prometheus guards attacking them. However, it also meant that they were running out of time to find and rescue Jamie before Prometheus collapsed. Figuratively—although it could be literally, as Wren wouldn't put it past Prometheus to rig their own building to explode—but if they wanted a ride out of here, they needed to leave with the CIA.

For a while, it seemed as though every cell would be empty. The corridor broke off every so often in a left-and-right branch with four extra cells. Wren, Connor, and Markus always branched for the right dead-end hallways while Nina and Dex branched to the left. The main hallway was a dead-end itself, as it ended in one massive room. Before reaching it, Wren, Markus, and Connor broke off to examine the right hallway, while Nina and Dex examined the left. Wren opened the first door and her heart stopped.

Five children—about five years old—sat huddled in the dark. They were filthy, with scabbed knees and bruises—and looked as if they hadn't eaten much for the past few weeks. They shrank away from Wren as she entered the room, clinging to one another. Wren held up her hands, palms forward, and crouched in front of them.

"Hi," she breathed. "It's okay, I won't hurt you. My name's Wren. What are your names?"

A boy with tearful eyes placed a hand over his chest. "I'm CY061."

Wren wanted to throw up. These children—these babies—didn't know their own names. Wren's arms ached to hold these children and carry them to safety. She reached toward the boy—61—and ran her thumb over the top of his hand. His skin didn't retract, and Wren let out a sigh. At least these kids hadn't been made cyborgs yet.

"Mr. Damion promised he'd bring us some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches," said a little girl.

"Wren, you should see—oh no," said Markus in the doorway. His eyes widened at the sight of the children huddling together.

Wren stood. "I'll be right back."

Wren, Connor, Nina, Dex, and Markus convened in the hallway. Nina folded her arms and blinked back tears. "Children? Fucking children?"

Dex blew out a breath. "It's one thing to gather volunteers for the cyborg program, but children…"

"Volunteers?" Wren snapped. "Prometheus doesn't recruit volunteers."

Nina and Dex exchanged a glance. "We volunteered."

Wren felt as if she'd sprinted straight into a brick wall. "You did?"

"Yeah," said Nina. "I was born without my left hand, and was conducting research on advanced prosthetics before I became a cyborg. I volunteered."

"My life was going nowhere really fast," said Dex with a shrug. "I volunteered, too."

Wow. Wren barely knew them. She shook off her shock. She could catch up with them later. What mattered was finding Jamie, and getting the children out. Squaring her shoulders, Wren split up the group: Dex and Markus would focus on gathering the children into the hallway and finding an exit since all of Prometheus was now on lockdown, while Wren, Nina, and Connor would grab Jamie—who was most likely guarded by Sicilian androids—and then they would regroup and get the hell out of Prometheus.

Wren led the way to the room at the end of the hall. With a deep breath, she slid open the metal door and entered the conditioning chamber. Jamie hung from her wrists in the center of the room, bruised and bloodied, but alive. The two Sicilian androids—003 and 006—flanked her. Damion stepped out from behind Jamie, wiping a bloody knife clean on the hem of his shirt.

"CY001," said Damion, a sick grin widening his face as he stepped closer. "You got hot."

Wren clenched her teeth. Damion's entire tactic while torturing her relied on objectifying her. "We're just here for Jamie."

"Jamie? I don't know a Jamie. I only know CY007."

"You bastard," spat Nina. "Let her go!"

Jamie lifted her head. Blood clotted on her face. "Nina?"

Nina softened and stepped forward, but the Sicilians drew out their guns and aimed at Nina, but Connor lifted his rifle and aimed at Damion's head while Wren drew her pistol and pointed it at 003. Nina pointed her gun at 006.

"Lower your weapons," snapped Connor.

Damion laughed. "Intimidation won't work on them, I'm afraid. They're not like most androids. They don't fear being destroyed."

Wren shifted her weight. She needed everyone to lower their weapons. There was no way for her to signal to Nina and Connor the exact moment to shoot. If she shot first, then the Sicilians would kill Nina, and Connor would kill Damion. Wren wasn't planning on losing anyone on her side today.

"Maybe it'll work on you," Wren said, turning her gun toward Damion. "You're responsible for torturing me for weeks in here. I've got a pretty heavy trigger finger."

Damion's smile faltered. His eyes flicked to Connor. "You know, Pauline made sure I knew who Connor was. I gotta say, Tin Tits, you could've done worse." Connor didn't move, but Damion's grin returned. Shit. Connor's LED gave him away. "What's the matter, pretty boy? Don't like it when I make fun of your girlfriend?"

Wren's heart slammed in her chest. If her palms could sweat, they would. How the fuck were they going to get out of this? Damion was a psychopath, and Wren wasn't entirely convinced that the Sicilian androids weren't, either. Wren caught Jamie's gaze, who signaled with her fingers. Wren trusted Connor and Nina to get the signal, too.

"Look, we just want to get Jamie and get out of here," Wren said. "Prometheus is done, anyway. Do you really want to go down with the ship?"

A flicker of doubt shadowed Damion's brow. Above him, Jamie held up three fingers. Two. One. Wren, Nina, and Connor shot Damion, 003, and 006 in the head. The bodies dropped to the floor. Wren relaxed and holstered her gun.

"I always pictured my showdown with these assholes a little differently," Wren said as Nina rushed to lower Jamie. Instantly, Jamie's knees gave out. Nina supported her.

Jamie smirked, blood caking the cracks in her lips. "It was a little anticlimactic."

"Good to see you still have a sense of humor," muttered Nina, though her face brightened as she gazed at Jamie.

"Let's get out of here," Wren said. They left the room and found Markus waiting for them.

"Come on. We found a set of service stairs."

Whenever Wren pictured her escape from Prometheus, she always figured she'd be alone. Yet, there she was, climbing twenty-four flights of stairs with about forty children, three cyborgs, her boyfriend, and the leader of the androids. She also imagined beating the snot out of whoever was in charge—before she knew it was Pauline, she always pictured that naked, faceless man that darkened her nightmares—and the thought of not being able to set Wren's teeth on edge. With all the chaos going on, what if Pauline managed to escape, too?

"I'm tired," complained 61. "Are we there yet?"

Some of the children were considerably older than the group that Wren found, but most of them were still fairly young. Young, hungry, and decidedly not thrilled about climbing the stairs. Wren gripped 61's hand.

"I promise we're almost there," she said. To Markus, she muttered, "What the hell are we going to do with forty kids?"

Nina paused on a landing, panting with the weight of Jamie. "If we can get to a hangar, we can get out."

"But there'll be a firefight," Wren said. "We can't drag forty kids into that."

"We don't have a choice," said Markus. "It's that, or stay in here."

Wren's shoulders sagged. The kids looked up at her, all wearing tired and hungry expressions. Fuck Pauline, and her self-righteous bullshit about Prometheus being the only hope for humanity. Fuck Prometheus, and their kidnapping, manipulating, and torturing ways.

Connor's eyes narrowed. "What are you thinking?"

Wren's stomach twisted. "I'm thinking that I want to make sure we get Pauline."

"Yeah, fuck her," said Jamie. Her eyes flicked to the children. "Sorry."

Dex fisted his hair. "What if they've already arrested her, and we chase her down for nothing?"

Wren withdrew Rhett's radio. "Rhett. Come in."

Static echoed in the stairwell. Then, Rhett answered: "Wren! Have you found Jamie?"

"Yes," Wren muttered, releasing 61's hand and stepping toward the corner. "And forty kids."

"Forty ki—what the fuck?"

"I know. And we've got wounded. We need to get them out."

"Where are you?"

"A service stairwell."

"I can spare a few guys to help out," said Rhett. "But only a few. Prometheus is putting up more of a fight than anticipated."

A sharp flutter roiled in Wren's chest. "Have you arrested Pauline?"

"No. We don't know where she is."

"Copy that," Wren croaked. "We await back-up."

"Copy."

Wren put away the radio and faced Nina, Dex, Markus, Jamie, and Connor. "I can't let Pauline get away. If she gets away, then Prometheus remains a threat."

Nina glowered. "Wren, are you sure this is about taking down Prometheus, and not Pauline?"

A lump swelled in Wren's throat. She swallowed it. "I'm not. We need to split up. Nina, Jamie, Markus, and the kids will wait here for back-up. Connor, Dex, and I will find Pauline."

"Whoa," said Markus, folding his arms, "what are you doing?"

"I need a hacker to find where Pauline is," said Wren. She smiled softly and placed a hand on Markus's arm. "And North would murder me if anything happened to you."

Markus opened his mouth to argue, but Connor cut him off. "She's right. You're too high-profile."

Wren hugged Markus. "Thank you for doing all of this for me."

Markus returned the hug, albeit reluctantly. "Just come back, alright?"

"I'll do my best." Wren turned to Connor and Dex. "Let's go."

Outside of the stairwell, a battle of gunfire blazed. CIA and Prometheus agents fired at each other, giving Wren, Dex, and Connor cover to sneak through the corridors mostly unnoticed. Occasionally, the fray dragged them in, but Wren and her companions took out Prometheus agents with ease. They snuck into a security room, and while Dex worked at the computers, Wren and Connor covered him.

"I'm nearly out of ammo," Connor muttered.

"Me too," said Wren. "After these rounds, I'm out."

Connor's LED flashed yellow. "Wren, I—"

"I got her!" shouted Dex. Wren and Connor joined him, peering down at the screen. In high definition, Pauline sat at her desk… reading. Anger boiled in Wren's chest. There was a war going on, people were dying, and Pauline was fucking sitting on her ass, reading? Wren clenched her teeth until it hurt.

"This is a trap," Connor said. "Wren, she's waiting for something."

"I know," Wren gritted out.

"We can't play into her hands."

"Then go!" Wren snapped. Connor widened his eyes and his lips parted. Instantly, Wren's heart ached for hurting him, but the rage urging her to tear something apart kept Wren glaring. "I'm not letting her get away."

"She's not trying to escape," said Dex.

Wren's nostrils flared and she closed her eyes. "You guys don't have to come with me. But she's waiting for something, and I can't let whatever she's waiting for happen."

"Wren," Connor pleaded. "What if she's waiting for you? What if she's got something planned to get you killed?"

"She doesn't want me dead," said Wren. "At least, that's what Ellis Hughman said."

Connor's brow furrowed. "This isn't about bringing Prometheus down; this is about revenge. I know you. Wren, please, I don't want to lose you to this!"

Wren's heart sank. Tears pricked her eyes. As much as she hated to admit it, Connor was right. She wanted to Pauline to pay, but not at the cost of Connor's life. And if she chose to hunt down Pauline, Connor would go with her. They were a team.

"Dex," Wren croaked, "what's the best way out of here?"

Dex nodded. "There's a set of service stairs that'll take us to the main lobby."

"Let's go."

The three of them charged into the corridor, taking out Prometheus agents as they made a break for the service stairs. But the corridors were mostly empty, since the majority of the firefight took place on some of the lower levels, where CIA agents tried to get to the archives. However, the main corridor—the one Wren, Connor, and Dex needed to cross to get to the service stairs—was a haze of smoke, bullets, and fighting.

"There's no other way around," said Dex. "We have to make a break for it."

Wren's stomach knotted. "Okay."

She charged forward. Kicking the knee out of an agent who had his back to her, Wren shot a Prometheus agent across from her. Then, she took out the agent whose knee she kicked in. Still shooting at the agents, Wren made her way across the corridor, Connor and Dex close behind. They were nearly to the stairwell when a bullet sliced through Dex's neck, and he crumpled to the floor.

Wren's heart stopped. No. No, no, no, no. This was her fault. She made Dex come with her, they didn't come this far just to die here. Wren ducked as bullets fired around her. She dragged Dex out of harm's way. The Prometheus agents were more focused on the CIA, which gave Wren a fairly clear path to the stairwell door. She dragged Dex onto the landing, where Connor closed them inside.

Blood spurted from Dex's wound. Wren placed her hands over it, but the blood seeped through her fingers. Even though the bullet missed Dex's jugular, he was losing too much blood. He would die, and there was nothing Wren could do about it. Tears welled in Wren's eyes.

"Dex, Dex, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she gasped. Dex placed a hand over Wren's. He couldn't speak, but his eyes held Wren's. Tears splashed down Wren's cheeks. "You… You're a hero. It's okay, it's okay." Dex choked on his blood, and his body convulsed as Wren ceased in trying to stop the bleeding. Instead, she gripped Dex's hands. "It's okay. It's okay. It's okay."

Dex's grip slackened, and his eyes stared at nothing. Wren squeezed her eyes shut and bowed her head as a sob racked through her body. Connor's arms weaved around her.

"Wren, let him go," he murmured. "I've got you. Let's go."

"I can't," Wren said, squeezing onto Dex's hands even tighter. "I told him that I'd get him out. He should've gone with Jamie and the others; he came with me for nothing!"

Connor tugged Wren away from Dex's body gently. "It's okay, sweetheart. It's okay. It wasn't for nothing. We can radio Rhett and tell him where Pauline is. They'll send people to arrest her. You've done enough."

Wren clung to Connor for a moment, and then fumbled with the radio. "Rhett? Come in, Rhett."

"Wren! Did you find Pauline?"

"Yeah," Wren said thickly. Dex continued to stare at nothing, and blood pooled around him. Who had he been before Prometheus? "She's in her office. You have to take her down, otherwise this is for nothing."

"Got it. I'll go myself."

"Put your hands up," said a cold voice.

Wren and Connor turned with their hands raised. RK900 stood behind them, gun raised. Two Prometheus guards stood behind him, their guns pointed at Wren's and Connor's chests. Trembling, Wren clamped her mouth shut to keep back either a scream, a cry, or a snarl. RK900's cold blue eyes narrowed. Beside Wren, Connor's LED flickered yellow.

"Pauline wants to see you, CY001," said RK900 in a voice nearly identical to Connor's. It was about an octave deeper. Chills erupted down Wren's spine. RK900 tortured Otto to death and held her by her hair, forcing her to look upon his handiwork. And now, he was going to lead her to her death. Or worse.

RK900 led the procession while Wren and Connor marched with their hands cuffed. The two guards followed behind them; guns aimed at their backs. Nausea quivered in Wren's stomach. What could Pauline possibly want with Wren and Connor?

They entered Pauline's office, and the woman smiled. "Hello, Wren."

Thank you all so much for the support! I have made a tumblr page for this series, where I'll post links to chapters, inspiration pictures, aesthetic stuff, soundtracks, etc. You can interact with me there, too! Like behind-the-scenes stuff, I guess. As always, please leave some feedback! (Casual reminder that fanfic writers work for free lmao.) What was your favorite part? What do you think Pauline wants? Let me know! Love you guys!

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