Chapter 3: Seattle Skyline
"Three!"
As soon as he said it, she turned around and slowly raised her hands in the air. This man, Reggie according to Delsin, meant business. His gun was aimed right at her head and she was glad she turned around when she did. Delsin had a hold of the man, probably from trying to convince him not to resort to violence.
She took a moment to properly examine Reggie. His hair was slicked back and the same, dark brown as Delsin. Comparing the two height-wise, he was rather short but a little more stocky. His lips pulled together in a thin line and he stared at her with deep chocolate eyes that screamed justice. As her eyes wandered over his figure, she noticed something about the badge sewn on his jacket.
"Salmon Bay. You're not a cop here. You can't arrest me," she observed, unsure of whether to feel relieved or worse.
If he couldn't legally arrest her, that didn't mean he wouldn't try and kill her. Why was he running around this place anyway?
"No. But I have plenty of friends here in the city who would arrest you in a heartbeat. I've heard of you all over the place. Evelyn Hale. Notorious bio-terrorist thief. You've made quite a name for yourself," Reggie commented.
"Reg, will you just knock it off? She can help us," Delsin interupted, deciding to take a step between them so the gun was aimed at him.
This seemed to irritate Reggie because he lowered the gun immediately and gave him a sour look.
"Whoa, if he's the same as me, why won't you arrest him?"
"Perks of being a brother," Delsin answered, crossing his arms over his chest.
Brothers? Now it made a little more sense. They both looked so much alike and the dynamic between the two definitely pointed toward brothers. It seemed pretty ironic that one of them was a cop and the other a bio-terrorist.
"You know I can and will arrest you," Reggie huffed, glaring at his younger brother.
"Yeah well...not this time anyway. Now come on, Reg. She can help us and I can keep her out of trouble yeah?"
"That's rich, considering you can't stay out of trouble yourself."
"Wait, who says I'm going to help you?" she jumped in. "I don't know who you are or what you want. You think I'm just going to magically help you because we're both bio-terrorists?"
"Conduits. And I already told you who I am. We're fighting for the same cause," Delsin tried, adjusting his beanie.
"I don't know what cause, but I don't care. I have my own problems to deal with. I can't be out in the open."
"Why are you even stealing? Doing what you do?" Reggie asked as she took a step back.
"It's really simple. I don't want to starve to death."
These words seemed to cause the gears to turn in Delsin's head because she saw a twinkle in his eye and the corners of his lips tugged into a smirk.
"Because I'm such a genius, I have a solution to all of our problems," he started, wriggling his eyebrows. "Evelyn, you can stay with us. Get a place to sleep, some food... You can stop stealing, Reggie won't have to arrest you, and you can help me out a little. See I'm not just all looks."
"Wait, wait, how can you just think that everyone is going to agree with this?" she questioned quickly, raising a dark eyebrow.
"She's right, Delsin, you can't just call all the shots and expect everyone to go along with it. I never agreed to having another conduit in the hotel! And do you know how easily it would be for the people there to recognize her?" Reggie raised an eyebrow, folding his arms.
"That...that won't be an issue! And she doesn't need your approval, I already said she could stay!" he countered.
Evelyn shook her head, taking a step back and trying to process everything. It was all way too much and she didn't even know what was going on right now. Was she dreaming? How could all of this be happening? She swore that in a few minutes she would wake up in an abandoned apartment building with Elijah snoring on the couch across from her and everything would be dandy.
But it didn't turn out that way. Minutes later, Delsin and Reggie were still arguing in front of her and she couldn't even bring all of her thoughts to make any sort of sense. She was overwhelmed and not left with many options.
"Just, just stop," she interrupted, pressing against her temples in frustration. "I don't know who you are. I don't have time for any of this. I don't have time to help you. I don't have time to be arrested. All I know is that the D.U.P.s took my best friend and it's my fault. I don't know how I'm going to get him back or what to even do. This is wasting my time. So please just stop."
Everyone fell silent. Even Delsin's cocky, brash attitude fell and the both of them simply stared at her. She was relieved that they stopped talking because the noise had gotten too overwhelming and all she needed was silence. For once in her life, she just wanted to hear nothing at all. Sometimes, she would give anything to give up her powers. It was them that caused all of her problems in the first place. Maybe she could just have a normal life if they hadn't come.
"What's his name?" Reggie asked, his tone softer than before.
She was caught off guard. Mainly because she expected them to just leave and let her go. "Elijah. Elijah Banks... You've probably seen him... His face is plastered all over the place..."
"What can he do?"
"Nothing. He's not like me. They took him to try and lure me out."
"And you're going to let them do that?" Delsin braved, looking slightly angry now.
"Delsin-" Reggie tried.
"No. The D.U.P.s, they're making everyone terrified. The people can't go anywhere without fearing for their lives. They're taking everything away from us. We need to own these streets! We need to fight back!"
He started to pace, smoke and ash beginning to trickle off his form. And then he was gone. Just like that, he'd slipped up a vent and flew out of sight. Gone.
"Dammit, Delsin!" Reggie exclaimed with an exasperated sigh.
It was her cue to leave, then.
She pulled the black hood over her head and straightened herself out a bit to be more presentable and hidden for walking out and about on the streets.
"Hey wait, where are you going?" he asked, blocking her path before she could go out onto the streets.
"Please. I can't-"
"I know, but...Delsin he was...well...you can stay with us. We can help you find him. Look, I don't like all of this...conduit stuff. I just want my brother to be the way he was. But...I wouldn't want him to be taken away like your friend was."
Evelyn stood bewildered at the stranger in front of her. Minutes ago, he had been wanting to shoot her and arrest her, but now he was sympathizing with her. Maybe it was because she spilled on why she needed to keep going. He liked a sob story? Either way, it would be nice to have a cop on her side for once, even if he didn't exactly like who she was or what she was doing. And given the fact that she still had no idea how she was going to get Elijah back, it might help to have someone to help her through it.
She eyed him warily for a moment, still unsure on whether or not she should get involved with them at all, but in the end, she would do anything to find her friend.
"Okay. Thank you," she breathed, clenching her fists and trying not to hold her breath as the nerves crackled through her body.
"It's... Just follow me. I'll drive you back to the hotel."
With a shaky sigh, she followed after him, steps slow and hesitant. Things were changing so rapidly and it made her anxious. But there was no turning back at this point. She really did need the help.
Being out on the open streets after nearly being killed by the D.U.P.s scared her, but she just kept her head low and followed Reggie to the cop vehicle that he was driving around the city.
As she slipped into the front seat, a D.U.P. vehicle drove slowly by. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest and she ducked her head even lower to avoid being seen. But because she wasn't causing any trouble or showing her face, they continued on as if she wasn't even here. She wouldn't be surprised if several people walking past them were like her.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Reggie muttered to himself. "First Delsin becomes a conduit and now I'm driving a complete stranger to our hotel..."
He was trying to be quiet but failing miserably. Honestly, she didn't really care all that much because she was feeling somewhat similar. It sounded like both of their weeks had been going pretty poorly.
As they headed across the city, she tried to keep herself calm. Reggie continued to mutter nonsesical things to himself, which only fueled her stress because of the noise. She had a hard time keeping the noises at bay when she was stressed out and the noises only stressed her more. No matter what she did, they never left.
Eventually, they got to one of the less busy parts of the city near the water. Looking into the waves gently lapping at the shore eased some of her anxieties as Reggie parked the car in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn. Wordlessly, she unbuckled her seatbelt and slipped out of the car, stretching lightly for a moment as she waited for him to gather a few things from the back of the car.
"I'd tell you to keep your head down but I'm guessing you already know that," he commented as they started to the front entrance.
She merely replied with a nod and ducked her head as they entered into the lobby. A few people greeted them as they walked by the front desk, but she paid them no mind. She shoved her hands in her pockets and kept pace with her new associate until they got to the elevator. It was difficult inside since so many people were crammed against each other and she had to try not to look up at all in case any of them recognized her. Luckily, they got to their floor without any hiccups and soon enough, they were in the hotel room that he and Delsin - and now she - was sharing.
Because she was still slightly paranoid, she didn't take off her hood just yet and took a moment to briefly search the room for hidden cameras. Since the room was rather small, it wouldn't take her long. All she had to do was check the pastel pink walls and each of the queen beds across from the television.
"You don't have to. It's already been checked," Reggie assured, but she continued to look anyway.
He was being kind and allowing her to stay, but that didn't mean she trusted him very much. After all, he still was a cop, even if his brother happened to be a bio-terrorist.
Once she deemed the room satisfactory, she pulled her jacket off and took a seat at one of the chairs situated next to the little breakfast nook in the corner. Her muscles slackened and she took a moment to breathe. There wasn't any way she was going to cry in front of this man she barely knew, so she tried to let all of her emotions out by breathing deeply and focusing on a lamp across the room.
"Why don't you go ahead and take a shower? I can let you borrow some of Delsin's clothes. I would allow you to use mine but they're all uniforms," Reggie suggested, breaking the silence and her intense staring match with the lamp.
"Okay, thank you," she murmured, slowly standing as he turned to go through a very unorganized suitcase across the room.
She watched him as he tried to pull some things out that might fit her and the sight of boxers made her blush bright red. He put those aside and instead pulled out a red and black flannel and a pair of slim navy blue sweatpants.
"Here, these will probably be comfortable enough for you."
"Thanks..." She flashed him the tiniest of smiles and took the clothes gingerly in her hands. She felt incredibly weird about showering here in a hotel and putting on a pair of clothes that weren't hers, but she would go back and get her own clothes tomorrow.
Making her way to the bathroom, she closed and locked the door behind her. She set the clothes down on the sink counter and turned the shower on, fiddling with the settings until she found the perfect temperature. Grabbing a hotel washcloth, she stripped down and stepped under the stream of hot water. The sound of the water running was actually soothing to her unlike the other noises. Water always calmed her down, most likely because she had good memories with pools and with her family at the bay. Thinking about that just reminded her how much she missed her parents and wished that they were still alive.
A pang of sorrow settled in her stomach and she leaned her forehead against the shower wall, drawing in a shuddering breath. She could picture their faces so clearly, filled with terror because of the D.U.P.s and Augustine as they stormed into her house. Their screams were always the loudest - the ones that were branded permanently into her mind.
The stream of water suddenly felt too hot so she quickly finished washing before getting out. Wrapping a towel around herself, she proceeded to dry off before stopping to look at the fresh clothes waiting for her. She slipped on the sweatpants first, which were several sizes too big. As a solution, she tied the drawstrings as tight as she could and rolled the waist several times until the pant legs weren't touching the ground.
However, the flannel wasn't really a problem compared to the sweatpants. It was still just as big on her, but it kept her covered and actually felt really comfortable and warm. She took a quick look in the mirror to see exactly what it looked like on her as she dried her hair. Obviously too big, but it was the type of style she tended to like.
Flattening the flannel down a bit, she scooped her black hair over her shoulder and combed it out with her fingers. Once she was satisfied with all of the knots coming out, she put the towel back on the rack and tucked her old, dirty clothes under her arm. She swore she heard some talking - no arguing - coming from the bedroom when she neared the door. Slowly, she unlocked the door and then entered the bedroom, noticing that Delsin was back and he was in a heated argument with Reggie.
However, it was cut abruptly short when he noticed her presence and he took a moment to stare at her, probably wondering why she was wearing his clothes.
"I let her borrow some of yours, since all mine are uniforms," Reggie explained, lips set in a firm line.
"Cop man can't let her wear his privileged, honorary uniforms?" Delsin snickered, taking a few steps toward her. "It's been a while since I've seen a girl in my clothes."
This extremely flirtatious comment caused her to blush madly and she huffed in discomfort, trying to think of a witty comeback but drawing up a blank. She was usually very shy around guys when they made comments like that.
"Delsin, can you not flirt with every girl you see just this once?" his brother hissed, slapping him on the arm.
"Alright, alright!" he exclaimed, shrinking back after the attack. "So I guess that means she's not sleeping in my bed?"
Evelyn reached up and rested her head in her palms to cover up her embarrassment.
"Oh she's sleeping in your bed," Reggie started, causing Delsin to suddenly perk up and seem excited, "but you're sleeping in mine with me."
She peeked between her fingers, smirking into her hands as she saw his reaction to that statement.
"Ew, Reg! Seriously? Do you have to be such a buzzkill?"
"Well you can always sleep on the floor..."
"Fine, fine." He threw up his hands in defeat and sat down on the edge of the bed nearest to the bathroom, looking up at her and gesturing to the opposite bed. "Your royal bed awaits, your majesty."
Rolling her eyes, she took her place on what used to be Delsin's bed and tried to get a bit comfortable. A look out the window revealed how dark it had actually gotten since she got in the shower and she crossed her legs, taking a minute to look out of the window as the two brothers argued again.
Seattle was almost always gorgeous at night. And when it snowed in the winter, the Space Needle looked magnificent against the blanket of white.
She remembered when she was little, she would look out the apartment window and watch the snow fall while her parents made hot cocoa and laughed with each other in the kitchen. Sometimes, she would even get up and dance with her dad to the Christmas music. Even after the holiday season was over, they would still take the time late at night when she couldn't sleep to dance to music, often with her stepping on his toes and allowing him to lead across the room in circles.
At some point, she thought she heard Reggie say something, but she was so lost in thought that she let the comment fly by. The lights turned off, but it didn't break her from her trance as she stared at the Seattle skyline.
I promise I'll get you back, Eli...
She repeated this over in her head until she slowly slipped into an uneasy sleep.
A/N: So sorry for the delay! My computer charger broke so I didn't have access to anything until a new one came in. But I got it so I can finally update again! Thanks so much for all of the support guys! It means a lot and I'm so glad you're enjoying this! I hope you liked this chapter and I can't wait to upload the next! :)