Chapter 17

Perry was a lot of things. A first class son of a bitch. A traitor. Someone whose loyalty had apparently ended the moment he'd realized she would never date or sleep with him. Someone who equated murdering random Humans with advancing Faunus rights. He was a good enough fighter. A decent tactician. Probably better at keeping a finger on the morale of the troops than she was. Better at cheering them up, talking to them, building close bonds.

He was all of those things.

He was also someone who was terrible at considering all of the angles of a problem. Case in point? He should have ripped the dagger out.

Ilia gasped as her shoulder rammed into a wall, the sturdy bricks the only thing keeping her upright. Pain throbbed through the belly with every breath and she was certain she was leaving a thin trail of blood with each shaking step she managed to take. Her left hand stayed on the weapon still buried in her flank, probably the only thing stopping her from bleeding out.

She had no idea where Branwen or Perry had gone. If the traitor had been captured or not. It didn't matter.

"Focus..." The word was a gasp. "Focus. Get to the mall. Pray someone is there."

She wasn't even sure how she'd gotten as far as she had. It was nearly dawn and the amount of cars moving around seemed to be picking up every minute as people began to commute to work. Now that she'd left the wealthier quarter of the city it wouldn't be long before foot traffic started up as well.

Can't be in the open then. That would mean a hospital. That would mean questions. That would mean capture.

Ilia pushed on, sticking to the side street she'd been somewhat surprised to find herself on. No banks, no fuel stations, no cameras. She hoped.

"Keep moving. Just keep... moving."

A car pulled onto the street just ahead, moving too slowly her way. Her semblance was out. She was losing aura as fast as her body recharged it, all of it going to the gash in her side. Hissing in pain, she shifted so that they couldn't see her wound, hanging her head and hoping she looked like just another early morning drunk.

It wasn't until the driver gunned the engine for several seconds then slammed on their brakes that she looked up again.

What she'd taken for a car was in fact a beat up old truck, one with a very familiar driver. "Ilia!?"

Tukson practically flew out of the driver's side, leaving the engine running. "He said you were dead. What happened?"

"Perry." She gasped as he took her arm, his mouth opening in horror when he saw her belly. "Traitor. He... did this. Left me."

Tukson swore under his breath, hesitated, then got onto her good side. "Come on. You shouldn't sit down with that there, lay in the back. I'll get you medical attention."

"...back to base." The relief she felt on seeing him seemed to sap what strength she had left, the big man taking nearly all of her weight. "...report..."

"Come on. Take it slow."

She tried to walk again, to take one more step... and felt herself begin to fall as everything went black.

When she woke up she was in a dark bedroom, her throat was absolutely dry, and she felt twice as exhausted as she had after rowing that damned boat to Patch.

"You're finally awake." Tukon's voice made her turn her head to the right, something that took too much effort for her liking. The bookseller was seated in a comfortable armchair beside her bed, the rest of the curiously undecorated. "You're in my spare bedroom. What do you remember?"

Ilia sucked in a slow breath and winced at the pull on her stomach. "...the mission to Patch. Perry stabbing me. You."

He seemed to wince. "Well, that's something. Water?"

She nodded and he rose, picking up a bottle from the floor. He had to help her sit up to drink it, and the movement made her realize she had an IV line attached to one arm. "...doctor?"

"Off the books. Graduate student, I give him whatever books he needs for free, he sees me and my people on the side."

Smart. Also slightly worrying that he'd had a doctor, or the nearest thing to one, available but had never told her. That was definitely the kind of asset that a Leader needed to know about. Still this wasn't the time or place for that.

She sipped from the bottle once he handed it over, careful not to guzzle it. Once she was done she settled it beside her rather than handing it back, and Tukson quickly returned to his seat.

"You got lucky. An inch lower and you'd have been dead. As it was he got you patched up and pumped some auric boosters into you, plus anti-biotics." He nodded towards the IV line. "Should be able to take that off now that you're up, but he says you're not going to combat ready for a while. Have to take it easy."

As if my luck would let me take it easy. "How long have I been down?"

His usually serious expression grew more so. "Four days. I'm the only one who knows you're alive."

Ilia felt her eyes narrow. "Why?"

Tukson grimaced. "Perry got a hold of Taurus the moment he got back to base. Reported that you died heroically holding off a Huntsman so he could escape. It's already been reported to Menagerie."

Red worked its way up and down her body, eyes, and hair. "Bastard. I'm going to kill him. How long until I can walk? I have to call Sienna and-"

"Nava, Lectrie, and Liam are dead."

Her mouth snapped shut.

"They went out to find your body." Tukson continued. "Just like I did. Two police units pinned them down, then a team of Hunters came in and hammered them. They went down fighting. Perry's already calling them martyrs."

Martyrs... He'd used that word before. Had sounded like that was the kind of thing they should be hoping to create. ...or helping create.

"They were good. Our best. Too good for random cops." The words were a whisper from blue lips. "That son of a bitch. He set them up."

Tukson looked down at the floor. "...can't prove it, but my instincts say you're right. Everyone in the combat cell is fighting mad right now. So are some of mine, even if more of them are still confused over what exactly happened."

Ilia bowed her head as well. That... traitor. He accused her of... when he set his own allies, his own friends, up to die? And for what? His ego? His refusal to accept the reality of their struggle?

Swallowing, she closed her eyes and forced herself to be calm. For her color to return to normal. There would be a time to mourn them... but that time wasn't now. Now they had to act. They had to make sure that the traitor in their ranks paid for what he'd done. That he didn't get away with it.

"We need to contact Sienna."

That drew a tired huff. "Sure. How? Perry's got control of the cell now. If he even suspects you're still alive he's going to finish the job. And how many of his fanatics would believe you over him?"

The question hurt nearly as much as the blade in her guts had. She really had no idea. Letting Perry keep his extremists in one place where she could keep an eye on them had seemed smart at the time, but now she wondered if she hadn't made a mistake. Hadn't made it easy for Perry to cultivate their loyalty. Especially as her interactions with them had gotten harsher as they kept getting closer to the line of what she thought of acceptable actions.

"He told them I died a hero." She shook her head slowly, "Can't be more than one or two he told the truth to. Maybe no one."

"You willing to risk our lives on that?"

Well... when he put it like that? No, not really. Maybe if she'd been healthy and ready to fight, but she wasn't. Fight... crap. "Did you grab my pack?"

Tukson blinked and then shook his head. "You didn't have one on you."

Dammit!

She must have left it behind somewhere during her fugue state. Lightning Lash had been in there, along with her old saber. Her caution of not wanting to look armed and dangerous at night was coming back to bite her in the ass.

"So it's a covert operation." She adjusted. "Perry will want to use my... my death. He'll want a big operation. What does he have planned?"

"Something for tomorrow." A broad shoulder rose and fell. "He didn't give me details, just told me to have cars and safe-houses ready for a big raid."

She nodded. "Tomorrow night then. You drop me off outside, I sneak in, I contact Sienna and tell her what happened. She'll know what to do."

He looked skeptical. "No offense, Ilia, but I don't think she'll be able to do much for us anytime soon."

Yeah... there is that. "I'll have to stay in hiding. Are we at your place?"

"My guest room, but I'm the only one of your close contacts left with the others gone. He'll come here first the moment he realizes you're around."

Another good point. She must have been more out of it than she thought to not be thinking this through. "Right... right. You think he remembers the old base in the sewers?"

"...probably, but I don't know if he'd think to look there. It was pretty disgusting." Tukson hedged. "Might work for a few days, long enough to find something long term. Can't you just go back to Patch? Take that Huntress job?"

"Branwen saw my face."

There was a quiet but entirely heartfelt string of swearing. "That dog-eared bastard really screwed you over didn't he?"

"Yes. Yes he did." Ilia exhaled, carefully forcing her once again red-skin to darken back to tan. "Can you spare a weapon, and enough food and water for a few days? I can handle myself after that."

Tukson nodded once. "It won't be the best but I've got supplies and a gun for emergencies. What's the plan?"

Ilia mulled it over for several silent moments. "Call your doctor and see how many auric boosters he can spare. I'm going to need my semblance tomorrow."

"That won't be healthy for you."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "No... it won't. But it's the only thing that will make this work."

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