A.N: And onward to the next chapter! Same rules apply here, the present is in Hong Kong, Saturday night/Early hours of Sunday morning. Flashbacks from Ethan's perspective are in italics. It's mostly told in chronological order but there's a couple of out of order sequences to present Fred and Daphne's perspectives as they played out separately. Generally anything with Fred takes place about an hour after Daphne's but for dramatic effect, sometimes their reactions are presented side by side ;) Enjoy.
Hong Kong, Saturday night/Early hours of Sunday morning:
"So you're saying 'what' exactly, Ethan?" Daphne asked him tiredly as Ethan claimed there was no genuine request from the Embassy at all. "That it was actually Devon who lured us here instead?"
"It seems likely," Ethan agreed. "They didn't waste any time in getting you both over here. I didn't want you or Fred anywhere near here."
Daphne sat down on the floor now, her back slumped flat against the wall, her elbows resting on her knees and held her head in her hands. "God Ethan, I can't process this. My head is spinning! You say you didn't want us here but you were declared officially missing to us. Of course we were going to come out! Would you rather us not have known at all?"
Ethan scrambled to sit down closer by her side but still give her enough space. He took a deep breath, knowing that what he was going to say was going to hurt.
"Honestly Daphne, that was always the plan as far as I was concerned. That, if anything ever happened to me here, there was a strict instruction not to let you know. After the tragic mix-up with Tomas, we were presented with an opportunity."
"To make us believe you were dead?" Daphne said tearfully. "How could you do that Ethan? After everything I went through with Devon and all that time when he had convinced me you were dead, you went ahead with a plan to do exactly that again?!"
"We had no choice Daph. By the time a team was mobilised, you had already been attacked twice! God I've never been so scared, I couldn't get to you in time at the subway station, thank God Fred was alert!"
"So I was right when I thought we were being followed from the hotel that morning? That was you?" Daphne asked.
"Your sharp instincts did not desert you," he praised, though he could see she was in no mood to be praised. "Of course. As soon as you landed in China, I tried to keep close to you or had someone who could keep close to you if I couldn't."
"And yet none of that 'surveillance' prevented Fred from getting shot did it?" she reflected bitterly.
"No," Ethan hung his head. "It was deemed too risky for me to go to the apartment so a team were sent instead, they were just too late. That moment, Fred actually being shot, it changed everything for me."
Hong Kong, Friday evening:
"How the heck could you have allowed this to happen Oliver?!" Ethan raged. To say he was livid to find out Fred had been shot, was an understatement.
Fred and Daphne had arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday and immediately checked into the hotel. They hadn't emerged until early on Friday morning when they had a meeting with Farshan who was supposedly the lead detective on Ethan's case. They didn't know he was in essence his 'handler'. Farshan had done his best to gently, but not too obviously, dissuade the couple but recognised immediately that Daphne was not going to just accept that he was dead, which could prove to be a problem.
Of course then things had taken a decisively awful turn for the worst after the two had been attacked twice after leaving the meeting, and culminated in Fred being shot, after they turned up at Ethan's apartment.
Farshan had decided to privately meet up with Ethan at one of their secure residences to deliver the bad news in person. It had sent Ethan reeling, and Oliver Farshan was once again reminded how close Ethan was to this operation, and bearing in mind he was presumed dead right now, how dangerous this potentially was getting.
"I'm very sorry Ethan, it took everyone by surprise how quickly they attacked. We were just on our way up when they attacked from the balcony."
"Was it Devon's men?" Ethan demanded, the fury written all over his face.
"We have to assume so. Look, the good news is they definitely got away. Devon's men weren't able to track them after they fled the apartment, but we were."
Ethan was cheered by that slightly. "Are they going to hospital?"
"It would appear not. They are obviously savvy enough to know they would be huge targets if he turns up to get treatment for a gunshot wound at one of the local A and E's."
"You said he was shot in the shoulder, he's still going to need treatment to prevent infection at the very least."
"I believe they actually may be seeking alternative treatment. Do they know anyone else here?"
Ethan furrowed his brow. "I'm not aware that Daphne has any connection here, but Fred might."
"They seem to be heading out of the city," Farshan revealed. "We'll keep the tail on them, but if we can find them so easily, then so can Devon's men," he warned.
"What do you suggest Oliver?" Ethan asked wearily. "I just need them out of this country and safe, so we can concentrate on the rest of this sorry mess."
"Well, there is something we can do," Oliver raised a little tentatively. "But you're really not going to like it."
Ethan immediately went on guard, folding his arms. "Go on."
"Keeping you safe has to be our main priority, so you having to take a step back is the first thing..."
"While people are out there trying to kill Daphne and Fred?! Forget that one Oliver, I'm not going to stay here, all locked up in a safe house!"
"Ethan..."
"No! This is a non-starter, you can't keep me locked up here, while someone hunts down my sister! I promise I won't get too close, I'm Adam now, but I am NOT standing down. Not while they're in danger." Ethan stood defiant and Oliver sighed, he knew that was going to be the response from the tough but stubborn American, but he thought he would try anyway.
"Fine, but we keep the number of people who know the truth about you to the absolute barest minimum. As far as I'm concerned Ethan Dillon is dead. We'll only use a small team but Ethan you really are going to have to hold back at times. It is a massive advantage that you are still alive and I won't allow yourself to jeopardise that by doing something rash. Is that understood?"
"Totally," Ethan agreed quickly, relieved Farshan didn't just lock him up in the safe house regardless.
"Okay. It's clear that unfortunately they really are serious targets now. You said someone tried to push her under a subway train not long after they met me?"
"Yes," Ethan swallowed, remembering the fear and sense of helplessness as he stood just too far back in the station. Even after Fred caught her, his natural instinct was still to go to them but knew he couldn't. "This guy just came out of nowhere and barged her clean off her feet. It was harrowing to witness that happen to anyone deliberately but to my sister? I've never felt so helpless."
"So that seems to indicate someone had pursued them since they left the Embassy, did you get a sense that anyone else was following them as you observed them from a distance?"
"No, but it's possible my instincts weren't as sharp as normal," he admitted.
Farshan curtly nodded in understanding. He had seen many others crumble when family were involved and that was why he was desperate for Ethan to come off the front line, but he knew there wasn't a snowball in hell's chance of him standing down voluntarily.
"I think what would be for the best before Devon's men catch up with them again, is to be even more persuasive ourselves in encouraging them to leave," he suggested to Ethan's instant amusement.
"Oh, you really don't know my sister," he chuckled ruefully. "If she thinks there's any kind of mystery involving my 'disappearance', well, neither she or Fred will back down from it easily, even when they know they're in danger."
"Well, she's clearly as crazy and stubborn as you then," Farshan retorted. "Him too. They've been attacked twice already and it doesn't seem to be weakening their resolve, we might need to find a way to forcefully persuade them to leave," he finished, his expression becoming graver.
"Are you seriously suggesting we threaten them Oliver?! This is my sister and friend we're talking about here!" Ethan was very swiftly alarmed by the tone the conversation had taken.
"Of course I'm not suggesting hurting them! On the contrary, we're trying to protect them, but it seems to me they might need something like a short, sharp shock."
"More so than being ACTUALLY fucking shot at, because that hasn't seemed to stop them, has it?" Ethan hit back, glaring his disapproval.
"Clearly it is some vain hope that you are alive that is keeping them going so we need to find a way to fully extinguish that hope."
"And do you have a plan how to convince them of this?"
"We show them the video that Devon's goons sent us."
Ethan exhaled sharply before responding. "That's so brutal Oliver. From what you told me, what's on that videotape will destroy them."
"Better that than remaining in harm's way here trying to 'uncover the truth'. We both know what a catastrophic road that could lead down. I know this is rough, but you know deep down it's the right thing to do. What is it they say, you have to be cruel to be kind?" Oliver replied, smiling sadly.
Ethan knew that Oliver was right, that taking away any hope from Fred and Daphne was a necessary but hideous step forward and he very reluctantly agreed with Oliver's plan.
Little did he know at that point, but allowing them to witness 'his death' on that video tape probably was one of the kinder things he ended up doing for them. The simple planned action of merely delivering the tape, paled in comparison to how the whole unfortunate incident actually played out, especially for poor Fred. This was the moment an unforgivable line was crossed and a deep betrayal was set in motion.
Hong Kong – Saturday night/Early hours of Sunday morning:
She had been gone for almost an hour. It was the longest hour of Fred Jones' already tumultuous life. He had been left alone and restrained for the whole time, going almost feral in his desperate attempts to free himself. Again and again, he had thrashed, twisted and yanked his wrists against the piercing plastic. When that didn't work, he tried using his teeth to try and bite through the restraints but that too was a failure. All he achieved was filling his mouth with blood from his badly cut wrists, and exhausted, he finally stilled in defeat. The fact he could hear nothing at all from outside the room felt somehow more disturbing to him than if he could hear her screaming in pain.
By the time the door finally opened again, Fred's wrists were such a bloodied mess that it rapidly gave their captors' rise for concern. When they saw the blood soaked wrists of the blindfolded man, one of them ran out and quickly returned with swathy bandages, wrapping them around each wrist but still keeping the ties in place.
"You know," Fred sneered. "If you really did care, you'd just cut me loose."
"It's your turn in the White Room," another man declared suddenly by his ear, causing Fred to stiffen.
"Where's Daphne?"
"She's right here, she's absolutely fine, she's not even restrained any more."
"Daphne?" he called out hopefully, but his heart plummeted when she didn't respond to him at all.
"What did you do to her?!" he furiously demanded. "Why isn't she speaking to me?! Is this some kind of brain-washing cult or something?!" He tried again desperately. "Sweetheart?"
"I'm fine Fred," she finally replied, sounding different, distant.
He didn't get chance to respond to her worrying change of state as they suddenly began dragging him in the chair again, not willing to cut his bindings while he was in this agitated state, and he cursed angrily at the faces he couldn't see.
"I'm going to kill you if you laid a finger on her!"
They dragged him out of the room swiftly and along a corridor, and into another room he assumed was this so called 'White Room'.
"What the hell is going on?" he angrily demanded, surprised when his blindfold was suddenly untied from behind.
He looked around the room quickly, only seeing one man who was standing in front of a giant TV screen. It was one of the white masked 'skeleton' men who had abducted them earlier in the evening.
"Your stubbornness has created many problems for us," the man bemoaned regretfully, deliberately looking the young man in the eye.
"Just get this brain-washing shit over with," Fred replied in a defiant bored tone. "That's why we're in here right?"
"No Fred, you're actually here to learn the truth at last," the man suddenly earnestly stated, catching Fred completely off-guard by reaching to remove his mask.
Fred almost demanded him to stop, thinking how ludicrous it was that his first thought was 'I do the unmasking!' but instead he watched in nervous anticipation as the man yanked the mask away from his face.
Surprise flashed across Fred's face at first, but this was quickly replaced by anger at seeing the familiar figure standing in the robes in front of him.
"Farshan!" he growled angrily. "We trusted you! Did you set us up this whole time?!"
Oliver Farshan sighed audibly. "There is so much you don't understand Fred. It will become much clearer for you when he speaks to you."
"When 'who' speaks to me?! The English guy? Your esteemed and powerful leader? Stop talking in fucking riddles!" Fred demanded in frustration, struggling to come to terms with the fact Farshan was dirty after all.
There was a knock at the door and Farshan stood up to open it. An unmasked man entered, abruptly taking Farshan's place and stood in front of Fred, simply saying nothing.
Fred at once eyed the bearded man curiously. He was wearing thick black glasses and had long slicked back hair, he almost looked nerdy, an image completely at odds with how he expected the commanding sounding English man to look.
"So, you're the one behind all this?" Fred asked him apprehensively. He tensed when the man took a silent step toward him, but was further surprised when instead he reached forward and deftly cut the plastic ties.
At once, Fred jumped up from the chair, the bloodied bandages hanging loose from his still bleeding wrists. "Aren't you worried I'm going to attack you?" he asked, referencing his sudden freedom.
"No," the man calmly stated before doing something truly bizarre.
He reached up to his face and carefully peeled his entire beard off, discarding it on the floor. A shell-shocked Fred was given no time to react to this, before the man then reached up to his scalp and gently tugged on what Fred now realised was a wig. The black hair and ponytail came away completely, as the mysterious stranger went from a nerdy slicked back look into something entirely softer underneath. Finally, he removed the glasses, and was staring silently at Fred with an anguished expression on his face now. Fully 'unveiled' in front of him now, Fred nearly collapsed, needing to hold the back of the chair he had been tied to for dear life. "Oh my god," he choked out. "I don't believe it."
…..
The whole 'reveal' thing had been so much worse with Fred for Ethan. Farshan had insisted on revealing himself to Fred first, so the blond was already fuming by the time Ethan reached the room. Ethan immediately eyed the bloodied and limply bandaged wrists in alarm, shocked at how Fred looked significantly worse than from when he had left the room with Daphne about an hour ago. He had obviously pulled at the plastic restraints repeatedly and without mercy in a desperate attempt to break them and had done some serious damage to his wrists in doing so. Typical Fred Jones. Ethan sighed to himself.
He had said nothing as he walked in front of Fred, and he realised in his haste to get in after hearing that Fred had hurt himself, that he forgot to put his stupid mask back on. Fred was certainly looking at him curiously but didn't give any indication that he actually recognised Ethan yet.
He cut him loose, watching Fred's obvious surprise and then began the liberating process of shedding 'Adam Travers'. Fred was watching him with a startled expression now, as the beard and hair were shorn swiftly, leaving just the glasses. Once he had removed these, he knew this was the point that Fred recognised him, as the blond choked back a gasp and staggered backwards, gripping the back of the chair tightly. Fred did look truly dumbfounded initially, frozen in place, but then something approaching a smile began to cross his features. Ethan wasn't prepared in the slightest when Fred rushed forward and crushed into his arms suddenly, hugging him fiercely. Given Daphne's more violent reaction, he was completely taken aback by Fred's warm embrace.
He knew he didn't deserve it, it was the very last thing he deserved, but he still hugged back with fervour for those magical few seconds. He relished in that hug, clutching the younger man tightly. However, it didn't take long for the warm and fuzzy feelings to dissolve and for the real heartache to begin for both of them.
….
Fred was undoubtedly feeling conflicted when Ethan suddenly and so dramatically appeared in the room. He hadn't expected that in a million years. After his initial gut reaction to hug his friend who he believed had been shot to death over a cliff face, reality soon hit hard for Fred. He stiffened and pulled away, gazing at Ethan in confusion.
At first, his overstimulated brain thought perhaps Ethan had been a prisoner too for this whole time and Farshan had masterminded everything. But it didn't take long for the cracks to appear in that theory; why was Ethan obviously disguised for example? Nothing made any sense for poor Fred until Ethan began to speak and with that came a whole new world of hurt.
"Fred, please believe me, I never wanted it to be this way," Ethan stated pleadingly, in an English accent.
"It was you?" Fred asked him in heartbroken disbelief. "YOU kidnapped us? And gave us that horrible ultimatum? What the fuck Ethan, have you turned?!" he asked, the horror at that thought plainly visible on his face.
"No! I haven't turned!" Ethan insisted desperately. "You have to believe me on that Fred. But...I did do all those other things," he stated sombrely, bowing his head.
"Why?! Why are you talking to me in that stupid accent?! Did you fake your death all along?!"
"No Fred, stop this. You gotta calm down," he instructed, reaching forward to hold his bloodied wrists firmly to try and stem his visibly building panic.
"How can I calm down?" Fred demanded angrily, the betrayal already hitting hard. "You just admitted to kidnapping us! Why the hell would you do that?!"
"Because you wouldn't back down okay!" Ethan retorted indignantly before he could stop himself." He focused on concentrating keeping the pressure on Fred's wrists so he wouldn't have to look at his face. He wrapped the bandages properly this time to try and slow the bleeding.
"Bit late to care isn't it?" Fred replied acerbically, causing Ethan to flinch and look at him this time.
"Of course I care Fred. I care deeply about both of you."
"This sure as hell is a funny way of showing it."
" This is all because you wouldn't stop investigating! Not even after a bloody threat to kill you! When did you get so reckless?! You just wouldn't stop. You forced us to take this drastic action, you would have got yourselves killed otherwise."
"So kidnapping us, is doing us some kind of a favour? That's how you're trying to spin this? Unbelievable," Fred commented incredulously.
"There's so much you don't understand Fred," Ethan stated, sighing dejectedly.
"No you're wrong Ethan, I don't understand ANYTHING. Nothing that's happened to us since we came to Hong Kong, makes any god damn sense at all!"
Ethan knew the exact moment everything stopped making sense for him, the moment when everything unravelled so fast; the moment he betrayed them both.
Hong Kong, Friday evening:
Despite Farshan's deep reservations about him getting too close and having to expose others to the truth, Ethan travelled as Adam Travers with Farshan to join up with the surveillance team who had been tracking Fred and Daphne. They reported the two of them had not long turned up at the house of a local woman, which quick research revealed was the home of a junior doctor called Mei Ling Li.
Good boy Ethan thought in relief, though he briefly wondered how on earth Fred knew this woman. Both the surveillance team and Oliver and Ethan were content to just watch the house from over the road, until Farshan's plan to deliver the USB by the surveillance team working undercover as late night couriers.
However, they were all taken somewhat by surprise when, after a short while, a clearly agitated Fred dramatically left the house, storming out of the property alone.
"Interesting," Farshan stated, watching the blond hurry away. "This could present us with a much stronger opportunity actually."
Ethan saw that Farshan was observing Fred through the binoculars like a predator stalking it's prey and went completely cold inside. "There is now a way to leave a far stronger message than just merely leaving the video on their doorstep. We could find a way to actively persuade Mr Jones himself of the correct course of action here..."
Ethan knew exactly what Farshan was implicitly proposing and reacted with fury. "You want us to kidnap him?! Absolutely not! How does that make us any better than the supposed 'bad guys' here?!"
"Ethan, you're letting your personal emotions cloud your rational judgment. This is the perfect opportunity for our problem. He wouldn't be harmed in any way. We could even wear masks. You don't have to be involved. It's for the greater good Ethan," he added at the sheer look of horror Ethan was continuing to give him.
"He's just been shot Oliver!" Ethan whispered. "I can't take him from her even temporarily, she would be completely broken by this."
Farshan continued pragmatically, ignoring Ethan's concerns. "We don't even have to take him far at all, just put him in the car, show him the video, convince him they must leave for their own safety. Let him out again. Job done."
"Oh yes just like that. No harm done there I'm sure, how forceful will this 'convincing' have to be?" Ethan accused bitingly.
"You must see sense Ethan!" Farshan challenged his stance with some harsh home truths. "Devon's men are clearly not going to stop chasing them! There's only so much we can do to protect them and we need to act now while we have the upper hand on their whereabouts. If they get their hands on them, they will die. You know it."
"There has to be another way. There's got to be another way. I don't think I can be OK with this," Ethan blindly insisted as he watched Farshan start to prepare a tranquilliser gun.
"Your friend will be fine, remember he will actually be safer with us ironically," he said dismissively before softening a little. "Look Ethan, this is an opportunity that has presented itself that could actually prove to be very useful. Unless you know a better way right now that doesn't compromise yourself, I'm all ears."
Ethan never took his eye off Fred as he shuffled angrily through the unfamiliar neighbourhood. "Okay," he reluctantly sighed. "but I will be the one that does this, nobody else and not with a fucking gun!"
Farshan looked like he wanted to argue but closed his mouth and set aside the tranq gun. "I'll circle the block and be ready however you want to do this. This is for their greater good Ethan, no matter how hard this is for you, remember that."
Ethan nodded and slipped out of the car and began painfully tailing his friend slowly. The young blond still looked completely furious and as a result was paying no consideration to anything around him. Ethan knew this would make what he had to do a little easier but he couldn't help worrying over what had happened in the house to allow Fred to cloud his emotions and drop his guard so dangerously.
He reminded himself it was a good job that only they were tailing him now and not Devon's latest set of thugs for hire. He moved from tree to tree, stooping to pick up a rock, aware that Farshan's car was slowly crawling behind him as his target turned to walk into the next street.
Fred obviously had no idea where he was going and was wandering quite aimlessly and Ethan knew he had to take advantage of his distracted state as he closed in stealthily.
He swallowed hard as he prepared himself for the worst act of betrayal he had ever undertaken, raising the rock.
"FRED!" he suddenly yelled and as the blond turned around in bewilderment, he cracked the rock against the back of his head. He knew exactly where to strike him from repeated practice at knocking out assailants. The blow was effective and wouldn't leave any permanent damage, but it didn't make him feel in the slightest bit better as he watched his friend collapse to the ground right in front of him, completely pole-axed. Oliver pulled up next to him and Ethan dragged the now unconscious Fred into the back seat and then jumped in too. His heart was pounding in his chest as he considered the magnitude of what he had just done. He had just attacked his friend, not only that, his friend who had saved his life.
Hong Kong, Saturday night/ Early hours of Sunday morning:
Ethan could hardly dare to look at Daphne's face as he guiltily explained to her exactly what happened outside Mei-Ling's house. She had been fairly calm so far but the tone of her outraged voice said it all now.
"You hit Freddy on the back of a head with a rock?!" She sounded utterly disgusted and Ethan felt nothing but shame again, there was no apologising for that. If they had done nothing else to them, that moment of striking him from behind would have stuck in his memory forever regardless.
"I'm sorry," he replied quietly. "I'm so sorry. It was an opportunity and we were running out of options..."
"And you intended to take him from me too?" Daphne pushed, fury written all over her face.
"Yes, but I stopped that! I said I couldn't go through with it!"
"So you just threw him out of the car then...perfect," she said bitterly.
Hong Kong, Friday evening:
Oliver drove them swiftly out of the neighbourhood, and Ethan was able to do nothing but stare guiltily at Fred, as he lay unconscious on the back-seat.
He could see the strapping bulging under his hoodie and Ethan was so relieved Fred had managed to source a doctor's help, he was still in a state of disbelief he had actually been shot.
He cradled Fred's head gently on his lap and felt the sticky streaks of blood on his trousers. He swore and placed a blanket underneath his head to soak up the blood from where he had struck him.
"What the hell have I done," he murmured to himself, looking at his friend's pale face. "What the hell was I even thinking agreeing to this!"
Oliver was driving them further away. Driving Fred further away from Daphne.
"Stop the car!" Ethan suddenly urged loudly.
"Adam," Farshan warned sharply, using Ethan's new identity in case Fred came to. "Think about what you're doing." He could see Ethan was freaking out now his friend was actually here.
"I can't do this, we have to take him back!"
"For fuck's sake..."
"Just do it!" Ethan cried desperately. "We can still make this work. I'll plant the USB on him, we can write a threatening note but we have to let him go, please!"
"This is such a monumental fuck up," Oliver moaned, but spun the car around regardless and began driving back to where they had originally grabbed him from. They pulled over a couple of minutes from the cul-de-sac while Ethan wrote a note. Whilst he was unwilling to kidnap Fred, he knew the note needed to be sufficiently menacing into forcing them into action.
He wrote the note hastily in block type-like capitals.
STOP TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO ETHAN.
THIS WAS HIS FATE.
UNLESS YOU WANT IT TO BE THIS BOY'S FATE TOO;
LEAVE CHINA IMMEDIATELY.
He went back and underlined the first 'this' and then passed the note to Oliver.
"Not bad, it needs something more though." He took the marker and added three more sentences.
WE LEFT YOUR BOYFRIEND ALIVE THIS TIME.
THERE WILL NOT BE A SECOND CHANCE.
LEAVE NOW.
"That ought to do it, she surely won't be so stubborn to put his life at risk."
"No," Ethan agreed. "If there's one thing I know which will make her change her mind, it's Freddy's life being in danger."
He put his hand to Fred's cheek, he was still out cold. He then folded the note into a small plastic bag together with the USB and placed it conspicuously on Fred's jacket.
"Okay, so I'll just drop him on the front porch and run," he said as Oliver drove them back to the cul de sac, starting to pick up speed.
"Far too risky," Farshan chided him, and then startled him by hurtling the car at speed backwards into the cul de sac. "Get ready," he urged as the car squealed around the corner and Ethan realised he was causing a deliberate commotion now. "Okay, now!" Farshan demanded, releasing the door lock and Ethan realised exactly what Farshan intended him to do.
Oh god.
"Fucking now Adam! NOW!"
Ethan reached over and pulled the door handle, before dragging Fred onto his lap, trying to do it as slowly as possible, he rolled Fred out of the car onto the asphalt and slammed the door hard as Farshan accelerated away into the night.
Hong Kong, Saturday night/ Early hours of Sunday morning:
"This is so messed up Ethan, it doesn't feel real. When I was staring at Fred on the ground I thought he might have been dead! Can you even imagine what that was like for me! I never in my wildest nightmares could have imagined that it wasn't Devon responsible for that, it was you!" Daphne looked emotionally drained now as Ethan revealed more about the circumstances behind their ordeal in Hong Kong.
He knew he could keep apologising to Daphne but there was no justifying what he had done. "If it makes you feel any better, I still can't believe it came to this. We were so sure the video would do the trick. When I heard you handed the tape in to Farshan in a pure show of defiance I was at a loss what to do. But then we got word Devon's goons were making moves again and then it came down to one simple and terrifying equation. Either we got you, or they did."
Hong Kong, Saturday afternoon:
"Tell me you're joking Oliver," Ethan begged him when he first got the phone call from Farshan, informing him of 'the problem.'
"I am sitting here looking at the USB right now, they gave it to me about half an hour ago."
Ethan was left reeling at Fred and Daphne's boldness. Despite the obvious threat, they had risked everything to hand in the incriminating evidence to the police.
"Oh my god."
"I thought you said the threat to the boy was all that was needed? They didn't seem all that worried by the threat. That's not even the worst thing either."
"It's not?" Ethan said in despair.
"No. Fred told me very jovially that they were going home now."
"But that's great!" Ethan interrupted.
"No, it isn't, because he lied to me. There was something about how he said it to me. If I'm completely honest I think he suspects me. Anyway, I followed them for a bit, they're not going home. If anything, I'd say they look more determined than ever."
Ethan swore heartily down the phone. Oh god Daphne when did you get so reckless?! He thought.
"Ethan you also need to know that we've picked up chatter about a hit out on an American couple here. The description matches your sister and her boyfriend. There's different groups trying to find them. I'm sorry."
Ethan felt numb with fear as he processed what Oliver had told him. "Well then we need to bring them both in!" he garbled impulsively. "Oliver, you need to do whatever it takes, arrest them if you must, just get them to safety!"
"Ah, well unfortunately I lost them, they got in a cab and I wasn't able to get to a vehicle quickly enough."
"You lost them?!"
"Ethan, I didn't know what you would want me to do at that stage, the concrete information about the hit only came in a few minutes ago. You need to think, where could they be going? I've already deployed a team to the hotel, and to that doctor's house again."
Ethan fought through the panic threatening to overwhelm him to think rationally, and realised he knew exactly where they would be going. If they were so intent on investigating as Oliver assumed, then there was only one place they were likely to go now.
"They're heading to my apartment," he stated confidently, catching Oliver by surprise.
"Are you sure? He got shot there. Wouldn't he have some PTSD thing going on, surely they wouldn't return to the scene of the crime?"
"Trust me, I know my sister and how she thinks. They're going back to my apartment."
"Okay, I'll send Justin and Mickey over there. How do you want to play this Ethan?"
Ethan knew they had to play seriously now but it still pained him to give the harsh instruction. "It's an extraction now. Do whatever is necessary to bring them in but please try not to hurt them."
"Understood, I'll make my way over there myself to support, if you're so confident that's where they'll be."
"I am. Oh, and one more thing. Tell them to wear those white masks we got from that smuggling gang last week. There's still a chance that we can get through this without exposing our identities."
Farshan thought the request was bizarre but therefore relayed the instructions to his team anyway.
"I'll be waiting here. Bring them to the safe house." Ethan despondently disconnected the call with Farshan. Things were spiralling so fast out of control, he had just given Oliver and his team his blessing to virtually abducting Fred and Daphne and the greatest irony of all was it truly was a mission to save them. It didn't mean that he didn't have to hate every second of it.
Hong Kong, Saturday night/Early hours of Sunday morning:
"So that was it huh? We became an 'extraction job. How very impersonal," Daphne commented, shooting Ethan a withering look.
"Daphne, it really was the case that if we didn't get you to safety, even safety against your own will, that they would have killed you!"
"Okay, let me level with you. I can just about accepting you kidnapping us to 'take us off the board' if you truly thought that was for the best, but what I'm very much struggling to understand is why this charade Ethan? Why the ridiculous masks, and why did you give Fred and I that horrendous ultimatum?" Daphne pressed, the confusion evident on her face.
"That was the final chance," Ethan whispered hollowly.
"Final chance for what?"
"For you to be safe and without ever finding out the awful truth. For you to be safely let go from that situation without ever knowing anything that has happened to me in China."
"I still don't understand," Daphne replied uneasily.
Ethan reached out to put his hand on her knee as they sat and faced each other, she didn't recoil or shake it off.
"Because you knowing anything about my fight against Devon and his empire here automatically puts you at more risk. And then now, being one of the very few people that knows that I'm actually alive, it places you and Fred in untold danger. And so I desperately tried to avoid that with what I offered you earlier. I know it would have been painful for you to return home without really knowing my fate...but, it would have been so much safer for you."
Daphne stared at him, stunned again now. "I can't believe you seriously thought there was ever a chance that we would take a deal that just writes you off!"
"But it would have been for the best Daph...and maybe in a couple of years when it was safer, I might have been able to contact you again."
"A couple of years?!" she choked out, eyes full of tears now. "You wanted us to accept you were dead for two years, and to let Devon think he could have got away with murdering you, for a couple of years?!"
Seeing Daphne's distress had Ethan on the verge of tears now too.
"No. I'm not naïve enough to think that Tomas' body may never have resurfaced. Eventually Devon would have realised I hadn't died after all."
"And us?" she tearfully demanded. "We would have had to live with that pain every day...I would never have stopped trying to get justice for you, you know...never."
Ethan looked at her fondly through his own unshed tears that were threatening to spill now. "God, I did the one thing I always warn people not to do about you. 'Never underestimate Daphne Blake'. You are stronger now than even I realised. You both are. And that's the ultimate reason why I gave you that final cruel but desperate ultimatum. It wasn't just to protect you from the danger that came with the knowledge of me being alive. No, I did it for one reason only..."
"Which was?" Daphne asked softly.
"It was the final chance I had left for you not to find out what shameful things I had done." Ethan tearfully revealed. "It was the final chance for you to not find out how it was me that shamefully attacked Fred. To not find out that it was me who brought you here tonight. The final chance to not find out about how much I've fucking betrayed you both!"
Daphne reeled from his self-loathing but still tentatively asked the question.
"Why?"
"Because I knew it would change everything! Because I knew our relationship would never be the same again. So I wouldn't have to see you look at me like THAT." He was crying properly now and it was affecting his ability to speak. "God Daphne, I can't tell you how sorry I am. I wish I could have done things differently but the moment I knew you and Fred were here, it changed everything. You two were all that mattered. I wanted more than anything just to reach out to you, to warn you, to let you know that I was OK, but I couldn't...and then things just spiralled out of control. Fred got shot for fuck's sake and I couldn't stop it! And then you just wouldn't leave, not even after the attacks and the threats. I panicked. Agreed to bring you here. I honestly don't know what I was thinking. I'm such an idiot."
Daphne was quiet for a moment after he finished his speech and allowed him to continue to wallow in his self pity. The last hour had completely destroyed her in so many ways but she couldn't help thinking pragmatically again.
"I don't know if we're ever going to be able to heal from this Ethan, I don't," she said honestly, choosing her words carefully. "It's going to take a lot of time but...right now none of that matters. How I feel about you is insignificant. What's important right now is simply 'what happens next.'"
Ethan stopped sniffling and looked at his sister incredulously. He had just torpedoed his relationship with her with the most horrific of betrayals but here she was, already getting up and dusting herself down and getting back to business.
"Daphne..."
"Ethan, I don't want to spend any more time thinking about or talking about what you did. We have to put that behind us. We're all obviously in a massively precarious state right now. I need you to tell me what we have to do to survive this giant mess."
Ethan almost cried again at her mental strength and resilience as she got to her feet in determination.
"No, you don't get to cry again," she told him firmly. "You need to get us out of this. So I'll ask you again. What happens next?"
Hong Kong, Saturday night/Early hours of Sunday morning:
Fred was struggling to come to terms with everything Ethan had revealed and had suddenly gone very quiet. Unable to know what Fred was thinking was somehow worse for Ethan than when he was firing hard at him so he urged further conversation.
"I'm so sorry Fred, I know this isn't easy, let me help you. We've got time. Ask me anything. I'll tell you the truth now."
Fred thought carefully, there was so much he wanted to ask him, he figured the best place though really was the very beginning.
"Why did you really come to Hong Kong Ethan?"
Ethan blinked, he figured Fred would want to ask questions about his more recent actions but guessed he wanted to build himself a more complete picture. The investigator in him just can never let go, he thought wryly and he began to set the scene for his first few months in Hong Kong and beyond.
After Ethan had spent some time spelling out to Fred what he had really been doing in Hong Kong the past couple of years and how it all began, Fred was again silent before responding with something approaching awe.
"Wow, so you really became a spy huh?"
"It's not really like being a 'spy'. More undercover really, and it's nowhere near as glamorous as the movies make out. There wasn't a steady stream of yachts or a string of hunks on my arm," he added, trying to lighten the mood. Fred though wasn't playing.
"Ethan, why the hell did you not tell us?" He asked in frustration.
Ethan snorted a little. "C'mon Fred, you know that's 'spy movie 101' You can't tell anyone about your secret identity."
Fred wasn't in the slightest bit amused. "But you told us nothing Ethan! You, Stella, Will! You kept us completely in the dark that Devon was still out there! Worse still, you were all risking your lives pursuing him whilst we travelled around in blissful ignorance. Don't we deserve better?" Fred pleaded.
"You deserve EVERYTHING!" Ethan replied earnestly. "You deserve every single bit of happiness, that's why we made a pact to protect you..."
"Bullshit Ethan!" Fred replied venomously. "It wasn't your call to make. And it was clearly the wrong call! Just look at this mess. You ended up having to abduct us for Christ's sake! How fucked up is that?!"
"This was the absolute last resort. I never ever wanted this. We did everything to make you leave..."
"Including making us think you were dead!" Fred snapped. "You sent us the worst thing I've ever had to watch in my life. We GRIEVED you Ethan! And then to find out you're alive and BEHIND all this. Betrayal doesn't even come close enough to describe how I feel right now."
"I know Fred, I know. But when you turned up at my apartment again, it was a step too far, you were dangerously close to uncovering the truth. At the same time, Devon's thugs were closing in. I had no choice. I told them to bring you in. I never wanted to hurt you."
"But you already had hadn't you? Not from your own hand I'm sure, but how I ended up in that car and in the dirt. That was your doing wasn't it?"
An enormous cloud of guilt crossed Ethan's face immediately and he looked to the floor, ashamed, an action which shook Fred further.
"You were the one that actually hit me?" He asked in a devastated small voice.
Ethan merely nodded sadly and a memory Fred had repressed, suddenly returned. "My name. You called my name didn't you? That's why I turned around."
I'm so sorry Freddy..."
"No!" Fred interrupted harshly, unable to look at him now. "No, you don't get to call me that any more."
"Fred, I'm sorry. I know nothing can compare to the pain of knowing I was the one who physically hurt you."
"No you're wrong Ethan," Fred said quietly. "That does hurt a lot but it's nothing compared to all of the pain here," he said emotionally, pointing to his temple. "To the knowledge of knowing YOU of all people have hurt us in this way. That damage might well be irreparable."
"Believe me, you can't hate me any more than I hate myself right now, Fred."
"I don't hate you Ethan but this hurts. A LOT. After everything we went through together, I don't actually know where we go from here. Presumably the threat to us from Devon hasn't gone away, so what do we do now? I'm assuming you have some kind of plan?"
Ethan had then carefully laid out the plan to a reticent Fred and Daphne separately. It was clear both of them placed 'surviving this nightmare' above their current feelings about Ethan so were willing to listen and act on his extraction plan. The ultimate aim was to get them to the airport as soon as possible where they would be protected by a stealth team at all times until they could safely leave Hong Kong, there was however one final surprising twist to this extraction plan, which Ethan explained to a bewildered Daphne.
"I will be speaking to Fred soon but after that, I'm sorry to ask you to do this Daphne but I need you to not speak about this, not even with Fred."
She looked immediately indignant at the suggestion. "You want us to forget this ever happened? Is that to hide your own shame?"
"No, it's not that. It's just safer this way. Nobody else in Hong Kong can know I'm alive. Not even everybody here working on this operation knows about me. Just Farshan and Justin."
"Farshan?!" Daphne's eyes widened in surprise, then disgust. "So Freddy and I were right about him!"
"I guess, but we're all on the same side here! Crazy as that may seem right now! Yet again we've both been targeted by our crazy-ass uncle. Everything I've done here has always been about protecting you, even though I perhaps haven't gone about things in the best way."
You can say that again! Daphne thought in dry amusement but didn't want to get in to this again. "Sure, you have my word I won't discuss this with Freddy."
Ethan nodded his head gratefully before proceeding to explain the plan. "We need to get you and Fred back to your hotel to get your passports and stuff. It shouldn't be a problem. It's the middle of the night and we'll have a team with you. And then after that, we'll get you to the airport."
"Oh, so you really are going to fly us home?"
"We have to get you out of the country as a matter of urgency. And... we're going to come with you."
That part definitely took Daphne by surprise. "Wouldn't that draw the kind of unwanted attention that you're so desperate to avoid?"
"We wouldn't be WITH you...but we're getting on the same flight."
"We?"
"Myself and Justin... he's the only one besides Farshan, who I've had working for us who knows the whole truth."
"Oh, so one of the guys you got to kidnap us. Got it," she said icily.
He ignored her hostility. "We did already arrange tickets for you. That wasn't a bluff. We can be back in Coolsville by tomorrow afternoon. Now, do you have any other questions before I get Fred?"
They stood and walked to the door together so Ethan assumed she was done but as they reached the door handle, she put her hand out to stop him opening it and looked straight at him.
Ethan swallowed, assuming she was going to give him both barrels but her stance was calm and her voice soft.
"Just one...why do you have a sudden rush to get back home after all this time away Ethan?"
He stared back, his expression grave and unsmiling.
"I would have thought that part is glaringly obvious Daph. While I'm "dead", we finally have something of a surprise advantage that I fully intend to make count. We're taking this fight right back to where it started. We're going to end this godforsaken nightmare once and for all. Are you with me?"
Daphne looked at his hopeful, outstretched hand as he sought her unity. She wanted the same thing and yes, she would stand with him, but there was no doubt a seismic change had occurred in their relationship. She moved past him to the door, unable to take his hand, her feelings were still charged with too much anger to do so but she spoke confidently and true.
"I'm with you."
But as Ethan watched her then march down the corridor back towards the room where Fred was, he couldn't help wonder whether she truly ever would be again.
A/N. Okay so that's that! All the Hong Kong stuff is done and dusted now and so is the split, we're on the downward slope to the conclusion now and it all takes place in one linear timeline in Coolsville though I can't promise there won't be the odd little flashback, there's one little missing gap of time with Shaggy and Velma to fill in at some point, but generally speaking we're all reunited now. However given everything that happened in Hong Kong, it's certainly not as one big happy family ;)
I'd love to hear your feedback.
Until next time though, stay safe everyone!