Three

They crossed back across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco, dropped the car off at one of the Continental's associate shops, and drove off in a dark blue car of entirely different make. They circled back towards the hotel. Jenny stared up at the building as they pulled up to the curb. "What is this place?"

"It's a hotel," Elijah said. "Look, just keep your head down and don't draw any attention to yourself in there."

"Why?"

"You're an outsider. We really shouldn't be bringing you here."

"Then why are we here?"

"We're checking out," said Susan. "Wait in the lobby, I'll get our stuff."

"Checking out?" Jenny looked around, still wide-eyed as they entered the Continental. "Whoa, Eli, you stay in places like this?"

Susan missed his reply as she moved up towards the front desk. The concierge gave her a look as she approached. "Miss Rizzi," he said in a low voice, "this is most irregular. An outsider, here?"

"I know," she said. "Look, we're checking out. Just let me grab our things from our room. The outsider will remain here, under escort. Is that acceptable?"

The concierge nodded after a moment. "Irregular," he said again, "but acceptable."

"Thanks," said Susan. She made a beeline for the elevators.


After retrieving their luggage the party left the city, heading south down the peninsula towards the south bay area. Susan watched the green mountainsides go by with one eye as they sped down one of the highways that formed the arteries of transit. With her other she kept watch on the other cars around them, for any sign of others hunting them.

They headed for an Exodus transit site that Elijah knew of. Someplace quiet, he'd said, out of the way. A place to hole up while they made arrangements with the Exodus Railroad. Things had, after all, taken a turn for the unplanned, even more than before.

Jenny stayed silent in the passenger seat as Elijah drove; Susan suspected some measure of shock from the day's events had set in. Poor girl. She hadn't asked for any of this. Damn Hirawa and his grudge; even if he hadn't technically broken the rules, he'd likely knocked her life askew. He hadn't been the one to pull an outsider into their world – technically Susan and Elijah had done that by getting to her first.

Susan glanced over at the younger woman from the back seat. Strange; it wasn't that long ago she would probably have been in the position of silencing somebody like Jenny – a hapless outsider in over their head. Now, here she was trying to keep her alive. And with no payday or contract attached to it.

Eventually Elijah pulled off the highway to a smaller road winding deeper into the mountains. Unlike the frigid winters of the east coast, the trees here retained their leaves, painting the terrain a shade of green she appreciated. She would have liked just traveling through with Elijah – nobody hunting them, no involvement with the shadow world – just spending time with somebody she cared for.

The road led to what had evidently once been a quarry. A wood cabin sat a short ways off from the excavated ground. "What is this?" Jenny finally said.

"It's a bit of a safe house," Elijah said as he pulled up to the cabin. "We hold up here while I make arrangements." He climbed out of the car and went to the trunk, grabbed their luggage while Susan moved to the cabin to check it.

She entered the cabin; it had the dry, slightly musty smell of an infrequently used residence, but the inside was clean and well-kept. Spartan, certainly, but more than functional. The common room led to several rooms with bunks and connected to a kitchen with dining space. One room had monitors connected to an array of security cameras covering the property.

Elijah moved their luggage in as Susan scanned their surroundings, rifle at the ready. The clearing went a little far for comfort with a five-five-six round, but it wasn't like they'd had time to pack anything heavier. Oh well.

Jenny stepped inside as well, her arms wrapped around herself, looking like a doe caught in headlights. Elijah set their stuff down in a corner, then sighed and stepped over towards the dining table where Jenny had sat down at. "Okay," he said. "I think you deserve answers at this point."


All in all, Susan thought Jenny took it rather well.

"What the hell?" Jenny leaned back against her seat after listening to Elijah, clutching her head in her hands. "Are you serious?"

"You did see the guys trying to kill us?" he said.

"You're really an assassin?" she asked. "You shoot people for money?"

"Sometimes he stabs them," Susan said from the doorway.

"Susan, please," Elijah said, rubbing his forehead. "Not helping. And like I said, we're trying to get out of the assassin life."

Jenny crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow; at that moment Susan saw the family resemblance more than ever. "Shouldn't that be as simple as not killing people anymore?"

"If only," said Susan. "Things are… a little more complicated than that in our circle."

"And I still don't know who you are," Jenny said. "But I suppose you did get me away from those men back there, so… thanks."

"Susan's with me," said Elijah. "Or I'm with her. It's-"

"Complicated? I'm getting that a lot."

"Sorry," he said. "I wouldn't have ever wanted all this to impact you."

"It's a lot to take in," Jenny said. "You're part of some fantastical criminal underworld? There is a fantastical criminal underworld? And now you're trying to get out and people want to kill you? You have a girlfriend?"

"Wha- Does that last one really belong in that list?"

"You never brought anybody to any of the gatherings. It's a bit of a change to me. I thought you weren't interested."

"Just hadn't met the right person," Elijah said, glancing at Susan. "I need to get in touch with Exodus, let them know things have changed." He grabbed a bottle of water from the pantry and headed for the door, pulling a burner phone from his pocket – and leaving Susan alone with Jenny.

The younger woman stared at her for a moment. "So, how did you guys meet?"

Susan blinked. "Really? You've just learned of an elaborate criminal society and that's what you want to know about?"

"I'm trying not to think about that part," Jenny replied. "Something like my cousin's girlfriend helps distract me from that. So, how did you meet?"

"He threw me out a window," said Susan.

"I can't tell if you're serious or not," Jenny said.

"I'm serious," Susan said, smiling as she moved to sit across Jenny at the table. "We were contracted by opposite sides of a struggle for influence in New York. Turned out we were staying across the hall from each other at the hotel."

"And that wasn't awkward if you were supposed to be enemies?"

"The hotel is neutral ground," said Susan. "A safe haven, if you will. No business on the premises."

"How do they get people to behave?"

"The threat of overwhelming violence, usually. Nobody wants to mess with that organization."

"So you guys got to know each other at the hotel?"

"It started off with the odd breakfast and encounter in the bar," said Susan. "We kept running into each other here and there, and before I knew it we were each other's next targets."

"And then?"

"Then we started sleeping with each other."

Jenny stared at her for a moment. "You guys have some messed up foreplay."

"We're probably not paragons of mental wellness, no."

Jenny giggled at that.

"He spoke of you, you know," Susan said suddenly. "He's very proud of you."

"I know he helps out with my tuition. Like, a lot. But to learn about this whole side of him? He always seemed a little distant from everybody. Mixed blood is looked down on in some of the circles we grew up in, you know? Turns out it's because he shoots people for a living."

Susan didn't know what to say to that. It had been a long time since that hadn't been the norm for her; hell, most of what passed for her social circle was immersed head-to-toe in their shadow world.

"And now he shows up with you. It's kind of strange, that you know Elijah better than I."

"I know him differently," Susan said gently. "We still have things to learn about each other. You've known him a lot longer than I have."

Jenny laughed. "He's running away with you. It'd be romantic if it weren't for the whole people trying to kill you thing." She shrugged. "Maybe it kind of still is. And if you guys really haven't known each other that long, well, that's not like the Eli I know."

"Wouldn't have thought it like myself either," said Susan. "I guess we make each other crazy. Sorry you got dragged into this."

"He said you guys are on the run from a contract placed on you both by his former employers? How'd that happen?"

Susan sighed. "Our, uh, extraprofessional relationship got back to our employers. My boss snatched me off the street. Elijah came after me, things got crazy, and we killed my former boss. Silver Mountain was watching. The contract is… in some ways it's a formality. He did betray his contract by not killing me, but we also won that little war for them."

"And that doesn't get you a pass to ride off into the sunset?"

"It got us a 'not getting gunned down right there' pass. Now we just need to ride this thing out until the contract expires."

"And this guy after you – the one who was using me – you know him?"

"Hirawa? You could say that. It's more than business with him."

"How do you know that?" Jenny asked.

Susan stood up, poked around the kitchen. She filled a kettle and set it on the stove. "Because he went after you."

"And that's special because?"

"You're not- You weren't part of this world. There are rules, guidelines, traditions, that govern our affairs. Pulling outsiders into things is… not looked upon kindly."

"What happened? Why's it personal with him?"

"Elijah beat him in a duel."

"A duel?" Jenny's eyebrows rose. "Like, with swords?"

"Exactly." Susan said, pouring the heated water into two mugs. She carried them over to the table and placed one before Jenny.

"You guys have weird lives."

"No argument there."

"And he's Yakuza, you mentioned?" Jenny frowned. "Tang ge was working with the Triads. You were with some Italian group. Just how widespread is this whole shadow world of yours?"

"You probably don't want to know," Susan said. "Let's just say it's pretty global."

"Jesus. It's like you guys stepped out of some movie."

"Yeah? Well, let me know when we get to a happy ending."

"Can I not be the side character who gets killed off for angst and drama?"

Susan smiled. "We're working on it."

Jenny nodded towards the door. "Who's Eli talking to? This place, he said it belongs to… Extus? Who are they?"

"Exodus. The Exodus Railroad. They're… well, I guess they're a part of our world. The High Table considers them troublemakers, and with good reason."

"High- no, wait, never mind. I probably don't want to know."

"Exodus is… call it a faith-based paramilitary group devoted to opposing human trafficking and slavery."

"You're kidding."

Susan said nothing.

"You're not kidding." Jenny shook her head. "Jesus, you guys really do live in some bizarro otherworld, don't you?"

"Same world as everyone else," Susan said. "It's just… there's more going on than many are aware of."

"Yeah, no kidding. So, how are they involved in all this?"

"Exodus is good at making people disappear. Wouldn't you know, an intimate familiarity with smuggling people around makes them pretty good at it themselves. Elijah's worked with them before, and I've heard he's pretty popular with them."

"My cousin, the paramilitary smuggling hitman hero?" Jenny buried her face in her hands. "Okay, ready to wake up now."

"Sorry."

The cabin door opened; Susan already had her pistol out when Elijah stepped through. Jenny scooted back from her, eyes wide.

"Well, they're not thrilled about things," Elijah said, "but they'll roll with it. A team will come out in the next several days."

"Several days?" Susan echoed.

"Seems things are kind of crazy all around the world right now."

She chuckled. "What else is new?"

"Somebody took out a High Table member," he said with a sigh.

Susan felt her eyes grow wide. "Holy mother of-"

"Is that a big deal?" Jenny asked.

"It's a big deal," Elijah said. "Think…"

"Assassinating the chancellor of Germany," said Susan. "I mean, it's quieter than that to the public, but in terms of shaking things up? That's a hell of a bombshell."

Jenny buried her head in her hands again. "Okay, this is crazy. I'm just an engineering student. Yesterday, my biggest worry was acing the microscale fluid mechanics midterm!"

"Sorry."

"Exodus has been taking advantage of the upheaval," Elijah said. "So they've got teams on deployment all over. We're just… lower on the priority list right now. So we hole up here for a few days, wait the storm out. Hopefully whatever's going on with the High Table pulls attention away from us."

"That'd be nice," Susan said. "But I'm not counting on it. Glad we brought that extra ammo."


They set up on the dining table, in lieu of any kind of dedicated workspace. Rifles and pistols, disassembled and cleaned: his stubby X95 alongside her APC-556. Blades lay in a row along one side of the table. Elijah's sword – a short Chinese jian –and her folders and and Elijah loaded magazines. The quiet clack of rounds being shoved home filled the space as they worked.

"It's never simple, is it?" Elijah said as he set aside the third mag for his Jericho. "I noticed you were talking to Jenny earlier." The young woman had taken one of the bedrooms – presumably as the adrenaline of the day's events wore off and her body crashed. "Does she hate me now?"

"Hate may be a strong term for it," Susan said. "Poor girl did just get her world upended."

"You're right."

"She is taking it better than I expected," she said. "That's probably the best you can expect for now."

He sighed. "Yeah, I expect you're right again." Then he grinned at her. "I get the feeling I'm going to be saying that a lot in the future."

Susan returned the grin. "Wherever would you get that idea?"

"Clichéd relationship expectations, perhaps?"

"Perhaps. You know I'm not always going to be right. Call me out when I'm not, okay?"

"Sure," he said, "maybe when you're unarmed."

Susan chuckled, then got up from her seat and circled the table. She sat down on Elijah lap, draped her arms around his neck. "So you mean, only when we're in bed?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "I know about the CZ you keep under your pillow."

"Then when we're making love."

"I think that's when you're deadliest," he murmured, his hands drifting across her body.

Susan leaned in and kissed him, gentle and slow, just reveling in the contact and the warmth that seeped through every inch of her body when she did so.

"I love you," Elijah said once they'd finally broken apart slightly.

"I love you," Susan said, smiling as she did so. The first time had felt strange and foreign, like operating an unfamiliar gun. This time around felt better, something she wanted to explore further.

She kissed him again, tightening her arms to press their bodies together. They were just about finished loading mags as it was, and they had some time to-

A quiet cough from the side and they broke apart, turning their heads to see Jenny staring from the hall at the scene, eyes wide. "This is officially the weirdest little domestic scene ever," she said.

Susan stood up quickly from Elijah's lap. "We were, uh-"

Jenny threw a hand out. "Stop right there, I don't want to know. Maybe I should just be happy I didn't wander out five minutes later or something."

"It… probably wouldn't have gotten that far?" she said weakly.

"Somehow, I don't believe you," said Jenny. "Although, I don't see how that could be comfortable with all this." She waved a hand towards the table and the weapons atop it. "Seriously – enough guns, you guys?"

"No such thing," Elijah said. "You should probably get used to it for the near future."

Jenny's lips thinned for a moment, then she marched over to the table, picked up one of Elijah's pistols, and plucked up one of its magazines. She slammed it home, then racked the slide to release it.

"Where'd you learn to use a gun?" he asked quietly.

"I've always had a passing interest," Jenny said. "If only in the mechanics and physics of how they operate."

"There's a difference," Susan said, stepping over and placing a hand over Jenny's, "between loading one in a controlled environment and using it in combat."

"And yet another one when it comes to taking a life," said Elijah. "I'd rather you not cross that line if we don't have to."

"Ideally we won't have to use any of this," Susan said.

"Fine," said Jenny. She set the pistol back down on the table. "I just… I hate waiting around for something to happen. It feels like I have no control. Can I make myself useful some other way then? Can I make dinner or something?"

"Sure," Elijah said. "We're free to use the facilities. They've only got some basic provisions stocked, but-"

"I'll make do." Jenny stepped over towards the fridge and pantry, tugging the doors open and peering inside. "In the meantime… I think you two should take advantage of 'free use of the facility' and get a room or something. Please?"

Susan felt the heat creeping up her cheeks. "Sorry."


Contrary to Jenny's expectations, they didn't spend their time cooped up in a bedroom together.

They spent most of it in the monitoring room, and not in the fun way. Trading off watches, Susan and Elijah took turns keeping an eye on the security camera displays, power-napping when they were off. At one point while Susan was on watch, she got up to stretch, glanced around the room, and took a second look at the walls. They looked like hewn timber, polished and sealed, but the thickness of the walls had been bugging her ever since they'd arrived. She stepped over and ran her fingertips across the surface.

"If it's anything like the other Exodus safehouse I've been in," Elijah said sleepily from the couch against the opposite wall, "they lined the walls with ballistic protection."

"Hey," Susan said. "Did I wake you?"

"It's fine," he said, stifling a yawn. "There should be a cache of weapons stashed around here somewhere too."

"Beneath the kitchen floor," said Susan. "I thought it sounded a little hollow earlier."

"Let's leave it for as long as we can. Exodus is usually pretty free with its stuff, but weapons may be another story."

"We've got our own gear anyways, so that's not a concern."

"Yeah." Elijah shifted on the couch and sat up, leaning back against the cushions. "So, assuming we outlive the week, where to?"

"We should lay low for a while, even after the contract expires," said Susan. "Someplace quiet, out of the way."

"Maybe… New Zealand?"

Keeping an eye on the monitors, Susan sank down next to Elijah on the couch. "Too many sheep. How about… Palau?"

"You know, I've always wanted to visit there," Elijah said. "Never seemed to be able to carve out the time."

"Let's do it," Susan said. "Find some quiet hut on a beach and just hide away from it all."

"I admit, I wouldn't say no to the prospect of you in a swimsuit."

"I like the sound of it myself. Not saying we need to live there indefinitely, but it's as good a place as any to lay low until whatever's going on with the High Table blows over."

"Do you think it actually will?" Elijah said, stifling another yawn.

"What do you mean?"

"It's always something or another. That world exists off of bloodshed and conflict. There's no peace there."

"But sometimes there's a lull in the storm. Maybe that'll be enough for us."

"I hope so." He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it softly as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "And Jenny?"

"We should offer to take her with us," Susan said. "After derailing her life like this, there are worse apologies than a trip to a tropical island."

"Another week and she should be fine. She's still considered an outsider. She should be able to go anywhere without risk."

"What about Hirawa? If he was willing to go against tradition like this once…"

"Yeah. I'll encourage her to go back to Beijing," Elijah said. "Two Dragon wouldn't try something against an outsider there."

"It's an idea," she said. "But I don't know if things can just… go back to normal for her."

"I know," Elijah groaned. "It's my-"

"Hey." She pressed a hand against the side of his face. "It's not your fault. You couldn't know. Sure, it's not what we would've wanted, but you can't blame yourself."

He covered her hand with his own, leaning into the contact. "Thank you," he said softly after a moment. "

"There's no point beating yourself up over things you have no control of," Susan said. "Our hands are bloody enough with guilt as it is."

"True enough." Elijah leaned his head back against the couch. "I can't help but wonder what else this old life will spill over into."

"Whatever it is," Susan said as she intertwined their fingers, "we'll face it together."

"Have I told you that I love you?"

She smiled. "I could stand to hear it some more."


A storm had moved in from the coasts during the night, covering the sky with thick, dark clouds that poured rain down at an incessant pace. Fat droplets beat a steady rhythm against the cabin roof, and even by late morning the dimness of the obscured sky made it feel like night.

"They don't keep very fresh ingredients here," Jenny said as she passed steaming bowls around the kitchen table.

"Don't worry about it," Elijah said. "This place isn't meant for long-term residents."

"What does this Exodus group use it for?"

"Sometimes staging areas for operations," he said. "Sometimes when they're moving people around surreptitiously."

"You mean… smuggling people? Isn't that a bit hypocritical if they're supposed to be against human trafficking?"

"It's a matter of intent with them," Elijah replied.

Susan nodded. "Some of the survivors are still at risk even once they've been freed from immediate imprisonment. Take somebody who'd been bought by a vindictive mob boss. A lot of the people probably don't want to leave paperwork trails."

"And governments?" Jenny asked. "They don't care?"

"As long as the right people are bought off, placated, or otherwise kept compliant, it's business as usual."

"That's…"

"How the world works," Susan said, digging into her bowl with a spoon. Jenny had taken some of the supplies stored by Exodus: rice, dried beans, and salted pork, cooking it all down to a sort of savory porridge. "This is good," she said, jabbing her spoon at the bowl.

"Mom insisted I learn from an early age," Jenny said. "I'm pretty sure she intended it for a husband, not cooking while on the run from a Yakuza assassin."

"If it makes you feel better," said Elijah, "he's not the only one after us right now."

"No, Eli. That doesn't make me feel better."

"Sorry," Susan said. Her phone buzzed; she tugged it out of her pocket and glanced down at the screen. "Oh, crap."

It was a message from Lisa Marx: They're coming.