Chapter Three

It was three days later and Jay was still mulling over what had happened.

She and Aiden had been through a lot together, their relationship not exactly established on the most stable of foundations. But this was the first time she had ever had doubts.

They were both broken people. Aiden may not have known it, but Jay knew from the very beginning. That's why they worked. They were both content to be with each other in whatever capacity the other could handle.

And maybe it was only Jay who had changed. Maybe Aiden was still healing from something Jay couldn't understand. He had obviously been lying that night. She had wanted to be angry at him for it, but what right did she have? How many times had she called it a night when she couldn't handle anything more? Made up excuses to retreat? Aiden never questioned it. Never said a word. So she had pasted on a smile and returned the favor.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder where they were heading. After months of dating, she'd never been to his house. He never even talked about it. And he avoided hers like the plague. Gabbie had long since dismissed their relationship. She said Aiden had to be married. Or cheating on her. What else would explain his behavior?

Jay didn't believe it. No, there was something else going on with him. She didn't know what it was, but she trusted him. With everything she had, she trusted him.

It hit her that she was going to have to be the patient one in the relationship, a role she never thought she would have to play.

Maybe it wasn't her Aiden was lying to. Maybe he was lying to himself.

Maybe he didn't even know it.

Aiden's thoughts hung heavy around him as he emerged from his room, pulling on a hoodie. It had been a week since that night, when Jay had invited him over. He hadn't seen her since. Hadn't really spoken to her either. He'd told her he was busy. The truth was he had gotten a nasty black eye the next day and didn't feel like he could see her until it faded. It was just to the point now where it wasn't noticeable, so he was taking her out tonight, though he wanted to get some recon done on the Viceroys before that. Something seemed to be happening with them, but he hadn't been able to figure out what it was; just that they were gathering more and more and meeting with the South Club more frequently than was normal.

As he stepped out onto the main floor, Aiden was surprised to find T-bone sitting at the desk in front of him, his back to Aiden. T-bone had been away a lot lately with his own work up in Pawnee. That's what he told Aiden anyway, but Aiden could tell he was hiding something. He'd been acting so strangely the past month or so, secretive and snappy. Aiden had asked him about it, but of course T-bone had dodged all of his questions. He was worse than Aiden.

"Didn't realize you'd be here today," Aiden called out to him.

Startled, T-bone hastily stashed something under the desk and went back to typing. "Aiden!" he greeted, not looking over. "I didn't realize you were here either."

Aiden had made his way over by now, tucking his hands into his hoodie pocket. "I live here, T-bone," he said sardonically.

T-bone swiveled in his chair, scooting to the right as he did so. "Yeah, well, so do I."

This was the weirdest conversation Aiden had ever had. "O..k?" His eyes caught a glint of yellow beneath the desk and Aiden leaned around T-bone to get a look at it. T-bone scooted over to block his sight, but it was too late. He only caught a glimpse of it, but Aiden swore those were sunflowers under there. "Are those flowers?"

"Those are none of your goddamn business."

T-bone was one step away from flames shooting out of his mouth, but Aiden was not going to let this go. Not after how T-bone had been about Jay.

"Who are those for, T-bone?" Aiden crossed his arms, a smug, expectant smile on his face.

Looking as if he would murder Aiden, T-bone held firm. "No one. They're nothing."

"Why are you hiding them if they're nothing?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you." With that, T-bone twirled back around, returning to his monitors.

Aiden only dug in harder. "I can't believe the flack you've been giving me about Jay when you have a secret girlfriend!"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

Incredulous, Aiden scoffed. "You're unbelievable, you know that? You are such a hypocrite." Shaking his head, Aiden backed and turned to the stairs, leaving T-bone with his secrets.

"I don't have a girlfriend!" T-bone shouted at him.

Aiden kept climbing the stairs, waving his hand dismissively. "Whatever you say." He was nearly to the top when T-bone called out—

"I have a daughter."

That stopped Aiden in his tracks. He turned to T-bone who was looking up at Aiden. "What? Since when?" Aiden descended the stairs.

"Since about 25 years ago apparently."

Aiden made it back down to ground level and sat down next to T-bone. From this vantage point, he could indeed see a bouquet of sunflowers next to T-bone's feet. "How did this happen?"

"She tracked me here—"

The concern on Aiden's face must have been evident because T-bone quickly amended his statement.

"—Not here, in the Bunker. Here, in Chicago. And she doesn't know who I am. Not really. She knows me as some disgraced bum who lives up in Pawnee." T-bone lifted his eyebrows in a self-effacing way. "Not that it's far off the truth."

Relaxing, Aiden felt a hint of pity for T-bone. "So, then what? How did you meet if she didn't know where you were?"

"I found out someone was asking around about me and I wanted to see who it was. If it was a threat I needed to take care of."

"So, you found her."

"Yeah. Tracked her to her hotel. Probably scared the shit out of her when I showed up at her door. I doubt she was expecting to see this," T-bone explained, gesturing to himself.

"And how long ago was this?"

"A little over a month."

"You've been sitting on this for over a month?!" Aiden couldn't believe it.

T-bone looked defeated, regretful even. "It wasn't supposed to turn into anything. I told her at the hotel to never contact me again, to leave Chicago and forget about me. But—"

"—you couldn't stay away," Aiden finished for him. He knew the feeling all too well.

His tone softening, T-bone looked Aiden in the eye. "She's my daughter, Aiden," he said simply. Like no more explanation was needed.

Aiden offered a bit of sincerity, smiling as he said, "I'm happy for you, T-bone."

Clearly uncomfortable with the emotion, T-bone cleared his throat. "Yeah, well, I'm meeting her later tonight and, I don't know. I felt like I should get her something." He motioned to the flowers. "I didn't know what else to get. Not really my forte."

Laughing to himself, Aiden reassured T-bone. "I'm sure she'll love them." Leaning back, Aiden took advantage of T-bone's current openness. "So what's her name? What does she do?"

"Rebecca. She's a journalist from New York."

"And is she working on a story here?"

T-bone clammed up at that. "Uh. Yeah."

"Well, what is it?" Aiden raised his eyebrows, searching T-bone's face.

Growling, T-bone finally gave in. "The Quinns. She's writing an exposé about Lucky and Niall Quinn."

"What?!" Aiden shot to his feet. "Fuck, T-bone!"

T-bone looked just as distraught. "I know. Believe me, I know."

"She's going to get herself killed."

"I know! Alright? I've tried to get her to drop it. But unfortunately, she takes a little too much after me."

Many reporters and journalists had tried to expose the Quinns over the years. None of them lived long. Or well.

"You have to stop her."

"Just let me handle it, ok?"

Aiden nodded his assent. "Yeah. I'll keep an ear out, too."

"I'm gonna keep her safe. Even if I have to kidnap her and drive her out of here myself."

"I'm sure that would go over well," Aiden huffed.

"Like I said, I'm meeting her tonight. If I can't convince her, then… then I might not have a choice. I'd rather her hate me for the rest of my life than be dead."

"I'm sorry it has to be like that."

T-bone shrugged. "We'll see what happens, I guess."

Aiden placed a comforting hand on T-bone's shoulder. "Let me know."

Dismissing himself and climbing the stairs again, Aiden still couldn't quite believe what T-bone had told him. T-bone had a daughter! Aiden never would have imagined it. He was sure T-bone never would have either.

He only hoped that she could keep her nose out of trouble. The Quinns were not to be trifled with. Aiden was living proof of that. She'd be better off going back to New York. T-bone would as well.

Aiden knew that constant worry that had clouded T-bone's eyes. Knew how it roiled inside of him incessantly. Even now, Jay's well-being felt like a die in Aiden's hand. And the closer he got to her, the more frivolously he cast it out.

His luck would only hold so long.

Jay finished her shift, scanning in a few final files from the huge stack next to the computer. Clocking out, she grabbed the spare set of clothes she had stashed in her locker earlier and changed into them in the bathroom, checking her appearance in the mirror.

Aiden was picking her up from work today. She had suggested it when he said he was taking her somewhere near the clinic.

She suddenly felt nervous. They'd barely spoken since a week ago. She looked herself in the eye in the mirror and took a deep breath. Don't let things be weird, she told herself. If Aiden needed more space, then she was happy to give it. And that was the end of it.

Walking back to the lobby, Jay spotted Aiden's car out front and she waved to the shadow of him inside it. Saying a quick goodbye to Gabbie, Jay made her way outside and climbed into the car, strapping on her seatbelt as Aiden greeted her.

"So where exactly are we going? You never said."

"It's a secret," he said coyly.

She could tell he wasn't going to spill the beans, so Jay didn't bother asking again. Besides, she didn't much care where they went so long as they were together.

They drove west for about fifteen minutes, chatting the whole time. When Aiden turned north, Jay's chest started constricting and she couldn't figure out why until five minutes later.

Aiden, unaware of her distress, began explaining where they were going. "Ok, look. I didn't want to say anything because this place has a certain stigma about it, but I promise the food is amazing."

Papa's Diner, that diner, came into view. Flashes of that horrible night played out in front of Jay and it was like a bomb had gone off inside her. Her heart seized, her palms started sweating, and she could barely hear anything Aiden was saying over the droning in her ears.

He glanced over at her, clearly misinterpreting her reaction.

"I know the outside is sketchy, but I know the owners. They're really good people. I've been trying to tell them to renovate this place for years."

Aiden pulled into a parking space right outside and Jay went into a full-on panic. She started hyperventilating, her vision tunneling. "We have to go," she stated to the windshield, her voice clipped. Jay didn't know if Aiden heard her or not, the ringing in her ears growing louder by the second. Her panic compounded and she couldn't bear to be here for one more second. She rounded on Aiden. "We have to go right now. Please, we have to go!"

He must have been frightened by her outburst. So shocked that he didn't move right away.

"Please, go! PLEASE!" She was shouting at him now, tears pouring down her face, and he reacted to her panic.

"Ok, ok, we're going," he answered hurriedly, throwing the car into reverse. The cars on the street had to slam on their brakes behind them, so violently did he peel out of the parking spot.

Then he drove.

Jay's whole body was shaking, Aiden's concerned voice a muffled sound in her ear. She stared ahead of her at nothing, her panicked breath catching in her throat. She didn't even realize he had stopped the car until he grabbed her shoulder and forced her to look at him. His voice barely reached her, but now that she could see his lips, she could make out what he was saying.

"Breathe. Jay, breathe." There was an edge of command to his gaze, covering up the fear simmering beneath it. He took controlled breaths demonstratively. "Deep breaths."

Jay struggled, but she followed his lead, still not fully able to focus in on him. She breathed with him for another minute before the black at the edges of her vision receded, the ringing in her ears lessening. When her heart calmed and her hands stopped shaking, she looked into Aiden's eyes.

He must have seen some light return there because he let go of a terrified sigh and asked, "Jay, what's going on?" his eyes searching hers all the while.

Panic started welling up inside Jay again. Keep breathing. Just keep breathing. "That was the diner," was all she managed to say, her voice feeble and shaky.

Concern and confusion emanated from Aiden. "What diner? Jay, please tell me what's happening."

"It's where he sent me. The Vigilante. That night, after—" Jay squinched her eyes closed, continuing to breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

"Jay." Aiden's voice was so soft, so apologetic.

When she had controlled herself, Jay opened her eyes. "I never went back there." She met Aiden's gaze, tears streaming down her face. "I can't go back there."

Aiden's face was laden with guilt. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…"

Jay shook her head. "No." She dropped her gaze to her lap. "No, you couldn't have known." Jay was still having trouble processing what was happening. And then she realized that they were supposed to be on a date. She couldn't handle that. She couldn't handle anything right now. "I… I think I need to go home."

"Jay." This time it was worry in Aiden's voice.

She flashed her eyes over to him, unable to keep eye contact for very long. "No. No, I just need to be alone right now." Now she did meet his eyes, her head nodding in short bursts. "I just need to be alone."

She looked forward, realizing for the first time that they were in an abandoned parking lot. "Please, take me back to my car." Jay could feel Aiden stewing next to her, could see his mouth straining to find words out of the corner of her eye. Then he stilled next to her, straightening himself in his seat.

"Ok."

They didn't say anything else on the way back and Jay drove in silence all the way home. She sat on the couch, staring at the blank TV, hours ticking by like minutes.

She couldn't stop that whole, horrific night from playing out in her head over and over again. She'd done her best to this point to block out the whole affair. She'd gone and bought a car that next week. Never took the train again. And she'd given that diner a wide berth.

Now she couldn't help but feel that man's hands on her, his breath against her neck, his oily voice slithering into her ear. Jay cried until there were no more tears to come out.

She shut her eyes up tight. You're safe. He saved you. Nothing happened.

Jay did her best to focus on that part of the memory, to remember that man that had saved her so long ago. His demeanor, his kindness. She let the memory deepen in the darkness behind her eyelids. His hand reached toward her, helping her to stand. She could practically hear his voice as if he were right beside her. That deep, gravelly voice. But something was wrong with her memory. She kept hearing Aiden's voice coming from his mouth. The memory kept playing. He was pointing her to the diner now. That sketchy diner.

Jay's eyes flew open.

How he had described it…that was exactly what Aiden had said. Her mind had been hazy with panic, but her brain must have taken in the words because his words and the Vigilante's were overlapping in her ears. Both with the same voice.

No. No it was impossible.

Jay's heart didn't know whether to pound or stop dead. Was she delusional? Was her brain filling in gaps about that night with Aiden? That had to be it. There was no way…

But the more Jay argued against it, the more everything started falling into place. The day they had met, Aiden had had wounds he wouldn't let her see. Why would he have hidden something like that? Even gang members didn't hide their wounds. Not at their clinic where no questions were asked, no reports filed.

And there was the way Aiden was always rushing out on her at odd times of the night. The way he never wanted her to come back to his house.

Then there was the Vigilante's absence. Jay had followed it religiously, fearing that maybe he had died. That one day they would report a dead body matching the Vigilante's description. Thinking back, Aiden had been in a cast that whole time.

Jay's face paled, the world spinning around her. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't.

She snatched up her phone from the table, frantically searching for anything on the Vigilante. Most news articles had little to report other than a middle-aged, white male next to a dark and out of focus picture. Then she came across one article that had a 5 second video of him walking out of some building, playing on a loop. Jay blew it up to full screen, leaned closer. He was just walking, nothing more, his covered face a black and orange-y blob in the dim light. But Jay knew Aiden. Knew what his body looked like. Knew how he moved.

That was Aiden.

Her phone fell from her hands.

Aiden was the Vigilante.

Aiden tailed Jay home that night, damn his self-imposed rule. He had to make sure she was ok. He had never seen her like that. She had been nearly catatonic when he'd pulled into that vacant lot. It had scared him shitless to hear that panic in her voice.

Now he was parked across the street from her little blue house on the far west side of Parker Square, her shadow just visible through the drawn curtains on the front of the house. The temptation to hack into the camera on her phone was overwhelming, but Aiden would never let himself cross that line.

Hours went by and she still hadn't moved from that spot. Aiden didn't know if that boded well or not.

He couldn't believe what he had done, taking her to that diner. Hated what it had done to Jay. He never wanted to see that terrified look on her face again.

Not only had it set her off, but it was yet another connection to the Vigilante. Once again, T-bone was right. Everything was lined up in front of her. All she had to do was put the pieces together.

"Fuck!" he swore to himself, running his hands through his hair.

Aiden couldn't let that happen. He had to end it. He didn't have a choice anymore.

A flutter of movement caught his eye, Jay's shadow shifting.

He watched it for another couple minutes, delaying what he had to do. His heart felt like a chasm inside of him. And what made it even worse was that Jay was already hurting. He was going to break her heart right after what had happened tonight. But he knew he'd lose the will if he didn't do it as soon as possible, if he saw her one more time.

This was his fault. He should never have let it get this far.

Coward that he was, he couldn't even bring himself to call her, so he brought up their text thread instead, writing: I hope you're ok. We need to talk. Meet me at the fountain after work.

Her shadow moved, dipping down and then coming back up.

A minute later, Aiden's phone dinged. I'm fine. And we do. I'll see you there.

Aiden's head fell back against the headrest, his eyes closing as he sighed in resignation.

Aiden watched Jay's house the whole night, even when the last light went out. He wanted to be near her for as long as he could be, knowing he'd never see her again after tomorrow.

It was for her own good. That's what Aiden kept telling himself. What he had to drown out all other excuses and enabling thoughts with.

He had to make sure she was safe. And the safest place she could be was as far away from Aiden as possible.

He didn't sleep at all that night, keeping his vigil over Jay. He only left when he could see her stirring inside in the morning, before she would come outside and see that he was there.

From there, he headed to the fountain. He knew she wouldn't be able to come until later that day, but Aiden didn't know what else to do. He couldn't think about the Vigilante, or the Viceroys, or the South Club right now. His mind was a hive of swarming bees, his stomach full of them. He couldn't eat. He couldn't think. The day passed by like it had been played in fast forward, the sun rising to its zenith and then dipping down to skim the horizon.

For all that time, Aiden still didn't know what he was going to say. How could he end things without giving a reason? How could he possibly explain without explaining? How could he look her in the eye when he ripped out her heart? When his own went along with it?

It's for her own good.

Seated on the fountain, Aiden buried his head in his hands.

"Aiden?"

He hadn't even realized she had approached until he heard that voice. The one that thrilled him and would haunt him forever.

Springing to his feet, Aiden closed the small gap that lingered between them. "Jay." Any words past that got stuck in his throat.

He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this.

It's for her own good.

"Can we talk?" he asked seriously, gently leading her away from the crowd and into the park. The quiet there was deafening, the buzzing in his head growing louder.

He had to do it now. He just had to say it.

It's for her own good. She has to be safe.

Falteringly, hating every word that slipped past his tongue, Aiden said, "I can't do this anymore, Jay." He shook his head apologetically. "I'm so sorry. This has to end."

More than hurt, Jay looked confused, stunned. "What?"

It was too late to turn back now.

"I… I can't handle this. I thought I could, Jay, but I can't. And it isn't fair to you. It has to end here. It has to."

It was almost like she wasn't hearing him, like she refused to hear what he was saying. Determination filled her face. "Aiden, listen to me, I—"

He backed away from her. His heart was in his throat, his stomach roiling. "No, Jay, no. This just won't work. You don't understand. You can't understand."

Jay stepped toward him. "I do understand, Aiden. Please—"

Aiden retreated from her. That, more than anything seemed to hurt her. She stopped short.

"No," he said firmly. "We can't be together. I can't give you what you deserve." Aiden was numb. His voice quieted. "You deserve so much more than me." He held her gaze for a moment more. Just one more look. "I'm sorry."

Then he turned and walked away. Before he stopped himself.

"I know."

Aiden paused, the tone in Jay's voice making the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. He could hear her approaching.

"I know who you are."

He pivoted slowly to meet her, his heart dropping like a stone.

Jay, in contrast, seemed at peace. "I know you're—" she glanced to the side, to the people walking by a few yards away. "I know you saved me."

Aiden clenched his jaw, fighting the lies that sprung to his lips. He couldn't bear lying to her anymore. But that still didn't change anything.

He let out a sigh. Of relief. Of fear.

"Then you know why we can't be together." Those felt like the first true words he ever said to her. "It's too dangerous."

Relief and awe shone on Jay's face at his veiled affirmation. "I've been thinking about it and I don't care. I'm not afraid. I want to be with you, Aiden. I want to be with all of you."

"You don't know what you're getting into."

Jay planted herself, her annoyance clear. "I know more than you think." She threw her arm out, pointing to the side. "Who do you think comes into that clinic every day? I know what happens on the streets of Chicago. I understand the risks."

"No, you don't!" Aiden raised his voice to match Jay's. It was his turn to glance at those whose attention they were garnering. He dropped his voice, leaning into Jay. "There are people that would hurt you, kill you, to get to me." He backed off, fumbling for words once more. "And I can't…" His gaze wandered, avoiding Jay's. "If anything happened to you. I can't lose you." He found her eyes again, his voice near-breaking. "I can't."

Right at that moment, Aiden's phone went off, the alert tone the one he had set as urgent. Aiden grimaced.

Jay must have read the news on his face because she nodded at him, tilting her head toward his pocket in permission. It wasn't the first time he'd run away on "urgent business."

Aiden grabbed his phone, the screen lighting up with a text from T-bone: Need you back here. NOW.

"Shit," Aiden swore, groaning at T-bone's timing. Of all nights. Aiden stowed his phone and looked apologetically at Jay. "I have to go."

She didn't seem to have a response and Aiden didn't know what else to say so he leveled one last, "I'm sorry," at her, spun around, and left.

"Aiden, wait."

He stopped and turned.

Jay took a deep breath, her voice calm. "If you want to break up with me, then fine. But don't push me away. Not for this."

Aiden swallowed. He didn't have any answer for that.

He took the easy way out. "I have to go."

This time, he walked away and didn't stop. Didn't look back.

Feeling more lost than when he had arrived.

T-bone accosted Aiden the second he stepped from the elevator at the Bunker. "Where have you been all day?"

Aiden hurried down the stairs, ignoring T-bone's question. He couldn't deal with that right now. He turned the focus back to T-bone. "What's going on?"

"I have a lead."

Aiden knew immediately what he was talking about. A lead on the trafficking ring was the one thing that could steal his attention away from Jay. "What? How?"

T-bone sat down forcefully in his chair, the momentum swinging him around to the desk where he started pulling up items on the screens. "A fixer contract came in on the Vigilante."

Aiden gave an exasperated look. There was nothing new about that, but it was always a pain to deal with those contracts popping up, which was becoming less and less often. None of them had ever come to fruition so most people had stopped posting them. And fixers never fared well against Aiden, so most of them had stopped responding to the reward offered anyway, despite its generally high rate.

"Don't worry, I took it down," T-bone said waving a hand. "It took me a couple days," he went on, "but I was able to trace who posted it."

"I thought those were supposed to be untraceable if anonymous."

T-bone eyed Aiden with a who do you think you're talking to look.

Aiden corrected himself. "Right. Who was it, then?"

A mug shot flashed up on screen. "Archie Mason."

Aiden shrugged his lip. "Am I supposed to know who that is?"

"It's Rowan Hughes' brother. Well, half-brother, but don't tell them that. They were thick as thieves until you killed Rowan to get that flash drive," T-bone explained, nodding at the drive lodged in the computer. "We never picked up on him before because of their names and the fact that Archie doesn't seem to be very high up in the Viceroy hierarchy. In any case, he must have given up trying to find you himself and put out a hit on you."

"Ok, so you think he has the information that Rowan had?"

"Maybe, but that's not the point. I've been running a trace on him through facial rec." T-bone pulled up a video and blew it up to full screen. "This just came in 30 minutes ago."

The footage showed a dimly lit alley of shipping containers—somewhere down at the docks. The footage was low quality, but Aiden was able to make out Archie stepping from a black SUV at the end of the alley. A box overlay zeroed in on his face and blew it up, the frozen frame popping over to the side of the footage on top of the mug shot that was still up. The video kept playing and showed two men with assault rifles getting out of the car and joining Archie, the three of them making their way to a green shipping container near the middle of the alley.

Archie pulled out a key and unlocked two padlocks on the container, the box overlay struggling to keep his face in view as he turned to the side. He pulled the door open and disappeared inside, the overlay turning red and dancing across the screen to look for its quarry. The other two men parked themselves to either side of the door.

Aiden stepped closer to the bank of screens, trying to see what was inside the container, but the door was blocking its contents from view. Then the view switched to the camera on the opposite side and Aiden was about to say something when Archie re-emerged, holding a file box stuffed so full of papers that the lid didn't properly fit on it. He walked back towards the car, nodding at one of the other men to lock up the container. That man did as he was bidden, the other following right behind Archie. All three of them got back in their car and left.

Heart pounding, Aiden's mind was immediately conjuring ideas as to what could be in that box. The most immediate thought was that of the trafficking ring, the incomplete information they sought to unravel.

"This is big, T-bone."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you."

The video started again, playing on a loop.

"Which container is that?" Aiden asked, pointing at the screen.

Bringing up a 3-D layout of the docks, T-bone highlighted where that particular shipping container was. "Here it is. Shipping container 2117."

"Is there a listing for it?"

"Sure, but nothing useful. Owned by some shell company in China. No contents listed."

Aiden wasn't surprised. Not that the contents would have been the real thing even if they had been reported. He studied the layout of the docks. "We need to get in there before they move it."

"Now you know why it was urgent."

"Any activity since then?"

T-bone pulled up the live feed from the docks, switching between the two camera angles they had seen before and a few wider out. "Nothing much. They put a guard on the door and have a few cars on the entrances to the docks, plus more patrolling, but no one else has gone in the container."

If they had men posted there, then there had to be something left in that container worth protecting. He needed to get in there. Tonight.

"Good work, T-bone," Aiden shot at his friend as he marched from the room, heading for the armory. He geared up for a fight. Though he hoped to get in and out of there without being noticed, Aiden had to be prepared for the worst. There was no telling what Aiden would be in for. Donning his bullet proof vest, he grabbed a few flashbangs, a couple IED's, and his favorite assault rifle. He checked the clip and shoved it back into place, screwing on the silencer to the front of the barrel as Aiden walked back to the main room of the Bunker.

When he emerged, T-bone looked distant, anxious.

Something was up with him. Aiden slowed to a stop as he neared. "What's up?"

It was like T-bone didn't hear him.

"T-bone?"

T-bone looked up at that, a question on his face.

"What's up?" Aiden repeated, concerned at T-bone's demeanor. What was going on with him?

T-bone pushed himself from his chair. "It—it's Rebecca. I, uh. I just got off the phone with her."

The worry on T-bone's face made Aiden put aside thoughts of the docks for a moment. "Is she ok?"

"For now. But she's in trouble. I have to go get her. Take her out of the city."

"Do you need help?"

"No. No, I can handle it. You go to the docks." T-bone dropped his gaze, anxiously playing with his hands.

Aiden had never seen him so distraught. "Hey," he said, snapping T-bone out of it. "Rebecca's going to be fine. Alright?"

"Yeah," T-bone answered quietly.

Feeling like he needed to give T-bone a push, Aiden added, "Go. Take care of Rebecca. I got this."

"Yeah." T-bone nodded and backed away, grabbing his jacket and pulling it on.

Aiden took that as his sign to leave so he rounded the corner and climbed the stairs.

When he was halfway up, T-bone stopped him.

"Aiden?"

Aiden paused and looked down at T-bone, who was tucking his pistol into the back of his pants, concern on his face.

"Just be careful, alright?"

Giving a terse nod, Aiden jogged up the last couple of stairs and left.

Night had fallen in earnest by the time Aiden had made it to Brandon Docks, a harsh chill settling into the air. He parked a few blocks away from the dockyard, not wanting to tip the Viceroys off that he was coming. Now on foot, Aiden looked on at the yard past the flickering streetlamp overhead, pulling his cap down onto his head and his mask up over his nose. There were plenty of shadows for cover, the only light coming from the tall lamps dotting the dockyard, many of which had gone out.

Knowing that the entrances were being monitored, Aiden skirted the edge of the dockyard and hopped a shadowed section of fence near the run-down warehouse that sat in the middle of the yard. He hacked a scissor life to get him onto the roof of the first floor of the building. From there, he scampered up a few vents and a pipe to get to the top floor. From his overwatch position, Aiden surveyed the dockyard, hacking into the cameras to aid him.

Like T-bone had said, there were two black SUVs parked at the entrance to the north, another two at the western end. At each site, two or three men leaned up against the stationary SUVs with shotguns or SMGs in hand, relaxed, but ready. There was no telling how many more men were in the cars, if any. Driving up and down the aisleways were two more cars, their lights giving away their position as they methodically scanned the dockyard.

Pulling up the map of the dockyard, Aiden oriented himself to where he was looking out over container 2117. From this position, other containers blocked Aiden's view, so he pulled up the camera feed. He flipped through a few angles before finding the one he needed. Next to the container's door was a single man, decked out in full body armor and a helmet, wielding a shotgun.

This was going to be tricky.

While dim, there was enough light over the container and the alley that led to it that Aiden couldn't sneak up on that man without being spotted. Aiden thought about dropping on him from above, but the containers were stacked three high at that point, and he didn't fancy a repeat with his ankle. He'd have to distract the man somehow.

While formulating a plan, Aiden let himself settle into the rhythm of the Viceroys, their patrol routes, their tendencies. He waited for half an hour just watching. When he was confident he knew their movements, Aiden descended the building and wended his way between a maze of shipping containers, closing in on the aisle he needed.

His forced reconnaissance served another purpose as well. Aiden had recorded the last thirty minutes of camera footage and set it looping through the system while retaining access for himself. He had no idea if anyone would be watching, but it was better to be on the safe side.

Now on ground level, Aiden waited, crouching behind a dumpster that lined the thoroughfare off which his desired aisle branched. When the patrol car passed the end of the alleyway to 2117, Aiden moved. He had roughly ten minutes until the next one drove by.

Grabbing up a small piece of rusted metal that must have fallen from the trash, Aiden slunk over to the start of the aisle. He snuck a peek at the armored man. The moment the man looked the other way, Aiden swapped sides, dropping a remote activated IED as he did so, and headed down the next aisle. On this aisle, the containers were only stacked one or two high. With great care, Aiden silently scampered up onto the containers, stowing his assault rifle onto his back by its strap. He picked his way past the tower that signaled he was over 2117. Two more containers down, there was an access point where the containers were only one high for several spaces. Aiden lowered himself and approached the edge, glancing over the top of the metal.

The man was now below to Aiden's right.

Pulling out his phone, Aiden jammed the man's comms. When he was sure it had taken hold, Aiden lobbed the rusty metal piece onto the ground across from him. He'd thought about using a distraction lure, but this was a tight space. It was likely the man would reach the lure before Aiden could get to him and a device would have been too obvious. This way, finding the distraction wouldn't immediately raise suspicion.

The man spun, weapon trained on the noise. "I heard something. I'm checking it out," he said into his radio.

Aiden wasn't worried about the call. He had improved his software over the past years and made it so that people didn't know when he had disrupted their comms, keeping them unaware that something was wrong until it was too late.

As the man moved closer, he swung around in all directions, including looking up to where something could have fallen from. Aiden ducked back down out of sight and remained hidden, counting down in his head. When he felt the time was right, Aiden pressed another button on his phone to activate the second part of jam comms. So loud that Aiden could hear it from his position, came a piercing, screeching sound from the man's earpiece. The man cried out, at which point Aiden peered over the edge.

The man had dropped his shotgun and was clutching his ears, his hands eventually moving to fumble at the strap on his helmet.

Springing into action, Aiden jumped down and rolled, coming up behind the man just as he ripped off his helmet. The man didn't even know he was there before Aiden kicked him in the back of the knee. Catching himself with his hands as he went down to all fours, the man scrambled for his gun. Aiden was too fast for him. Slinging out his tactical baton, Aiden swiped across the man's face with it and he fell, instantly unconscious.

Catching his breath and collapsing his baton, Aiden hurried over to the shipping container. There were four padlocks across the front, two to each door. It was nothing Aiden didn't know about, but with time trickling away, having to pick two locks now felt much more daunting.

Among other new skills Aiden had acquired over the years, lockpicking had been a major boost to his abilities. With ctOS controlling so much of the city, many of the criminal underworld were turning back to analog protections.

Aiden pulled his tools from his pocket and set about unlocking the first of the padlocks. By the time he got through it and dropped it on the ground, Aiden paused, a faint noise catching his attention. It was a car engine, getting closer. Checking the camera feed on his phone, Aiden swore when he saw that the next patrol car was coming around early.

It was now or never. Even if Aiden hid, they would spot the unconscious man's body and raise the alarm.

Going back to the second of the locks, Aiden attacked it with renewed fervor. Just a little bit longer. Just a little.

The engine was growing louder, the crunching of tires on the gravelly asphalt now audible.

He was almost there.

Lights crept around the corner of the aisle.

It was going to be a firefight to escape. Aiden had resigned himself to that fact. But hopefully he could glean something from what was inside before that happened.

Just a peek. That's all he needed.

The car passed by and for a fleeting second, Aiden thought they hadn't seen him. Then it screeched to a halt and backed up into full view. The sound of shouting amplified when the doors flew open and men poured from the vehicle.

At the same time, the padlock on the container dropped open and Aiden shoved it out of place. Reacting on instinct, he swung both handles around and pulled the door open to act as his shield. He fell back as bullets ricocheted off the door. Pulling himself back to his feet, Aiden hunkered behind the outside of the door and reached for his phone. He swiped across to the IED screen and held the button.

Even though he was prepared for it, Aiden still recoiled at the bright ball of flame that erupted from the end of the aisle. The SUV did a front flip with the impact and landed with a crunch in a flaming ball of scrap. The two men who had been on the other side of the car were engulfed in flame, their screams quickly dying out.

Aiden went to poke his head out, but the bullets started back up, the two men closer to Aiden having escaped the worst of the blast. Aiden blind-fired in return, hoping to buy himself a chance to slip inside the container, even for just a moment.

But he had no such luck.

The barrage continued and Aiden could hear tires screeching behind him. He had to get out. Now. Or seeing inside that container wouldn't matter for very long.

Cursing the situation, Aiden pulled back fully into cover, his phone illuminating his face as he brought it up and triggered a blackout. The confusion gave him enough time to run for it down the alley away from the Viceroys. He hadn't gone far when a car entered the alley from the other end, the lights pinpointing him for everyone to see. Aiden scurried up the shipping containers to his left, narrowly avoiding the rain of bullets that targeted him.

He ran left along the tops of the containers as far as he could go. It wasn't much cover, but it was better than nothing. The problem was, Aiden could either drop down from the containers and take his chances in yet another aisleway, or keep climbing the shipping containers and be pinned on top of them like a cat up a tree.

Neither option seemed appealing. He'd take his chances down low.

Another car was barreling down the aisle to Aiden's right and he chucked his last IED at it, setting off the explosion the second it hit the ground. However, he mistimed it. The explosion went off too soon. Aiden still used it as cover and hopped down, sprinting for the far side. Roaring through the flames, the car bowled toward Aiden, its occupants leaning out the windows. Two long, thin grenades landed at Aiden's feet while he was midway across the aisle. He braced for the assault of a flash grenade, but gas poured forth instead. He couldn't help but taking in a lungful on his way through.

Aiden scrabbled up the container on the far side with difficulty, his arms feeling like lead. Coughing and sputtering, Aiden tried to clear the gas with the fresh air above, but to no avail. The world pitched around Aiden and he had trouble getting his eyes to focus. He struggled onward, fighting the darkness vying to control him.

This couldn't be the end.

Aiden staggered a few more yards when his legs turned to jelly and gave out underneath him. He pitched forward, catching himself briefly on the far edge of the shipping containers before he rolled off and landed in a heap in the next aisle. Lights blared down on him from both ends of the aisleway and Aiden fought to stand, to do anything. If he could just get an arm underneath himself, then he could get up. He had to keep going. Placing his palm on the ground, Aiden pushed with everything he had, but his shaking arm collapsed.

Another grenade appeared next to Aiden and diffused its contents, surrounding his body with its cloud of gas.

Strangely, the only thing that came to Aiden's mind in that moment was that he wished he could see Jay one more time. Wished he could change the last thing he had said to her.

Then the darkness won its battle and plunged Aiden into oblivion.

Thanks for reading! It only gets more intense from here, so make sure to come back next week for that and leave a comment with any thoughts you might have. Chapter Four will be up next Saturday, 4/22!