Mirror's Eye Chapter VI

"I don't like this,"

Faith trotted through the airport, her hands cuffed behind her by plastic riot cuffs. Marcus lead her, keeping an eye out for anybody that may present a danger to them.

"Faith, it's better than any other way we can walk through here. I don't like it either, I don't like having my family threatened or being nearly kicked off a god damned helicopter, but we're going to get through this if it kills me," Marcus hissed in her ear, resolute and irritated.

Security and pedestrian alike gawk and stare, some doing double takes between the apparently apprehended runner and the news screen they watched whilst waiting for their flights. Faith made sure to appear defeated enough that none of the rent-a-cops would try to lend a helping hand in an attempt at assisting in playing hero. Marcus kept a steady gait as his training moved him through the busy yet spacious place. The airport's LED signs and advertising screens briefly turned into simple arrows for them to follow. The cameras seemed to keep a very close eye on both of their every move. The tension of being watched by everybody in the airport, knowing that something could go wrong or happen at any moment quickly began its toll on both Marcus and Faith. Beads of nervous sweat began to inch their way down the old cop's forehead, as Faith's palms became drenched in sweat.

"Sir, is everything okay here?" A security guard asked, coming seemingly from nowhere.

Faith's heart nearly leapt out of her chest as a bitter copper taste whipped her tongue, a tingle going through her whole body as adrenaline surged into action, prompting the worst question she could have been asked at the time: "Fight or flight?"

Marcus, sensing her surprise at the security guard's sudden intrusion, quickly jerked her by the arm before she could react, hoping she'd get the signal to stay in character.

"Everything is fine, I just managed to chase this runner down, she had me running all throughout the subway station but I've managed to subdue her,"

"I don't recognize your uniform,"

The security guard crossed his arms and pierced the duo with his gaze as he searched for warning signs of any sort.

"I'm a pursuit officer, trained through the Icarus program to take out runners like these"

"Ah. It's just that one could mistake you for a runner half heartedly attempting to impersonate an officer of the law, a very serious offense. Where are you taking this girl?"

Faith's legs tensed up, ready to run. Cuffed hands or not, she needed to escape.

"I've been ordered to uh, to take her to a special field agent nearby. For questioning,"

For somebody who made a career in interrogating and discerning when people lied during interrogation, Marcus was a terrible liar. He exhibited every sign in the book as he tried to think of how to avoid suspicion.

"…field agent huh? Sir, come to the security office, I have hereby determined you to be a threat in need of further investigation. We're going to review the camera footage and see if this little story of you heroically chasing down some rogue runner through the subway tunnels and emerging through the locked plexiglass subway doors has even a remote iota of truth to it,"

"God damn it…" Marcus thought to himself. Faith looked up at him briefly, as though she were silently asking him for permission to book it. Marcus picked up on the signal and subtly shook his head no as the security officer walked them both to a secluded office.

They both sat, Faith handcuffed to the chair by a pair of cuffs that belonged to the airport's security. Marcus knew that he couldn't unlock them with the key to his own metal cuffs and silently tried to think of a way to free faith as the security officer browsed through the footage. Faith observed the office and immediately marked her exits. She silently planned her escape, making sure not to betray her motives to neither Marcus nor the security guard.

"What in the fuckin… just what in the god damned hell is going on here?"

The security guard's sudden outburst alerted both Faith and Marcus. He stared blankly at the screen, befuddled at the white noise that was displayed in place of security footage. A loud bang erupted in the room. Faith managed to slip her hands out of the handcuffs and make a grab for the bag, reaching for the gun inside and firing into the security guard's back. He collapsed as Faith bolted forward, vaulting over the desk and bashing open the back door. Marcus immediately followed, hot on her heels as she peeled through the airport. TV screens and LED displays directed them both, before long security and federal agents were in on the chase as well. The airport was thrown into chaos as the game of cat, mouse, and dog ensued between Faith, Marcus, and the entirety of the airport's security personnel.

Bullets cut through the reinforced concrete all over the sprawling Mecca for travelers. The chaos seemed to be slowly escalating, a violent crescendo that forced Faith to slide, vault, and sprint in as many ways as she knew how to escape capture. Marcus followed like a shadow, closely behind her and mimicking almost every move she made. Fighting even for a moment would be a horrible decision, it would cease Faith's momentum, if only just for a moment, something she could not afford.

"Faith and Marcus, you are to board the plane at gate 7. You have five minutes. If you value your lives and freedom, you will make the flight before the Pursuit police and SWAT reach the airport,"

From both of the duo's radios blared the icy female voice. They both looked at each other for only a split second before simultaneously making a mad dash for gate 7, which seemed as though it were a mile away and within inches of their grasp at the same time. A squad of at least five security officers armed with night sticks awaited both Faith and Marcus. Faith broke the line by sliding on the ground between two confused officers. Marcus attempted to follow, but a night stick was smacked into his upper thigh. Marcus stumbled as two of the officers made a grab for him. He attempted to break free, swinging his stun baton into whoever got in his way, taking down one, two, three officers before the baton was wrenched from his hand as blow after blow from the remaining handful of officers' night sticks rained on his weary back.

Faith ran down the hall and was immediately rushed onto the plane by a few of the airport staff whom had been contacted by ARIIA. She sat down and caught her breath, wondering just where she was going in as many ways as one could interpret the words. Where would this plane take her? And where would she go after that? When would this ordeal be over? Question after question relentlessly pounded in her mind, craving answers more than her lungs could crave oxygen. She stared out the window, noticing the calm atmosphere just outside. In the airport, it was a chaotic mess of guns, batons, and running. Outside, it was simply business as usual.

Back in the airport, Marcus continued to fight, despite the growing number of security guards and cops. Hope began to slowly trickle away as utter crushing defeat crept into him. Visions of his wife flickered into his mind as a fist collided with his lower ribs, knocking the wind from him: their first date, their anniversary, holding her hand once as she gave birth to his first son, and again, fourteen years later as they had a daughter, and only one year after that as she fought against cancer and won. A night stick caught his cheek as he desperately fought towards gate 7, knowing that the life of his family, as well as his own, depended on him making it on that plane. Beyond the commotion, a rumble began as the plane's engine fired up, preparing for take off. Marcus threw off two attackers and desperately hurled himself further and further down the hallway towards the entrance of the plane. A blow to his solar plexus brought him to his knees. Marcus desperately tried not to vomit as his hands were cuffed behind him. He could see the door to the plane just as it began to close. Faith was nowhere in sight.

"Agh!"

Marcus's captor released him and clutched at his earpiece, a very audible high pitched beep screaming from within it. Utilizing the opening, Marcus sprinted into the door just as it closed. The bridging hallway between the airport and the plane began to collapse as the plane lazily drifted forward. Several of the cops began to tumble out and onto the pavement below as the plane made it's way to the runway.

The sky began to lose its black hue in favor of a deep blue. The plane picked up an enormous amount of speed as it sped down the runway. The loud roar of the engine seemed to escalate in a crescendo as the violence did before, dawn easing in and dispelling away the night sky as the plane lifted from that ground and screamed into the sky. Faith looked down at the city, seeing a handful of fires and spotting several helicopters as the war on runners continued. The sun shone brightly in her face as a tear rolled down her left cheek and her fist clenched angrily.