AN: Sorry for the wait. I was unsure as to where to go next after the last chapter, but then I got inspired. So, enjoy!
Chapter 11-The Next Step
Anna let Griffin sit down on the toilet seat as he soaked in the information. His mind was racing. Him…a father? He and Anna hadn't even been married for six months, and they were already starting a family. It was all happening so fast for him. He couldn't stop it. He could only accept it.
"We're having a baby?" He asked her in a small voice.
She nodded, tearing up a little, and placed a hand on her stomach. "Yeah, we are. I know it's so soon, but its happening. We're going to be parents, Griff!" she smiled as she leaned down to hug her husband.
"I guess we are," Griffin mumbled, still numb.
Anna and Griffin decided to keep the news to themselves for a while, since things were tense at the U.R. since the Paladins had left New York. But Anna was unsure how long they could hide it since her morning sickness had started in high gear.
One day, while Anna rested upstairs, Griffin assembled a small team to check out the old Paladin building. He was hopeful they would find something, and end this war once and for all. The last thing he wanted was for his unborn child to have the same upbringing he did.
"We're ready. Joe, where are we heading?" Kyle asked the computer whiz.
"According to these numbers, their old base should be about here," Joe answered as he pointed out a dot on a computer screen. Joe zoomed in, and gave everyone a clear view of the building.
"Alright, let's go. We're wasting time just standing here," Griffin said.
Kyle, David, Griffin, and a few other jumpers jumped to the site. There was rubble outside of the entrance, and the building looked like it was crumbling down.
Griffin entered through the door that was hanging off of its hinges and motioned for everyone to follow him. Griffin gripped his bat as they walked down the long hallway, the only light coming through a large hole in the ceiling.
Griffin turned a corner and found himself in a room that looked similar to the one he was in a few months back. He winced at the memory, and called out to the younger jumpers, "Don't touch anything. This place could still be wired or bugged. Something could go off at any moment."
The men started to retreat, but then the door shut, and locked them all in. "No!" Griffin yelled and hit the door several times with his bat.
"Someone set us up," David realized.
"But who?" Kyle asked.
One of the jumpers shifted uncomfortably and then he groaned, "It was Adrian. He did it! His father is one of them!" He pointed at his short, stout teammate that was turning red.
"Fine, it was me! I had no choice! He said that he would kill everyone if I didn't tell him. They even took my girlfriend!" the teenager cried out to them as he broke out into tears.
"Do you know what you've done! We're trapped here, and now everyone back at the U.R., including my pregnant wife, is exposed!" Griffin screamed at the boy.
"Wait, Anna's pregnant?" David asked in disbelief. Kyle's eyes had widened significantly.
Before Griffin could answer, the door opened and several armed Paladins rounded the corner and shot off tiny darts into the room. All of the jumpers, including Griffin, David, and Kyle, were hit in the neck, and were overcome with slumber.
Linda took off her helmet and checked all of the jumpers for a pulse. She nodded at the other Paladins, and they proceeded to remove the unconscious jumpers from the room. She took out her cell phone from her pocket and pressed a button.
A deep, masculine voice asked, "Is it done, Agent?"
"Yes, sir. We can proceed with the next step," she answered.
"Good. Agent M is on her way now, and I'm sending in a team to take down the U.R. as we speak. Retreat back to base, agent."
"Yes, sir."
Griffin felt stiff and sore as he awoke inside an interrogation room. He was handcuffed to a metal chair, and a machine was hooked up to his back, sending sharp, electric shocks into his body. Griffin realized it was to keep him from jumping.
David stirred in the chair next to him, and let out a groan. His forehead bore beads of sweat like Griffin's own, and he took in a sharp breath of air as another electric shock entered his body.
"David? David, wake up!" Griffin called out in a hoarse voice.
David's eyes opened with a jolt as another shockwave ruptured through him, and he glanced around the room. "Where am I? Griffin?" David asked as he slowly awoke.
"I don't know. But we're stuck-Ugh!" Griffin let out a groan as a shockwave went through him as well.
Griffin struggled against the handcuffs, but it only caused him more pain, as they were tight around his wrists and his hand kept hitting the back of the metal chair. They had him.
Trapped.
Gunshots awoke Anna from her nap, and she sat straight up in the bed of her old room at the U.R. She quickly put on her sweater and opened the door.
She realized that it was a bad idea, as a bullet narrowly missed her head. Instead, it hit the bust of George Washington and shattered into a million pieces.
Anna took the opportunity to tackle the young Paladin to the ground and try to wrestle the gun from him. He was almost the same size as her, but in the tussle, he managed to punch her in the jaw. She rolled off to the side, clutching her face in horror, as the Paladin rose and aimed his gun at her.
Anna heard the gunshot and waited to meet her death. There was a thud, and she opened her right eye.
The Paladin was touching the gunshot wound on his stomach, and fell to the ground, dead. Anna turned to see her savior.
Millie engulfed Anna in a quick hug, and dropped the gun in the process. "You know how to shoot guns?" Anna asked her.
"My dad's from Texas, and he would take me out hunting sometimes," Millie explained hastily.
Naomi took out another Paladin from behind the girls and breathed in relief. "There you are! C'mon, we've got to get out of here! More Paladins are coming, and they bringing Jumpers with them! I know a shortcut we can take to the panic room in the basement."
Millie helped Anna off of the floor and they started to walk towards Naomi until a Jumper wearing a Paladin uniform appeared behind her. The Jumper-Paladin grabbed Naomi by her hair and yanked her backward, suddenly clutching a knife to her throat.
Millie and Anna stopped in their tracks.
David and Griffin spent nearly twenty minutes trying to get out of the handcuffs, but the machine made it hard for them. Griffin nearly toppled over his chair since he had shaken his chair so hard in frustration.
David stopped and watched Griffin struggle. Then, he winced as he felt another shock. "Griffin, just stop. We're not going to get out of here. They…they finally won. It's over," David said in a defeated voice.
Griffin let out a yell of anger. "NO! I won't give up! I'm not you, David! I'm going to get out of here! I'm going to get back to Anna! I won't let her die! I…can't lose her. If I lose her…then I have nothing left. I can't go back to that again. I WON'T! I'LL DIE FIRST!" Griffin struggled some more, but finally, he let out a sigh of defeat.
David was silent for a while. Then, he said, "I get it, Griffin. I've always had my sister, but you…had no one. This is harder for you more than it is for me. Anna was there before Millie, and she'll always be there. But you…if she dies, then…you won't have anyone left. And you'll be losing her…and the baby. I'm just sorry that I didn't understand before. But I get it now."
Griffin muttered sarcastically, "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, mate. You're a real help. Thanks."
The door opened and both men gasped at the sight of the figure that entered the room. David looked on in shock, as Griffin started to struggle against the handcuffs.
"It's no use. You're only making it worse for yourself, so I suggest that you just give up," Madeline Versace said in a cool calm voice.
But in reality, she was David's mother, Mary Rice.
"You did this, didn't you? What are you doing here?" David asked angrily, his eyes now blazing.
Mary dismissed the guard that was standing near the door and took out a remote. She pressed a red button and the camera in the southwest corner of the room turned off. Then, she took the empty chair at the metal table, opposite the men.
In the several months that David had seen his mother, she had dyed her hair bright red, and now wore hazel contacts. Probably to go along with her new alias, he thought to himself.
Griffin had stopped struggling against his restraints and glanced between the two, now noticing the resemblance between mother and son. She also looked very much like Anna. Could it be? Could she be David and Anna's mother…?
"I was vacationing with my daughter and new husband in France when I heard one of my inferiors was planning a surprise attack on the U.R. without my knowledge. I tried to stop him, but he had convinced my superior that this was the right moment. I couldn't stop the attack, so I set up a plan of my own. I withdrew the New York forces and shut the base down. I lied and told them that it was a way to save money, and they believed me," Mary let out a light laugh at the end.
Griffin and David exchanged glances, and Griffin spoke up, "What the bloody hell does this have to do with-"
Mary raised her hand to silence him, and continued, "I led you to believe that we had withdrawn from here to peak your interest. I knew that you would come back here. And we would be ready for you. I had them take you out and bring you here, so that I could talk to you alone. Meanwhile, Agent E is heading off the attack at the U.R. headquarters. It has turned into quite the bloodbath, I've heard. You trained your army well. I applaud you."
Mary sent them a forced smile and then her face grew serious. "This war needs to end. I can't take this anymore, this double life. It has put my daughter and husband in danger, and I can't risk that, or the life of my…grandchild."
Griffin's eyes widened. He didn't even know that the Paladins knew of Anna's pregnancy. Now he was worried that she was in more danger than ever now. With her genes and his, she could possibly be carrying a Jumper prodigy. David's mouth was open slightly.
"Oh, yes, we know. We know everything. That is why this needs to end. I've come up with a plan of my own, but it's risky. And I need both of you to cooperate. If everything goes to plan, this will be over."
David searched her eyes for a clue that she was tricking them, but they were sincere. He asked, "Why should we trust you?"
"I recalled my forces. I bailed you out of jail in Rome. I left so that I wouldn't kill you. I told you that I would give you a head start, son, and here we are. But I haven't killed you, and I don't plan to," her voice was still calm, but it cracked at bit every time she said the word kill.
"Why don't you?" Griffin asked, now that his theories were confirmed.
"Because my…daughter asked me not to. She knows all about what I do and who I am. And when she and my husband were attacked recently, I saw the true nature of this organization. The betrayal, the brutality; it wasn't worth it. And, at the end of the day, David and Anna are still my children. No matter what I've done, or what they think of me now," she replied.
It was quiet for several minutes as David and Griffin thought her offer through. Both were very tired and sore; not to mention, worried about their family and friends back at the U.R.
If they didn't agree, they would be stuck there, until the Paladins finally did kill them; on the other hand, Mary could be setting them up just like Adrian did. It was a gamble, but they really had no choice but to trust her.
David turned to Griffin and nodded in defeat. Griffin sent him a nod back, and said bitterly, "Fine. But, first, you get us out of these bloody chairs and call off the attack at the U.R. Trust me; I'm not in the mood for negotiation."
Mary smiled at the men, and then went out into the hallway. A guard came in and freed them both from the handcuffs, but strapped a device onto their necks. The guard pressed a button, and both men collapsed to the floor.
"What. The. Hell! I thought we had a deal!" Griffin cried out.
"It's just protocol for all of the Jumpers we employ. Sorry," she shrugged as she stepped over Griffin.
Anna held onto Ruby and Millie as footsteps stomped all over the floors in the mansion above their heads. All of the jumpers that weren't dead or fled to safety were hiding away in the panic room.
It was quite cramped; there were at least 30 or so Jumpers, along with Anna, Millie, Mrs. Benson, Naomi, Mr. Benson, and Kida. Anna was just happy that they had made it out alive and that the mansion had a panic room.
She had to constantly stay calm as she fought the urge to suddenly vomit. She covered her mouth with her hand and Millie glanced in her direction. "Just a little sick is all," Anna whispered.
"I was the one that killed those Paladins. I'm used to killing deer, not…people. I should be the one wanting to throw up," Millie said sadly as she passed Anna a water bottle.
"But you saved me and Naomi, Millie. That's gotta count for something right."
Millie shrugged, and held her legs to her chest. Anna rubbed her stomach, and whispered quietly, "It's okay. We're gonna be okay. I just hope Daddy's okay."
Mr. Benson was in the far corner, staring at the monitors. Cameras were set up in various rooms and hallways, allowing him to keep track of the Paladins movements. Since the panic room was built into a wall and bullet-proof as well as sound-proof, he didn't have to worry about them finding them or the Paladins breaking in. He was the only one that could open it from the outside.
Little Ruby, who was nestled in Anna's lap, asked quietly, "Do you think Kyle and the others are okay?"
Mrs. Benson, Millie, and Anna exchanged sad looks. Anna said, "I don't know, sweetie, but I hope so. I really hope so."
AN: So, what do you think Mary's plan is? If you read Catch Me When I Fall, then you have a clue as to what it is. What do you think will happen next? And how do you think I did with the Mary character?
She's still a Paladin, but I wanted her to be kind of remorseful for the actions that she has committed against her children. Also, it will help us get to the climax, since this story has about 3 or 4 more chapters left.
Anyways, please review!