AN: So sorry that it has taken me so long to update. School and personal life stuff got in the way. This is my most intense chapter, and I'm very proud of it. Oh, and excuse the mistakes as I finished this at 2 AM.

Chapter 12-Exposed

The mansion was a wreck by the time all of the remaining U.R. returned to look at the damage. Blood and dead bodies were everywhere, furniture was tossed over or broken, Joe's computer room was ransacked and all of the monitors were smashed to pieces.

Joe was distraught as he tried to salvage the rest of his notes and files, but the computers were damaged beyond repair. The younger jumpers were either at the house next door, which had surprisingly remained untouched, or at the safe house. Little Ruby stayed with her mother at the house next door, while Anna, Mr. Benson, Naomi, Kida, and a few other jumpers surveyed the mess.

Anna was beyond shocked at the sheer carnage. There wasn't one soul left alive, Jumper or Paladin included. However, Anna's main fear was the well-being of her husband and brother. They had been missing for over two days, and no one had heard a word from either of them, as well as the others who went with them.

Kida knelt on the ground and started bawling when she spotted her brother's corpse on the ground, a knife through his forehead. Kida cradled his head in her lap and just sobbed. Anna knelt beside her and patted her friend's back in an effort to soothe her. She knew it was pointless though; Kida's brother was never coming back to her.

Anna started crying as well since she recognized so many of the fallen jumpers around her, and hated that the Paladins ended many of their young lives. She also hated herself since she didn't fight with them, but she had a child growing inside of her. Its life was far more precious to her than her own miserable one.

Soon, everyone reconvened in the underground garage, the only place that had remained untouched. For a while, no one spoke, not wanting to break the heavy silence. Finally, Kida spoke up, "So what happens now? Where do we go? What do we do?"

Mr. Benson and Joe exchanged defeated looks, and Joe crossed his arms and signed. Anna bit her lip anxiously, her stomach in knots. Mr. Benson sighed, "I don't know. I mean, I…they…we…I just don't know."

"We can't run anymore. It's too late for that. I say…we fight back," Naomi spoke up.

Everyone stared at the young aspiring chef in shock.

"Are you crazy? We can't fight them! Look around, most of our kind is dead. Kyle, Griffin, David, and the others are still missing; I mean, we can't fight them! It's pure suicide!" Kida retorted.

Mrs. Benson added, "Well, what do you suppose we do, Kida? We've all suffered losses. Our numbers are dwindling, while they're thriving in our blood. We can't keep running or hiding. It's not an option anymore."

"We were betrayed," Anna blurted out. Heads turned in her direction.

"What?"

"We were betrayed," Anna spoke a little louder. "This has been our home for almost a year, and you've been here way longer than that. Someone outed us to the Paladins. They had to, because we covered and recovered our tracks time and time again. And Naomi's right. Enough is enough. Too many people keep dying because we are afraid to lose a war that we are already losing. If there's one thing that Griffin taught me, it's that running only gets you so far before you have to stand up and fight to survive. Look, we may not know if they're alive or dead, but they would want us to fight back. To fight for our lives, just like they did."

It took a few minutes for Anna's words to sink in, but everyone was on her side and Naomi's. The older kids had been thoroughly trained by Griffin, David, and Kyle themselves and proved that they could handle themselves. Anna was sure to stay out of the fight, but would try to find another way to help.

Joe slowly raised his hand, and said, "I guess I could use the panic room's operating system to hack into a network and pull up what I can on the Paladins' headquarters. Find out what their next move is."

Mr. Benson patted Joe on the back and Joe escorted a few other Jumpers to go with him. Anna found a clean spot on the stairs and sat down, wanting nothing more than to rest and forget about everything that happened. But her mind wouldn't let her. Plus, her husband, brother, and the others were still missing. She desperately prayed for a miracle; something, anything to let her know that they were still alive. That her child would get to meet their father.

It seemed as if Anna's silent prayer was answered because Joe flew out of the computer room and yelled over the balcony, "Everyone, go to the other house and turn on the TV. Make sure to turn to CNN. There's something you need to see. Hurry!"

Everyone exchanged curious glances and hastily headed for the house next door.

"Ready for this?" David whispered to Griffin.

"Only if your mum pulls this off," Griffin retorted.

The two men were sitting among the press for a very important announcement from the Assistant Secretary of State. Journalists, cameramen, and reporters from all the major networks, newspapers, and websites were there to document the event.

David wore glasses, a black, clean suit, and a badge with a fake alias on it for the Alabama Sun Times. Griffin had his hair slicked back, a brown suit, a tape recorder, and a watch set for the time when Mary's plan was to take place.

"Okay, show time," Griffin murmured as his watch went off just as everyone stood up as the Assistant Secretary of State entered and took his place at the podium.

Once everyone sat down and he started to speak, a short, chubby figure caught Griffin's eye. It was Adrian, the young Jumper who set them up from the start. Griffin wanted nothing more than to take care of the little rat himself, but it would put the whole plan in jeopardy. And, a small piece of Griffin felt sorry for the kid as he was about to unleash a big can of worms and cause his own doom.

David noticed what caught Griffin's attention, and whispered, "I know what you're thinking, but don't forget why we're here."

Griffin snorted. How could he forget with this shock collar hidden underneath the fabric of his shirt? Or Anna's life? Or his child's?

Griffin turned his attention back to the podium and there was a sudden uproar over the announcement of delaying the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Amidst the chaos, young Adrian slipped through the crowd easily. Griffin had his eyes trained on him, but made sure to look elsewhere to avoid suspicion for the sake of the cameras.

Griffin looked down at his watch and sent David a quick look. Everything was going according to plan. Adrian crept closer, his business suit, slicked backed hair, and glasses providing the ultimate disguise. Griffin noted when Adrian reached into his jacket pocket to pull out his tube, only it was much smaller than normal.

And then, the can was opened.

In a matter of seconds, Adrian's tube shot out an electric wire that aimed straight for the Secretary, but David jumped him away just as the podium exploded. Everyone scattered around the room, and security and Secret Service men flooded the room instantly.

Griffin ran through the crowd to try to find David, and for a brief moment, locked eyes with Mary. She sent him a small smile before she disappeared into the crowd. Griffin turned his attention back to finding David, who was handing the Assistant Secretary over to the Secret Service.

David noticed that Adrian was escaping, led by the man Mary had identified as the agent who took over from Roland and Roger. Eugene Barnes. "They're escaping!" David yelled over the crowd to Griffin.

Griffin, David, and a few Secret Service men ran after them, but Griffin took the opportunity to jump only for Eugene to whip out a tube and cause Griffin to hit the ground in pain. Griffin groaned as the electricity coursed through his body painfully.

Some people were stopping to see what was going on, but most of the crowd around them kept bustling along. Eugene held Adrian's shirt collar with his other hand and kept his tube gripped tight in the other.

Griffin got a good look at the man who had made his life miserable over the past year. The man who killed Cole, who called for the attack on the U.R. and probably took away everything he held dear.

Eugene had a terrible Donald Trump comb over, ugly crooked teeth, a wide chin, angular face, green eyes, and bushy eyebrows. His eyes held disappointment, but considered capturing Griffin as a consolation prize.

Eugene smiled his ugly, sinister smile and placed his boot over Griffin's neck. Still smiling, he said, "Griffin O'Connor. Wow. We finally meet in the flesh. I hate that it has to be like this, but now I finally get to crush you. And with my own foot. You made my life interesting to say the least, but you were such a little prick."

Griffin could feel the pressure on his throat that was making it difficult to breathe, but before Eugene could severe his neck completely, David jump-tackled him to the ground.

Adrian took the opportunity to escape but security caught him and placed handcuffs on him. David stood up as the Secret Service scooped Eugene off of the ground and handcuffed him as well.

David cut the cord and helped Griffin to his feet. "Yeah, well, who's the prick now?" Griffin shot back.

"Not your best comeback…brother," David smiled.

Griffin caught his breath, "Yeah, I know. But he was a twat, wasn't he, brother?"

The two shook their heads at each other and laughed.

Anna couldn't believe what had occurred on the television in front of her own eyes. On every news channel or cable network, they were constantly reporting of the "terrorist attack" that happened during a press conference with the Assistant Secretary of State.

The press conference was to discuss the troops still in Afghanistan and other international issues, but the podium exploded five minutes after it started. Two men were identified to be the culprits: Adrian Whitfield, who Anna recognized as one of the Jumpers who disappeared with Griffin, David, and Kyle, and Eugene Starkey, a former schoolteacher and leader of the secret organization that had terrorized Anna and her family for years, the Paladins. The Paladins were now stated to be a secret terrorist group, and the President was issuing raids on their secret U.S. facilities after an anonymous source (Joe) sent the government top-level information.

Over the next two days, Anna watched with tearful joy as men, women, teenagers, and young children were released from their captivity and reunited with family members. The government also released a list of names of all of the people who had been killed by the Paladins; via a list they kept on their database to keep track of the Jumpers.

Paladins across the country were being prosecuted or arrested. In a small town in Alabama, however, a Paladin's body was found hanging from a tree with the words: "REAP WHAT YOU SOW" written on his uniform.

One thing Anna was grateful for was that the media never mentioned the word Jumper. It was odd for them to not mention it, and there was speculation among the internet that the Paladins tested on these humans to allow for them to enter countries and continents without suspicion.

Anna also noticed that her mother never came up among those arrested or in the process of being prosecuted. To Anna's guess, she probably ran, a personality trait she was known for.

Despite the Paladins and their evil ways being exposed to the government, Anna's heart was still heavy. She had no idea if her husband or brother was alive or dead. They hadn't been listed on the deceased list, but they weren't among those rescued in New York. Everyone had seen Kyle and the others, but no Griffin or David.

Even though she was free now, it still worried her to no end.

Anna could barely keep her concentration in classes, and today was note-taking day in most of them. She was also dealing with morning sickness, which decided to come into play at the worst times.

After her last class, she wanted nothing more than to go home and cry-sleep. That is, until she saw him waiting for her on the sidewalk.

Griffin looked well-rested but he now had some stubble and a light bruise on his neck that was starting to fade. His blue eyes lit up when he spotted her staring with her mouth open in shock. Griffin laughed and held his arms open.

Anna dropped her book bag and books and ran as fast as she could into his arms.

AN: Please Review! It's not over yet!