Interlude

Despair

The early morning sun shone bright through the glass window, lighting up the small room and making one of the two figures on the small bed groan. Unravelling herself from the covers, a woman with long, curly black hair stomped over to the window, pulled down the blinds to block out at least some of the sun, and then looked at the white clock ticking silently away on the wall. "Damn…" The woman muttered in a soft voice. She sighed and walked back over to the bed, giving the man a light shove on the shoulder. "Get up, it's nearly six."

Jason opened his eyes and looked upon the form of Riccio, dressed in her loose pyjamas with her tangled her and sleepy eyes. It was a look that only he had seen across the whole of the DSI. "Morning, Ellie," Jason said as a way of greeting. Riccio frowned at the name as she walked over to the cupboard pushed in the corner of the room. Jason watched her dress for a moment before catching sight of a figure in the other corner of the room and for a brief moment felt a brief wave of guilt wash over him.

Then he took a deep breath and looked away from Maylene's unreadable expression to focus back on Riccio. It had been two years since he had visited his parents and admitted his guilt and those two years had been filled with many surprises, the first of which was learning that he and Riccio had got on wonderfully. After a night out – celebrating Rhino's birthday – Riccio had actually gone up to him to talk while Rhino and Wasp lay unconscious from the drink and Berlin stood outside in the cold air.

The fact that Riccio even spoke more than a few sentences was fascinating but Jason quickly learned that Riccio had watched him ever since he joined and that she found him intriguing. They had got to know each other with harmless conversation and Jason hadn't even realised he was talking to another woman closely until that night, when Maylene had clucked her tongue at him disapproving. It was during that night that Jason realised that he was attracted to Riccio in some particular way and that scared him. After all, the last time he had been in a relationship, it had ended in blood and ghosts.

Riccio seemed to understand this and they only talked sparingly over the next few weeks. But the allure of the mysterious Riccio was strong and the fact that she – along with the three team members – were constantly around him meant Jason couldn't put his mind off it. Maylene was always there, always watching, always judging but Jason soon learned that he couldn't let her stop him. This was a different life… he had thrown away his old one when he admitted his guilt to his parents. Could it hurt to get attached to Riccio?

After all, the missions they took, the constant threat of death, companionship was hard to come by. The DSI didn't have any rules about fraternization and so Jason had decided to take the plunge and soon enough he and Riccio got together and it was… strange, to say the least. For one thing, Riccio had only revealed her real name but didn't like Jason using it. She said that she had grown accustomed to 'Riccio' and preferred to be known as such. Jason didn't mind, Riccio had a nice ring on the tongue.

For a while it had been slow going. They were a couple, certainly, and they had feelings, but it wasn't until an infiltration mission gone slightly awry that Jason realised that he loved her… and it seemed, the moment he realised this, Maylene had disappeared. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad but it at the very least made it easier to deal with his guilt and to spend time with Riccio.

"Come on, we leave in fifteen and Berlin will have our hides if we are not out there," Riccio said as she threw Jason's clothes on his bed. Resigned to his fate, Jason got up and got dressed. The mission they were heading out on was one Jason had been waiting for in worried anticipation. With Berlin, Riccio, Wasp, and Rhino, with Joshua as a handler, they had infiltrated secure locations to gather Intel, interrogated potential holders of knowledge, and even kidnapped a high profile target who apparently had answers the DSI were looking for.

This mission was different. This mission was an assassination.

Dressed all in black, the team of five crept through the alleyway as silent as ghosts. Wasp led the group, her head swivelling back and forth. Berlin came next; tall and confident as always. Next came Riccio as cool and graceful as ever with Jason coming up behind her. Finally Rhino followed up behind, large and imposing.

Wasp came to a T-junction of the alley and came to a stop. The tall buildings around them cast the alley in shadow and Riccio and Jason were able to sweep past the junction to the other side. All five of them carried only two weapons each – a knife and a pistol. They weren't expecting a fire-fight and carrying any bigger guns would just make the mission harder. Jason drew his pistol along with Berlin and tried to get his anxiousness under control. In all his time with the DSI he had yet to kill a man, even though he had been trained for the situation.

With two fingers Wasp motioned down the alley and then held up two fingers. There were two guards for the door they were heading for. Riccio picked up a can from the floor and tested the weight. She nodded to herself and threw it in a high arch that would make any baseball player proud. It soared over the heads of the two guards unseen and hit with a clatter that made the two guards look away. In that instant Riccio and Wasp, the two fastest members of the team, shot forward.

Riccio grabbed the first guard around the neck and choked him as Wasp zipped past to take down the second guard. The two men struggled but it didn't take long until they were gently laid to the ground by the two women. They quickly flipped them over and tied their wrists with zip-ties before depositing them against the opposite wall. The mission was only one target so there was no need for unnecessary blood.

As Riccio and Wasp dealt with the bodies, Jason and Rhino stood on either side of the door as Berlin got to one knee to inspect the lock. After a moment he stood and turned towards the ladies just in time to catch a key thrown to him by Wasp. With a nod Berlin gently inserted the key into the lock and turned it with a small click. Berlin stood back and this was Jason's cue to step forward and push open the door into the small room. He stood to the side holding the door open for Rhino, Berlin, Riccio and Wasp to pass through.

The five stood in the room as Wasp looked at the three doors. Jason knew she was looking at the blueprints in her head – Wasp had a talent for remembering images. She nodded and approached another door, this one leading to a stairway. She kept low and out of sight as a guard stood outside the fourth floor's door. The moment his bored gaze wondered off Wasp struck like her namesake, catching the man around the throat with her thin yet strong arm and pulling him to the ground, choking the consciousness out of him.

Clearing the apartment floor went smoothly. There weren't many guards but the five of them dispatched of the ones they came across with ease. It was all going smoothly until the five moved down a corridor as a man suddenly opened the door ahead of them and connected eyes with the shadowed figures. He managed to shout, "SOMEONE'S—" before a swift strike to the nose from Rhino took him down. But the damage was done.

Riccio and Jason hid behind the door as it was swung open and two guards holding small pistols ran through. Berlin and Wasp had put their backs on the other side of the door so the two guards ended up face to face with the large and imposing Rhino.

"Don't make a move!" One of the guards demanded, his pistol pointed to Rhino. The second guard knelt down to inspect the unconscious body in the doorway as the first guard waved his pistol to Rhino, evidently assuming it was only one man. "Hands up, now!"

Rhino just shrugged and Riccio and Berlin acted instantly. Berlin got behind the first guard and kicked the back of his knee, knocking the guard down before putting one arm around the throat and choking the guard. Riccio took a more violent approach and kicked the open door with all her strength. It swung directly into the side of the head of the guard and he let out a shout of pain as he fell to his back. He managed to swing his pistol and squint through bloodied eyes as Riccio moved in for the attack.

BANG!

The gunshot was far too loud within the confines of the room but it was a wild shot, harmlessly dissolving a segment of the wall. Riccio's knee met the man's nose and the guard was down for the count. As soon as she had done this another gunshot rang out, shattering a lamp on the table next to her. Riccio dived out of the room as a third guard followed her out of the room. He raised his pistol but Jason took the chance to catch the man's arm and throw his pistol to the ground before twisting the guard around and pushing him to the floor. He cracked the man on the back of the head with his own pistol with a satisfying thunk.

Jason looked up as Berlin made a gesture which meant they were changing sneaking to assault. Riccio, Rhino, and Wasp all drew their pistols and entered the room. It was a simple apartment with three different rooms, a living area, a bedroom, and a bathroom. It took seconds for the five to look into each room but unexpectedly there was nobody else. They gathered back in the room and looked confusedly at Berlin. Berlin's eyes were unreadable above his face mask and he moved back to the door.

At that moment there were a series of four loud shots and the door of the apartment splintered into pieces. The group split in two away from the ferocious gunshots – Riccio and Jason to the left and Rhino and Wasp to the right. Berlin himself dived to the floor and put himself flat as the bullets made fist-sized holes in the plaster wall. It was clear that was no normal weapon. If Jason had to guess it was a .50 Kal assault rifle by the size of the bullets.

"I don't know who you people are!" A voice sounded through the wreckage of the door, somewhere down the alley. "But you won't get me! I found your little informant and he sung like a damn canary! You walked into my trap, you fools!"

Berlin quickly rolled towards Rhino and Wasp and motioned to his arm where blood was pulling against the floor. Instantly Wasp started inspecting the wound, being the most proficient medic on the team. It seemed like a glancing blow but Jason's attention was put back to the voice.

"Come out slowly and I'll make sure your deaths are swift!"

In reply Riccio moved to the doorway and quickly swung her pistol through one of the holes in the door, letting off a number of shots before quickly moving back as another volley of shoots shattered the door completely but missed the five, smashing harmlessly against the far wall. They were the sound of pain from the corridor.

"Fine! If that's the way you want it to be!" The voice shouted out again. "I hope you've got identification so they can recognize your corpses!"

Berlin quickly gestured for everyone to get down as Wasp had rolled up his sleeve. After a moment there was a deafening noise as the .50 Kal fired rapidly, tearing through the thin plaster walls of the apartment. All five got down on the floor as the bullets tore through furniture, lighting, and walls. The torrent of bullets seemed to last for far too long until finally they came to a stop.

The apartment was a complete mess but the five DSI members were uninjured. Jason himself was quite shaken having never been under such deadly fire. They remained unmoving as it was clear their target was waiting for movement.

At that moment Jason heard a tearing sound and glanced up to the ceiling above him. A number of bullets had torn through the ceiling and he could see it buckling. He barely had time to think, 'Not now!', when what must have been a heavy refrigerator from the apartment above plummeted down amidst rebar, concrete and plaster. Jason was too slow to act but Riccio did her job as his protector, grabbing his shoulders and throwing him to the side away from the heavy refrigerator.

Riccio herself hopped back to avoid injury herself; only realizing too late that she was standing in the doorway. Riccio raised her pistol in an instant and swung to the open doorway, managing to let off one shot before three heavy shots fired into her. One took her in the leg, the next in the stomach, and the third in the shoulder. As the last shot died out and Riccio crumbled to the floor, Berlin motioned to Wasp and Rhino. They immediately moved out into the open for the risky manoeuvre and fired their weapons out into the corridor. They must have hit their targets as the .50 Kal didn't fire again. Wasp and Rhino quickly made their way out into the corridor as Jason ran over to the fallen Riccio, his stomach curdling.

Riccio was breathing heavily under her mask, blood already pooling on the floorboards underneath. The shot to her leg had nearly severed her knee and it was hanging by nothing but sinew, shattering the bone. Her shoulder was in no better shape, shards of bone peppering her black jacket. But it was the wound in her stomach that was clearly the worst. The wound was dark and oozing amidst her black attire, but it was clear the damage that was done.

"Ellie!" Jason let his voice out in his horror despite the fact that when on a mission they were not to speak and especially not say their real names. But Jason had no time for rules as he tore Riccio's mask from her face. Her skin was already pale but her eyes were still bright. She grit her teeth as she stared at Jason. Her mouth opened but she was unable to say a word. Jason felt useless as he knelt over her, unsure of what to do.

Berlin was suddenly there and had turned Riccio slightly. After a moment she coughed up a scary amount of blood before Berlin gently held her.

"F-Fuck…" Riccio managed to say as blood dribbled down her lips. Her voice was etched in pain as she looked up to Berlin. Berlin's eyes were grim as he gently nodded. Riccio closed her eyes for a second as if there was some kind of secret agreement between them. "Quebec… Jason." She said, turning back to Jason. "Time is short…" She drew in a rattled breath. "You need to kill me."

Whatever Jason had been expecting it hadn't been that. He looked down at the mortally injured Riccio stupidly.

"Don't…" Riccio coughed again, blood spitting out. She wiped her mouth with her good arm and grabbed Jason's wrist. "…be an idiot. Get control of yourself! Get…" She coughed raggedly again and opened her mouth again but nothing came out. She looked furious as she moved her head desperately to Berlin.

"…Okay, " Berlin said with his thick German accent; his words a rarity even outside of missions. He looked to Jason. "You must do as she asks, Quebec."

Jason found his voice, finally. "W-What… What do you…"

"You must end her life," Berlin clarified. "Before it is taken from her."

Jason felt like his mind was slipping away into blackness and he could barely comprehend the situation. "I… I… How could you ask that of me… Ellie…"

Riccio's grip grew tighter and she struggled to speak for a moment before finally getting the words out. "You kill me… Death stops hunting you."

"W-What do you…?"

"Killing a loved one stops it…" Riccio said frantically. "These last two years… we've got that connection…" She coughed a bloody cough once more. "I knew it would come… eventually… There was no way you were… were gonna off your parents, af-after all…" She was sweating now and seemed feverish. "Not like us… not like…"

"Ellie, I'm…" Jason looked at Berlin for answers but the man was silent now. He saw Wasp and Rhino standing against the wall, both looking aghast and shaken. Then there she was, standing right next to them, her face a mask. He closed his eyes and felt the hot tears gather in the corners of his eyes. "I can't do that, I can't… If it's mercy you want… surely Berlin or Rhino or Wasp… I-I can't, after all this time, I can't—"

"It has to be you!" Riccio spat, her voice strong for a moment before faltering. "…Please… I'm dead anyway. Kill me and you'll never have to worry about dying again…"

Jason shook his head desperately. "I can't do that!"

"We've done it!" Riccio grunted, forcing strength into her voice. "You don't know the rules… the rules of the List, do you? When somebody saves somebody else they come on the List… So do you know why we haven't been targeted ourselves? It's 'cause we've sacrificed those to save you."

Jason looked at her, something screaming in his brain.

"We've killed for you, Jason!" Riccio hissed. "We… killed… the ones we care for… to ensure we didn't get put on your fucking List… We-We-We…" Riccio's voice disappeared into a coughing fit and her leg and arm started twitching. Her eyes rolled around wildly as Berlin held her tight. He looked to Jason.

"This is your only chance, Jason."

Jason couldn't react. What did Ellie mean? They killed the ones they loved? To make sure they weren't put on the List? He had heard that before… where? That was right… Ruby, the one other survivor from the Epsilon incident. Joshua had mentioned that she wasn't in danger because she had killed someone she loved… so was Riccio saying that all of them; Wasp, Rhino, Berlin, herself… they had killed, for him? "W-Why!?" Jason croaked. "Why am I that important?"

"Your potential," Berlin said gently as he held Ricci down. Her breathing was growing more and more frail as the seconds ticked by. "The ones we killed were on the brink of death themselves. My wife was on the later stages of cancer. Rhino's grandmother was ailing. Wasp's brother was injured in the line of duty. The victims all agreed to it so it wasn't murder, Jason. Just like this isn't murder," Berlin's voice was cold as if there was no emotion behind his words. "Riccio doesn't have long, Quebec. You must end her life and we can finally stop Death from coming after you."

"H-Her name is Ellie…" Jason said bitterly as he looked down at Riccio's form. How could this happen? How could she be so alive just this morning and now so… broken.

"I know what you are thinking," the female voice said and Jason looked up through tear-filtered eyes at Maylene.

"Don't."

"You allowed yourself to love again, Jason, and now you're going to have to kill the one you love again."

"I said don't!" Jason roared but hadn't the strength to keep up his anger.

"This isn't the same as me. You killed me out of anger," Maylene said quietly. "This will be mercy."

"Why…" Jason choked. "Why do you… support this… All you've done is watch me, judge me, guilt me all the way through this relationship."

Maylene shook her head at Jason as if he were a small child. "I was not watching you, Jason, not judging you. I know who you are. I was watching her," she pointed down to the unmoving Riccio. "I was judging her. To see if she was worth you. To ensure her love was true… and it was."

"This is… this is too much… I can't…"

"Do this out of love, Jason," Maylene said firmly, kneeling down next to him. "Do this for your future. This will stop Death's grasp on your life and you can make the choices you need to make. Riccio sacrificed her life for your life. Don't squander it. She doesn't have long. Decide, Jason."

Jason was speechless and was surprised to find his hands fumbling at his belt, pulling the knife free from its holster. It was as if wasn't controlling himself as he raised the point against Riccio's heart and just stared at it. "I can't…" he said weakly. "I can't do this again, Maylene."

"It's not the same," she repeated.

"Killing is always the same," Jason moaned.

"You loved her. Do this, Jason. You wanted to gain my forgiveness, did you not? If you don't do this then you have no hope. If you can't discern my death and Riccio's death then what use are you?"

"Quebec," Berlin warned. His fingers were on Riccio's neck, measuring her pulse. "You must do this now."

Jason stared at his hands clenched over the hilt of the knife. Could he do it? Could he plunge that knife down into the chest of the one he had managed to love? Never had he expected to love again after Maylene but somehow Ellie had drawn it out of him. Was Maylene right? Was this a completely different situation? Killing out of anger, killing out of life, was it really so different?

Then Jason felt something cold and saw a pair of hands above his own. He looked shocked at Maylene and realized this was the first time he had felt her since she had appeared before him. Her palms were ice cold yet somehow he could feel the warmth of her intentions. Maylene was right. Riccio had sacrificed her life to save his. If he remained on Death's List then her sacrifice was worthless. His life had changed so dramatically within the last four years… this was just another step in this screwed up life of his.

His mind made up, Jason pushed down hard on the hilt of the knife. It slid easily down into Riccio's chest and her eyes suddenly opened wide. She stared at Jason with those wide eyes of hers and Jason couldn't look away. Then her lips twitched and Riccio seemed to smile as the last breath left her. Then she was gone and Jason collapsed over her body, letting out a primal moan of despair.