Max Waters was thumbing through the pages he had taken from Gwen's research notes, poring over them intensely in the light of his small desk lamp. They were brilliant, he realized - far more than even he had expected from her. Truth be told, he could have encouraged her to take the simple way out of things, to turn Will in and apologize, to say she had gone too far. But then, her discovery would be out of her own hands - it would belong to the Gatekeepers, and that was something Max Waters knew would spell doom in one way or another.

Gwen Buchanan's work was brilliant and meticulous - if Evelyn had been alive now to see it, she would have taken Gwen on as a protegee in a heartbeat. If Evelyn -

"Dad?" Bryce piped up, peering into the door of his father's study. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," he snapped, shoving the papers back into the drawer he had designated to hide them in. "It's nearly midnight, what are you still doing awake?"

"News," Bryce said hesitantly, his eyes still inextricably glued to whatever his father had obviously just hidden. "They're interviewing Christie Duggan - I thought you might want to watch it."

Without waiting for a response, Bryce moved to turn on the television set in the study where indeed, the very pregnant Christie Duggan was the sole face on the screen of a camera close-up, being interviewed on the late-night news. Her face was red and tearful.

"I don't believe for one second that my husband tried to do what Miss Buchanan is accusing him of," she said in a choked voice, wiping at her eyes with a tissue. "Milford was no saint, but I know he wouldn't do that."

"Then where do you believe he's gone?" the host's voice inquired from offscreen. "If he isn't in hiding after committing a crime -"

"That's a question for Gwen Buchanan to answer," Christie spat in revulsion, her eyes narrowed at the mere mention of Gwen's name. She opened her mouth to speak again when suddenly, there was a loud crash from offscreen, and the sound of panic and tumult on the live broadcast as a masked figure with a speech modifier positioned over their mouth forced their way in - several other masked figures came in behind them, subduing the others on the set, while their apparent leader approached. The camera swung widely and focused on the person's face.

"Hello America," the Leader said, their voice disguised and unrecognizable. "We are RIFT, and we are back…"

Bryce and his father shared a shocked glance at the occurrence, which they appeared to have caught just in the nick of time, and Bryce shakily reached out to turn up the volume.

"We are here today to voice solidarity and offer RIFT's protection to Gwendolyn Buchanan," the Leader continued, glancing over their shoulder at Christie Duggan, whose eyes went wide with outrage. "Because you have endangered the integrity of the Gatekeepers by sharing your story, you have been betrayed. And what they have done to you, they would not hesitate to do to anyone else who draws attention to their flawed elite. We extend our hand to you and invite you to our cause - and we demand that your father, Chairman Donald Buchanan, do what is right for the betterment of his daughter, and of mankind, by...reevaluating the position of the Gatekeepers. Do not forget. We made you, Chairman Buchanan. You needed us."

"RIFT wants… to recruit Gwen?" Bryce asked, shaking his head incredulously. "But why?"

"They think she's been dismissed from the organization to cover something up," Max said, covering his mouth and frowning. He stared at the Leader on the screen, his face briefly betraying an emotion that looked like... recognition. "Gwen is the Chairman's daughter, and she could very well be more vulnerable than ever -"

"We invite any of our esteemed colleagues to join as at a bonfire this evening," the voice on the television screen continued. "At the home of an old friend."

Gwen was normally a heavy sleeper, but in recent days, she had taken to doing the opposite - it was little surprise when, even from a distance, the sound of a car caused her to stir. She had fallen asleep, curled into a ball on an armchair in Will Caster's living room while he slept on the old mattress on the floor. She got up and pulled the coat he was using as a blanket off of him before crouching down and shaking him awake.

"Someone's coming," she said in a low voice, glancing over her shoulder at the window. There was no sign of headlights yet, but she knew it would only be a matter of moments. "Will, it's not safe here. No one can see us here."

Will blinked groggily, but made to protest as he got to his feet and followed her to the back door. Gwen's gaze flitted around conspiratorially as she managed to silently open the back gate and gesture with her thumb to a nearby road.

"I left the car down that way," she said, still not able to look at Will as her gaze seemed unable to stay in one spot for more than a second. They walked briskly, concealed in shadows in the trees along the roadside until they reached the car. Will had his hand on the doorhandle of the passenger side when he suddenly froze. He smelled… smoke. Noticing the sudden halting of his movements, Gwen followed his gaze back to the house where they saw the beginnings of flames beginning to climb upwards. They had just barely made it out in time.

"No…" Will said, his eyes glued to the spot of his home bursting into flames. He let go of the handle of the car door and took a few steps away before Gwen hurried back around and blocked his path. "I have to go back, what if Evelyn -"

"We have to leave, Will," Gwen hissed, grabbing a hold of his sleeve as he tried to get around her again. "We can't stay here."

There was the sound of jeers and shouts - the sound of protests - and Will's jaw clenched visibly, setting his slightly emaciated face as he forced himself to tear his gaze away from his home and back to Gwen, whose own eyes were set as she gave his arm another tug.

"Get in the car," she said sternly. "Please."

It hit Will now that Gwen, despite the front she was gifted at putting on, was terrified of what was happening. That realization finally managed to tip the scale of his resolve and he turned and got into the car, slamming the door behind him before he could change his mind again. Gwen gave a sigh of relief before she got into the driver's seat and made for the most isolated route she could think of back home.

"It's going to be impossible to bring her back now," Will said, his voice flat and his gaze glued straight forward once the burning house was finally out of sight. "What if -"

"Will, I can't even get back to the lab anymore," she reasoned, not turning to even look at him as she drove down the dark road lit only by her own headlights. "Even if I could find a viable sample like what I found of you, there's not much I could do anymore. Right now, we need to survive. That's all," she finished, shaking her head. "I just want to keep whatever is left of my life intact. Please."

The rest of the drive was relegated to a tense silence until, about an hour later, they had arrived back at the Buchanan household. Gwen pulled her car into the garage and shut the door behind her before nodding for Will to get out.

"I can hide you here for a while, at least," she said tiredly, finally glancing at him. He looked almost sickly now, and she couldn't necessarily blame him. She went to open the door and led him into the living room of the admittedly nice home - being Chairman of the Gatekeepers, one of the largest regulatory agencies in the world, had afforded Donald Buchanan a more than ample living.

Gwen disappeared to what Will presumed was the kitchen for a short time before returning with a glass of water in each hand, holding one out to him. For the first time, she had nothing to say, and it was just as well because Will would have had nothing to say in reply. Neither was sure of the next step. They sat in tired silence, and Will very nearly dozed off until again woken up by Gwen's hand closing onto his shoulder and giving him a vigorous shake.

"Someone's knocking on the door, go upstairs," she hissed in a whisper. Again groggy and in no way mindful enough to ask questions, Will complied and hurried up, turning into the first door he could find - once she considered his hiding place satisfactory, Will heard Gwen open the door.

"Bryce? Mr. Waters?"

"Gwen, thank God you're okay," Bryce said, suddenly lurching forward and wrapping his arms around her so tightly that she might've worried about her head popping off, had she not been so surprised. Mr. Waters slid in the door around them and shut it, clearing his throat - Bryce pulled away, slightly red in the face and they retreated further into the living room, away from the door and windows.

"Did you see the news?" Bryce said, shaking his head and frowning. "RIFT wants you - they made a statement about you and your father -"

"I don't know about… any of this," Gwen said honestly, her expression falling. "Is it… because…?"

"Because of Duggan," Mr. Waters said, his expression stony and steady. "They think you were wrongfully terminated by the Gatekeepers, and they think they can use you to reach your father."

Gwen's mouth opened and she babbled a few syllables before realizing that if it was futile until she could compose herself. She slumped in defeat onto the couch and drew her knees to her chest. "I brought this on myself, didn't I?" she said in a quiet, fearful voice. "This is my mess."

"Don't be ridiculous - you didn't ask for any of this. You didn't deserve this," Bryce said, sitting down next to her and placing an arm around her shoulders. Rather than making her feel any better, however, Gwen inhaled deeply and gulped back a sob.

"You shouldn't be here, Bryce - you're such a good person, and if you're around me you're just going to get dragged down too," she said miserably, unable to look any of them in the eye.

"RIFT is going to come for you, it's inevitable," Max said, crossing his arms as he stood in front of the two younger adults on the sofa. "Gwen, if they don't like what you have to say -"

"We can't leave her alone like this, we can't let them find her," Bryce interrupted quickly, as though he couldn't bear to hear his father even finish the sentence. "What if we bring her with us? What if -"

"No," Gwen said resolutely. "I'm not going to stay with you, it's too much trouble. I can't ask that." She attempted to steady herself before she turned to look at Bryce, shaking her head sadly. "I have to do this without you -"

"No, you don't!"

"We need to stay calm," Max interrupted, gesturing with his arm between the pair as though he could physically break the tension that had built there. Gwen sighed and looked away, crossing her arms over herself. "Gwen, this is not all your fault, and you know that." Gwen met Mr. Waters's gaze hesitantly and was able to pick up on what he meant - in his own way, he meant it as an apology for the role he had played in this. He glanced at the table and noticed that there were two water glasses, both relatively newly filled judging by the condensation on the sides. He glanced briefly at Gwen as he realized that someone else had to be in the house with her. She gave him an almost imperceptible nod in confirmation.

"You can't do this alone," he continued, reaching out and placing a hand over her shoulder. "RIFT is dangerous, and if they find out you're not really on their side, they're going to kill you."

The certainty in his voice caused Gwen's throat to constrict fearfully, and she was unable to restrain a gulp of a sob. "So I have to do what? Pretend? Hide?"

"I know a place where you can lay low for a while," Mr. Waters said carefully, unsure of how receptive she would be to the idea of being in hiding. "It'll give us time to think of something."

"But what about my dad?" Gwen asked, tensing visibly. "He'll know about this, he'll know about the news broadcast."

"I'll tell him that I'm keeping you safe somewhere - I'm sure he'll want that," Mr. Waters nodded, though in truth, he wasn't entirely sure how well Donald Buchanan would take the idea of his daughter being driven into hiding by RIFT.

"I'm going too -"

"Bryce, you can't," Mr. Waters said, holding up a hand to halt his son's suggestion before Gwen could have the opportunity to consider it. "If you disappear from work all of a sudden, it's going to look suspicious. You can't both go missing without anyone noticing."

Gwen reached out and gave Bryce's hand a gentle squeeze, her expression confirming that she agreed with his father. For the first time since they had known one another and been friends, Gwen Buchanan was going somewhere that he couldn't.

"We leave in the morning," Mr. Waters said, stepping backwards slightly and scratching the back of his neck. "Just get some rest, alright? And… make sure everything's in order."

Gwen nodded knowingly, but she felt a pang of guilt at the fact that they were speaking in code this way in front of Bryce, who had no idea what - who was hiding upstairs. Even once Bryce and Mr. Waters had departed and Will had silently emerged from his hiding place upstairs, Gwen remained quietly contemplative on the sofa, resting her head in her hands. It was in a moment of clarity that she realized that she couldn't wait for Mr. Waters to be the one to reach out to her father and explain things to him - not when she had only just mended her relationship with him. Gwen straightened up and reached for their old rotary telephone, dialing the number Don had left scribbled for her to reach him.

She gripped the phone tightly as she heard the ringing. Once. Twice. Three times. Perhaps he was busy, she decided. She didn't even know what time it was in Amsterdam. What if she didn't reach him in time? What if -

"Hello?"

"Daddy," Gwen said, her voice heaving with relief. "Daddy, have you seen the news -"

"I was about to call you, I just heard - you're home, aren't you?" he asked frantically, and Gwen felt her throat tightening again. "Gwen, you can't let them find you. Call Max -"

"He just left," she replied. "He said he's going to bring me somewhere safe in the morning. Somewhere RIFT won't come looking for me. I don't know how long I'm going to need to stay there," she admitted weakly. She inhaled and decided she needed to make this quick, or else she might never be able to get off the phone with her father. She'd keep him on the line for comfort, for no reason at all, and she couldn't afford that kind of weakness. "But I'm going to be safe, Daddy. I'll see you again soon. I love you…"

And before he could speak a single word to stop her, Gwen hung up the phone, then moved to pull the cord out of the wall so he couldn't call back. She took a shuddering breath, and took a few moments to compose herself before looking up at Will, who had remained graciously silent throughout the conversation.

"I'm sorry," he supplied weakly. Gwen gave a bitter laugh and shook her head.

"Stop looking at me like that - I'm not a helpless little fawn caught in a trap," she tried to chuckle. "I'm Icarus. I got excited, I got ambitious, and I flew too close to the sun. That's all," she shrugged. With a brief pause before meeting his eyes again, Gwen tilted her head to the side slightly and added, "I think you know the feeling, don't you, Will?"

"It was never supposed to turn out like this," he said, his forehead wrinkling as he thought back to the day over twenty years ago - though it did not feel like nearly that long - when he had been shot. The moment of possibility when he, after being uploaded to PINN, had felt that sudden rushing of freedom and of knowing. "It wasn't supposed to go this far."

"Well," Gwen said, nodding to herself and looking at the ground. "It did."