As soon as Jason had Conner alone in one of the hallways leading to the library, he immediately slammed him hard against the wall, pushing his forearm under Conner's chin.

"Let the fuck up," Conner growled but Jason just got right in Conner's face. He had no patience nor fear for Conner Shepherd.

"How do you always get yourself into trouble, Shepherd? You know what your deal was!"

"You think this shit is my fault?"

"They are using your knives. They are trying to pin this on you. I want to know why."

"If I knew—"

"You're far too intelligent to think I'd buy that. So, I want to know why they are after you. I need to know, to believe that you're not at fault."

"Why, so you can enact your executioner's blade? You play the nice guy, Ryan, but you're just as fucked up as the rest of the DSI – Oh, sorry, the DHP. Hell, I'd argue you're worse. Most of the time you pretend to be the best man for the job when you're around people. You only show who you truly are, how brutal you truly are, under the guise of doing your job. You just wear a friendly face to get people to trust you, so you can use them as you need."Conner leaned in close, and Jason could see those cold and calculating eyes he was extremely familiar with but did not back away. "How is that any different from what I did?"

Jason immediately pressed his forearm harder against Conner, not quite strangling him, but enough to cause Conner to wince. "You are not doing yourself any favours in trying to make me think you're innocent in all of this."

"The same old fuckin' song and dance. I can see it in your eyes. It doesn't matter to you whether I've changed or not. You simply accepted that I never will and that's that."

"You forget yourself. I spoke first hand with your victims. They told me what you did to them. They told me what they felt, they told me the fear that they had. Never forget that it was me who caught you." Jason pulled back his anger a little bit. He didn't particularly want to lose himself. "I never agreed with what Lisa did, but I accepted it. All I want is to know that you're not involved."

"I am just a bystander with a grudge. Whatever exactly it is these Sins want, it's nothing to do with me. Now you didn't send your goon squad just to show me how much you haven't changed. You want me. You want my brain. Let me guess, you want me to investigate the Sins? How about you let me go and we can start this fresh?"

Jason finally let go and stepped back so his own back was against the opposite wall. He crossed his arms. "I don't want any of your usual games."

Conner rolled his eyes. "Marcus Morris. Paul Spinner. Rebecca Watts. Derrick Wright. David Chetton." Conner smirked. "See, I can be helpful when I want to be. These five all wore those masks. Looking at your reaction, I'm guessing you had a run in with them just the same as we did. Just the same as Noah did. They did exactly what I thought they were going to do. Morris and Spinner are tied up in the back of the van. Figured John was more important. Now, is that enough for you to realise that I came back here to talk? 'Cause I didn't just come back to Hearthome just to get John here. You wanted me to go to the library, right? Or we just gonna talk in this corridor for anyone to come to?"

Jason had to admit that he was surprised Conner was so willing to go along with it so easily. The two of them had an extremely rocky history, with Jason being the man who finally caught the Ripper thanks to his ability to speak to the dead. Conner hated the DSI with a passion, and Jason suspected he hated him even more. Yet it was Jason who had pushed Conner up against the wall, not the other way around. Conner always did have a peculiar way of getting under even the most calmest of skins.

"Fine," Jason finally said. "Let's go." He led Conner down the corridors and through into the library. They both immediately saw a gathering around the table in the middle of the room but before anything else could be done a blurry shape ran right past Jason and tackled into Conner. Jason's well-trained fighting instincts kicked in and immediately went to grab the shape only to realise it was Robyn, hugging Conner tightly around the waist. Jason couldn't hide his surprise at this action – he had never seen anyone so much as shake Conner Shepherd's hand.

Conner himself seemed even more taken off-guard. His usual testy face loosened and his eyes widened. For a moment his arms hung awkwardly before he finally pushed himself out of Robyn's tight grip.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Robyn said breathlessly. "I didn't think you'd ever come back, I thought they'd capture you, or you'd run away, or worse, or even worse. I tried telling them but then I got distracted trying to find some kind of answers and then I got extra distracted by Nurse Watts but we fought against her and we won, Noah got a little injured, but really, everyone is okay, and Ollie has come back which is great news! We—"

"Chill out," Conner said, taking a step awkwardly back. Jason noticed an imperceptible shake of the hands in Conner, something very uncharacteristic. "It's… good to see you too, Robyn."

Jason took a look around the rest of the room, taking in the people and the situation in an instant. Sitting around the table were three figures. One was Penelope who was sitting with her fingers crossed, looking a little out of place. The next was Ollie Cox, who was clutching his arm that was wrapped in what looked like his torn-off sleeve. Finally was Nurse Rebecca Watts, who was wordlessly slumped with her head down on the table, hands in front of her. The hands had been tied with some make-shift bindings. So this was one of the Sins, Conner had said. A quick glance around the room proved fruitful as he saw kicked against the wall the distinctive design of one of Conner's knives, matching the designs that Derrick and Dave had attacked Berlin with. Next to the knife was a mask with a moon on it.

"Are you all okay?" Jason asked, walking over to the table. Rebecca didn't look up but the other two did. Conner and Robyn walked at Jason's side.

"Yes, a rather eventful day," Penelope said. "I see you have found Conner Shepherd."

"Eventful…" Conner said. Jason could see Conner staring directly at Penelope. It wasn't quite staring daggers, but something else. Like he was trying to solve a puzzle. "Very eventful, Penelope. I'm not sure our game is yet over."

Penelope coldly regarded Conner. "I have no patience for a man who snuck into my room before the sun was even up."

"What?" Jason glanced at Conner sharply.

"Later," Conner waved it away. "I'll explain all my actions. I'll even let go of her presence. I mean, technically speaking, she's not even the one I'm worried about, isn't that right, Penelope."

"As usual, you are speaking nonsense," Penelope shook her head. "I am not certain what other proof you need."

"However, you are a sight for sore eyes!" Conner's attention moved to Ollie and he moved over, clapping the young man on the back. "I'm glad you made it!"

"I was a little too late…" Ollie smiled sadly. His hand went to his head, where the bandage was wrapped. "I… I lost Oscar. Apparently it was him on the List. I don't exactly know how that works but… but he's gone."

"Shit man… I'm sorry," Again Conner did something uncharacteristic to Jason's eyes and patted Ollie on the shoulder as if he almost cared? Jason was troubled by this.

"You two know each other?" Robyn seemed confused as she looked at Conner and Ollie.

Conner grinned. "Ollie is my man on the outside. He's the reason I knew what happened down in the basement with himself, John, and Imogen. I've been working with him to find the evidence I needed to figure out who was behind the masks."

"What?" Jason found himself repeating the same question. He did not enjoy being out of the loop, especially for something as important as relating to the Sins.

"I'm sorry," Ollie said. "Oscar took over when I was taken but I was present. I saw what those people did. They threatened to the point that it was hard for me to take back over, which I suspect was the point. But it gave me time to think. You see, I'm not as much a coward as Oscar was. And I'm not so reserved as Owen." Ollie's eyes were full of firm reserve. "I wanted revenge. I'm not a smart man but I know enough to know that people wearing masks like that, wanting answers like they did, likely were within Hearthome. I didn't know who I could trust. Even you and that professor. I was watching as Oscar was there. Then I encountered Conner by chance and well I saw my own chance. I know of Conner's rumours. I figured I could use him and I was happy to offer my help."

"He's been a good ally to my investigations," Conner said. "I was able to work out identities of five of them. Of course, I knew the identity of a sixth. Or thought I did. It's a little confusing. Look, Jason. I hope I've proved that I want to share my information. I may not like you people but I appreciate the protection you can give. There is a lot more to this than I initially suspected…" Conner suddenly staggered and dropped to the floor onto his rear.

"Conner?" Robyn asked, alarmed.

"I'm fine…" Conner raised a hand. "Look… Jason… You should check on your soldiers. Gather everyone together that you can. There's a lot to talk about. Maybe move somewhere safer than this library. Get the five of them all together. That's on you. I'm gonna be entirely honest… I'm fuckin' worn out. I haven't slept. I've barely eaten." Conner looked straight at Jason and again Jason found himself confused by seeing something else entirely uncharacteristic of Conner. He was being honest and truthful. "I'm just gonna… nap… a little…" With that, Conner fell backwards on the library floor despite the blood-stain underneath his back, and closed his eyes. A few seconds later his breathing slowed and he was out. Looking down at him, Jason saw a man clearly exhausted to the breaking point. He had seen it himself in many a soldier of the DSI.

The idea of Conner Shepherd truly changing was one that Jason had rarely considered. Yet looking down on the man laying with arms and legs splayed out, looking entirely at peace as he slept, Jason had to admit that perhaps there was a grain of truth in the insistence of Conner Shepherd.

"Okay…" Jason tried to put together everything that was happening. Conner was right, there was a lot to do. The first thing he needed to do was clear though. "Penelope, can you take Ollie back to the medical bay? Get that injury treated. I want you to get looked at too. You've experienced a lot today."

"I'm fine," Ollie said, almost immediately wincing. He glanced worriedly at Conner and then to Penelope. There was something there but now was not the time.

"You are not," Penelope said, standing up. "Come, let's go. I feel rather shaken as well."

"What about Nurse Watts?" Ollie asked Jason, reluctantly standing up.

"She will be in my charge. Robyn, can you watch over Conner?"

"Of course! What if someone comes in though?"

Jason fished into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. "I have a copy of the keys as part of my placement here. I'll lock you two in. If anybody other than me knocks on that door, then do not let them in and hide as best as you can. I will be by shortly again."

"Oh, I can invent a secret knock that only we know, it'd be great. Something like knock, knock… knock, knock—"

"That won't be necessary. I'll just tell you it's me," Jason quickly put a stop to Robyn's eccentricity. "Nurse Watts, you'll be coming with me. I'd rather you didn't resist. Penelope, Ollie, come along. Robyn, take care."

There was no resistance from Rebecca Watts as she stood up from her chair. She kept her face down but Jason could see it was downcast and full of sadness. He quickly moved to the side of the room to pick up the knife and the mask, and then took hold of Rebecca's arm, leading her out of the room.

As soon as Jason entered the meeting room where he had set up shop and where he had left Berlin with Derrick and Dave he knew something was wrong. Berlin was standing behind the desk and his usual stoic face was set in stone. It was a look that Jason had seen a few times. It was a look that Berlin had on his face whenever a soldier was lost or more particularly, when on of his own soldiers was lost. Berlin was a man who believed emotions to be a distraction on the battlefield but he cared strongly for his soldiers as if they were family.

Wordlessly, Jason used supplies in the office to bind Rebecca more tightly. He got her into the supply cupboard where they had put both Derrick and Dave, who were equally bound. Derrick's arm had been braced and put in a makeshift sling. Both glanced up with frightened eyes as the door opened but Jason didn't have the patience to consider them. He pushed Rebecca down next to David, bound her legs just as the others were so they couldn't move, and left the room, shutting the door behind. He would get Marcus and Paul soon, but for now, he had to get to the bottom of this.

"Berlin?" Jason asked, stepping up to the desk. Berlin didn't look up from the screen. Jason allowed himself a rare moment to break personal protocol. "Erwin?" Berlin finally looked up at the use of his real name. When Jason had revealed his soldiers' faces to the survivors, Berlin had been the one most against it. After all, the reason all the combat squadron of the DHP wore the uniform they did was to make them anonymous on a battlefield, so it was easier to deal with casualties. "What is it?"

Berlin placed a gloved hand on the monitor and spun it so it was facing Jason. Jason looked at it and felt something surge in his gut.

It was some kind of makeshift guerrilla poster that simply consisted of words above and a picture below. The words read:

FIVE FOR TWO. FAIR TRADE.

TRADE BACK FOR ONE.

The picture was of two men bound against a wall. One man's eyes were wide. A pistol was pointed at his head, and he was clearly nervous. It was rare for Professor Johann Schneider to lose his composure but in a life or death situation Jason couldn't exactly blame him. At least, at the moment the picture was taken, Professor Schneider was alive. The same could not be said for the figure next to the professor.

Gareth Griffiths was slumped next to Johann, bound just like the professor. His mask had been torn off and the face of the reliable sniper was covered in crimson, with the tell-tale sign of blood spatter against the wall behind his head. The pistol aimed at Johann's head, the spatter, the words told Jason all he needed to know.

They had taken Johann and Gareth. They had killed Gareth. If Jason wanted Johann back he would need to give back the five prisoners he now had.

"The van is outside the medical bay's entrance. Inside are two more prisoners – Marcus Morris and Paul Spinner. Get them up here."

Berlin nodded and paced over to the door. He stopped momentarily and spoke, his back still to Jason. "No matter what fakery they feign, I will get the answers to where that picture was taken. I will get the answers to who was present. And I will personally choke the life out of their cowardly throats." With that, Berlin left the room, leaving Jason alone.

Jason had never lost a member of his personal team for a very long time. In fact, he had only lost one member of his team and that was before he was even in charge. Ellie's death had been a hard thing but ultimately her death, her sacrifice, had led to Jason finally being taken off of Death's list.

Gareth Griffiths was the newest member of the team, someone who had fought hard during the Apocalypse, proved himself, and Jason had requested him personally to replace the missing slot. He was the best sniper in the world, hands down. It was his shots that had personally saved hundreds of members of the DSI during the ambush in the bunker. It wouldn't be far-fetched to say that if it wasn't for Gareth Griffiths, the DSI would never have lasted long enough during the invasion to even hope to become the DHP.

Jason stared at the picture. Gareth was family. These Sins had spilt the blood of a brother.

Jason carefully turned off the screen of the computer. He took off each glove individually and placed them on the table. He took off his jacket and placed it on the back of the chair. He held the dog-tags around his neck up to his eyes, looking at the two names engraved on them.

Maylene and Ellie. Thank God, they could not see him now. He gently placed each dog-tag against his lips, lingering softly for each. He hung their names around their neck not only to remember the love he had for them, not only to remember the lives of them, but to remember the lives he took from them. Jason ripped the dog-tags straight from his neck in one swift action. He placed them on top of his jacket, both names facing down.

Jason Ryan entered the room where the three prisoners awaited and allowed the door to close behind him. The words of Conner echoed in his head.

"You only show who you truly are, how brutal you truly are, under the guise of doing your job. You just wear a friendly face to get people to trust you, so you can use them as you need."

If only Conner Shepherd could see Jason Ryan's face in that moment.