Rewrite

AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: Happy Monday my wonderful readers! So here we are, another update. The last in a series of daily updates. In this one we have a little more drama, and we get to see Steve's side of that call. Which I think will be exciting. And, in almost like some sick tradition it ends on a cliffhanger. Because all my marathons end on a cliffhanger. I swear I don't plan it. It just happens. But don't worry, I promise to update on Wednesday (as per usual) so at least it's not that long to wait… right? As always, don't forget to review, I cant wait to see how you guys like this chapter, and I'll see you on Wednesday!

Chapter 333

Wo Fat knew the U.S. Ambassador in Japan.

Why did that surprise him?

Upon going into his office, Steve had been told that he had to leave his phone with the secretary. That hadn't sat well with him because well… why? So no one could record anything while in his office. The Ambassador was very clear about that.

He was also very clear that Wo wasn't to ever drop in on him at work, but Wo had done it as it was an emergency and there wasn't anything the man could do about it now.

Steve had sat in that chair beside Wo Fat, as the man spoke fluent Japanese to the Ambassador. Steve had gotten anxious again all of a sudden, he sat there one leg tapping and chewing away on one thumb's cuticles.

Something was wrong again, Rowan was anxious about something but he didn't know what.

So, he sat there, waiting to see if Wo Fat could get info on where Shioma might go to hide from him, seeing as she wasn't in the house. Somehow, between loosing Rowan in the void and him and the CIA breaking into the place both Michelle Shioma and Sam Alexander had gone missing. And none of the men who had been chasing Rowan knew where either went. They didn't even know where Rowan went.

After that the CIA and Steve split ways. He was taken to the Ambassador's office, and the CIA went to chase down their own leads. They promised to text one another if they got something. So far nothing had come in on either end.

This was literally the most nerve wracking rescue attempt ever because it wasn't clear cut and they kept missing Rowan by seconds. Damn her powers messing with everything.

At one point he got so anxious Steve leapt to his feet to pace.

"What is the matter with you?" Wo Fat asked but Steve just shook his head.

"I unno, I'm antsy."

"Well stop it!" he ordered but Steve could only shake his head again. Something was wrong. Rowan needed him and he didn't know how to get a hold of her or where she was. This was one of his worst nightmares come to life. He hated feeling helpless.

Then from the other side of the door came the sound of an alarm screaming. One that no one in that room recognized.

Steve rushed out, with Wo Fat on his heels, thinking it was a security alarm and they'd have to run to keep Wo Fat from being arrested. What he was greeted with was the Ambassador's secretary frantically trying to shut of Steve's phone. A phone that was screaming that alarm from a red screen.

Sanctuary.

Steve lunged for the phone, there was only one command waiting for him. "Confirm connection to Professional."

"What the hell is this?"

"It forces you to look at your phone, she's alerting you," Wo Fat said before pick up his own phone and looking at it, no doubt to see if he had something similar but didn't. "She's called through the app a bunch of times and I have a bunch of missed calls from Jian's number. I don't have time to argue with my ex right now."

Steve didn't have time to tell him that think of his ex, at a time like this, was no helpful. Instead he pressed the connect button and was waiting to for the call to be picked up. He had never been so relieved to hear her voice, even if she was yelling at him.

"Steven! Why didn't you answer when I called?"

Steve didn't even care about the dig, he just needed to know that she was okay. "I didn't have my phone, I…. are you okay? Baby are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. But uh… we got hostiles trying to break down the door to Wo's apartment."

"Wo's apartment?" he echoed at that Wo Fat looked up from his phone clearly surprised.

"What?" he asked but Steve waved him away.

"Yeah I jumped there…"

"What? Why?" he cried, why didn't she jump to him? He had been so nearby.

"I unno I was thinking of home and somewhere safe then something in the void knocked me clear off a cliff and I panicked!"

He winced at that. Yeah maybe that was his fault. He shouldn't have messed with her, maybe she would have realized that it was him and jumped to safety. "That was me… sorry."

Wo Fat grabbed his arm and dragged him away, trying to lead him out of the building, no doubt to get to Rowan.

"You knocked me off a cliff?"

"You were getting shot at, I panicked!"

There came the sound of something being smashed and then Rowan was gone. No matter how he called out to her, she was no longer talking to him. Though everything was muffled he heard her say: "Trust me, I won't let you fall."

It didn't take him long to realize that she most likely had Wo Fat's civilian girlfriend with her, and she was asking her to do something dangerous. Something that might lead to her falling.

"What the hell are you telling her to do, Ro?" he asked but she was ignored. God… she wouldn't climb would she? Because Wo Fat's apartment was on the 15th floor, she'd kill herself falling from there.

He called her name a few more times and finally got her.

"Look we're safe for now, but it's only a matter of time before they figure out where we are. How far are you two?"

They were in Tokyo and Rowan was in Osaka, so not swoop in and rescue distance. "Pretty fucking far, Ro."

"Kay so I'm going to have to take charge here."

"What? No, no, don't take charge. Rowan, no, just hold on," Steve cried but Rowan ignored him like she was prone to doing. And this really wasn't the time to ignore him. She made bad decisions when she was on her own.

"Listen to me. It's Shioma and Sam Alexander, he wants the copies of the ledger we stole, which are back in our house. In the back of one of my song books actually…"

Despite the situation he couldn't help but groan at her own stupidity. "Ro that is such a shit place to hide something that fucking important."

"Don't lecture me right now Steven. I need you to do something for me."

"Yeah and what's that?"

"I need you to tell me that you love me."

Something in his heart stilled, why would she need him to tell her that? What was happening? He came to a standstill, panic clawing up his throat and Wo Fat turned to look at him, clearly not liking the look on his face.

"What? Why?"

"Just do it!"

Oh god, if she was about to die… he didn't want this to be his final words to her. "Fine, I love you, you know I love you… now whatever it is you're thinking about just don't. We are on our way and we will save you."

She was quiet a moment and Steve waited, holding his breath.

"I love you too, Steve," she finally whispered. "And Steven?"

"Yeah?"

"Brace yourself."

He got half a: "What?" out of his face and then he was doubled over in pain as his chest constricted.

He reached out instinctively, his hand slapping into Wo Fat's stomach, gripping his shirt. The man grunted, and then some of the shock must have gone into him because he yelped and doubled over too. Wo Fat's hand went to Steve's, Steve figured maybe to throw it off of him, but instead he just held it, as if to give Steve comfort.

Steve had no idea why he would do that, so as soon as the pain left his body he straightened and moved away. He figured he'd just ignore it, that would be easier for the both of them.

"She jumped."

"Yeah no shit," Wo Fat said but he brushed past Steve to get to the car.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked chasing after him. "We don't know where she is."

"We're gonna go back to my goddamn building, and I'm going to kill whoever I find that's still in there. And we're going to wait for her to call back."

"Won't Sandy be able to pick her up?"

"Sandy can't compute her jumps. Won't log her exit point because it doesn't make feasible sense. Ro will have to activate her again where ever she ended up, and call us through that."

God this was so complicated. Steve sighed but got into the car. He just wanted his girlfriend back, was that too much to ask?

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Rowan could only get a glimpse of the strings before she dropped Jian and herself into the void. She merely asked for somewhere safe where her brother could find her and hoped that it delivered.

And it delivered something alright. It delivered both her and Jian into a seedy, shadowed back alley.

They came out of the void on unstable legs. Rowan managed to stick the landing, but Jian, being a newbie, had not. And Rowan, being tired and concussed, could not keep them both up. So when Jian went down, Rowan went with her.

For a moment the two just lay there groaning then Rowan sat up and let Jian get her bearings and have a freak out over what just happened. Rowan tried to figure out where they were but she didn't know Japan and therefore had no idea where they were. It was the one place Wo Fat never took her too and the one time they accidentally ended up there they had wanted to leave to go back to Spain ASAP.

After some panting a wide eyed Jian sat up and grabbed Rowan's arm to make her look at her. "What in the fresh hell just happened?"

"I have magic powers and I'm gonna need you to come to terms with that like ASAP because I'm probably gonna have to do that a couple more times before this day is over."

Jian blinked her eyes. It was clear as day that she didn't want to believe it, but Rowan had also just dropped them both through the void and they were clearly not where Jian last was. So… she kind of had the evidence to back her up this time.

"What?!" came out of her so loudly that Rowan winced. Yeah, she didn't have time for this.

Rowan handed Jian back her phone, and the woman took it. "What happened to it?"

"Nothing survives the void I'm afraid."

"How did we?" she asked but Rowan ignored her.

She forced herself to stand up and then forced herself to look around, as if standing up would help her establish where she was.

"Does Wo Fat know this?" was her second question when Rowan declined to explain again. Rowan glanced down to Jian and nodded and scowl donned her features. "Figures."

"Do you know where we are?" Rowan asked hoping to get off of this topic

Jian blinked once more as if resetting herself and pushing her freak out and bitterness to the side. She too got up, looking around and then walked past Rowan the short couple of feet to the mouth of the alleyway to glance out. Once she had she darted back to Rowan.

"We're somewhere in Kabukichō," she said.

Rowan had no idea what that meant. "Is that good or bad?"

"Well… I mean… it our red light district so it's filled with brothels and love cafes…"

"Oh! Like Prostitutes? Okay yeah, that's good then!" Rowan cried, and then she began to look around again. People doing illegal things always worked with Wo Fat, or knew of him, and if the void had done what she had asked it must have dropped her near someone who knew him or at the very least would have the app on their phone.

Jian wouldn't have understood that which explained why she was staring at her like she was crazy.

"What's further down there?" Rowan asked pointing to a bend in the alleyway. Jian shrugged and Rowan grabbed her hand. "Let's go this way."

Jian tried to complain but Rowan was already pulling her along with them. When they got to the bend they found a neon arrow pointing them to a red door where a man was standing outside. He looked big and intimidating but Rowan wasn't afraid of him.

"Hi."

"Get lost," the man said in a clipped accent but and behind her Jian sort of half stepped behind her.

"No. I'm Rowan Pierce. I want to use the phone," she said and just like that the man took a step away from her. She then nodded over her shoulder to Jian. "And she's with me."

"Sorry," he said as he opened the door. "Sorry."

As they walked in, they were greeted so a smoky sort of den were men in suits were sitting with scantily clad women dressed as either geisha's or maids.

"Why do they freak out when they hear your name?" Jian asked her, her voice low.

"Cause everyone knows I'm with Wo. And Wo paid a lot of money to set up an app to track me and take care of me, so most people know that if I'm there he'll be coming soon. No one really wants to chance making him angry."

Rowan grabbed a hold of a girl who was walking by with a tray of shots and said: "I need to see your boss. Can you point me in the right direction?"

The woman looked them both up and down and then pointed to a hallway. Rowan thanked her and then went to that hallway where she found a staircase that led them down to a small office.

Rowan didn't even bother to knock, she just let herself in. The man behind the desk didn't look too please by their appearance, in fact he said something to them as he stood up. Something in Japanese that made Jian flinch.

Yeah Rowan wasn't having that. "I really hope you didn't just insult us," she said.

"Oh yeah and why is that?"

"Because I'm Rowan Pierce and I'm already not in a good mood."

At that the man's smug smirk fell right off his face and then he dropped to his seat. "Rowan Pierce," he echoed.

"Yep I need your phone."

The man soundlessly indicated to the landline he had on his desk and Rowan shook her head.

"No. Your cellphone, cough it up."

He quickly pulled his phone out and Rowan practically snatched it from him. "Sandy, connect me to Master."

There was a couple of seconds and then the red wheel began to spin and her Sanctuary app loaded up.

Hello Professional. Please wait while I connect you.

There was another ten second pause before the ringing started and then two rings later her brother had picked up.

"Where are you?"

"Uhm Don't know. I'm assuming some kind of brothel in Kabukichō."

Wo Fat was quiet a bit and then said: "That doesn't narrow it down. Give the phone to Jian."

Rowan handed the phone to her. "It's for you."

She took it carefully and then very softly said: "Wo?" into the phone. "No I'm alright… but she… she did something weird…"

There was a bit of a pause and her eyebrows drew together. "What do you mean that's normal? … okay you're right we do have bigger issues… yes, I did call you, Wo. You didn't pick up. I'm going to assume you've been screening my calls. No, I was not being crazy!"

"Guys!" Rowan cried loud enough for Wo Fat to hear her on the phone. "Can we maybe figure out where we are?"

"She's got a point… okay… yeah I know how to get there. And you'll meet us there? Well neither of us have money for a cab…"

"Hey you," Rowan said turning to the boss of this little love den. "You got a car?" When he nodded, she said: "Cool I'mma borrow it, keys please."

Jian watched the man fork over his keys with no complaint and then she said: "He just handed her the keys to his car…" she then looked to Rowan. "Wo says he'll be compensated…"

Rowan turned a smile to him and the man nodded, almost more like a bow of thanks.

"Yes… yes… I'll be careful… I already told you I'm fine, Wo…" she then sighed and handed Rowan the phone. "It's for you."

"Hi?" she said once she had it again.

"You're going to go to the bay of Tokyo, there's a boat there, it's one of mine, you're going to get on it. It's called the Guangzhou, I'll have called the captain before you get there. He'll get you aboard he'll get you safe until I can come and get you."

"Okay. Guangzhou, got it."

"Wonderful. Sandy has reported that the people from the apartment building are still looking for you. They're heading to your location. So, I'm going to assume that someone in that building has already snitched your location," he said. "So, get out, get out now."

"Maybe I should jump again."

"Ro, I just had to execute almost twenty yakuza foot soldiers who witnessed your void dashing," he said in the background she heard Steven cry: What? "I'm assuming Sam Alexander knows too?"

"Well… yeah…"

"Which means I have to find him before he squeals," he said. "No more jumping until I have this under control. We have CIA working with us and I need them to not figure out what you can do you hear me?"

"Yes. Fine. Is Steve okay?"

"He is, but can you talk to him later, I want you guys out of there before they hit the place."

"Kay give him a kiss for me."

"Not a fucking chance."

"Just do it. See you soon!"

She hung up the phone, handed it back to the boss, thanked him for the car and his time and then she and Jian were heading right back out those stairs again. It was almost over. She could taste freedom. She'd be in Steve's arms in moments, and then she'd going home. She just wanted it to all be over.

If only she knew she was walking into a trap.

They drove in silence to that Pier, got out and to the boat with ease. But as soon as she got aboard she could feel it again. The vibration in the strings. She had grabbed Jian to stop her from moving.

"Something's not right," she had said and she had been rewarded with a slow clap.

As Sam Alexander appeared, with a small battalion of men with weapons all pointed at her.

"Hello again la Bruja, figured sooner or later you'd end up on your brother's boat."

Rowan sighed. Great. Just. Fucking. Great. She should have killed him when she had the chance.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

There was a lot of arguing in that car once they knew for certain where Rowan was.

Firstly, when the hell had Wo Fat managed to execute twenty people? He had been Steve the entire time and Steve was sure he'd remember Wo Fat shooting twenty or more people. The answer? Wo Fat gave the order to his people, the little army he had pulled together to raid the Shioma house. He had left them behind after they split ways with the CIA with the order to kill anyone who said anything about flashing or witch.

Then it was why didn't he tell Rowan to drive to them? Or to lay low where they were until they could get there. And that answer was a bit more confusing. People were already moving on her position, the one she had called them from. Then he wanted her moving so they couldn't catch her, and he wanted her on the boat because that was like his sovereign territory. The second they boarded that ship he could do whatever the hell he wanted. As if he wasn't going to do whatever the hell he wanted anywhere else.

They got to the pier and Steve was out of that car faster than Wo Fat. He practically tucked and rolled right out of that car to get to Rowan. Then he was sprinting towards that ship, still feeling like something might be wrong.

He wanted Rowan in his arms. Holding Rowan again would shake this feeling for him, but he got half up onto that gang plank and a man with a gun pointed at him appeared.

Steve came to a stop abruptly and again something in his chest tightened, not a void tightening but just a plain old panic one.

But he had his gun trained on Steve for all of two seconds before someone crashed into him and knocked him down. He watched his girlfriend, with Jian in tow practically sprint past, half shoulder tackling that man to the ground.

"Sorry!" she cried to the man she had knocked down as gun shots peppered the air.

From somewhere came a shout of: "For the love of god don't let her get off the boat!"

She clocked Steve and smiled, she pushed Jian towards him. But he didn't want Jian he wanted Rowan, so when she got to him, he simply pushed her behind him towards where Wo Fat was finally appearing.

He opened his arms to Rowan, all he needed to was to get to her and that would be it. Whoever else was here trying to get her wouldn't be able to, but a shot rang out, a tuft of her hair flew up and fell from her head and Rowan came to a stop.

"Not another fucking step!"

Steve froze, Rowan half turned, and Sam Alexander with his gun was standing there, aiming it right for Rowan. Whom he knew wasn't going to use the void now that he was there. She'd be too afraid that he'd get hurt. He wanted to tell her not to care, but he knew his girlfriend, and she wasn't going to chance it.

"Come here."

"No."

"I said come here."

"No!"

His gun shifted aim, no longer at her, he was aiming at Steven. Rowan actually side stepped to get that gun back on herself. What, was she fucking crazy?

"Stop it!" Steve found himself shouting at her but she wouldn't move.

"Come here or I'll shoot him."

"Rowan don't!" he ordered but Rowan wasn't going to listen to him either.

She slowly walked towards him, hands out. "Alright, I'm coming."

"Rowan," he cried moving forward only to have Sam's gun swing in his direction again, and for Rowan to side step one more time in front of it. "STOP DOING THAT!"

He was once again ignored he was starting to get super freaking annoyed. He just wanted Rowan to not be in danger. Why was it so hard to keep his girlfriend out of danger? Normal relationships weren't like this.

But then that idiot did something even worse.

She got close to Alexander and then charged him. She grappled onto him, and Steve lurched forward to help her. He just wasn't in time to do so.

There was a sort of static bang. Rowan jerked, cried out. Steve screamed her name, as did Wo Fat. In fact… so had Jian. Which was interesting because Steve was under the impression that Jian didn't like Rowan.

But he didn't have time to worry about what was going on with those two. He could only watch in horror as Rowan simply dropped to the ground.