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A/N: Happy Friday my wonderful readers. Do you know what this is? This is a chapter that is ON TIME! I know right, it's been a long time since that happened! So this chapter has all the action, and the next chapter will have all the emotional stuff. So I hope you guys enjoy all the actions, don't forget to leave me a review and I'll see you guys on Monday!

Chapter 372

Steve could not get a hold of the shrink he wanted. Not right away anyway.

Since he was also reluctant to put Rowan anywhere near Dr. Gray again, he called in a completely different shrink to do an eval on Dr. Gray/Lauren Parker.

He spent a lot of time asking her questions and being nice and then came out telling them that she had Dissociative Identity Disorder which was just a fancy way of saying she was pretending she had a split personality disorder. Hence why she thought she was Lauren Parker. Well, if he was so sure she wasn't lying, there wouldn't be any harm in testing her.

So, he had her take a polygraph test. And she fucking passed.

Do you know how crazy you gotta be to be able to manipulate a shrink and a polygraph test? I mean seriously, that's one level of psychopathic liar that Steve wasn't sure he was okay with. It seemed like he was terribly out of his depth.

Then they got a preliminary result from the DNA on Gray's hands back. It was a partial match to Alicia. Now Steve was worried that he couldn't get a hold of her because Gray had done something terrible to her.

So, he went to find her.

And he did.

She was perfectly fine, not a scratch on her. He told her what was happening, that Gray had resurfaced, having turned herself in covered in Alicia's blood. That she was pretending to be Lauren Parker and that she didn't know Steve at all, or that she was Dr. Gray.

She had realized right away that the trick with the blood had been Gray dragging her back into the game. She demanded to go back to the precinct with Steve to face her herself, to figure out what the rules of this game was so they could play on a level playing field.

But when Steve brought Alicia in there, Gray started screaming that Alicia had tried to kill her. That she had fought her off and wounded her with her own knife before Alicia ran away.

She screeched, and cried, going on and on about how it all came back to her the second she saw Alicia's face.

Then she told them that Alicia had a cut, mid way up her arm, just below her elbow. And she had been right. Alicia had said it was from when she went hiking the day before, that she had slipped and cut herself on a rock.

Gray had screamed and carried on about how they couldn't let Alicia walk out of there, pausing just briefly to shoot a small smile at Alicia that only Alicia saw. But Steve believed her. Gray was trying to get in her head, and it was working.

He needed someone to get into Gray's head.

He needed Rowan.

He called Rowan, who was just bringing Nahele back from the shrimp truck opening he had been working, and she had been more than happy to come down to help. In fact, she seemed rather excited about it. Which really just made Steve nervous.

But before she got there, Kono called. She had looked into the Lauren Parker identity and found out that she was a resident of Eagle Wisconsin, had been there for more than a month. Since just a little before Christmas. She had an apartment, a job at a walk-in clinic, and a credit card.

Now that was surprising… because Sin Nombre said that he had been watching her. How could she have set up all of that if he had been watching her.

And that was the argument that Rowan walked into.

"Why are you yelling at him?" she had snapped when she walked in, putting herself between Sin Nombre and Steve right away.

"I just found out that Gray's been in Eagle Wisconsin for more than a month!" Steve shouted. "I can prove it was her! He was supposed to be watching her."

Rowan turned around at that and looked at Sin Nombre. Her surprised look turned into a dark disappointed glare as she put her hands on her hips and stared up at him.

"Con…"

"I can explain…"

"Okay," she said and then she lounged back and waited. Sin Nombre just stared at her and Steve stood there behind her watching this great assassin crumble under his wife's expectant eyes.

"Okay so I can't really explain…"

"You're telling me that you actually lost her? When?"

"Before Christmas," he answered glumly.

"CON!" she cried.

"I'm sorry! Okay! I'm sorry! I lost her before Christmas and I figured I could find her again no problem. But she's slippery and… I've been searching all of Colorado… cause that's where you said all of this was gonna go down but she wasn't there… I unno how you got Wisconsin and Colorado mixed up."

"Wisconsin is in Colorado!" Rowan cried and then all eyes turned to her.

"I'm sorry what?" Steve asked but Con's face suddenly darkened.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he screamed. "You thought Wisconsin was in Colorado? They're two different states, you idiot!"

"Hey!" Steve cried for her, but he had a point. How had Rowan messed that up?

"I didn't do well in geography," she cried. "But we could have figure it out if you had told me, cause I could have just thrown you to her!"

"I'm gonna kill her," Con growled, and Steve took a hold of his wife and pulled her away from him just in case he felt like following through on that threat.

"Look, let's forget that right now. I have Gray in there, pretending she's Lauren Parker, and very convincingly. So far, she's convinced a shrink and passed a polygraph, so either it's real or she's one hell of an actor."

Rowan seemed to think for a moment and then asked: "And who said split personality? The shrink or the…"

"Obviously the shrink, Rowan."

"Really? The shrink said Split personality? That's the go to one that every serial killer goes to. That's like, every Criminal Minds episode, ever," she said as if any of that mattered.

"What's Criminal Minds?"

"Oh, that's not here huh? Wow I'd make a fortune pitching that to CBS."

"Rowan, focus," Steve snapped. "I need you to go in there and do that thing where you get into people's head or annoy them into snapping. I don't care if you have to out crazy her…

"I'm sorry… what?"

"I need you to out crazy her," he repeated which caused Rowan to recoil.

"Out crazy… how nuts do you think I am?"

At the right moment Rowan could be an absolute lunatic, but he didn't care about that, in fact in the right moments that insanity worked out to his advantage. But that was the least of his problems at the moment.

"I don't want her going in there," Sin Nombre said.

"what why? She's chained to a desk, what is she gonna do to me?"

"What if she gets out of them?"

"How is she going to do that? She gonna hulk out?"

"I unno Rowan! You get out of restraints all the time."

"Yeah but that's me and I'm special!"

"Look, she's going to be fine. I wouldn't put her in there if I thought…" Steve started and Sin Nombre whirled around onto him.

"You don't get to say shit when you have literally put her into every dangerous situation she's ever fallen into!" he cried and that hurt because there was a whole year when it was his and Wo's fault, not Steven's.

"Really, because Russia was my fault? And Victoria? And Colombia?"

"Yeah and what about all the shit that went down in Hawaii before that year? Or Japan? Or Colombia mark 2?"

"Japan was not all my fault!"

Steve thundered and then a door shut and both of them turned to watch Rowan walk towards the table where Gray was sitting staring at her all teary-eyed and confused.

"Aw son of a bitch!" Sin Nombre cried.

"That wasn't all my fault either, you should have been watching…"

Sin Nombre turned a glare onto him so dark that Steve actually took a step back. Then both of them turned to Rowan who had taken her seat in front of Gray and was just staring at her as she stared back.

"Hello, how are you, do you remember me?"

"Uh… no… but I keep saying I'm not Dr. Gray…"

"Who's Dr. Gray?" Rowan asked. "Seriously, I'm here to see Lauren, I met her on the beach yesterday?"

"You… you did?"

"Are you not Lauren? Cause I'm here to see Lauren? Am I in the wrong room, uh-oh, I better get out of here…"

She went to stand up, to leave and Gray reached out for her to get her to stop. "No, I'm Lauren, I'm Lauren."

"Oh wonderful. How are you holding up? I hear some crazy woman attacked you."

"Yes, she did…"

"Mmm… interesting. And everything just came back the second you saw her face? Interesting, interesting…"

She then pulled her phone and showed her something on it.

"They say you did that, is that true?"

Ah so it was the picture of Alicia's injury. When had she even taken that? God how much had she managed to get down while him and Sin Nombre were arguing?

"Yes, but it was self defence."

"Really?" Rowan asked and then she too looked at the picture on her phone. "That's interesting because… if you look at it, you can see that it's starting to scab over… which only happens after 24 hours or more of healing, or at least, this level of healing does anyway. Which completely contradicts your statement cause it should have happened this morning and it wouldn't have healed that much if it really had happened this morning."

"I don't… I don't…"

"I gotta say you really are losing your touch, you can even create a good fake timeline," Rowan said and Dr. Gray's mouth dropped.

Oh, Rowan was challenging her intelligence and capability. This might work.

So… they're saying split personality disorder, it's got a fancy name but I can never remember what it is," she said almost flippantly. Steve swore he almost saw Gray's eye twitch. "That's quite a common disorder to fake, by the way. Not very imaginative for the supposed genius you're supposed to be. Couldn't even come up with something original."

"I really am Lauren Parker!"

"Yeah, sure you are," Rowan said. "You know, they always pull this card on those crime shows. The big bad guy goes: Oh I don't remember killing those people, those were during my black out times. Except, if you were doing this right, which you're not…" See now Gray was frowning. This was starting to work. "Lauren should be your black out time and not the other way around, cause I'm pretty sure the other one was dominant as hell, or should be, because, again, you're doing this all wrong." Then Rowan sighed like all of this was tiring her. "But whatever, let's play along. So, what sort of flashes are you getting?"

"Flashes…"

"Well yeah. There's no such thing as total amnesia with these things. They may not always be fully aware of one another but the brain remembers, it communicates so there are moments that are still stuck with you, a sort of understanding of what you did. It's in there somewhere, probably coming out in sorts of flashes or whispers of memory. A sort of feeling of dread, so what'cha got for me."

Steve turned to Alicia. "Is that true?"

"No, she's trying to catch her in a lie," she said.

"Who are you?" Gray asked and Rowan just stared at her.

"Really? We're still doing this?" Rowan asked and then sighed again. "Ugh. Fine. Who I am, doesn't matter. All that matters is I'm like you. A lot like you."

"Like me?"

"Oh yes. We both have daddy issues. Your daddy molested you while playing chess, mine made me feel like a monster and isolated me…"

"You said it was mommy issues."

Steve held his breath. Dear god. She had gotten her to slip.

"Yes, I did say that," Rowan said with that sweetly smug tone of hers. "Welcome back Dr. Gray. As you can see… I lived, Bitch. Or are we still pretending we don't remember who I am?"

That face changed. No longer was she sad and crying, but angry. It was that moment that Steve had been looking for before. Rowan had got it for him.

"No? We're going to accept that the idiot was the one who got you to slip up? Cool beans, love it when the ditz gets the win," Rowan said and then she slowly clasped her hands together and stared earnestly at Gray. "How have you been? You been enjoying the… haunting?"

She said nothing though so Rowan just continued.

"I told you there wasn't a place you could run to that my brothers wouldn't find you in," she said. "And they were oh so displeased with my treatment the last time we met."

Still nothing.

"See, I told you I was just like you, Madison. I have the same tendencies, just better control. But unlike you, who's drive and need to always be right let the ditz of the group trip you up, my set off is anger. See you put a knife in my husband's back, you threw him into a hole to drown, and I got angry. And when I get angry, heads roll. Quite literally, as you should know since we hit you with a jack in the box."

Steve turned to Sin Nombre. "Jack in the box, you guys have a name for that?"

"She has a code for everything in that app of hers," Sin Nombre said absently his eyes never once leaving Rowan.

"What does that mean? Jack in the box?" Alicia asked.

Sin Nombre turned those glittering golden eyes onto her and with a cruel snarl curling his lips, he said: "It means I cut off her boyfriend's head and delivered it to her in a fucking gift-wrapped box."

Alicia turned horrified eyes to Steve who just sighed.

"I… remember how I said my wife had a brother who was a criminal?"

"Uh… yeah…"

"Well that's her oldest brother, meet her other older brother the assassin."

Sin Nombre waved to her. "The last time we met I punched you," he said as if Alicia didn't remember that. "Sorry, but you know… you were panicking and I didn't want to deal with it."

Alicia seemed to realize that Steve was going to be no help here because she turned her eyes to Chin who just shrugged and said: "You get used to it."

"We both know that the ditz thing is just an act," Gray suddenly said to Rowan who cocked her head to the side. "You're a lot smarter than people give you credit for. But that's your play, isn't it? You act dumb so when you do your illegally smart things no one expects it. That's how you got everyone fooled, even that husband of yours. What do you think he'd do if he found out just how… devilish you are?"

"Really? Gonna play the husband doesn't know your true self card? Really? Weak! Weak move!" Rowan cried. "He already knows. Trust me. And he likes me just the way I am. Does anyone like you? Or are you alone? Must suck, driving everyone away because all you know how to do is manipulate and kill people. Except you can't even do that can you? Cause if you could you wouldn't be getting other people to do it for you."

Gray's nostrils flared and Rowan leant in.

"I told you, don't play shrink games with a shrink's kid. You're gonna loose. You set yourself up to lose the second you fucked with me and my family."

"You're blind. Blind to what's going to happen. Sooner or later you're meddling is going to run your brother into the ground, and when he goes down who do you think they'll go after next? Your brother's name can only protect you to certain extent, sooner or later you're going to over extend your powers again and when you do, I'm going to make sure there are people there to… catch you."

"Nope," Sin Nombre said turning and heading for the door just as Rowan turned a panicked look to the two-way window and cried: "Grab him."

Steve tried to grab his jacket, but he shrugged it off, revealing the knife he had strapped to his back and the two underarm holsters he had. How had he not seen those? When he couldn't keep his hold on him, he practically scrambled onto Sin Nombre's back.

"Get off me, McGarrett!" he practically shouted but Steve was trying to get him into a sort of sleeper hold which was harder than usual as Sin Nombre kept moving his grip. And when he got frustrated, he just turned and slammed Steve with all his might into the window.

So hard that Steve actually lost his grip, and had the air knocked out of his lungs.

Rowan couldn't hear the shouting, but she winced as she watched the window shake. Oh, how she hoped Con hadn't slammed Steven into a wall, but she had a feeling it was him who got hit.

"Great now I gotta talk down an assassin," Rowan snapped. "You stay there, we're gonna put a pin in this."

She got up quickly and went to the door, it opened right away to Con's angry face and a gun in his hand.

"Nope, no, no, Con, no!" she cried stepping further into the hallway, she struggled to get the gun from him, but he just held it above her head and out of her reach no matter how she jumped. When she couldn't get the gun, she put her hands on her hips and growled: "Who hit the window?"

Steve came out of the viewing room a glare on his face. Okay that answered that question.

"Are you okay baby?" she asked as Alicia slipped out of the room behind him and into the room with Gray.

"No! What the hell is his problem?"

"She fucking threatened you, Rowan," Con hissed and Rowan nodded.

"Yes, I know, but no. I've got this. No."

But Con was shaking his head. "No, I'd feel better if I shoot her. We should let me shoot her. There's no reason for that bitch to be alive."

"Well kinda, because we don't know what the point of the game is…"

"I don't give a shit about the game!" Con cried turning onto Steve. "We're going to fucking end the game before she stabs one of you again."

"Oh, come on. That can't be her game plan twice in a row," Steve snarled. "No, we need to figure out what her play is here, or it could come back to bite us in the ass."

"Ro, what do you see in the strings?"

They both turned to Rowan and found that she was standing there, facing the interrogation room where Alicia and Madison were having a stare off. It was clear they had talked about something and it had started or shocked Alicia.

"Well damn what were those two talking about?" Sin Nombre asked.

"Uh… I unno…"

Steve pushed between the two siblings and into the room. But Dr. Gray had gone silent, Alicia was adamant that she got nothing, but could not get out of the precinct fast enough.

But was really scared Steve was Rowan Ice Queen blue eyes, that never left Dr. Gray's face.

She knew something. She knew something and she wouldn't tell him what.

He hated it when she kept him out of the loop.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

About four hours later Steve came to the realization that Alicia had gone missing.

He was made aware of this by Rowan who simply asked, in a sing song voice, where she had gone. When Steve couldn't tell her, he asked her why this mattered, and she reminded him that Gray had been trying to get into Alicia's head, not Steve's, not Rowan's but Alicia's.

That they had a conversation while she, Steve and Sin Nombre were arguing and now Alicia was gone.

This was Rowan's way of saying that she had looked at the strings and Steve needed to do something, but she wasn't going to tell him what it was she needed him to do or why.

He hated this. Hated when the visions were like this, when Rowan felt like she couldn't tell him. If he ever saw that Great-Owl-Fate thing he was gonna ask him why the strings would make things harder for him? Would make her keep secrets from him.

So, while he went to question Gray, with Sin Nombre because Rowan wouldn't let Steve leave without him, he gave his team the task of figuring out where Alicia may have gone.

He barged right into that interrogation cell they were holding Gray in and then before she could open her mouth she said: "Cut the crap. I need to know what you said to Alicia. And you're going to tell me, right now."

For a second Gray just stared at him then she smiled. This smug smile that meant he had played right into her game. Great. Thanks Rowan.

"If you want to know what I said to her, you're going to do as I say," she said to Steve and he scoffed incredulously. "And you're going to start by uncuffing me."

"Hell no!" Flew out of Sin Nombre so fast that even Steve jumped. "No, that's a stupid idea. Remember, she's crazy. You don't let crazy go, you keep crazy tied up."

Steve stared at him for a moment and then turned back to her.

"I'm not letting you out unless you tell me something. So start talking."

The two stared at one another for a moment and then she finally obliged him.

"I told her a secret," Dr. Gray said. "One that changed her life."

They all stared at her.

"And unless you do exactly as I ask, you're never gonna know what it is."

"She's a liar," Sin Nombre reminded him.

"That's a verbal reflex without any real consideration of my actions. Think about it. Why would I go to all this trouble? Turning myself in, the blood, getting her to come to me, don't you think there was a reason?"

Yes, yes Steve thought there was a reason, but he didn't think it was this.

"Oh my god it's like talking to psycho Rowan," Sin Nombre whispered and Steve almost laughed. "I swear, exact same look, exact same tone, exact same calculated craziness."

He then pointed at her. "That it what your wife could have been if we kept her on heists, she would have turned into that. God damn, I'mma a take a video of this cause Wo has gat to see this!"

As he went for his phone Steve turned back to her.

"Last chance Commander. You walk out that door, you're never gonna know my secret. You're never going to know where I sent Miss. Alicia Brown."

He glanced to Sin Nombre who caught the glance and then groaned.

"You're not really going to agree to this… are you?"

But Steve had no choice. He went to the table, ready to uncuff her. Only to find that Sin Nombre had followed him.

"We're gonna un-handcuff her? Really that's what we're doing?" Sin Nombre asked. "Fine, fine, you wanna test the crazy person, fine, but I'm coming with you." He turned that bright yellow glare onto her. "I'm gonna be there, every fucking step of the way, and if you think you're getting away from me you have another fucking thing coming. You think that haunting was bad. Bitch I will come at you like a fucking freight train and there isn't a single fucking thing that girl will be able to do to stop me from killing you."

And finally. Finally, Madison Grey looked afraid.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Alicia was the key.

The real target.

The real pawn in the twisted game that Madison Gray was playing.

Every move she had made was calculated. Moving to Wisconsin, turning herself in, covering herself in Alicia's blood. All of it had a purpose.

First to get Alicia in, then to keep her there.

What Gray had given her was a name. The name. The name of the person who had killed her daughter.

Benton Jones.

And with that name came the address.

See, that was why Madison Gray was in Wisconsin, to see Edward Sears. She had manipulated him too, into trusting her. Into becoming part of her game.

He gave her the name of the person who had killed Sienna for him, and Madison Gray had given it to her.

She didn't know why, but she had. And Alicia hadn't seen reason after that. All she saw was the blinding-red need for revenge.

She flew to Wisconsin, rented herself a car, and drove to the bastard's snow-covered cottage, hidden in the middle of the woods. It was remote, which was good, because there were no neighbours to hear the murder, no one to come and find the body before she flew back to Hawaii.

When she got there, she parked the car, took the gun out of the glove box and then headed towards the house. The door was open, wow, this was going to be easier than she thought.

She walked into the cabin, waiting to see if someone was there. No one in the living area or kitchen. She headed down the hallway, everything was dark and quiet.

No one in the washroom, no one in the bedroom either.

But there was one room, deadbolted, she could hear voices coming out of it. Someone was int here.

She quietly got it open and there she was. Just like Gray said she'd be. She still couldn't believe it was true. She had really thought she was lying, but she wasn't.

Her daughter, her Sienna, crouch in the corner, no doubt expecting her jailor to be the one at the door.

She looked up, realized it was her mom and then sort of gasped, just like Alicia did because she still couldn't believe it!

"Mom!"

Oh, how she had missed being called that.

"My baby's alive."

Sienna pulled herself out of her arms to look into her mom's eyes. "He's gonna come back, we gotta go know."

"I got you, hold onto me."

They had go to go back out the way she had come. Her daughter held onto the sides of her jacket, and Alicia held the gun before her, ready to shoot whoever darkened whatever doorway.

They got out to the main living space easily. No one had come to stop them, and that was exactly when Benton Jones appeared from behind the door. He slashed at Alicia with a large kitchen knife, which got her to drop the gun.

He then tackled her to the ground. He was trying to get on top of her, but Sienna had gone into the kitchen and just kept throwing things at him. Dish, after dish, then pans, then a whole kettle.

Alicia was up by then, telling her to run. Her daughter didn't run for the door like she wanted her too, though. She stopped, grabbed her mom's arm and then lead her back to the room where she had been captive all this time.

They tried to shut the door on him but he slammed his foot into it. And then he just kept throwing himself against the door trying to shake them back.

Sienna was thrown back first. And when he realized it was just Alicia holding that door open his attempts to get in to them became more vicious.

He was growling, grunting as he threw himself with all his might. If he got into that room, he'd kill them both. She wouldn't be able to hold him off, very soon her arms would give way and he'd get in.

And then came the gunshots. At least a 10 of them rapid fire all at once.

"Jesus Christ!"

Now that sounded like McGarrett.

"Why the hell did you need to shoot him that many times?"

Yep definitely McGarrett.

"To make sure he was dead!"

And there was his assassin.

Alicia opened the door and Benton fell in, riddled with bullet holes. She looked up to the two men who were clearly arguing again. Apparently, that was all Steven and his assassin brother-in-law every did.

"I think three woulda been good enough, don't you?"

"I put four in Waincroft and the man walked it off!" he shouted. "I don't take chances no more. He fucking got what was coming to him and I know for a fact that he ain't getting up again."

Steve glanced past Sin Nombre and raised a single hand to Alicia. "Hey. One second."

Sin Nombre had the white plastic rabbit mask on his face but when he turned and saw the two of them standing there, he swiped it to the side.

"Look at that the daughter's alive! Miss. Psycho didn't mention that," he said and then he waved to them. "Hello. Not as scary as I look, I promise." And then he gestured to the body before them. "I hit every major organ, including a tap to the back of the head. So, he's dead. Should be dead. If he's alive… he'd be a terminator or immortal or something and I don't think even I can take him down."

Steve groaned but Sin Nombre shook his head. "Let's just be glad this is over," he said and then he turned back to Alicia and Sienna. "This is over right? Tell me it's over."

Alicia turned to her daughter, her beautiful, wonderful, still-alive daughter and smiled. "Yes, it's over. It's all over."

"You think this is over?" Madison Gray called from the doorway where Chin was leading her in.

"Aw who brought this bitch in? I thought we were leaving her in the car!" Sin Nombre cried.

"I'm pretty sure this is over. We got Sienna, Benton is dead and you, and now, now you're going to jail," Steve snapped.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance," Alicia growled. "Yeah, except you don't have what it takes, do you? That's why you have other people kill for you so that you can feel powerful and in control. But the truth is, you just didn't have the guts."

"I like a challenge, don't you?" she asked. "Having people kill for me, that was a good game, but not much of a challenge. You, on the other hand, moral, virtuous, you spent your life putting killers behind bars. Turning you into a killer, now that would be really something."

That was the game? The game was making Alicia into a killer. Except it didn't work because Benton was killed by Sin Nombre.

"Except you failed. I haven't nor would I kill anyone for you."

"Oh this time you will," she said pulling out a gun from god knows where and pointing it not at Alicia but Sienna. They all raised their own guns, even Alicia but they were silent a bit before she said: "What are you waiting for? Pull the trigger."

She wanted Alicia to kill her.

"You're insane!" Alicia cried.

"Control issues, is what I believe you called it. You know, they say taking one's life is the ultimate act of control. Personally, I think it's getting somebody else to take it for you."

Alicia shook her head. "No. No, you're going to go to jail, that's what's going to happen."

"We're going to put me in jail? Is that going to end this, Alicia?" she asked. "Did it end things when you put Ed Sears in jail?"

Conejo stalked across the room. Gray turned, fired two shots at him, both missed because he had just dived towards her feet. He did this roll, came out of it, kicked the legs out from under her. By the time she was up again he had a hold of the hand with the gun and he twisted it almost cruelly. She dropped the hold right away. And then he just back handed her before she could say anything else to Alicia.

She collapsed to the ground and he backed away. Steve picked up the gun that had been discarded and Sin Nombre turned on Alicia.

"Don't you fucking kill her. Don't give her the fucking satisfaction. She wants to die so bad, I'll shoot her. I'm already a bad person, I kill people for money after all, so it's no skin off of my back to off this little psycho for you. And besides it'll fuck with her divine goal. She won't have convinced a good person to kill. I'll even do it for free, how does that sound?"

Steve shook his head. "We're not killing anyone," he snapped. "She'll stand trial for her crimes."

But Sin Nombre seemed far from impressed. "That's not justice. Making her suffer… now that… that's justice. And it would be so easy, just a few slices…" Steve turned and noted the knife that had appeared in Sin Nombre's hand. The fucking jungle blade he had in the police precinct. How did he keep getting that thing past metal detectors?

"Are you out of your fucking mind?! How did you get that past airport security?"

"Bold of you to assume I went through airport security."

"You were with me!"

"Does it matter where I got the knife from? All that matters is that this crazy bitch needs to die. She clearly wants to die so why don't we just let me fuck with her before I end her?"

"No! No Con," he shouted. "And I know I'm not supposed to use it but saying Sin Nombre just takes so much time. No! You're not going to kill her. We're going to send her to prison. A little solitary cell…"

"No, I think we both know, I'll get it pleaded down to insanity. They'll put into a nice little facility where I'll get all the help I need," she said. "And then… then I think I'll make some friends. Think of all the people I could find who would love to pay your wife back for all the trouble she's caused."

"What did you just say?" Sin Nombre asked his voice low his eyes narrowed at Madison.

"You know exactly what I said!" she shouted her wild blue eyes focusing on Steve, clearly looking to get him to kill her for her. "Maybe Alicia won't do anything to ensure her daughter's safety, but you, what would you do to keep me from your wife? From putting her back into a basement… just like Waincroft did…"

For a second Steve and Sin Nombre just stood there. Staring at her.

The gun in Steve's hands had started to shake, but Sin Nombre's hadn't.

"Yeah. No, we're not having that."

And then before Steve could stop him, Conejo pulled out his gun and shot her between the eyes.