Benji wipes the tears, that are now staining his face, from his eyes as he goes to check what Ethan has found. He doesn't want to make Ethan more upset than he already is. When he enters the small wooden box-like structure the shooter had been in, his attention first goes to the body of the lifeless shooter. There's one bullet hole square in his forehead and another deep in his neck. Though the bullet holes are small, there's still fresh blood seeping from his wounds deepening the dark red, more black now, blood that's now so deep that it is level with the dead man's ears.

Benji shifts his attention to Ethan, hoping to ease the vomit collecting in his stomach. Ethan's standing rigidly still, eyeing something he's clasping tightly in his hand. Benji moves to look over Ethan's shoulder to see what he's holding, careful to not step in the blood.

"Ethan….?" Benji says trying to get his attention as he hasn't acknowledged Benji's presence yet. Benji's heart twists as he realizes why, in one hand, Ethan's got a burner phone and a crushed tracker, in the other, he's holding a partially blooded family photo. It's a Christmas card. There's a man, the dead agent, with his six kids, three girls, and three boys, and a woman, his wife with a caption that reads: Merry Christmas! From the Snow family: Ben, Amber, Kip, Callum, Eva, Riley, Blake, and Jonah!

After a long moment, Ethan hands Benji the phone and tracker, before starting toward Luther and Will without so much as a glance. Benji clicks the old phone's ON button, not expecting anything, but instead, he gets something.

Something that he really wishes he hadn't. There's one contact on the phone: GABRIEL

--

Venice, Safehouse

GABRIEL. Ethan's pacing the length of the main area of the safe house, his thoughts in a whirlwind as he wraps his head around one name, Gabriel. Gabriel….GABRIEL! But-But that's not possible, it can't be. He-he's dead, he is dead, HE IS DEAD, HE'S FUCKING DEAD! He shot the guy for Christ's sake! Shot him right in the chest. The chest! Thank God for bulletproof vests. No, no. No. He-he's-he's-he's-God Danmit! H- "Ethan, you need to stop and think for a minute, okay?"

Ethan spins to Luther, "Think about what?" Luther's brow furrows a bit. "Ethan, we don't even know if that's actually Gabriel. We can't jump to conclusions, especially not right now so-" Ethan grits his teeth, "It is him. I know it's him." Benji eyes Ethan intently, with a silent question. "Wait, how do you know it's really him?"

Ethan hesitates, a sick feeling rising in his throat as memories flood his vision until he sees nothing but death and blood, and bodies, and THAT stare. HIS stare.

The one that rips through your heart, and destroys your soul. That apathetic, cold, sadistic stare. A stare that might have faded over time, but here, now, it's terrifyingly clear, and he HATES it! He fucking- "Ethan?" Ethan closes his eyes and breathes before opening them again. "Because….I saw him…." Will, who's been sitting silently in the chair by the window, his head in his hands, stands, sadness morphing into anger. Will's voice is quiet, emotionless, empty. "How long have you known?" Ethan grimaces, "Since Germany….The security footage…."

Will abruptly strides toward Ethan, anger turning to pure rage. "Are you? Are you fucking kidding me! You knew this whole time?! This whole time a-and-y-y-you never once, not one FUCKING time, thought to tell us?! Tell anyone?!"

Ethan's voice shakes, "It's-I just….I wasn't sure. I-" Will grabs him before Ethan can pull away. "You weren't sure?! H-How about now?! Are you sure now?!" Luther and Benji pry Will away from Ethan, forcing his back. "Will, stop!" Ethan finally answers, "Yes, Will, I-It's him…."

Will charges at Ethan again, but Luther and Benji hold him back, "You're sure now? Now that Jane's dead?! You-You-Y-" Will finally tires himself out and stumbles away, breathless. Ethan's at a complete loss for words as he stands, his eyes narrow, face contorted into a sad, almost apologetic frown.

It's dead silent as Luther helps Will back to his feet and Benji squeezes Ethan's shoulder, "You okay…..?" Ethan shakes his head and moves toward Will. "Will….I. I'm sorry…'m ss-sorry. I'm……"

Ethan bows his head, eyes filling with tears as he inhales sharply. Will opens his mouth as if to say something, but stops once, twice, before backing off, defeated and exhausted, tears in his eyes as well. The deep silence hangs a moment before there's a quick ding. The burner phone. Benji sighs and picks up the phone. "What's it say?"

"Um, nothing," Benji clears his throat, "Just a home address. Vancouver, Canada." He hands the phone to Luther. No one says a word as they mill around for a second before grabbing their equipment and loading up a boat that is no longer a refuge for a vacation. Venice feels cold again. A coldness Ethan's only felt once before, as a 20-year-old kid, cradling a dead body, wishing to disappear into nothingness.

————————————

Vancouver, Canada

The house is a sky-blue Bungalow, a rural house with a huge yard because of how far away from everything it is, and white trim around the door and windows. There's a sprawling white porch with an array of flowers planted all around it, a sloped roof, and a few high-up windows. It's small for a family of eight with just one floor and a basement. From the porch everything looks normal, inviting even.

But then Benji notices something, nodding to the door that's cracked open. Someone kicked it open. Because they are wearing gloves, Ethan pushes the door open, his gun in front of him, aiming down as the door slides open. They pause a few seconds, listening for someone who might be inside, but there's nothing. Ethan makes a quick gesture to where a camera blends in well with the outer door frame before moving inside, the others flanking him in silence. Inside, there are all hardwood white tiled floors, with white walls separating the rooms.

The living room is bright and open with a big cream-colored sectional couch, soft cotton blue chairs with white pillows, two oak end tables, one oval-shaped wooden table in front of the couch, and a nice-sized flat-screen TV hanging over a not-lit stone fireplace. The dining room is also bright with a rectangular oak table and chairs around it. The kitchen is a standard mostly white one with lots of space. There are three big open-space bedrooms, one has a bunk bed, a twin-sized bed opposite it, lots of toys are scattered around the room, a racetrack rug in the middle with a few matchbox cars on it, and red painted walls

The second bedroom has three twin beds, each with a different theme, Dora, Disney, and Toy Story. The walls are painted purple with a bunch of different drawings all over them.

The third room is quite simple compared to the rest. It's got a king-sized bed and room-darkening curtains. There are also two big bathrooms.

The team notices none of that, their attention immediately drawn to the unnerving amount of blood that litters practically everything. It paints the floors, the walls, the furniture, the windows, everything in dark, almost black, thick layers of blood. "….My God…." Benji trails off as he lowers his gun and stares at the body on the floor. It's an older child, a teenage girl, shot twice in the chest. Ethan Grogley continues to the kitchen where he finds another body. A woman, the wife, Amber? She's been shot twice in the head point-blank. One for the kill, two for confirmation.

He shutters as he moves toward the bedrooms, stepping over a young boy who's been shot twice in the back from behind. He was trying to run. He looks kinda like-No! Stop it! This isn't about them! Focus!

Ethan exhales as he enters one of the bathrooms, turning to the bathtub to see a little girl leaning against an older boy, both dead. The boy was trying to protect his little sister. Blood….It's everywhere…..it-Ethan feels his mind drifting again. Like in Germany, he can hear the screaming echoing through his ears, can feel the blood splattering everywhere, can smell it, death. But the worst part is what he can see. It's running through his head over, and over, and over, like a broken record. And this time, he's not just watching, he's holding the gun. His mind is a maelstrom of memories, thoughts, and feelings all blending together in an endless cycle of violence.

Ethan's shaken to focus again as he hears a commotion from the living room. He makes his way, shuffling around, or trying to anyway, the blood that seems endless at this point. Will's heading toward the door as Benji and Luther look on. "Will? What er'-"

"I'm done." Ethan stills, "What?" Will shakes his head, "I'm done with this shit! I'm leaving!" Ethan quickly interjects, moving closer to Will. "Will, we still have-" Will's face twists into rage. "I don't care about the mission, Ethan! I don't care about any of it!"

"But we have t-" Will grits his teeth, basically fuming now. "We? W-No! Not 'we'! You!" Will shoves Ethan back. "This is you! This is your mission! Whoever did this, wants you, not me. Do what you want, but I'm done." Ethan tries to put his hand on Will's shoulder, only for it to get swatted away. "Will, please, just listen-"

"I did. I did listen to you. And look where that got us. How about now, Ethan? What now? What's your big plan to fix everything?" Ethan's silent, his gaze dropping to the floor, to the blood staining his shoes. "Well? Nothing? Really?" Will makes a sound kinda like a laugh. "Look at that! The man who's always got some way out of everything. What now? Do you have another miraculous idea to fix this, because I'd love to hear it right now." Ethan stands, almost frozen in place, still and silent. "That's what I thought."

There's a long silence as the two stare down each other. Ethan backs off a few steps, "Will, I get it, okay? You're right, I don't have a plan. To be honest, I've got no idea what to do next. But we need all the help we can get right now, that's you. And if not for you, do it for J-"

"Don't! Don't bring her into this! You're the reason she's dead in the first place! I-I asked you for help. I t-tr-tried, and you did nothing. You just stood there. S-She might've lived. She was still breathing. But you, you just-stood there, just like you did while I watched my team get murdered…..So, no. I don't care about this mission. I don't care if you have a plan or not. None of this matters anymore. I'm leaving, now. Before I lose the rest of my family because of you…."

————————————

Will knows he's being a little hard on Ethan. But Ethan's been lying to them this whole time, and he could have done something for Jane, but he did nothing. He should've done something. But he just fucking stood there and watched! He watched Jane die! It is his fault! It has to be his fault….

—————————

Benji had no idea what to do or say at this point. It all just keeps getting worse and worse and worse and worse with every single second and there's nothing he can do about it. Nothing! It's scary. It's sad. He knows he's a field agent, and he should have anticipated something like this happening. That being said, he always knew the job wouldn't be easy and he would eventually see some terrible things that might make him question the job, but this, this is beyond anything he could ever imagine. He's seen dead bodies before, lots of them. But none of them had been kids. They'd been the so-called "bad guys", and there were a few deaths that would tug at his heartstrings, like fellow agents, or unfortunate bystanders who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but even this is whole another level of cruelty he's never seen. Who's capable of doing this? Why? Killing kids! They will pay one way or another.

On top of that, Jane's dead, Will's spiraling, and Ethan's in a whole other world. Everything's falling apart! Benji can't be too mad, of course, Jane's death was absolutely devastating for all of them, especially Will. God, he can't imagine how terrible he must be feeling, and with this on top of that? That's unimaginably painful.

He doesn't blame Will for leaving if Benji's being honest, he's been thinking about that at the back of his mind. But he can't leave his team in the dust, can't leave Ethan, especially not now. Either way, Will's still being a little harsh. It's not fair to blame Ethan for everything. It's not like Ethan could have predicted any of this happening. He'll, he didn't even know Gabriel was alive, none of them had. It isn't like Ethan asked for this, it's just happening because Gabriel saw an opportunity. God, he hates that guy.

—————————

Luther opts not to intervene now because, one, Will needs this, preferably not toward Ethan, but still, and two, it's hard to completely dismiss what Will's saying, not entirely anyways. Ethan had lied, he should have said something when he saw the footage in Germany, whether he was sure or not, but it's not really Ethan's fault either because Luther can't understand how hard it would be to say something at the time, or at all honestly. Ethan has been through so much more than they know, and it's not for them to bother him about it, until now, because now it's actually important to know. Now it could've saved a life. It's a really hard thing. Everything is right now.

—————————

That hurts. It really fucking hurts. The worst part is Will's right. He could have, no, should have at least tried to do something, anything. It's not just Jane, it's Marie, it's Will's old team, they're all dead because he fucking stood there and watched, and let it happen. He's not even sure why anymore! Will has every right to hate him, he would if he were Will.

Why can't he do something? Why can't he move? Why does he just stand there and watch, like it's a fucking TV show? It's not because he's too scared, that's not an excuse. He doesn't have an excuse. He doesn't have a reason, a real one.

——————————

Will's gone by the time the burner phone rings in Benji's pocket. It's still silent as he pulls it out of his pocket and shows it to them. Ethan's doubts are instantly flushed away by the caller ID, it's Gabriel, because, of course, it is. Who else would it be? Shit….