The Strays
Chapter Twenty

I shook the chains behind my back with a sarcastic grin. “This seems a bit excessive.”

“Not to someone that knows what you’re capable of.” Ratchet retorted.

“Last I checked you weren’t that person, after all you and Raz were the ones that told me on numerous occasions I was always an underachiever, that if I took the time I could achieve so much more. I’m pretty certain the only person that knows what I’m capable of is Azrael and I was told she was dead. What happened to her? Did she not agree with your schemes anymore, did she get cold feet?”

“Don’t talk about her.” She hissed.

“Ah, it was more personal than that, did she finally realise she could do better than a heartless, soulless bitch like you?”

Ratchet put the gun to my temple and I could feel her getting ready to pull the trigger.

“Just fucking do it already.”

Before Ratchet could take things any further, though, Delilah intervened. “I thought you’d know better, she’s trying to get under your skin so you’ll shoot her and take away the only leverage we have over her brother. We eliminate her and he no longer has a reason to cooperate, which means our plan would be a failure; even in death she would ultimately win.”

My smile remained. “It was worth a shot.”

Delilah grabbed a rag and tied it around my mouth. “There, much better.”

I scowled at her, thinking some rather insulting word in my head that I couldn’t voice out loud as the pair left.

“Do not remove that gag or release her under any circumstance, is that understood?” Delilah instructed the guard on duty as she left, and the young girl left to watch me promptly nodded her head. “Yes ma’am, understood.”

“Good. Caelyn is to remain here until we return, and nobody is to unlock the door to Sean’s lab. He needs some time alone to think.”

I continued to scowl until they left, slumping backwards into the seat as I tried to fiddle with the chains around my wrist, trying to replace a way out of them. The sun started to set, and I realised I’d been failing to break free for a good few hours before I finally started to lose hope, deciding to give up.

That’s when something quite unexpected happened, the girl who was assigned to guard me quickly took a cautious look around before walking over to me and removing the gag.

I spat the remaining fibres out of my mouth, trying to get rid of the terrible texture and aftertaste that had been left behind as the young girl just stared at me. Now I was able to get a good look at her, something seemed startlingly familiar, but I couldn’t quite understand why. “Who are you, and are you helping me?”

The girl rolled her eyes and loudly laughed. “I guess I’m better at makeup than anybody gives me credit for.”

I found myself having to do a double take as she peeled off her wig and removed her contact lenses. “That’s twice I’ve saved your arse now, Cae.”

“Mac, what the hell are you doing here and what’s with the disguise.”

“If you must know, I’ve been undercover for months, spying on Delilah trying to work out what she was planning and when you came to ask for help, this is why I was quick to agree. I’ve known for a while that this girl is unstable, but I had to know how dangerous she was, how much of a threat she posed. Now I do and whatever it is she’s planning is locked up with Sean, who’s apparently the key.”

“He’s also my brother, so if you plan on hurting him you can think again.”

Mac took a step back, looking me up and down to make a point. “You’re chained to a bench, you couldn’t even stop me if you wanted to, which means I am still free to do as I please.”

“So what, did you just take off the gag so you could gloat, or was it just to exchange pleasantries?”

“We were able to work together once before and it wasn’t horrible. You know more about Delilah and her mind games than anyone else in the city, I hate to admit it, but if I’m going to stop her destroying everything I know, everything I love, I’m going to have to work with you again, provided you haven’t lost that spark of yours.”

“Trust me, I haven’t, I’m determined to bring Delilah down, now more than ever, but I’m not going to hurt my brother in order to do so.”

“I take it you have a better plan?”

“Get me out of these chains, then I’ll tell you.”

Mac disappeared and for a moment I wasn’t sure if she was going to come back, but when she did, it was with a pair of bolt cutters. “Will these do the trick?”

“I think they just might.”

I closed my eyes and held my breath as Mac cut the lock, slightly concerned about the consequences if she were to slip. There was a loud thud, and the lock fell to the floor as Mac helped me get the chains off.

“You said you had a better plan than killing your brother.”

“I do, but we need to get him out of that carriage.”

“Not a problem.” She smiled as she walked over to the door and went to snap the lock, but I quickly stopped her before she could. “What’re you doing?”

“If you snap the lock, then Delilah and Ratchet will know something is up, we have to be more strategic about this.”

“Whatever we’re going to do it should be quick, your friends could be back any minute.”

“In that case, you snap the lock and distract the guards, then I’ll use the hatch on top of the carriage to sneak in and knock them out.”

“That’s actually a pretty good pla…” Mac was cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Quickly hide the bolt cutters and act normal, we can’t let them suspect anything is wrong.”

“I really hope you know what you’re doing.” She hissed as she hid the bolt cutters and I picked the broken lock off the floor, hiding it behind my back as I sat back down.

“Just follow my lead.” I replied as she returned to her post.

I loosely put the gag around my mouth, and my hands behind my back, both only tight enough to fool my captors, just in time for Delilah and Ratchet’s return.

“Awe, you’re still here, I’m glad to see you haven’t gone anywhere.” Delilah teased as she entered and I simply glared at her, as I would’ve done anyway, needing to keep up the charade as long as possible. She walked over to me, gripping my face in her hands as she forced me to look up at her. “Who would’ve thought that this is how our little game of cat and mouse would inevitably end?”

I wrapped each end of the chain around my hands, creating a taut line between the two as Delilah turned to face Ratchet, no doubt to continue gloating. I saw an opportunity and took it, wrapping the chain around her neck as I kicked her in the back of the leg, forcing her to her knees. I spat out the gag, and it fell around my neck as I choked Delilah just enough to make a point, distracting Ratchet so Mac could steal her pistol. “Azrael taught you better than I realised.” She glowered as she raised her hands in the air, furious that she had been betrayed twice and was now being held at gunpoint by her own weapon.

“I think she always knew I’d replace out the truth about you and I’m sure she knew I couldn’t take you down if you were able to predict my every move, so she taught me a few things that stayed just between the two of us or did you think you were the only one capable of surprising people?”

Ratchet impatiently rolled her eyes. “What happens now, then? I know you aren’t a killer, Liberty. You are all about freedom, compassion and saving people, not cold-blooded murder.”

“Cae might not be much of a killer, at least not unless it’s accidental or self-defence, I on the other hand would be quite comfortable pulling this trigger, because all those characteristics that make Cae who she is, my defining traits happen to be the complete opposite.” Mac remarked as she expertly checked the magazine to see how much ammunition she had. “So, this is what is going to happen Ratchet, you are going to open that carriage door, you will dismiss the guards and invite Sean to join us out here, with his research, if you try to alert anyone about what is going on, I will not hesitate to shoot anyone stupid enough to try and intervene. Is that clear?”

Ratchet nodded her head, and Mac smiled. “Good.”

I watched as Ratchet unlocked the door to my brother’s compartment, listening as the guards left via the back exit as instructed. Sean returned with her and he seemed so confused, so ashamed, as he witnessed what I was doing to Delilah.

“Do you really think the three of you are going to get away with this?” Ratchet asked as Mac grabbed Sean by the arm and I let Delilah go.”

“Actually I do, the odds seem pretty promising.” Mac retorted. “Now, throw me the padlock.”

“Why?” Ratchet sneered.

“Well, I want to see how much you enjoy being chained up in a train car with a filthy gag around your mouth. Honestly, the way I see it you deserve as good as you get and so much more, but I know Cae wouldn’t approve of me putting a bullet in you, then leaving you here to bleed out, but I also can’t have you follow us, so this seems like a righteous compromise.” Mac reasoned as Ratchet kicked the lock over to her and she took the chains from me.

Delilah struggled to her feet with her ally’s aid and I stepped back, taking the gun from Mac as she chained the pair up, just as they’d done to me. She also took the gag from around my neck, as well as another piece of discarded cloth she found lying around, and used that to silence them as she wore a large, triumphant grin.

Once Delilah and Ratchet were firmly dealt with, Mac went into Sean’s lab, destroying all of his research so nobody else could get their hands on it. “I think it’s about time we left, don’t you?” She stated as I lowered the weapon, put the safety on, and then slipped it into my waistband, silently agreeing with her as we left.

I couldn’t even look my brother in the eye, let alone speak, as he asked me his questions during our escape.

“Where are we going, Caelyn? Please tell me you thought that through at least, because I am not as familiar with this sector as I would like to be.” Mac complained as we ducked out of sight from a patrol.

“This is actually somewhere I used to come a lot, I suppose that’s why Delilah appropriated it and brought me here. She wants me to know that everything that was once mine now belongs to her, but that gives me the advantage of knowing exactly where I am and where we need to go next. Colt managed to get away, I know where he’ll be and I am hoping some other friends of mine will be with him.”

Mac’s face went pale, so did Sean’s, both sharing a look.

“What aren’t the two of you telling me?”

“There’s something you should know before we meet up with your friends.” Mac sighed.

“What do I need to know?”

“It’s Ace, he’s dead. When Delilah apprehended your brother, there was a big fight, a fire broke out and he got trapped inside the building.”

I stared up at my brother. “You’re wrong, you have to be wrong, he can’t be gone, he just can’t. Nobody else was supposed to die, why does everyone around me have to die?”

Sean wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly as I violently pounded on his chest before collapsing into him. It was all too much, everything started spinning and I couldn’t firmly plant my feet. My brother gently lowered me to the ground as I sobbed and sobbed, unable to hide the pain anymore. Then I felt a sharp sting in my cheek and everything stopped. Slowly, I started to come to my senses and Mac helped me up off the ground.

“Thank you.” I smiled as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

“I think that’s the first time anyone has thanked me for clocking them, but you’re welcome anyway, I’d do it anytime. Now you need to get your shit together and get us out of here, we need to stop the Elites and you have your faction to be getting back to.”

I led them to Jeremiah’s safe house, and Mac gave me an approving nod. “How many of these places do you have?”

“Enough to keep me undetected, you didn’t honestly think The Paragon and my other place were the only ones, I needed at least one place that nobody would be able to replace, at least not on their own, anyway.”

“You’re more resourceful than I thought, I just figured you were only as good as the E.A.D trained you to be with their resources, I never thought they’d expanded on skills you already had.”

“There is a lot more to me than I let you think, you and Hatter only ever saw one side, but there’s more to me than just that.”

“So it would appear.” She smiled as she opened the door and I stepped inside.

“Stay behind me, don’t go off on your own and try not to make any noise.” I whispered as we climbed the familiar staircase, just as I’d done the first time I’d come here, I checked each room methodically, before making my way to the kitchen at the back, my heart heavy as each memory played on a loop as the echoes of the past engulfed me. We hadn’t been here very long, but it was long enough for me to see the ghosts of them in every darkened corner.

I felt a hand on my shoulder as we reached the kitchen and turned to see my brother’s reassuring smile, but as I searched the room in front of me, I realised it was empty and my heart sank. Colt hadn’t made it here, neither had the others, which meant they could be anywhere.

“Okay… I get that with everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours, you’re probably struggling a bit with your self-confidence, but as far as awful plans go, teaming up with Mac is by far the worst. I get that it worked once before, but that doesn’t mean she can be trusted.” Ace’s voice called out from behind us, and we all turned on our heels. “Honestly Cae, you really need to do a better job of thoroughly searching a place before walking straight in, you might be distracted but if I was anyone else you’d be de…” His words stopped as I ran over to him and hugged him tightly, making sure he was real and I wasn’t just hallucinating him.

“I thought you were dead, I was told you were dead, how could you do that to me you bastard?”

“Your friend Tali pulled me out just in time, she’s quite the spy, I didn’t even realise she was following me.”

“You also didn’t realise your sister’s goons were following you either apparently, you led them straight to me, you should’ve been more careful.” Sean interjected as he pulled me away.

“Someone must’ve spotted me after I left here and trailed me. You’re right, I should’ve known better and I’m sorry I led them straight to you.” Ace apologised.

“As touching as this heartfelt reunion is, something tells me we’re going to need more than the black sheep of the family to stop his sister. Right now, all we have are bits and pieces, without access to the Elite’s confidential files we can’t see the bigger picture.” Mac pessimistically stated.

Ace looked at me. “Don’t you still have your hard drives with the data you stole?”

“Nope, I had to leave them behind at the camp when I turned myself in and I didn’t have time to decrypt them, so the only information I have is the stuff that wasn’t important.”

“I guess it’s a good job I took the liberty of getting the band back together then.” Ace smirked as Jeremiah, Tali, and Colt all stepped into view.

“How are you holding up, Cae? Colt told me what happened, I’m so sorry, I can’t believe they’re gone.” Tali cried, her eyes brimming with tears as we hugged.

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, it’s my fault they’re gone, not yours, I was the one that failed them.” I whispered as I hugged her back.

“What’s she talking about?” Sean asked, sincerely concerned.

“And why is the leader of the Trojan’s here?” Mac hissed.

“Wraith managed to get us to a haven outside of the city, somewhere we could keep our faction safe, except Ratchet had a spy on the inside and when we arrived she notified Delilah, apparently the pair had formed quite the alliance. Ratchet thought Cae and I might be able to help train the kids in the camp to fight back, which prompted Ratchet’s intervention. Cae and I were told that if we didn’t turn ourselves in, they’d breach the camp, killing anyone in their way, so we did what we had to, agreed to their demands but Delilah blew up the camp anyway, making us watch.” Colt explained as I walked away, no longer able to listen, reliving every second with every word he spoke.