hvbris - Tumblr blog

[hvbris]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀 & 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Mina was nodding enthusiastically, now. "Yes, that's so true. Because with blurry pictures, people always say it could be anything, and it's super frustrating." So what if photos of Bigfoot and Nessie were always blurry? People were just looking for excuses to not believe in hard proof! But with a clear picture, then no one could argue with her.

At Andrea's question, she perked up. No one ever believed her, but Theo did. So surely, his fiancé would too, right? "Well, I was abducted by aliens," she explained very frankly, "but no one believes me. So if I can prove that other supernatural things exist, people will have to believe me." That sounded like a solid plan to Mina.

At the hot dog stand, Cassandra had heard Mina mentioning aliens, but she tried to not panic. Andrea seemed like a nice lady, so hopefully she wouldn't... hold it against her little sister.

"Thank you," she smiled, focusing back on Theo (still felt weird!) and trying to not worry about Mina talking about aliens and cryptids. "Hot dogs sound really good right now." She had to admit that she was having a good day. And Theo had been nothing but nice to them, he had even helped with things that would have freaked out most people. She was starting to think that maybe, they could be happy here.

Looking at the hot dog salesman, George, she felt he wanted to tell Theo more things, and she wondered if he was some top-secret FBI informant or something. She thought it would be very cool. "Yes, I'm ready to go," she agreed, following him back to Mina and Andrea.

Andrea beamed warmly and that little bit excitedly as she thought they had come to some sort of compromise over mothman and how to catch him on film. "Yeah exactly and you never know, with a trail cam things might be steadier and harder to dispute, right?" Or was it easier as they were often poor quality. Not that she was going to argue that point, she was going to take the compromise as it came and be grateful that she had not walked herself into spending a night in the woods somewhere. She did notice the dip in Mina's smile though, "So what got you interested in Mothman?"

As Cassandra thanked him, Theo did give her a smile, he did expect them to go to school eventually. He knew it was important for settling them into the city, for them to have friends and places to go as he had enjoyed in his youth in the city. Though, there would forever be the looming threat of Delta Green's eagerness to recruit them. Mina was far too young and he hoped Cassandra not remembering the ordeal meant she would be spared such a life but he just didn't know.

"Of course," he answered for his patience, "I have already asked a lot from you both, I am not about to throw you in at the deep end with school as well." At least he was aware it was going to take some time for them to be ready for school. "We don't need to worry about that right now anyway, right now it's all about hot dogs," he smiled as George at the stand finished with his customer and beckoned them over. Theo placed their order and engaged in some quiet chit-chat though it was clear that George had more to tell Theo but would not in front of Cassandra. He instead handed over their hot dogs and bid them a goodbye with the promise of speaking to Theo later.

With that, Theo turned to Cass, a hot dog in each hand and checked on her quickly to see if she was ready to head back to Rea and Mina. "I think I saw some benches free up ahead if you're ready to go?"

[hvbris]

𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐄 & 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐀 @mossyent

Cassandra only got to gloat for a few seconds before Reggie pushed her away from him. Still, she could have sworn... No, she had imagined it, right? Her cheeks were definitely a little bit pink as she watched him stand up.

"I can handle myself," she replied dismissively, though her smile betrayed that she felt smug about it.

And, emboldened by her recent success, she didn't give him any time to get too comfortable. Quick on her feet, she leaped toward him, aiming for the ribs again. This time, she landed the punch, sending Reggie stumbling backward.

As she took him by surprise again, their position was reversed suddenly. (How is she this strong? i'm probably twice her weight) He was stunned for a moment as he looked up at Cass now sat astride his lap. (CALM DOWN!) It may have been too late already but he had to act quickly to not have an embaressing moment and her discover something. He quickly tucked his hands around and under her knees. Lifting and pushing away from him to create some room. He used enough force to over balance her backwards meaning she would have to follow the motion and stand up to stop herself from going over again. Once she was in motion he quickly tucked his legs under himself and popped up to his feet ready (phew! that was too close) "I see you have a few tricks then" He joked smiling

[hvbris]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha tried to laugh, though the sound wasn't very convincing in her current state. It sounded more like a fit of coughing. "Just like the old days," she confirmed with a smile.

It should have been a safe, easy mission. And now she had a gun wound in the shoulder. It all felt like a very bad joke from fate. On the first day, really? How had Sloane even found out that they'd be there? She wasn't naive, she knew this was no coincidence at all.

But that meant that he was on their tail. Looking for them. Looking for Killian. The thought felt like ice water, spreading through her veins.

"We should just wave back, yes," she agreed, "that would freak him out." She didn't need to ask to know that he'd shoot Sloane on sight the next time. Still, the image was funny, and talking kept her mind off the blinding pain that irradiated all over her chest. Being in Killian's arms helped too, it made her feel safer. And with the ambulance on its way, she knew that this would all soon be nothing but another scar to add to the list.

"Well, we've always been great at multitasking," she joked softly.

Her laboured breathing worried him terribly and his grip on the jacket got that bit tighter as he pushed it against her shoulder, trying to stem the bleeding. Next time he knew to just pull the trigger, just kill him and be done with it. He felt bad for putting her in a position where she was comforting him instead and Killian found himself just nodding for a moment, agreement that she would be fine. Sloane did seem to have shot either very well or very poorly, she would recover but he hated seeing her injured, it was her breathing that was troubling him. He wrapped his other arm around her carefully, there didn't seem to be any blood at her back which was both good and bad news but it did mean he was able to hold her and he hoped comfort her properly.

"Just like old times," he tried to joke carefully even if he sounded just that little bit shaky in his voice. He was still so tense but thankfully no one had tried to approach them and he was sure he could hear sirens in the distance. Good! "Next time, we'll just wave back, huh?" he let a little nervous laugh escape, trying to keep her calm as best he could. "Imagine his confusion, he'd probably panic." The image was quite funny in truth, it would be the last thing Sloane expected of them even if it would never happen, Killian hated him too much to let him go but he was glad he had stopped for Samantha.

"Hear that? Sirens are on the way," he managed a proper smile that time, relief in being able to tell her and that they were perhaps only a few minutes away from professional help. "They'll have you patched up and safe and we'll have still done more than Not Fast."

[hvbris]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Maybe it was selfish, but Samantha was relieved to hear Killian wouldn't sleep either. The night would be easier with him by her side. "It's okay," she said with a little smile, examining a can of beans, "we'll keep each other company. Maybe they have board games here?" If they played something silly, like Monopoly, it could keep their mind off the horrors lurking outside.

She put down the beans, next to the can of corn, and grabbed a can of potted meat. She was looking at the expiration date when Killian started talking, and immediately looked up to meet his eyes.

Her smile fell. "Killian, I'm so sorry." She was touched he would share something like that with her, but couldn't even begin to imagine how scary it must have been for him. No wonder he couldn't sleep after that! And after what had happened here...

"Your dad sounds great," she replied, "it's a very nice way to look at it." She put her hand on his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for sharing this with me." Was it awkward to say that? She appreciated his trust and wanted him to know it.

Killian watched her with Ruby's head and did note how she seemed to be a natural at it. He wondered if she had to look after her father in such a way after her mother's death but he didn't voice his thoughts, instead just waiting for her to come with him to look through the kitchen since they had established neither of them wanted to be alone.

He lead the way into the kitchen and thought it was very likely he wouldn't be sleeping a wink either. "No I don't think so," he confirmed and gave her something meant to have been a smile even if his heart wasn't quite in it. He was so very glad that Samantha was there with him, he felt they already understood each other and that so far their promise of looking out for one another was still being honoured. He thought of the last time he had faced a sleepless night, how trivial it seemed now in it's own way. He opened a cupboard and found a stack of plates before moving on to another one to check for cans.

"When I was younger my parents were robbed," he explained, comfortable sharing the detail with her given her openness with him earlier about her late mother. He didn't feel he owed her the information but wanted to offer it regardless. "I didn't feel like I could sleep safely for weeks afterwards," he still struggled if he could not at least see enough to make objects out. "But my dad told me that I shouldn't be afraid of the shadows because if I could see them, then there must be light near by." Was this any help? It comforted him in some ways but he wasn't sure he wanted to be seen by whatever was out there!

[hvbris]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

[📲: World’s Best Agent 🌟] Blockbuster for Exhausted Parents™ [📲: World’s Best Agent 🌟] I think that's a solid business plan. [📲: World’s Best Agent 🌟] You paid for your hubris so fast. That must be a record. [📲: World’s Best Agent 🌟] Maybe not your office ringtone, otherwise you'll be rage-fueled 24/7. But every time an agent misbehaves, change their ringtone to Baby Shark.

[Miss Sunshine 🌞] I think you would do well businesswise [Miss Sunshine 🌞] A nice mix of movies for the exhausted. [Miss Sunshine 🌞] Is it bad that I kind of want to set the office ringtone to Baby Shark? [Miss Sunshine 🌞] I feel like it would spur up enough rage that whatever is happening on the other end, someone will know they have to do their job properly? [Miss Sunshine 🌞] Or is that too mean of me? [Miss Sunshine 🌞] ... [Miss Sunshine 🌞] I've doomed myself, it's in my head. Send help.

[hvbris]

𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐒 & 𝐄𝐕𝐄 & 𝐍𝐎𝐀𝐇​ @uselessdevice​

Funny. Their stories were so similar. It was a sad kind of funny, bittersweet. But in all this sourness, there was still the strange comfort of knowing that someone understood what they had gone through. Murderous parents weren’t all that common after all.

Maybe that was why Noah got out of his torpor, looked at Saros, and replied.

“Yes,” he confessed, “our dad tried to stab me.”

It was odd, to say it out loud. Eve looked at him, surprised. For once, she was the silent one. It was their taboo, but it was still his scar. This was his story to tell. The little glitch between them, the only difference.

“It only missed the eye by a little. I could have gone blind if he had stabbed just a bit further. Lucky me, right?”

[hvbris]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha followed Killian downstairs, trying to be as silent as him as she walked down the stairs and headed to the living room. She glanced at the front door, the windows... Would any of this be enough to keep the entity out? An image of the town hall massacre flashed into her mind. No, of course it wouldn't be enough. But she preferred to think that they were safe here.

"That's a good idea," she whispered, "they must have a big stock of cans and preserves, in a town so remote." She put the pillows on the floor and very carefully placed one under Ruby's head. It seemed she was used to doing things like that, for her hands were steady and assured.

"Let's go look for food now," she then suggested. They could also talk more easily in the kitchen, without the risk of waking Ruby up. As she walked toward the kitchen, and then into the small pantry, she said: "I don't think I'll sleep, no. After everything that happened, I'm just... too scared to sleep." In a way, it was a little bit liberating to admit to Killian that she was terrified.

She turned to look at him, holding a can of corn. "What about you?"

Ruby was going to be ok, Killian convinced himself, they would look after her tonight while Chief was on look out and they would get her to a hospital in the morning. It was something they could easily do and it would be easier in the daytime to see any monsters changing them. It was easier to pretend that there was a plan even if they had only devised it themselves. "Don't worry about it," he said to her thanks, a little awkward but only because he wasn't sure what to say. In truth he was very touched she had told him about her mother and her grief, a little insight into her life even if Killian could not quite return that favour, he felt he should put them on even ground as Samantha had done beforehand around his birthday but what to say?!

Killian carried one of the blankets and some of the pillows down the stairs, being careful with his footsteps to not make too much noise both for worry of disturbing Ruby or getting attention from whatever was outside. "Do you think we should check for some cans of food in the kitchen?" He whispered. They would need breakfast and something for Ruby to keep her strength up surely? Cans could last months, right?

He put the pillows on the floor near the couch and took extra care to put the blanket he was carrying over Ruby, doing his best not to wake her or touch her wounded leg or really anything of hers at all. The living room was not the comfiest looking place and there was still a window now on the ground floor looking over the woodland. He looked over to Samantha, wishing they could have just gone back to their topic of stars and gemstones. "Do you think you will sleep?" he checked in, nervously knowing that he likely was not going to.

[hvbris]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

"Hey, don't say that," she interjected through labored breathing, trying to sound as comforting as she could with a bullet in her shoulder, "I could have shot him too, and I didn't. We were just trying to do the right thing, and arrest him properly."

Lesson learned. Next time, she wouldn't be so generous.

Samantha didn't really know if Sloane had lost his touch. Clearly, he had outsmarted them again. They thought they'd ambushed him, but he had ambushed them first. And he still knew them well. He knew she'd immediately rush to protect Killian, just like he knew Killian wouldn't chase him if she was hurt.

But she wanted to reassure him, even now.

"Stop that, please," she scolded gently, "I wanted to come here and work with you. Everything's ok. I'm gonna be fine."

She was scared but had reverted to this old habit of comforting other people without even realizing it. Trying to steady her breathing, she reached for his arm again, holding it tightly. It felt like a twisted joke from fate, that on her first day back on the field, Sloane would shoot her. And what would she tell her husband?

Had it been any other agent that had been shot in front of him, Killian likely would have left them so to not lose Sloane after hunting him for so long. Samantha was different though, his exception to his very stringent obedience of the rules. Maybe that was why they had eventually stopped working together? So efficient as a team that they became inefficient if something happened to either one.

At her reassurance of his hesitations, Killian felt all the more guilty. He knew Samantha understood his problem but that didn't make it any easier in his mind when he was trying to help her. Her kindness was still appreciated though as he pressed his jacket into her shoulder. Doing his absolute best to convince himself that the blood would not eventually soak through it, at least not before an ambulance arrived. He was at least reassured that she said she was fine. "I'm sorry, I should have just shot him dead when he stopped."

Was Sloane losing his touch? Killian doubted it. While he was sure to keep pressure on the wound for Samantha, he was then unable to stop himself from looking around, towards the body on the floor that had attacked him and the people gathering around, the roofs above them and even across the road to where Sloane had vanished. He could feel himself tensing up again, getting protective of Samantha as he worried that this was all part of Sloane's plan and someone or something else was waiting for him to let his guard down. Would he be in the ambulance? At the hospital?

Samantha wasn't even supposed to be there! He'd begged her to come with him, he'd put her in danger for his insisting and now she was hurt! "I'm sorry," he repeated, "you shouldn't have had to come out. I shouldn't have pushed you to come." He checked on her between his surveying of their surroundings, trying to make sure she was alright. Or at least as alright as she could be after being shot.

[hvbris]

𝐑𝐔𝐅𝐔𝐒 & 𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐀𝐂@uselessdevice

Isaac observed Rufus Poyntz like one would look at a particularly misbehaved mouse. If he had a nose in this form, it would be wrinkled in annoyance. But in place of a nose, he had only two reptilian slits.

"She's not here if that is what you're thinking," he replied without a word, placing another electrode on Rufus Poyntz. "As for what I did to her, you're about to find out all on your own."

@hvbris // & Isaac

Rufus strained against his bonds, teeth gritted as cold unnatural hands pressed the equipment to his skin. Is this what had happened? To Leah? To the others? He had a whole filing cabinet of missing children back in his home office, every single one disappeared under strange, unexplainable circumstances.

Some of them came home. Some, like his sister, never did. Even parents were gone in a few cases, though those were rare. All these families torn apart by the whims of this- this thing standing over him.

"What did you do with her? Where is she?"

[hvbris]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha agreed with Killian, once was enough. And a part of her, the optimistic one (which was admittedly the biggest part of her), wanted to think that it wouldn't happen again. That she would never have to cauterize a wound in the future. This would prove to be wishful thinking, but at the moment, Samantha was still unaware that many more horrors would punctuate her life.

She helped him, gathering up a few pillows. She missed her bed and her room, and the feeling of safety she felt in her house. Here, it seemed she only felt safe next to Killian, but even then she was on edge. Whatever had hurt Ruby was still out there. And Chief was outside, alone...

"Yes, we'll take her to a hospital," she agreed, looking away from the bed to focus on Killian instead, "and there are lots of good prosthetics nowadays. She'll get to come back to Finn, whoever he is." She smiled. "Thank you for listening."

"Let's go downstairs and settle for the night."

The prospect of dealing with the entity in the woods was absolutely terrifying, so she tried to ignore it for now. One thing at a time, right? First, they had to make sure Ruby was comfortable. Then, tomorrow they'd find a car and drive her to the hospital, and only then would they have to worry about the monster again.

Unfortunately, that would turn out to be wishful thinking too.

Killian was not convinced he knew how to cauterize a leg if he was asked to do it in the future. He did spend a moment thinking about it but forbid himself from dwelling on it. How often in life was it necessary to cauterize a wound anyway? "Once was enough," he agreed with a little nod and smile. He had heard that laughter die in her throat and he could hardly blame her for it. He wished he could sleep and just restart when he woke up but he knew that wasn't happening and even if it did, the problems and the danger was all too much to just pretend it was a fresh start.

With Samantha's confirmation that they should get back to Ruby, Killian nodded and folded his arms again awkwardly, the peas just held carelessly as he took one more glance at the sink before following her out to collect the blankets.

Time heals a lot of things. He thought about that for a moment as he gathered up the blankets. Hoping that his parents would heal in their own way after losing everything. He felt guilty for the comparison though, Samantha was obviously talking about her and her father's grief. "Thank you for telling me, Samantha," he said after he mulled it over, "it must be really hard for you with Ruby right now, but we're all here together and we'll get out together." He trusted Chief, the guy looked tough as anything and he and Samantha were already a good team. "We'll find a working car in the morning and get Ruby out of here to a hospital and then come back to deal with- with whatever is outside."

[hvbris]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha had been shot before, but it was really one of those things that never got easier. As the bullet punctured her skin, lodging itself in her flesh, the pain took all the air out of her lungs. She only realized she was falling when she hit the ground. All she could do was watch as Sloane escaped, though she was finding it hard to fully focus on him as the pain kept pulsating through her entire chest.

When Killian crouched next to her, she had half a mind to tell him to follow Sloane, but the truth was she wanted him to stay next to her. Was it selfish? Maybe, deep down, she was still that scared girl in Colorado.

She looked at him, and then she looked at his hand as it hovered over her bloodied shoulder. "It's ok," she reassured him, putting her hand over his arm, and giving it a gentle squeeze. She quickly removed it when he went to take his jacket off, and winced once he pressed the fabric against the wound. Yeah, that never got easier.

"I'm fine," she exhaled, "I'm fine. The shoulder, that's nothing. Maybe he's lost his touch after all these years."

Sloane had taken his opportunity and while his own plan had not worked out, his opportunity to escape was right in front of him. Once he had let the bullet loose, he had sprinted towards Samantha and leapt over her. "Maybe next time, little Sunlight," he cooed over his shoulder as he raced into the traffic, dodging cars and causing a few to swerve and run into each other, vanishing into a park and a crowd on the other side.

Killian unceremoniously rolled the limp stranger off of him and sat up to see Sloane running through the traffic. He was quick to get on his feet and started after him but Samantha at the end of his path was not getting up and it took him just half a second to see the blood on her shoulder. He looked as his target vanished on the other side of the road as worry kicked in for Samantha in front of him. He gave up on Sloane, releasing his mad hatred of him for the moment and turning all of his attention onto Samantha. Landing on his knees next to her to support her.

"Hey, look at me," he spoke to her seeing the blood coming from her shoulder and while he moved his hand to press against the wound he couldn't quite touch it. He tried hard but his hand just would not get any closer, he blinked hard several times while his hand shook and gestured wildly between them, refusing to cooperate. Frustrated at himself, he began to shake off his jacket instead. "Looks like it's a clean shot," he told her as he pulled his loose jacket around to press against her wound instead, the barrier doing it's job for his hesitations for now as he applied pressure. "I've got you, I've got you." He promised. A member of the public nearby was already on the phone he imagined for the police but there would be an ambulance too and he could get Samantha to a hospital.

[hvbris]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

"I'm glad he was here too. I don't think I could have done that..." She shook her head to try and chase away the sound of sizzling flesh. But deep down, she knew the sound would never truly leave her mind, and she wondered if she'd ever be able to enjoy a barbecue again. "But... Now we know how to do it, at least." She tried to chuckle, tried to see the bright side of it, but her laughter died so fast in her throat that it sounded like a croak. "I just hope we'll never have to use this knowledge."

Her arms and hands now clean, she took one of the hand towels. "Yes, it's hard," she confirmed as she dried her hands, "in the end, we all just do the best we can."

Whoever Finn was, she promised herself that she would bring Ruby back to him. She would soon learn that making such promises was bound to break her heart. But she'd never really stop making them anyway.

"Thank you," she smiled, "I really appreciate it. But you're right, we should get back to Ruby and make sure she's comfortable and safe downstairs." She put down the towel, folding it properly, though she wasn't sure why, really. It wasn't like anyone lived here anymore. "Things are better, now. Time heals a lot of things."

And as she walked out of the bathroom to go fetch some blankets with Killian, she wondered if time would ever heal them from the events of the night.

He was glad she had accepted his praise and he believed Chief was just made of different stuff to have done what he did. "I'm glad he was here," he said honestly, what would they have done if it was just the pair of them? He looked to his hand when she mentioned it, the colour had returned though it did just look cold now. "It's ok, the peas helped. She didn't hurt me." He was sure to clarify, poor Ruby.

Killian stood with her in that silence, still not quite able to draw his eyes away from the blood in the sink but content to stand next to her as she spoke about her mother. He knew they were not supposed to share such things with each other but she seemed so shaken up and upset about Ruby and whatever thoughts she had she was clearly linking back to her lost mother. It was very upsetting to hear and he really felt for her.

"I guess grief can be so hard on people," he had thankfully not yet experienced such a loss in his family. Both sets of grandparents were still in his life too and Killian was somewhat oblivious to just how bad loss could be. But he wasn't an idiot and it sounded like Samantha had to pull an awful lot more weight when she was younger. "It's ok," he told her when she apologised and did think about Ruby and whoever Finn might have been. "I don't know who Finn is, but she seemed to like the idea that he was here." Whether she was mistaking Killian for whoever Finn was, he couldn't say.

"It's been a long day, we should go down and sit with Ruby and make sure she's ok and can get back to whoever Finn is tomorrow." He forced a smile and gently squeezed at her arm before letting her go. "I am really sorry about your Mom, Samantha. And for what your Dad went through. I hope things are better now but if it helps, we can agree that nothing either of us say will ever leave this room?" If she needed to say more he thought he should have offered up permission, not sure he would be any good at handling it but the offer was there.

[hvbris]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha cringed at the nickname. Sunshine. Once upon a time, he used to call her that. Sunshine, Sunflower... Now, hearing him saying the name made her stomach churn.

"It's Agent Jacobs to you," she was quick to correct through gritted teeth. He'd lost the right to call her anything but that the day he betrayed Killian and her.

Her eyes followed his motions as he wiggled his fingers and grinned, her own fingers twitching against the trigger. Should she just shoot him here and there? He was dangerous, he was insane, and...

Before she could even finish her thought, someone jumped at Killian. With quick reflexes, she immediately aimed at the assailant to try and protect Killian. The memory of him, burned and injured on the floor, was still etched into her brain... She shot, and the man fell limp on the ground.

Despite the unfortunate chain of events that followed, she wouldn't come to regret her decision later. Even as Sloane took out his gun like he was in a freaking western, even as the bullet lodged itself right into her shoulder, the pain sending shockwaves through her body, she didn't regret her decision.

Because she'd kept Killian safe.

Something was wrong. This was too easy. Killian had dreamt and wished for so long just how he would track and detain Sloane. The man was crafty, far too good at disguises and so very determined, it wasn't sitting right with him. This had to be part of his plan, some factor neither of them had considered. This was not how it had gone down in his head at all. Sloane had waved at them, got their attention and made them chase him. Sure, he was insane but he wasn't a fool. Killian's paranoia did not relent as he tried to work out Sloane's plan, pointing his gun at the other man's head and his finger wavering on the trigger. He wanted to pull it, to see the bullet burst through Sloane's head and see his brains splatter out and just be done with it. His stomach turned and he tried to ground himself again, eyes fixed on the back of Sloane's head.

Meanwhile, Sloane did raise his hands as Samantha asked, though he still seemed crouched over as if he was still trying to catch his breath. He was still smiling an unnervingly genuine lopsided grin at her, his back to Killian now that Samantha was giving out instructions. He was nervous though, Killian and Samantha had always been capable agents and he knew full well the pair of them hated him. "Yes I believe you, Sunshine," he called back to her almost like a friendly neighbour would. "I swear to god," he repeated back at her, wiggling his empty fingers like a cheesy children's magician. "Or should I say... I swear to Cthugha?"

At the mention of the God's name, another figure dived out of the alleyway Killian had come through, throwing all of their weight at him with a wild scream in an attempt to tackle him to the ground. Killian had been so focused on Sloane he had no time to prepare and went down in an instant. A bullet fired off as he was hit, apparently he had been so very ready to put one through Sloane's head, luckily it shot into the wall of the building instead.

[hvbris]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

As she looked at the red water, the red stains on the sink, and the red drops on her arms, Samantha worried that the blood would never wash off. "Thank you," she said softly, touched by Killian's encouraging words. "I don't know how Chief had the courage to do what he did, though. That was very impressive." She turned away from the bloody water to look at him. "You were very impressive too. How is your hand?"

She fell silent for a moment, looking back at her arms. The water was running pink now. She took some soap and started to properly scrub off everything. "I don't remember her a lot. My dad took it really hard. I don't think he smiled for a whole year after her death." She remembered being very sad too, but she mostly remembered trying to cheer up her dad, to bring him back to life.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't... it's just... Seeing Ruby..." She shook her head. "Do you think Finn is her son? Or her husband?" What if she never came home? What if Finn, whoever he was, had to mourn her just like Samantha and her dad had mourned her mom?

Killian was with her as she checked behind her to make sure he was following, diligently doing so as he too spared some careful checks around the house just in case! He followed her to the bathroom, standing in the doorway with his arms folded, pressing the peas against his side to help his hand which was already numb and feeling better in all truth.

"You did a really good job, I wouldn't have known where to start but it looks good to me." He watched the stream of red wash from her arms, unable to pull his eyes away from it and how it stained the dust on the basin or turned nearly a different shade when it washed off of Samantha's skin. There was so much blood in Ophir. All over the floors, walls, now in the house and all over Samantha. He never wanted to see blood again he decided as he watched it go down the drain.

Then came Samantha's blurted confession and Killian's heart sank. He couldn't imagine life without either of his parents, how horrible it must have been for Samantha to lose her mother like that, suddenly. Was she having thoughts about it because of Ruby? For a moment he didn't have the first clue of what to say to her but he did move from the doorway further into the bathroom to be closer to her.

"I'm sorry about your Mom," he said honestly, "it must have been hard, losing her like that." Was he making it worse?! This had to be because of Ruby or maybe she was just scared? He was damn scared so he assumed she was. After a moment he reached a hand out and put it on her clean arm, just some contact, some reassurance was all he could think to offer up in case he was not helping in talking.

[hvbris]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Despite having left the field for a few years now, Samantha still had her old reflexes. And it seemed she could also still work with Killian very well, immediately understanding what his plan was. As he disappeared in the alleyway, she stayed on Sloane's tail, running behind him.

Anger was a good fuel, and soon enough she had caught up with him, blocking his exit. "And you've gotten slow," she snarled, her fingers tensed around the trigger of her gun.

Why was he here? It couldn't be a coincidence. He hadn't looked surprised to see them. He was here for a reason. And whatever he had planned, they were going to stop him. Oh, Samantha had dreamed of that moment. Arresting Sloane. Surrendering him to Delta Green. And if he didn't cooperate, she wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in his head. She'd dreamed of that too.

"It's the end of the road for you, Sloane. Hands in the air, slowly! If you do anything stupid, I swear to god, you'll have two bullets in the skull."

Killian had seen enough in his time with Delta Green to have more than enough reasons to be scared to step outside. Sloane had been one of the major ones for a long time. He haunted his sleep, he was in nearly every shadow and had caused the subsequent intolerance of other agents for his betrayal. Sloane had certainly shaped Killian in quite a terrible way, more than the terrible burns and the months of recovery, Killian blamed Sloane for more than the other man could possibly know.

The moment Sloane's weight shifted to start running, adrenaline and a genuine furious hatred unleashed that coiled spring from beside Samantha and Killian gave chase! Feeling that Samantha was running with him, he was sure to keep his eye on Sloane and where he was headed. His years of training in the field and his FBI work coming in handy as he spotted an alleyway in which to cut Sloane off. He signalled Samantha what he was going to do and took his chance, racing down the passage, jumping over a pile of garbage at full sprint.

He reappeared on the other side and came face to face with Sloane, who actually seemed genuinely surprised as he skidded to a halt, his arms out to balance himself before he turned to try and run. "Don't you fucking move," Killian roared.

Sloane was not about to let himself be arrested of all things but when he had turned to escape he came face to face with Samantha instead. Well. They had certainly gotten better since he last saw them. Sloane smiled and started laughing as he lifted his hands into the air but it was a mock surrender, his hands were empty but he was clearly not done with them yet. "You've both gotten fast. Phew!" He feigned exhaustion and leaned forward to put his hands on his thighs as if catching his breath.

[hvbris]

𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐄 & 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐀 @mossyent

Oh, Reggie was very close. Very, very close. So close, in fact, that she could smell the scent of cedar wood that surrounded him, and the faint traces of sweat clinging to his skin. Her heart was so loud in her chest that she worried he could somehow hear it too.

"What- No!" she huffed in offense, though the fact that she was still as red as a ripe tomato didn't make her exclamation very convincing. So, instead, (and innocently unaware that it would make their situation even more promiscuous) she wrapped her legs around his waist and rolled to reverse their position, putting herself on top of him, this time. "That was easy," she scoffed.

She had taken his hand as he thought she would, but the pull was not expected. (How strong is she?) It caught him off guard so pulled him off balance. Down he went. Halfway through the fall he realised where he was going to land. Directly on top of her. (Think fast!) Thankfully his reflexes kicked in and he got his hands then forearms under him catching himself in an almost plank position above Cass. (Phew) There faces were but an inch or so apart. It was then he noticed how red she had gone. (There it is again, this has to be from the proximity) Reggie smiled at her "If you wanted me this close..." He lowered his head down to whisper in her ear "You could have asked"

[hvbris]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Her shoulders slightly relaxed, relieved that Killian would stay with her. The thought of being alone tonight was daunting. Even the house felt dangerous now. It was an extension of this nightmare, nothing but four walls standing inside the lion's den. "Thanks," she said with a little smile that didn't really reach her eyes.

"Ah- yes, you're right." Otherwise, she might put blood all over the sheets. And while the owners weren't around to complain anymore, she wanted Ruby to wake up in clean blankets.

She headed upstairs, unconsciously looking behind her shoulder a few times to check that Killian was still with her. The bathroom was nice, if dusty from being unused for months. It was so bizarre, to look at the abandoned toothbrushes and creams, and to think that these people... No. No, she couldn't think about that right now.

"I'd never bandaged a leg before," she exhaled, turning on the tap and putting her hands under the water. It ran red. "I guess there's a first time for everything." Staring at the crimson river that dripped from her arms, Samantha couldn't help but think about her mom. When the doctors had lifted the sheet for her father to identify her, did she look like Ruby, standing there limp and bloody?

"My mom died when I was very little," she blurted out, without being able to really stop the words. "In a car accident."

Samantha's agreement on the place likely having a hiking stick that might do made him smile. It was a simple thing to just agree but Samantha could do that and encourage and he would take all the encouragement he could in that moment.

He was surprised at her wanting to come with him for the blankets and pillows but it made sense when she asked him to join her while she washed her hands. Yes, it was certainly for the best they didn't leave each other's sight and he did feel a bout of comfort for the thought. "Sure, I'll come with you," he agreed and smiled another attempt of reassurance to her.

"We should wash the blood off first," so it wouldn't be all over the blankets. He looked to Ruby on the couch and to the trail of drying blood through the house. It was its own horror scene again and Killian let out an uncertain breath. Things were calmer but that didn't mean they were safe and what was going to happen to Ruby? It was easier to focus on the present and he a little awkwardly gestured like an undertrained usher for Samantha to head upstairs. "The water still works, there's probably soap in the bathroom."