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whump-tr0pes · 4 years

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Honor Bound 4 - The Final Chapter

This is a series. Start here, continued from here.

This is a sequel to Honor Bound, Honor Bound 2, Honor Bound 3, and Vera.

AO3

Masterlist

Content warning: past noncon, death discussion, off-screen death

Zachariah huddled lower and lower in the seat. The car rattled as Gray drove up the bumpy driveway to the house. They put the car in park and glanced at him where he shivered. He clutched his backpack on his lap on the front seat, his knuckles white. They wet their lips and turned off the car.

“It’ll be alright, Zachariah,” they said gently.

Zachariah nodded distractedly, his eyes unfocused. “Mm-hm.”

“Hey,” Gray said softly. Zachariah brought his eyes to theirs. “I’ve already told them you’re coming. No surprises. And they won’t… won’t, ah, hurt you.”

He nodded again. “I kn-know,” he whispered.

Gray pushed out a slow breath as he looked at them. So damned young, no older than Sam. No older than Edrissa.

“What are you worried about, Zachariah?” they murmured, speaking soft and low, just like they did with their family when they all were frightened.

Zachariah gulped and blinked tears away. “I… um… I d-didn’t, um, h-hurt them. But I… I was on the team that did. I… um…” His cheeks flushed and he looked down. “I h-helped… d-drag… Isaac, his name is Isaac… into his cell, once. I’m not the one who, um, who hit him, but… I… j-just, I just… watched. And S-Simmons…” His throat worked as he tried to swallow again. Tears stood in his eyes. “S-Simmons… held a, a gun to… to Sam’s head.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Their name is… is Sam. And I did… nothing.” His hands clenched in fists around the strap of his backpack.

“Hey,” Gray soothed, and gently placed a hand on Zachariah’s shoulder. “You helped them. Right? Isaac told me you helped carry Sam to the car after they—”

“That doesn’t matter,” Zachariah whispered. “They were… they were being tortured for weeks. I wasn’t part of it but I… I knew. And I did nothing.”

Gray fell silent and pressed their lips together. Their hand stayed firm on Zachariah’s shoulder.

“They let me live,” he breathed. “And I don’t know why.”

Gray tipped their head. “My family is largely a good judge of character. I’m sure they knew—”

“They knew I was willing to work for the Stormbecks,” Zachariah whispered. “And I begged them not to kill me. That’s all they knew about me. That’s it.”

Gray chewed their lip. “That’s all true,” they said softly. “But you also told me you didn’t have a choice but to work for them.”

Zachariah looked up at the house. He shivered. “I didn’t think I’d see any of them again,” he rasped.

Gray laughed before they could stop themself. “I don’t think they expected to see you, either, if I’m honest. But I…” Gray paused. “We’ve all done bad things. All of us. But we try again. And by doing what you did in the end, to help them…”

Some of us have done far worse. They bit down on their lip.

Zachariah nodded sullenly. “Okay,” he whispered, and wiped his nose.

“And…” It’s not permanent. When we find you a permanent home…

That probably wouldn’t help anything. Gray closed their mouth and climbed out of the car. Zachariah followed, his head bent, his eyes shining with tears. He trudged behind Gray as they made their way to the front door. Gray opened the door and stepped into the house.

Everyone was in the front room. Finn and Ellis sat on a couch together, bent over the coffee table, the puzzle there momentarily forgotten as their heads snapped up, their eyes fixed on Gray. Tori sat in an armchair. Vera balanced on the arm of it, a bowl of cereal in her hand. Sam and Edrissa sat on another couch, the sides of their legs touching, their fingers laced together. Isaac stood against the doorway to the kitchen. Everyone was there, except—

Gray’s brow furrowed. “Where’s—”

Gavin walked through the doorway from the kitchen and handed Isaac a mug of tea.

Zachariah gasped. His backpack thumped to the floor in front of him. “You… you have… G-Gavin Stormbeck…”

Gray took a step back. “I… I thought you—”

Vera took a bite of her cereal. “We call him Gavin Uriah now,” she said, seemingly unbothered by Zachariah’s reaction as she crunched at the bran flakes.

Zachariah blinked and shot a glance in Vera’s direction, eyes wide, before he stared again at Gavin. “Y-you…”

“Zachariah, I thought you… you knew?” Gray said, their gaze darting between Zachariah and Gavin.

Zachariah slowly shook his head. His eyes went wider as Isaac took a small step in front of Gavin, placing his mug of tea on the kitchen table. He reached back and clasped Gavin’s hand.

“But I… you… h-he hurt you,” Zachariah breathed. “H-he raped… he tortured you.” His chest heaved with gasping breaths. “I don’t… understand…”

“He was lying,” Isaac said, the faintest hint of a growl in his voice. “He was lying so his mother would trust him. He never wanted to. He was ours, the whole time.” Gavin gazed at Isaac with a look that made Gray’s heart ache. There was trust, there. Sorrow. Love.

They blinked and took a step towards Zachariah. “I’m so sorry,” they murmured. “I thought… I would have prepared you. I thought you knew he made it out with them.”

“Everyone thinks Gavin Stormbeck died on May eleventh,” Zachariah whispered. His eyes were still riveted on Gavin. “I… how…?”

“When you helped us,” Vera said, resting the bowl on her knee while her other hand squeezed Tori’s shoulder, “Gavin was getting Ellis.” She nodded in Ellis’s direction.

Ellis waggled their fingers at Zachariah. “Nice to meet you,” they said sardonically.

“N-nice to meet you, too,” Zachariah mumbled distractedly. He blinked and looked again at Gavin. “He… h-how long… has he…?”

“Ever since I left. The first time.” Gavin spoke up from behind Isaac. He took a step forward and folded himself under Isaac’s arm.

“You… I’m so confused,” Zachariah confessed. He shivered again, wrapping his arms tightly around himself.

“He’s good, Zachariah,” Sam said softly from the couch. Zachariah whimpered softly as he finally turned his gaze on Sam. “He’s with us. He has been, the whole time. The whole t-time we were… were there.”

“Sam,” Zachariah whispered. “I… I w-wondered if you… I worried…” He wrung his hands in front of him. “How…?”

“Finn fixed me up,” they said, pride warming their voice. Finn flushed where they sat on the couch. “They’re a medic. They—”

“I know,” Zachariah mumbled. “I know they… they helped… fix you. After. I knew about that.”

Gray’s chest ached with the sadness, the guilt lacing Zachariah’s voice. Everyone was silent for a moment.

“Gray,” Isaac said softly from where he stood with Gavin. “What happened with DFS?”

Gray’s lips quirked into a smile that the nickname had caught on. They opened their mouth to speak.

“What’s… ‘DFS’?” Zachariah said, looking around, his eyebrows pulling together.

“Daniel Fucking Schiester,” everyone said at once.

Vera burst out laughing. “Yesss,” she hissed.

Gray smirked. “We aren’t, ah, fond of our fearless leader of the north. So that’s our nickname for him. Well, it was Vera’s nickname, but I see it caught on rather quickly.”

“Oh,” Zachariah said in a small voice.

Gray nodded as their gaze move over the room. “We’ll discuss what I learned today,” they said, pushing down the cold thrill of dread that welled up in them as they said it. “And after that we’ll get you cleaned up, get you some new, warm clothes. We have a spare bedroom where we’ll get you set up.” They resisted the urge to glance at Isaac. They knew he’d be blushing anyway, at the mention of the room he never slept in. It would be cleared now, prepared for Zachariah in the three hours the team had had since Gray called them to tell them they were coming.

Zachariah stood frozen with his backpack at his feet. Gray gestured into the room. “Sit anywhere,” they said gently. “We don’t bite.”

“Speak for yourself,” Ellis said with a grin.

Gray rolled their eyes. “Except for Ellis, apparently.”

“You can sit here,” Sam said from their spot on the couch. They moved over, gently maneuvering with their right arm still slinged. Zachariah stared blankly at them for a moment before he bent and grabbed his backpack. He shuffled forward and sat awkwardly on the couch, as far away from Sam as he could get.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “I’m kinda gross. Haven’t had a shower in—”

“We used to live on the road, Zach,” Vera said with a smile. “We’re used to it.”

“Um…” He wet his lips nervously. “P-please… I want to be called, um, Zachariah.”

Vera straightened. “Oh. Sorry.” She pressed her lips into an apologetic line.

Sam pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and passed it to Zachariah. He took it gratefully and pulled it around his shoulders, his eyes unfocused.

Everyone’s gazes slowly made their way back to Gray. They cleared their throat. “So, about… about the mayor.”

“Tell us all about Danny boy’s shady shit,” Vera grumbled. She took another bite of cereal.

“Well…” Gray let out a breath. “He’s, ah… he’s killing people.”

The temperature in the room dropped.

“Who?” Isaac said, his voice careful and measured. His arm tightened around Gavin’s shoulders.

“Anyone he wants,” Gray said through their teeth. “Anyone who comes through with any syndicate affiliation. And anyone who comes through with a syndicate tattoo. That’s what the screening questions are for. He’s weeding out… syndicate agents.” The words tasted bitter on Gray’s tongue.

“But…” Sam’s voice shook. “If people lie… Z-Zachariah, did you tell…?”

“It wouldn’t matter,” he whimpered. He pulled up his sleeve. The Stormbeck crest stretched across the top of his arm in black ink.

Edrissa gasped and shrank back from him. She bit her lips and squeezed Sam’s hand tighter.

“We know what it’s like,” Gray said quickly. “We know that sometimes, you only have the choice between working for the syndicates, or starving. We know that you did what you could. And we… we know you didn’t hurt any of us.”

Edrissa blinked and relaxed slightly.

Zachariah folded forward and buried his face in his hands. He shook his head and muffled a sob. “But I didn’t stop it,” he whispered. “And you…” He lifted his head and looked at Isaac. Miserable tears shone in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. “I helped them hurt you.”

“No, you didn’t,” Isaac said, his voice tight. “You helped carry me to my cell once. That’s it.”

“After they almost shot you,” Zachariah whispered. “After they… after they beat you.”

“Zachariah,” Isaac said forcefully. Zachariah flinched and glanced at the floor. “Listen. I’ve been put through enough shit to, to tell you that…” Isaac shook his head. “You didn’t hurt me. So… don’t add that to your conscience. Okay? And you… you left. You helped us.” Isaac drew Gavin even closer to his side, almost like it was an unconscious movement.

“Not soon enough,” Zachariah whispered.

“Yes, soon enough,” Sam murmured. Their hand found Edrissa’s again. Zachariah stared at the floor.

Gray cleared their throat. “As far as I know,” they said as they crossed their arms over their chest, “The people going missing are going missing because Daniel is pulling them off of their caravans.” Their throat burned with the echo of tears.

Isaac’s eyes went wide. “But… l-like Caleb…?”

Gray’s eyes fell closed. “Ah. Yes. Caleb is… is dead.”

“No,” Isaac snarled. Gray opened their eyes. Zachariah and Edrissa both flinched away from his anger. “He… that motherfucker… you’re, you’re sure?” He looked at Gray, his eyes blazing with desperation.

“I’m sure,” Gray murmured. Their voice broke. “When we helped Aryn… he was killed that afternoon.”

“Fuck me,” Vera breathed. Tori reached up and clasped her hand. Tori’s eyes were bright, focused. She looked more present than she had been in several days. And even with the appearance of Zachariah… Warring hope and despair twisted through Gray’s heart.

“We’re… g-going to do something about it, right?” Finn asked, hesitant. They squeezed Ellis’s hand. “We can’t just…”

“No,” Gray said through numb lips. “We can’t.”

“Does he know you know?” Isaac said. Darkness brewed in his eyes, trembled in his limbs. And beside him Gavin looked…

He looked terrified. But below that, there was a hardness. Gavin looked murderous.

Gray briefly wondered what it would be like to go to war against Daniel, if the team had the ingenuity of Gavin Stormbeck at their disposal.

They shook themself slightly. I will never, never ask that of him. I’ll never ask him to use himself for destruction. He’ll never have to do that again.

“Yes,” Gray said softly. “He knows. He told me himself.”

Vera scoffed. “And he thinks we’re okay with that? He thinks we’re just gonna… what… let that go?”

“I don’t think he gives a damn what we think,” Gray said heavily. “He made that perfectly clear.”

“But we’re gonna stop him… right?” Sam said. They sat up straighter. “We can’t let him just… do this.”

“No,” Gray said, clenching and unclenching their fists. “We can’t. Not now that we… know. But… he made… some very explicit threats.”

Vera rolled her eyes. “Forgive me for not considering Daniel Fucking Schiester to be oh-so-scary after we’ve destroyed the Stormbecks,” she said, not batting an eye at Gavin.

“I do,” Gray said, watching Gavin carefully. He stood beside Isaac, strong, the violence in him falling and slipping beneath the surface again. “As far as we’re concerned, he’s the most powerful person in the north. He controls the entire refugee recovery program. He holds the line, and who knows what kind of resources he could muster if he asked for them?” Gray’s gaze moved over their family. “I consider him to be just as much a threat as Joseph Stormbeck. More, maybe. Because up here, he can control our allies.”

No one spoke.

Tori raised her head to look at Vera. Vera gazed back and leaned gently against her shoulder. When Tori met Gray’s eyes, they shivered. Fire burned in her eyes, and fierceness, and everything else that had been so gone from her ever since she appeared on their doorstep weeks before.

“Fuck ‘im,” Tori murmured, and her voice sounded strong. “We can’t let him do this.”

A painful smile pulled at Gray’s mouth as they looked back at her. She held Gray’s gaze. She didn’t look away, didn’t sink back against Vera. They nodded. “No,” they murmured. “We can’t.”

“So what’s the plan?” Isaac said, tense, shaking. “How did you find out about him, anyway?” He jutted his chin at Zachariah.

“One of Daniel’s people,” Gray said, bracing for an outcry. There was none.

“Does this person know Danny is killing them?” Vera said.

“I don’t think he does, no,” Gray said. They shuffled their feet.

“Would he be willing to keep sending us people?” Finn said, sitting forward. “I mean, if we could run the same operation we ran with Tori, just funnel people north and place them with people once we find houses… I mean, DFS doesn’t control every route in, does he? Would people notice if folks started showing up farther north without being sent through DFS?”

“I don’t know,” Gray said with a shrug. “I’d have to do more research. Which means I’d have to continue helping Daniel with the screening process.”

“I don’t think that would hurt,” Isaac said tightly. “Might even catch a few that way.”

“But we’re not going to… to wait until we have that figured out, right?” Sam said, and made a small, strange motion with their right hand where it sat tied against their chest. “I mean… we can start… start saving them now, right? We don’t have to wait?”

“Mathias said he only gets a few a year,” Gray said.

“I doubt that’s all,” Isaac murmured. “I’ll bet that’s just all he finds.”

“Yeah, I bet that’s true.” Vera drew a hand through her hair.

“But we’re doing this, right?” Isaac said, his eyes flashing. “We can’t… Jesus, Gray, we’ve been up here for… for three weeks and he’s been doing this evil shit right under our noses…”

“If we all agree to it,” Gray said. “We take a vote. Because this will affect all of us. This puts all of us in danger.” They leveled their gaze at Gavin. “Especially you.”

“Don’t give a shit,” Gavin said through his teeth. “He can’t… fuck. These people coming through… I understand when it was, was me, but… these people aren’t like me.”

Isaac pulled Gavin close and pressed a kiss into his hair. Zachariah watched with his mouth open.

“I’m for it,” Ellis said softly. “But I… I don’t…” They placed their hand on their belly and held Finn’s hand tightly.

“We can distance you from the operation,” Gray said. Finn leaned forward and opened their mouth to speak. Slowly, they closed their mouth again and looked at Ellis. “Does anyone else have any concerns?”

One by one, Gray looked around the room and met everyone’s eyes. One by one, each member of their family nodded.

“Alright,” they said softly. They reached into their pocket and pulled out their phone. “We’re doing this.”

They went to Mathias’s number, still not saved in the phone. They tapped it and typed out a message:

Send us each one like him that you find. And be careful. Give me a call when you can.

They smiled gently as they slid the phone back into their pocket.

Honor Bound 5 continues here

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#honor bound 4 #the final chapter #jesus christ that's 5 books in exactly a year #guilt #Zachariah: a boy who needs a nap #past torture #Fillis #HMS ToriVera #Sam/Edrissa #Isaac/Gavin #Gavin Stormbeck is dead #past noncon tw #Daniel Schiester is a hero #death discussion tw #death tw #Fillis baby

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whump-tr0pes · 4 years

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HB4-43/Whumptober day 31

This is a series. Start here, continued from here.

This is a sequel to Honor Bound, Honor Bound 2, Honor Bound 3, and Vera.

AO3

Masterlist

Content warning: discussion of death, off-screen death, threats of death

Gray adjusted their hands on the wheel as they turned onto ninth. They shot a glance into the back seat, at the young man huddled there, fast asleep. As they rolled over a bump, he jerked and looked around, dazed.

“Wha…?” He wet his lips and met Gray’s eyes. “Um. S-sorry, Mx.—”

“Please just call me Gray,” they said gently. “It’s alright.”

Zachariah nodded. “G-Gray. Um… could I… do you… have any water?”

Gray’s lips pressed into a line. “I don’t. I was planning on getting some in town when I headed back. I can get you some, too. Are you hungry?”

Zachariah slowly nodded. “Y-yes,” he murmured. Dark circles were etched into the skin under his eyes.

“Hm.” When Gray reached Main, they took a left, towards the city center. The trees on either side of the road made patterns in the shadows that slid over the car.

They pulled up to a storefront that sold snacks, bottled water, and candy. The team usually stopped there before heading back up to Burmingham. Sometimes Vera would chant road trip, road trip, road trip as she picked out her snacks. The memory made Gray smile.

“Stay here,” they said softly. “I’ll go get you something.”

“No, you, you don’t… have to…” Zachariah licked his lips as he said it, and shot a look out the window at the store. Gray could hear his stomach grumble from the front seat.

“No, but I will,” they said with a gentle smile. “I’ll only be a moment.”

They climbed out of the car with a groan and walked into the store. Lining the walls were shelves of snacks, little pies, bags of dried fruit, sticks of cured meat wrapped in plastic. There was a long row of nothing but chocolate bars and fruity hard candy. Against the back wall was a long refrigerator filled with sandwiches and bottled drinks, juices and sodas, and if you brought in five empty bottles, you got the next drink free. Gray picked up a basket at the front door and wandered down the first row.

They grabbed a bag of chips, a packet of jerky, and a small apple pie and put them into the basket. Down the next, they took a bar of chocolate. From the refrigerator against the wall, they took a ham sandwich, a bottle of root beer, and two large bottles of water. They took the basket up to the register and dug into their pocket for their wallet.

The cashier smiled at Gray as they hit buttons on the ancient cash register. It reminded Gray of their childhood, years ago, before the syndicates crept into the world and broke it from the inside out. The register dinged and the cashier looked back up at Gray.

“Seven units,” they said quietly.

Gray pulled out the folded papers of credit Schiester had given them in exchange for helping with the refugees. Each bill was printed on cloth-like paper, with his signature in the lower right hand corner. Most of the town got by on bartering. Daniel payed his people in cash.

Gray laid down two bills of five units each. “Can you keep the change as credit here?” they said as they tucked the snacks under their arm.

The cashier nodded. “Sure,” they said with a smile. “For anyone in the family?”

“Yes.” They briefly wondered how many other places knew them all by name, or just by their faces. Gray gave a nod and turned to leave. “Have a good day.”

“You too! Thanks for coming in.” The cashier waved as Gray turned and left the store.

As they walked across the sidewalk, they could see Zachariah’s dark head of hair just visible over the door of the car. They opened the door and slid into the seat. Zachariah raised his eyes to Gray, dull with terror and lack of sleep.

“Got you a few things,” Gray said gently. “Also, you might want to sit a bit further down. I can see you through the window.”

Zachariah’s eyes went wide and he shoved himself down lower behind the seat. Gray’s mouth pinched as they passed back the food.

Zachariah licked his lips and clutched at the snacks as Gray passed them back one by one. He tore open the packet with the sandwich and shoved almost the entire thing into his mouth.

Gray watched him with sadness dragging at their heart. The sandwich was gone in three bites. Zachariah cracked open the bottle and gulped down half of the root beer in one breath.

“Hungry, huh?” Gray said, the corners of their mouth turning down.

Zachariah nodded vigorously. “Yes,” he gasped as he pulled open the bag of chips. “Thank you.”

“Hm.” Gray started the car. For a moment they sat still, distracted by the sound of crunching coming from the back seat. Then they put the car in drive and pulled away from the storefront. They pulled onto the street and drove south.

The crinkle of the chip bag and the sound of crunching fell silent. “Um… G-Gray? Where…? I thought you lived north of Crayton?”

“I do,” Gray said heavily. “But I’m going to the town hall first.”

There was a soft gasp from the back seat. “Oh… sh-shit, no, please,” Zachariah whimpered. “Gray, please, M-Mathias said I wouldn’t be, um, welcome, and I just want to… please…”

“I’m not turning you in,” Gray said gently, casting another glance back at the boy. His eyes were red-rimmed and filled with tears. His hands shook as he clutched at the seat in front of him. “I said I would keep you safe, and I will. Daniel Schiester has his own history of being… unwelcoming… to people in my own family.”

Zachariah nodded. “I’ve heard he’s… um… pretty intense.”

“Right.” The street opened up into the main square. Gray pulled up to the town hall. It towered over Gray, casting a broad shadow across the wide square. Multiple cars were parked outside it, some in good repair, and some barely held together with duct tape and rope. Every now and then, someone would stagger out the front doors, alone or in groups, all with identical haunted looks in their eyes. Must be a heavy refugee day. Gray put the car in park and turned it off again. “I just have a few questions for him.”

Zachariah nodded weakly. “And… and should I…”

“Stay here,” Gray said firmly. They climbed out of the car and made their way up the steps to the front door.

As they pulled the door open, they nearly collided with a young couple. The father held a baby in their arms, barely a year old, kicking her little legs and squalling at the top of her lungs. The mother briefly met Gray’s eyes. Gray’s stomach lurched at the look of… blankness there. Like there was no soul, no mind, piloting the body that walked through the door.

A volunteer Gray recognized, Mandy, stepped up and tucked the young woman under her arm. “Hey, Gray,” she said sadly as she steered the couple through the door. “Thanks for holding the door. See you in a bit?”

“Maybe,” Gray said as the family passed them and trudged down the steps. “I’m only here to talk with the mayor for a second.”

“Later, then,” she said with a nod. She guided the couple to her car and helped them into it.

Gray tore their gaze from the family and walked into the atrium. There were about ten refugees inside, some wandering aimlessly with empty eyes, some huddled against the walls as if hiding from blows. Two volunteers, Jeff and Denise, stood at tables, taking down information. Daniel Schiester stood at another, helping refugees fill out the packet of papers to get them settled once they were screened by the other two.

Gray shuddered as they realized, now, what those questions were meant to do.

Daniel looked up as they approached. A flat smile spread across his face, the ice-blue of his eyes never warming. “Gray,” he said, and held out a hand. “Good to see you. I didn’t think you were on the volunteer list for today?”

The three refugees standing in front of the table looked up at Gray without curiosity or fear. They all, to a person, looked… vacant.

Gray shuddered.

“I’m not volunteering today, no,” Gray said gently. They motioned with their head towards the staircase to Daniel’s office. “But I would like a word. Just a few questions. I won’t take up much of your time.”

Daniel’s mouth tightened his smile. “Of course,” he said evenly. He turned to the refugees. “Excuse me, please,” he said, his voice pitched low. “I’ll be with you as soon as I can.” He turned to the other volunteers. “Denise!” She raised her head. “Help these three out, would you? We’re almost finished with the paperwork.” Denise nodded and broke away from her table to take Daniel’s spot at his. Daniel turned and walked up the stairs, not checking to see if Gray was behind him.

Gray’s knees cracked as they climbed the stairs to Daniel’s office. Their thoughts drifted to Zachariah, and to the journey he’d had from Fort Meyers all the way north. Twenty-four days. Ever since their own family had returned, Zachariah had been slowly making his way north, facing god knows what.

They swallowed dryly as they stepped into Daniel’s office. They kept the door open.

Daniel sat down heavily behind his desk. He steepled his fingers as Gray took a seat in front of him. He raised his eyebrows at him. “What brings you in, Gray?”

Gray blew out a slow breath. Something in the back of their mind whispered at them to get out, to leave, to keep their mouth shut about everything they’d seen and heard. Perhaps it was all a misunderstanding. Perhaps this would anger the most powerful man in Crayton, and they would lose his support forever.

They couldn’t let it go unsaid.

Gray wet their lips. “I… I’m concerned about… some rumors I’ve been hearing.”

Daniel’s lips pursed in amusement as he blinked. “Oh?”

“I… I keep hearing reports of… people going missing. Disappearances. And… I was wondering if were looking into them. If you had any updates.”

Daniel huffed out a laugh. “Gray… I’ll be one hundred percent honest here: I am too busy to chase after every report of someone going missing. The people who find their way here, they’re too traumatized to make a truly comprehensive and factual report anyway. I’m…” Daniel leaned in. “I’m sorry. I know hearing about these things must be hard. Especially after everything you and your family have been through. If it’s… too much, or you need time, just tell me. I can arrange for your credits to be paid until you are all well enough to help more regularly. This work… it takes a toll. On all of us.”

Gray shook their head. “It’s not that. It’s—” They raised their eyes to Daniel, then to the wall behind him, where the pictures of the refugees hung.

There was a new picture on Daniel’s wall.

It was of a young man, maybe Sam’s age, maybe a little older. He had thick blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, and was wearing a worn brown t-shirt. His eyes were an almost startling green, bright enough that Gray could see the color even in the dark, slightly-blurry photograph.

He looked familiar. He looked…

Except for the eyes, he looked exactly like his sibling, Aryn. The young kid they and Isaac and helped not even a week ago.

A chill punched through Gray’s gut. They looked at Daniel where he sat in his chair, relaxed, almost looking bored. They thought of Zachariah, huddled in the car, hungry and exhausted and desperate. They wondered how long it would have taken for his picture to end up on the wall behind Daniel’s head, if Mathias hadn’t stepped in.

The smile slid from Daniel’s face. “Is there a problem?” he asked, coldness hardening the edges of his voice.

Gray glanced at the photo and back to Daniel. “You told Isaac you thought Caleb disappeared on the road,” they said darkly. “Caleb.” They pointed with one finger. “That’s that boy’s name.”

Something tightened behind Daniel’s eyes. Goosebumps erupted over Gray’s skin. They wondered, dizzily, if Isaac would have already started shooting, if he was here.

Daniel sat back in his chair, his head tilted at Gray like he was calculating something. Deciding whether to tell Gray the truth, and how much of it. Or perhaps deciding whether or not he was going to kill them right here.

How long would Zachariah wait before he took the car north? He doesn’t know where he’s going. How long without hearing from me until the others come for me?

Daniel shrugged. He raised an eyebrow at Gray.

“Gray,” he said softly. “What is it you thought we do here?”

Gray’s breath froze in their chest. “…wh-what?”

Daniel leaned back in his chair. “I told you,” he said, folding his hands in his lap. “On the very first day I met you and your family. Your Stormbeck boy is not the first syndicate agent that we’ve caught in our net. Not the only one… by far.” Daniel tilted his head back towards the wall behind him.

Gray’s eyes went wide as they moved over the photographs. “You mean… all of them…?” Gray’s chest tightened. “You’re calling them agents?”

Daniel scoffed. “What else would you call them? We’ve caught spies, assassins, the engineers for the entire syndicate machine. They come north to destroy us. I stop the threat.”

Gray leapt to their feet. “And that boy?” Their hand shot out to point at Caleb’s picture. “Would you call him a syndicate agent?”

“Yes,” Daniel said as they watched Gray evenly. “I would.”

“By what… measure?” Gray gasped. “By what proof?”

Daniel laughed, and the sound grated on Gray’s ears. “By the measure that he was syndicate.”

“But—”

“He had their fucking mark on him, Gray,” he said through his teeth, his veneer of control slipping. “Tattooed it right on his arm.”

“But…” Gray’s stomach dropped as they again thought of Zachariah waiting for them in the car. I should never have brought him here. I put his life at risk. “What did he…?”

“He was a low-level Stormbeck enforcer,” Daniel said through thin lips.

“‘Enforcer,’” Gray scoffed. “You make him sound like he’s… Daniel, he’s nineteen—”

“How old do you think your own Stormbeck was when he first killed someone?” Daniel said, his eyes narrowing. “Don’t pretend every young person is somehow absolved of all their sins. Anyone can do evil, no matter who they are.”

“You seem to have learned this intimately well,” Gray hissed.

“I have,” Daniel said as he slowly got to his feet. “I know the nature of Stormbeck cruelty better than most.”

“And you’re continuing their legacy, as far as I can see,” Gray spat. “That kid, Aryn… they’re an orphan now, Daniel. They came north with nothing, and you stole the one thing they had. What happened to them? Are they just—”

“They’ve been placed with a loving and protective family,” Daniel said, his eyes flashing.

Gray’s hands shook as they stared at Daniel. “What… what happened to you?” they murmured. “Were you… a, a plaything? A rebel? What did they do to you?”

“I wasn’t a plaything, no,” Daniel said softly. His cold eyes blazed with icy fury. “But I did have a front-row-fucking-seat to Joseph Stormbeck’s destruction of my life, and of the Defense Corps.”

Gray sucked in a breath. “So Finn was right.”

Daniel frowned. “Finn? Right about what?”

“They said you were Defense Corps,” Gray said softly. “They said they thought they could see it. And you… what, you… you’re getting revenge? By… by sifting out people who… anyone you deem to be a syndicate threat? Anyone who wears a syndicate mark?” They swallowed thickly, terror tightening in their throat. “Daniel… what do you do with them?”

Daniel smiled, saccharine. “Gray… you’re a pragmatist. You’ve done what you had to do to protect your family.” He narrowed his eyes. “What would you do, if you were in my position?”

“I wouldn’t kill just anyone who wears a syndicate mark, that’s for goddamned sure,” Gray hissed. “Do you even… ask them their stories? Do you even try to find out who they really are?”

“I don’t have to,” Daniel said. “Playthings get branded. Playthings don’t have a choice. But tattoos… and anyone who works in a syndicate household…” He shrugged.

“Sometimes there’s no choice!” Gray said, their voice rising in pitch. “Sometimes there’s—”

“There’s always a choice,” Daniel sneered. “There’s always a choice between providing comfort and service to the enemy, and finding another way to live.”

“Is that what you did?” Gray said darkly. “Provide comfort and service to the enemy?”

Daniel’s mouth slowly fell closed. He thrust his chin at Gray. “I made mistakes,” he rasped. “I chose the wrong things. And I atone for that, every day. I keep this town, and the entire north with it, safe. I make the hard choices no one else is able to make. I deal with the threats, so it doesn’t fall to anyone else.”

Gray’s lips trembled as they forced themself to look at Daniel. “Daniel,” they said breathlessly. “Where is Caleb?”

Darkness passed over Daniel’s face. “When you comforted Aryn on Friday,” he said, even and measured, “Caleb was in chains, two floors beneath their feet.”

Gray blanched. “No—”

“He was executed that afternoon, by private tribunal. His blood is on my hands. I carry that burden, so no one else has to.”

“No,” Gray whimpered. Their hands closed into shaking fists. “Daniel…” Tears burned in their eyes.

Daniel rested his hands against the desk and leaned towards Gray. “Gray… I make the hard calls. I make the sacrifice, so my people can sleep at night. Yes, it’s ugly work. I eliminate some people that you might deem redeemable, especially given your clement standards. But believe me…” Daniel’s mouth twisted in an ugly grimace. “The syndicates, and the people who tolerate them, cannot be changed. There is no redeeming someone who no longer cares about human life. If your Stormbeck boy had been allowed to survive his return south, you might have learned that.”

“You have no idea what kind of person Gavin Uriah was,” Gray growled.

“I have a far better idea than any of you,” Daniel said, his voice soft as a whisper.

Gray clenched their jaw and leaned away from Daniel. Their heart pounded in their chest.

Daniel’s lip curled as he leaned away as well. “This system works, Gray,” he said, his voice suddenly perfectly even. “I understand that it is… distasteful to some. If you and your family cannot live with the consequences of this work, I understand. I can release you from all of your obligations here. After all the work you have done to fight the syndicates, I can ensure that your credits are covered, wherever you go.” Daniel folded his hands in front of him. His thumb rubbed back and forth against the top of his hand. “You can find work elsewhere, or live your lives in peace doing whatever it is you wish. But please understand…” He fixed Gray with a cold look. “Any resistance to this system, I will see as an act against the safety of the north. And I will deal with it with the prejudice with which I handle the threats I already find myself burdened to handle.” Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “Do we understand each other?”

Gray pulled in a deep breath and pushed it slowly out through their nose. Their hands were shaking, their chest so tight they could barely draw breath. Their heart hammered against their ribs.

“Yes,” they said softly. “We understand each other.”

“Good.” Daniel sat down behind his desk. “Then can I expect you for your shift on Friday? Or should I take you off the list for that day?”

“N-no,” Gray mumbled. “Or… let me think about it.”

Daniel tipped his head in a magnanimous nod. “I understand,” he said gently. “This work is hard. I understand if you need some time to wrap your head around it.”

Gray struggled to calm their breaths as they took a step backwards. “We’ll be in touch,” they murmured. They turned and didn’t look to see if Daniel responded.

They strode down the hall and had to stop themself from taking the steps two at a time. Their head swam. Their lungs burned. They rushed across the atrium and shoved the doors open, blinking in the sudden brightness outside. They jogged down the stairs and yanked open the door to their car.

Zachariah sat up with a start. “What—”

“Stay down,” Gray ordered, jamming the keys into the ignition. “Don’t move. Stay down.”

Zachariah gulped. “Wh-why, what… what happened?”

“Found out what happens to you if you’re found,” Gray said darkly. They tore away from the town hall and flipped around. They had to force themself not to slam their foot down on the gas.

“Wh-what happens?” Zachariah whispered. Gray glanced back at him again. The packets of food were all empty. The bottle of water was half-full at his feet.

“You’re executed as a Stormbeck agent,” Gray said through their teeth.

“What?” Zachariah whimpered. “I… oh, fuck…”

“Just keep your head down,” Gray spat. “Don’t move. You can come up front once we leave the city but don’t move.” Zachariah shuddered and huddled closer to the floor. Gray snatched the phone up from the passenger seat and flipped it open. They dialed the number for the team’s other phone and held it to their ear.

Isaac answered almost immediately. “Gray?”

“I’m alright,” they said quickly.

Gray could feel Isaac tense on the other end. “Gray… what happened? Do we need to—”

“I have another rescue,” Gray bit out. “And I found out about what Daniel has been doing to the people going missing.”

“Gray, I—”

“It’s a lot,” Gray said in a rush. “We’re not in danger. But we need to talk. All in person. I’m just leaving Crayton, but I’ll try to be there in less than three hours.”

“O— okay. Drive safe. Gray… who is it?”

“Someone you know,” Gray said with a glance behind them. Zachariah looked back at them with terror in his eyes, etched even deeper than before. “His name is Zachariah.”

Continued here

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