Being back at the base surrounded by Shadows was an eerie feeling. This was just not right and she had to think fast.

Once she got over the shock of Sam's brutal death, she and her team got transported back to the base where Graves imprisoned a few Vaqueros. And she was on a mission the second she stepped out of their car.

She had to find Alejandro at all costs. As soon as possible.

And she had to be clever about it. Most Shadows already followed her every move with their eyes, her previous state causing them to panic. But she could feel their doubt rising as well. They knew something was up; maybe it was her paranoia talking, but she couldn't risk it. Not now.

There were more important things at stake right now. Like Alejandro.

Her heart started beating more rapidly as she thought about him. The woman was worried. She had no idea what the Shadows did with him after they knocked him out. She didn't even know if he was still alive, and that thought alone almost made her spiral into madness.

If she were to ask about him from Graves, that would be too suspicious. But she knew he was in charge of things – but right now, she had to pretend like she didn't know him. Beadie wasn't sure how long she could keep her facade up in front of him: she just wanted to snap. To let her anger out. Show him that he made the wrong decision and what a monster he was.

Because Beadie saw how he treated the locals in the small village. She heard how he mocked a woman before they executed her. He treated them like they were nothing; casualties, as he said. Collateral damage. And that made her sick to her stomach.

Sure, they couldn't do much against the word of Shepherd. But this was too much, even from Graves.

With her head held high, Beadie headed for the locker rooms to change out of her soaked clothes. The material stuck to her skin, weighed down by water and blood. She tried her best not to let her tears fall again as she peeled her clothes off, Sam's blood leaving dark patches against her skin.

She tried to wash the blood off as best as she could with only a tap and no mirror before she changed into a fresh set of uniforms. Beadie pulled her hair tie out of her disheveled bun, making a quick braid out of her wet hair. This wasn't the best, but this will have to do. She wasted more than enough time as it is.

As Beadie strolled down the halls, Shadows hurried past her, parting in the middle as she cut through them. She held her chin up, barely glancing at the men as she walked past them. Still, she felt the weight of their gaze on her, filled with questions.

Maybe they thought she knew about this because she is the second-in-command. Maybe they expect some answers from her. Or they just doubt she can carry the weight of their betrayal. Which, is crushing her soul like a mountain placed on her shoulders. But she had to be strong.

Strong like always. And even if she can't be enough, she had to pretend like she was.

For Alejandro, she'll destroy the whole building if she has to.

So, she headed where she knew most of the information lay between these walls: the control room. There was all the CCTV footage from around the base, and there were the controls for the jails as well. She could easily find anyone in there if she was clever with it.

"Good morning, soldiers," Beadie greeted the two Shadows that were inside, the two men spinning around in their chairs to look at her.

"Ma'am," both of them greeted her back, the one on the left rising from his seat, ready for an order.

She couldn't recognize them like this, in full gear. All of them were wearing the same black balaclava that hid their faces away with the same uniform. The only difference was their body language, and she didn't know these men enough to tell them apart by only that. Or their voice.

She only knew her own team. Her Lightsout Boys. And now two of them were dead.

Jax got sniped off while he was on patrol. They didn't know where the shot came from, but it was one hell of a shot. He didn't suffer, died on impact. He never knew what happened to Sam, and Beadie was sort of glad she didn't have to break the news for him.

Jax was usually a calm and collected guy. It wasn't easy to piss him off. He mostly operated like a machine. But Sam was like a little brother to him.

"Is everything alright?" she stepped further into the control room, her eyes looking over the many monitors and camera feeds. She couldn't spot what she was looking for just now.

"Yes, ma'am," the one that was still seated replied with a gentle nod, pressing a few buttons on the keyboard in front of him.

And there he was. Another feed appeared on the middle monitor's top right corner. It was a little hard to make out what it was, but she could see a man lying on the floor, motionless. But she recognized his clothing in an instant; she could never erase the last image of him from her mind.

"How's our prisoner?" Beadie asked, her tone bland and not giving away anything. Just like she wanted to sound like.

"Still knocked out," Keyboard Guy replied, continuing to type away. His eyes scanned the monitors in front of them quickly, a few command lines appearing on the far left monitor. By the looks of it, he tried to get into the security system.

"Graves plans on interrogating him when he gets back," the other Shadow added from behind her. She nodded slightly as she leaned on the table, getting a closer look at the footage.

She could see a few other of Alejandro's men in cells, beaten and locked away. Most of them didn't look good, just like their Colonel. She hoped nothing too bad happened to Alejandro – but he started to worry her by being so still. So motionless.

Like a dead body, locked away in a dark room.

She had to check on him. Right now.

"I'll interrogate him."

The two Shadows shared a look, clearly not sure about this. Beadie held back an eye-roll as she straightened her spine, giving both soldiers a sharp look. She started to get fed up by all these men, her soldiers doubting her. If it were Graves to say and do the things she did, they wouldn't even second-guess.

He trusts me more, she wanted to say. But then she remembered she owned none of them any explanation. Graves usually didn't give them any explanation or reasons for why he was doing what he was doing. And as his second-in-command, she could get away with the same thing.

"Open the door for me when I get there," was the only thing Beadie said to them before she stormed out, her eyes a stormy blue from all the built-up tension.

Neither of the Shadows dared to say anything as the woman slammed the door behind herself as they went back to work without another word.

╚⏤⏤⏤╗❀╔⏤⏤⏤╝

Beadie had a small first-aid kit in her hand as she approached the cell where they were keeping Alejandro. With every step closer to the cell, she felt her pulse quicken, an unknown force making her pick up the pace. She wanted to see him. She needed to see him. Make sure he's okay.

She stopped outside of his cell, the metal door being the only thing keeping her away from the man so close to her heart. The blonde turned to look at the camera that looked at the door, her gaze boring into it as she waited for one of the Shadows to finally open it like she ordered them to.

If I have to wait one more second I'm going to flip.

But in that very second, a low hum came from the door as it opened slightly. Beadie didn't hesitate one more moment as she reached for the handle and yanked the door open.

Her eyes immediately settled on him. He was still unconscious and it was so much colder inside. An angry frown took over her features as she closed the door after herself and took a step closer to him.

She was getting more and more disgusted by her Commander. He even left Alejandro there with bound hands, his head still bloodied.

"Bastard..." Beadie hissed as she kneeled down beside him, taking a better look at his face.

There were a few cuts and light bruises along his tan skin, but nothing too bad. His clothes were still a little damp from the previous rain, which only reminded her how many things went to shit in such a short amount of time.

With a sigh, the blonde pulled her knife out and slipped it between his wrists, careful not to cut his skin in the process. With a little force, the zip ties surrendered under the pressure and snapped in half, leaving his hands free.

She didn't even have enough time to take a breath as an iron grip grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the ground, knocking the air out of her. Her vision went blind for a second as she tried to claw away at his arms, her lungs desperate for air.

"Ale-"

His grip tightened a little, his name dying on her tongue as she stared up at him. He was furious, that was clear. His gaze was pitch black, his lips twisted into a scowl as he looked down at her; like he was disgusted by her. It felt like a knife was twisted deep in her, making her heart cry.

"Ca-camera," she tried to get it out as she pointed weakly at the camera in the upper corner.

If her team had seen this, they were already on their way and they will probably not have shown mercy to him. So she had to get him to listen to her as fast as she could, but that proved to be a little hard as his hands crushed her airways.

The look in his eyes said that he didn't care about the damn camera. For a second, he looked like a man that has nothing left to lose, and that was the most dangerous. And just as Beadie was sure that he'd just kill her in this dark cell and take her weapons and escape, he released her with a huff.

The woman gasped in air and started coughing, her right hand coming to touch the tender skin on her neck. It didn't hurt that much; but the shock that he would just snap at her like that hurt so much more.

I would do the same, she said to herself as she looked up at him, her eyes wide.

Alejandro paced around the room like a wild lion, his whole body tense and ready to jump at anything. His hands curled and uncurled at his sides, all the anger and tension pushing against his skin, ready to wreak havoc.

It pained her to see him like this. He was always so warm, always looking out for others. But the man pacing in front of her wasn't the one who kissed her heartbreak away; the one who taught her not every love should hurt. And now her heart broke for him in a thousand other ways.

"Please, hear me out-"

"Hear you out?!" Alejandro finally snapped, his dark gaze finding hers in an instant. She was still sitting on the floor where he left her, but their new power dynamic didn't scare her.

He couldn't scare her. That's not who they were. She had to solve this.

"This is fucking insane! You betrayed us, killed my men, threw me in a cell and you want me to hear you out?! You lost your mind!"

"I didn't know!" But her words found deaf ears as she pleaded. He let out a dry chuckle as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Like I would believe that. You won't fool me again."

"Please, Alejandro!" Beadie cried out, her eyes welling with tears from desperation. She was in the same place before many times when she was younger, and she hated this feeling with all her heart.

There was nothing worse when you tried to convince someone you didn't do something, but there was no way of changing their mind. Her mother never really believed her when the other kids or teachers got her into trouble: her mother always knew that Beadie had a knack for trouble.

She liked the rush, the danger; so naturally, trouble followed her. But most of the time, she had nothing to do with another kid getting locked in their locker, or when her cheerleading team snuck out during one of their periods and even the ones not being there got punished. Beadie tried to plead with her mother so many times, and the same helplessness nestled in her as she looked up at Alejandro.

She needed to make him listen to her somehow.

"I found Soap."

That was finally enough to make him stop, only for just a second, though. Hope lit up his eyes before something dark cast over them, and with a shake of his head, every emotion was gone.

"He's alive, Alejandro," Beadie finally pushed herself to her feet, her hands shaking slightly. "Ghost and Rora are alive as well. They are alive and heading here."

Beadie didn't know that for a fact, but for the short amount of time she got to know 141 and the Vaqueros, she was sure that they would never leave a man behind. Especially not Alejandro.

So she dared to say they were heading here. And she dared to think that it would come down in a bloodbath and nobody was safe here. Her death was almost guaranteed between these walls, but there was no way she would leave him behind again. She just couldn't.

Even though Alejandro hated her right now, she wanted to believe that her love could be stronger than his hatred.

"Don't do this to me, please."

His broken voice caused her chest to press down harder on her heart, a suffocating feeling following. The way he just abandoned English and switched to his native language showed how broken he was; and how deep his words came from. And for a few seconds, his dark eyes mirrored his shattered soul perfectly, making her breath hitch in her throat.

"They are fine. And they're coming to get you out," Beadie's voice softened as she pleaded, her eyes searching his. He shut his eyes to let her words settle in, a muscle twitching in his jaw. "And I'll make sure they succeed."

"Why are you doing this?" Alejandro took a few steps back, back away from her. He needed space to think this through but he couldn't even breathe normally when she was so close. "Are you helping us? Or do you just give us false hopes to laugh about it with Graves?"

She tried not to flinch at his words. Nausea came over her at the sound of his name, a stabbing pain attacking her heart further. She knew he was a bad man, but he had orders to fulfill, too. He was nothing more than a puppet of Shepherd's – his own personal guard dog. But the fact that he was enjoying it a little too much was alarming.

And when 141 meets Graves, someone will lose. She knew that much. The woman wasn't delusional to think they'd be able to just sit down and chat about their feelings. Eventually, she'll have to choose a side to fight on.

I'm afraid I already chose one, she thought, her eyes following Alejandro's retrieving form.

"Soap gave me this as a welcome back gift," Beadie pointed at the gash and bruise on her temple, his brown eyes jumping to it like he hadn't even noticed it before.

And the way his eyes widened slightly and darkened, maybe he truly didn't notice it before.

Suddenly, she was hyperaware of the camera observing them from the far corner. Her eyes found the small first-aid kit abandoned on the floor where she set it the first time she entered and she was reminded that she had a task.

"They are watching us," Beadie said, her back to the camera. His head turned to her with speed, eyes jumping to look at the camera behind her.

"What-"

"Just please sit down so I can take care of your wound," the blonde's exaggerated motions were odd in his eyes, but her eyes held something deeper; like she had a plan.

When he didn't move, Beadie gave him a look, the message Please just do as I say plainly in her eyes. It was clear he didn't trust her, but their behavior started to get a little suspicious. So the woman slowly sat down on the floor right next to the metal box and motioned for him to come closer.

Reluctantly, Alejandro sat down opposite of her, just out of arms reach. His eyes moved to the camera in the corner again before looking back at the woman. But like it hurt to look at her, he quickly looked away and fixed his eyes on the first-aid kit.

"I can try and direct as many away as I can from here," the woman offered, her calm tone not mirroring her rapid heart rate. She opened the box and started to dig around for a disinfectant as she continued to talk about her plan. "Decrease the number of security."

Beadie soaked a cotton ball with alcohol and reached towards him, but he flinched away like she pulled a gun on him. She tried to hide how that shattered her and only offered an apologetic look for him as she dabbed the ball against his skin. Only a low grunt and his pursed lips showed how the alcohol burned the cut on his forehead.

"The defense towards the south wall is weaker, and hopefully they know that, too," Beadie continued lowly, feeling the need to talk away the suffocating silence. It felt so wrong to feel like this around him, but she shook off the feeling. She needed to concentrate. "I can try and direct them towards you."

He didn't say anything as she continued to clean his wound. It wasn't as bad as it seemed at first, thankfully. She had to clean her own cuts and wounds pretty often because she never liked to ask for help from others, so her fingers worked quickly and efficiently. In a matter of minutes, his wound was clean and she put a small band-aid over it to protect it from all the filth.

"There you go," Beadie said it more to herself than him as she leaned back, putting everything back inside the box. His lack of reply made her uneasy but she decided not to push him further.

She would probably go insane if she was in his spot. Not knowing that your family was alive or not; not knowing if you'll survive the night. Not knowing who to trust.

Instead of causing further damage to him, Beadie simply stood up and dusted off her pants before grabbing the first-aid kit. As she headed to the door, her heart pulled her back and wanted her to be by his side. To try and make his pain go away.

For a moment, her hand froze in the air just above the handle, not sure what to do. Beadie glanced back at him from the door, taking in how he remained in his seat, not moving an inch and just looking at the ground in front of him. She had no idea how to help him, so instead she chose not to make things worse at least and left the room, leaving her heart inside with him.

But just as the door closed behind her, she caught his last words. They were quiet like a warm summer breeze passing by, but it felt like winter blizzard against her skin. And if there was any part of her heart that wasn't broken by now, his words delivered the final blow.

"I'll never trust you again."

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sorry for the late update but here you go

im hoping to finish off this book before the new mwiii drops so i could focus on the other book. there's not many chapters left of this book so hopefully we'll be good

and i love angst, so you got a chapter full of that. you're welcome. i'm debating whether i want a happy or bad ending, let me know what you think!