Some time in the future

The smell of a cigarette is an interesting thing. As its lit you watch as the end turns into a red ember. You bring the white stick to your lips and inhale the poison. The white smoke leaves your lips shortly after before a new wave eventually returns once again as the white stick of addiction is brought back. Every time you inhale the poison your lungs die a little each time. It's saddening really.

"She's dying." Another voice whispered, interrupting my thoughts. She looked down at the figure in my lap.

"Yes." I said just as softly, running my hands through her hair.

"How are we going to tell him?" She asked kneeling down next to me.

"I don't know, but he won't forgive us." I said lightly shaking my head.

"We need to get out of here." She told me, but I couldn't get myself to move.

"We're not leaving her here! She deserves better than this."

"We'll come back for her. Take her ring. He's going to want proof. I can't see him believing us without it." She told me and I shakily moved my bloody hand to clutch onto hers. I slid the beautiful, diamond ring off her finger and clutched it into my right hand. I can't lose this.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered in her ear as I lightly set her body down on the concrete and then wiped off the excess tears on my face. Now wasn't the time to mourn.

"Listen, she became one of my good friends. I love her too; remember, you're doing the right thing."

"She's not completely dead yet. By leaving her here we are killing her." I snapped.

"Since when have you had a problem with killing?" Clover said rolling her eyes."I mean this is partly your fault. You joined this all by yourself."

I felt my fists clench knowing she was right.

I shook my head, ready to make a retort but she cut in again."You see, it's funny how you try so hard to make yourself seem like a savior right now, yet here you are. Blood coating every inch of you; all the once black clothes are now red. You're a killer." She snapped while pointing a finger at me.

"Jesse is a killer and he won't stop until you all are dead!" I hissed back.

"Until we're all dead." She repeated as she nodded her head slowly, tears slowly welling up in her eyes."I don't know if you've realized it, but he has that mission about halfway completed."

"Wait, she's not the first one of you three to die?" I asked, looking down at the elegant ring in my hand. How can Jesse actually be succeeding?

She shook her head,"No one is officially dead, but this is the second one that's just on the brink." Clover informed me and I felt my breath hitch in my throat.

"I didn't mean for this all to happen." I said shaking my head.

"I need to see her. I owe her and if she does die I don't know what I'll do." I said shaking my head and Clover looked around the room.

"We don't have time for this. If we want to get out of here alive then we need to get going." Her phone rung throughout the room.

"Hello?" She said into the phone, wiping her forehead with her other hand, causing more blood to smear all over it. "Yeah, I'm on my way." She said glancing down at her hands.

"Listen, we should really talk about this in person. I'll hopefully see you in a few."

Clover looked back at me and acknowledged my presence again,"Keith, Are you coming? I don't have all day."

--------

Present

•Riley's POV•

We quietly crept the door. I held up my hand to stop them as I placed my ear against the door, listening for signs that anyone was waiting out there.

"So far we know we've got Jesse, James, Katy, and Jacob all here."

"Also, a woman named Lisa and a man named Matthew" Claire added.

"Plus Taylor and someone named Leon," Clover said.

"So we have to guess that at the least there are eight people up those stairs," I stated and they nodded. I pressed my index finger to my lips before I quietly opened the door. I was thankful when the door didn't squeak.

That would be my luck.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Claire said looking upward at the stairs.

"Yeah, this probably isn't going to end how we want it to." Clover agreed.

I didn't respond and only led them to a spot under the stairs and silently listened for any other voices. When I heard nothing, I turned back to them.

"I need a minute to think." I told them quietly. Everyone was doing their jobs and wouldn't notice for a while that I'm missing. I suspected that something was going to go wrong with the gang, but this was a whole different situation. We were all trapped now.

"Okay, we're going to-" I got cut off by the sound of a gun shot going through the room. I looked down at my stomach to see my black shirt being overruled by the blood red.

I was shot.

"Riley!" Clover yelled in a hushed voice, running over to me as I grabbed onto the wall to keep myself up.

"I'm fine," I gasped out, trying to ignore the stinging pain."It went straight through. I'll be fine." I told her, waving off the pain. I lifted up my shirt to see the side of my stomach with a small hole. I felt thankful when I saw it missed my hip.

Still hurts like a bitch, though.

"I don't see anyone. We were the only ones down here." Claire said looking confused. I glanced where the bullet came from and didn't see anyone either.

"It could have been automatic. We probably set off a sensor which means we need to get out of here." I said letting out a small hiss as I held my hand tightly against the wound.

It's a bit hard fitting crime when you've got a bullet wound.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Claire asked and I nodded.

"You need to stop the bleeding," Clover argued and Claire suddenly started taking off her dress, sliding the arms down and letting it fall down to her ankles.

"What the hell are you doing?" Clover muttered looking at her with wide eyes. Claire slipped off a black tank top which caused her baby bump to become more prominent. She easily slid her dress back on and raised an eyebrow at our staring.

"What? I heard it brings comfort to the baby." She said defensively before pulling on the tank top and sliding it across a piece of metal on the wall. The tank top ripped and she pulled out it.

I glanced up at the stairs,"We don't have time for this and that's going to cause an infection." I said causing two sets of glares to land on me.

"It looks fairly new and it's the best we've got right now," Claire said.

"And we don't have time for you trailing behind and bleeding to death." Clover snapped causing Claire to send her a nod in approval.

"It took a while, but ya girl finally got a backbone," Claire said pointing at Clover and sending me a wink. In response, Clover rolled her eyes, but still they lit up in amusement. I winced as I held my bloody shirt up, clenching it tightly as and Claire wrapped the tank top tightly around my waist. Pinning it with a pin hidden under her dress.

"Where did you get that?" Clover asked her curiously.

"I had to alter this all dress last minute." She said pointing out the small piece that was now hanging at a longer length than the rest of her dress.

"We need to go," I said hearing voices coming closer toward the stairs. I pulled my shirt down at stood up straighter, trying to not show how much pain there still was. "Now." I knew the tank top was already soaked in blood, but it at least kept some pressure on it and it wasn't like there anything better to use.

"This way," I suggested leading them down a long hallway. I pursed my lips, trying to hide the disgust I felt about the gray, prickle-feeling walls with different things on it.

"What even is that white stuff?" Clover asked, pointing at it as we passed and I slightly winced.

"It's better not to ask," I told her before stopping in front of a door. "This looks like a utility room," I said testing the lock. When it didn't open I pulled out the bobby pin I used earlier from my pocket. I quickly unlocked the door and turned on the light. I was immediately surprised by what was inside.

"Guns, they keep guns in here," Clover said looking just as surprised. Claire peeled at the realistic picture on the window of the door.

"I'll admit they're smart," Claire said nodding and I agreed, shutting the door and locking us in here.

I grabbed an assault rifle that was hanging on the wall. I checked the ammo and nodded in appreciation when it was fully loaded."Wait, we're not actually going to use these things, right?" Clover asked and I nodded.

"It's our only option," I said tossing them both an automatic 9mm pistol. I grabbed another and quickly pointed out how to use it. "That's an automatic gun. This button right here ejects the magazine." I said clicking it and showing them how it came off.

"I'm sure you can easily figure out how to put ammo in this thing, but once it's completely loaded like it is now then you just push it back in like this." I pushed it up and smiled slightly at the clicking sound."That's the sound you need to hear to ensure it's locked. Now, the most important part is the safety. If you don't push it down you're not shooting anything or anyone." I said pointing at the small lever and pushing it down.

"Lastly, this is how you load the cartridge and this is clearly the button you use to shoot. I hope you both have good aim." I said tucking the gun into the waistband of my jeans. I grabbed another handgun and put it into my boots, hiding it from sight with my jeans. I felt a hand press on my side and jumped slightly from the pain. I looked over and saw it was Clover.

"You're going to bleed out over here." She said and I looked down to notice the blood covering my pant leg and the small pool on the ground.

"We need to get out of here," I said not disagreeing with her statement. I looked up at the vent and frowned when I saw it needed unscrewed.

"I don't have my gear on me which means I don't have a screwdriver. Therefore, we have a problem." I said unconsciously rubbing blood on my cheek as I rubbed an itch away.

"What are we going to do?"Claire asked before getting back to biting her lip nervously.

"We're going to try something, but it will make our time limited." I said pulling back the cartridge and smirking when it moved back into place perfectly on the automatic weapon.

"What?" Clover asked with narrowed eyes.

"I'm going to get those bolts off or at the least, loose. We're going to have to move fast, but we don't have time for sloppy. Therefore, once that's off we get in here, door gets locked and we get up and out in that vent." I ordered and they all nodded.

"You ready?" I asked and Claire nodded. Clover grabbed another gun like I'm currently holding and put the strap on her back.

"Now I am."

"Definitely grew a pair of balls." I nodded in approve-meant. I unlocked the door and slowly opened it. Holding the gun up as I looked both ways. Once I saw it was clear I ushered then out. They stood in the hall as I did I. I mouthed a count down from three before I pressed the trigger. Dents went  into the metal and soon the screws dropped to the ground just as a few gang meme bees appeared at the end of the hall.

"Let's go." Claire said grabbing my arm as we rushed back into the room. We closed the door and locked ourselves in. Clover immediately started climbing one of the shelves and I pushed another in front of the door. I winced as a stabbing pain hit my side. I leaned against the wall as I watched Claire carefully go up with the help of Clover.

I looked down, pulling up my bloody shirt to see the tank top completely bled through."Riley, c'mon." Claire yelled over the sound of men yelling at the door being pounded on.

"Yeah, I'm coming." I said breathlessly. I lifted myself up on the shelf and handed Claire my gun. She set it next to her before grabbing my hand and helping me get pulled up. Once I was in the fairly decent sized vent I took a few breathes.

"You need help." Clover said seriously. Her hand getting covered in blood just from touching me.

"We don't have time to worry about me. Let's go." I said leading the way through the vent.

"We need to get her somewhere safe. She's going to die on us if she keeps losing all this blood." Claire whispered to Clover and I clenched my teeth together.

"We need to get out of these vents. They could follow us up here and if that's the case then I'm sure they're coming fully loaded." I said feeling exhausted already.

"Where do we go then? We can't exactly go upstairs." Clover pointed out and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm going to slow you guys down which is why I'll be the distraction. While they're going after to me, you guys will -" I was cut off when my body slammed into another.

"You guys will find your way out." A familiar voice said. The light from another room shined on the male's face.

"Keith." I said, my voice hard.

"You're going to need my help."He told me and I didn't lose my glare.

"You're the one that put me here." I hissed and he let out an irritated sigh.

"We can discuss this now and you guys all get caught and probably killed on spot, or you can come with me and make it out of here alive." He snapped back. I didn't comment him and followed him. I looked back at Clover and Claire and moved two fingers from my eyes to him. I mouthed two words which they easily understood, 'Watch him'.

It took about five minutes of crawling around the vents we finally stopped at a room. Keith used a small, quiet-sounding drill. The vent cover dropped to the ground, causing a loud crash to sound through the room. Keith helped us down one by one. When he glanced down at the wet liquid on his hand his eyebrows furrowed.

"Who's hurt?" He asked and the two blonde woman looked at me.

"I was shot. I'm fine, it's just a little blood." I said and he narrowed his eyes. His hands came to t waist, lifting up my shirt. When he saw the blood covering the tank top he quickly unpinned before I could snap at him.

"You need to let me stitch this up." He insisted and I snorted.

"Yeah, while you're at it would you mind making me some spaghetti too?" I reported, my sarcasm leaving thick tension in the air.

"I hate you."Claire said suddenly and Keith raised an eyebrow in amusement as he ran his hand through his curls.

"I'm not surprised, but I did what I had to do for this gang." He said as he pressed a rag to my wound. I wasn't sure where the rag came from but I didn't question if as I bit my tongue, drawing even more blood.

A piece of duck tape was wrapped tightly around my stomach, keeping the rap firmly against the wound."Hopefully this will help the blood clot." He said before lifting the vent cover and screwing it back up.

"So where do we go now?" Clover asked, looking around the room. An old beat up couch sat there on the wall and something told me that the red spots on it wasn't paint.

"Clover, I must say it's quite cute that you tried to trick me. It sucks that everything was just an act." Keith said standing only centimeters in front of her, his thumb and index finger rubbing a piece of Clover's dried, bloody hair.

"You're an agent." I stayed staring at him and he smirked, stepping away from her and turning to me.

"As is Taylor." He said nodding and I snorted.

"He's the one that got me in this mess." I snapped and he shrugged.

"You have to do things to keep your own cover. You of all people should know this." Keith said before grabbing a pistol from underneath the couch.

"Yeah, but we don't hurt other agents in the process." I snapped and he nodded in agreement.

"You're one of the best agents. We thought you could easily escape.". He defended and I rolled my eyes in response.

"So you're not a real doctor?"Claire finally asked and Keith surprisingly sent her a soft smile.

"I am. It's where most of my income comes from. I was an agent for years, but I quit a few years about. They were desperate and needed help which is why I'm here now." He explained and she nodded in understanding.

"This is truly great and all, but I feel like someone's going to appear any minute and shoot me in the head, so can we please get out of here." Clover interrupted.

"At least 6 of them are still down here with us. Where? I'm not sure, but they're going to be checking the vents and rooms. So Mabry, where do we go from here?" I asked as I leaned against the wall. My exhaustion was slowly taking over my body and I wasn't sure how long I could keep up with this.

"I'm not sure."

------

•Joey's POV•

"It took you all long enough." Caiden hissed as he lightly rubbed at his sore wrists.

"Where's Claire? Did you find her yet?" He questioned immediately.

"No and we can't get ahold of Riley either. They have all three of them." I said causing him to slam his fist into a nearby car.

"You're a bunch of high class, British fucking agents who claim to be the best, yet you can't even get three girls? More importantly, one?" He snapped and I narrowed my eyes, not at all amused with his attitude.

"You think we aren't trying? That's my fiancé, his wife and your girlfriend." I said, pointing my thumb in the direction where Andrew is standing,

"My fiancé." He corrected.

I looked at him with confusion,"What?"

"She's my fiancé. She was taken right after I proposed." He said hiding his hurt with a blank look on my face.

"I'm sorry, but by any chance did you see who took her? We can't get the cameras on from the restaurant."

"I think so, but my eyes are fucking up because it can't be who I saw." Caiden said before sliding into the passenger seat of the car. I followed his lead and slid into the drivers seat.

"Who'd you see?" Andrew asked curiously as he rolled up the sleeves of his t-shirt.

"A woman named Lisa, but I don't know how it can be her. I killed her years ago. She was dead on the ground after I squeezed every once of oxygen from her lungs." His anger was clear as he clenched his fists beside me.

"No hard feelings, but you're sick man." Andrew said shaking his head, disgust showings on his face.

"And you're a fucking pus-" Caiden was cut off by me suddenly slamming on the breaks."What the fuck?"

"We've got incoming." I said backing up the car. I looked through the front windshield to see a guy pointing a gun towards us. The windshield was hit with multiple bullets causing the bullet proof glass to be almost impossible to see out of.

"Shit." Andrew muttered and I let out a sigh, switching gears and pressed on the gas. The car started speeding backwards before I turned the wheel and we were speeding off in the opposite direction.

"I can't see anything." I muttered looking out the drivers window for help. I glanced at the mirrors to see two black vans still following us.

"Andrew, I want you to grab the bag underneath my seat." I instructed and he did exactly that. I glanced back to see he was holding the bag of guns on his lap.

"You know in high school I was counted as the bad boy and all, but I've never actually used one of these things." He said holding up a rifle causing Caiden to snort beside me.

"Why am I not surprised?" Caiden said  rolling his eyes. From the corner of my eye I saw him take the gun from Andrew's hand before rolling down my window. Bullets immediately hit the black vehicle behind us thanks to Caiden.

"Great, this is just great." Andrew muttered from the backseat.

I grabbed my cellphone and held it tightly in my right hand while the other was on the wheel."Matt? Yeah, we're going to need back up."

"I'll send Em and Rachel." Matt said from the other line."Oh, and Joey?"

"Yeah?" I asked while doing a quick turn into an alleyway. When there was no response I decided to ask again."Matt, what's wrong?"

"Liam's awake."

------------------------
A/N: Ello Loves! Technically it is not Tuesday because I haven't went to bed yet. Therefore, I'm going to let myself think I got this chapter out on time. I mean it's only 12:32, but oh well. Also, I'm sorry this chapter kind of sucked. It's been a while since I've have just a filler like chapter.

Do you believe everything Keith said? Do you trust him?

Anyone nervous about Joey and the other's situation?

Who's POV do you hope to see next chapter?

Overall opinion?

Anyways, you all know the drill,

Comment,

Share,

Vote

Fan,

~KittyKat<3