Author's Note:

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The young woman stood over the bodies. Completely favoring her right leg.

The left was injured. The one who caught her. The one she bit. The one who pulled too hard on her foot.

Her hand fell to her side. Taser clutched between her bloodied fingers.

"Bastards be glad the fucking bear mace is at the bloody hotel," she sneered with a huff.

Her body dropped. Right onto one of the men she had tasered. Her face skewed in pain.

"You," she gritted out. Trying to mask a scream. It came out a whimper. "You alright, Bud - Oh god! Shit! You need a fucking hospital!" She pulled out the little black device, tapping on the glowing side.

"No!" I cried out. Panic pulling the air right out of my lungs. "I... I can't...."

"I don't even have a bloody signal to call them anyways.... There's probably more of those damn bastards around." Her uninjured foot kicked out at one of the unconscious men. Her expression was caught between pain and irritation. "I need to get a hold of Eve."

She tried to get up. Failed. Hissing in pain. Clutching her leg. Rolling over. Defeated.

One look at her ankle and I knew. She wouldn't be able to walk a step. An ankle shouldn't be bent that way.

"Bite down on something," I told her.

"Wha?" Confusion peered through her winces. Arms pushing herself up. So she could stare at me in question.

I leaned forwards. Grabbed her heel. Yanked hard. A pop.

Her body rocked back. Curling into a ball. Her fist flew to her mouth. Screaming around it. The fist did a poor job to muffle her.

Huffing, she shot me a scathing glare. "Some fucking warning would've been nice."

"I did," I stated.

It wasn't much. But it was something.

I scanned the shadows for more men. We were sitting ducks. Here out in the open. Then there was the pile of bodies. I had to clean this mess. Or the target might move.

"Oh, put that guy down." The young woman turning onto her front. Crawling towards the spot the food truck was usually parked. Her back to me. Unguarded. She saw what I could do. But she still stayed unwisely unguarded. "You're in no shape to be hauling bodies, Buddy."

"I... I can't..." I tried to form some sentence. Something coherent that wouldn't have her calling the cops on me.

I needed to stay hidden. Which meant this never happened. These bodies needed to disappear. The target. I finally found her. I needed this to go away.

"Yay, signal's back."

My stomach dropped. I needed to say something. Fast. Anything. To stop her. "Please don't... I...I -"

"Oh yeah... got that fucking message...." She tapped at the glowing device. "A voice message? Who the hell uses voice message?"

"Val, I do hope you got away from them." A female voice emanated from that little device in her hand. "If you did manage, there's some help under your usual spot. You have a narrow window. There's more of them. Hurry. They're everywhere."

The young woman looked up. Stared right at me. Easy enough to understand the words in those pale eyes.

I turned to the bench. Checked the underside. Right under where she always sat. There was another device taped under it. Not making much sense of it, I tossed it to her.

With a click and two beeps, that same voice began speaking. "Head west. Avoid cars. Get to the safe house."

At those words, I dropped the body of the unconscious man. He was still breathing. Not dead.

I walked up to the young woman. She didn't even notice. Muttering something about losing the signal again. Arms waving the first device about. Her head snapped up when I grabbed her. Gray eyes widened in confusion. Less fear than I had expected.

I didn't give her much time to react. Slung her over my good shoulder.

She yelped. Head bouncing off my back. "What are you -?!" A groan of pain killed her struggling.

Ready to exit the park via the western entrance, I paused. "The bodies...."

They were just lying there. Hopefully, most of them were merely unconscious. But I couldn't leave them here.

"Eve will take care of them. Can't have it getting out there was another kidnapping.... Shit, there's no sun. Umm... Do you know which way is north? We're supposed to be heading north...?"

"The message said west."

"Yeah... but we can't just leave blatant messages to the safe houses. It's north. We need to go north."

With a frown, I headed around the fountain to use the northern entrance. I could feel her breathing erratically. Worsening with every passing second.

Panic. Fear. Agony.

My need to get out of the open quelled much of my own pains and worries.

The slash across my chest. It hurt. But I was functional.

Her ankle, on the other hand, wasn't.

A mix of caution and paranoia kept me in the shadows. An eye always on our surroundings. Searching for any movement. Most of it was in houses. Beyond the thin curtains.

"At the red house, go south. 8341."

"Quiet," I hushed her. Pushing us against a hedge. Movement up ahead. Another team of four rushed past us. In a slow moving car.

I could feel her trying to track them from the way she moved on my shoulder. Only after they disappeared from sight did she whisper, "Pretty sure this is the red house?"

I glanced at the building and frowned.

"It's green," I hissed back.

It's green. Even in the night.

It was clearly green.

"Just go east from here, Buddy. House number 7038."

With a sigh, I went on the move again. There was nobody else in our path.

Didn't even have to walk more than 200 meters. A house with the numbers 7038. Nailed onto the wall.

I froze at the curb.

The light turned on. The door swung open. I was about ready to book it down the street. But there was nobody. Just an empty doorway. Into a lit foyer.

Unease filled my gut.

"Get inside, Buddy. Before they find us."

My legs listened to the order. I wanted to fight against it. Far too many alarms were blaring in my head.

Once inside, I couldn't help the flinch.

The door shut behind me. All on its own. Nobody was hiding behind the door.

We were alone.

"It's okay, Buddy. It's just Eve."

'Who the hell is this Eve?'

A ghost? An actual ghost? Who'd taken to haunting little devices?

I couldn't hear anyone else in the house. No footsteps. Just our own breathing. It really was only the two of us in this house.

A pop hit my ears. Then something moved in the metal arm. I couldn't feel what it was. But the force was enough to register on the plates.

My flinch coupled with her own sent her head into the door.

The young woman groaned in agony. Clutching her head. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

She couldn't find out about the arm. It would give me away. It would cause too many questions. And, a part of me just didn't want her to know.

I could only hope that it wasn't damaged more. It was enough of a nuisance as it was.

"...'Kay? Umm... Upstairs, master bathroom. There should be a first aid kit... under the sink?"

Wordlessly, I made my way up the steps. Dropped her on the large bed. Leaving her to yell her string of colorful words. In the bathroom under the sink, there was a kit. As she said.

"I'm glad the man in the park decided to help out after all," that voice spoke.

It came from all over the house. Was she haunting this house? She knew of me. Did she know who I was?

"Before you run, if you want that tracker in that arm of yours out, you'll stay."

"Tracker?" I repeated. Barely finding my voice. Fear found its way through my veins.

They could find me.

"You didn't think you've managed to escape them so easily, have you? The jammer I had placed in your arm was deactivated the moment you stepped in here. I got something better set up here that'll block the signal, but the second you leave this house, they'll find you."

"...Was that why there's no signal on my phone?" the young woman questioned. Half hopping. Half hobbling. Half swearing her way across the room. To stand in front of a large black screen. "Eve, mind pulling up a video of how to stitch a wound?"

She cringed away from the bright light of the screen. She sent a smile my way. Her head tilting towards the armchair near her. "Come sit. Off with the jacket and shirt. Let's see what we can do about that bloody mess you've got going on."

Her attention turned back to the screen. Filled with an artificial cut flesh and a pair of gloved hands. A voice spoke. Coming from behind the screen. A male one. With instructions on how to suture.

I hated myself for sitting down. I wanted to run. Not pull off my jacket to reveal the arm. Or my shirt to show the mess of scars and burns. The marred skin where the metal fused to my flesh.

The young woman partly watched the video. Rifling through the first aid kit. Pulling out a pile of shirts from the dresser. She poured a good portion of the isopropyl alcohol on her hands, a needle and thread. The liquid soaked into the shirts.

"Where the fuck did the hydrogen peroxide go? Eve? It's not in here."

"Sparks may have used it up..." stated the now eerie voice. The hairs on the back of my neck stood. Even a shiver found its way up my spine.

With a wince, the young woman turned to me. "This is going to sting. Sorry." She splashed some of the liquid on the cut across my chest. Using a shirt to catch it all.

Clenching my fists down on the armrests, I tried to block out the pain. Keep myself from sending a fist into her face.

I concentrated on the room. Searching for the source of the voice. Speakers lined the corners of the ceiling.

As if reading my mind, the young woman said, "Don't worry about Eve. She's harm - hmmm... she's very helpful?"

She went back to the screen. Watching the video that played on a loop. With a nod, she attempted the first stitch. Trying to work through her shaking hands. Then checking the screen for how to tie a knot.

"I'm so sorry you got caught up in this mess. Buddy. I'm so sorry."

She broke down into blabbering apologies. Her words blending into each other. Turning incoherent.

But she trudged on. Each stitch she made was faster than the last. As more time passed, the more snarls of frustration escaped her. The harder her hands shook. She tried to steady them against me. Resting softly against my skin. It worked long enough to push the needle through each time.

Somehow this was gentler than treatments I do remember. Given the inexperience and all.

The blood slicked scissors slipped from her fingers. I managed to catch it this time. Before it dropped onto one of us. Sparing her shaking hands, I snipped the last thread.

With a grateful smile, she collapsed. Onto the floor. With a resounding thud. Out cold.

"Would be great if you tossed her onto a bed, Mr. Barnes."

"You know me...."

Not good.

Opposite of good.

Extremely bad.

This voice from the speakers, she knew too much.

Panic choked my breathing. I quickly grabbed my shirt. Tenderly pulling it over my head. Careful not to rip the stitches.

I wanted nothing more than to run for it. But the tracker. They'd find me.

I was stuck.

Then there was the young woman. Lying there on her side. Hands covered in blood. My blood. The blood on her chin was already caking. The blood of the giant she bit. It was far from a pleasant sight. Nightmarish.

"...I honestly have no idea if she knows who you are. I wouldn't be surprised if she does. Then again, the girl can be quite slow at times. Real slow... and the beard hides quite a bit."

"Are you a ghost?"

Laughter rumbled through the house. "That would be so much fun. The things I would do as a ghost. But sadly, no, I'm not. Or maybe I am, just a tiny bit. You can think of me as an A.I. of sorts. I, for the most part, take care of the Ayers family."

'What's an A.I?'

It was something that the young woman relied on. Something to get her through this night.

"The cops..." I started. Before losing my words.

"Not going to call them. Val wouldn't either. Neither of us wants to involve them. That would involve bad press. Besides, calling the cops on you, that's no proper way to thank you, Mr. Barnes."

'Who the hell are these people?'

It's only gotten more confusing. Ever since the young woman showed up with fancy hair. Normalcy was thrown straight out the window.

Should have known. No one would interact with me. Not without ulterior motives.

"As for that arm of yours, I suspect that it's been damaged?" the voice prompted.

I gave a small nod. Willing myself not to book it through the ridiculously large window behind me.

Being trapped was the last thing I wanted. But here I was. The bit of freedom I thought I earned... it wasn't even of my own making. I didn't even realize a thing. Until it was too late.

"It'll take some time to gather everything, but I will have the tracker removed and the cybernetic arm repaired. In the meanwhile, please stay in the house. You're safe in here within about three feet of distance from the doors. Would be best if the neighbors never spotted you, but feel free to make yourself at home."

With a heavy sigh, I had to accept the situation.

This or Hydra.

For now, Hydra's the one I want nothing to do with. I knew that much.

I just hoped I wasn't trading one handler for another.

I stepped to the young woman. Hauling her onto the large bed. "Is there ice here?"

"Please follow the lights, Mr. Barnes."

The hallway lights dimmed. Except the one outside of the room door. When I walked up to it, the next one grew brighter. The one I was under dimmed.

Once I was in the kitchen, the freezer opened.

A shiver raced up my spine. This was all unsettling.

This house had to be haunted. The voice was a ghost. A.I. had to be another word for ghost.

Warily, I reached inside. Grabbed the tray of ice. The cold air made my skin crawl.

I tried to shake the sensation off. Still couldn't in the time it took to grab the roll of paper towels.

Everything was unsettling. Especially this house. With that voice.

"Why me?" I couldn't help but ask. My voice barely worked.

Silence hung in the air.

I made my way back to the master bedroom. Knelt on the floor with the kit. Pulled off the young woman's sandal. Wrapped her swollen ankle with the ice.

Next was to clean off some of the blood. Wiped down her hands and face. Poured some water into her mouth. Being mindful not to drown her. Before turning her head to have it spill out onto a paper towel.

"I couldn't protect her," whispered the A.I. ghost. Sounding so small.

None of the grandness of when she first spoke. A voice that filled the house. This admission though. It only came from one speaker. The one closest to me.

"All the scenarios I ran, I couldn't protect her. Val was still taken. There was no move I could make to change that outcome.

"But then you were able to surprise me.... With how wired the world is, that rarely happens. At least not in this sense.... And I was desperate.... So I led you to Fuller, who is an actual high ranking member of Hydra. I wouldn't waste your time, Mr. Barnes. You're a variable I couldn't completely predict. I could only hope you were around when it happened, and that you'd help her. Even surprised me when nobody died tonight."

'I didn't kill them.'

It was an utter relief.

To know that there wasn't more blood on my hands. They're alive.

But then.... Why would anybody count on me to save another? Why would anybody trust me? Why would anybody believe in me?

I was a weapon.

Weapons kill.

"Thank you, Mr. Barnes, for saving Valeriy."

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Author's Note:

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