Enjoy!

Chapter Quote:
"My family is my strength and my weakness."
~Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
_______________________________________

Chapter 8: Composition Four

Lux

Shiloh didn't wake up until about five in the evening. I'd been starting to wonder if she was in a coma and the doctors didn't know. The first thing out of my sister's mouth was a question about whether Percy was okay. When we told her he would be fine, the second thing she said was that she needed the bathroom. I helped her there and back. Afterwards she fell back asleep for the rest of the night. The second time she woke up, which was about noon, she announced her hunger. Dad went and got her something to eat.

"What exactly happened? I don't remember much of the accident," Shiloh admitted.

Mom spoke up. "According to Percy, someone rear-ended your car and sent you skidding on a patch of ice. You rolled down a hill and got some nasty gashes from glass and whatnot. You also broke your leg. The doctors think it slammed too hard into the dashboard."

"How's Percy? What's the extent of his injuries? Can I see him?"

"He's fine. He has a broken arm, and he had surgery to get glass shrapnel out of his arm, but otherwise he's fine. You can see him later. Right now he's sleeping. Something you should be doing too."

"Mom, I was asleep for almost an entire day. That last thing I need to do is sleep," Shiloh pointed out. However, after a little bit more conversation, my sister followed mom's advice.

"Why don't you three go grab some food? Y'all haven't eaten since this morning," mom suggested.

Will and Jem nodded. "Do you want us to bring you anything?"

"Bring me some tea with cream and sugar when you come back up. Get your dad a hot chocolate. I think he'll need it when he wakes up." Mom glanced over at dad who was sacked out on her shoulder.

The three of us went into the waiting room to grab the others. Alec and Henry had been stretched out across the chairs asleep. Charlotte, Tessa, and Isabelle were chattering away. I could tell they were trying anything to keep themselves awake.

"Hey, you guys want to go to the food court and get a bite to eat?" Will inquired. At the mention of 'food', Alec and Henry both woke up. The former fell out of his chair. The latter hit his head on the arm of the chair.

"How are they doing? Did Shi ever wake up?" Alec asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, she woke up for a bit but fell back asleep a couple minutes ago," I answered. Satisfied with my answer, the others got up and we headed down to the food court. I ordered a sandwich and a coke. I'd barely opened my mouth to take a bite of my meal when someone said, "There they are!"

We all turned around to see a swarm of paparazzi coming straight for us. Thankfully security guards blocked the reporters before they reached us, but that didn't stop them from shouting questions at us.

"What the hell?" Will demanded, standing up.

"Is it true that two of your family members were involved in a deadly car crash?!" A reporter shouted. "Were they the cause of it?"

"Reports say it was Shiloh and Percy. Why were they in the same car? Are they dating?" another one asked.

Will and Jem both snarled. While my I was seething with rage myself, I wasn't going to let my brothers assault the paparazzi, no matter how much I thought they deserved it. Tessa and I took Jem and Will by the arms, leading them back over to where our food was. We grabbed our food and headed back upstairs. Mom and dad were talking but when mom saw us, her face scrunched up in confusion.

"Why aren't you eating down there?" she inquired.

"The paparazzi showed up. They're asking about Shiloh and Percy," I answered.

My parents' faces hardened. They excused themselves and left the room. Will, Jem, and I took their chairs. I brought my sandwich up to my mouth only to be interrupted by someone saying, "How are you three doing?"

My brothers and I looked up to find Uncle Genette and Aunt Nagase standing in the doorway. We jumped up to greet them.

"We're doing okay. Much better now that we know Shi and Perce will be okay. When did you get here?" Jem asked.

"We got in about an hour ago with everyone else. And by everyone, I mean all the parents, godparents, and aunts and uncles. We just passed Blaze and Chopper. They're going to deal with the paps. I think all of us leaving Osea tipped them off," Genette explained.

"How is she?" Nagase inquired, nodding towards Shiloh who was still asleep.

"She's okay, just exhausted," I replied.

"I could imagine. You three probably are too."

"We've gotten a little bit of sleep. I mean at least we have the weekend to kind of catch up on our sleep despite the work we have to catch up on. Poor Alec missed his test so he'll have to make that up sometime next week."

"Yes, he's already talked to his teachers about it. Well we'll let you get back to eating. We're going to go help your parents beat back the paparazzi. We'll see you soon," Genette said. He and Nagase left the room. I settled back down into my chair and was about to bite into my sandwich when my phone rang.

"Really?!" I hissed angrily. Will and Jem stared at me while they munched happily on their sandwiches.

"Hello?" I answered, rather irked.

"Hey, Lux. It's Liam. Are you okay? I was calling to make sure you were okay after what happened to Shiloh and Percy. When you didn't show up to class today, Sophie explained what happened. I'm really sorry."

"Oh, hi Liam. Sorry, I'm running on fumes and I'm trying to eat a sandwich but I keep getting interrupted every time I try to eat it."

He chuckled. "Sorry. I'll let you go. But you're okay? Shiloh and Percy are too?"

"Yeah, they're fine. Might be in the hospital a little while longer but they'll be fine. Thank you for checking on them. And on me. That's nice of you. Most project partners wouldn't call asking about it. I should go before I say something stupid though because when I'm tired and hungry, my mouth has no filter."

"All right, I'll see you soon. Get some rest and go eat!" Liam laughed as he hung up. I hurriedly took a bite of my sandwich before anyone could interrupt me again. Will tried but with one death glare in his direction, he shut up.

"Why'd Liam call you?" Jem questioned.

"He wanted to make sure I was okay after what happened to Shiloh and Percy and also that Shiloh and Percy were okay."

"Are you two friends or something?"

"Yeah. We're also working on a project together so he's probably making sure I'm not slacking off."

"I doubt that's why he called," Will remarked.

"Why who called?" Shiloh mumbled.

"Lux has another boy," Will said.

"Teach me your ways, oh great sister. I want a boyfriend," my sister said.

"I already know who you like. You just won't let me do anything about it."

"Because he doesn't like me back."

"Wait, who do you like?" Will and Jem queried simultaneously.

"Not saying a word," I promised. "Your secret is safe with me Shi."

"Since when do we keep secrets in this family?" Will demanded.

"Since girls keep secrets about who they like."

"Can one of you go get some different clothes for me? This hospital gown is really annoying. Not to mention revealing," Shiloh requested. I offered to get some for her. I made my way down to the nurse's desk of the floor.

"Excuse me? Lux Davenport?" A man inquired, tapping me on the shoulder. I turned around to face him, trying to give him my best 'don't mess with me' look. He was tall, bald, and wore a friendly expression. He seemed nice enough but being a Razgriz legacy, you learned to be careful around strangers. You never knew who your friends were and who your enemies were. "Sorry, you don't know me. My name is Vince 'Hammerhead' Toretto. I'm searching for Jason Banks. We were war buddies. He requested I come see him, said it was important?"

"I don't want to sound rude or anything, but I don't know you, I don't recognize you, and whether I know where Jason Banks is or not, I wouldn't tell you where he is," I said. The nurse briefly interrupted our conversation to give me the clothes for Shiloh.

"I understand. Listen, if you don't believe me, call him. I understand why you're being so cautious when it comes to your family."

"Fine, I will. Let me go give these to my sister first. Stay here." I hurried over to my siblings, quickly explained the situation, and went back to Hammerhead flanked by Will and Jem. I pulled out my phone and dialed my uncle, keeping an eye on Vince. He seemed unfazed by my glaring and unfazed by my brothers' presence. Either he really was who he said he was or he was extremely confident that he could take on all three of us if we attacked. If it was the first, then all was fine. If it was the second, then we were in serious trouble.

"Hey Lux, everything okay?" Cipher asked. I could hear the cacophony of paparazzi in the background, vaguely wondering how everything was going on down there.

"Yeah, listen, I have a question: do you know a Vince 'Hammerhead' Toretto? He's here claiming he knows you and that you called him over for something important," I said as I watched my sister sneak out of her hospital room into Percy's. I nodded in her direction. Will and Jem got the gist. Jem went to keep an eye on her.

"Description?"

"Tall, bald, brown eyes, kind of ripped," I explained. Hammerhead gave me an amused smile. I shrugged at him. He was ripped. Bad guy or not, his muscles were impressive.

"That's him. He's on our side Lux, don't worry. I called him in for help on our investigation. He served with me in the Belkan War. He's not the only one. You remember PJ, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"He'll be helping us out so he'll be around although he's supposed to get in tomorrow. Tell Hammerhead I'll be up soon. We're just-" Cipher halted in his speech before shouting, "GET DOWN!"

The all too familiar sound of gunshots rang over the phone. I yelled for my uncle but all that happened was he hung up.

"What happened?" Will demanded.

"Someone's shooting downstairs!" I said. My brother and I shared a glance before bolting to the stairwell.

"Hey!" Hammerhead shouted. "What are you going to do?! You don't have any weapons!"

"Our parents are down there!" Will fired back.

"What's going on?" Shiloh asked, hobbling out of Percy's room. He stood behind her with Jem. I hastily explained what was going on as I pressed the elevator button.

"You two stay up here," Will ordered Shi and Percy.

"Like hell I am!" Shiloh retorted.

"You have a broken leg! You're not going to be much in a fight! Stay here!" my brother barked. Jem kissed her on the head and followed us into the elevator. We hid away from the entrance so if it opened, we wouldn't be shot immediately.

"Do any of you have a plan?" Hammerhead queried, pulling a gun out of his pocket.

"Make sure our parents are okay," I said. "And kick some ass if the opportunity arises."

The doors opened and I crawled out. There was still gunfire everywhere, but I had no idea where the actual shooters were. I stood behind a column and peered around it to get a bearing on the situation. Hammerhead had made his way over to the cafeteria where the paparazzi were huddled in fear. He was backed up by Cipher, Pixy, Henri, and Geller. I saw my parents, Bartlett, and Major near the entrance, hiding behind a desk for protection. Bullet holes riddled the desk and made me shiver in anger that someone was trying to kill my parents. Genette, Nagase, Cassie, and Grimm were hiding behind some couches, doing the same things my parents were. The shooters were all over the place though, running to and fro to make it difficult for my family to injure or kill them.

Suddenly a man jumped to the side of me. My reflexes instantly kicked him, and I therefore kicked him. My foot connected with his head. The gun that had been in his hand fell out. I picked it up and darted behind a different column. Unfortunately for me, Henri saw me which he proceeded to alert my mom of my presence. That most likely meant my parents would figure out Jem and Will were down here.

"Are you mad?!" Henri hissed. I hadn't even seen him make his way over to my side.

"I heard the gunshots over the phone when I called Cipher. I had to come down to make sure you were all okay," I told my godfather.

"We're fine, we've got this. Go back upstairs and bring your brothers."

"No! You need all the help you can get and I'm not going to wait to find out if one of you was killed!"

Henri placed a hand on my shoulder. "We're not going to be killed. This is our job. Besides, we've gotten pretty good at knocking on death's door and running away without repercussions. Go."

"Ok- duck!" My godfather was too stunned at my outburst to do anything but listen. I fired at the enemy, nailing him in the stomach. Henri turned around to see what, or who, I'd shot.

"Nice shot," he complimented.

"Still going to send me back up?" I asked.

"Yes. I wasn't kidding. Go."

"They're running!" Genette shouted. I looked to see what he meant. One of the shooters was making his way into the hallways of the hospital when something slammed into his gut. He flipped over whatever it was onto his back. Then Percy was on top of the guy, holding him place. Shiloh hopped into view on her crutches.

Suddenly, Alec, Henry, Isabelle, Charlotte, and Tessa were all in view, each armed with a scalpel. I didn't think those would do much in a gun fight but I guess it's better to be prepared than have nothing at all.

"Freeze!" My mom shouted. By now all the enemies were either in the center of the room or dead. Most were the latter. Mom had her gun pointed directly at them. The rest of my family who had guns followed in suit, as did I. Will and Jem, who flanked me, had stolen guns off of some dead guys so they were in the circle too.

"Lower your weapons and get down on the ground," Dad ordered. The men did. As we closed in on them, one rolled over and pulled something out of his pocket. He gave us a malicious smile.

"Bomb! He's a bomb!" Cipher shouted. We ran for cover. I slid around the hallway where the rest of the kids were, barely managing to get behind the wall before the explosion rocked the building. Even though I covered my ears, it sounded like the explosion was right next to me. We sat huddled together, shaking from the experience.

"Is-is everyone okay?" Percy stammered out. I looked up at him to see where he was because his voice seemed so far away, but then I realized I still had my hands covering my ears. He was cradling Shiloh in his arms, his entire body wrapped around hers. Someone, Will, pulled me into a hug. I wasn't much of a hugger, not even with my family, but this time I didn't protest.

"Our parents... we have to... find them," Alec said. He'd been the closest to the door so when I saw him clutching his side, I asked, "Are you hurt?"

He shook his head. "No, some debris grazed me. That's all."

"Can you all stand?" Will queried, pushing himself up from the ground. I stood up with him, using the wall for support because I could barely stand. My legs felt like jelly.

One by one, the rest of them stood up. We slowly shuffled our way over to the doorway and peered into the lobby. It was utter chaos. People were screaming in pain, people were shouting to find others, just to make sure they were alive.

"Shiloh, Percy, stay here. You two are already injured and with everything going on out here, there's a risk you could get hurt even more. Please stay here," Will requested. For once, my sister didn't argue and slid down against the wall to the floor. Percy sat next to her.
_______________________________________  

Percy

"Are you okay?" I whispered. "You didn't get hurt did you?"

"No," she murmured, closing her eyes. "You?"

"No."

The two of us fell silent for an agonizingly long minute before Shiloh said, "Thank you."

"For what?" I asked.

She rolled her head to the side and opened her eyes. "For not holding me back when I wanted to come down here."

"I knew you'd find a way. If I couldn't stop you, at least I could give you back up."

She let out a small laugh as she rested her head on my shoulder. "You're a good guy Percy."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to me. I gave her a kiss on the head. She looked up at me and asked, "What was that for?"

"I'm just really glad you're not dead. I nearly got you killed in the accident and now this... I don't know what it is about us having near death experiences but I'd really like it to stop."

"Hey, the accident wasn't your fault. You had no control over that," Shiloh consoled. "Don't beat yourself up over that."

"I could've killed you!" I hissed. "I couldn't handle that! I couldn't handle losing my best friend or the gi-" I caught myself before I went any further. I couldn't explain what I felt for Shiloh. For the longest time, I thought the feelings I got when I saw her with other boys, the feelings I got every time she got herself into danger, were simply from her being my best friend and the youngest in our group. I thought it was because I felt she needed to be protected. It was only when I entered the Air Force and moved away from her that it finally dawned on me that I wasn't protective for Shiloh because of the reasons I thought I was, but because I was in love with her. When I had broken my leg and couldn't do anything at recess in elementary, she was the one who stayed with me. Whenever I was sick and couldn't get work from school, she would be the one to bring it to me. When I got my wisdom teeth out, she was the one who brought me food I could actually eat and enjoy eating (you can only eat so much soup before you get sick of it). I mean Shiloh had been with me through everything, good and bad, so saying 'I love you' didn't really seem to cover what I felt, but it was all that could come to mind right now.

So I told her.

"I love you too. You're my best friend. Always have been," she replied.

"No, I don't mean it in a friendly context right now. I mean it in a context that would give your brothers permission to kill me if I ever hurt you in any way, shape, or form again. Do you understand what I'm saying? That's why I couldn't handle losing you."

"I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon. I promise," she said. Then she kissed me. It was brief, but wonderful, and would've lasted longer had Lux not interrupted.

"Seriously? It takes a damn explosion for you two to confess your undying love for each other? Jesus, I wonder what event would make you two to actually get engaged!" Lux said. Shiloh and I both flushed deeply as we stood up.

Studiously avoiding answering her comments, I asked, "Is everyone okay?"

"Our family is all alright although most were injured. Nothing too severe. Some reporters and staff members are dead though. We don't know how many yet."

"Then let's go see what we can do to help," Shiloh said.

The three of us entered the lobby. Blaze and Major came running over to us.

"Are you two okay?" They demanded.

"We're fine. Just shaken up. Are you? Where's dad? And Bartlett?"

"Your dad and Bartlett are being taken care of by some EMTs. Chopper was hit in the head by a flying brick. Other than a concussion, he seems to be fine but they're double-checking. Bartlett is worse off- he has a second degree on his arm.

"Go," Shiloh said. Kissing her on the head, I rushed over to my dad who was giving the EMTs hell.

"I'm fine!" he declared gruffly. "There are people with worse injuries than me. Go help them!"

"Sir, everyone else has been or is being taken care of. Now please let us look at your arm more fully," an EMT said calmly.

"Dad, listen to them, please," I begged.

"Percy, what the hell are you doing down here? You're supposed to be upstairs."

"I couldn't really sit around and do nothing while I knew what was going on down here. I'm fine."

"You and the others shouldn't be getting involved. Whatever is going on doesn't involve you and you need to stop getting involved. This is our job, our problem. Your job is to finish your education."

"I would say it is our problem considering we've all been at the sight of two major terrorist attacks in the past month!" I argued. "I don't want to sit on the sidelines wondering when I'm going to be attacked next. I want to find these bastards just as bad as you do, maybe more."

"No, stay out of this. That's an order." Resisting the urge to roll my eyes at my dad, I stalked away from my parents. I avoided looking at all the burn victims passing me. Many of them had third and fourth degree burns. The sight didn't compare to the smell though. People in movies and books are always saying that something smelled 'like death', and up until now, I couldn't understand how something could smell 'like death'. I did now. It was indescribable. If I didn't get out of the lobby soon, I was going to be sick. I went outside, attempting to stay away from the crowds as I pulled out my cell phone. I had multiple messages from friends asking if I was all right. I ignored all but one, calling them.

"Oh my god Percy, are you okay?!" Allison demanded.

"Yeah, bruised, shaken, a little broken, but I'm okay. How far along are you in the research?"

"As in what did I find out about what they stole from your parents?"

"Unless you found out something more important, yes."

"No, but what they found, it's not that they took it, they copied it. See, your parents have all press conferences and trips and vacations planned to a tee. I was able to see which files were accessed the night of the Parsberg attack. Mostly it was your parents. I was able to track down their computer IP addresses so I know it was them. There were time stamps too, and there was only one that corresponded with the time of the attack, not to mention it was nowhere else on any other files. The Gray Men, which I'm assuming is who's doing this, went after your parents' schedule. They will know exactly when and where your parents will be for the year. They're targeting your parents, not you that I know of. But somehow you and the other kids seem to be at the scene of the attack most of the time."

"Then how did they know that my parents were going to be at the hospital? Could they have maybe put a bug on my parents' schedule that would allow them to see any changes?"

"It's possible. But it's also possible that the reason they knew your parents were at the hospital is because your car crash is all over the media. The news channels are reporting on the reason of the crash and your well-being. The gossip news places, they're more interested why you and Shiloh were in a car together at night. How is she doing by the way?"

"She's okay. She's with her parents right now. She got a broken leg and a gash on the side of her that needed to be stitched up, but otherwise Shi's okay. On another note, I have an idea and I need your help."

"That's what I'm here for Percy."

"I pinned a guy down earlier before the bomb went off and he was wearing an Iron Cross necklace. It got me thinking: can you access the files on the Gray Men that my parents have?"

"I'd have to do it from the main computer or computers they're located on. The security on those files are one of the highest. Your parents' schedule wasn't all that difficult to access, but then again, who would think that someone would want a schedule?"

"There's a party at Versailles in a couple weeks to celebrate Osea's independence. I could bring you as my date and that would give you a cover."

"That could work actually. Is there any way you can figure out your parents' password for their computers? It'd make it go faster."

"I can try. But their desks are closest to the door. When you enter, my dad's is on the left, my mom's is on the right. Either one of their computers would work. I'll get you an invitation, get you all the necessary information for it. I'll also tell Shiloh so she won't question why I'm bringing you."

"You're going to tell her what we're doing? I thought you didn't want them finding out about any of this?"

"No, I don't. I meant I was going to tell her you're my date as a friend because I'm not entirely sure where we stand relationship-wise right now, but it's different than before the crash. We're not dating, but we're not necessarily just friends either. I don't want her brothers suspecting anything is going on between us. They'd kill me if they found out she and I were dating. It's best to tell them when I've been shipped off to a base."

"And if they're shipped to the same base as well?"

"Then I might need to look into the Witness Protection Program."

Allison laughed. "All right, listen, I have to go, but keep me updated and I'll keep you updated if I find out anything else. Stay safe if that's at all possible for you."

It was my turn to laugh. "I think you and I both know the answer to that. Talk to you soon."

Hanging up, I twirled my phone in my hand, trying to calm my racing heart. Was I really going to break into my parents' files? Was I really going to commit what was pretty much treason? Was I willing to risk my military career and my life in general to find out what the Gray Men were doing so I could protect my family?

Absolutely.

"Hey you," Shiloh said, hopping over to me on her crutches. "Parents are calling us all back in. We're heading back to Osea in a couple days. They think it's best if we stay as close as we can to them." She paused before asking, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just thinking. Listen, about earlier, I'm sorry if I kind of thrust all of that on you."

Shiloh smiled. "Don't worry, Perce. It's nice not to have to guess whether it's a good idea to tell you I like you as more than just a friend or not."

"Why did you never tell me before?"

"I didn't want to make things awkward between us if the feelings weren't reciprocated."

"Well now that you know that they are, would you want to maybe... give us a try?"

"I would, but we maybe we should keep it on the lowdown just to see how it's going to work? I don't want to tell everyone we're dating and then find out it's not working out, you know what I mean?"

"I think that's a good idea. Although we should probably tell Lux not to saying anything," I said, standing up.

"Already taken care of," she said with a smile. "Listen, we really do need to head back in. Our parents want to see us."

I gave Shiloh a kiss before wrapping my arm around her shoulders and walking back inside. Our family was gathered around in a room away from the commotion. My dad wasn't there but I was told by mom that his arm was still being taken care of. I glanced around the room, taking in the injuries of everyone. The kids were all unhurt, just dirt and grime covering their faces. Chopper had an icepack to the back of his head. Pixy and Cipher both had cuts and scrapes on their faces but nothing severe. Mom had a cut on her cheek. Henri had his arm wrapped up but for what reason I wasn't able to tell. Geller clutched his ribs, wincing whenever he moved, leading me to believe he'd broken, or at least cracked, some ribs. Genette, Nagase, Cassie, and Grimm, along with some bald guy I didn't recognize, seemed to have small first degree burns. Nothing serious, just painful. Blaze was in different clothes and it was only when she turned around that I figured out why. Her back was bandaged up but blood was already seeping through. Bile rose in my throat, not wanting to think how anyone in this room could've died today. If my parents or family were anywhere near figuring out what the Gray Men were doing, this might not have happened. I had to take this into my own hands because if I told them what I knew, they'd take all my information and then stop me from helping. I didn't want that to happen. If I told any of the other kids what I was doing, they'd want to help, and that would put them in danger. I couldn't let that happen. For better or for worse, Allison and I were on our own with this.
_______________________________________  

Sorry I took so long to update! Please forgive me! For those of you following me on tumblr, if you haven't seen them already, I have trailers up for this story with some badass songs so check them out!