By the time we managed to get off each other, it was afternoon. 

I carefully stepped out into the dorm and scanned my surroundings. They were usually deserted during this time of the day, a prerequisite for what I had in mind. 

I led Gray towards Caleb's room, realizing that in my head I would always see him as Caleb. The door was locked and I gazed at Gray, unsure what to do. He bit his lip and glanced around. He sighed and fished into his pocket, taking out his revolver. I raised an eyebrow as he shrugged.

"Let's face it, Xavier, we're probably gonna have a final showdown with this psycho anyway so-" he pointed it at the wood. I knew that usual locks could be taken off with any bullet above thirty-two however, knowing the kind of person we were dealing with, I was sure his security was better than that. He shot as the wood splintered. I flinched slightly at the sound of the wood against the silent bullet. He pointed it at the door again and let a few more shots, finally kicking it in. 

I chuckled. "That was kinda hot."

He smirked. "You have issues, baby."

We entered the room and for a second I stopped dead in my tracks, my mind wandering. 

"Do you think he would be in classes right now?" Gray asked as he shut what was left of the door behind him. "Or one of us should stand guard outside?"

"You should wait outside. I have no idea where he could be..." he nodded and walked over to me, kissing the top of my head as my heart fluttered. 

"Alright, I'll make sure he doesn't barge in. Do your magic, baby."

He gave me a swift smile as he opened the door and stepped out. I immediately went over to the shelf where he kept the documents the last time, I wasn't surprised to find that they weren't there. I gazed at the locked cupboard, making up my mind and stepped outside to reach Grayson.

 "Gray," I began. He stood, leaning against the wall, his startling eyes studying the hallway. He turned to look at me as I called.

"I need the revolver. The cupboard is locked."

He nodded at once and handed it to me. I gripped the revolver tightly in my hands, taking a deep breath. I wasn't particularly fond of using weapons, but I knew I had to. Caleb had almost ruined my relationship with Gray, fueled by my immaturity and insecurity. And it was time to give what was coming to him. 

"Want me to do it, love?" he asked gently.

I bit my lip and shook my head. "No. Stay here."

I walked back inside and took calming breaths, pointing the tip of the revolver at the metal, inbuilt lock of the cupboard. I didn't expect the lock to be too strong, considering that it came with the dorm facilities itself. It took me a few tries to aim it properly but I finally managed to break it enough. I took a shuddering breath and placed the weapon in my pocket, opening the metal door with a loud clang. I gazed at the compulsively neat cupboard, full of mostly clothes and a few coats hanging neatly. I was a little stunned as if I expected his monstrous nature to be reflected everywhere.

I started looking between the piles of clothes, searching for the sheets of paper. Adrenaline coursed through me. I had no way of knowing when he would return, I had to work fast. I climbed onto the bottom shelf, barely grabbing on as I reached the topmost shelf, my ears straining for any sound outside. I knew it hardly mattered, we had broken in and splintered his door and cupboard anyway. There was only one way from here on.

My fingers brushed against what seemed like a metal container. Curious, I reached for it, managing to pull it near the edge and taking it off the shelf. It was a metal box, what looked like a  dozen inches in width and breadth from the looks of it. I placed it on the ground and crouched down as I reached for the lid and opened it.

My heart jumped to my throat as I gazed at the several transparent bags with a colourless liquid lined up neatly inside the box. I picked up one of the packets, turning it around. There wasn't any label or descriptions on it which made me wonder if it was just one of the chemicals that Caleb had for his majors.

I studied the packet carefully, my heart stopping when I read the words at the very end written directly onto the plastic. A lot of symbols and letters were written in an untidy scrawl.

'Osmolarity of three hundred and twenty, Sodium concentration of twenty-nine mili-equivalent per litre, Potassium concentration of one twenty-five mili-equivalent per litre, potenz of hydrogen of seven point four at temperature of twenty degrees.'

My stomach turned uncomfortably. Something was very familiar with the components. Something that I remembered studying at some point in my life, but couldn't quite make out what. I took one of the packets and placed it on the bed, making a mental note to carry it in case it had evidence for whatever the fuck Caleb was up to. I climbed onto the shelf again and reached further into it, not bothering to place the container back in.

My heart jumped to my throat as I felt the cardboard of the folder and pulled it out, jumping back onto the floor. I opened the file, my heart hammering in my chest and quickly leafed through the pages. I reached the page where there were records of the Atkinson Corporations making donations of Northern Heart. I filed it out and crumpled it, putting it in my pocket. I leafed through the folder again, searching for anything that might be useful. I reached the last page which was again a random set of numbers I couldn't quite understand. There were two columns, the first one read 'number' and the one in front read 'value'.

I gazed at it, deciding to keep it with me and shoved it into my pocket. I placed the folder back onto the top shelf and haphazardly placed the metal container back on the shelf. I shut the cupboard best as I could. However, it sprung open almost immediately after. I took the colourless liquid and stepped outside, my heart hammering. I returned the revolver to Gray and grabbed his hand, leading him down the staircase quickly as I spoke, my mind whirring rapidly. 

My brain worked furiously, trying and failing to come up with a plausible explanation. I knew I was close, I just didn't know how to reach the final conclusion. I started running, urging Gray to keep up with me as I surreptitiously hid the plastic bag under my arm, hoping no one would notice. Even if someone did, I scarcely thought we would be apprehended. He led me to his car and we slid inside. Once in, I handed the bag to him.

"Something...something..." I shook my head, clicking my tongue impatiently. It was frustrating to have the answer at the very tip of my tongue and yet unable to quite wrest it out. "And...and I found this-" I handed him the two sheets of paper I had brought. He studied them intently, his brows furrowed in concentration. 

Gray held the plastic bag on his open palm as he spoke quietly. "Seems like a saline bag or something they would use at the hospital...like the ones that they use during transfusion."

"Yeah, like the ones I saw Jem wi-"

I stuttered, my blood running cold. 

"They're mostly...polysaccharides...complex...carbohydrates..."

I gaped, aghast at Gray. He raised an eyebrow, appearing clueless. "Xav-"

"Shh."

He remained quiet, gazing at me intently as I tried hard to come to terms with the realization that had crashed on me. I slapped my palm to my forehead, wincing in pain. "Shit. Fucking. Shit. How had I-"

I breathed hard and stared at Gray, shaking my head. "The liquid, he was mixing. Polysaccharides and he said about...about molarity and how biochemistry is a bitch and..." I was almost trembling. I reached for him, moving closer to him as I continued. "That day... I smelled, I thought it was like decaying stuff...at the basement...like a morgue-"

His eyes widened slightly. "Xaby?"

I gripped his shoulder hard as struggling to breathe. "And...the massive cut on Jem's waist-" my body shook, lead dropping into my stomach. "Jem...no fucking... a simple stone... massive..stitch...how did I not see it before?"

Gray's eyes widened, realization finally dawning on him. "You mea-?"

"The fucking psycho is involved in organ trafficking. He makes the preservation solution himself under the garb of his majors. And..." I shuddered. "I don't know if Scar knows but...if their corporation is funding it-" I shook my head. "Oh my god, Gray! Jem!"

He held me closer to him, trying to soothe me as he stroked my back. "It's okay, Xav. It's alright. We just need to catch him red-handed. I'll call for back up."

I leaned back from him, my body trembling. "Gray..you...it's a hypothesis. What if I'm wrong-"

"You're the most fucking brilliant person I know Xavier. You're not wrong and you know it."

He revved up the engine reaching for his phone as he spoke into it. I shut my eyes and breathed heavily. How the fuck had it escaped my notice for so long? His psychopathic fascination with human anatomy. His interest in human surgery. His disarming charisma. His intelligence. His friendliness with the entire staff.

Did they know about it? Was the entire hospital in on this? No. That couldn't be. The more people knew about it, the riskier the business became. 

I wanted to scream in frustration. Because of my absolute blindness against Caleb, Jeremiah had fallen a victim. I was sure of it. I opened my phone and started searching for surgery scars, my stomach turning sickly when I saw the scars that usually pertained to a kidney donor, a long horizontal scar along the entire side of the body. Just like the one that Jem had.

I hid my face in my hands, my shoulders trembling. It was becoming clearer to me that Caleb was an absolute psychopath. We reached the hospital after a while and I sat frozen, my initial shock turning to anger. My brain suddenly numb as an avalanche of shame buried me.

Gray got out of the car and addressed me as I gazed at him, unseeing. "I'm going to make some enquiries at the administration. The back up should be here soon. You stay here, alright? Shut the car and stay here. Do not leave. Alright?"

I nodded, dazed as the walked away briskly. 

I felt disgusted. Repulsed to my core. Caleb had tried to poison me against the man I loved with my entire soul. I had been so needy, so pathetically keen for validation that I had fallen into his trap like a moth to a flame. I had given in. I had believed him. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that I had never had any friends for real, and Caleb had felt like one.

Until of course, he pulled an entire one-eighty.

I took a shuddering breath, clenching my fists on my thigh. His words from what felt like a different life echoed in my head.

He already has a history so he's bound to have issues. 

The only issues anyone had was Caleb. The twisted, disgusting bastard. He knew everything about me, possibly from his time at the precinct when I had just entered and he had faked his death. He had tried to get me to break up with Grayson. He had tried to threaten me, maybe he was the one who had told my assaulters my location.

The vile, filthy, manipulative, swine.

My shoulders shook as I reached for the glove compartment where I knew Gray left a revolver for emergencies. I wasn't sure he would approve of me using it, but I was going to do it anyway. This was my own fight against Darius Marley and I was going to win it.

My hand trembled, my heart somewhere in my throat as I gripped the gun and gazed at it. I didn't plan on fatally injuring him but intimidating and hurting him as much as he had to me. If Gray hadn't been the absolute fucking angel that he was, I didn't know where I would ever have been. I gripped the metal in my trembling hand, taking a steadying breath as I gazed at the hospital, making up my mind.

 Caleb Kingsley had played too hard and for way too long. It was time to end his game.

And this time, I would emerge the victor.