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FOURTEEN| NO PRICE IS TOO HIGH TO SAVE THE INNOCENT

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CONSTANTINE ENTERED one of the many rooms in the convent that they gathered in. He held a raw frozen chicken in his hands. "Once we fill the poultry with Hugo's blood, I'll use a glamour spell to make it look like an infant." he explained his grand plan to them.



John slammed the frozen chicken on the table top. The loud sound bounced off the walls of the close space making Olivia slightly jump back instinctively. "We'll hand it off to our evil lady friend, and she will kindly lead us to her baby stash." He stated as if it was that simple.


Olivia arched a brow. "Just like that? It's that easy?" She questioned as she cocked her head to the side. Liv studied her father carefully for anything that'll give away how shaken he really was. He always came off so overly confident even in life or death situations.



"If Lamashtu is working for the Brujeria, you'd be walking right onto their radar." Chas chimed in backing up her right to question her father's plan.



John shrugged his shoulders indifferent to their worries or doubts. "Well, I didn't say there weren't risks."




Olivia scoffed at John's recklessness. "Okay, but how do you know she won't attack you, or worse kill you?" She asked him. Her voice had raised slightly. She was terrified of him getting hurt. That was clear for everyone to see.



John leaned forward against the table with his hands resting on the cold surface. "I'll present the baby as a mother's offering. She'll have no reason to hurt me."



Olivia's eyes narrowed. "She knows who you are." She pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone.



Anne Marie nodded in agreement. "You tried to kill Lamashtu. She won't come near you."


"No, that's a good point. I'll have to dress as a woman." Constantine said and now both ladies scoffed. "Just need me a skirt and a wig."


Anne Marie rolled her eyes. "Stop it."



"Stop what?" John played dumb, although he wasn't fooling anyone not even in the slightest.



"This kind of pathetic ruse might have worked with Gary Lester, but I think I deserve a little more respect." The nun told the warlock.




He shook his head before his usual charming smirk adorned his lips. "I have no idea what you're talking about, luv."



She sighed heavily. "You need me to make this offering. You're counting on it, because it most certainly-under any circumstances-isn't going be your daughter."



"I can if this is what needs to be done." Olivia countered.



"No." Both John and Anne Marie told her sternly to which she swiftly raised her hands to her chest.



"Look, we had our shot at life, Annie. We've made our mistakes-" John told her softly. He turned to the nun with the pleading eyes. "but these-these are-they're babies. No price is too high to save the innocent."




Annie Marie smiled sadly. "Thank you for your honesty. I'll make the handoff."



Olivia clasped her hands together. "Alright then, let's do this." John gave her sharp nod before taking the half full jar of Hugo's blood. The blonde watched carefully as the warlock filled two syringes with the man's blood then injecting into the poultry. What was left he poured all over the chicken then wrapped it up in cloth to mimic a baby huddled in their blanket. She just hoped the plan works.







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Annie Marie knelt down in front of their makeshift alter. The chicken lied inside a woven basket as bait ready to lure out the baby snatcher. The former Newcastle member inhaled a deep breath and straightened out her posture. With folded hands she muttered, "take this child into your dark womb and give it eternal life."


The air grew immensely colder as they waited for any signs. A faint but audible whoosh could be heard in the near distance. Not too long after the sound of a woman growling. Annie Marie emitted a shaky breath as she shut her eyes closed momentarily. Olivia could practically feel the fear derived from her. She took John's hand in hers out of fear for the Newcastle member.




Lamashtu appeared behind the nun suddenly, making the brunette gasped at the feeling of her presence. Olivia sucked in a deep breath as the monsters claws etched forward for the frozen chicken wrapped in the warm, cream colored cloth. Anne Marie watched anxiously-slightly tempted to turn back for one glimpse-as she brought the "baby" up to her face for closer examination.




"She fell for it." Chas said quietly amongst the group. His eyes shined with awe and relief.



"Of course, she did." Said John then Hugo did the unthinkable. Olivia's lips parted in shock when Hugo swiftly pulled out his gun from his inside jacket pocket and begun shooting at the creature.



"Stop!" She shouted at the cop.



"Hugo, no!" Constantine exclaimed as Hugo rushed after Lamashtu who bolted out of the convent. "Hugo, Stop!"



They chased the Latin man out onto the pavement. He paused in front of an opened sewer drain. Olivia could only assume that it's where she ran off too. "Hugo. Hugo." John called him frustratedly as he gripped Hugo's face in his hands to gain his frantic attention. "If you want to see your son alive, you got to let us do what we do."




Once he was sure he wouldn't try anything again, Constantine let his hands drop back at his sides. "Look, I know your heart's in the right place, but you'll kill him."



Hugo nodded vigorously. "Okay, go." He told them. His doe eyes looked so hopeless that it broke Olivia's heart. "Go. Go. Take-take this." He tried to shove his gun into John's chest, but he refused it.



"No, I have no use for that."



"I'll take it." Without hesitation Anne Marie took the weapon from Hugo's grip before crawling into the sewer.




Olivia was the last one to go down into the sewer. Her feet made a small splash as her boots made contact with the pavement. She had to hold back her urge to gag, and the musky smell wasn't helping. John took out a flashlight and flicked it on. "I swear, if a red balloon turns the corner floating directly towards us, I'm bolting right back up that ladder." She jested to ease her mind and distract herself from her fear.



John snickered right when a loud screech echoed throughout the sewer. The gang absentmindedly took a step back. "I'm guessing that our lady friend just discovered that her baby is really a bloody chicken."



They quickly came across a crossroad. Two separate pathways. "We're not seriously thinking about splitting up are we? I mean, I've seen horror movies and splitting up means actual death." Olivia exclaimed as she noticed the adults looking amongst one another.



"We have too. We can't lose her now. Liv, you're better off staying with your father and Annie." Said Chas with pure determination in his tone.



"You can't go on your own. You need someone to watch your back." She protested.



He shook his head in disagreement. "I'm better off on my own. John can protect you better." He didn't wait for her reply as he took the right pathway. "If you need me, scream."




"That won't be a problem for me." Anne Marie called out as she took the lead.


Olivia had managed to get her breathing under control long enough for them to reach the babies. Their cries filled her ears as they turned the corner to find them locked up in a cage. Thankfully very much alive. She quickly unlatched the door to the cage and held it open for John and Annie to grab both babies. But just as they looked to be in the clear, their luck was to be proven slim. The frozen chicken was thrown into the muddy water behind them catching their attention instantly.




"I knew that spell wouldn't last forever. The Pazuzu icon. Give it to me." John demanded and the nun did as she was told. Olivia slowly backed away as Lamashtu wandered over to the cage. Her face contorted with rage at the absence of her prize possession.




"Bring me the young bruja." She demanded.



"John, hand over Diego to Olivia." Anne said fearfully. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was up to no good.



"The way I see it, I've got something you're supposed to deliver intact." John told her coldly. "Am I wrong?"



"John, that's an innocent child." Anne Marie said strongly as he held the baby out closer for the creature to see.





"You're working for the Brujeria. Why?" He asked her, but she simply remained silent. John raised his hand to grab the crying baby's neck gently. "If you don't answer me, so help me god, I will snap the neck of your precious cargo, and then you'll have to explain to them why you failed."



"Whoa, John." Olivia said sternly. Even if this was a means for information, she didn't like it one bit. She would never be okay with putting babies in the crossfire.




John ignored her and kept his sight fixated on the vampire before him. "Now, why are you working for the Brujeria?"




"They're expanding my domain." She answered quite vaguely.



"In hell?"



"On earth."


"John, don't do this. Don't play this game. Not now." Anne's pleas fell on deaf ears once more.



"How? What's their plan?" Lamashtu narrowed her eyes at the warlock fueling his anger. "Or maybe I'll just drown the kid, eh?" John added with a scary smirk.




"Give me Diego, now!" Anne Marie shouted.


John squatted bringing the crying infant in his hands head near the water. "You've got three seconds to tell me what kind of mayhem they're gonna unleash."



"John, stop it!" Olivia cried.




"What is their plan?!" He yelled. The way his voice boomed throughout the tunnel, the fear in the ladies eyes, and the precious baby inches from the water finally got her to cave.




"They've figured out how to break the boundary." She said and Constantine rose back on his feet.



"How?" Olivia asked her. She had masked her fear enough to face her.




The vampires sight snapped on her petite figure. The sinister sparkle that glowed within her lifeless eyes made Liv want to cower behind her father. "Through you." She answered effortlessly with a smirk. John tensed up at her side. His anger more prominent than ever. "Because of you...once you meet your true potential you'll be strong enough to bring down the barrier. Hell and earth will become one. No more hiding like cowards in the shadows. We'll live in the open, and you'll be the ones hiding. But there will be no hiding from us."





Her eyes shifted from John back to Olivia. "You'll be ours."




"So that's what's on the way. Ambitious. Too bad you won't see it." He replied cockily masking how much he was truly afraid for his daughter. Everything he learned from Papa Midnite back in New Orleans was finally coming to the light. He turned to Olivia quickly. "Go find Chas and get out."



"John-"




"Now!" He shouted making her flinch. She took one last glimpse at Lamashtu then took off back toward the ladder. Her mind fought against all the dark thoughts that the vampire had sparked deep within her subconscious. But it was soon proving to be a losing battle.





You'll be ours.









A/N

Now that we're approaching the end of the Constantine part of this story and reaching the Legends portion, I honestly have no idea how to end it. Due to the shows stupid cliffhanger I'm stuck πŸ˜«πŸ™„πŸ˜‚

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