Part 3 Ch.9

My eyes are getting tired from straining them so much. This is my second night watching the police building. Criminals, police, and workers have gone in and out but none of them have been Carson. I saw him come in around five pm for his shift. He went in his patrol car with his partner, the Marksman, and hasn't been back. It's now a little past one am and the streets are mostly silent. Every so often a patrol arrives and I watch through my binoculars to see who they are. I could have easily snatched him before his shift but the less someone misses him, the better. Finally, after ten minutes, Carson and his partner get out of their patrol, wearing the OCIU's usual black uniforms with their masks. I watch as they lock it and walk back in their buildings. The Marskman is the first to come out again, I couch down a little lower, putting the rooftop ledge between us. He's dangerous, and I will have my revenge someday, but not today. He heads to the staff parking lot and drives away a few minutes later. Then Carson walks out of the building with thermo-flask in his hands, taking sips out of it as he walks to his parking lot. There are many cameras around here, so I can't portal him here. I'll have to portal from rooftop to rooftop to follow his car, it's a skill I've learned to perfect over the years. A red old-fashioned mustang pulls out of the parking lot two minutes later. He must love it to death, I can tell from the expensive-looking paint job. I take a second to roll my eyes and then start the jumps between the buildings. After ten minutes, the buildings begin to change into small business stores. He parks in a liquor parking lot and after a few seconds, he gets out and starts heading for the store, even from here I see that he's taken off his mask. A portal suddenly swallows him up. I follow an instant after. "Hello Carson." It's a sign of how good of a cop he is that his handcuffs go flying towards me the second I appear. But I've woven a portal around me and they disappear like last time. I let it drop and give him a wry smile. The moonlight filters through the leaves above, we're in the forest fifteen minutes away from the city. It's here where I usually go when I don't want a conversation to be overheard. But my audience today is much different than my usual associates. "You know, after all this time you're still predicta-" My hands are suddenly forced together, I hear the familiar clicking of the safety of a gun being turned on. "Yes, which is why I bring extra." He says slightly breathless. The barrel of the gun is pointing at my chest. I look down at the silver cuffs. They glint mockingly in the moonlight. He had an extra pair. "You're coming with me." I test my powers but they just feel muted with the AIM metal wrapped around my wrists. It's like Marcus's effect but different- instead of my powers being completely gone, they just feel numb. "Look, I'm not here to fight. I just want to talk." I tell him as coolly as I can. Seeing his face up close brings a wave of emotions- of which anger dominates. I take a breath and force myself to calm down. This is for my family. "I come here as Elenora, not as the Yellow Thorn's leader. I hoped you can understand that. Whatever happened before at the warehouse, I am willing to accept your apology." The weapon doesn't waver but Carson shifts his arm. He's still in his uniform, similar to a regular cop but the clothing is completely black. His eyebrows shoot up. "Apology? You can't be serious." His hand comes up to the radio besides his shoulder, seconds away from contacting his teammates. There's no use to beat around the bush. "Carson. It's about Mateo." The hand stills and he narrows his eyes. "Is that a lie." He demands. "Tell my why I should not call for back up right now." "I haven't killed you yet." "You did try last time. That doesn't reassure me." "But you're still alive, aren't you?" I point out. "Look something's..." I'm unsure of how much to tell him. "There are some things that are happening right now. I have reason to believe that my family may be in danger. I want you to take them into witness protection, or do whatever you have to do to get them away from here." He blinks. It's clear that I'm not going anywhere and we're too far away from the city for him to drag me to it. But he still doesn't lower his gun. "Once you're in police custody we can make a deal-" "Oh, don't give me that bullshit. You know my family, Carson, they're not just some names to you. Protect them." He breaks eye contact and looks around us. "That's all you need to do. Just do your job." "Where even are we?" "The location is hardly important. Just tell me that you will do it." "No." He snaps. "You don't get to just show up whenever you want to order me around. I need answers. What's happening that has you all worked up like this." "I'm not worked up." "Come, on. You haven't even noticed I called reinforcements, and I know you haven't survived this long by being distracted. Something's happened." "Reinforcements?" I take a step back and look around. The dark forest is still silent, the only noises are our voices and the occasional bird calling out. "Yes. You can either tell me now or tell me later. We have all the time in the world." I look at the handcuffs. Damn him. Damn them all. "Get these off me." I snap. "Despite what you've done, I haven't made a move to hurt you and this is how you thank me?" "You tried to kill me Elenora. You're a wanted criminal, it's my job to do this." "Then get a new job!" I'm suddenly aware of how childish we sound. "If I get locked up, there will be nothing between my family and the-" I stop. "The people who's threatening them." "Who are these people? You clearly have some protection in place, why are you asking for my help?" I roll my eyes in frustration. "In case I fail. I'm doing everything I can but sometimes everything is never enough." Somewhere far away, there are the sounds of approaching sirens. I lock eyes with him. "I need to be out here fighting back, I can't do that from a jail-cell." A jail-cell will only be temporary, though. I know that the courts will rule for a death sentence. I've done too many things for anything less. "Don't do it for me. Do it for Mateo and his family." Carson glances away at the growing lights. His gun lowers a little. "They're my family, Carson." I let the desperation show in my voice. "Please." The sirens are getting closer; I don't know how the hell they found him so quickly, he must have a tracker on him. "Tell me who the threat is." He demands, looking back at me. I open my mouth and close it again. Telling him would mean there's no going back. It's also my only choice. "The Ravagers." He pales. "How did they find out about your family? What were you even doing with them?" "That doesn't matter. The point is that they aren't safe anymore." "Maybe I can help." He suddenly says. I've forgotten how bright his eyes can light up when he has a stupid idea. He lowers his gun. "Together we'll be stronger. We can take them down-" "The Yellow Thorns with the OCIU? Are you serious." "No. That will never work. I was meaning just you and me. Like old times, we made a great team." I was looking at the growing red and blue lights in the distance but I snap my attention back to him. He's serious, actually serious. "No, all you need to do is get them somewhere far from here. Somewhere where even I don't even know-" "Look, don't answer right now. I'll give you time." He glances over his shoulder at the approaching lights. "Tomorrow at three am I'll be at the parking lot where you picked me up." The metal bracelets unlocks and flies into his waiting hands. "Together we can do more than just prevent bad things from happening. We can stop them from the source." "Carson-" "Just go!" I do. The last thing I see as I fall is the blue and red shadows engulfing Carson's body.