14 Months 15: May

Jack paced, feeling out of control. He'd taken a significant risk trusting these people and putting not only his life at risk but that of Will Scarlet and the woman he was trying to save. He looked around at the men left behind to kill him if his information was wrong, and everything went sideways. The audio links crackled to life, and he automatically surged forward to listen.

"The bastard was right. There's a fucking army on the move out here. Moving in to take the target out and retrieve the package," the disembodied voice said then there was silence.

Jack cursed, how had he been so stupid as to trust these idiots if anything happened to Sophie because of him, he would never forgive himself. He prayed to Frankie to watch over her daughter and bring her out safely. It seemed like hours later though it would have been less than half an hour before the audio crackled back to life.

"The Bastard and five of his sentinels are dead. They led us to the girl; at least we think it's the girl. She's unconscious and beaten badly. There's a nurse with her, bring her or leave her?" The voice was clipped and lacking any emotion one way or the other about the two women they had found.

"Bring her! Bring them both," Jack shouted. "You owe me that much for giving you the man who was destroying your organisation."

"Bring them both," The leader of the mission, Goran, ordered and the man on the communications set up, Visile, who monitored the men and communications, turned to raise an eyebrow at Jack.

"You are pushing our tenuous partnership my friend so just sit down and shut up before I shoot you too."

"She looks like she'd be better off at a hospital," the man said. "Doubt it's worth bringing either of them back."

"We have our own doctor just bring her to us, no hospitals," Jack said without yelling clenching his fists as he attempted to control his fear and anger.

"I'll get Reed to set up for her," Will said gravely, placing a hand on Jack's shoulder before going to negotiate a phone call to his brothers. Their information had proven to be good, so the men here had no reason to keep them sequestered.

Jack grunted and went back to pacing. Why had she been beaten to unconsciousness? Layla and Stella said he wouldn't hurt her or hadn't hurt her. Fuck! He needed her here now and went to stand behind the man sitting before several screens monitoring the fight in Justin's headquarters. The Serbs were pulling out, leaving the mess of dead and injured bodies behind for the army that had paved the way to clean up.

He could see Goran jogging towards a car that had a mounted camera. Jack desperately wanted to see Sophie but understood the constraints of the basic surveillance set up these people had in place. How they got to the top of the food chain in the underground in this city was beyond him, but their need to stay on top of that food chain had worked in his favour this time.

"What's their ETA? Jack asked, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible while Visile monitored all of their men's cars from a range of city cameras.

"They'll be here when they get here," Visile grumbled in a heavily accented voice and scowled over his shoulder briefly before turning back to his command centre.

Hours, days, weeks seemed to drag by for Jack as both Will, and Visile watched him slowly lose his mind. Again, it had been less than thirty minutes when the first of the cars drove into the warehouse-like garage next to the building they were being held in until Goren's return. When the men escorting Sophie and the nurse finally arrived, Jack went and took her in his arms, letting Will deal with the nurse.

"Thank you," he nodded at Goren, who watched him with an odd expression.

"Who is she?" Goren asked speculatively. His men began closing in around Jack and Will ominously. "My men said we weren't the only ones looking for her."

"Just a girl whose mother once saved my life. I owe her a blood debt, and when I found out she was with the Bastard, I had limited options to get her out. Hence my deal with you," Jack told half of the truth hoping it was enough to convince Goren.

"How did you know about the army and his main base of operations behind the street façade?" Goren narrowed his eyes.

"I got this," Will said, placing a restraining hand on Jack's shoulder. "Look, man, I don't care about you and your two-bit operation here in this city. What I care about and what he cares about is that girl. Neither of us are stupid men so how about you act like you know that and recognise that we wouldn't have come here without an escape plan and my insurance that you wouldn't be a dumb ass and double-cross us," Will's voice was low and menacing. He appeared to be daring Goren to renege on the deal they made. "You Serbs aren't known for keeping your word after all hence your lack of allies here in the city. So, you tell me, are we leaving having completed an equally beneficial transaction or are you considering going back on your word yet again and taking your chances that I am bluffing?"

"I am a man of my word," Goren hissed his anger at the accusation evident. You couldn't survive in his business without having your word being seen as impugnable.

"Great! We'll get going then. Nice doing business with you again," Will said, stepping backwards toward where Jack was carrying Sophie with the nurse hovering close to her charge. Relying on Jack to lead the way out to their car, he never turned or took his eyes from Goren and his men until they were clear of the building.

As soon as they drove out into the street several more of the exact same vehicles moved from their positions nearby to dance around and with the leading car in order to confuse the man on surveillance who was no doubt tracking them. After half an hour, they slowly began to peel away, taking different routes back to the safe house where Reed had set up a medical bay ready for Sophie.

"She saw a doctor this morning. She is badly bruised, but nothing is broken except her mind," the nurse explained. "She became catatonic after an incident yesterday afternoon, I am unsure what it was, but this bruising occurred after that event," she spoke clinically devoid of any emotion.

"After the incident? So, Justin did this to her when she couldn't defend herself?" Jack gasped horrified.

"I know no details only what the doctor told me. An incident occurred to make her retreat inside her mind yesterday afternoon. The injuries occurred after that as someone tried to rouse her from her catatonic state," she repeated. "She would listen to me and follow my instructions, but not the instructions of the doctor or the men in the house, so I was left there to care for her. She doesn't talk. She only does what I ask," she clarified.

"Not broken?" Jack asked, barely able to get the words out as he filled with rage at Justin, at his brothers and most of all at himself. He should have got her the hell out of this mess when he had the chance several weeks ago. Well, he would remedy that now. He considered his options. Only the Antiheroes knew he had Sophie. It wouldn't surprise him if Nick had already second-guessed him and would be there when he returned. The fewer people involved now, the better he decided.

If he got Will to stop somewhere near a mall where he could get the nurse to buy her clothes and shoes to travel in, at least he stood a better chance of making a clean break from them. The question was, did he trust Will and his brothers to help him keep Sophie safe.

"Will find us a mall or somewhere we can get Sophie something to wear and some shoes," Jack said calmly.

"Reed's waiting for us at the safe house," Will frowned. "As soon as we get there, I'll send someone out to get whatever you need for her." He looked at Jack through the rear-view mirror as he spoke.

"I couldn't have got her back without your help. You were my introduction to Goren and his men, but you know that I can't even trust my brothers at the moment which hurts me more than anything else about this fucked up situation. I'm not going to put you and your brothers in the precarious position of hiding her no matter how altruistic your motives are," he tried to explain.

"You need help..." Will began, but Jack cut him off.

"You heard the nurse. The doctor saw her this morning. She's badly bruised but physically sound. It's her mental health that's the issue. She won't handle another prison, no matter how kind the guards are. I need to get her away; away from the Alliance, the families and retribution from Justin's men. I need her to know she is safe and come back to us, so I am going to take her somewhere myself—that way no one is put in a position of having to choose where their loyalties lie. So please, just pull over and get her something to travel in, and I will take care of the rest," Jack prayed that Will would do as he asked.

"I'll come with you," Will said. "You can't do everything you are going to need to on your own."

"I need you to look after," he looked at the nurse, "I didn't catch your name, sorry."

"Andrea," she suppled.

"I need you to look after Andrea, make sure she is safe before you let her resume her life," Jack argued. "I can move undetected faster on my own. Please just find me somewhere to get her some clothes and shoes."

Will nodded and changed their direction. He pulled up in front of a small group of shops that housed a boutique. After asking sizes, he stepped from the car, locking it with his fob as he walked away. Rolling his eyes and sighing, Jack placed Sophie gently on the seat beside him in the back and leaned forward between the front seats to press the door unlock button.

"Stay here and wait for Will, he will take you somewhere safe until you are ready to return home. Trust me, this girl means everything to me, and I will keep her safe and nurse her back to health. Thank you for everything you have done for her," he said softly and opened his door picking up Sophie and walking quickly away. He hoped that even if Will spotted him, he wouldn't follow straight away. He was a good man, and the Antiheroes had little at stake in Sophie's wellbeing or his whereabouts, he wasn't one of the chosen after all. Jack walked around the nearest corner and looked around. Smiling, he moved quickly toward the small stone building.

"Bless me, father, for I have sinned," Jack murmured to himself and prayed that the church still recognised the request for sanctuary or better yet that no one was here until he could organise a way to escape the church and this city.

Sophie fought the fog in her brain. The medication she had been given made her feel heavy and tired. Her body didn't hurt as much though she imagined it would be worse in the morning if only she could sleep for a little while. These people wouldn't let her rest, these people who kept carrying her around like a doll. She groaned as she was placed down on a hard surface, finally. She thought she could finally rest.

"Sophie," a vaguely familiar man's voice said. "Sophie open your eyes, it's me, Jack, you know me. I won't hurt you or let anyone else hurt you again."

"Jack," she mumbled sleep drawing her deeper into its embrace. "Need to find Jack."

"Yes, Jack. I found you, sweetheart. You are safe now," he murmured, stroking her hair. Then he swore under his breath as he heard the large church door boom. "Shit!"

"Hello?" the voice sounded far away, but he knew it was only the high ceilings of the church that made it seem that way. "Sophie is injured and on some heavy medication. I can help her. Please, you don't understand," the voice of the nurse continued to call through the church. "I saw you come in here. I followed you. Please just let me check her over and tell you what she will need once the medication wears off. She'll be in pain. I know you don't want that for her."

"Fuck!" Jack cursed and stroked Sophie's hair looking around the small vestry to ensure she would be safe. Once confident of her safety, he opened the door to the small room and signalled to the nurse. Will chose that moment to burst into the church his arms full of shopping bags, and Jack sighed.

Sophie lay very still. She didn't want to know these people or see these people, she just wanted the oblivion of sleep, but once again the woman with the kind voice and gentle hands was beside her, touching her head and wrists.

"If you can hear me, Sophie, squeeze my hand. It's Andrea, your nurse. I need to check your injuries to make sure you weren't hurt more when we escaped Justin's house," she said.

"No, Justin, please," Sophie whispered.

"He's not here, Sophie. It's just your friends and me," she lifted her head to the two men and eyed them. "You are friends, right? I mean you got those thugs to rescue her, didn't you?"

"We are friends," Will reassured her. "Nothing bad will happen to that girl in our care."

"She needs Xrays. The doctor said he only thought nothing was broken. She needs medication for the pain. She needs proper rest to recover. She needs a doctor," Andrea appealed to the two men.

"Reed's set up for her, Jack. Give us one day to help her recover, and my word no one will know where you are. I swear to it," Will said. "You need help, Jack, and you have to trust someone sometime."

"You don't think the council is watching you? That Andrew doesn't have a hotline to Reed and all his equipment?" Jack challenged. "You don't think I have thought this through?"

"I need to do this on my own. Everyone associated with the Alliance is susceptible. I can't have her taken and used again. Look at her Will. We did that by not acting sooner. That is as much our fault as the man who wielded his fists on her. I can't put her or you and your brothers in any more danger. If we have fucked up their plans as much as I hope we have, there will be retaliation, and it will be swift. They know you're helping us, you and your brothers are in danger now too," Jack ranted at Will as if he was not getting the whole picture.

Will considered Jack and nodded. He then fished his phone from his pocket. He held up a hand as Jack went to protest. Then he made a few swipes on his phone and put it on speaker. Jack heard the answering greetings from all of the Antiheroes and winced.

"Nottingham is dead. Retaliation will be swift. Go dark. Go deep. See you on the other side," Will said then turned his phone off and smashed it under his heavy boot. "Alright, Jack, what's your plan?"

*****

Darius stared hard at the men seated around the table with himself and Asher. The biggest revelation he had found since coming here was that Maeve was not the woman she appeared to be at all. He had known she held power within the political community as well as strong ties to the upper echelons of the Alliance. What he hadn't realised was her involvement in the old families of the underground and the power she wielded there.

She'd managed to fly under the radar of every major player in the power stakes that ran this country and why? Because she was a woman who knew how to stroke the egos of the men she dealt with and play the part of a rich old lady who did charity work and stayed out of the affairs of her husbands and sons. Only she didn't, and, in her world, she was the powerhouse and the men in her life the pawns she used to shore up her power. Now he was expected to play her game, and the thought galled him.

He was Alliance, a man in a man's world, and the women they allowed into their world were weak, needy and grateful for what the men of the Alliance offered them, a future with freedom from enslavement for those that wanted it. Many though chose to live their lives in the protected clubs catering to the men of the Alliance rather than the offered freedom, but it was always their choice. Strong women, who wanted to wield power that was never theirs to take had no place in his world. Yet here he was catering to this woman and staring across the table at Michael Mace and Mimi, both people who had attempted to kill him in one way or another.

David had walked in with them, and Darius had concluded that David must be the leak in their brotherhood and seethed with fury as he watched his brother. As always, it was Asher who tried to lighten Darius's mood and cut through the tension around the table.

"Mike, did you get lost along the way to your brothers? You seemed to be in the wrong place entirely," he chuckled.

"No one was supposed to be hurt. I'm not down with the casualties of war excuse," Michael said sadly. "You were all supposed to be part of the new regime," he admitted. "It was time for the Alliance to step into the present instead of living in their antiquated self-serving boy's clubs. The whole plan, when we first started considering it was to rebuild the Alliance from the inside out. This year was supposed to be the final act, but not everyone was on the same page, and some of the major players we had put in place were not as stable as we believed."

"Her for one," Darius growled and glared at Mimi. "Does it even bother you that you're sitting across the table from a man you almost killed?" He asked her and watched her blanch and grow pale before turning to Michael and David for confirmation of his words.

"She'd been dosed with a cocktail of drugs intending to keep her calm. The added alcohol she managed to get hold of meant she didn't know what she was doing and had little recollection of the event," Michael said patting Mimi's arm.

"That's bullshit. She snapped in that room, and you know it. She was calm and acting so demure when she thought she had a chance to return to Zander, and when he rejected her, we saw the real bitch come out. I can remember exactly what she said, even if you can't," he accused. "Did they tell you how close I came to death? Do you even care?"

"Honestly, no," she pulled her hand away from Michael. "I'm a bitch; it's true. I know my worth, to the families, to the council, even to Justin and his men. I was the Italian princess until you brought that Calabrese slut back to life. Then I was as useless as Layla and her powerless family. Stella was the only one with any sort of power behind her, but the Irish bury their dead and move on, assign new leaders. I doubt they even realise she is still alive, especially since McCully has Victoria back. I didn't know what I was doing when I hurt you. I was lashing out at the council, taking away one of their golden boys. I was aiming for Zander, but you had to be a hero. Well, hero, you got what you deserved."

"Justin and his men are dead, and the council is in disarray," Darius said through clenched teeth. "You are valuable to no one any more. You stupid stuck up cunt. Not even your own family. So shut the fuck up before someone makes you."

Mimi physically blanched and swung her gaze to Michael, who looked just as stunned by the news of Justin's death. He knew there had been a battle at Calypso Cove and that the death toll was high, but the media hadn't released the names of those involved because of ongoing investigations. He had thought he had at least another twenty-four hours before the real battle for Sin City began, but he had been wrong. When he had heard the news, he had assumed Justin, Lachlan and his men would be safe, they were smart and had escape plans for if the Serbs found his headquarters and jumped the gun. It was only now he was discovering how wrong he was.

"Are they all dead?" he asked woodenly.

"One of Justin's men escaped," Maeve offered in a kind voice. "Lachlan Hardesty." The rest of the table watched Michael slump in grief or relief they were unsure which until David spoke.

"Love lost or not; your son lives to tell the tale," David murmured.

"So, you were the leak then Dave? You put all of our lives at risk?" Darius asked acerbically seeing David comfort Michael.