Chapter 29: Chapter 29

Thirteen's POV

Lily lets out another strangled sound and looks like she's seriously debating the consequences of killing Jackson in such a public place. And if I had to take a guess based off her facial expression, the consequences don't look like they're going to be stopping her.

Jackson rolls his eyes at her. "Look," He says as he knocks back his drink. "when I said she had it coming, I meant it. This is the kind of girl who walks all over people to get what she wants and doesn't care who she leaves bloodied up and stomped on in her wake. She's a literal demon sent from hell below and even though she's innocent in all the shit her father does, she's the most awful human being in the universe."

"I don't care!" Lily shouts at him and a few heads turn our way at her outburst. Once they lock eyes with the glare I'm sending them though, they turn away quickly and don't look back. "Who do you think you are treating that poor girl that? For that matter, who do you think you are treating another human being like that?"

Jackson lets out an over exaggerated sigh. "I already told you, that Witch isn't human. She's a demon from the depths of hell."

Lily lets out another unrecognizable sound, which kind of sounds like a war cry and launches herself into Jackson. He goes flying from the force of her and they both crash into the floor, knocking barstools down with them.

Jackson's got his hands covering his face as Lily is pounding her fists into him. I watch with amusement and notice Sam shaking his head, his lips twitching as if he wants to smile but doesn't.

"Aren't you going to do something about that?" Chase questions, his voice echoing through the earpiece. I shrug and I hear him let out an exasperated sigh.

It's only when Lily gets her hands around Jackson's neck and he starts turning red that I feel the need to separate them. I look at Sam and he shoots me a deadpan look before hooking his arms around Lily and pulling her off Jackson.

Jackson's gasping for breath on the floor, his eyes practically bulging out of his head, and Lily struggles in Sam's arms to throw herself back on Jackson to finish the job.

Sam whispers something to her that I don't catch and she finally starts to relax and calm down. There's a frown on her face as she stares at Jackson, who's still on the floor, and then Sam whispers something else. She nods and he releases her.

"I'm good now," She says, adjusting her dress and a running a hand through her hair. She turns her attention back to Sam. "It better be a damn big cake," She grumbles.

Sam raises his eyebrows at her and a small smile spreads across his face. He gives her a salute and she smiles.

She settles herself back onto a stool and looks down at Jackson. "Get your ass up off the floor," She orders and he looks at her as if she's completely lost her mind. I, however, am trying my best not to laugh.

His hair is completely disheveled, his suit is rumbled and parts of it are ripped, his shoes are scuffed, he's got a couple small cuts on his cheek, and he's got a look of horror plastered across his face whenever he looks at Lily.

I don't even need the earbud to hear Devin laughing from the other side of the room.

I hold out a hand and help Jackson back to his feet and he takes a moment to "stumble" into me and press himself up against me, shooting me a flirty smile in the process. Before I even get the chance to break his nose again, he's grabbed by the back of his suit, yanked away, and forcefully shoved down onto a bar stool.

Jackson glares daggers at Sam and Sam gives him a blank look in return, but there's a deadly glint in his eyes.

I clear my throat and Jackson turns his attention back to me. "Is there anything else you can tell us about the mercenaries?"

Jackson seems to seriously think about it before replying. "I don't think so, or at least, there's nothing of consequence. I'm still looking into it myself, but not much has been found."

"Really?"

He gives me a look and then lets out a sigh. "What did you find out about that you know I'm already aware of? I'm only asking so I don't accidentally tell you something else."

I give him a look and he shoots me a smile. "What?" He questions. "Am I not allowed to have my own secrets?"

"Why is it such a big deal to you that you get to these guys first? What did they do to you."

"I haven't the slightest idea as to what it is you're referring to."

I give him a glare and I watch him grow quiet. His hands close into fists, his knuckles turning white, his jaw clenches and his eyes go hard.

Finally, he speaks, and when he does his voice is barely louder than a whisper and deadlier than anything I've ever heard come out of him.

"Let's just say I have a vested interest, and we'll leave it at that."

"Storm-"

"Look if it was important to what you're doing I'd tell you, but it's not. So stay out of it. Besides it's not the whole gang mercenaries I want, it's just one."

I stare at him for a while before nodding. "Ok then. Call me if you find out anything else of consequence." We all get up to start leaving when Jackson's voice stops us in our tracks.

"By the way, I was followed here."

"And you're just now mentioning this to us why?!" Lily shouts at him.

He shrugs nonchalantly. "It never came up."

"How many?" I ask him.

"Two stayed outside the front door and were lighting up some cigarettes last I checked. One on the edge of the dance floor behind us, and another one at the back exit. There was also one more, but I believed he stayed in the alley on the side of the building."

"Gee someone really wants you dead. Can't imagine why," Lily mutters sarcastically.

"How do you want to do this, Chase?" I ask.

"Devin can handle the one at the back door, and Zack and I will handle the two out front. Since you guys have already been spotted with Jackson it would tip them off if you came walking up to them," Chase says.

"Agreed," I tell him. "What about the one on the dance floor?"

"He'll be a little trickier to take care of since it's unlikely it won't be noticed when one of us takes him out."

"Just take out the rest of them and I'll handle that guy personally," I tell him.

"That's an alarming thought," Zack mutters.

I watch discreetly as they all walk off to take care of their targets. It takes a few minutes but I hear scuffling through the earpieces and then silence.

"Done," Devin's the first to announce.

"Our guys have been taken care of as well," Zack says.

Devin walks over and has a seat at the bar next to Lily and I turn my attention to the last guy standing at the edge of the dance floor. There's really nothing special about him, he looks very average, no identifying features, no scars that I can see, and clothing that makes him blend in with everyone else in here.

Lily puts her hand on my shoulder. "I'll handle this one. Everyone knows you don't do subtle."

I give her a wide-eyed stare. "Oh, and I suppose you do?"

She shoots Sam a smile, ignoring me. "Really, I'm helping you out," Sam just barely raises his eyebrows in response to her statement. "Oh yeah," She nods her head vigorously. "if you were ever on a team with her, then you'd know exactly what was going to happen, so really, I'm doing you a favor."

Sam shakes his head as if he can't believe her and she struts off toward the guy.

"Won't it be a problem when he sees her coming towards him? He'll recognize her face as one of the girls Jackson met up with." Devin says.

Zack comes up behind him and scoffs. "Oh yeah, because with her in that dress, every guy's paying real close attention to her face," Devin elbows Zack in the stomach hard.

I watch Lily as she walks right up to the guy and pretends to stumble into him. Next thing I know, she's lip-locked with the guy.

Zack starts laughing, Sam shakes his head, and Devin's got a scowl permanently etched across his face. I smile. Chase just watches her like a parent that has absolutely no chance of controlling their child.

Chase turns towards me, "Is that really what you would have done?" He asks me.

I shrug. "More or less. Probably I wouldn't still be making out with him at this point." I wave my hand in Lily's direction.

"I find it very hard to picture you doing that," Devin states, scowl still in place.

I shrug again. "You haven't been on a mission with me where I needed to be seductive," I reply.

"Seductive? You? Good gosh that's a horrifying thought."

I flip him off and watch as the guy with Lily suddenly jerks upright like he's been electrocuted and then falls back onto the floor, twitching around.

Chase lets out a sigh. "What did she do?"

Someone walks up to Lily and points down at the guy, obviously asking if he's ok, and Lily makes a motion like he's just had one drink too many. She then comes walking back, leaving him on the floor.

She holds a taser gleefully in her hand. "I love Nicky's tasers," She says, a look of complete admiration on her face as she stares at the taser in her hand.

"Where did you even get that from?" Devin asks.

"Ryder had it."

"Of course he did. Why did I bother asking?"

"You still have that last guy in the alleyway to take care of," Jackson reminds us.

"Lily, Chase, go take care of him," I tell them and Chase shoots Lily a look as she fires up the taser and cackles.

"Yeah . . . no thanks. Send someone else with her. I'm not convinced she won't test that out on me."

"I'll go with her," Zack volunteers with a roll of his eyes. "Come on, you lunatic." He walks ahead, and Lily follows behind.

I turn to Devin. "I'm surprised you didn't volunteer."

Devin shrugs. "I share Chase's opinion on this. I really don't have any desire to be tazed."

I can hear a commotion through the earbuds as Lily and Zack fight with the last guy. I listen closely for any indication they'll need help and then all is quiet.

"Sounds like they got it all taken care of," Devin says. Lily's next statement contradicts that.

"Oops."

Chase grimaces. "That's never a good sign." He shakes his head. "When someone else says it, it just means there's a minor problem. When she says it, something's gone to hell."

"Maybe she killed Zack," Devin suggests.

"No she didn't," Zack growls. "I'm still here. But we have another problem."

"What happened?" I question, already dreading the answer.

"Well," Lily starts, her voice going extra sweet and innocent. Suddenly I know we're screwed. "I don't really think this guy is a bad guy . . . And in my defense, I've only ever seen him once before."

"He's not a bad guy," Zack tells her.

"Well, you could have spoken up about it before I tazed him."

"When could I have done that? In between dodging your attempts to also taze me?"

"You could have shouted at me a simple, No."

"Again, when?"

"Stop bickering," I tell them. "We're on our way out to you."

We all move quickly out of the building and into the alleyway, Jackson following along with us.

Lily and Zack are standing at the end of the alley, looking down at a crumpled figure on the floor, which it appears they dragged into a seated position. His head is slumped over, his clothes are slightly disheveled and at a first glance, I don't recognize him at all, and neither does anyone else.

He groans suddenly and appears to be trying to move. Lily's eyes widen slightly and Zack jumps back about three feet.

"Oh shit," Zack says. "He's waking up."

"I don't see what the problem is," Lily mutters. She kicks at the guy's leg with her foot but does so in a way that the spikes on her shoes don't actually go into his skin.

"There's no problem for me, but he's going to kill you when he gets up."

Lily laughs evilly. "I'd like to see him try."

He groans again and this time he lifts his head up and leans it back against the wall. I hear him mutter a string of curses under his breath.

I tense up. I recognize his voice. I move closer, so I can see him better.

He really hasn't changed at all. He's wearing a pair of dark jeans, a black T-shirt, and a black jacket. His hair is shorter than before, really not more than a light fuzz on his head, and there's a scar visible on the side of his head.

He turns his head and looks up at all of us. He looks confused when he sees Lily and Zack, but when he eyes Me, Devin, and Chase his confusion fades. I hear Devin and Chase both let out audible gasps from my sides.

I stare at him for a moment more, not quite believing my eyes. Finally, I speak, and all I do is say his name.

"Jason."