Knights v Hunters: The Choice

When the wait for Gentry to arrive at the police station extended beyond the time expected, everyone except Rafe and Caleb were shocked to hear that Gentry had in fact escaped, injuring two detectives in the process. One of the detectives was still lucid enough to provide the details of Roan Gentry’s escape. Apparently they had found him in the bakery, placed him under arrest, handcuffed him and were on the way to the police station when they were rear-ended, sending them into oncoming traffic. The detectives were trapped in the front of their vehicle, when someone yanked open the back passenger door and removed Gentry. By the time the back-up police and ambulance arrived, Gentry and his rescue team had disappeared.

“We should have expected this,” Marquez growled. “Well, maybe now McCall will realise that his partner has left him in the lurch. There’s an all-points bulletin out on Gentry and we’ll get a search warrant for the bakery.”

McCall, who now had his lawyer Burke Taylor with him, simply smiled when he heard the news of Gentry’s escape. “Well, Captain, like my mother always said, “the righteous shall prevail”. Roan and I have been set up.” The lawyer then asked the captain and the detectives to leave, stating that he needed to catch up with his client.

“Why do you think McCall still remains so smug?” Marquez asked Rafe. Rafe and Caleb had once again watched McCall put on a brave face when Marquez had spoken to him.

“He thinks that Gentry will try and rescue him. You can’t break those two up, Captain. They have a bond which neither you nor I can understand.” A bond bred by a common mission, a common thirst for revenge against the Knights!

“We’ll increase the guards on McCall now and transfer him out in the morning. We won’t lose both of them,” Sawyer said. They had worked relentlessly the past few months, trying to apprehend these killers. It worried him to think that they might lose both of them and still not understand the reason behind the killings.

Marquez nodded and went to his office, leaving a tired-looking Lena trying to figure out how Gentry remained one step ahead of them. They had someone in custody, they had McCall’s trophies from the murder victims, they had video evidence of the murders and yet no confession. By now, most suspects would have confessed, given the overwhelming evidence against them, but McCall remained steadfastly stubborn. Gentry had given himself away though, by escaping. There were also more people involved, although only McCall and Gentry seemed to have committed the murders. However, the police had been unable to even identify a motive for the killings yet. They just couldn’t seem to close out this case, Lena thought in frustration.

Rafe and Caleb left Lena and Sawyer mulling over the case with the pretext of grabbing some coffee. “Becca says that Dr Adams was able to set Mrs Jennings’ leg and now the family is on its way to Anthony Jennings. I think they’ll be safe for now.”

“Oh, did Becca say anything about how Sara Adams was coping? She seemed very light on information when speaking to Detective Channing, going so far as to protect Anthony,” Rafe queried.

“This is interesting. Apparently, John explained to her what had happened, without mentioning Knights or Hunters and she understood it for some reason. Maybe the Cleaner didn’t do such a great job with her either? By the way, John asked if there’s any way they can get his daughter’s journal back when this is all over?”

“I don’t know. I’m sure they can speak to Detective Peck about that. I hope they get it back. Are they secure where they are?”

“Yes, they were moved into a safe house not too long ago. It’s pretty secure,” Caleb assured his brother. “Rafe, I’ve informed Becca about Gentry’s escape and she and the Knights have tracked him. He’s close by, circling with his team. There are two others with him and they are not part of the Untouchables. They’re actually Normals. If he’s going to make a move, it’s going to be soon and it’s going to be today.”

“I know. The detectives are obviously naïve to think that a few more men will keep Gentry out. Hey Caleb, I was thinking that Gentry has already seen me and he reacted when I mentioned Noah, who may be involved in all of this. McCall, on the other hand, just thinks that I am an inexperienced police officer and whereas Gentry already knows the Hunters are around, McCall might not. Maybe McCall might talk if I mention Noah?”

“That’s plausible. He does seem like the less intelligent of the two,” Caleb remarked.

“Well, we can give it a try, but I would need to go in without Peck or Channing, in case we start talking about Knights.”

“I can either be on the lookout or keep them distracted, but if we do this, we have to do it now. Gentry will pay a visit soon enough.”

Caleb returned to the detectives with cups of coffee, explaining that Rafe had to go out for a while. Rafe, meanwhile, had made his way to the holding cell. McCall was sitting on the bench, his head against the wall, his eyes closed.

“Noah says not to worry, that it will soon be over,” Rafe said and watched McCall’s head whip forward. McCall watched him, without any fear.

“Yeah, well, it’s good to know,” McCall grumbled. By the way, I’ve never seen a Knight with such dark hair!”

“Who says I’m a Knight?” Rafe winked at him, conspirators in arms. “What would have been your next move if you weren’t nabbed?”

“We still had to recruit a few more to complete our team. Roan’s trying to convince the Healer to join us. He is the only Healer around here and the Normals don’t have the same, shall we say, skills set, that he has.”

“I understand that, but why kill those other former Knights. Noah was concerned when the bodies starting piling up! It took some quick thinking to move the Knights’ attention away from what was going on,” Rafe said, hoping to get more information.

“And we all appreciate that, but we had to do that in the interests of the mission. Those former Knights betrayed us, refusing to help us when they had the means to do so. They acted like they were ashamed of us! And this is after the Cleaner spared them, with the aim of ensuring that we had sufficient support when we were ready to activate the mission. We have been planning this for years. We’ve cleverly crafted it between those in Knight town and us here. It’s ingenious!” McCall couldn’t contain the smug expression that formed on his face.

Rafe let McCall ramble on. “But those former Knights, every single one that we tracked, well, they couldn’t care less. They didn’t believe in what we were doing. Many of them acted like they’d never met us before. I don’t know why the Cleaner spared Dean Calloway though. He was a Guardian before and a Sensor. His instincts and his senses were razor-sharp. His sister, Phoebe, had told him that we were around, that we were coming after them. Guardians can’t be turned and they’ve never taken instructions from anyone but the Knight leader. So we had to get rid of him. It wasn’t easy. He was super-strong.”

Gage McCall went on and on, but he still didn’t reveal their exact mission. Rafe thought of questions he could ask, without raising any suspicions with McCall. He still had some time, as Caleb was keeping the detectives occupied. He decided to take a chance. “The Cleaner wanted to know why you killed Missy Adams,” Rafe asked hesitantly.

“We didn’t mean to kill her. We planned to take her to convince her father, the Healer, to join us. She didn’t want to be a part of it. What’s even worse, she knew about our mission. Even her father, who was one of us, didn’t know. She was a Seer. Imagine that! Is the Cleaner very angry?”

“Not really, he just wanted to understand. Are you happy with your leader here? Is everything going according to plan?”

“It was, until I got caught. Damn it, I couldn’t help myself. I had to take something. Roan thought that I’d lost that urge, but he doesn’t understand how strong it is. I can imagine how angry he must be now. Our leader only engages with Roan, nobody else. Roan said that the leader was even more powerful than the Cleaner and the others. I have to take his word for it since I’ve never met him,” McCall said.

Rafe still wasn’t getting what he wanted. What was the mission?

“Gage, do you still believe in the mission?”

Gage’s face brightened. “Absolutely! It’s kept me going ever since I was banished to live amongst the Normals. I know more now about what’s going on amongst the Knights, than I ever did when I lived with them. We were never good enough then, but now, we are unstoppable and the Knights and their leader will soon know what it is like to be weakened. To be chased. To be hunted! When this mission is over, we will rule, like we were meant to!” Rafe had not seen such passion displayed by McCall since his arrest. “When will you get me out of here?”

“In time, don’t worry. Roan’s on his way. He managed to evade the cops.” Rafe noticed the grin on McCall’s face. The man obviously was not surprised that his friend had escaped.

“Okay,” McCall clapped his hands. “I should be out of here by midnight then.”

“Exactly,” Rafe laughed. He tried to move the conversation to something that still bothered him. “We were sad to hear about Harry.”

McCall looked at him and shook his head. “Living amongst the Normals weakened him. He didn’t have the same drive anymore, claimed to love his wife and family more than the mission. Can you believe that? It all started with him and here he was abandoning us! Anyway, he got what he deserved, even if it was at the hands of a Hunter. We didn’t know that he would take out his family before we could. That snoopy wife of his had to poke around in affairs that didn’t concern her! Her time was limited though, one way or the other, because our leader in Knight town instructed us to take them out.”

Rafe finally understood. Harry Tyler and his wife had fought shortly before her death because she had probably found out what Harry and his gang were planning. Rafe doubted that she understood anything she might have seen or heard, but Harry had obviously informed Gentry or whoever was in charge. Harry wanted out, but his family was threatened and he thought by taking their lives first, he would spare them the cruelty at the hands of his Untouchable friends. When the police arrived at his home before he could execute the final piece of his hasty plan, he must have known that the Hunters would be coming after him; he probably banked on that. Eden was just a convenient casualty of his desperation. Rafe realised that Harry’s thinking might have been warped towards the end, but maybe his Normal parent’s and sister’s assertions as to his innate goodness was not overrated, as initially thought. There was finally an explanation for Harry’s emotions during the killings. He was legitimately distraught. But what did McCall mean when he said that it had all started with Harry?

Sighing, Rafe wished he could use his arrow now, but he still needed more information from McCall and they needed his presence here to draw Gentry. It would be less suspicious if Gentry and McCall were to die during an attempted escape, than for McCall to be found dead in his cell.

Rafe joined his brother and the other detectives. Detective Peck was going through the list of employees at the bakery, trying to figure out if any of them could potentially be involved with Gentry and McCall. She’s on the right track, Rafe thought, although a bit late. Detective Channing was leaning back in his chair, his hands linked behind his head, seemingly deep in thought.

“These two have worse social lives than you,” Caleb communicated to Rafe. “I hope this is over by tonight. I miss the compound!”

“Yeah, me too,” Rafe confessed. “I don’t think that we’re meant to live amongst the Normals for too long. They seem to drain my energy.”

Just before midnight, Rafe and Caleb left the police station. Detectives Peck and Channing and half of the task team were still on duty, waiting for Gentry. They were all exhausted. Caleb had decided that they needed some shut-eye and Rafe conceded.

Back at the apartment, they found Becca already taking a nap, but she awoke when she heard them. She informed them that the Jennings family was safely reunited and that Matthew and Eden would come to their apartment in a few hours to strategize. Caleb fell asleep immediately on the sofa, with Rafe needing a few more minutes to unwind. The day’s events were playing strongly in his mind. He knew that the Knight’s real work would start once they returned to Knight town. They would need to deal with Noah and find the other traitors within their town. Despite the turmoil of the last few days, he had enjoyed spending time with Eden, each showing more of their personalities, forgoing the blanket of niceness that normally cloaked the early stages of a relationship. It felt good to be authentic. They had also communicated more than he thought it would be possible during this time, with Caleb giving him the space that he’d inadvertently asked for. Rafe was grateful, knowing that he would see less of Eden when she went back home, because she would be drawn into helping resolve the issues with the Knights. There was also the small matter of her decision related to the Choice.

Rafe was awakened by Caleb merely two hours later. Matthew and Eden were already at the apartment and they had tracked Gentry to somewhere very close to the police station. Rafe rubbed his weary eyes as he listened. If all went well today, they could be back home by nightfall, but this time, they had to close the loop with Detectives Channing and Peck.

“Is Gentry making any moves to get into the station?” Rafe asked.

“No, he’s still circling. He has a few men with him and Caleb says that they are all armed,” Eden responded. “We can’t afford to get sensed by him.”

“I don’t think that you will. Those other men are Normals, which means they don’t have any powers, so you and Matthew can take them out, while we get to Gentry,” Caleb said.

Eden and Matthew both nodded. “I’ll go with them because Gentry can still sense them if they’re alone,” Becca volunteered.

Rafe agreed. “We’re going to use our arrows on Gentry the first chance we get. If we can pry out any information from him on this mission of theirs, we will do so. McCall has talked, but vaguely, although he confirmed that the Cleaner, presumably Noah, was working with them.” Rafe then proceeded to share the rest of the conversation he’d had with McCall, with the Knights.

“Did he mention Seth?” Matthew asked.

“Not specifically, no. He didn’t mention Noah either. He merely referred to the Cleaner and indicated that there were other Knights involved, so Seth could still be a part of this. I’m starting to believe that maybe he is.”

“We’ll treat it as such, going forward,” Matthew declared.

“Okay, let’s get moving,” Caleb said, clapping his hands together. The few hours of sleep he’d had seemed to work; he was energised.

Matthew brought his car to a halt a few blocks from the station. The Knights had declined to take any weapons along, stating that Becca was armed enough for all of them. Rafe watched the three of them walk away, knowing that they were heading straight for the Normals who were assisting Gentry. He and Caleb would move towards Gentry who they knew was not too far away. Roan Gentry was armed to the gills – he had a few handguns, a couple of shotguns and he had also tucked a switchblade knife into his coat pocket. Hence for the boys, an element of surprise, coupled with agility was needed to secure Gentry.

Caleb had also revealed that Gentry’s Normals were equally armed, which necessitated that the Knights and Becca be on high alert. As they approached the police station, they saw a black SUV parked not too far from the front steps. Roan Gentry was sitting in the passenger seat, talking on his cell phone. Not too clever, Caleb thought. Was this the mastermind who had killed the former Knights? Sitting out in plain sight? What was he waiting for?

Caleb signalled to Rafe that he would take the passenger side, while Rafe should go to the driver’s side of the SUV. They quietly walked towards the SUV, but Roan Gentry was out in a flash, somehow having heard them approach. He stood by the door, pointing his handgun at Rafe. “Ah, the young officer. You can help me get inside the station.”

Rafe looked at him, knowing that he could dispense his arrow faster than Gentry could fire his handgun, but he wouldn’t do that just yet. Maybe he should just mentally dislodge him a bit. “And why would I do that, Mr Gentry? So that you and your partner can continue killing former Knights?” That did the trick.

Gentry’s hand shook, and he looked horrified, his face paling instantly. “More importantly,” Caleb said as he rounded the SUV, “why would a Hunter help an Untouchable?” Gentry turned around, surprised at Caleb’s presence. Ah, so he hadn’t seen Caleb, Rafe realised. His brother, given his tracking abilities, could move quickly and silently, unlike Rafe.

“Are the Hunters getting younger and younger?” Gentry asked, quickly recovering.

“No, we’re just getting better, such that our leader knows he can trust us with any mission,” Caleb responded.

“Why haven’t you used your arrow yet?” Gentry asked suspiciously. “You,” he said, pointing at Rafe, “could have eliminated me when we first met, but you didn’t. Tell me, do your cop friends know what you are?” Rafe noticed that Gentry had not yet dropped his handgun.

“No, but you don’t go around advertising yourself either,” Rafe guessed. “So, why are you knocking off these former Knights?”

Gentry laughed. “Because unlike you and I, they forgot who they were. They forgot the meaning of loyalty. We take that with us wherever we go.”

“So, they were disloyal because they refused to join your crazy mission?” Caleb asked.

Gentry quickly hid his look of anger. “No, the mission isn’t crazy! It is what was always meant to be. It is our fate. Our future depends on it.”

Rafe realised that Gentry was being as vague as McCall. “So I guess your leader here tells you as little as possible.” Rafe watched Gentry redden in anger. “I mean, do you really know the entire mission. You and McCall both come across as henchmen, nothing more. So I presume it’s another Untouchable who is running this mission, and who understands every piece of the puzzle you’re trying to put together. Tell me, how did you come to retain your powers after you were banished?”

“Let’s just say that this mission has always depended on us, so the Knights back home knew that they couldn’t execute it without us. We just had to wait, that’s all, but now it’s time and our team is almost complete.” Gentry looked at Caleb and then at Rafe. “I know this gun isn’t going to save me, so can I at least be given a fair chance?”

Caleb knew where Gentry was going with that. “You want to fight us for your life?” Gentry nodded. “You know that we can’t let you go. You’ve been tagged as a condemned, which means you can’t continue to exist in whatever form.”

“I know,” Gentry conceded, “but it would be nice to die fighting.” He dropped his handgun on his seat, took the switchblade out of his pocket which quickly joined the handgun. He raised his hands and said, “Look, no weapons. Fair fight?”

“No,” Rafe told Caleb. “He’s baiting us, stalling us almost. Like he thinks we don’t know about those two Normals who are accompanying him. I think he is the diversion. He was expected, the Normals were not.”

“You’re right. I’ll tell Bec. He’s just wasting our time in any case.”

Gentry watched the two Hunters communicate without even opening their mouths. Useful ability, he thought. They would have been brilliant on our team.

“Mr Gentry, unfortunately we can’t take you up on your offer, but we will be sure to tell your leader, when we find him, that you put up a good fight,” Caleb said. Gentry looked resigned, but at the last minute, he charged towards Rafe, taking him off guard. Rafe managed to throw him off though and he used his arrow quickly, eliminating Gentry before he had any other ideas. Caleb helped Rafe to carry Gentry and place him in the driver’s seat of the SUV. Let the NYPD find him there tomorrow! By this time, Gentry was motionless.

“Let’s find Becca and the others,” Rafe said. “I don’t like the vibes I’m getting from them. I think those Normals could be more lethal than Gentry and McCall!”

Meanwhile, Becca, Eden and Matthew had already tracked the Normals to the other side of the police station. They were indeed armed, with both guns and grenades. This is going to be some breakout, Becca thought.

The Normals, dressed in army fatigues, stood outside their van, guns in hand. Eden and Matthew whispered to Becca that they would subdue the Normals, allowing Becca to use her arrows. Becca nodded, just as she received Caleb’s message about the Normals. She watched as Eden and Matthew almost sprang in the air, knocking out the Normals. However, these Normals were strong and they were back on their feet in seconds, holstering their weapons in the process. Clever, Becca thought, guns going off would certainly alert the police, foiling their breakout plans.

They charged at Matthew and Eden, both of whom stood their ground. Becca was impressed at Eden’s strength. She was almost as small as Becca and yet she managed to injure one of the Normals just enough, knocking him to his knees, though not before he himself had gotten in a few blows. Becca used the opportunity to dispense her arrow, sending the Normal into a seizure, before he collapsed onto the ground. The other Normal, whilst fighting off Matthew, noticed in alarm, what had happened to his partner. Matthew himself, was distracted for a second since he had never witnessed the impact of an arrow before. This allowed the Normal to give him a solid punch to his jaw, disorienting him. Matthew clutched his jaw in pain whilst Eden joined the fight. However, this Normal was stronger than Eden’s previous adversary and she struggled to subdue him. By this time, the Normal had reached for one of his weapons, which looked more like a spray and aimed it, not at Eden, but at Becca who stood a few feet away. Becca moved out of the way, but she was not quick enough to evade the spray totally and felt some of the liquid dribble down the side of her neck. She immediately felt the burning sensation on her skin, like her body was on fire and stopped the scream that threatened to escape her. When Eden and Matthew wrestled the Normal to the ground, she stood above him, using her arrow. He was gone in a few seconds.

Eden and Matthew both stood up, mopping their brows. This had not been an easy fight. They looked at Becca, standing still close by, but clutching her neck in pain. Matthew reached her first and was shocked by what he saw. Becca’s neck was burnt where the spray had landed. She would be in immense pain.

Just then Rafe and Caleb reached them, Caleb almost exploding when he saw that Becca was injured. With an apology in her eyes, Eden and her brother placed the Normals back into their vans, while Caleb and Rafe saw to Becca.

“Bec, we need to get you to a hospital,” Rafe said. Becca shook her head in disagreement.

“No, take me home. Your mom will help. Gosh it hurts.”

Caleb held her. He could see that she was badly burnt on the side of her neck. It smelt like pepper spray. Damn it, Gentry would have known that the Hunters would have been after them. Hunters were allergic to pepper!

“Look, I’m going to call my mom and ask her what to do in the meantime. Home is a bit too far away right now and I don’t want to risk you getting an infection,” Rafe said, walking away, phone in hand. His mother was alarmed, but she was also exceptional in an emergency and she doled out a few instructions to her son.

“Ask Caleb to bring her home immediately. You wrap up there and follow, son,” Ava said, noting the chord of worry in her son’s voice.

“Will do, Mom.”

“Okay, Caleb this is what we need to do, but let’s get out of here first. You’re going to be okay, Becca.” Rafe felt Becca’s strong grip on his arm, felt her pain flowing into him. Her neck was now red and swollen.

“Bec, don’t injure me, but I’m carrying you to the car,” Caleb said. Becca tried to put up a fight, but Rafe asked her to go quietly. Eden and Matthew walked behind the Hunters. They had promised to take care of Becca, Matthew thought and she had been badly hurt on their watch!

“She’ll be okay,” Rafe said, assuring Eden. He sensed both her and Matthew’s guilt. “My mom can heal most things.” Yet, he didn’t sound too sure. Becca was badly hurt and she needed to be treated immediately. He didn’t know the impact of a few hours’ delayed treatment, but they would do what his mother had advised.

“I have no excuse, Rafe. I should have been able to take the Normal, but he seemed supercharged,” Matthew said in apology.

“Hey, we wouldn’t have been able to take him out quickly either. He was high on drugs and hence, more powerful tonight. He had track marks on both his arms. I checked him now, before we left.”

Somehow that appeased neither Matthew nor Eden.

An hour later, Rafe sat in his apartment with the other two Knights. Caleb was already on his way home with Becca, after Rafe had administered the temporary treatment that his mother had recommended. Rafe dreaded having to tell Ethan what had happened, but he couldn’t postpone the call any longer.

“Uncle Ethan?” It was early morning back home, but both Rafe and Becca’s families were awake.

“Yes, Rafe. What is the latest?” Ethan asked, getting to the point.

Rafe recounted the events of the past few hours. Roan Gentry and his two Normal henchmen had been eliminated, the Untouchable had provided some information, albeit sketchy, on their mission and Becca had been injured when taking down one of the Normals.

Ethan was silent for a long while, almost as if he was trying to calm himself. Eventually, he asked. “Is she badly hurt?”

“One of the Normals used pepper spray. It caught her on the side of her neck, so it’s burnt. We’ve applied some medication after discussing it with my mom and Caleb is halfway home with Becca.”

“Okay, thanks for letting me know. I know you and Caleb would have taken good care of her,” Ethan said. Rafe wasn’t so sure at this moment. Becca had been on many missions with them in the past, but now he felt that they had failed her. “Don’t doubt yourself, son,” Ethan said, sensing Rafe’s thoughts. “You still have to close out this mission. I don’t like you being on your own, but I feel a bit better knowing that the Knights are still there with you. Listen, you have to eliminate Gage McCall. We can’t stand the risk of some other Untouchable attempting to break him out. Now that Gentry is gone, I’m sure that whoever is leading these Untouchables, will try to re-group. McCall has been an integral part of their plan so far. And Rafe, stay safe,” Ethan added.

Rafe knew that Ethan made sense, but another similar, yet unexplained death of a suspect in his presence might raise more eyebrows at the station. If he had to do this, he had to get in and out of the station without anyone seeing him, including the detectives. Matthew had a plan to get Rafe into the station, but Eden unfortunately had to play guard because Captain Marquez and the detectives still remembered the “young lawyer.”

“Look, if all else fails and you’re seen, I’d have to unfortunately remove those memories from whoever saw you. Not my first preference though, because I don’t like to use my cleaning abilities on Normals, but it’s still an option,” Matthew said.

Rafe agreed that it would only be the last option as Matthew drove them as close to the police station as possible. Eden jumped off a few blocks before the station, with strict instructions to be on her guard. She knew she could communicate with Rafe if there was trouble. Rafe lead Matthew into the police station, which was abuzz with activity due to the expectation of a visit by Roan Gentry. The officer at the front desk waved at Rafe and let both the young men through when Rafe indicated that Matthew was with him. Fortunately, that was the only person who had seen Rafe and Matthew, thus allowing the young men to blend in and move further into the station. However, most of the police officers were congregating close to the holding cells where Gage McCall was resident for another night.

“Okay, how do we get in there?” Rafe asked, pulling Matthew into one of the empty interview rooms.

“We distract them,” Matthew said. “I’ll call and let them know that Gentry and his goons are outside the station, armed and ready to come in through the front door. That should move some of these cops away from the holding cell.”

“Yeah, but not all of them,” Rafe said. “I’m sure that Detectives Peck and Channing will stay close to McCall.”

“I’ll tell them about the weapons, including the grenades. There isn’t enough manpower here to cover all the entrances to the station.”

“Okay, let’s try that.” It took a few seconds, but soon they heard hurried footsteps as the officers moved themselves to the various entrances to the building. Rafe sensed that both Detectives Peck and Channing had moved from the holding cell. Marquez was at the front of the station, leading his troops. There was one officer with McCall and Rafe realised that they would have to render him unconscious for a while because they couldn’t wait for the area to be completely empty.

Rafe recognised Officer Cooper as he approached the holding cell. Officer Cooper turned around, just as Matthew grabbed him. The young officer was stunned for a second, before he collapsed to the ground. “Quick,” Matthew said. “He should come around in under five minutes.”

McCall was wide-awake and nervously scoping his surroundings when Rafe found him. He looked at Rafe in surprise and then he smiled. “You’ve come to get me out,” he said.

“In a way, I suppose,” Rafe said. He watched the expression on McCall’s face change as Matthew came into his line of vision. He recognises that Matthew is a Knight, Rafe realised. Now he’s wondering if Matthew is one of them.

“Mr McCall, Roan Gentry was killed a few hours ago, along with the men he brought along to break you out. Their bodies are in their vehicles which are parked not too far from the station,” Rafe said, hearing McCall’s gasp.

“Who? Who would kill them?” McCall asked, as all hope died from his eyes.

“The Hunters did,” Rafe responded. McCall recoiled in fear.

“You have to get me out of here,” McCall beseeched. “They will kill me too.”

“You can count on that,” Matthew said. “Do you want to share any information on your mission before we leave here?” Matthew asked.

“No, we don’t have time. Get me out of here and we’ll talk,” McCall said. Suddenly, he paled, overcome by fear and realisation. “You should already know about the mission. You’re not here to get me out, are you?”

“No,” Rafe confirmed. “I’m a Hunter, Mr McCall.” The expression on McCall’s face was priceless. “I have to eliminate you. My friend here is the son of Gabe, leader of the Knights.” McCall stood as far away as possible from the door to his cell.

“My father sends his regards,” Matthew said in disgust. This Untouchable in front of him, who had once been part of their society, had sought out and killed their own kind. That was unforgivable. “Rafe, we don’t have much time.”

Rafe moved closer to McCall. “Any last words?” McCall shook his head. Rafe dispensed the arrow, watched it penetrate McCall’s chest, saw the fear that overcame McCall before he collapsed. Rafe went into the cell and placed McCall on the bunk. Matthew and Rafe made their way out of the holding cell area, just as Officer Cooper was coming around.

It was still chaotic in the station. They moved to the men’s bathroom, hoping to get out through one of the windows. Eventually they heard Marquez task a few detectives to go outside to check out the perimeter of the station. Rafe and Matthew managed to get out through the bathroom window, by breaking the security bars. They made it to their car, just in time, as a few detectives came out into the street.

They found Eden close by and informed her that the mission was successful, just as a fleet of police cars, from a different precinct flew past. It was time to go home.