Knights v Hunters; The Return

Eden looked confused, hurt pervading her very being. Why was Rafe pretending to not know her? Meanwhile, Caleb looked like something had finally clicked for him. He lunged towards Matthew, grabbing him by his shirt collar, catching them all off-guard.

“What did you do?” Caleb shouted at him, while Josh and Rafe both eventually stepped in to break up what could be a fight between two very dangerous young men.

Matthew waved off both Rafe and Josh, much to Eden’s surprise. “It’s okay,” he told them, “I just need to speak to Caleb.” Caleb let go of his shirt and they both walked far away from their siblings.

“Nothing you say, will ever make this right,” Caleb whispered in anger. “You used your ability as a Cleaner on my brother and removed his memories of Eden!”

“At the time, I felt I had to,” Matthew began, aware of the curiosity of his brother and sister. “Eden had just broken up with him and he was angry and heartbroken.” Matthew relayed how he had followed Eden to the Hunters’ compound and had heard her break-up with Rafe. The Hunter had been inconsolable as he walked away from Eden.

“So, you did him a favour by ridding him of the memories that brought that pain? Do you have any idea what you did?” Caleb was so angry, he had to restrain himself from hitting Matthew. He looked over at his brother who seemed to be speaking to someone on his phone. “He has constant headaches, he barely sleeps and he’s forgotten other things as well. He had to rebuild his focus, his strength.”

Matthew looked ashamed. “I regret what I did, I really do, but you know as well as I do, that there could never be a lasting relationship between a Knight and a Hunter,” he tried to reason.

“Really? Why not? You should have given them a chance,” Caleb argued. “That’s what brothers do. Does Eden know?”

“No, and she is going to be equally unhappy with me when she finds out. Look, I’ll make things right when this is all over, I promise,” Matthew said.

“You shouldn’t have used your abilities on a Hunter. It’s against the rules. This is not over,” Caleb warned, walking away.

Eden watched the exchange between Caleb and her brother, a dark suspicion forming in her mind. Caleb had looked ready to murder Matthew and her brother had not even fought back.

Caleb walked back to Becca and his brother. “Let’s go,” he said. Rafe and Becca followed him to their car.

“Dad called to say that he’s sending a Sensor to us,” Rafe told his brother.

“Oh yeah? Who is it?” Caleb asked.

Rafe laughed. “It’s Sera. Don’t worry,” he said, noting the worry on his brother’s face, “we’ll keep the romance to the minimum!” He didn’t notice Eden turn pale as she heard the exchange, but Caleb did.

Caleb turned towards the Knights and said, “We’ll be at the diner at 8pm if you want to join us to discuss how we can find your mother.”

“You want to tell us what’s going on?” Eden demanded as they drove away from the old building. Her heart ached at the thought that Rafe had moved on from her so quickly when she couldn’t even get him out of her mind. The curious look she had seen in his eyes had dismayed her –it was the look of a stranger, but the Rafe she had known, had never been heartless. Was her suspicion correct?

“Can we talk about this later, please?” Matthew begged, trying to delay his berating. Eden would never forgive him, of that, he was almost certain. He had known something was going on between his sister and the Hunter on their last mission. He had seen how Rafe looked at Eden and she at him, when they thought no one noticed. But he had, and so had Caleb. When the time had come for Eden to give the Council her decision on the Choice, she had tried to hide her distress from the rest of her family, but Matthew had watched her, had known that she was fighting to keep it together. When he had seen her leave Knight town one night when she was supposed to be in bed, he had followed her right to the Hunters’ compound. There, he heard her heartfelt discussion with Rafe, felt her pain and her resolve to do what was right for her family and the Knights, while her heart was breaking into a million pieces. Rafe had been so hurt, so angry, that Matthew had been afraid for him. He had followed Rafe, with the intention of explaining Eden’s decision and how difficult it had been for her, when the Hunter had turned around in shock, ready to attack. Matthew noticed that Rafe was crying, felt the hurt in him and realised the depth of Rafe’s love for Eden. He also knew that it was an impossible love and all he had wanted to do was ease the Hunter’s pain so that he could move on. He had developed a great deal of respect for these Young Hunters on their last mission and he felt he owed Rafe, so he had cleaned Rafe’s memories of Eden. It was not easy – Rafe’s memories of her were intertwined with memories of the other Knights and their last mission. It had taken time, but eventually, he was certain that he had erased Eden’s existence from Rafe’s mind. Now, what he thought had been an act of mercy, was coming back to haunt him!

Rafe knew when Caleb was not in a mood to talk- this was one of those times. He could still feel the anger around his brother. He didn’t understand what had happened between Caleb and the Knight. He rubbed his temples – his headache had returned in full force. He would need to take something for it, but after they collected Sera. He was looking forward to working with Sera – he enjoyed her company, she was fun and extremely intelligent. His parents also respected her ability as a Sensor. He thought about the Knight who had been with Matthew and Josh. He still didn’t know her name.

“Eden,” Caleb said with a sigh, reading his brother’s thoughts, “her name is Eden.”

Becca sat in the back seat, looking confused. “I’ll explain later,” Caleb communicated to her. She nodded, trusting him.

“Did I meet her before?” Rafe asked, curious now.

“Yeah, you did. We worked with her on our last mission,” Caleb responded.

“I can’t remember her,” Rafe said worriedly. “She’s part of the memory lapses I’ve been having.”

“You’ll remember everything in time,” Caleb promised. “You never forget what’s important to you.”

Detective Lena Peck walked into the station, hesitation in her every step. She felt incredibly tired, she realised and yet she couldn’t even remember what she had done today.

“Hey, I’ve been calling you for the last hour,” Sawyer said as she walked to her desk. “Where have you been?” When Lena didn’t immediately answer, he grew worried. “Are you okay, Peck?”

“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t hear anything,” she admitted, looking at her cell phone. “Ah, here’s the problem, the ringer was on silent. What’s up?”

“You wouldn’t believe it. David Cawley walked into the station a while ago, claiming that he had been kidnapped from the airport. He says that his kidnappers never told him the reason for the kidnapping, but they dumped him outside the station, with no explanation! He’s in the interview room talking to a sketch artist. Seems pretty shaken.”

“Just like that?” Lena asked. This sounded suspicious. “You think they kidnapped the wrong guy?”

“Maybe, anyway, his wife is coming over to collect him. Hopefully he’ll be able to describe his kidnappers by then.”

“Wow,” Lena said, “that’s remarkable. We hardly ever get happy endings like that.”

“Yeah, I know. Now, if only Noel Emerson could get one.”

Lena and Sawyer sat with David Cawley for another hour, while his wife waited outside. Cawley had not offered any information that could be used in the police’s search for the kidnappers.

“It seems that they had him blindfolded for the most part,” Sawyer explained.

“Yeah, but surely he would have heard something!” Lena exclaimed. “He doesn’t even recall what his kidnappers’ voices sounded like.”

“Well, at least he remembers that there were two of them, both male,” Sawyer said.

Lena rubbed her head. She was tired. Just then, she saw Sawyer’s brother Carter walk towards their desks. He smiled at her and then asked if he could speak to Sawyer alone. She excused herself, with the aim of getting some tea. As she neared her desk, she heard the tail-end of the brothers’ conversation.

“You’re sure I’m not encroaching on your territory?” Carter asked Sawyer.

“I’m certain,” Sawyer said, laughing, “she’s just my partner, nothing else!” Well, that was certainly telling her, Lena realised. If she had any hope that Sawyer Channing harboured any feelings for her, they just flew out of the window.

Lena wordlessly returned to her desk, ignoring both men. She read a few reports on her computer and then took Noel Emerson’s file and went to review it in an interview room, where Sawyer found her a few hours later. “You okay?” he asked, noting her paler than normal complex and the tiredness in her eyes.

Lena looked at him and he could swear that he saw a flash of anger in her eyes before she quickly doused it. “Yeah, I was just checking out the Emerson file. He’s been missing for a while now and there haven’t been any ransom demands, so that’s not the reason he was taken. I spoke to his manager who says that Emerson was a star employee, very popular with the clients, very successful. They can’t think of anyone who might want to harm him. I’ve checked for any cameras on the way from the grocery store to Emerson’s building but there were none. The cameras in Emerson’s building weren’t working, so that’s a dead end.”

Sawyer realised that Lena had done quite a bit of work in the last few hours while he was goofing off with Carter. He felt guilty about that. He also felt guilty telling Carter an untruth, because he was too scared to admit the truth to himself. He had feelings for Lena Peck, none of which she returned!

Gabe was at his wits’ end. He didn’t want to show it, especially in front of Kyra. He had met with the Council a day earlier and they had been shocked at Seth’s deception and Grace’s kidnapping. They requested that Guardians protect Noah around the clock and expressed their sadness at Dina’s untimely passing. Other than that, they could offer nothing of use to Gabe. Sam, the youngest of the Council members, did suggest to Gabe though that he be given the task to look at security within the town. Gabe, already distracted, readily agreed, assigning Peter, one of his most trusted Guardians, to assist Sam in securely locking down Knight town.

Gabe was also aware that Jeb hadn’t returned, the Knight obviously being warned by Seth of the events unfolding in Knight town. Through Nate’s ingenuity, Gabe had also discovered the extent to which the Knight’s records had been adjusted in the past few decades and how misinformation had been fed into their intelligence systems, thus placing Gabe and especially his children in the utmost danger. Seth’s deception had been personal, Gabe realised. When Lucas was banished, Seth had obviously set in motion, a plan to destroy the credibility of the Knights. It must have been a bitter pill to swallow, losing your only child, but Seth had accepted at that time, his son’s guilt and the justice of his punishment. And yet, Gabe thought, he has spent all this time plotting to take my family from me, to jeopardise the Knights’ missions, to grant second chances to undeserving condemned Normals and to release dangerous Untouchables, all with their abilities intact, into Normal society. Lucas, as Harry Tyler, had killed his entire family, and yet this had done nothing to derail Seth’s mission to destroy the Knights. But why was he after the Hunters? They had nothing to do with Lucas’s initial failings. Ah, Gabe realised, the Young Hunters had used their arrow on Harry Tyler!

Gabe’s thoughts were interrupted by Nate’s phone call. Apparently, Noah was awake! However, when Gabe entered Michael’s house, the Healer informed him that Noah had once again slipped into unconscious. “He asked for you,” Michael said.

“Did he say anything?” Gabe asked.

“Nothing that made sense to me, but I’m sure it will to you,” Michael began. “He said to tell you that he was sorry, that you should be careful of Seth. He said that Seth had done this for Lucas, who I know, was Seth’s son, but that Seth’s partner was someone you also knew,” Michael said.

“Did he mention any names?” Gabe questioned.

“No, I thought he might have been referring to Jeb, but he shook his head when I asked him. He said it was about the girl. I’m sorry, I couldn’t get more out of him before he passed out again,” Michael apologised. Gabe thanked him. Noah, who had been almost vilified before the Council for crimes he did not commit, had tried to warn him about Seth. All this while, they had spent valuable time searching for Noah, who they believed had betrayed the Knights, when in fact, the oldest member of the Council had been the one to put in motion a plan to threaten their very existence as Knights. He should have trusted his gut when it came to Noah, a man he fought with, who challenged him, but who had always done right by the Knights. Now, Grace was in the hands of those determined to destroy the Knights.

Eden and Matthew had been in constant contact with Gabe, informing him of any progress they made. They had not been able to track either Grace or Seth, which was not surprising considering the emergence of the Blocker, however they did inform him that the Hunters were around, searching for clues as to the mission of the Untouchables. That strangely pacified Gabe, for he knew that the presence of the Hunters meant protection for his children. Would the Hunters be willing to help in the search for Grace?

Ava had taken a long walk after dinner, with Jude silent by her side. She knew that her husband had executed plans to secure their compound and that their home would be very difficult to breach, even for the Untouchables. She also knew that her boys and Becca were continuing their search for former Knights in the hope that it would help them uncover the mission of the Untouchables, the one that was aimed at destroying both the Hunters and the Knights. Jude had also assured her during dinner that their boys were trying their best to track both Seth and Grace and that they would help Gabe’s children find their mother. Ava was worried for her children, especially Rafe. He had not been himself for a while now, probably due to Eden making her Choice, but it worried her that his memory was being affected, because Rafe’s ability to remember everything, was actually his greatest ability. Would he be able to put aside his hurt long enough, to work with Eden? And what exactly was his relationship with Sera?

Jude felt his wife’s pain. He had always known about his wife’s lifelong friendship with Gabe’s wife, but he had never interfered, deciding that it caused no harm to either the Knights or the Hunters. He knew that Ava communicated often with Grace, each possibly sharing their challenges of being married to the leader of their respective communities. However, the possible relationship between his eldest son and a Knight had troubled him because he knew that those sort of relationships never ended well and could bring about the most damage to the Knights and Hunters. He had first-hand experience of that!

Rafe, Becca, Caleb and now Sera, were already seated at the diner when Josh, Matthew and Eden turned up for their meeting. Caleb noticed that Eden looked extremely angry as she walked to their table, possibly due to discovering her brother’s deception. He had earlier explained to Becca what had happened and she had been so distressed that he had had to comfort her. He couldn’t even imagine what Eden was going through. Despite what had happened and what was yet to happen, Caleb knew that his brother had loved Eden, as much as she had loved him right back.

Caleb introduced Sera to the Knights and explained her role in this mission. Rafe seemed comfortable with Caleb leading the discussions, noticing that his brother’s anger towards Matthew had either been put on the back burner or had completely dissipated.

“The Zolfars have been trying to get into the Blocker’s circle. She apparently seems very eager to let them join her team, but she’s told them that they need to be vetted first by her partners. Now, we know that she seemed to have complete authority before when recruiting for their mission, but obviously, her partners have now come out into the open and their word counts,” Caleb began.

“The thing is,” Rafe continued, “we know that Seth is one of her partners, but we’re not sure of the others. Leo Zolfar thinks that there are only two other partners. Anyway, the Untouchables were desperate to recruit a Healer, so Harper Zolfar knew that David Cawley was going to be taken, which is why they took him first. Noel Emerson, on the other hand, was a Guardian, so he would have very specific knowledge of the security details of your compound and it’s the reason that he has been taken.”

“Do the Zolfars have any idea where he is?” Eden asked, looking at Caleb instead.

Caleb shook his head, “No, unfortunately, his location has not been revealed, which is why we have brought additional Sensors in the form of Sera, to join us. There are just too many to track right now.” He looked at his brother and Becca and they both encouraged him to go on. “An hour ago, we tracked Seth.”

Rafe heard the gasps of the Knights, heard the many questions forming in their minds, mostly ones about their mother. He also felt incredible sadness enveloping one of them, possibly Eden. She seemed to be at her lowest right now.

Eventually, it was Matthew who asked, “Is our mom with him?”

“No,” Rafe said and felt their disappointment. “And no one is trying to block her. She’s not here in New York and we know that she definitely left Knight town, which means that Seth has her hidden somewhere, away from here.”

“We know that he left with her, and it took him longer to make his way here than it should, so he either handed her over to someone else or he hid her himself,” Josh said.

“She’s still alive,” Rafe said. “We can’t track her yet, but we know that she is alive for now.”

Eden was visibly shaken. “What do you mean, for now?” she asked Rafe, this time looking directly at him.

Rafe was taken aback by the look in her blue eyes. Something happened to him in that instant and he almost wanted to reach out and take Eden’s hand. What was wrong with him? He didn’t know her well enough to console her. Focus on what she asked you, Rafe. He quickly brought himself back to the present. “I don’t know where she is,” he said, “but I sense her to be in a place where she feels very cold. She hasn’t had anything to eat or drink in a while and she might be slightly injured.”

Matthew asked what Eden couldn’t. “Is she scared?”

Rafe smiled, “Only for her family, not for herself.”

The mood around the table was dark and sombre and Caleb forced everyone to order something to eat. While they waited for their food, Josh asked him, “Where’s Seth now?”

“Strangely enough, he is at the home of the Blocker. I thought that he wouldn’t want to be anywhere near her, since you would be able to find him,” Caleb said.

“That would be the case if we could actually track him,” Matthew said in frustration. “The Blocker has disabled our tracking abilities. We know where she stays, but we can never tell if she is actually at home!”

“Well, we can,” Becca chimed in, “and we will ensure that we keep track of Seth and the Blocker at all times.”

Their food had arrived and they all dug in. The Knights seemed to pick around their food though. “We all need our strength to continue with our mission,” Caleb stated, “so eat up!” They did so, albeit reluctantly.

“In order to be most effective, I suggest that we break into teams like last time,” Caleb said. He looked at the Knights. “Since your abilities have been compromised and we don’t want you to be tracked by the Untouchables themselves, I suggest that Eden and Josh join Becca and I while Matthew joins Rafe and Sera. We have a full complement of abilities within both teams, so you wouldn’t need to worry about not being able to track the Untouchables on your own.” Caleb had been tempted to pair Eden with Rafe, but knew that she was too fragile right now to work effectively with his brother. She mouthed him a thank you.

“First order of business tomorrow,” Rafe said, “is for us to stay on Seth and Mrs Ginello. We’ll take the bakery, since they still use that as a gathering place. Caleb will follow the Zolfars. Leo said that additional members were being recruited and we need to understand what danger they may pose to us. Also, the Zolfars may have taken it upon themselves to rid Normal society of these condemned Untouchables, but we still owe them our protection. They will definitely be killed if they are found out.”

“I agree,” Matthew said. “I also think that we should ask James for assistance. He works in the bakery and will have a bird’s eye view of what’s going on there. I mean, he was the one who singled out Mrs Ginello as the Blocker.” The Hunters seemed to go along with the idea and Becca volunteered to make contact with James.

“We don’t have much time,” Rafe said. “We need to find Noel Emerson as well, sooner rather than later.” He didn’t want to tell them that if they took any longer, Grace would not make it, but Eden seemed to read something in his face and she recoiled in horror. What was wrong with this Knight? Could she read his mind?

“Yeah, I figure that we have two days at the most before we all are needed back home. Let’s make the most of it,” Caleb said. They all went their separate ways, Rafe, for some reason reluctant to see one Knight in particular, leave.

The Knights were deep in thought as they walked home. They had communicated with their father as soon as they stepped out of the diner, letting him know that the Hunters did not believe that Grace was in New York. Gabe was disappointed to hear that and gave them feedback on Michael’s discussion with Noah. Matthew looked at his sister, knowing that she would be angry with him for a long time. Their discussion earlier had not gone down too well. She couldn’t believe that Matthew had erased her from Rafe’s mind and now understood that Rafe’s ignoring her earlier today had not been an act of childishness, but due to a genuine lack of knowledge. Nonetheless, she had been hurt, both by Matthew and Rafe’s actions. Matthew had never seen her look so downcast.

Josh knew that his brother and sister were barely on speaking terms. Eden was trying her best to ignore Matthew and Josh knew that whatever had happened between them was linked to Matthew and Caleb’s earlier run-in. Eden had always shared a special bond with her eldest brother, respecting his word more than those of Josh or Kyra and she had never once exchanged a harsh word with him. This new behaviour was baffling.

Eden wondered if her heart would ever be whole again and then berated herself for being so selfish when she should be focusing on finding her mother and stopping Knight town from being attacked. And yet, she couldn’t stop thinking about Rafe. Once during dinner, he had placed his arm around Sera’s shoulder and she had looked up at him with such adoring eyes and Eden knew that she had looked at him the same way. As if sensing that Eden was watching him, Rafe had become uncomfortable and removed his arm from Sera, whilst Eden, at that very second, had resigned herself to the fact that Rafe could never be hers. Snap out of it, Eden, she berated herself once more. Her mother was missing and if the Hunters couldn’t track her here in New York, then she definitely wasn’t here. Where are you, Mom?

Lena tossed and turned that night, her anger returning at what she thought was Sawyer’s callous words to his brother. She had left the office earlier than normal and didn’t even flinch when Sawyer casually mentioned that his brother had asked for her number and would she mind if he passed it on. She had forced a smile and replied, why would I mind? before walking out of the station. The gall of the man! And Rafe was dead wrong as well. She almost wanted to call him in the dead of the night and let him know!

She hadn’t been home long before Carter had called, inviting her to dinner the next evening. Normally she would have refused, but given that his brother had been so dismissive, she had graciously accepted the invite to some fancy French restaurant. I’m moving on, she said, punching her pillow into shape, for the hundredth time that night. She would not waste a breath, a tear or a thought on Sawyer Channing again! Damn the man!

Rafe also struggled to sleep that night. It could have been the uncomfortable sofa he had been relegated to since Sera’s arrival or maybe it was the sound of Caleb’s soft snoring. Either way, several thoughts were running through his mind. His visions of Grace had disturbed him the most. He had felt her anxiousness earlier today. She was blindfolded, which added to her anxiety and she was in a place where her movement was very limited. He’d felt her fear for her family, her worry for her children and he’d almost heard her reach out to his mother. Why would Grace reach out to the wife of the leader of the Hunters?

He thought about their meeting with the Knights at the diner. Eden had unsettled him; something felt off every time he thought about her. And he had thought about her quite a bit since meeting her today. She had been studiously avoiding him at dinner tonight, but on the few occasions that she had looked his way, he had seen such despair written in her eyes, that it had touched his heart. She didn’t seem to like him much, if her actions were anything to go by, since she mostly addressed Becca and Caleb at dinner, but his heart still seemed to race when she was near. Why couldn’t he remember her? He remembered Matthew and Josh, but each time he drifted to Eden, his head ached.

Rafe turned once more on the sofa, trying not to fall off. He needed to get some valuable sleep if he was of any use tomorrow and he knew that time was of the essence. Whatever the Untouchables and Seth were planning, had closely managed timelines and he knew that if they attacked the Hunters’ compound, it would be best if he and the other Young Hunters were within the walls of the compound and not outside. Therefore, they had to find Noel Emerson, understand the Untouchables’ mission and locate Grace, all within the next few days. They would have to leave the Knights very soon, because they, like the Hunters, would be needed to protect their homes.

Caleb heard his brother stirring in the sofa opposite him. He knew that Rafe had not had a full night’s sleep since Matthew had removed his memories of Eden. His brother was strong and was probably trying to subconsciously retrieve those memories, which resulted in him developing migraines. At the diner tonight, Caleb had flitted into his brother’s mind a few times. Eden had baffled his brother and he could sense that Rafe was trying to remember her, but the memories were no longer there. Rafe had also misinterpreted Eden’s difficulty in looking at him as her dislike of him. If only he knew!

Caleb was shocked when Rafe sat up suddenly, holding his head in his hands. “Hey, bro, are you okay?” Caleb whispered, not wanting to wake up the girls.

Rafe looked around him, as if trying to figure out where he was. “I’m okay,” he assured his brother. “I, uh, just had a dream that doesn’t make sense to me.”

Caleb had sat up by this time and he looked into his brother’s worried face. “What is it? Maybe I can help,” he prompted, as Rafe hesitated.

“I could see Seth. He’s with the Blocker, but there’s someone else with them. I was tracking them, Caleb, it seems strange, but I seemed to be tracking them in my sleep.”

“What did you see? Do you know the third person?” Caleb asked, knowing that his brother had yet to understand many of his abilities.

“I couldn’t see the face of the third person, but it was a man, but here’s the strange part. He had Eden’s face.” Rafe could sense that he had lost his brother. “Look, I don’t understand it myself. And it gets stranger. The man I sensed wasn’t a Normal or a Knight,” Rafe continued.

“Are you saying..?” Caleb left the words unsaid.

“Yes, I think that the third person is a Hunter. I think that a Hunter is in partnership with the Untouchables!”