Chapter Text
“The circus is the great equalizer. If you’re not smiling, you’re probably dead. Although if you ask my mother, the dead smile too.”
― Jennnifer Sommersby
“This seems rather unnecessarily risky, utilizing 37 for this mission.”
Frau Netz rolled her eyes, her fingers still typing rapidly at her computer keyboard.
“Don't you worry that pretty little head of yours,” she said dryly. “Matron has already approved it.”
“I don't find the engagement itself risky,” Helena continued. “Just the use of 37. It's a bit close to home, isn't it?”
“37 is best equipped for this mission. It has the ideal physique, in more ways than one may I add. I can program the agents to do just about anything, but I cannot program acrobatic muscles, Ms. Bertinelli. And besides, 1 will be accompanying him.”
“And what if this sparks some sort of memory? What if this awakens something?”
“You read too much cheap science fiction. Here, come look.”
Helena begrudgingly moved next to Frau Netz so that she could see the personality she was in the midst of programming. An image of a brain was on screen, with various lines of codes representing individual personalities surrounding it.
“Sure, we have a little, tiny bit of its past, but it's completely overshadowed by other imprints I've added to the mix. There are far too many fail-safes in place for it to remember the past.”
“May I get that in writing, so I can present it to the Matron when you are inevitably wrong?”
Frau Netz gave Helena a condescending smirk.
“I am never wrong.”
Helena watched as Frau Netz turned back to her typing. She finished quickly and seemed to be satisfied with the imprint as the screen cleared with a push of a button and she removed the drive from the machine, carrying it over to the imprint chair where 37 was already sitting. He looked eerily calm, as he usually did, unaware of what was to come next.
“You're sure about this?” Helena asked once more.
“You're like a worried mother sometimes,” Frau Netz scoffed. “If anything, the personality of Daniel Kolessa is a far happier person. His history involves less traumatic falling.”
“That's not funny.”
Frau Netz began to recline the chair, 37’s eyes closing automatically in anticipation.
“Oh please, it doesn't care. Do you, 37?”
“No, Frau,” 37 said automatically.
“See.”
Helena glared at the woman as she engaged the imprint program. They both watched as the chair lit up and 37 began to scream and thrash slightly, its expression turning from mindless neutral to one of immense pain. Helena dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands, willing the imprint to finish quickly.
It took the normal amount of time, unfortunately.
“Hello, Daniel,” Frau Netz smiled as the chair straightened itself once more. “We need your help.”
The fairgrounds were muddy from the previous night's rain, the air sticky and humid, almost unbearably so. Daniel sighed as he wiped his forehead free of sweat before it could get into his eyes.
He'd already discarded his short sleeve button down shirt and his white tank top nearly an hour ago, yet his chest being bare did little to help with the summer heat. If he wasn't outside he might have been tempted to take his worn jeans off as well, though he doubted the rest of the circus would appreciate seeing his boxer shorts.
“The winter shows are always much nicer,” a voice with a thick French accent said from behind him. “The stadiums are climate controlled.”
Daniel turned to see Corine LeClair, the contortionist, holding a bottle of cold water out towards him. He took it gratefully, downing nearly half of it in one gulp.
“Thanks. Guess this is what I get for staying away for so long.”
“It was nice of you and Alex to help out Mr. Azzolini with the show, now that we're down an acrobat and a strongman.”
Daniel frowned at Corine as her expression fell slightly at just the thought of what had happened to her circus family.
“I'm sorry about Gregor and Anastasia. It's difficult, losing family like that.”
“It was an accident,” Corine sighed, her eyes not meeting Daniel’s. “These things happen.”
Daniel didn't want to be the one to say that it was highly suspicious that two fatal accidents could happen in just as many days, especially ones that should have been caught by safety guards put in place by the circus. It was the last thing Corine needed to hear, after all.
“We'll just make sure to double check everything before tonight's show.”
“I hope so. I don't think Mr. Azzolini can't take another loss, nor can the circus. We're already scraping to get by, the last thing we need is a scandal. That happened to Haly’s, you know, after those acrobats fell?”
There was something about the name Haly that was so familiar to Daniel, but he couldn't quite place it. Perhaps it was just because he'd been raised in the circus until he went off to attend college a few years ago. He couldn't remember every traveling circus he'd crossed paths with, after all.
But even the mention of acrobats falling made a wave of deja vú hit him, though he couldn't recall ever hearing about something so awful happening.
“Must've been before my time,” he replied, a small smile on his face to break the tension. “But don't worry, Corine. I talked to Mr. Azzolini and he's hired more security and has everyone doing routine checks on equipment. It's gonna be okay.”
Corine smiled sweetly and placed a hand on Daniel’s bare shoulder as she began to lead the both of them towards the big top. “You're sweet, Daniel. Do you really have to go back to UCLA after we close?”
“Afraid so,” Daniel replied as he followed Corine, glad to finally be out of the heat. “And Alex is probably going back to Texas himself.”
“I've been meaning to ask: are you brothers? You seem close and Mr. Azzolini talked about you as if you were.”
Daniel pushed past the flap of the tent to enter, the shade immediately feeling much better on his flushed skin.
“Yeah, for better or for worse.”
Ever since Daniel had left for college his relationship with Alex had been a bit rocky, to say the least. He was hoping this weekend would give them a chance to come together once more, though he wasn’t going to hold his breath.
“Still, must be nice. I don’t have any siblings. Anastasia was like a sister to me, though. We were inseparable growing up.”
The sadness returned to her eyes as they sat down on one of the wooden bleacher seats, the sounds of hammering and deep voices filling the tent from the men setting up for the evening show.
“I'm sorry, Corine.”
“Oh, don't be. We haven't been nearly that close in some time. Not since she married the man I love.”
Daniel exhaled sharply. “Yeah, that'll do it.”
“Water under the bridge now, especially considering…”
Corine trailed off, refusing to meet Daniel's gaze.
“I wish I would have forgiven her and Gregor sooner.”
For some reason Daniel couldn’t help but wonder if he'd ever felt that way about anyone in the past. Something buried deep within his mind and soul told him he had, but he couldn't place the event in particular. The uncomfortable feeling of deja vú returned and he tried to push past it, knowing dwelling on the matter would only prove to be fruitless.
“Corine,” a voice called out, breaking Daniel from his thoughts. “The Madame needs you!”
Corine looked like the last thing she wanted to do was sit in a chair for hours and get her hair and makeup done for the show, but she relented, standing from the bleachers slowly.
“See you before the show?”
“Hopefully,” Daniel agreed, standing himself. He knew how hectic it could get, so he wouldn't be surprised if they missed each other in the pre-show rush. “And if not, break a leg.”
“You too, Daniel,” Corine smiled, a genuine one, not one of the small, sad ones she's been showcasing as of late. She waved before quickly rushing out of the tent and towards The Madame's tent to be made up.
“Danny.”
Daniel felt a heavy hand rest on his shoulder and he craned his neck to see Alex standing behind him, his usual stern expression on his face.
“Where’ve you been, I missed you at lunch.”
Daniel couldn't help but feel like a younger sibling being scolded by their older, overprotective brother.
“I was hanging signs up outside. Time flies.”
“And does that involve Corine in some way?”
Daniel rolled his eyes, shrugging Alex's hand off of his shoulder so that he could turn to face him.
“Don't do that, man, I was just talking to her about her friends dying, I promise that no part of that conversation was romantic.”
“Playing junior detective I see. And here I thought you had another semester until graduation.”
It was no secret that Alex wasn't too happy with Daniel's choice in college majors. He wasn't sure what the older man had against criminal justice but he seemed to go out of his way to comment on how much he disapproved. He'd tried many times to get Daniel to take a job at the oil rig he worked at and had even offered to put in a good word with his supervisor, but that was the last job Daniel wanted.
“I don't want to fight,” Daniel said in a defeated voice. “Not before the show at least.”
“You need to stay vigilant. If there really is some guy who's been messing with the show he could be anywhere and you're focusing on the wrong things.”
“I thought you just criticized me for playing detective, now you want me to be on the lookout?”
Alex punched Daniel in the arm. It wasn't as hard as he could've hit but it still left Daniel stumbling slightly against the dirt ground.
“It's one thing to watch your back, it's another to take the law into your own hands. Just… be careful, okay?”
Daniel rubbed his shoulder with a tad bit of added dramatics, though he couldn't help but smile at Alex's concern.
“Same to you.”
“Please, I can handle myself.”
“Oh, sorry, didn't mean to insult your strength. I know how self conscious you can get.”
Alex rolled his eyes.
“Brat. Go make yourself useful.”
“Back at ‘ya.”
Daniel was the one to leave first, turning his back to Alex so that he could make his way to the trailer they were sharing to get changed. He could feel Alex's eyes on him, watching him up until he finally exited the big top, but elected to ignore it.
Just like he always did, he supposed.
“Why couldn't he have just been a private investigator hired by Azzolini? It would have been far less risky.”
Helena could just imagine the disgruntled look on Frau Netz’s face at her question. Judging by the noise she made over comms, it was probably far too dramatic.
“Helena, dear, even you can't be this dim.”
Helena rolled her eyes at the insult, leaning back in her chair. Her back hit the opposite wall of the van she was stationed in, her eyes not leaving the screens capturing 1 and 37’s every move for a minute.
“No one would talk to a Private Dick, no pun intended. They're a close-knit group, circus people. Aren't too keen on outsiders. Trust me, they're going to have much more luck this way.”
“That little French woman has already mentioned the Graysons,” Helena argued.
She had tensed up immediately when the name left the woman's lips, expecting the worst. It was her biggest fear on this mission, after all. 37 was far too close to his past life and she was anxiously awaiting for the other shoe to drop, for someone to offhandly mention something that would trigger 37’s past memories that they had worked so hard to bury.
“They were bound to mention one of the greatest acrobatic families in circus history. I prepared for all events, dear Helena, as I always do.”
“I still don't like it.”
“As you have mentioned countless times.”
The comms went offline and Helena scoffed to herself. Why she was the only one who saw issue with this operation was beyond her but she was confident the only way Frau Netz had convinced the Matron to greenlight it was due to the fact they were related.
Nepotism had its benefits, she thought to herself.
Daniel studied himself in the mirror, the reflection feeling foreign to look at.
It'd been a few years since he'd left the circus, since he abandoned his family (or, at least, that's how his parents had phrased it). It was odd, seeing himself with stage make up and in a flashy leotard once more. He'd never for a moment would have guessed he'd be back, but Mr. Azzolini was an old family friend and he had sounded desperate over the phone (though how he had gotten his number was still a mystery to him).
The leotard was blue and matched his eyes perfectly, with thousands of tiny jewels sewed into the fabric that shone brightly under the lights of the backstage area, guaranteed to look even more magnificent under stage lighting. The sleeves were long and there was a loop of extra fabric that wrapped around the base of his pointer and middle fingers to keep the sleeves from rolling up during his performance. His hair was gelled back yet somehow still looked soft, with an almost ethereal quality to it. His eyelids were painted with blue eyeshadow and gems that matched the ones on his leotard decorated his face.
“Very pretty,” Alex’s voice said from behind him, his reflection appearing in the mirror. “Was that one of Anastasia's?"
Daniel turned to give his brother a dirty look.
“Ha ha, very funny. No, it’s one of my old ones.”
Alex was dressed in shorts and a tank top to accentuate his muscles, a weight belt already around his waist.
“Hey, you’re the one that wanted to take after Mom. Dad tried to get you to lift with us.”
Daniel’s heart ached slightly at the mention of his parents.
“Well, I would have been lousy at it anyway and Mom needed a partner.”
“Hmm,” Alex agreed, wrapping an arm around Daniel’s shoulders.
“Do you think she’d be proud?”
“Why don’t you call and ask?”
Daniel pushed away from Alex’s touch, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.
“Yeah, sure.”
Any lightheartedness that had existed between the two brothers quickly vanished.
“Phones go both ways, you know.”
“Tell Dad that.”
“Can we not do this, Danny? The last thing we need is a distraction.”
Daniel resisted the urge to run his hand through his hair, less he messed up all the hard work the Madame had put into it. He instead planted his hands firmly on his hips, his eyes glaring daggers at Alex.
“You started it.”
“Danny-”
“I need to chalk my hands.”
Whatever Alex had wanted to say died on his lips as Daniel pushed past him out of the trailer and into the humid summer night.
The moon was full and bright in the sky but Daniel was too fired up to admire it. As it so happened, he was so distracted that he rammed right into another person, one much bigger and far more solid than him.
“I'm sorry,” Daniel mumbled, jumping back slightly from the sudden contact. “Wasn't looking where I was going.”
“Quite alright, little acrobat.”
Daniel looked up (he had to if he wanted to meet the man’s gaze as he was nearly a foot taller than him) to see an older man with a salt and pepper beard and inky black eyes with crinkled crow’s feet in the corners. His accent was thick and Russian, his smile wide and toothy as he peered down at Daniel like a grandfather might a child.
“I don't think we've met, little acrobat. I am Leonid.”
“Daniel,” he replied, holding his hand out to shake the man's hand. His grip was strong and almost suffocating as he shook Daniel’s hand.
“I am security head here. Bad luck recently.”
“I heard, I'm sorry for your loss.”
Leonid shrugged his massive shoulders. “Accidents do happen, I am sure to be vigilant this show. No need to fret, little acrobat.”
Daniel couldn't help but feel uneasy about the man's nickname for him, but he said nothing. It was probably meant as a term of endearment and Daniel was just taking it the wrong way.
“Well, I appreciate that. I should go, I have to finish getting ready.”
“Of course. Fly high, little acrobat.”
Daniel chuckled awkwardly as he slipped away, the feeling of Leonid’s eyes following him the entire way to the big top.
He'd worried that after a few years he'd be rusty, but practice had been smooth. Doing it under the heat of the lights and the gaze of the crowd would be the real test, though.
“Don't do anything stupid,” Alex said, his eyes watching Daniel knowingly.
Daniel was still a bit pissed at his older brother for bringing up his less than stellar relationship with his parents so he simply scoffed at the warning.
“Mind your own performance,” Daniel replied, echoing a phrase their mother used to say when they would bicker before shows.
“Danny-”
He never gave Alex a chance to finish his sentence. Or, rather, Mr. Azzolini’s booming voice over the loudspeaker introducing him didn't.
“And, a special treat, for the first time in three years, the amazing, gravity defying, awe inspiring Daniel Kolessa!”
The crowd roared with delight as Daniel made his way out onto the stage. It was an impressive turn out for a circus, especially one with quite some hit drama. Not every seat was filled but the audience seemed excited, which mattered more in Daniel’s opinion.
He waved and smiled brightly as the spotlights moved along with him. He quickly grabbed onto the trapeze lowered down towards the ground and secured his bare feet on to the bar. He held on as it began to ascend, bringing him up to where the rest of the trapeze bars were waiting and ready. He stepped onto the nearby ledge, grabbing the bar as it kept raising to the correct height. He got into position and gripped the metal tightly, relishing in how cool it was against his palms.
The music began and with a deep breath he leaped.
“A quadruple somersault? I thought no one could do that!”
Daniel blushed at the praise from Lilian, one of the clowns who had met him backstage after his performance.
“Only very few in the world,” he admitted.
“Magnificent!” She smiled, patting him on the back before rushing off to join the rest of her team.
Daniel could hear Alex’s name being announced as the next act. He tried to find his brother before he went out, perhaps to apologize for their argument or maybe just to give him some encouragement, but judging by the cheers from the crowd Alex was already out.
“Whatever,” Daniel mumbled to himself as he grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from neck and face. He couldn't care less if his make up smeared as his next plan was to head to the trailer and change.
As he started making his way to the performer’s exit, he couldn't help but overhear hushed whispers coming from behind some wooden crates. He wouldn't have thought much of it if not for what one said.
“-Kill him. Tonight.”
Daniel froze. He recognized that Russian accent.
“You promised! No more!”
And he recognized that French accent too.
Oh no.
“He is suspicious of us, he must be dealt with.”
Daniel peaked his head around the corner of the stacked boxes to see Leonid and Corine in the middle of a heated argument. Corine was still in her costume but Leonid wore a faded flannel shirt and dirty jeans. He had her cornered though she looked more annoyed than scared.
“He's only here for another day, can't we-”
Leonid held up one of his massive hands to stop Corine’s words, his eyes narrowing slightly as his head cocked to the side.
“I know you're there, little acrobat.”
Daniel couldn't help the shocked yelp he let out, his hand slamming over his mouth to quickly muffle it.
“No, Leonid, not him too-”
Daniel turned quickly to run but a strong grip on his shoulders stopped him. Leonid moved fast despite his massive size, grabbing the smaller man and dragging him into the light. He shook Daniel slightly like a rag doll and he couldn't help but feel slightly nauseous at the sudden movement.
“Spies are no good. Must be dealt with.”
“Please,” Daniel pleaded, his eyes trying desperately to meet Corine’s. “I won't tell anyone, let me go!”
“First big brother now little acrobat. Family of spies.”
“Leonid, please-”
“Silence!” The giant man shouted, making both Corine and Daniel flinch.
“Must be dealt with.”
Before Daniel could ask what he meant by that Leonid grabbed Daniel by the roots of his hair and slammed his head into one of the tent’s support beams. The last thing Daniel heard before losing consciousness was the sickening crack of his skull knocking against hard wood and Corine crying.
Helena knew the risks. She knew what the mission entailed.
So why was she feeling this way?
37 had found the perpetrator, which was unexpected as she'd been banking on 1 to do so. But it didn't matter, she supposed, because 37 had fulfilled his role as bait quite nicely in the end.
Mr. Azzolini had suspected three individuals, his head of security unfortunately being one. It wasn't hard to have 1 watch each carefully while 37 played naive distraction. All they were waiting for was 37 to be caught and they would have their man.
Frau Netz had programmed it with the necessary skills to survive for a bit if extraction took time, which it was looking like it was. There had been a reason she had chosen criminal justice as his fake major, after all. Helena was nervous about what a hulking man like Leonid could do to it, though. No one else seemed to share her concern.
What they had not planned for; however, was the power to be cut.
“Shit!”
Helena was essentially blind, the security cameras she’d been using to keep an eye on 37 dead. Its Hypnos was proving to be useless too, which was strange.
“Frau, what the hell is going on?”
“Someone cut the power of the fairgrounds, probably Leonid. I'm not sure what's happening with the Hypnos, this has never happened before, it's almost as if there's radio interf-”
Frau Netz’s voice cut off abruptly and was replaced by screeching static. Helena yanked her earpiece out, wincing at the noise.
They couldn't risk sending in more agents if they couldn't keep track of the ones they already had out. Backup would have to wait until power and Hypnos were restored.
Which meant 1 and 37 were on their own.
“Shit,” Helena said again.
They were falling.
He had to catch them.
He reached out, his fingertips narrowing missing, brushing past, swiping the air.
Someone screamed. It sounded like a child.
They were falling.
He couldn't catch them.
Daniel awoke suddenly, his head immediately throbbing in pain. It was dark wherever he was. There was no source of light and his eyes had yet to adjust. He tried to reach up to touch his aching head but the cool feeling of metal around his wrists stopped him. His wrists were most likely cuffed around what felt like a metal pole or pipe of some sort. His mouth was full of fabric and when he tried to spit it out he could feel tape covering his lips, forcing the gag to stay in. The room he was in was cool and damp and smelled like dirt. Probably underground then.
He struggled for a moment, pulling on the chains to test their strength. The pipe was secure and the chains were sturdy, much to his disappointment.
The sound of heavy footsteps descending steps made his head jerk up, his face turned towards the source of the noise. There was a strange scrapping sound, almost like metal against metal and suddenly light poured into the small room. Daniel winced, closing his eyes tightly at the brightness.
The footsteps drew closer and he flinched at the strong hand that grabbed under his chin, forcing his head to tilt up at an uncomfortable angle. He opened his eyes slightly to see Leonid crouching down and looking very displeased.
“I did not want to come to this, little acrobat,” he said sadly, almost like he truly meant it. “You left me no choices.”
Daniel tried to speak through the gag, tried to beg and plead with Leonid to let him go, but all that came out was garbled and incomprehensible sobs.
“Forgive me in heaven, little acrobat.”
Daniel kicked out his legs, his bare feet striking Leonid in the stomach. The man seemed startled by Daniel’s attack and staggered back slightly, letting go of his face.
“Suka!” He hissed, his eyes narrowing. “I try to be gentle about circumstances!”
Daniel kept kicking, not caring about how his skin scraped roughly against the concrete floor. He was somewhat aware of tears streaking down his face but the only thing in his mind was escape.
“Stop that!” Leonid ordered, drawing his hand back to roughly slap Daniel across the face. The force of the hit sent Daniel’s head smashing against the wall and black dotted his vision for a few moments. He felt the urge to vomit though tried his best to push it down. Vomiting with a gag in his mouth would end very badly.
“I should kill you now, but I promised Corine farewell.”
Daniel blinked, his body feeling too heavy. He couldn't focus and the lights seemed brighter than they had been, but he knew logically they hadn't really changed.
“You are trouble, little acrobat, through and through.”
Daniel tried his best not to lose consciousness, especially since he was pretty sure he had a concussion, but he was quickly losing the war.
“I will make big brother watch you die if I must.”
The last coherent thought Daniel had was how much he wanted his brother to save him.
Daniel should have been back to the trailer by now, Alex thought as he pushed the aluminum door open. At the very least his dirty costume should be hanging haphazardly off of a chair and there should be used make-up wipes in the trash.
But there was none of that. No sign that Daniel had returned after his performance.
Even if he would have gone off to blow off steam, maybe even to see that French woman he was so obsessed with, he would've changed first.
“Danny?” Alex called, hoping maybe his brother was just in the bathroom. Maybe he'd been held up signing autographs and taking pictures. That used to happen when he was a kid. Everyone was always so memorized with him.
Alex knocked on the bathroom door but it cracked open under the pressure to reveal an empty room.
“Daniel?” Alex called again, this time much more urgently. He knew logically there was nowhere else Daniel could hide in the miniscule trailer, but he wasn't thinking clearly in his panic.
“Daniel!”
Alex burst through the front door of the trailer, almost right into a stern looking woman in a pantsuit that looked very out of place amongst the lights and tents.
“Mr. Kolessa?”
Alex looked at the woman warily, his heart jackhammering in his chest as he studied her.
“Yes?”
“I'm Detective Joyce Harper. I'm afraid your brother may be in danger.”
Alex’s eyes widened.
“You know about the recent sudden deaths at this circus, correct?”
No, this couldn't be happening.
“We know who killed the others and we believe he's taken Daniel.”
A million thoughts ran through Alex's mind, so many that he could hardly separate them. If only he'd never fought with him before the show, if only he'd kept a better eye on him, if only he'd been there to protect him.
But now it was almost too late.
“What do you need me to do?”
Daniel wasn't sure how long it had been. It couldn't have been terribly long, since he was only slightly hungry, but the concussion was disorienting him a bit, making it hard to focus.
On one hand, he was glad the room was pitch black as it helped ease his headache a little, but the lack of a window gave him no insight into the passage of time.
He wondered where Alex was, if his brother knew he was missing. Perhaps he thought Daniel was just blowing off steam from their last argument. He had a habit of taking time to clear his head, especially after particularly brutal fights.
Maybe he'd been gone for long enough that Alex was starting to worry. Maybe, despite their last words to each other, Alex was searching high and low for his little brother.
Or maybe he hadn't even noticed at all.
Daniel was brought out of his self-destructive thoughts by the sounds of footsteps once more. This time there was another one separate from Leonid’s. Daniel tensed as the door was thrown open once more, his squinted eyes able to make out Leonid and Corine in the doorway.
“Leonid, please-”
“Quiet, girl!” Leonid commanded as the duo entered, his attention on Daniel. “Little acrobat knows too much.”
“When will it be enough? When will it end?”
Daniel yelped behind the gag as Leonid grabbed him by the hair, pulling him to his feet. The chain from the cuffs scraped against the pipe as he ascended, his legs too weak to support his own weight so he was forced to lean against Leonid's massive body.
“I never wanted it to end this way! It wasn't supposed to be like this!”
“You wanted money,” Leonid said, his attention diverted towards Corine. “You wanted power. A price must pay for that.”
“No one but Azzolini was supposed to die!”
Leonid scoffed, his grip tightening. Daniel whimpered, tears streaking down his face. He willed his legs to work so that he could kick out, but the room was spinning and he was quickly beginning to feel overwhelmed.
“Actions have consequences.”
Daniel furrowed his eyebrows at the phrase that seemed so familiar. For some reason, the thing that came to his mind at that moment was a dark, damp cave with bats flying overhead, though he couldn't recall ever being in a cave before.
“Actions have consequences, Dick.”
The distraction proved to be a terrible one; Daniel blinked away the onslaught of confusing memories to feel Leonid holding a knife against his neck.
“Please,” Corine sobbed. “It has to end!”
“And it will. This will be the end.”
Daniel closed his eyes tightly as the knife started to drag against his skin, the feeling of hot blood beginning to pour down his neck.
“Drop the knife!”
Leonid's grip tightened and Daniel dared to open his eyes to see his brother and a woman he didn't recognize pointing a gun at Leonid. Someone in what he recognized as a police uniform had Corine against the wall and was in the midst of cuffing her hands behind her back.
“Danny!”
Daniel tried to yell though the gag but Leonid simply dug the knife in a bit deeper, causing more blood to flow.
“Let him go or I'll shoot.”
“You shoot and you risk boy!” Leonid retorted.
“You severely underestimate my aim.”
Daniel jumped at the sound of the gun being fired. His ears rang as Leonid's hold on him lessened and both fell to the ground in a heap. There were suddenly hands on him, nimble fingers unlocking the cuffs as the rough, calloused hands he recognized as his brother’s gently removed the gag.
“Danny, I'm here, I've got you.”
Daniel immediately wrapped his arms around his brother, sobbing into his chest. Alex didn't seem to care that he was getting blood, snot, and tears on his shirt. He simply hugged back, running his hands through his hair as he soothed him.
“I'm so sorry for what I said,” Daniel hiccuped. “I'm so sorry, Alex.”
“It's okay, Danny. It's gonna be okay.”
“Daniel?”
Corine’s eyes met his, the officer holding her tightly.
“Daniel, I'm so sorry. This was never supposed to happen.”
Daniel didn't say anything, which seemed to disappoint Corine as she was led away.
“You're gonna be okay,” Alex said, turning his brother’s attention back to himself. He used his fingers to swipe away some of the tears from Daniel’s face, a small smile on his lips as he did.
The woman in the pantsuit cleared her throat, interrupting the brothers’ moment.
“Alex, Daniel. Would you like a treatment?”
“This mission was almost a disaster.”
Helena scowled at the Matron. “Because you sent 37 in when I explicitly stated my concerns for doing so.”
“You should keep better track of your agent.”
“That's not fair and you know it. I said that this might awaken something in it, I said that I was concerned with using it as bait, local PD was called by a civilian neither I nor 1’s handler could contain in time, and there was no way anyone could have predicted the Hypnos would go offline.”
Matron’s sharp nails tapped against her desk. Her gaze never waivered, but neither did Helena’s.
“You're lucky my sister was able to reestablish contact with the Web, or else this mission could have been even more disastrous."
“It was a success, though,” Helena pointed out.
“Yes,” Matron hummed. “It was. 37 has a week off to recover. I suggest you use that time as well.”
Helena narrowed her eyes slightly. “Yes, Matron.”
She turned sharply and walked out of the office, the door slamming behind her.
“In other news, a traveling circus near Omaha had one of their performers arrested last evening after the show for the murder of Gregor and Anastasia Davidson. The accomplice was shot by local PD in self defense, sources say.”
Jason grabbed the remote to change the channel, not particularly interested in Nebraska news. He should probably switch to local news, he thought bitterly as he looked at the screen. His finger froze over the button he was going to press as he leaned in closer to look at the video playing.
There were police cars with their lights still on surrounding what looked to be an old tornado shelter near the fairgrounds. There were three figures being led out and into the daytime, and while Jason didn't recognize the woman or the taller man, he recognized the figure wrapped in an emergency blanket with bloodied gauze wrapped around his head and neck and bruising on his face.
“Dick.”
Jason raced to his computer to look deeper into what had happened in Nebraska. This was the closest he'd gotten since Dick disappeared and he wasn't going to let a lead like this go.
“Hold on Dick,” Jason mumbled to himself. “I'll find you.”