THE THREAT AND THE RUNAWAYS

The Family were surrounded by both paramedics and police officers just outside one of the ambulances. The paramedics tended to their injuries, which were surprisingly minor, and the officers asked questions. Andrew seemed just as shocked as the Family. He remained quiet, never looking up when someone spoke to him and never speaking in response. He was beside himself with both grief and anger. He had done everything he could do stop this, yet here they were, in the aftermath of the brawl, alone and scared. They were defeated. They had tried to win, and ultimately lost. They were defeated. "Dad?" whispered Rachael, and Andrew looked up as Rachael stopped beside him, her expression unreadable. "What is it?" murmured Andrew, not trying to be mean, yet unable to control himself. He couldn't believe he had been too late. It had taken longer for him to pull together the police, and by that point it was already too late.

"We lost…didn't we?" whispered Rachael, and Andrew slowly nodded, his expression breaking as he looked away. "Yeah…we lost. All of us. We can't win this, there's no point. The harder we try, the more people we lose. I can't afford for anyone else to give their lives for something that is impossible." Rachael slowly shook her head, and Andrew groaned. He knew what she meant, but there was no chance in hell he was going to allow his own daughter to go rogue and die just trying to stop an unstoppable force. "No, absolutely not. I don't care how much you hate me, but I will do everything in my power to stop you." Rachael stomped her foot in frustration, turned and briskly walked away. Andrew couldn't blame her. She had just lost a best friend after all. "Sir, what do you want to do?" asked a nearby officer, and Andrew snapped his attention back.

"Disband our police station. Call the mayor, tell him to shut it down. All of it. There's no point to fighting a losing war." The officer nodded and immediately began speaking into his radio as Andrew clasped his hands behind his back, thinking. Livia was the only one to escape. They had gotten the others of her group of friends arrested already, yet Livia's disappearance was the one that was bugging Andrew the most. With Livia escaped, she could easily continue the killer's streak of terror while the killer himself would be reigning terror in a different way. He had already been bold enough to hijack a news broadcast, kill the news hosts execution-style and disappear. His message was clear. "Sir," the officer said as he turned back to Andrew, his face pale and eyes wide. "Yeah?" asked Andrew, and the officer shakily held out the radio.

Andrew took the radio, took a deep breath and raised it to his ear. "Ah, Commander Bailey I believe?" came the rasping voice from the other end, and Andrew groaned. This radio contacted the mayor directly…which meant that was where the killer was. "Where is he?" growled Andrew as he turned his back to the officer, and the killer laughed loudly. "What's the time?" responded the killer, and Andrew hissed in annoyance. "What does that have to do with his?" he asked, and the killer cackled again. "Well…depending on time he could be in one place or several." Andrew sighed and thought quickly, his mind whirling as he checked his watch. "It's seven twenty-two," he whispered back, and the killer made a sound of acknowledgement. "Well, if you really want to know, the mayor is in his office. Completely unharmed. For now."

Andrew sighed in relief, but then the killer began speaking again, his words like venom, poisoning Andrew's mind. "But if you want it to stay that way, you need to do a little bit of work for me." Andrew clenched his fists. This bitch really was insane. "And what would that be?" asked Andrew instead, and the killer sighed, "Finally, some progress,' the killer murmured before continuing. "Well, I had some particular unfinished business…with your daughter." Andrew's eyes widened, his breath leaving him as the killer laughed into the radio. "What do you want with her, you fucking psycho!" Andrew half-shouted into the radio, and the killer cackled again, spurred on by Andrew's words. "She's the piece of the puzzle. She is something I need. Or well, I need something from her. I would say she would be unharmed and returned to you, but then again, who likes liars?"

Andrew clenched his fists. This could not be happening. He had just gotten Rachael back; he couldn't lose her again. "And if I don't?" whispered Andrew. The laugh died, and the killer's voice grew grave and serious. "If you don't, then I'll kill the mayor. And your daughter's precious little Family. Oh, and I'll also make it clear this city now belongs to me." Andrew felt his breath leave him as the radio went to static, and he threw it hard at the ground. In seconds he was smashing his foot against it, silent as he smashed the radio to pieces. "Forget what I said!" Andrew shouted at the other officers, who gathered around and listened. "Band up the police force again! Make sure to keep it quiet. I will not let this son of a bitch take over." The officers nodded, their expressions stony and serious.

Andrew turned away and approached the Family, only to find Vivian standing there. The others had disappeared. "Where are they?" asked Andrew, confused, and Vivian sighed. "We're sorry," she murmured, and before Andrew could ask, he dropped unconscious. Choe stood behind him, Andrew's taser in hand after slipping it from its holster, a small grin on her face. "So that's what that button does!" she exclaimed, and Rachael groaned as Nicola rushed over to pat Chloe on the head, calming her instantly. "Ok, we have to move," Darcy said as Danny pointed at the ambulance they were stood in front of. "You guys, get in the back. I'll drive us," he said hurriedly as he rushed to the front doors and scrambled in. The keys were left in the ignition, and he waited for the others to have climbed into the back and shut the doors before turning the keys and driving.

"Where are we going?" asked Mikayla, a bruise around her eye as she stared at the others. "You listened to the radio call, right?" asked Chloe, and Mikayla shrugged. "I wasn't listening," she responded, and the others groaned. "Well, the radio call was loud," Vironica explained, "We know the mayor is in his office, but the killer is threatening to kill him if we don't hand Rachael over. Now, we can't hand Rachael over, can we? No, we can't. So the rest of us realised that the only way to win this one is to make sure the killer doesn't get either the mayor or Rachael." Mikayla slowly nodded, and they lapsed into silence. The ambulance rocked on the road as Danny drove, but their minds were elsewhere. It would take an hour, at least, to head into the city and get to the mayor's office. It would be an hour of each other's company, which wouldn't be pleasant after two of them were killed.

"They found Luke's body," murmured Nicola, and the others looked around in surprise. "Andrew told me. He didn't tell anybody else though. He only told me. They…hung him from a tree on the street, but we didn't see him. Andrew said Luke was mostly covered in tree leaves, and it was dark as well, so the chances of us spotting him were slim at best." Darcy was clenching his fists furiously, but still remained silent. He didn't want to speak, not now, not when they had been beaten. They had won the house fight but had lost as well. The moment one of them lost a life, they lost. Jacob was dead. He had been slain by this psychopath like a pig for slaughter, so the only way they could have their revenge would be to either stop the killer's plan or take him out of the battle completely.

The second option would certainly be more beneficial, but they still didn't know where or who the killer really was. He could be anyone. A close friend or a distant enemy. And he could be with the mayor right now, or somewhere else completely, watching to see if anyone made a rescue attempt. It was too risky, yet they didn't have a better plan. "Are we sure we're doing the right thing?" whispered Rachael, and the others turned to stare at her. "This was your idea," pointed out Chloe, and Rachael rolled her eyes. "I know it is, dickhead. I mean, are we sure this is the right thing to do? Maybe we really should leave it be. We've already lost Leila, Jacob and Luke. We lost Danny's sister first as well. What if we lose more of us? We can't let that happen!" The others understood what she meant.

"Why shouldn't we do this?" whispered Sienna. "This bastard murdered my boyfriend, after all, and you want to back out now? No, this is too personal to let drop. Jacob was one of us. The reason we kept pushing forward in our own lives. You really think that he would want us to drop it?" Sienna had a point. They knew that. Jacob had looked after them ever since the Family first banded together in year ten. He alone had made sure they were safe and protected whilst dealing with his own mental health problems. His number one priority, as he had made clear to them on numerous occasions, that he was going to make sure everyone else was alright and safe before tending to his own needs. He had also made it clear he wanted to die saving at least one of them, and now Rachael realised he had.

He had sacrificed himself to save her, and even tried to take the killer out along the way. He had failed, of course, but the attempt was memorable and honourable. That would never change. Rachael hadn't told the others what his last words had been. She didn't see a need to. His last act had been to tell her to keep fighting. She doubted Sienna head him as well, but it was enough that Rachael heard him alone. It was a symbol she would carry with her for the rest of her life. The memories of why he did it, and why it was going to be the reason they kept fighting.