The Recluse

by D A Rice

  She didn’t look back.

  26

  Eli pulled Nikki into him and ran the opposite way everyone else had run to get outside. The door he’d come through with Nikki was the most convenient for them to exit, true, but he also had something else he needed do. Nikki clung to his shirt as they ran, trying hard not to sob. He felt for her; she was so young to have gone through so much. After he’d heard the jets doing their flyovers, he’d forced himself to move. He had known there was another under the Wolf’s influence. He’d trusted his instinct to find her.

  When he finally did find her, she was sitting on the floor next to a computer that was very clearly not working. Damion had sent his attack with precision, but Eli didn’t have time to be impressed. He’d knelt in front of the girl, dipping his head to catch her gaze, but there had been no life in it.

  Eli had understood at once, and his hand came out, gently tilting her chin up. Her eyes shifted to his in a spark of recognition, and he’d withdrawn his hand with a smile. “Hello, my name is Eli. I’m here to help you. You may not understand this yet, but you will,” he’d told her. When she didn’t respond, he only nodded as if she’d spoken.

  “What I am going to do next is a trick I learned from a friend, but I mean you no harm.” Then he’d kissed the top of her head before meeting her forehead with his own; his hands coming up to either side of her face. She’d flinched, then she’d reflexively fought, and he let her go. The sight he’d given her from Rei made her eyes widen, burning with smoke. He wasn’t sure how he’d done it, and he wasn’t sure he could do it again. That was Rei’s gift.

  Nikki fell to the floor, breathing hard, then she’d blinked, as if waking up for the first time in a long time. “Where am I?” she’d asked, voice terrified as Eli had helped her sit up.

  “I can explain, but not right now. Just know that you’re safe, and free. I need you to come with me now, but I won’t force you,” then he’d held out his hand, and she’d taken it.

  Running through the building with Nikki now, Eli knew where the Wolf would go. He pulled open an exit, pushing her out before him, she looked back at him in a panic. He smiled, “this warehouse is Arachnid’s. If you look hard enough, you’ll find computers Arachnid used, and many other illegal things.”

  Nikki stepped up to him in confusion, “why are you telling me this?”

  He smiled at her, “because I need you to tell the detective where to look when the building falls, Nikki. Now run.”

  She shook her head, tears forming in her young, teenage eyes, “no, no you promised you would explain.”

  Eli nodded once, “you’re right, I did.” Then he shut the door before she could come back, locking it from the inside. His forehead met the cool metal as he listened to Nikki cry out after him. “Go,” he whispered, and he could feel it the moment she did, running to find the others. His eyes opened, and he turned to meet Fenris’s cool blue ones through his mask.

  “You haven’t saved her,” the Wolf said, voice soft.

  Eli straightened, “you’ve got a lot to learn about humanity.” His hands found his pockets as he leaned back, feigning nonchalance.

  Fenris’s eyes flashed silver, “are you planning to escape death at the last minute again, Ezekiel?”

  Eli laughed, his hands fingering the pockets of his jeans. He missed his coat in that moment, but he knew he was likely to never get it back. He shrugged at the Wolf, “not really.”

  “So noble,” Fenris said, voice cool, “shall we play one more game while we wait?”

  Eli’s eyes crinkled as he smiled, “I don’t think so, Wolf.”

  That’s when the building exploded, consuming them both in flames.

  …

  Rei reacted first, twirling around in a panic. Only Jackson’s arms restraining her waist kept her from running back to the burning building. When the bomb hit, it exploded outward, tossing debris in a massive arch. Nothing could have survived. Rei needed to know if Eli and Nikki had made it out in time.

  Jackson and Montoya had gotten the rest of them out. They’d run as fast as they could to the new perimeter the NYPD had set up around the warehouse. Seeing it now, Rei couldn’t believe how big the warehouse was. Coming into the alley, it was one thing she hadn’t paid attention to. Now that alley was gone, as well as the building adjacent to Arachnid’s hideout.

  Damion was in an ambulance, awake and watching her. When she’d tried to fight Jackson, he’d tried to get up behind her, but was restrained by the EMTs. It wasn’t hard, considering how injured he was to begin with.

  Minutes passed before a lone figure ran across the street from the back of the building. “Nikki!” Rei shouted, and Jackson let her go. She ran up to her, Jackson right behind her, his hand finding Nikki’s shoulder as she clasped Rei’s arms in desperation. Nikki met her gaze with tears in her eyes. “No…” Rei started, glancing to the fire behind the shaken girl. “No!” she bolted, but Montoya tackled her from behind before she could take two steps.

  “Rei! You can’t go back in there yet! You could die! The firetrucks are on their way. They’ll search for Eli!” Montoya said, struggling to contain the other woman beneath her.

  “That might be too late!! I need to find him!” Rei was saying, but even she could hear the stammer in her words as choked tears ran down her face. Montoya pulled her up, then into a tight hug. Rei fought her, trying to push her away but Montoya was strong.

  “I’m sorry, Rei. I’m so sorry,” she was saying over and over again into Rei’s ear. Rei’s body began to wilt, succumbing to her dread.

  “No…” Rei choked out again, her arms clutching Montoya’s coat.

  “Anna Rei!” The voice had Rei jerking back and turning. Her dad fell onto his knees next to her, before he was yanking her into his own arms, “oh my girl!” She’d never seen him so disheveled in her life. His button-up shirt had been thrown hastily on and was untucked over his trousers.

  “Dad? How did you--” she started before melting in his arms, her own arms flinging around his neck before she could finish. Her sobs started again, reborn by her dad’s sheltering arms.

  “I called him,” Jackson said from behind them, hands in his pockets. “I know that if you were my daughter, I would want to know right away if you were found.”

  Rei smiled at him, mouthing ‘thank you’ over her dad’s shoulder. Jackson smiled back, nodding once. Montoya’s shocked gasp had them both turning. Rei shoving her dad gently, but firmly away as a figure materialized in the fire before them. Rei stood, fingers coming to her mouth. Two more figures materialized; these ones made of pure light. They stood on either side of him. As the rest of them watched the flames moved, the angelic beings clearing a path, and protecting the hacker between them as he strode out of the collapsing building. Sirens echoed in the shocked silence.

  “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” she heard her dad ask Jackson in disbelief, breaking the silence.

  “Theodore, you wouldn’t believe what I’ve seen today, old friend,” Jackson responded, his voice amused.

  Rei smiled, a laugh escaping her mouth, and this time when she took off, no one stopped her until she was launching herself into Eli’s arms. He caught her with an incredulous laugh, swinging her from side to side before setting her down. When Rei looked him over, he didn’t have a scratch on him. In fact, every inch of him looked healed. Even his veins had returned to normal, his tattooed skin smooth over them. Rei gasped as she took him in, “Eli!”

  He smiled, twirling a strand of her hair in his finger teasingly. “I know.” He glanced from side to side before lowering his head to hers and whispering in his conspiratorial voice, “I had quite the escort.”

  Rei laughed, jumping up and throwing her arms around his neck again, “I know! I saw!”

  He pulled her in closer, his lips next to her ear when he said, “and I saw what you did. I knew you could do it.” He pulled away from her, but his gaze never wavered.

  “Who is this, Anna Rei?” Her dad’
s voice drifted to her and she turned her head to find him behind her. Jackson was a step behind him, Montoya by his side. She could see they were all in a state of shock, but they were all smiling.

  Eli dropped his arms from her, stepping back before moving up to the detective, “thank you, Jackson.”

  Jackson’s lips twitched as his head tilted, his arms crossing over his chest, “for what, Recluse?”

  Eli ignored her dad’s sharp intake of breath as he reached for Rei, pulling her back in a protective stance. Eli didn’t even glance her way as he said, “for trying to make me into a better person. I wish I had met you way earlier.” He glanced over Jackson’s shoulder. “I think the effort you put towards me could be put towards someone younger, fresher, and maybe even better than me. I think if you gave him a chance, Arachnid could be a great resource instead of a terrorist group. He hasn’t done what I have. Stopping Arachnid should count. Put him on your team.”

  Jackson side glanced Montoya, who nodded, “I think you’re right, Ezekiel.”

  Eli’s eyebrow raised, his lips twitching up again. “I haven’t gone by Ezekiel in a very long time. It’s Eli now.”

  “Ah,” Jackson nodded, “Eli it is then.

  Rei stepped forward, ignoring her dad’s chastised look, “so what happens now? Both these boys helped you guys take down Arachnid, so where does that leave them?” She glanced at her dad now, who looked between Eli and the ambulance that held Damion.

  “I gotta say, Anna Rei, I’m not impressed that Damion lied to us for as long as he has,” her dad said, a hand rubbing down his face. It was probably the least of the emotions he was feeling towards her friend at that moment. She didn’t blame him for being hurt. She’d felt a mixture of all these emotions already, but she also knew the choice Damion had ultimately made.

  “To be fair, Theodore, I think there were extenuating circumstances that you need to consider,” Jackson offered, winking at Rei.

  “And” Rei added, “he saved my life. He chose me over Arachnid, so there’s that.”

  “He did, also, convince Arachnid as a group to destroy their own systems,” Eli added with a shrug, and Theodore shot a look to him. Eli only shifted his weight, his look amused. “It seems to me, Mr. Williams, that Damion could use a good defense attorney.”

  “What about you, son? Are you looking for one?” her dad asked, the suspicion evident in his voice.

  Eli only laughed, “oh no, I know what I’ve done. There’s no getting out of prison for me. They would never trust me in the FBI.” He turned to Agent Montoya and offered her his wrists. “I’ve nothing to hide from you. All that’s left is turning myself in. I always did look good in silver.”

  Montoya cocked an eyebrow at him, and then looked back at the fire, her eyes haunted, “what is he, Eli?”

  Eli held her gaze as he said, “dangerous.”

  “But isn’t he dead?” Rei asked, taking another step forward.

  Eli shook his head, his gaze unmoving on Montoya, “I’m not sure, Rei, but I get the distinct impression that this isn’t over yet.”

  Montoya’s gaze shifted, reading him, “how did you do it? Always stay one step ahead, plan everything to every last detail? Even the airstrike, close though it was, you planned it as if you knew how much time we had.”

  Eli dropped his wrists as his smirk returned, “I had a little help.”

  Rei glanced at her dad then back at Montoya. “Arachnid wasn’t just after him,” she stated. “They were after me too. The Wolf had an interest in me. He hired Dr. Heek and Damion to watch me,” she watched as her dad’s eyes popped with this new information. He’d likely been told she’d been kidnapped, but not why. “They gave me something I heard them refer to as Titus.”

  Everyone gasped and Jackson took a step forward, “you’re sure of this?”

  “If she’s not, I am,” came Damion’s voice from behind them, he was limping over with Nicole, using her as a crutch. She seemed to remember him, how he’d tried to save her. Her eyes held less fear then they had before. He grinned down at her, “he was giving it to her as well, but in larger doses. Rei stopped taking the drugs on pure instinct.” His gaze shifted to her dad here, who held his gaze with a cool judgement. Damion accepted this, as if knowing he deserved it. “Your daughter isn’t crazy, Theodore. Fenris-“ he winced as he took in a sharp breath. He’d been bandaged, and one arm was in a sling, but Rei could tell he was hurting, “Fenris wanted what she had.”

  “Wait,” Montoya interrupted, a hand raised as the dots visibly connected in her head. “Fenris? Fenris Lovinski?”

  Nikki gasped, dropping Damion’s weight, who recovered quickly on his own before Jackson could steady him on his other side. Damion nodded in thanks to him. Nikki backed up, hands coming to her head, her eyes wide. In another moment, she was on her knees. Eli got to her first, his hand on her head in comfort, “Nikki?”

  She met his gaze, “I remember,” she said, voice soft, “I remember everything.”

  27

  Eli stood at the airport terminal, looking out the windows. Rei stepped up beside him, setting her carry on down at her feet. “Are you nervous?” she asked him.

  Eli shrugged, “I’m not sure what I am.” He hadn’t expected Jackson and Montoya to let him go. He’d been prepared to go straight to prison for everything he’d done. Instead, Jackson had pulled him and Rei aside, given Eli the laptop from his car and shooed them away while everyone else was distracted. After Jackson had explained to Theodore how much danger his daughter was in, he’d let her go with a hug and a promise to stay safe. Her dad had made it clear with the look he’d given Eli that no force could stop him if Rei ended up hurt or dead because of him.

  Eli didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye to Old Man Higgins. He was going to miss that man. After making a pit stop by Rei’s apartment, they’d left quickly, leaving no tracks to be found. Hailing a taxi and getting to the airport as quickly as possible, they’d let the chaos from the explosion turn them into phantoms. Eli was good at disappearing, but he knew that Detective Jackson would have to file the laptop he’d given Eli as stolen eventually. Eli knew he’d hold it off as long as possible, but it was only a matter of time before they began a massive manhunt. Eli’s eyes shifted to the bag he carried over his shoulder, at the computer hidden within.

  “What’s on your mind?” Rei asked him quietly, nudging him with her shoulder.

  He nudged her back, “I’m wondering when Jackson updated his records,” he whispered into her ear.

  Rei laughed, “I’d like to know how he convinced my dad to let me come with you.” The ease with which she played her role had him impressed.

  Eli smiled down at her, then looked out the window again, his smile dropping. “It’s only a matter of time before things pick up pace. Are you ready for that?”

  Rei nodded thoughtfully. “I knew what I was getting into when I left. I’m sticking with you, no matter what,” she said with confidence.

  “I believe you,” Eli laughed lightly before turning to a seat and sitting. He pulled out the laptop, having already re-programmed it on the ride over. Pulling his own network into it once he was linked to the internet had been easy. He’d pre-programmed his tablet to send all his coding to his cloud, hidden, and wiped the hard drive clean in the event someone stole it. All he’d had to do was activate the process and recover his own programs into a different device. “I have a gut instinct to do something crazy, Rei.”

  Rei glanced at him, “Oh?”

  Eli slid his hand over the watch as a notification glinted in the corner, and smirked at what he found there. He swiped up, sending it to his cloud, then to his computer where he pulled it up in detail. “Someone just sent me a complete abroad travel schedule; times for every flight leaving within the hour, in fact,” he gave Rei a look.

  Rei’s voice lowered, “I thought we were going to California?”

  Eli glanced behind them, “I like to keep people guessing, especially since they seem to b
e within the vicinity. According to our friend, they’ll be here very soon.” He cracked his knuckles, a sideways smirk forming on his lips, “are you ready to disappear for real?”

  She nodded once, a smile forming, “lead the way Recluse.”

  …

  Damion sat back, studying the 14-year-old before him. He looked so much like his brother, but his eyes were less strikingly gold, and his dark brown hair was longer. He could see an intelligence though, that need to study everything around them. It’d taken little work to find him. After Montoya had fought with Sheamus, the director of the FBI, she’d become his handler. This was the first thing he’d gotten permission to do.

  It’d been well known within Arachnid that B3oW0lf had a brother. Damion only thought it fair that if they were going to protect Eli, they protect the only family he had left. Eli was about to leave the country, after all. Damion had no doubt that JFK International Airport had been in chaos with the hacker they held in their walls. What else would be the point of leaving tech with the best programmer in the known world? Damion grinned as his focus shifted to the young boy in front of him again.

  “Do you know why you’re here, Austin?” he asked, rolling a pen on the table before snatching it up.

  Austin cocked an eyebrow, “why am I here, as in New York? Or why am I here as in this interrogation room?”

  Damion smirked, “good point. This room is considered safe.” He waved his hand around as he spoke. “It’s basically a faraday cage. We wanted to make sure no one could find out who you are.”

  “You mean, people like you,” Austin said, leaning back in his chair with a challenge.

  Damion found his own eyebrow raising, impressed, “you know who I am?”

  Austin shrugged, “I know who you used to be.”

  “And your brother?” Damion asked curiously.

  Austin’s face clouded, and he leaned forward with a start, “my brother was a hero.”

  “I agree,” Damion conceded, folding his arms over the table in front of him.