she was drowning

The door clicked hollowly behind them and they found themselves, all three, immersed in the darkness of the entryway to the space beyond. It was then that Germaine got the note from MacMurray. He stopped immediately in his tracks.

"MacMurray is on his way… he’s found a cure. Can you hold on a little longer?" He clung tightly to her, but not too tightly. "Just a little longer… it shouldn’t take him long to get here. We don’t have to do the transfer."

His voice shook softly - he suspected the transfer would burn her up. That her physical body would simply stop. She was so weak already.

The sudden stop confused Mia until Germaine spoke. She pursed her lips, knowing that if they waited much longer and this "cure" didn't work, she wouldn't be able to save herself at all. She paused for a moment to weigh her options before she pulled herself weakly closer to Germaine, nuzzling her head under his chin. She was scared, but she had a choice--not a particularly great choice, but still there was a chance that she might be able to continue to live.

[Let's get the the interface... but tell Ellis to have the cure ready if it's synthesized. I'm... I'm too weak to not try this now. I have to at least try, Germaine. I'll save as much energy as I can so you can get me to a hospital after... or to the cure. Okay?]

thesplinteredolivebranch & special-agent-ace

Olive looked up to Mia when she felt the taxi come to a halt. “Yeah, sure.” She unbuckled, getting out of the cab and into the bustling street. If there was one place she never went, it was Penn Station. It could have been worse— If Mia had said Grand Central, Olive would probably have backed out of this plan. It was teaming and bustling with so many people, filling her sensory to the brim. There were little things to worry about everywhere, paths and premonitions that bugged her, but as she went into the building, Olive forced herself to focus. She stood near the middle of the wide building, looking around herself. No, she had to focus on the bigger picture. It wasn’t just Mia or Germaine, who she couldn’t exactly get a reading from as it was, or herself, not the family with the child that screamed to her right, or the man that smelled of cigarettes to the left. It wasn’t just them. If there was something to happen here, by FALCON, it’d be done efficiently, and she had to feel it before it happened. She almost felt vulnerable now, alone, but she had to focus.

If there was any danger coming to them, she would know.

It didn’t look like they were getting any back-up.

Germaine held Mia more tightly to his chest and began moving. They didn’t have time to wait. He weaved through the crowds of people moving like fish, in schools. They were pushing against the tide, but made it to the edge of the track they needed to be on. He wasn’t bothering trying to be subtle. They didn’t have time for subtle, either. “Stay behind me.” He barked pointedly at Olivia. He wasn’t bullet-proof but he stood a far better chance than either of the girls did if anybody opened fire.

He waited until the train whooshed past, whipping their clothing and the blankets wrapped around Mia in the whirlwhind stirred up by it’s passing. He lept down onto the access path, ignoring a gasp or two behind him from the more observant in the Station. Cameraphones were sliding from pockets. Pointed in their direction.

He could feel every snap of the shutter on his back. It didn’t matter. The people after Mia would already know they were here, and maybe the publicity would get SHIELD to mobilize. Either way, he headed into the dark maw of the tunnel and straight for the door in the plans Mia had uploaded into his memory banks. ”Almost there, Mia. Hang on just a little longer. ”

#thesplinteredolivebranch #specialagentace

The wave of people was just as bad or perhaps even worse for Mia than for Olive. The voices of people's thoughts whispered, spoke, and shouted at her. She could hear their music, their thoughts, their worries, and it started to make her nauseous. She clung to Germaine, the calm in her storm of people, and focused on his routine programming in order to try to drown out the thoughts moving around her like an endless ocean.

Olive... Olive we're here... come here... she called to Olive through her telepathy, finding the young woman another island of solace, and wanting to keep her close and safe. Germaine had the same idea about keeping them together, it seemed, and Mia was grateful.

Once they got into the tunnel, the voices faded, and Mia was able to ward off her nauseousness with a few deep breaths, still clinging to Germaine's shirt. [Thank you, Germaine. We wouldn't have made it without you.] There was a small pause as they reached the door, and Mia input the code with her delicate fingers before the door moved inward, allowing them access.

She st her hand up against a cool metallic wall, and smiled as she felt the hum of the wiring through the walls. [Cameras aren't picking up anything. We should be safe to proceed.]

Come in here, Olive. Get off the tracks...

thesplinteredolivebranch

Those three words sunk into her memory like a stain. It was different from a text. It was the only time she’d heard the phrase vocally from Mia, and Olive knew how deep it stained into her skin. It was never going to go away. Olive was probably dooming herself to further pain later on, but she could take her chances. There was no way around it.

Love was thorny, love was unkind. But hearing and feeling and being with Mia— it was everlasting. She could already feel ghosts of her touch. It sunk in with an endless anchor, deeper and deeper and deeper, until it escaped and cycled into her bloodstream.

Germaine broke her thoughts. She moved away to let him through, nodding at the new direction. Out the door, into the stuffy hallway and stifling crowds of presences that were sure to make her dizzy when they got outside. The moment she was inside the cab, though, the presences surrounding them on the walkways and such began to disappear, as they did at work. It had something to do with the way the car’s skeleton muffled the presences, she wasn’t sure. It was a blessing either way.

Penn Station. Even the thought of it made her wary. She could feel the mix of indecision, the dozens of different ways this could turn out. But they had to go. Right now, it was their only option.

Germaine slid into the Cab and cradled Mia tight to his chest. Surrounding her in the quiet mechanical hum of his being. Filling her frail frame with the heat he shed off from merely operating. He pushed his hardware into overdrive to produce more warmth - just as insurance against the chill outside.

He gave the Cabby instructions and sat quietly during the ride, neither looking at Olivia or Mia. He was a tool, once more. A thing made to carry out orders - and it hurt. But there wasn’t time for that.

Whatever conversations passed between the two woman went unnoticed. His focus was on the tangle of traffic and jungle of high rises their cab was weaving through. He was here to keep them safe, and that was what he was going to do.

Penn Station slipped up on them - it’s glass front and plain facade blending into the surrounding city. The cabby stopped and got out, opening the door first for Oliva, and then for Germaine and Mia. He’d already been compensated well and when the cabby’s job was done, he melted back into the long line of identical yellow vehicles that transported people through the city like red blood cells transported oxygen in a living thing. New York City was not just a city. It’s backbone was made of buildings and it’s veins were the streets. It’s heart beat in Central Park. It was as alive as he was.

The passed beneath the Metro sign, through the doorways and into the cavernous interior. Opening up like an entirely different dimension past those plain glass doors - the room vaulted to the heavens and stretched past Escher-esque cathedral arches. Germaine stood like a saint, cradling a shroud-wrapped messiah in his arms while he scanned for hostiles or familiar faces. He hoped MacMurray had been able to mobilize. He didn’t want to have to do this alone.

The steady thrum of Germaine's mechanics, as well as the heat he produced, lulled Mia into a light sleep, nuzzling her head under Germaine's chin. Her dreams moved about in line with her plans, and while there was obvious danger and potential dreams ahead, her thoughts swam instead with those around her. The cabbie's systematic navigations while his own thoughts wandered, Olive's lovesick thoughts regarding Mia as well as those people on the street, and those in other cars and cabs, all in their normal everyday worries seemed to soothe her thoughts.

Olive's premonitions would likely keep warning her of a danger to Mia, but there would be no such premonitions of Germaine, or herself, with regards to the danger that seemed to haunt Mia's thin frame. It seemed this station may be empty of threat for she and Germaine.

Stirring as Germaine left the cab, Mia started to wake, glancing around her with tired eyes to find Olive and make sure that she was with them as she gave Germaine instructions once again on how to get into LOCATION 1.

The android seemed distanced, and that worried Mia. She'd felt such detachment similarly with Erik's thoughts, and she didn't particularly like the thought of Germaine being in any way like Erik. She thought that she could trust Erik, but he had made her sick. She thought she could trust Germaine, too, but his silence worried her.

"Olive, can you go ahead... see if there's anything to, uhm... to worry about?" Mia asked softly to the girl, smiling at her before she yawned--attempting to ward off her drowsiness.

Mia was beginning to realize that her plan may not work. It was a slim possibility, but the threat was still there. She didn't want to leave herself with any doubts, or leave Germaine with any regret.

[Are you ready to do this, Germaine?]

She trusted her technopathic skills at the moment instead of her biological communication skills, so she opted for the former when speaking to Germaine.

thesplinteredolivebranch

Olive nodded, watching Germaine go for a moment before she returned her gaze to Mia. “Okay, okay.” Olive wanted to sound assured as she helped her put on warmer attire, but it was difficult. She wasn’t ready for whatever would come. She always knew the ups and downs of the future, but— she just didn’t know this time. Everything was flying on chance and Olive knew that there was always the full-stop void at the end, and the amount of time between then and now was so unclear that she was terrified.

Her hands stopped moving as she heard Mia speak again. Olive looked up at her, the quiver in her hands becoming apparent once again. She’d been trying to hold up, but those words broke her down. Leaning forward, Olive brushed her lips softly against Mia’s, chaste and simple, small and careful. “I love you, okay? I love you.” There’s no tears— she’s been trying hard not to cry. Crying just made things final, but they weren’t, not quite, and she’d live in that denial for as long as she could. At this point, she had to keep herself strong so they could get through this.

He had the Taxi wait as he headed back upstairs. He’d made sure the hotel manager was well compensated for his ‘faulty’ memory on the past the first time, and now the Manager was conveniently absent for their departure.

Germaine plodded heavy-footed through the door - pausing just long enough to level his eyes on Olivia. He still didn’t like her, but he could see she was trying. “Time to go.” He said softly as he gathered Mia up in his arms. “Cab’s outside. You first. ” He lifted his head, pointing his chin at Olivia and then toward the door.

Mia smiled at the kiss, seeing it as affection and comfort, and she appreciated the gesture. The small touch gave her deeper insight into Olive's thoughts, but the calm Olive was trying to hold onto was something Mia brought to herself, sharing with Olive that calm. "Love you, too," she murmured, smiling at Olive, though her eyes were half-lidded. She decided that she may sleep in the taxi on the way to the station to get a little more energy.

Germaine's arms felt sturdy and strong as he picked her up, and she nuzzled her head into his chest, closing her eyes as she her mutation picked up on his familiar mechanical hum. "Could still be guarded... statistically unlikely... haven't been paid... most likely abandoned... will tap into security feeds remotely... security precaution..." she mumbled with a small yawn, and while her speech held gaps in logic, she filled them in with code to Germaine to make him fully aware of the situation.

They were going to Penn Station because it was "LOCATION 1", or at least part of it was. They would have to wait for a train to pass them by in order to get onto the tracks and walk a small ways before getting to a "utility door". Mia would input the passcode and they would gain access. There were usually two-to-four guards stationed in LOCATION 1, but they had not been paid in three months, so they would have likely abandoned their posts in search of work. If they were there, Mia had a layout and patrol schedules. Germaine would be needed to incapacitate any guards, but she didn't expect any. They would navigate underground another two stories before reaching the super computer. There, Mia would use her mutation to gain access to the systems, and push her consciousness into them in order to save herself.

She did not tell him that it would likely kill her host body in the process.

thesplinteredolivebranch

Olive listened to them talk, silent as she waited for them to figure out what they were going to do. She cringed at Mia’s words, leaning her head against Mia’s shoulder as she stayed attentive to the conversation. The only thing she could make out of this was that their chances were slim. At the mention of Penn Station, though, Olive looked to Mia before looking up at Germaine with her. It sounded like the best plan they had.

"We could do that," she agreed quietly, more because it was a necessity than anything else. Still, she kept out of being too forward about her opinion. This wasn’t about her, this was about what Mia wanted, and what Germaine was willing to do. Olive was only here for support, and because every fiber of her being told her that she was in love with this girl, and she couldn’t fathom not being here right now. Otherwise, she felt the need to stay in the background.

Germaine nodded quietly. His eyes glazed over for a moment as he sent a message to MacMurray. They were on the move. They had to be on the move. Time was out.

"Wrap her up while I get a cab." His tone was clipped. He had abandoned the shy facade. The bumbling idiot intern afraid of his shadow. In it’s place was a soldier, though he looked small and a bit wild-haired for it. "She needs to stay warm."

He didn’t give either of them much time to say anything before slipping back out of the door and down the several flights of stairs. Out on the busy street, Germaine flagged down one of dozens of cabbies slowly pushing their way through the throng of people. A few words were exchanged. A sizable monetary ‘insurance policy’ exchanged between them. The cab drivers here never asked questions. It was too dangerous. It was one of many reasons Germaine had chosen this part of town to hide.

#thesplinteredolivebranch #specialagentace

In all honestly, Mia was too tired to worry about Germaine's clipped tone, and while she noticed it, she had other fairly large problems of her own to deal with. She would sort all this out later--granted this plan of hers actually worked.

Looking to Olive, Mia smiled at her and assured her, "It'll all be okay. Okay?"

She helped to move herself as best she could while Olive helped her dress warmly to prepare for not only the cold weather outside, but to help her conserve what energy that she had left. "Olive... thank you," she added after a moment, "For everything."

thesplinteredolivebranch

Junot Diaz, This Is How You Lose Her

#[reference]

Olive had tried to keep herself from worrying. Somewhere in that file Ellis had shown her, she remembered skimming across that Mia had certain telepathic abilities. If it was anything like the weight of her empathic pull with premonitions, she knew she should shush all her concerns. But sitting here with Mia, with the weight of her future and her sickness—

It took a toll. It was a sinking feeling, reminded her of the way she thought she was drowning when she had overdosed. Olive had taken to leaning Mia against her, arm wrapped gently around her. She tried shutting out all thoughts of earlier, tried not to think about these premonitions. She just wanted to enjoy the fact that she was finally, finally with Mia, even with the dismal situation at hand. When she heard Mia speak up, though, Olive picked up her head a little, looking down at her.

"To Penn?" She asked softly, trying not to sound completely incompetent, but— she didn’t know much about what was supposed to happen from here on out. Ellis had only given her the address, Germaine had been clipped about what he told her. Olive felt unprepared, like she had gotten what she wanted, but without actually realizing how this would turn out. Time, again— always time, depleting way too fast and giving her whiplash with the way everything went one after the other after the other. Olive moved her hand to Mia’s, lacing it in her’s and giving it the gentlest of squeezes as she made the effort to stop stressing again.

Germaine slipped back into the room, pressing his shoulders back against a wall with peeling red paint. “We can’t wait much longer.”

He’d been thinking a LOT about alternatives. MacMurray was taking too long. Interrogating someone Immortal, he’d concluded, would take a skillset that - frankly - he didn’t think anybody at SHIELD had. Death was no threat. Torture… maybe. The most expedient way would be through the talents of a Mutant, but did they have anyone that could do that? Or would.

If they did, he didn’t have them on file.Something had to be done.

"Mia… Do you think this body could hold you, even temporarily?" He had another he could inhabit, though it was a long way from them now. He’d have to move it to them - which left Mia in the hands of Olive for the approximate hour it would take for ACE to travel across town, even at full speed.

Every passing hour she was weaker. They were running out of time to move her - she was so fragile now it might kill her. In another few hours? He was certain moving her -would- be too risky.

#thesplinteredolivebranch #specialagentace

Smiling meekly as Olive squeezed her hand, Mia leaned into the comfort, his eyes half open as Germaine walked back into the room. She smiled at him too, and it was only with the help of her implant connecting her to the systems through satellite did she remember why or what she had just spoken of. Her memory was getting worse, but the systems were keeping her moderately stable, for she could always go back to what she had cataloged, and it seemed that cataloging was all she was doing lately, for she couldn't move much at all.

"The... body..." pausing a moment to process Germaine's request, Mia pursed her lips, "I... I think I could... but the strain... I don't think..." The strain of pushing her consciousness now into a mechanical body had a high probability of working if she met no resistance, but the strain on her biological body would be too much. The odds of it surviving were low, and the odds of her facing no resistance from Germaine's base programming was lower still. "It's too dangerous... but..."

She did know of once place she could go where there would be no resistance. "Penn... Penn Station... the... the subway. I need to get there." She looked from Olive to Germaine before asking the android, "Could you... could you carry me?"

[encrypted message] Got him. How’s she holding up?

Germaine was quietly sitting as far away from Olivia and Mia as he could get and still be within ‘saving’ distance. He stood just outside the paperthin door of their tiny hotel room, arms crossed unhappily across his chest.

The message took him by surprise.

[Not well. Not sure how much longer she has. Got your package. Want it back?]

Nothing about this situation sat well with the android. He’d been stolen and used, but she was so like him, and so alone and he thought he could forgive her for rewriting his coding. He’d played bodyguard and servant for months and despite himself he’d grown attached. Now, she had a lover, and whatever was stirring in his circuits tasted bitter and far too strong. She was close to death. Their only lifeline was MacMurray and a man they couldn’t count on to give them the ‘cure’ now finally in SHIELD’s clutches.

And all he could do was wait. Standby. Watch and follow orders. He wanted to wash his hands of the whole thing, but that wasn’t Germaine. He could walk away. She’d granted him his freedom - he wasn’t bound by any protocols or codes or hidden priorities. He could leave her and Olivia there - but he couldn’t. He couldn’t bring himself to do it, no matter how much he disliked the every aspect of this operation.

[encrypted message] Not yet. Information in process of being extracted by force. Mia failed to mention the immortal part.

Immortal? How, then, were they going to get this information? Dreamsharing? A Telepath? Death threats weren’t going to work. He wondered if threads of prolonged pain would even be effective. Torture was a questionable method even in the worst of times - would SHIELD be willing to go down that route? Would MacMurray?

He pushed himself off the thinly plastered wall and turned to pace down the length of the narrow hallway while the two women inside ‘caught up’.

[Mia failed to mention a lot of things. Please confirm movement ASAP.]

——-

agentmacmurray

thesplinteredolivebranch

Mia had noticed that Germain seemed a bit... absent lately. She was too weak to really pick apart what was at the cause, but it concerned her just as much as she was concerned about hers or Olive's safety.

She wasn't exactly mobile anymore; she couldn't even sit up by herself. So as Germaine left to pace the hallway, Mia wondered if perhaps he would be better off not knowing her at all. Maybe she would ask him if he wanted her wiped from his memory banks. She respected him too much to force anything on him again, even if she thought it might be for the best. Sure, she wanted him close, but she was too weak to even be scared of dying anymore.

Germaine and Olive being happy was all Mia was concerned about at the moment. It took her mind off her own plight, if only for a while. Olive was good and kind company, but her worries always seemed to leave a lingering whisper to her thoughts that Mia didn't have enough strength not to listen to. Germaine's steady thrum of mechanical codes and activity when he was close gave her more comfort, though they had both been doing their best to comfort her.

"We don't... we don't have time. I need... I need to get to Penn.." thesplinteredolivebranch

#thesplinteredolivebranch

Falcon Finally Falls ?

Replies flew back and forth between himself and the sender, but nothing more revealing than that time was running out and that He had overstepped some line was established. “I’ve directed him to the hotel across the street from here. Will you be alright for a few minutes alone?”

"I'm not going to wither away just yet. I'll be fine. Find out what he wants," Mia replied, though she made no move to get out from Germaine's embrace at present. She was quite comfortable. While she worried that MacMurray would just take Germaine, Mia was confident that she could take care of herself for at least a little while longer.

#specialagentace

Falcon Finally Falls ?

Germaine slid over, gathering Mia up in his arms. He pulled her close, made sure she was still covered in blankets and cradled her against his chest.

[Reply: Inquiry - What is it?]

A short response, but that was all that was required. Germaine could sense some urgency, but he worried that Mia wasn’t in any condition to move, and he couldn’t leave her.

Mia hummed with a small smile as Germaine gathered her close, comfortable in his arms as she rested against his chest. He really seemed to care for her. She'd erased her contract in his programming, but he was still here for her despite that.

"I'm okay," she murmured softly as she looked up at him, her eyes half-lidded with sleep as she traced one finger along the underside of his jaw absently.

"I'm okay."

#specialagentace

trionfalearchive

ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ɪs DARK ᴀɴᴅ CRUEL.

ɪғ ɪᴛ ғɪɴᴅs ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ { smallest } ʀᴀʏ ᴏғ ʟɪɢʜᴛ, IT DESTROYS IT.

#[reference]

Falcon Finally Falls ?

[via canine unit] What’s your location? I have something for you guys. - M.

"I always hear ‘punch me in the face’ when you speak.." John Watson’s voice echoed through the small, dingy room. The light from the television flashed and flickered, illuminating Mia’s face as she watched a Satellite channel they shouldn’t have gotten on the old vacuum-tube TV. She was wrapped in several blankets, and there wasn’t much space to keep vigil on - so he’d slipped deep into his own thoughts, curled up gently against the girl’s side on the couch next to her.

They were interrupted by the message.

It had to have come from Ellis. Nobody else knew what was happening. “Mia.. ? MacMurray’s made contact.” He sat up a bit more straight. “He wants our location. He says he has something for us. We shouldn’t allow him to come to our address, I don’t think. Someone might follow him, but we could rendezvous with him somewhere else.” Germaine wasn’t keen on the notion of moving again. Not so soon. Mia was growing worse every day. Soon, he feared she wouldn’t be strong enough to move at all.

#agentmacmurray #specialagentace

Mia had a tough time keeping her eyes open as it was, but having something interesting to watch was helping. She'd been getting migraines when the coughing had subsided to small weak shudders of her rib cage, but she wouldn't take any painkillers that would thin her blood or make her drowsy, so ibprophen had been her main source of relief when things got bad.

Glancing over at Germaine, she furrowed her brow before she nodded slightly. "Ask him what he has."

nothing ever lasts forever || mia and germaine.

It was easier, knowing Mia trusted him to bring SHIELD agents into Tuxedo Park without screwing everything up. That was the part that worried him. Actually, using SHIELD agents at all worried him. This wasn’t strictly… something he ought to be doing. Allying himself with an enemy… he didn’t want to lose his job. And he didn’t want to bring any agents down with him. He could lie, he could say the mission was to infiltrate for Erik, the man calling the shots. After all, no agent would risk their life for just one girl. Or… apparently, very few. The head of a super secret organization that ran on less than sincere business? His agents were salivating at the opportunity for retribution. Ellis. Fury. Sterling. Dean. How many more?

He was good at it. But he hated lying to his family.

He turned to Germaine. “Stay with Mia. Just a bit longer. If something goes wrong, I need you there to pass on a message. I’ll assemble a team, work out a plan.” He knew he didn’t want her left alone. And he was her best protection. If they were working so well as a team already… why ruin it?

He turned to Mia. “If things get worse, let me know. I assume I don’t need to share numbers.” She was techno girl, she already had it. Past experience taught him that. He paused. Smiled. “And try not to worry. You’re not dead yet.”

With that, he made to leave also. She was doing a good job of hiding it, but the reality was… nobody wanted to die.

Even him.

Germaine didn’t hesitate to trot after Mia and wrapped a protective arm around her as they slowly walked away. “You shouldn’t have been out this long.” He fussed. He was still hers to protect - and not just from spies with cell phones. She was ill, and though he didn’t know that being cold or being out in the open or being physically active were any triggers for worsening her condition, he wasn’t game to push their luck. He glanced back over his shoulder at Ellis, who was in the process of leaving, too. If it had been anyone else, he might not have trusted enough for the meeting to happen. And he might not have let the man walk away knowing Mia was alive (for now). But they had little choice, and of all the Agents to have become embroiled in this, he was glad it was Ellis MacMurray.

"I’ll run a warm bath for you when we get back to the room. Your hands are cold."

#specialagentace #agentmacmurray #[end?]

"You... you're coming with me?" she asked, and while slightly confused, she found relief overwhelming her senses at the present moment. She had thought that Germaine would have picked SHIELD over her, but apparently his protective programming did not want to put her in danger, even if she had deleted the coding necessary for his continued employment with her--or maybe he just cared about her.

"My hands are going to be cold... kinda happens in a city like this... coastal winter's are a humid kind of cold," she mumbled, though she wasn't paying much attention to what she was saying anymore.

Still, she didn't know if MacMurray understood that her statistics of salvation were not good with Erik as the source. If they wanted to save her, having a substitute body would be the easiest way--organic or synthetic, it didn't matter which--but getting her to the systems would be the best way. Maybe after Erik was taken down, the FALCON agents would abandon the location that was closest to them. That would be the best scenario for her at the moment.

But she had things to be grateful for, despite her condition. She was still safe, Germaine was still with her, and MacMurray was going to catch Erik. This was turning out to be a good day.

nothing ever lasts forever || mia and germaine.

He didn’t like it. The way Germaine reacted. He was right, they weren’t safe here. Anyone could be listening in. And anyone did. He pursed his lips as the man hurried off without his phone. If he warned Erik… told them he was coming… But he supposed it didn’t matter much. Possibly, he’d been expecting it for a while. He’d been so hard on his tail, once. His. Connors’. He still felt compelled to get to him, somehow. Revenge. Not just for himself, but Morgan too.

If he was lurking around New York, he didn’t feel safe. His family wasn’t safe.

But for now, focus on Erik. Mia’s life was in danger. This was what he did. He saved lives. He protected people. He’d protect Mia.

He stood up with her. Stared after her. Let Germaine know…?

"You’re not expecting me to go in alone, are you?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow. His heart was hammering. He was brave yes, almost to the point of reckless, but he wasn’t insane. He knew what Erik looked like now, and getting those images forced into his brain was a whole other headache in itself, a migraine which he couldn’t just sleep off, but he didn’t know what was waiting for him. Did this place have security? How much? Could he fight them on his own, or was she sending him into a suicide mission? The last time he went against FALCON, he was left poisoned, with that bitter taste of practically blowing up the world from prodding too hard stuck in his mouth.

She needed to be taken care of, he got that. And Germaine was ideal in that sense. But she was also crazy powerful. Surely she could do something. Find someone.

Germaine stood alongside Mia, but his loyalties were torn. Chase the man who’d posed a threat and take him out? Stay with MacMurray and help find Erik? Remain with Mia and keep her safe? He needed to do all three, and yet, was completely incapable of it. A soft doggish growl of frustration rumbled deep in his throat. Quiet and nearly imperceptible, but to those who sat so close to him.

His weight shifted unsteadily on his feet, eyes flitting from each essential mission while he tried desperately to weigh which was most important. Or if he could accomplish more than one at a time. ”Don’t you think…” He spoke softly. “We should stay with Ellis…? It would be safer…” Certainly safer than the run down pay with cash only by the hour type of hotels they’d had to resort to staying in. Maybe if he could get her into some kind of protective custody - he could leave her and join Ellis in the hunt for this Erik, who had hurt her so; but the thought of leaving her side left him anxious beyond his ability to cope.