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Lighting the Fuse 5/?

So, I really have no excuses for taking forever and a day to finally find my groove with this again, but the spark is back, things are making more sense and moving, and I've missed Hana and the others here way too much to leave them hanging any longer.

We're just about to the actual trap kick-off now too, and that entire sequence I've dreamed about posting for over five years or so, so now I just have to make it happen.

Pairing: F!Dep x Sharky Boshaw, F!Dep x John Seed (be forwarned, the slow burn is in full effect here for all parties involved, and isn’t stopping anytime soon) Rating: T Warnings: Canon-typical violence (nothing really too wild this time around) Word Count: 10.2K

Link to AO3!

Ch. 1 / Ch. 2 / Ch. 3 / Ch. 4 / Ch. 5 / ???

___

When events are put into motion giving her a shot at an impossible task - capturing John Seed - the deputy jumps at the chance.

There’s only one problem.

She’s not the only one dying to get him, and keeping him alive when even his own people seem to want him dead isn’t looking to be an easy feat either.

______________

Lamb of God Church.

Hana had done a few patrols down this way with Hudson - her time behind the wheel leaving the other woman laughing in exasperation when she wasn’t reminding her that the speed limit was a rule not a suggestion. They’d sped on by the place, the white building jutting out towards the sky from the hill it sat on, as those frequenting it dwindled to smaller and smaller numbers.

She’d never stopped to enter the building other than that. Time at any church was about as high on the priority list as sorting her laundry before washing it, or breaking down the last empty box from the move here.

The next time she found herself on the property, however, she’d been called there for a reason. Hell, she still recalled the way Grace had looked from her perch on the church’s roof - her rifle by her side and not even close to winded after the firefight they’d just pushed through. With her father buried there, Grace had been ready to fight until they put her in the ground over it.

Afterwards, she hadn’t been sure if Grace would’ve followed them. There hadn’t been many people to spare to hold the grounds after reclaiming them, but with one look at them, Grace decided to take that gamble, and as soon as they could, they posted people to watch over those buried there.

Their destination was just past the church - the spot marked for the Sacristy leading down towards the river.

It was a location that she and Jerome could’ve reached on foot, but on the trek there from Fall’s End they thought better of it just in case they needed an additional escape route. They parked down the way, weapons set and ready, and took to the trails. The grass crunched under their feet as they headed up and across the road into the trees, narrowly missing the white truck running its patrol.

Heading out alone with the Pastor without backup - without Grace, or Sharky, or anyone else for that matter - should’ve had her sweating, but she had a point of focus she couldn’t afford to slow down for. Any second spent waiting was another nail in this lead, this opportunity to figure out what the hell was churning well beyond of the scope of what they knew, and they couldn’t afford to be in the dark any more than they currently were.

Hana had taken point, guiding them forward as Jerome took up second. Sticking close, he met her pace without any resistance at all, and Hana had a feeling he’d take the lead if she let him. She came to a stop by a tree, crouching low to peek up and out through the bushes, and Jerome took a spot beside her.

“You see that?”

He nodded, glancing out into the area beyond where they hid in the trees. The wind had kicked up briefly, but once it settled it was easier to separate the figure in the distance from the falling leaves. Far as she could tell it was a run of the mill Peggie on patrol. Long coat, weapon in hand, and no way to tell if they any different from the others.

But that was the defectors’ talent; fitting in. And after this long, they’d mastered the art of being perfectly fucking ordinary.

“Ready?”

Jerome kept studying the view ahead, and Hana wasn’t sure he heard her at first. But eventually he drew his gun up. “There’s at least two. Get close, but if more appear-“

“It’s okay.” She let the rifle hang from its holster as she eased up from the ground. “I know how to cut and run if I have to.”

Hands up, she folded them behind her head as she stepped out to meet them. Watched both keep a hand on their weapons but didn’t raise them.

“Hey. Going my way, fellas?”

They eyed the trees and tall grass, sweeping them thoroughly for something off. Or someone, but they didn’t fire. “Anyone else with you, deputy?”

Jerome had been the one to answer the call, but like hell would she put him out in the open with no guarantee of safety. “That depends. Where are we going?”

“Somewhere close.”

One of them pulled an object out of their pocket and tossed it to her. She barely snatched it out of the air, and stared down at the blindfold. That set her nerves on edge.

“…That’s going to be a negative on that, hon. The last time I bothered with one of these, I might’ve had the shit choked out of me, so I’d feel a lot better walking in with both eyes open.”

The two didn’t seem to like that response. Not with the way they held their weapons up and didn’t let them leave her, and Hana felt sweat start to gather at her brow. That was about as far as her plan had gone, but as she felt her nerves ratchet up higher and higher, she caught Jerome out of the corner of her eye.

Coming up to stand beside her, he showed them his gun, holstered at his side. “We want to talk and will meet your terms, but those are ours.”

One of them reached for their radio and held it up. “They’re here. They’re refusing the blindfolds.”

She couldn’t hear the response clearly, static blocking most of it, but after a beat they relented. Lowered their weapons and gestured for them to follow.

“This way.”

Close was clearly subjective, because this wasn’t a simple trek to the next location. They kept walking, brushing past tree after tree until they were lost in a sea of them.

The defectors never moved completely out of her line of sight, her eyes staying on them even when a branch or two tried to smack her, but as soon as she caught the tents ahead she switched her attention them instead. Saw at least three to four of them with a few ex-Peggies out front, all clustered by a small structure that she couldn’t pick out at first. On closer inspection, however, it looked to be a tent - a hunting blind, maybe? - the camo covering frayed, but intact.

It was all pretty bare-bones overall, an area that on the surface wouldn’t look like it was used as one of their staging points, and seemed more neutral ground for any group to occupy.

The two led them in, falling back to take up spots behind them, and Hana let her eyes skim the group ahead, looking for any familiar faces in the set.

Ben was notably absent, but she did catch the dark-haired woman who’d kept her shotgun locked on her earlier. Her weapon of choice was still well within range, hanging from her side, and she seemed like she was itching to use it from the way she kept an idle hand on the grip.

Hana cleared her throat. “Hi. You wanted to talk? Let’s talk.”

The woman didn’t blink, her face branded much like Ben’s had been, and kept her dark eyes locked forward and on her. If she’d been done up like similar VIPs, the red cross, body armor, plus that stare would’ve had most stop in their tracks while fighting to dodge any eye contact.

Blinking up a storm in comparison, Hana chanced a glance at Jerome. Noticed how he kept his posture neutral, calm even, and she started to rock on her feet as the stand off continued.

“…Let’s talk,” the woman finally replied. “What do you know about explosives?”

Hana opened her mouth, then paused. “I may have some pretty consistent exposure to them.”

“But do you know how they work?”

“I’ve messed with a few cherry bombs, but other than the obvious light a match and run method, chem wasn’t really my strong suit in school.”

“Fuel and oxygen. Our fuel has been limited for a long time, but we’ve taken to treating the fertilizer in each of the valley’s silos to make up for it. On its own it’s potent, taking an eighth of the amount to use in the fields. But take that as fuel instead, add a light and -”

Boom. A memory kicked in at that moment, the flames crawling up the sides of one of the silos nicked by Sharky’s shells before the whole thing erupted. “Pretty potent shit all around.”

“The Green-Busch Fertilizer factory is where it’s primarily being made. They originally wanted to treat it to bring the bliss here. To spread it beyond the Henbane by using the fertilizer to grow it, but as a weapon it showed more uses. Now it’s being redirected.”

Getting up, the woman walked over to the nearby tent and opened the flap to step inside. She didn't let it close behind her, however, and kept it raised.

Hana moved towards it, eyes on the others the entire time. When she and Jerome both reached the entrance, however, she took a good look inside and nearly did a double take at the setup originally hidden from sight.

Radios, a table with maps, photos, and at least three people at the ready - one of which was listening intently to what was on his headset - this was as close to a mobile war room as she'd ever seen one. The table wasn’t large by any means, but was decorated in papers and maps, some hand-drawn, others printed. Photos took up any leftover space on, showing specific buildings, and key landmarks of interest which included the cult’s bright red storage silos.

They were dotted all over the valley, found on accident at first, then pointed out deliberately by Nick when they’d had the opportunity to drive by more. Hell, he’d promised her a joyride with his beloved Carmina if she’d managed to take the rest out - provided she managed to snatch the plane out from under John’s nose at his ranch to begin with - but after shaking the memory off, she took a closer look. Went to another building that stood out, and on reading the name of it could conjure up a memory of it in passing.

Located off the main road through the valley, she hadn’t given the fertilizer plant much of a thought as she’d flown by with Hudson on one of her first patrols in town. For an operation set up and designed to treat the local farmland, it had been small to begin with, and had been bought over a year ago once John had started sweeping through more of the valley to see what could be taken for Eden’s Gate.

With the Peggies running it, the team there was whittled down to an even smaller one, prepping and packing the fertilizer on the ground floor before moving it to the upper levels for storage before being moved.

“…But how much fertilizer is made in a day?" Hana asked, fingers tapping the edge of the photo.

"Enough to take and fully pack a silo, but that's when things are good."

"And lately things have been...?"

The woman was hard to read, tougher than Ben even, but when she didn’t allow even a second’s worth of emotion in, it didn’t leave Hana with high hopes to go off of. Eventually she gestured towards one of the men by the radios, and the one with the headset waved Hana over.

Extending it towards her, she took it from him, turning it over to examine the older model, and then held it up between her and Jerome so both could listen.

Nothing came through at first, just silence, but after a click, a voice started speaking.

“Herald John? This is William from the Green-Busch Factory.”

“Brother William.”

At the sound of John’s voice she tensed. It was a full-blown reflex at this point, waiting for him to acknowledge her someway, somehow, only for the recording to continue.

“This is late to be hearing from you. I trust there’s a reason for that?”

“Yes. Yes, I…I’ve been going over our last few reports. We’ve been doing as you’ve asked, upping our production to ensure that we can have all of our silos filled, but there’s been a problem.”

“A problem.” John’s tone was clipped, and Hana ticked the seconds off one by one before he continued. “Why is that?”

“…I went through what we have, and the last three weeks we’ve come up short. Just enough over the last two for no one to notice, but this week it’s been sizable.”

“And you’re telling me this now? After losing three weeks of supplies, three weeks of time, three weeks of preparation?”

“Yes, Herald. But I do know who’s responsible.”

“Who is?”

“Rebecca. Sister Rebecca. I’ve…she’s already been made aware of how severe of a mistake this is. And those that have been packing the supplies have been documented as well. Would you like me to-”

“Give me all of their names, one by one.”

They were listed off. Repeated each without a single tremor.

“Have any of them transferred to the plant within the last month?”

“Yes.”

Hana’s eyebrows climbed up.

“How many?”

“Three members, all of whom are still here. I have a record of everything they’ve packed. Where they’ve transported it, and-”

“And have you at any point before now seen any cause for concern in their behavior? Think very carefully, William. What happens next is going to depend on you.”

The quiet that carried through after that stretched long enough for her to think the recording had ended, but she heard a throat clear. A shaky breath, then William’s voice again.

“...Nothing at first. They’ve been hard workers. Reliable. We trusted them, but when they fell behind, they would frequently help each other. That had to have been when the fertilizer was first taken.”

“Early tomorrow, I will need both you and Sister Rebecca at the ready. I don’t want a single word of this to be shared with anyone on the premises, not a single soul, because our little would-be conspirators could get wise, and the last thing we need is to make them aware of it. Now, they could prove to be innocent, that is true, but until then we must be careful. Do you understand?”

“Yes. Yes, Herald.”

“It takes great courage to do this William. To bring these things directly to my attention since these are claims that will not be taken lightly. But until the truth has been found, and we know for certain that our brothers and sisters can be trusted, we will remain vigilant, and if this proves to be true, you will be rewarded. That I promise you.”

There was a click, and only then did she let out the breath she’d been holding.

So, John already knew in a way. Had some idea that his own people were beginning to revolt behind the scenes, but active sabotage?

Lowering the headset, Hana handed it back. “When was this?”

“A few weeks ago. He came here as he said and dealt with the ‘problem’,” the woman said, spitting at the floor. “He took Rebecca. Took Carl and Melissa, then he left. Said he would return within a week to see if the levels remained stable, but never did.”

That got a frown from Jerome. “Why? What prevented it from happening?”

“What do you think?” She pointed right at Hana. “You. You happened. You returned, took that truck, and…”

Here we are.

Hana let out a low whistle. “Shit. That kind of threw a wrench into things, huh? But those three, were they actually with you?”

“One was.” She glanced away, mouth set in a hard line. “Rebecca had been moving some of the fertilizer. Just enough to slow down what was transported to the Gates but it wasn’t enough. And production’s only tripled since that point.”

The dark-haired woman pointed back at the map, her gloved hand drawing a route through the Henbane. “This time it is being brought to the Conservatory, and between that and the Gates, that’s worse.”

“What’s over there?”

Hana looked to both the woman and Jerome, and this time he spoke up.

“The Jessop’s owned the Conservatory at first. They used to grow crops for the county - wheat and corn, but also others like flowers. When Eden’s Gate came here, it wasn’t long before they bought the property, and shifted towards growing those crops for them instead.”

“But it all led to the bliss,” the woman added. “There at the conservatory, that’s where Feeney’s bliss fields are located. The ones he and Herald-“ She bit the response off as her jaw clenched, but soon exhaled. “…He and Faith created. He’s her chief botanist, and helped develop the original modifications to the fertilizer. If they are looking at testing another version on the bliss fields, it’s only a matter of time before a new strain can be planted and used over here.”

The Green-Busch Factory had been a problem on their radar, one they had let sit on the backburner while the Peggies stockpiled this shit - literally and figuratively - but with the bliss in continued development over at the conservatory, that couldn’t be allowed to spread. The flowers were potent enough in small doses. The idea of them blanketing the entire county with nowhere left to get away from them would be nothing short of a nightmare.

“That would take time, though. Time to grow, right?”

“That’s right. Testing would follow after.”

Testing, transport, and then -

“Then John would probably want a proper look at things again.” Hana chewed on the corner of her lip as she ran down the route from the Henbane all the way back to the factory. “Would want to go down to see that everything’s in order after what happened last time, and he’d be a hell of a lot more vulnerable there rather than locked up in his ranch or bunker. Sure, he’d be guarded, but they’re not all his, are they?”

“Not what?”

“…They’re not all his people anymore.”

An idea popped into her head then. One that hit her hard enough to almost give her whiplash, because it almost seemed too ridiculous to suggest. Too out there to even try to think could be possible, and yet-

“What if we didn’t have to wait?”

Hana rested her hands on the table’s edge, leaning forward as the two watched her closely. Her lip stung as she bit into it directly, and waited only a beat longer before everything spilled out of her in a rush.

“Forget the flowers. Use me instead.”

Jerome spun on her, “Deputy -"

“Okay, hear me out!” She held up her hands, hoping she could phrase this right. “We use me. He’s already looking, already poached me once, but we don’t have weeks. We don’t even have days to sit and wait to see if maybe John decides to head down here on a lark. He wants to surprise them, to catch them doing something that’s off, and much as they could try to follow and track that and have been, we can’t make any guarantees with that.”

She placed a hand on her chest.

“But let’s just say I’ve wandered over to the factory. That I want a piece of the action, and maybe some bigger and better explosives because this stuff goes up with only a hint of a thought to it, and…maybe I’m not so lucky this time.”

There was a glint in the woman’s eyes that wasn’t there before, and Hana kept going.

“Maybe they manage to spring a trap that not even the Deputy has a hope of slipping out of, and on hearing the news, John’s going to want some proper confirmation, right? He’s going to want to see and deal with that personally. And like hell is he going to make me wait on it.”

“You know what that could lead to,” Jerome said, dead serious as she’d ever seen him. “That would mean offering you directly to him.”

“Exactly, and if he wants me that damn bad, how could he pass that chance up? The others when they caught me, I don’t think they mentioned it to him. I think he was fully, blissfully unaware of just how close I was to being brought straight to him, but this? He’s able to come by and see for himself, and if he manages to come alone, or with a handful of people as backup?” Hana cracked a grin, one that grew sharper by the second. “Well, then we can give him a taste of his own fucking medicine for once. Catch him instead.”

She watched the pastor mull over the idea, but got her answer quickly from their new ex-Peggie ally. In fact, judging from the growing smile on the woman’s face, she seemed almost delighted by it.

Jerome, however, still wasn’t sure, and that was a problem.

“Look, it’s a long shot, and we don’t even know how many others are holding out for any kind of chance like this, but it’s still one that we can take. We need this.”

“We need you.”

That shut her up for a second. Had her tripping over her next words as she parked her eyes anywhere but on him. But she eventually returned them to him, and sighed.

“I’m not going anywhere. But we need this, and if we’ve got that chance so close we can taste it, isn’t that-“

“Enough.”

Hana turned quickly towards the voice. One she’d grown to recognize even with the few words passed between them, as Ben took a spot right at the entrance to it. He let the flap fall closed behind him, and approached the group, looking rougher for wear, but uninjured.

“It’s enough. Not all of our members were found out at the factory, and others would volunteer. Even those that have left the county if needed.”

When he looked at the two of them, acknowledging both, she read his gratitude easily. Let them both see it for all it was worth, and if they’d parted on different terms she’d be just as glad to see a familiar face.

Instead, she prickled instantly. “Yeah? Is that right?”

Ben’s gaze settled on her, and the fact that there wasn’t a hint of harshness there pissed her off further. “They would.”

“If they’re already out, why would they want to risk any of that to come back?“

“Some still have family here, Deputy.” Hana’s head snapped over to the woman, and in her eyes was the sharp look Ben refused to give her. “You think they would turn their back on them? That any of us would? If it means we can remove them all one by one - John, Faith, and Jacob - that would be worth any risk. That, you should understand.”

Hana glanced away, feeling sheepish. “I do.”

“Good. Then we’re in agreement?” the woman asked.

Forcing herself to back off and relax, Hana noticed the set of Jerome’s jaw. That tension lingered even as he looked first to Ben and then the woman, and remained after settling on her. “You’re certain?”

Not that they had a solid plan yet, but this chance - this singular goal, this path forward - came with a degree of clarity that she’d be a fool to ignore. She felt everything in her lock into and onto it, and maybe Jerome caught it too. Could read that excitement threatening to burst out judging from the cautious way he was looking at her still, but at his nod there was no holding it back. Not that, or the giddy smile that broke out on her face.

“The plant isn’t made up of just one building.” Jerome pulled one of the photos closer to him, one showing the factory. “There’s a general store operated with it. That would mean taking the factory along with the store, making sure that everyone on the property is with us.“

The woman leaned back against the table, and motioned towards the two defectors posted at the radios. “Word can be sent as soon as you leave this tent. After that, we’ll only need a few added people to secure it.”

Hana was definitely grinning now. “I’ll make a few calls, and I think we’ve got a deal. Before that, though, I’ve got a name from him,” she said, gesturing towards Ben. “If we’re doing this, do you have a name or call sign you want me to go with, or…?"

“Lenny.”

“Lenny.” Simple and to the point. “Got it.”

That left them and the remaining ex-VIP elephant in the room, Ben.

Of all the people she was certain she’d never see again, he had been at the top, and much as she’d love to try, couldn’t stare a hole straight through him. Not now, and not ever.

She turned towards Ben. Scuffed the side of her boot against the floor and crossed her arms. “So.”

Ben angled his head towards her. “I’ll head to the factory with them. We need to take control of it still, but there might be others I can speak with and-“

“Turn?”

“…Yes, turn,” he conceded.

Hana nodded. “Fine. Give us a shout when you need us.”

Moving to leave, Ben shifted into her path. With that blocked, she tried stepping around him, only for him to intercept her once more.

“You want to say something?” she asked. “Because I’m leaving, and you only get to do that one more time.”

Nothing. She thought that would’ve gotten a reaction out of him at least. Instead he pulled out one of the weapons holstered at his side to hold out to her, handle first.

A .44 magnum.

It wasn’t just any .44 magnum, however; it was hers. The obnoxious little red number that she’d come very quickly to adore, and that she’d tossed right at his feet the other day, never thinking it’d ever find its way back to her again.

“You might need this.”

Raising her eyes, she looked at him in near-disbelief, then tentatively reached out for it. He didn’t pull it back. Just kept it held out in the air between them for her to take, and it slipped out of his grip easy, no resistance present.

Holstering it, she considered him for a good long minute. Then finally let a smile slip out.

That he didn’t ignore, mirroring her perfectly.

With the defectors - or at least Ben and Lenny’s group - officially a part of their plan, that gave them the critical intel and manpower needed to get the ball rolling from the inside, but that was nothing without the Resistance wanting to go all-in with her too.

So, she needed to nail her pitch to select people, namely Mary May, but starting with a shared goal to fuck John’s shit up helped, and by the end of the talks and some careful negotiating courtesy of the Pastor, she was starting to think her plan had legs.

“This is a bad call.”

Grace, however, not so much.

She looked at her like this had disaster written all over it as they gathered up weapons and equipment to take with them. She hadn’t stopped her, hadn’t tried to talk her down, but every time Hana caught Grace’s eye, she could see that inkling of doubt.

“Hey, you were the one that suggested I ‘Arnold my way out of his bunker’ to begin with.”

Grace crossed her arms. “After being caught. Not like this.”

“….Fair enough, but this might mean never having to worry about being caught ever again. No one would have to, at least not here in the valley. I think that’s worth it.”

That didn’t seem to temper the look much, but when Grace reached over to take the duffel bag from her, she’d managed a faint smile. “You don’t mind bad odds?”

“Hell no, but having an Olympic medal sharpshooter at my back won’t hurt them much either,” Hana said, with a wink.

Locking her in also gave them some good firepower both up above and on the ground at the factory. With multiple floors to cover, Grace could get a high vantage point from the upper levels, while she, Jerome, and the others navigated everything below.

But covering the entrances and exits was still dicey. If John was able to sweep in and out with his Chosen on a whim, it didn’t matter how much they threw at him if he could just turn and leave on a dime.

“Yeah, we’ve got some ideas for that, Dep,” Sharky started, when she mentioned it to him and Hurk later. “Hurky and I went through what we’ve got left, and it’d take nothing to hook a few pipe bombs to their trucks, they turn the key, and pop goes the fucking weasel.“

She recalled the last time they had done a run with this, flaming shrapnel going everywhere, and side-eyed Sharky more than a little.

“While keeping John alive, right? And us mostly non-exploded?”

At Sharky’s pause, Hurk took it up. “We’ll be so careful and stealthy silent on the outside you won’t even know we’re there. ‘Specially since in a blow or be blown up type of situation such as this we’d wanna do the blowing.“

“But it’s not like we’d light too much shit up, just enough to keep everyone in one place.”

”And in one piece.” Hana held up a finger, wagging it slightly. “John included.”

Sharky’s mouth twisted, but at her eyebrow going up he crossed his arms.

“He’s semi non-negotiable, hon.”

“Yeah, yeah. Dicklick’ll probably be fine. It’ll just singe him, or maybe he’ll lose an eyebrow, or whatever.” A thought hit, making his eyes light up. “But the dude’s what twenty to forty percent hair gel, right? You think that’ll catch too?”

Hurk ooh-ed as Hana sighed in exasperation.

But they would be just the thing needed to cut off that option of escape, and ideally any bangs and blasts that went off wouldn’t immediately set the whole valley on high alert.

That just left the factory itself. Moving forward there required linking up with Ben and Lenny to remove one last obstacle - those loyal to John - but without their call there was no choice but to wait.

So, she planned. Walked through ideas, lapped them, and worked double-time with Sharky and Hurk on some extra explosives, even though her hands didn’t need to be anywhere near them. It proved to be a useful follow up lesson on some of the tricks Sharky had run her through previously, and by the end, she had a few more skills to pull from if she had to MacGyver her way out of a situation.

They just needed to put on a show. Enough of a convincing one to leave the rest of Holland Valley completely unaware as to what was going to happen next, and when the call came later that night, she was ready.

She told the guys to keep on going - she’d help them polish off any remaining preparations once they were set up at the factory, and broke away to listen with Jerome closely to the details shared. It was pretty sparse, with two main groups to link up with, Lenny’s team or Ben’s. She’d planned on joining up with Lenny’s after traveling with Jerome there, but Grace intercepted them on the way out, cutting them off at the pass.

With her pack set, there was no argument or debate to be had - and none that Hana would’ve even attempted to try as the three set off into the night.

The trek there was mostly clear, as they stuck to the trails just off of the road as they approached the factory. The odd white van passed through out of the corner of her eye, often times tailed by a white truck, but she kept her head down. Followed Grace’s lead as they stuck close to the trees, and didn’t even let the moonlight touch them.

Lenny had told her to meet them on the northeastern side of the building, while Jerome headed to the southern side. The actual group at the factory that they could count on backing them up was roughly eight to ten. It had been more, but after the recent sweep by John, the others had kept their heads down, at least until now.

Things were already in motion by the time they arrived. Stalking as quiet as humanly possible, Hana kept her binoculars nearby. Took a quick look out towards the building, and felt the grass shift beneath her boots, the occasional twig bending and breaking as she moved forward.

Two Peggies were talking in a rush on the upper floors of the factory. They didn’t seem to be in a panic, but as she switched locations, she spotted a few others taking the ladder up. They were moving fast, almost in a hurry, but when they nearly cleared the last few rungs to the top, they stopped. Lingered right at that edge to stay out of sight, allowing what was happening there to finish playing out.

When the other two Peggies separated, their conversation finished, Hana found her eyes firmly locked on the one coming over to the area by the ladder. Not even five feet away the others waited, but they emerged at that point. Finished their climb as they greeted the one at the edge, and swept him out of sight shortly after. The other continued his circuit down the walkway, undisturbed as he entered the building.

Lowering the binoculars, Hana let out a low whistle, and nearly jumped out of her skin when Lenny sidled up beside her. Grace’s rifle was up in an instant, and Hana raised both hands, mouthing ‘friendly’ with what she hoped was rapid-fire speed as the two women held the tensest silent stand-off she’d been involved with in a while. Eventually, however, they eased off, lowering their weapons, and the three settled into as close as a tentative peace as they were going to get.

Lenny was alone; the others with her were already staked out on the property, and she signaled for them to follow, heading down to the low ground to better gauge how things were going.

The shop ahead seemed undisturbed. There were a few Peggies posted outside, but they didn’t seem to have a clue about the group moving through the factory. One of them casually stepped back inside after enjoying the breeze sweeping through the valley, leaving another out on the stoop. If there was a patrol going, they weren’t currently on this side of the property.

Sidling up along the building, Hana crept forward along its edge. Reaching down for a rock, she gave it a small toss a couple feet in front of her. Nothing. The next rock that followed was a heavier one, landing with a solid thud just behind it. That got a sound of interest from the cultist standing out there with her, but she didn’t move a single muscle until they emerged just past the side of the building, eyes aimed towards the trees.

That was her cue.

Hana darted forward, looping her arms around their neck and brought them back against the wall. Squeezing tight, she felt their motions flag, and after a long minute let them slump to the ground out of sight. Another came into view shortly after. They emerged from the back door, and Hana caught the flash of a lighter as the cultist cut a sharp turn towards her hiding spot.

Grace stepped in, an old pro. Made her feel almost sloppy with how smooth her takedown of the Peggie was - disabling and then easing them down into the grass without even a sound - and Hana stayed low. Kept her head down as they finally entered the main store.

She didn’t wait for Grace - the one she ran up on she hit with the butt of her gun, snapping their head back on impact. By the time she turned, the only other Peggie in the store was slumped on the floor, completely out behind the register. The way Lenny had pulled that off without even a single sound signaling her to it earned a thumbs up from Hana before she could stop it, but the other woman only gave a light shake of her head as they continued on.

The store had a ladder leading to the top of the factory itself, but that would have left them too exposed to slip in. With multiple areas open to access, the three kept moving, Hana trying not to sweat the fact that to her untrained eye she still couldn’t fully identify their new allies from those still with the cult - not quickly at least.

So, Lenny was her lifeline here, making sure to bury that hesitation once a target was pointed out. Every gesture she made Hana followed up on as they scaled the staircase, turned each corner, and made their way up to the same level that she was sure she’d caught Ben’s group on earlier.

Or had it been one level lower?

She thought about it, tried counting the number of Peggies they had caught along the way, and swore under her breath. She’d lost track. They weren’t on the roof though, not exactly, but could follow the path sloping upwards now towards another building. A low humming reached her ears as they crept up the walkway, the sound ever-present as they moved, and she watched as Lenny paused.

With Grace at her back, covering her, Hana held up her hand and waited.

Footsteps rose above the humming, their pace a steady one. Peeking her head up just enough to see, she caught the door in the distance and the figure idling next to it. With a passing look around the area, he didn’t linger long. Just started to whistle off-tune as he pulled the door open, and let it click into place behind him shortly after.

Glancing back behind her at Grace, Hana only had a second to clap her hand over her mouth to muffle the surprised sound that nearly slipped out. Because Grace already had a bead on the figures coming up on them from the rear, and had them solidly in her sights.

When she didn’t end up taking the shot, however, Hana let her posture relax.

Ben held up a hand along with the Pastor, both of them the kind of silent she could stand to ask for proper lessons on. Moving forward at a snail’s pace, Grace let them past, though she’d only lowered her weapon a fraction of an inch for Ben as he took up a position closer to Hana.

“Two left.”

“In there?” she whispered back.

He nodded, and Jerome filled in the rest. “It’s a small connecting room. We should be able to get to them quickly.”

Movement ahead told her that Lenny was already on it, but her eyes widened when she didn’t stop for them or wait - no, she went straight for the door unprompted.

Hana jumped up to follow, head no longer down and nearly crashed through the door after her, but what greeted her ahead she had no hope of stopping. No, she only caught the tail end of it as she caught a glimpse of a man - nearly Ben’s twin aside from the blond hair he had tied up in a bun - and the shock crossing him as Lenny closed in.

“Lenore? What are you-“

The gun was swung in a savage arc - one he had no hope of dodging - cracking against his jaw hard enough to send blood flying. It sent him straight to the floor, limbs spread out at his sides, and when he didn’t get back up, Lenny turned back towards her with a satisfied sigh.

“…William?” Hana asked, pointing down at the sprawled out Peggie VIP.

“William.” He twitched, and Hana watched Lenny’s finger skim the trigger of her shotgun before taking her hand away completely. “But that should be all of them.”

“Ben mentioned two, though.” Hana scanned the room, noticed the pillar sitting the center of it and did a quick circuit around it before joining Lenny again.

When both of them reached the only other door in the room and eased it open, Hana jumped back just in time to clear the unconscious Peggie on the other side. The woman hit the ground with as solid a thud as William had, and Lenny gestured towards her as Grace stepped over her unconscious body.

“There,” she said, lowering her hand. “That’s two.”

Back inside Green-Busch’s main building on the lower levels, Hana found herself with Jerome and Grace, and also the others currently on their side. It was a smaller group than she hoped it would be - but they would have more there to join them soon.

“Not that I’m saying we should dive feet-first into this half-cocked,” she began, grabbing for her walkie, “but care to do the honors?”

She held it out to Ben and Lenny, and Ben shook his head. “It should be someone posted here.”

“Well, William’s right out.” Literally and figuratively as she recalled the way Lenny had whipped him across the face with her shotgun. “Anyone else? Who’s second or third in command here?”

A couple of the defectors raised their hands, but one shot up at double the speed of the other.

She pointed towards him, gesturing for him to come closer. “Name?”

“Thomas.” He was dressed in coveralls, and lacked some of the more obvious brands and tattoos of the others. “I’d make the calls and load up trucks for the silos when they would stop by.”

“While also funneling out extra to us,” Lenny added. She’d been assessing him, all while he stood there remarkably blasé about it all, and she turned towards Hana. “He’ll do.”

The two stepped off to the side after that. Whatever script she was readying Thomas with they needed to have an agreement on, and they didn’t need her for that. So she switched her attention to seeing what areas of the factory they needed to section off or set up instead.

The Peggies they had rounded up earlier they had moved out of the main building to the a smaller building nearby, some of the other defectors trying their hand at talking those that were still conscious down. It didn’t seem fruitful, but it did keep them occupied, and at least two would continue to be on them for the duration of the plan.

Getting her radio out, she signaled to the others waiting at Fall’s End, and joined Jerome, Grace, and Ben as Ben started giving directions to those posted at the factory. Everyone had their place, their role to fill, and they were no exception. Moving from group to group, she refused to stay still as she moved equipment, loaded weapons, helped to reinforce locks on certain areas, and scouted out the upper levels with Grace just to help burn more of that energy off.

It was on the way back down that Hana nearly crashed into Hurk - ‘his ‘Hiya, homie!’ putting a grin on her face in record time, even when exhausted - and the number of pipe bombs in his arms was almost large enough to bury her. Rushing to help him, they moved the set over to a nearby table to be taken by a few of the nearby defectors only for Hurk to usher her back into one of the other rooms where he and Sharky had carved out a small space to keep on working.

And as she walked up, Sharky was well into all of it, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on getting the wires properly soldered together and held up a hand.

“Hey cuz, you manage to find a set?”

Hana watched him for a few seconds longer, just out of his line of view behind Hurk, only to start when Hurk handed her a set of wire cutters.

“Yeah, one of the anti-Peggies was kind enough to let me use them for a spell. Think this’ll do in a snap.”

He gave her a light slap on the shoulder, and slipped out of the room shortly after that, leaving Hana staring after him.

You tricky dick. There was no hope of him catching the pointed look she would’ve shot at him now, but it faded as she focused on Sharky instead.

Over at the bench, he had started wiggling his fingers a bit above his head, left hanging, but with his eyes still a hundred percent set on his work. Someway, somehow he still hadn’t looked up or caught her, and didn’t even notice when she rounded the bench to walk right up to him.

“Seriously, Hurky you wanna -" She set them on his palm, and when he looked up, he did a double-take. “Geez Dep, you’re getting real good at popping up out of thin air. Hell, I didn’t even hear you, or see you walk in!”

While wearing her usual red, even. That had the corner of her mouth curving up. “I’m sure you would’ve noticed eventually, hon, what with all of my stomping going on. How’s it been in the meantime, though?”

“Well, we’ve got most of the smaller shit sorted. It’s in a pack off to the side so we can grab it and run as soon as we know where Johnson’s planning on going. And I know you said don’t go too big, but you’ve got to have some options, and Hurky’s running to grab some extras to polish those off.”

Hana took a spot on the bench to his left, sitting sideways on it as she folded one of her legs under her.

“Leaving you with this, eh?” She watched him make the careful cuts needed, and idly noticed the parts sitting on the table in front of her. “You want some help?”

“Hell yeah, H. Don’t let me stop you if you wanna join in,” he replied with an easy smile.

Hana swung both legs over the seat to better face everything and pulled the materials closer. Once they were there, however, she had to stop and think for a second. Moved things around to better situate them in the way that Sharky had shown her earlier, and after five minutes of shuffling pieces around started to better recall how they all fit together.

The low rasp of a chuckle reached her ears by this point too, and she gave Sharky’s foot a light kick as she started working in earnest.

There were a lot of assembly steps to note and check before even getting close to making it a live weapon, but it needed an eye for detail that bordered on frustrating as she pushed to keep her wiring on the less shoddy side. Over time, however, she felt a weight start to creep in. A low-grade haze that made everything subtly tougher to push through as her eyelids fluttered and wanted to settle shut.

But before long, the yawn was out of her mouth before she could stop it, and as soon as it did, Sharky swept the setup out of her hands.

“Hey, pass that back-“

He set the final blasting cap, hooking everything up with an ease and speed that left her head spinning, and placed the finished pipe bomb right in her open hand.

“Order up, shorty,” he replied, flicking his eyebrows up and down.

He’d done it, all right. Just snapped his fingers and made the finished product go from zero to hero in the blink of an eye. Though she’d spent enough time watching his hands earlier to know that he put in a hell of a lot more work than that.

Holding it out in front of her, Hana gave it a solid nod of approval. “You sir, are a menace. And I mean that in the best fucking way, bud.”

Sharky shrugged as she slipped it into her pack, but that smile of his only seemed to grow. “It ain’t that bad, Dep. You just follow the wires, connect tab A to slot B, wiggle everything around a bit, dodge a spark or two if you gotta, and it’s done.”

“Done and done?” Hana said, waggling her eyebrows just like him.

“You know it,” That got her a wink. “Hurky and I might’ve put a little something extra in there for them too, ‘cause the Peggies were hoarding all of the good shit with the regular shit, and I’m not just saying that since as we’re at Green-Busch and anyone downwind after’s going to smell us coming for a mile before they even see us. This is some grade A, bonafide premium shit to stir things up with. But we don’t want to set that all off with each of these either, ‘cause with everyone here I don’t wanna send you, the Pastor, or Grace up if one pops off too close to the building. This’s worth what, four or five of our other bombs?” he pointed out, tapping one left on the table. “So if you change your mind and really want to wreck John’s shit, that’s a good way to go.”

“And you’d whipped all of this up before I got here without even trying? Damn, man. Just working some pure, unrestrained Boshaw Magic, eh?” she asked, placing her chin on her hand. “Was that how you put it earlier?”

“Dep, you’d know if it was magic. Least if it was that kind of thing where I’d need both of these, all of my fingers, and uh…” Sharky cleared his throat as his hands framed his face. Or rather, his mouth. “Well, contact.”

One eyebrow went up, then two. “Oh.”

“Uh, yeah.” His eyes flicked away from hers, but came right back as he wet his lips. “Contact.”

She thought back to when she’d been tossing the baseball around at Golden Valley Gas, and nearly pitched it at him. It’d been a move to keep her from doing the exact same thing she was doing now, parking her eyes right on him mid-motion as his tongue darted out and she glanced away.

“Better keep an eye on this one, then. Just to be safe,“ she replied, her fingers now playing with one of her shirt’s lapels.

He’d switched his attention to the materials on the table by the time she’d looked back at him, but he gave another little shrug, and couldn’t fully hide the color rising in his face.

Setting a hand behind him, she traced her fingers along the wood of the bench. Tapped her nails against it a few times as she chewed on her lip, then made up her mind.

She raised it up. Reached over to try and slide it across his back and -

“Hey, I think I found them!”

Her hand shot back to her side as Hurk walked up and set more supplies on the table.

“Had to trade for a few with the Peggies. Er, ex-Peggies? I dunno, they had a good stash going, at least the one lady did with crosses on top of her crosses, which if you like ‘em, sure, but they’re like sprouting out of her, and any more and she’d be one hell of a Christmas tree topper.“

It was all a mess of wires and caps to her, but as he separated them out, the different parts lined up with what Sharky had shown her earlier, and she started seeing what she could fit together.

…And quickly snarled it as the wires and pieces went back to an active mess in her hands.

“Whoa, there chica, you might want to slow down.” Sharky’s hands dove right in after her without any prompting, getting everything unwound to free the web she’d caught herself in. “Shit’ll get too damaged if you go too hard too fast.”

Successfully extracted, she stretched her fingers out and blinked at the pile as he continued wrangling it.

“…I hear you, hon.” Another yawn slipped out of her, this one longer than the last, and Hana rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand. “Think that might be my cue to try and sneak in some shut-eye instead. So much for being on top of it.”

Hurk slapped her on the shoulder. “You’re one hoss-ass lady, but a few winks’ll do you good, and if you wanna set up over there, we were planning on squeezing some in too.”

He gestured towards an open spot on the opposite wall a few feet from where a few others were already dozing away. It was on the ground - beggars really couldn’t be choosers down on this level and in a fertilizer factory of all places - but the longer she let her eyes linger there, the more pull it had.

She was up and heading over before she could talk herself out of it. It didn’t take much longer for the guys to join her after that, the three of them sitting by the wall with her taking the middle spot between them. With the two so warm, she found she didn’t have to worry about any drafts getting to her either.

Hurk was out in an instant, his snoring picking up as he drifted off, but Sharky hadn’t joined him. His breathing was steady, but hadn’t settled into the rhythm that usually came with sleep.

“You sure about this, H?”, he quietly asked, his voice right by her ear.

Her eyes had been closed, but they opened slightly as she stared out into the room ahead. Watched the people moving through, the events of the last few days a blur almost.

No.

Shifting to rest against his shoulder, Sharky slipped an arm around her to help her get more comfortable, and she leaned right into him. Soaked in every last bit of that Boshaw-brand heat he had a talent for generating while she had it.

“We need this, so…yeah. I’m sure.”

He rested his chin on top of her head, and she wondered what look was crossing him then. If he was showing any of the nerves she was working to bury fast. “Things go sideways though, you know we got you, right?“

“I know.” She pressed her cheek into his hoodie as her eyes slipped shut. “…You’ve always got me.”

His thumb started drawing small half-circles from its spot by her wrist. She focused on that until she finally went under.

She only had a few hours of sleep under her belt when she was roused from it, dragging herself up from her all too comfortable spot wedged between the guys. And if she’d been half-drooling on the front of Sharky’s chest, to her relief no one decided to call her on it.

Judging from the way she’d woken up to a mostly quiet room, nothing had gone wrong or spiraled during the brief time she’d let herself get disconnected from it all. Using her fingers to comb some of the loose strands of her hair back, she joined the others over at the General Store. Grace was right by the door, eyes scanning the area outside while Lenny was perched on a nearby chair, checking to make sure she had extra shells at the ready.

Just past her, she caught Ben at the counter - standing by as Jerome spoke to their man of the moment, Thomas. If there was anyone to get a pep talk from, it was him, and as she walked up to the two, she didn’t interrupt. Not until Jerome set a hand on his shoulder, and Thomas gave a small nod.

“So, Tom. Thomas.” Hana’s fingers rubbed together idly, and she dug them into the palm of her glove instead. “You good?”

“Yes, I’m ready. We usually make our reports later on, so this should be early enough to look more like an emergency.”

“Good to know.” She crossed her arms, and turned to Ben and Jerome. “So, fellas. Er, Pastor and fella singular. Are we ready to do this?”

“As ready as we can be, Deputy,” Jerome replied, his voice the calming boost she badly needed. “It’s time to now see it through.”

With her nails biting into the glove’s leather harder and harder with each squeeze, she inclined her head towards Thomas. “…Then Major Tom, it’s all on you now.”

She stepped back, not that she needed to give him much more space, but with the floor open and attention now centered squarely on him, Thomas adjusted his feet, and held up the radio.

With the press of a switch, the line opened up. “Brother John? We’ve done it. We have her.”

When silence met him, he tried again.

“This is Thomas. Thomas at the Green-Busch plant.” Finger off of the call button, the line was open, but no answer followed. “…Brother John? Herald?”

Hana raised an eyebrow at the title switch, but chalked it up to nerves as she saw the man begin to pale. He’d been bold, but after that shaky start wasn’t looking half as brave as before.

The dead air coming in through the radio continued, but just before he braced for another try, a grimace settling on his features, a voice came through.

“…You have her.”

The start of a cold sweat settled over her, and it’d only taken three words from John to do it.

“Yes! Yes, we’ve got her. The Deputy. This is Thomas at Green-Busch, we caught her moving around the plant and-“ he faltered, glancing at her and the others as he left the call hanging. “She’s been restrained.”

John hummed in response. “Thomas. Where is Brother William?”

Lenny got up from the bench, crossing to Thomas in seconds and jabbed a finger at the radio in his hand. Mouthed one word - talk - but Thomas struggled. Cleared his throat as he floundered, before finding his voice again.

“He was injured. He was trying to keep the Deputy from our stores.” That was true. “We didn’t want to wait for him to recover before telling you.” That was also technically true, but his delivery was spotty at best.

“Brother Thomas,” John said, pausing before continuing. "You’re making a very serious claim. One that not just I, but the Father will not take lightly if it proves to be less than truthful. So, would you like to try again from the very beginning, making sure to include every single last detail?”

“She’s here. She tried to sabotage the plant, but we have her. We finally have her, and-”

And John wasn’t buying it.

Hana’s chest tightened, breath coming in shorter and shorter bursts as she listened. Watched Thomas’s grip on the radio waver, the call button still depressed.

John still had control without even being in the room. Acted almost bored with them on top of that, and as everything slowed to a halt, she found herself transported back to that night in the valley.

Back to the lake, as she floated in place just below the surface. To him, and his hands holding her down as the water sucked her under, keeping her there as it closed over her head. Overwhelming every sense she had, leaving her -

Panicked. Trapped. Helpless.

Weak.

She screamed.

Those closest to her jumped. Thomas would’ve joined them without the radio in hand, she bet, but he let go of the call button as he gathered himself.

Hana took in a deep breath, and blew it straight out. Then noticed the hairy eyeball Grace was giving her, along with Jerome’s concern and Ben and Lenny’s stares, and shrugged it all off.

“He’s calling our bluff. He needs proof that I’m here, and that I’m pissed about it, so we give him fucking proof.”

So she screamed again, and this time let out a string of obscenities - holding John squarely in her mind’s eye as she kept going. Did it all once more with feeling - without anyone laying a single finger on her - and noticed when Thomas raised the radio up. Saw his lips moving as he attempted to start up some sort of conversation between her outbursts, even aiming the radio at her for a round.

Take it, she thought, eying the radio. Take the bait.

Her throat bordering on raw now, she brushed her bangs out of her face and felt her face heat in a mix of frustration and exertion. Traded a look with Thomas, and felt ready to pace a hole through the concrete in this spot.

“Fine. Fine!” Hana threw out, hands going up. “If he’s not going to bite, I’ll just have to-“

The radio crackled, coming to life, and she let the sentence drop completely.

“…Ah. It seems I was mistaken after all.”

John’s tone had shifted. With her actually in the room and him aware of it, he was dialed in completely.

“Stay where you are, all of you, and Deputy? …Be patient. I’ll try not to keep you waiting much longer.”

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