She with The Flowers in Her Hair| Number Five

🌼CHAPTER 26: Setting Up Assassins🌼

Ellie really didn't like Five's plan. The mere thought of seeing the handler brought about a chill in her insides. Both from the immense trauma and the fact that the blasted woman would flirt with Five with her in the same room, so she sulked, sitting in the back seat as Luther drove the car to the meeting place. Anxiety began to eat at her as they got closer and closer up until the car stopped. She heard Five unbuckle his seatbelt, his head moving to look around and this just made Ellie's heart beat faster.

"You know, I-- we never enjoyed it. The killing. I mean we were good at our work... took pride in being the absolute best. But it never gave us pleasure. Maybe it was just the effect of the apocalypse. Just us and the ruins and chaos." Five started speaking not daring to meet anyone's eyes.

"Yeah, you two were gone for years, I only spent four years on the moon and that was more than enough. Being alone broke me, you're lucky that you were at least together." this made Five look back at his wife that wasn't paying attention to their conversation, her eyes once again blank, staring out the window. He shook his head at the fact that she had succumbed into the daze again.

"Do you think they'll buy it?" The man in the driver's seat asked while he adjusted the briefcase they had assembled at the academy.

"Well what I do know is that they're desperate. It's like a cop losing his gun. If the commission finds out, they'll be in deep shit. Not to mention that they'll be stuck here."

"Well I should hold on to it. Just in case they make a move on you."

"Okay Luther but... I've lived a long life. You're still a young man, you've got your whole life ahead of you." Luther gave his brother a weird look. Still not coming to terms that a fifty-eight year old man could be stuck in an eighteen year old's body was just gave him life advice. He watched as Five climbed into the back seat, settling himself beside the girl, tucking her into his side. Something inside Luther snapped, a sense of longing erupting in his chest as he watched Five leave a tender kiss on the girl's forehead. Even though she was completely oblivious to everything that was happening Five still showed such affection and vulnerability just for her, and to him it was just so precious and he wanted that so bad. If only he could take back time and plucked up the courage to have given Allison and himself the option.

Not far away from where they were parked, a car came down the road. It sounded as if whoever was driving it was completely in a state of ire as they completely floored it. The pair watched it approach, the outline of it mixing with the mirage getting bigger as it got closer to them until it stopped. Luther and Five climbed out, the bigger man grabbing the briefcase while Five walked to help Ellie out of the car. The pair stood beside Luther as they watched the assassins climb out of their vehicle. As Five saw the figures of both Hazel and Cha-cha he sighed, his eyes going to his brother and then to his wife still frozen in the daze. "If things go sideways, do me a favor and keep her safe. Tell her I'm sorry when she snaps out of it."

Five placed Ellie next to Luther, the man placing her behind his own protective stance. It didn't need a verbal affirmation for Five to give a final look to his wife and then turning around to face the assassins, both of them still wearing their eerie masks. From where Luther was stood, he could barely hear the conversation they were having, but he knew he still needed to stay alert just in case things do go south, and he needed to go pull through with his promise to Five. Ellie maintained her blank expression so Luther took his back to Five, who was now walking back. The pair of assassins doing the same, the woman going towards the phone and dialing in a number.

"What happens now?" Luther asked, now guiding Ellie next to Five who leaned onto the car.

"We wait." Just as Five uttered this a distant sound resonated, the sugary rendition of 'ride of the Valkyries' reached their ears. The brothers turning to the general direction, to see an ice cream truck approaching. Even Hazel and Cha-cha watched the vehicle as it came closer, donning the same confused expression Luther and Five had on. As it passed them, they find the faces of two of their brothers, Klaus even waving at them with a jovial smile on his face. The entire situation looking like a set-up, prompted the pair of assassins to whip out their guns, aiming at the Hargreeves, bullets flying everywhere.

Before a bullet could embed itself into Luther it felt as if time had decided to stop, the occurrence went for everyone except for the teenagers. Five coming to terms with it first as he watched everything around him halt. He rushed to Ellie's side, whispering the same mantra in her ear, hoping she'll snap out of it quickly, he whispered to her again to no avail, until she moved her head to look at him. "It's her isn't it?" She asked him her eyes filled with fear, her tone still airy signaling that she was still slightly out of it. The boy sighed, grabbing his wife's hand pulling her to observe the rest of the seen. They looked at Luther first and then to Hazel and Cha-cha, the action being interrupted by an unexpected voice.

"Neat trick isn't it?" The couple looked to their right to see the Handler standing in her black number. She looked at them with a huge smile, pulling back her veil as Five pulled Elle behind him, feeling her cower at the sight of the horrid woman. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Hargreeves. You look good, all things considered." She said, looking at their young forms.

"It's good to see you again."

"Feels like we met yesterday. Course, both of you were a little older then. Congratulations on the age regression by the way. Very clever. Threw us all off the scent."

"Wish I could take credit. This is but a miscalculation." He justified to her while he tightened his hold on Ellie's hand that was shaking profusely.

"You realize, your efforts are futile. So, why don't you just tell me what you really want?"

"I want you to put a stop to it." Five smiled now placing one of his hands onto the small of Ellie's back while the other one held a gun pointeed to the woman.

"What you're asking me is next to impossible. You can kill me right now and I'll just be replaced. I'm but a small cog in the machine. This fantasy that you've been about summoning your family to stop the apocalypse... is just that. A fantasy." she said stepping towards the couple, every single one of her words pushing Five's hand to lower the gun. "I must say though, we're all quite impressed with your initiative, your... stick-to-itiveness, really quite... quite something. This is why we want to offer you a new position at the commission. In management, both of you." as she said that she peered to look straight at Ellie who now hid behind Five, not bothering to hear the rest of her offer. Frankly she was just plain terrified and annoyed to be standing so close to the woman.

"What about our family?" Five asked, catching Ellie's attention as she looked at Luther's still frozen form.

"What about them?"

"We want them to survive." Ellie spoke with a brave face, making the woman smile and then sigh as she looked at the frozen Hargreeves.

"All of them?" The teenagers only nodded, their faces hard and serious. "Well... I'll see what I can do." The woman's hand extended expecting Five to shake it but Ellie raised her a finger as she walked away from their conversation. Five following behind her. The girl picked up the gun on the road, disassembling the gun and throwing the parts in different directions, she turned around to see Five pushing a bullet about to hit Luther in the chest. After the little adjustments the two ended up in front of the handler who extended her hand to Five again. The action making Ellie roll her eyes and push her husband out of the way. Not letting go of Five, she grabbed the woman's hand with her other hand. And in a flash they were gone, hopefully to mend the coming of the dreaded apocalypse.

EDITED