Broken Masks

Chapter 40 - Never Stopped

(A/N: Just a reminder that I now have an official Instagram page! Please go and follow therealsamgates11 for exclusive character concepts, mood boards and updates on the writing process!)

"Wha... what?" TJ answered, his eyes boggling.

"What is going on between you two? You barely spoke to or about him after you found out who he is, he kicks you out of his prison cell when you tried to see him, you basically refused to acknowledge him since the court hearing. Oh, and did I mention he's Machia-fucking-vellian! The assassin you've hated since you started on the force!" Lena whisper-shouted, gesturing with her head.

"... ok? Your point?" TJ responded. He wasn't quite sure where she was going with this. He had an idea, but he was hoping to whatever god was out there it wasn't the case.

"You still love him." Lena stated, her tone saying this wasn't a question, or a mere guess. This was fact.

TJ opened his mouth. Then closed it. Then opened it again. He managed to make some sort of sound between a squark and an 'um', and then froze up like a deer in headlights.

Lena wasn't impressed. And in all honesty, nor was she surprised.

"You still love him. You love him the same way you did when you told me not to accept his date proposal. You never stopped."

TJ was looking everywhere in the corridor apart from Lena's face.

Had that light always been more orange than the others?

"TJ, I swear to god, if you don't talk to me right fucking now, I'll kick you off the A2M task force."

This had TJ suddenly paying more attention. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then met eyes with Lena.

"What do you want me to say." He mumbled. Lena sighed.

"Confirm or deny. Explain. Vent. Shout. Scream. Anything. Just don't leave me in the dark here."

TJ closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. Taking a deep breath, he began speaking.

"During the hearing, when that psychologist... whatever the hell his name was... he said that Klaus has D.I.D, and I did some research into it. I realized that Klaus and Machiavellian are two different people. Machiavellian in the mask, Klaus without it. I hate Machiavellian; I don't really know anyone who doesn't. Hell, even the gangs he worked with hate him. 'Too trigger happy' which doesn't even make much sense because they're all-"

"Get on with it." Lena interrupted TJ's ramblings. TJ gaped like a fish for a moment, then swallowed and continued.

"... Like I said, I hate Machiavellian. But Machiavellian isn't Klaus. I get Klaus lied and hid Machiavellian from us- from me, but looking at his past, with the whole UNIT thing, I understand why he would. He was conditioned to do it. And if he didn't... I don't want to imagine what they'd do to the kids who disobeyed..."

"That was years ago..." Lena responded.

"Trauma can last a lifetime. You should know that."

Lena tipped her head to one side, stretching her neck, making it crack.

"I blame Machiavellian for what Machiavellian did. I don't blame Klaus for what Machiavellian did because Klaus wasn't in control. At first, I did, and I hated Klaus, but then I realized what was actually happening. I can't and don't think I'll ever stop loving Klaus..." TJ trailed off. Lena knew he was done explaining.

She took a deep breath.

"I don't understand all that much, but I know you and I trust you. Just don't get hurt because of him."

TJ nodded.

"OK, let's get back in there."

***

The process was long, but eventually, with the help of various arial photos, the possible location of A2M, and thus Jess, was narrowed down to two places. Both looked incredibly similar; dilapidated barns with crocked signs announcing either 'Fenthum Barn' and 'Fenthum Oak', and both being abandoned for a very long time.

"And you're sure you can't work out which of these is the actual location?" Lena asked for the fourth time.

"I'm sure. They look way too similar, and I didn't get a good enough look at them, I couldn't really see all that much of it." Klaus replied.

TJ watched from the side; arms crossed over his chest. He was chewing his lip, staring at the floor. He had decided, as Klaus and Lena had talked over the various Fenthum Avenues and Fenthum Ways, that he had to talk to Klaus in private.

I'll wait till we get Klaus back to the psych ward, so there won't be as many guards... I guess that'll mean I'll have to find a way to go with him...

TJ was brought out of his thoughts by Lena and one of the guards starting to pack up the map, now with two large circles drawn around the two suspected locations.

Opposite sides of the city... That's going to complicate things... he thought. Glancing at Lena, who met his look, TJ knew she was thinking the same.

"Ok Klaus, time for you to head back to the ward." Lena told the raven as she folded the map and slotted it into a large manilla folder. Klaus nodded, and rose carefully from the wheelchair. He staggered slightly but righted himself quickly.

He doesn't like hospital stuff; never did... kind of ironic looking at how long he's spent in one of them recently... TJ thought, watching him, carefully and paced, start to make his way towards the door, the entourage of guards following.

As soon as the door shut behind the group, TJ whirled around to Lena.

"I'm going with them; I need to talk to him." He told her. Lena barely had time to nod him off before he was out the door and jogging after Klaus.

The guards initially spun with guns ready when they heard the slapping of TJ's trainers on the polished granite floor, but they quickly lowered them when they realized who was approaching.

"Mind if I come with?" He asked. Klaus nodded in response and allowed TJ to fully catch up with him and walk by his side out of the station and to the armored van that would carry them to the psychiatric hospital.

(A/N: Sorry for missing last week's chapter update, some family things came up! And another apology for the punctuation issue in that chapter, the formatting went out the widow when I copied the text from word onto the app. Good news though, I'm on more of a roll then ever before, and we are finally on our way to the climax! Clench your asses people, we're almost at the end of the book!)