Number Zero- The Umbrella Academy (Book 1)

☂17☂

Zero stared at the motel in front of him with a neutral expression. He would look uncaring to anyone who saw him, but inside he was furious and prepared to slaughter the people who had taken his brother.

The sound of the lobby door's bell-ringing compelled Zero to turn as he noticed a woman walking out. He studied the woman from where he stood, taking note of the glint of a badge around her neck as she strode out.

He knew she was a detective named Eudora Patch, someone Diego knew. How did he know? Well, because the boy had made sure to get all the information he could on his siblings, and apparently, Diego had a thing for the detective.

She had an impeccable record causing Zero to question what had caused his idiot brother to mess up that relationship before remembering it was Diego.

Zero had a hunch she was there because of Klaus, but he didn't know how she had gotten that information. The boy had to admit Eudora was good at her job, but the woman was also stupid for not calling for backup. So he decided to follow her and see where she was headed.

Eudora silently made her way up the stairs stepping as silently as she could before making her way down one of the hallways. All the while, Zero followed her in the shadows, not making a single noise.

As he walked silently down the hallway, he made sure to look out for clues regarding his brother or the kidnappers. Eudora was about to walk past a room before suddenly stopping and listening to something; she was about to turn the handle when Zero jumped out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

Twisting her head to look at the boy in shock, Eudora opened her mouth to say something, but he put his finger to his mouth to stop her before pulling her away from the room. "I'm Diego's brother." He mouthed to her as if that simple declaration would explain everything, and by the look in the woman's eyes, it did because she then gave the boy an exasperated look.

"I'm here to help." Zero told her, pointing at the room they had just stood outside of.

The woman looked at him for a second before shaking her head, "You're just a kid. Get out of here."

Zero let the kid comment slide but shook his head, telling her that he wasn't going anywhere. "If you know anything about my brother, then you know he's stubborn as hell; it's a family trait. So we can stand out here all night, or we can go and save my brother."

Eudora let out an annoyed sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose before looking at the boy in front of her, "If I let you come with me, you have to listen to everything I tell you. This isn't a game."

Zero rolled his eyes but complied, knowing he would have to follow her rules if he wanted to get the woman out of it alive.

Eudora moved over to a maid coming out of one of the rooms, ordering her to hand over her master key. She unlocked the door and opened it slowly before giving Zero one last look, "Stay put." The woman whispered before going in with her gun raised.

Zero obviously ignored her and peaked into the room, catching a glimpse of Klaus bloodied and bruised, tied to a chair with a piece of duct tape over his mouth.

"Are you Diego's brother?" Eudora asked him while Klaus let out a muffled yes.

"I'm Detective Patch," She told him while Zero pushed past her, taking out a knife and cutting the duct tape on his brother's wrist.

"I told you to stay outside!" Eudora whispered angrily.

"You should know by now that we Hargreeves are bad at following orders." Zero replied, focusing on his brother.

Klaus looked at his brother, his eyes filling with tears, happy that at least one of his siblings had remembered him and came to save him. Klaus looked up at the detective before jerking his head in the bathroom's direction. Eudora raised her gun, understanding what he was trying to tell her.

"You stay here and help him while I check the bathroom. That's an order." Eudora whispered to Zero, causing the boy to smirk and nod at the detective.

Zero took the duct tape off his brother's mouth, finally letting Klaus open his mouth to speak, but Zero shushed him. Zero cut the last of the rope letting Klaus free; the man grabbed his shoulders to steady himself as he struggled to stand up. Zero helped his brother get to his feet as the bathroom door creaked open.

Zero pushed himself in front of Klaus, taking out his gun as he watched Eudora hold her gun up. One of the kidnappers stuck his head out and shot at the woman, but she soon followed with her own shot at him.

The blonde quickly forced Klaus to the ground out of the line of fire while lifting up his gun, ready to shoot. "Drop the gun, or you're going down!" Eudora ordered.

A hand shot out from the bathroom and dropped the gun on the floor. "I'm coming out," The man announced, "Don't shoot."

Zero observed as the man stepped out of the bathroom with his hands in the air. "Hands behind your head, asshole." Eudora told him.

"Okay," He said, putting his hand behind his head. "Just don't shoot."

Zero looked over at where he had pushed Klaus and noticed that the man had used the vent to escape. He smiled, knowing that his brother was safe now, before turning his attention back to the man. Sensing movement from behind him, Zero quickly spun around, ready to pull the trigger, but it was too late as he heard a gunshot. Zero froze as he realized that he hadn't been the one to pull the trigger, but the second kidnapper had.

And to his disbelief, he hadn't been the one shot. Instead, it had been Eudora who let out a cry of pain. Turning to look at the woman crumble to the ground gasping for air, he realized he had used his phasing ability without even trying.

The boy stared at her with wide eyes at what he had unintentionally caused. As he was distracted, the man and woman quickly fired at him, but Zero managed to let the bullets phase through him, raising his own gun and firing at them as he made his own escape.

"R-Run!" Eudora shouted as she shot at the two people from where she was on the ground, using the last of her strength to distract them, ensuring that Diego's brother would live.