𝐁𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐄

50

A security guard leaped out at me as I go down the hall, searching for the bedrooms. I grab his wrist, but he grabs mine and we both lock eyes. The man who had so much to say when Dieson and I landed in from Canada. He grabbed my own arm and slammed it up into my nose. I kneed him between the legs, and slammed my fist down into the side of his neck until I'm sure he could see stars. I kicked him hard in the gut, grabbed both of his arms and pulled them behind his body, yanking on them hard and not stopping until I heard a satisfying crunch.

I leave his limp form on the floor, grabbing my gun off the ground after realizing I dropped it, and spinning around. I keep it aimed and ready, kicking rooms open with my toe and surveying them.

Where could they be?

All the rooms are bare and I can't discern a guest from a regular room. Which one might have been mine? Where was my parent's room? "Father!" I shout out, "Amina!" I add, giving up. Come out here, come out here so I can kill you.

I hear noise from the front door and can only hope it's Mother or someone else on our side. I inch into another bedroom and am immediately rushed. So this was where the rest of the security was? I'm disarmed again, not surprisingly because their skill surpasses mine. Strong hands wrap around my neck and a tattoo of a cat is being smothered against my face as I fight for breath.

"Night-night, Courtlynn Cerbey," a woman's gentle voice lulls. My vision sparkles and I feel my limbs growing weak. I was so close. So...close.

"Take this!"

I'm suddenly let go, and I collapse right alongside the screaming security guard, my body weak, my mind dizzy. Mother stands over us, a needle grasped in her hands and a hungry expression that didn't stray too far from the one of my nightmares.

"Where is Jarvis Cerbey?"

"In here!" I hear M grunt.

Mother rushes down the hall and I regain my sense of balance, fighting myself and following behind her. The staircase to the attic is open and I can see M struggling just along the top of it with a bloody leg. Mother climbs the steps first and I keep my eyes peeled for anyone trying to rush us from the front or behind.

I drag M to a corner, applying pressure to her wound as she tells me that Cerbey's taken Amina out to the roof. Mother complains that her knees are too bad for this and I try to make sense of where M's dark red pants begins and where her wound starts.

"M," I say, applying pressure. "I-I don't know."

"I'll be fine," she gives me a weak smile, "It's up to you, Courtlynn Cerbey. Make me and NJ proud, huh?" I leave M there in the attic, looking up at the ceiling and seeing where a latch opens up. I push it open and a short staircase that doesn't quite reach the ground materializes for us.

I climb up first, and spot Cerbey, distracted, pointing at something in the distance to Amina. The roof is flat until we meet at the edges, and a single arched point is in the center. The flat area can't be seen from the street. Maybe he thought he could hide from me. I grab Mother and help her up the stairs, quickly looking back at each grunt she makes.

I stalk towards Cerbey as she produces vials from her jacket.

"Great. We're finally all here to enjoy the rooftop view," Cerbey announces without looking back at us. He flips around, and he's holding a heavy gun and Amina's arm. She looks terrified and scared, fixing her expression to appear passive when she notices me.

"Jarvis," I snarl.

"Court," he laughs.

"You killed my daughter," Mother says accusingly.