Bound by Duty | Five Hargreeves

16. Fragments

The two of us end up back in the hallway in which we'd been in moments before, breathing frantically as the adrenaline in our bodies began to flow. I exhale, swallowing thickly and squeezing Five's hand.

I turn around, letting out a soft gasp as I come face-to-face with a man. He was incredibly tall, barely shorter than Luther, and had bleach blonde hair with a side parting. He wore a white tuxedo and black pants. The Swedes.

"Oh, shit—" Five mutters, but before he can finish his sentence, the man grabs Five and slams him against a wall. I take a sharp breath of air, stumbling back as Five spacial jumps behind the man and kicks the back of his knee.

The tall man falls to his knees, and in that time, Five takes the opportunity to lunge forwards and wrap his arms around the man's neck, trying to snap it. The man's eyes find mine, reaching back and throwing Five over his shoulders. He goes to punch Five, but again, he spacial jumps back over to me.

I don't take my eyes off of the man, ignoring Five's heavy breathing and sweaty face. I know his job was to kill Five, on my mother's command, but for some reason, seeing this man pin for Five pissed me off. A lot. And it's normally not a great idea to piss off someone who quite literally controls life and death.

With one touch, I could kill him. I blink a few times, immediately pushing that thought out of my head. I put that side of me away a long time ago, and there's no way in hell I'm bringing it back out now. Not for Five, and not because of some Swedish man with a terrible hairline.

Five grabs my wrist, clenching his free hand and grunting softly. I frown, looking over at him as waves surround his hands, but nothing happens. "Shit..." He mutters, his eyes finding mine. "I can't jump." We both look over just as the man throws his arm forwards and punching Five right in the face.

He then slams me into the wall and out of the way, before continuing to punch Five in the gut. I take the opportunity to grab a vase, slamming it over the tall man's head. Slowly, he turns to face me, letting go of Five and staring directly at me. I swallow thickly, trying to ignore the genuine fear I felt in my body. I wasn't usually afraid of this sort of thing, but knowing I couldn't use my powers or combat skills becuase I needed Five not to be suspicious terrified me. Which was perfect.

I take a shaky breath, opening my mouth to say something, but no words came out. He raises his hand, before shoving my shoulder, sending me flying into a little table. My body rolls along the floor, before ending up in heap down the hallway, a soft grunt leaving my body in pain. I look up as Five lunges towards the man, the fury in his eyes noticeable.

It doesn't take long though for the man to regain his strength and upstage Five again. I hiss as I struggle to get up, my hip burning and my gaze hazy. My eyes flicker behind Five, spotting Diego, who was being choked by one tall blonde guy, and punched in the guy by another. Shit, I forgot there were three...

My eyes then move over to Lila as she enters the hallway, our gazes catching as Diego begs her to help him. I shake my head, and she furrows her eyebrows, grabbing a knife and running towards me and Five. She kicks off her shoes, jumping onto the table I'd been thrown into, grabbing the chandelier and kicks the man in the face. She then wraps her legs around his neck, stopping him from being able to hurt Five again.

Lila flips over, sending the Swede over her shoulder and onto the floor. She looks up, avoiding my gaze. "You're welcome." Before anything else can happen, Five notices the Swede getting up. He moves forwards, slamming himself into the man and sending him down through the window and onto the floor below.

As the grunts of Diego echo from the distance, Five rushes over to me, helping me up into a sitting position. I furrow my eyebrows, trying my best to make him out. To be quite honest, all I could see was a blob of brown hair and his suit. "You..." I whisper, fluttering my eyes closed as I feel his hand caress my cheek.