Safe // Luke AU Fic

Chapter 3

Luke immediately stood up from his chair, looking around the room. There was one single scratch mark on the ground made by the chair Carson had occupied.

"Kidnapped" was the first word that crossed Luke's mind. As he raced down the hallway, one notion stopped him in his tracks. Just fifteen minutes ago, Griffin sent out his starting message. Now Carson's gone.

He put two and two together and started flying down the stairs, mind running as fast as he was. If this is what I think it is, Griffin has to follow protocol. He can't kill her with people around. He has to do it somewhere outside.

Just as he thought, as he hid behind a gate that sectioned off part of the area behind the building, he heard Griffin's condescending tone. "...you looking for?"

Then he heard Carson's scared voice answer, "I-I don't know what you're talking about. I truly don't. Please let me go, I don't –"

"God, do you shut up?" Luke could just imagine Griffin with that frown and rolling his eyes. He heard him sigh, "You were obviously looking to gain something from hacking into our network so just cough it up and let's get this over with, yeah?"

Luke heard him messing around with the gun silencer and knew he had to do something fast. He looked above them, and there was one lantern attached to the building providing light for the area. He pulled out his P22 and cocked it under his jacket. Waiting for the right moment, he went through his plan.

As soon as Griffin turned away, he shot a single bullet through the lantern, plunging them all into darkness. With the moon hidden behind the trees, there was no light to see what was going on. He rushed to where Carson had been and immediately covered her mouth so she couldn't scream, and then carried her out around the front of the building. Luke turned her around so that she could see him and would stop squirming for escape.

Her eyes opened wide when she recognized him, and he removed his hand from her mouth.

"Luke?! What happened? Wh-"

He cut her off. "There's no time right now. You need to stop talking and follow me quickly. Don't look suspicious."

He began walking briskly away from the building and kept Carson by his side. He made no attempt at conversation, and she kept her mouth shut as well. He was waiting for one thing, and then he could relax.

After twenty minutes of walking in random directions, he received a text message.

Alpha: A1-15-X

He stopped walking and let out a deep breath. Griffin's stopped his assignment.

"Luke?" He turned around to face Carson, who looked small and scared and wrapped her coat around herself tighter. "What was that?"

"Um. Well, I just saved your life," he said, forcing a playful smile and patting her shoulder. "You owe me one." Luke shifted his gaze away from her confused eyes.

In his peripheral vision he saw her shake her head and check her watch. "The meeting's near done now. It'd be pointless to go back. I guess I'll see you around."

Luke nodded, still not meeting her eyes, and she turned and started walking.

When Carson was out of sight, he let out a loud sigh. "What the fuck wasthat?" He asked himself. "I wasn't even supposed to interfere, let alone save her."

He shoved his hands in his coat pockets and began the walk back to the hotel. His thoughts took over. What are you doing, Luke? Why'd you save her? She apparently hacked the system, so protocol says she has to go. What were you thinking, stopping Griffin from killing her?

His wandering thoughts consumed him all the way to when he was pulling his shirt off to go to bed. His vibrating phone on the dresser took him out of his reverie and brought him to answer the call.

"Emergency meeting. Rendezvous at the checkpoint house in 20," Vic's voice came over the receiver and hung up.

Luke tried not to groan as he trudged his way back up the streets.

***

At the checkpoint house, Griffin and Victoria were already standing over the desk, poring over a map of the city. Luke joined them, looking over at the markings on the paper.

"As you know, Griffin's 15th mission was not successful," Vic explained. "But the boss isn't going to have any of that, so we need to finish the job."

"Alright, I've mapped out our stations and we'll get right to it," Griffin said, standing up straight. "Vic, you handle the southwestern side. Luke takes the southeast. I'm going up north. We need to secure a 50-mile radius perimeter, providing she is riding a bike, which is the fastest way to get around this city. Records show she neither has a license nor a car. We sweep the perimeter in the clockwise direction and meet back here in two hours. Anyone who finds her kills her and reports it through text to the rest of us. We good to go?"

"Yup," Vic chirped, slipping her gun under the waistband of her jeans. "Luke?"

Luke was staring intently at the map, trying to figure out where Carson might be. The only location he could think of in the southeast side of the city was the diner.

"Luke," Griffin asserted, and gave him a shove.

"Yeah, got it, let's go," he said, walking out the door.

By nothing less of a miracle, Carson was rushing out the back door of the diner when Luke caught her.

"Carson!"

She turned her head around and stared in shock for a moment, but her expression shortly turned cool. "Oh. It's you again. Hi, Lu –"

"Do you know where the McKaiden Hotel is?" Luke quickly said, walking up to her.

"Yeah, it's just a few blocks –"

"Okay, take this," Luke gave her his hotel room key, "and go there immediately. I'm in room 841. Stay there, don't move, don't call anyone, don't do anything til I'm back. You're not safe."

"What do you mean I'm not –"

"Go!" He pushed her in the general direction of the hotel and she didn't give a second glance back.

When she was out of earshot, he took out his gun and fired into a garbage bag lying next to the dumpster behind the diner. He picked up his bullet and the shelling and texted the others.

Beta: A2-15-O

***

A/N: Okay so this might be super disappointing for those of you that actually have read the first two chapters but I've stopped writing this fic unfortunately. No inspiration came, and I stopped writing one shots and preferences altogether. I don't write anymore, I'm sorry! But I  do have this chapter and the 4th chapter which will go up shortly. To anyone who wants to take this fic and continue it - be my guest and let me know if you do pick it up!!