Scars And Stories

Chapter 19

After a pretty long drive, the van stopped in the middle of the night in a small alleyway next to a hotel located in a suburb of New York City. Ryan turned off the car, the lights shutting down and the darkness of the alley consuming the car whole.

The only source of light were the lampposts in the street in front of them, which illuminated the street with a yellowish gleam.

Patrick stood up from his spot in the back of the van and walked to the small window that separated the back from the front of the vehicle. He knelt down and looked in front of him. His breathing hitched as he saw the reflection of the red neon sign of the building next to them in the showcase of a street shop right in front of them. Even though it was reversed, he could clearly recognize the Twin Skeleton's' insignia.

Heat started to creep up his neck and to his face as his stress and anxiety flooded over him. He let out a heavy breath, trying to calm himself.

Ryan turned his gaze to Patrick and gave him a small, reassuring smile.

"So, you, Patrick and the guys," Alex started, pointing at Ryan then the back of the van, "You're going in there. I'll bring Jack back to the headquarters and then come back to pick you guys up when you're done. You okay with that?"

Ryan nodded and glanced at Patrick with Alex. The dirty blond was staring in front of him, gazing into space.

"You okay with that?" Alex repeated a bit louder. Patrick shook his head, snapping out of the daze he'd fallen into, then nodded.

Deep down inside of him, Patrick was happy they were finally going to do something about the Syndicate, but he was also really scared that the same thing that happened the last time would happen again. He couldn't help but think about everything that could go wrong. He had to go out there and try, though. He had to, at least.

That was the general feeling everyone in the van had - they were all scared. No one was sure about what they were going to do, but they had to do it, even if it cost them their lives. They couldn't give up because they weren't doing it for themselves, they were doing it for every other people out there, also threatened by the Syndicate. They were doing it for everyone's freedom of expression.

Two black vans sped down the road in front of them. It was the Syndicate.

Ryan and the guys put their mask back on and got out of the vehicle. Alex got on the driver side and smiled at them one last time before driving back out of the alley.

"So, this is it," Ryan said as he stood in front of the emergency door on the side of the old building.

He glanced at his friends before slowly pushing on the door. He peeked inside and spotted a security camera. He quickly walked to it while taking duct tape out of his pocket and covered the camera.

Somewhere in the building, someone was sitting in the dark control room, looking at all the screen in front of them with two men standing behind them.

The man sitting down had a ginger beard and completely black eyes. His head spun to the screen of the emergency exit camera, watching as a white mask with black stripes on one side appeared on the green screen before turning completely black.

"They're here," The man with the beard said with his mixed, inhuman voice.

The shortest of the two people standing behind him put his hand on his shoulder. "Alright, Hurley." The black haired man chewed his bottom lip and heaved a sigh. "Urie, get ready," He turned his head to face the man beside him, who nodded and began walking toward the door.

He stopped right before he could leave, holding the handle and looked over his shoulder. "Pete?" He said, drawing his boss' attention to him. Brendon looked down, thinking. "You ordered everyone to leave the building," He stated, pausing for a brief moment and looking around before finally meeting his old friend's gaze, "Why?"

"This is something that can only be settled between them..." He pointed at the screen, "...And the three of us. This thing started with us."

Brendon glanced down at his feet. "So...it's over..."

Pete sighed and glanced at Andy sitting next to him, still staring at the screens, before looking back up at his accomplice. "Let's hope not."

Brendon nodded slowly and walked out of the room.

Pete smiled at himself. His plan was going perfectly.

During the first few days Patrick was jailed, Pete couldn't stop thinking about what he told him - that the Novocaine got to him. These words had triggered something in him and slowly, that effect the Novocaine had on him didn't feel good at all anymore. He still had this chip in him that controlled his mind, and it felt horrible. It hurt so much to not be able to think straight.

He ordered the scientists of the Syndicate to create another version of the Novocaine, a stronger one, that would be so strong that the person injected would be superior to everyone they crossed paths with.

Of course, at first, they were suspicious, but the black haired man knew exactly what to tell them to get them on his side. He made them believe that it would be easier for them to take the control of the injected and manipulate them into creating their strongest weapon.

When Pete learnt that Ryan left L.A. to find the Blue Birds in New York, he immediately ordered Brendon to find him and inject him with the new Novocaine. He didn't want Brendon to survive because he knew that his right-hand man was getting closer to knowing the truth about what he had in mind, and he couldn't let him ruin his plan. But he survived.

The thing that Pete didn't know at the time was that the Novocaine's effect started to subside for Brendon too. And just like Pete, he didn't want all of this anymore, but he kept on acting as the bad guy, just like Pete did. And when Brendon told him, the both of them were relieved.

They wanted to end the Syndicate, but couldn't do it by themselves. The Novocaine was still there, stopping them from ending this all.

The only way to end it was...to get a little help from their friends.