Brianna Acero and the Second One's Return

60. In a rage of blind fury

I run as hard as my legs will carry me, keeping pace with Daniel, who looks like a bull that just caught sight of something red. I keep waiting for our target to notice us, to spot us and make a run for it, but by the time he finally turns around at the sound of our footsteps it's already too late.

"Get down!" Shouts Daniel, pointing his gun at the man.

I spot a pistol held firmly in his right hand, and I stiffen, waiting for the worst. But the man just does as Daniel says, getting down on his knees, keeping his hands in the air. I look at Daniel, who jerks his head forward, and I quickly pry the gun out of the man's fingers. He doesn't struggle, which makes me think he's been in this kind of situation before. Any other person would be grasping at the gun like a lifeline, shaking in the face of danger, but this man just stares at us defiantly, motionless.

"Where is Khan," I manage to get out between breaths, holding the man's pistol in one hand and my stun gun in the other.

Our man in black says nothing, keeping his mouth firmly shut. Daniel snorts, yanking the man to his feet.

"I don't think you heard her. Where is Khan?" he asks again, a menacing tone to his normally calm voice.

Even with a gun pointed at his head the man doesn't flinch and refuses to say a word. He stays defiantly silent, watching us from behind his tinted lenses. I'm about to ask again when I hear  commotion coming from behind us. I whirl around, pointing my guns at the noise, hoping that the man didn't somehow call for backup. When I turn around I find Jack and Dean dragging someone between the two of them. I stare in shock as President Khan struggles to get out of their grasp, spitting profanities all the way.

"What do you think you are doing!" he shouts, fighting the boys' iron grip. His suit is dirty, as if he was tackled to the ground, and I wouldn't put it past Jack to do just that. Dust covers his face and chest, and his brown and gray hair is a mess, sticking up in every direction.

Jack looks murderous as he drags Khan towards us, and the man that Daniel is holding finally seems to come to life, struggling in my mentors hold as he tries to make his way to his boss, but Daniel stops him with a smack to the head with the back of his gun. The man groans, falling to his knees once more as he cradles his forehead, where a slight trickle of blood is starting to trail down between his fingers. When Khan is finally in front of us Jack forces him to his knees, and the President falls to the ground without a sound.

"Well, it looks like someone has a lot of explaining to do," says Dean from behind Khan, crossing his large arms over his chest.

Khan doesn't even flinch, just stares at us defiantly like his bodyguard did before. But unlike his protector I catch a swirl of uncertainty in his brown eyes. He looks at me and I hold his gaze.

Finally, after all this time, we managed to catch him before he got away. So, why don't I feel better about this? Why do I feel like something's wrong?

"Mr. President," says Daniel, pulling out the handcuffs I always carry in my mission pack. "You are under arrest for the kidnapping of chairman Ross, the murder of Marcus Orland, Troy Carrol, Erica Rubins, Nicholas Bain, Susan Cross, Alicia Aleman, and Quinn Miller."

The president's eyes go wide, color draining from his face. His mouth falls open as he lets himself be pulled to his feet, and only once the severity of the situation sinks in does he start to struggle, fighting to get away.

"What? Are you out of your mind? I don't have anything to do with that! Let me go!"

Daniel ignores Khans cries and starts pulling him towards the helicopter. I walk closely behind, followed by Jack and his teammates.

"I can't believe it," he says, coming up to stand beside me. "We did it."

I look at him, at the boy that made our lives impossible, and I can't find any feelings of hate towards our former rival. I just feel relief, joy. He's right, we did it, we avenged Quinn's death. I place a hand on Jack's shoulder, and he turns to me in surprise. His black hair flies around in the wind, and I catch the start of a smile stretching across his lips.

Khans cries start to get more desperate, until eventually, he is begging to be let go.

"Please! You have to believe me! I'm innocent!"

 I shake my head, remembering the phrase I heard when we were with Diana at the cemetery. The exact same phrase the President just yelled. I place a hand on my forehead and try to ignore the voice in the back of my head that is telling me that something is wrong, and instead turn to Dean, who is now standing next to his leader.

"Did you guys happen to see Kalen or Mara when you went inside?" I ask.

They still haven't come out, and I'm starting to worry. Dean shakes his head, an apologetic look on his face.

"No, we caught Khan searching the first floor, so we were in and out pretty fast. We didn't really have time to look for anyone else, we just focused on getting him to Daniel."

I nod. So, President Khan had been searching the first floor. But for what? Anna? Or something else? I ignore all the questions floating about in my brain and hoist my mission pack back over my shoulder.

"I think I'm going to head in and look for them, they've been in there for a good half hour."

But before I have a chance to tell Daniel where I'm going, I spot Mara running out of the factory. She looks around before spotting us, and rushes over.

"Mara!" I exclaim, drawing the attention of Daniel and Team A.

My friend has a panicked look on her face, and she doubles over when she reaches us, hands on her knees as she struggles to catch her breath. She must have run from wherever she had been in the factory all the way over to us. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and only then do I notice all the dust covering her from head to toe. Just like President Khan her clothes are covered in the stuff, even her hair and face are covered in it. When she finally manages to catch her breath she turns to Daniel, my mentor taking two large steps towards her at her anxious expression.

"We need medical assistance," she huffs, breathing hard. Her words make ice form in my veins, and I grab her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at me.

"Why? What happened?" I ask.

Were we too late? Is Anna--

Mara shakes her head taking another breath before she continues.

"We found her, but Bri, it's bad, he... he..."

But she doesn't need to finish her sentence, because I spot Kalen and Asher helping Anna walk towards our group. They each have one of her arms slung over their shoulders, as they struggle to get her to us as fast as they can. I run up to meet them, leaving Mara with our mentor, and the sight that greets me makes my heart shatter into a million pieces.

Anna's eyes, her beautiful golden orbs, the ones that give her the ability to see the strings of a person's soul, are ruined. A giant slash runs horizontally across her face, right over her eyes, and blood spills out of the wound like a fountain. I help the boys carry her over to the helicopter, trying to block out Annas whimpers, where Daniel is already giving orders to the pilot. We lay her down on the floor or the chopper and Asher, who I have never seen look so devastated, climbs in after her.

"Don't worry," says Daniel, putting a hand on Anna's leg, "you will be taken to the nearest hospital, we won't let anything else happen to you, okay?"

She nods but says nothing. She knows, just like the rest of us, that there is nothing the doctors will be able to do for her.

Anna's eyes, the source of her Gift, will never see again.