Scars Of Time

Dangerous Beauty

Flynn and Rufus heard Wyatt's voice shouting something over the crowd, but couldn't make it out from inside. "Was that Wyatt?" Rufus asked.

The moment the question was asked, the sound of heavy gunfire overtook their senses. Flynn shouted, "Get these people out of here!"

Rufus nodded, not needing to be told twice. He started ushering people out of the boathouse and towards safety. When he glanced over, he spotted Flynn heading up the stairs to the second floor of the boathouse with his gun drawn.

Flynn ran up the stairs, skipping steps to try and catch the sleeper unawares. As he reached the top of the stairs, a door opened and another Suit appeared. Flynn grabbed the man's gun before the man realized what was happening. Shoving the man's arm away, he fired a single shot into the Suit's chest, killing him.

At the end of the landing, opposite of Flynn, a door opened and a second Suit appeared, firing rounds at him. Flynn took cover within the room nearby, waiting for the break in gunfire before sticking his head out to take the Suit down.

With each round that landed nearby, Flynn flinched. He worried that he might not be able to take this sleeper down without getting wounded in the process. A couple more rounds went off, followed by silence.

Flynn poked his head carefully around the corner to see Emma standing over the body of the Suit. Her eyes lifted to see Flynn. She nodded to the door that would lead them to the balcony.

Without arguing, Flynn nodded and reached the door at the same time as Emma. They studied each other for a moment before opening the door to the balcony.

The man on the other side hadn't heard their approach. He whirled around to open fire upon them, but both Emma and Flynn didn't hesitate in firing round after round into the man's body, bringing him down.

Flynn's eyes scanned the area. He asked, "We're still missing a sleeper."

Emma nodded. "I know," she stated. "I'll start looking for her."

Flynn glanced over at her. "Thank you."

Emma seemed almost shocked to hear his words. Recovering from her shock, she stated, "Don't thank me yet. We still have work to do."

He watched as she left the balcony to try and find the remaining Suit. Once Emma was out of sight, he turned back to observe the damage from the balcony. The yard to the boathouse was littered with bodies. Not all of them were dead, but several were.

Flynn hoped as he began to make his way down to the yard, that Elizabeth Blackwell wasn't one of the victims. He feared that if she died during this attack, Tenley wouldn't be home when he returned. It killed him inside to think that she would be ripped from his life, much like his wife and daughter had been.

He tried to shake the thoughts from his mind, but they still lingered there like the nightmare it was. He hadn't expected to fall in love again, but now that he was, it pained him to think that it would all be for naught.

Once he reached the yard, he began assessing the victims. The first couple of kids he had checked were dead. Movement caught his attention and he lifted his eyes. He spotted a young woman assessing the victims on the other side of the yard from him. Her movements reminded him of Tenley.

He stood up and approached her. "Are you all right?"

The young woman looked up at him. "I'm okay, but..." her words drifted away as she looked about the yard. "Why would anyone do such a thing?"

Flynn asked, "What's your name?" The woman had a hint of an accent and he was suddenly filled with hope that she was the woman they were searching for.