Beyond The Sea Blue Light

I'll Be Your Detonator

It's probably a bad idea, but somehow I convince Vic to let me go downstairs, to where the others are meeting. All of us are in terrible shape, exhausted and drawn out. Jack gives me a small smile when I come down the stairs, leaning heavily on Vic for support. Several times as I nearly fall I'm pretty certain Vic is going to pick me up and carry me by himself but he doesn't, letting me walk which I'm grateful for.

It honestly terrifies me. I've never seen Frank this distraught. "We're going to search for him immediately," Franks says. "We're going to find him."

"Where are they even keeping him?" Andy asks. "We don't know that."

"What even happened?" Oli questions. He's pacing back and forth. Even from where I'm sitting, I can see him trembling.

All eyes swing over to Vic, who tense. I reach over, taking his hand in mine, trying to comfort him.

"We were winning," Vic says. "At least I thought we were. Then Andy called me over to their side because the guards had diverted the force to where he was attacking. Gerard told me to go, so I did. By the time I got there, Andy—you were gone by that time, so I went back to help Gerard. And by that time, he was gone." His voice trails off as he takes a deep breath.

"It's okay," I whisper, squeezing his hand gently. I know how he hates feeling this powerless and unable to save everyone.

Vic gives me a small smile before he continues. "I saw them taking him away and I went after them, but Alex, Jenna, and Tay were in trouble too. And Kells was calling for help over the radio—and—" he shakes his head, his eyes glistening. "We were too diverted and I had to help—" he puts his head down, his shoulders shaking. "I had to let him be taken away," Vic whispers, barely audible to anyone but me.

"We have to find him," Oli says, standing up immediately. "We're going to."

"How do you suppose we do that?" Andy retorts. "They could be anywhere by now. What we should focus on is the Meeting. It's happening tomorrow, just a few miles from here." He motions to a circled place on the map. "It's our last chance to strike and take them all out. We've destroyed all of the Facilities at this point. It's the last thing we need to do before we're free. Face it, Gerard's gone."

"We're not attacking the Meeting," Alex says firmly. "And Gerard's gone. We're going to find him. I already called in Zack and Rian, asking them for help."

"You called in the humans?" Andy snorts. "Of course you did."
Jack gives him a warning glance, which Andy ignores.

"You're going to abandon our mission for the sake of one person?" Andy retorts.

"First off, it's not our mission," Frank says. "I thought we were explicitly clear on that. We were never going to attack the Meeting. We're not killers."

"And we have to save him," Oli spits at Andy. " Gerard did the same for us. He didn't have to, but he saved us all."

Frank nods, putting his hand on Oli's shoulder before he can get too riled up. Oli stops moving, sinking down to the ground, putting his head in his hands. I've never appreciated Frank's quiet steadiness more than now. His whole world has fallen apart, yet he still has the willpower to remain calm and motivated.

"We have to," Frank says. "We're getting him back. Maybe we don't know how yet, but we've never let an impossible task daunt us before, have we?"

Andy rolls his eyes, leaning back in his chair, a scowl on his face.

"Keep an eye on him, okay?" I hear Frank whisper to Alex. I know they're talking about Andy. "If Gerard were here, then we could—" he sighs. "Well, just make sure he doesn't do anything drastic. They already think we're dangerous, with the attacks on the Facilities. Freedom fighters or not, I don't think the public will make much of a difference. If any of us mess up and kill a person, not to mention an entire meeting of them, this could end badly. "

Jack nods. "You got it," he says solemnly.

"Well what's the first thing we do?" Oli asks. "We can retrace our steps. Go back to the other Facility and see if there's any sign of where they took him."

Frank nods. "We'll leave tomorrow morning then," he says. "I'll need a team of three and the rest of you can hold down this place and plan our next steps."

"I'll come," Jenna says,

"Me too," Awsten echoes.

"Same," Oli says.

"I guess that leaves us here," Jack says.

"Don't worry, we'll get him back," Alex reassures. "We've done the impossible before, haven't we?" He looks around the table at all of us nodding, united, together in our mission.

"We have," Frank says. "We've never let anything slow us down before, and we sure as hell won't now."