Back by the driveway, Elliott was watching Sam rather closely as they covered the only reliable exit to the property. The cowboy was a tricky son-of-a-bitch, and they'd had a run in before, several months ago, when he was bad-mouthing Cadence after the last hunt they had been on together. Elliott hadn't been a fan of Cadence himself at the time, but no one should ever talk to a lady the way that Sam had spoken to Cadence.
Meagan had stepped a bit in front of them, clearly trying to see if Cadence was in position yet. "I can't see anything," she mumbled.
"The best spot is right over here," Sam said, taking a few steps to his right and stepping behind some trees.
Meagan and Elliott exchanged confused glances, clearly wondering how stepping behind trees could improve a view. Elliott had just turned back to face Sam, Cadence's voice coming across both in the IAC and in the distance, when a flash of light caught his attention, and he realized a split second too late that Sam was firing at them. He felt a sharp sting in his shoulder and heard Meagan scream, as Sam's second bullet ripped into her upper thigh. He knew immediately that bullet had to be titanium; it hadn't bounced, and the blood was gushing from her leg. A panicked expression on her face, Meagan turned and began to run toward the trees, making a perfect target with her back to the assailant.
Elliott lunged between the Hunters, completely helpless between the running victim and the vengeful renegade, his shoulder bleeding profusely. "Sam, come on man--what are you doing? You don’t want to shoot her again. Put the gun down!" he pleaded.
Cowboy Sam raised his gun once more, pointed it directly at Elliott's head. "Told you, you hadn't seen the last of me," Sam remarked emotionlessly as he pulled the trigger. He watched as Elliott slumped to the ground and casually stepped over his body in pursuit of Meagan.
He did not see her anywhere, though the sound of her whimpering let him know she was nearby. However, hearing the sounds of chaos around him, Sam realized that everything wasn't going as planned. He had heard Cadence's scream of "Ambush," just as he fired his first shots and knew, if she was on to them, she was not going to go down easily. Rather than take his chance at being caught, he decided to leave the bleeding girl in the trees, hoping she would bleed to death before she was found, and set off on foot for the motorcycle he had hidden in the brush nearby the night before.
Christian saw Finn ducking into a pile of brush at the same moment Cadence screamed. Whatever it was he was reaching for, Finn didn't get to it. But it didn't matter; Christian and Hannah were both Guardians. Normal bullets--the two they had handed him only a few moments ago--would do. Christian took the first one in the bicep, pulling his own gun, even though it would do nothing against the Hunter. He didn't have a chance to fire, however. He saw Finn aiming at Hannah, and despite the pain, he threw himself in front of her, using his own body to shield hers, and, luckily, the second shot flew over their heads as they hit the ground.
Finn looked around nervously, clearly aware that he had a choice. He could go after the weapon he had stashed in the woods and finish them off or attempt to make an escape. He had no way of knowing whether or not the other renegades were successful, but from the sounds of the shouting on the field, at least some of them had failed. He could have company any minute now. Rather than attempting to grab the titanium-loaded weapon, he took off running, praying to any god that would listen that he would reach his motorcycle before Cadence Findley reached him.
Aaron realized what was happening almost at the same time as Cadence. It wasn't that he had any missing emotional response the way that she did or visual cues that Laura was up to something; it was simply a matter of addition. All of the pieces of the equation suddenly came into place, and he realized exactly why Laura had lured them out there the way she had.
He saw Cadence knock Laura to the ground, the smaller woman's gun coming free. Clearly, that hidden gun had titanium-laced bullets. It took Cadence a moment to recover from hitting her head, but once she did, she swept up the deadly weapon and took off. He knew, at the moment, she was the least of his concerns.
He checked his teammates IAC feeds as the shots continued to ring out around him. Certainly, some of his teammates were hit; but everyone's feeds were still up--save one. He took off in a sprint. "Elliott!"
Cadence caught Laura about twenty yards from where she had initially knocked her on the ground. She lunged at her, knocked her face first into the dirt, flipped her over, and punched her in the nose as hard as she could. At first, she wasn't sure if that would do any damage, but a spurt of blood and a cracking sound gave her a bit of satisfaction. "You unbelievable BITCH!" she raged, punching her again. Laura cried out in agony as Cadence punched her one last time. This time, she didn't make a sound, and Cadence was fairly certain she had knocked her out. Not willing to take any chances that she might escape, Cadence pulled a pair of handcuffs out of her belt and secured the unconscious Hunter's arm to the trunk of one of the thinner pine trees.
She realized Aaron was yelling for her, and she took off running in the direction of his voice.
When she reached the driveway, she couldn't believe her eyes. Aaron was sitting on the ground, cradling Elliott's head in his lap, attempting to stop the bleeding with his hands and failing miserably.
"Oh, my God!" Cadence exclaimed just above a whisper. She was vaguely aware that Meagan was sitting on the ground nearby crying. "Jamie!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Where the hell is Jamie?" she yelled, throwing herself on the ground next to her broken friend.
The expression on Aaron’s face said it all. "He's hit, too," he choked out.
Cadence's eyes widened even further. "No!" she stammered. "How...? Why...?"
Aaron was just shaking his head in utter despair.
"Hannah's on her way," Meagan said, gulping in air. "But I don't think..." she burst in to tears, unable to complete the sentence.
"Elliott," Cadence implored, "please, don't do this." She shifted her position to his other side, took his hand in hers and leaned down next to his ear. "Please... you can't go. I need you too much."
There was a sudden flicker on the IAC, and Cadence and Aaron looked at each other, hoping he was trying to make contact. A second later, a very weak message came across. "It's okay, kid. Let me go."
Cadence couldn't hold back anymore. She burst in to tears. "No!" she yelled back at him. "You can't. You have so much left to do. We'll fix you! We'll find a way."
He seemed to be laughing now. "Ain't no fixing this, kid. Just remember how much I love you." A moment later, he reached out again. "Boss," he whispered, his voice starting to give out.
"I'm right here," Aaron assured him.
"Take care of her." A few seconds later, very weakly, he managed to get out, "Love you, man. Adios."
"Elliott?" Aaron called. There was no answer. He glanced at Cadence, who was inconsolable, then he returned his attention to his lifeless friend. "I'm so sorry." He collapsed on top of Elliott's still chest, no longer able to control his emotions.
Cadence placed her hand on Aaron’s back, tears still streaming down her face. Taking in the surreal scene in front of her, anguish began to morph into anger, and she suddenly realized there were others out there who needed to be collected in order to pay for this atrocity. Pulling herself together, she turned to Meagan and asked, "Where's Sam?" Meagan was of little help, her tears blocking any means of communication.
Hannah and Christian arrived just then, the later squeezing his left arm tightly. "Is it too late?" Hannah asked. She wasn't a physical Healer like Jamie, but she had been their only chance at saving Elliott, and she had been willing to push herself to try.
Cadence wasn't able to verbally confirm the answer to her question. Instead she said, "Where's Jamie?"
"He's over there," Christian gestured. "He's hit in the stomach and the shoulder. He's bleeding pretty badly."
“Damn it. No vest,” Cadence mumbled. She glanced at Aaron, who was beginning to pull himself together, but he wasn't quite there yet. "Okay," she said. "Hannah, get over to Jamie and see what you can do. Christian, are you okay?"
"I'll be all right," he assured her.
"Good. I think Meagan needs a tourniquet. Can you handle that?" He nodded. "Okay--do it," she directed. Glancing at his arm again, she said, "You might need one, too."
The sound of choppers in the distance reminded her that help was on the way. She also thought she heard the roar of a motorcycle coming from the brush. "Shit..." she whispered, trying to decide if there was anything she could do to bring any more of the renegades in.
"Cadence, it looks like you've got two motorcycles making their way out of the woods, but one of the assassins is still on foot--and not too far from your current location," Cale advised her over the IAC.
Cadence's eyes lit up for a second. "Can you direct me?" she asked.
"Affirmative. Follow that chopper, and he'll show you which way to go. I'll have to send him back around, though. We've got more wounded than one helicopter can support."
"Just point me in the right direction, and I'll track the bastard down."
The helicopter dropped altitude enough to be of use and utilized the bright search light to illuminate a path in front of her. Cadence began to run, her instincts kicking in. The chopper turned back around a good two hundred yards in front of her, letting her know how much of a head start this jackass had on her, and she increased her speed. The branches and other rough terrain were not an issue for her, as she weaved her way through and around obstacles. She began to pick up tracks in the dirt and within a few minutes, she had a visual; it was Camilla.
She knew the woman could hear her coming, and part of Cadence appreciated the fact that the stockier woman was literally running for her life. Jamie hadn't gotten that chance to attempt an escape before she ruthlessly shot him. When she was within fifty feet, Cadence pounced, propelling her body the rest of the distance like a tiger entrapping a gazelle.
Camilla turned at the last second, extending her arms. Cadence knocked her into the ground hard, taking pleasure in the shrill scream Camilla let out and the sharp snap of her humorous breaking. "Please, please Cadence, don't kill me," Camilla begged, clearly in a significant amount of pain.
Cadence punched her hard in the face. "Why shouldn't I kill you? You deserve to die!"
"Jamie's not dead, I swear," she said, attempting to shield her face from another blow and stop the bleeding from the first. "I didn't want to go along with it, but Sam and Laura made me. You've got to believe me."
"You could have said something. You could have made sure your bullets missed. Elliott is dead, Camilla. DEAD!" She punched her again.
"I'm sorry!" Camilla pleaded, blood gushing from her nose. "I'm so sorry."
Cadence drew the gun she had taken from Laura, quite certain any bullets inside would be titanium. "You will be," she replied, pointing the gun at her head.
