Page 13 — The Fallout
The smell of gunpowder still clung to the night. Smoke curled through the shattered motel window, drifting into the cold air like a warning that refused to fade.
Eli sat against the far wall, knees pulled to his chest, shaking despite the heavy jacket Adrian had thrown over him. The adrenaline had long burned out, leaving only exhaustion — and the echo of what almost happened.
Adrian paced the room, his shirt streaked with blood — not his own, thankfully. He moved like a storm barely contained, his every breath sharp, controlled, deliberate. When his gaze flicked to Eli, something inside him softened for just a second before hardening again.
"You should've stayed in the car," he said quietly.
Eli lifted his head, his voice raw. "If I had, you'd be dead."
Adrian froze mid-step. The truth in those words cut deeper than any bullet.
Eli's eyes glistened in the dim light. "You think I could just sit there and do nothing while they came for you?"
Adrian's expression flickered — pain, pride, disbelief. "You don't understand what you walked into tonight."
"Then explain it to me," Eli said. "Stop locking me out."
Silence stretched, thick and heavy. The world outside was quiet again, but inside, something deeper trembled — a truth too dangerous to speak aloud.
Adrian finally sat across from him, the tension in his shoulders refusing to ease. "Those men weren't random. They were sent by the Division. They used to work for me."
Eli blinked, trying to process the words. "Used to?"
Adrian gave a low, humorless laugh. "Once, I built their empire. Contracts. Power. The kind of influence that doesn't exist on paper. Then I walked away."
"Why?"
"Because I found out what it cost," Adrian murmured. His eyes darkened. "Lives. Innocence. People like you."
Eli felt his pulse quicken. "People like me?"
Adrian looked up, meeting his gaze. "You were never supposed to be found, Eli. The Division marks people — recruits, experiments, ghosts they can use. I destroyed their system, but they started rebuilding. When I found you… you were on one of their lists."
Eli's stomach dropped. "That's what the file was. My photo. Status unknown."
Adrian nodded once. "I tried to erase you from their records. But that means they know I broke their rules. That's why they came tonight."
The silence that followed was deafening. The pieces finally fit, but they didn't make sense in any way that comforted him.
Eli leaned forward, voice trembling. "So I was right. You did have a reason for helping me."
Adrian's jaw tightened. "At first, yes." His tone softened. "But that's not why I'm still here."
Something in the way he said it made Eli's heart ache. "Then why?"
Adrian didn't answer right away. He reached out, brushing the back of his hand against Eli's cheek, hesitant, reverent. "Because somewhere between saving you and protecting you, I forgot how to let you go."
Eli closed his eyes, leaning into the touch. "Then don't."
For a moment, the world shrank to the sound of rain against the broken window and the quiet thud of their hearts. Adrian's hand trembled, tracing the edge of Eli's jaw before he pulled him close — not out of control, but out of something far more fragile.
Their foreheads touched. Words failed. The storm outside became nothing but background noise to the weight of what passed between them.
Adrian whispered, "You make me remember what I buried. That scares me more than anything else."
Eli smiled faintly, his voice barely a breath. "Then maybe we're both scared."
He didn't know who moved first, only that the space between them vanished. It wasn't desperation — it was quiet, searching, full of everything they hadn't said. When Adrian finally drew back, the look in his eyes was different: unguarded, human.
"Rest," he said softly. "We move at dawn."
Eli wanted to ask where, but exhaustion won. He drifted off beside him, wrapped in warmth that didn't feel safe but felt real.
---
Dawn came too soon. The sky was pale and heavy with fog. Adrian stood at the window, watching the street below for any sign of movement. His expression was unreadable again — the armor back in place.
Eli stirred. "You didn't sleep."
"Couldn't."
"Because of me?"
Adrian's lips curved faintly. "Because of them." He nodded toward the window. "The Division won't stop until they erase every loose end."
Eli pushed himself up, determination flaring through the fatigue. "Then we run."
Adrian shook his head. "No. Running only delays it. We need to find out who's leading the hunt. End it before it reaches us again."
"You mean kill them."
Adrian met his gaze. "I mean protect you."
The words hit harder than they should have. For the first time, Eli saw the fear under Adrian's composure — not fear for himself, but for him.
They left the motel quietly, the rising sun bleeding through the fog. Adrian led him to a black car parked behind the building, its engine still warm. He scanned the horizon once before speaking.
"There's a safe house two hours from here. We'll stay low until I can contact someone I trust."
Eli buckled his seatbelt. "Do you trust anyone?"
Adrian gave a short laugh. "Not really." Then, after a pause: "Except maybe you."
Eli looked at him — the faint smile, the exhaustion, the scar near his jaw. "That's a bad decision."
"Probably," Adrian said, starting the engine. "But it's mine to make."
---
The drive was quiet, heavy with things neither could say. The highway cut through endless fields, the world blurring past in muted shades of gray. For a while, Eli forgot the danger. He watched the world roll by, the sunrise catching the edges of Adrian's profile.
It hit him then — how much had changed. The man beside him wasn't just the stranger who'd offered him shelter. He was the reason he was still breathing.
"Adrian?"
"Hm?"
"If the Division catches us… what happens?"
Adrian's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Then I do what I was trained to do."
"And me?"
He glanced at him briefly, eyes softening. "You survive."
Eli wanted to argue, but the look on Adrian's face stopped him. There was a finality to it, a promise carved in something deeper than words.
They reached the outskirts of a quiet town by noon. Adrian parked in an alley, scanning every rooftop before signaling for Eli to follow. The safe house looked abandoned — peeling paint, boarded windows, ivy crawling up the brick. Inside, however, it was clean and stocked.
Adrian closed the blinds and checked his weapon before setting it on the table. "We'll stay here until nightfall. After that, we move again."
Eli sat on the edge of the couch, watching him. "You never stop, do you?"
Adrian looked over. "Stopping gets you killed."
"That's not living either."
Adrian hesitated. "Maybe not. But I stopped knowing the difference a long time ago."
Eli stood, crossing the room to him. "Then maybe I can remind you."
Adrian met his gaze — quiet, cautious, undone. For a moment, he let the wall drop again. Their hands brushed. The air shifted, fragile and electric.
"You keep doing that," he murmured.
"Doing what?"
"Making me feel like I could be someone else."
"Maybe you already are," Eli said.
Adrian's eyes softened. He didn't answer — instead, he leaned in and pressed his forehead to Eli's, the smallest of gestures that spoke louder than any vow. It wasn't safety, but it was something close to hope.
They stayed like that for a heartbeat too long — until a noise shattered the quiet.
A faint click.
Adrian stiffened. The sound had come from the back door. He motioned for Eli to stay still, drawing his weapon silently. The air grew sharp, heavy with threat.
Then came the footsteps — slow, deliberate, impossibly familiar.
Adrian's eyes met Eli's. "Stay behind me."
The door creaked open.
Light spilled across the floor, revealing a shadow framed by the doorway — tall, calm, and smiling.
"Well," the stranger said, voice smooth as silk. "I thought I'd have to burn half the city to find you, Adrian."
Adrian's expression went cold. "Rylan."
The man stepped inside, closing the door behind him. His gaze flicked to Eli, curiosity glinting in his eyes. "So this is the reason you disappeared."
Eli's breath caught. Adrian moved slightly, blocking him from view.
Rylan laughed softly. "Protective now, are we? How touching."
"Leave," Adrian warned.
"Can't," Rylan said. "You know how the Division feels about traitors."
The silence that followed was lethal. Adrian's finger tightened on the trigger, but Rylan only smiled wider.
Outside, thunder rumbled — though the sky was clear.
Inside, Eli realized the t
ruth: whatever waited beyond that door last night hadn't been the worst of Adrian's world. This was.
And as Adrian whispered, "Get down," Eli knew the storm had found them again.