Part 2 of The Edge of the World
A/N: There are a some flashbacks to events in Chapter 16 in this part up to and including the Eiffel Tower scene, so get ready to find TONS of game dialogues. I reused them all for all those scenes.
Summary: Damien reflects on events since the group’s hectic escape, knowing that soon enough, it’ll be time for them to be on the move again. Unfortunately, Eros happens to be one step ahead of him.
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything. Characters/canon/game dialogue belongs to Pixelberry.
A couple of days ago…
It was utter chaos as Damien took down one guard after the other. Spraying the fire extinguisher everywhere certainly disoriented the guards enough to disarm them quickly; though it was also a little inconvenient when it came to seeing where he was going.
Just when it seemed like they were going to get overwhelmed, several other matches jumped into the fray and to his surprise, joined them in attacking the guards. From a distance, Damien could make out Sloane and Maya fiddling with the controls at a computer, saying something about “an army of Haydens”. They turned the other matches against them. He smirked. That’s my girl.
“Go, Maya! Take the others and run! We’ll hold them off!” One of the female Haydens called. “Once you’re clear, we’ll head to the generators and give Eros your regards.”
Guess that’s our cue. Just as he was about to follow, something caught his eye in a nearby hallway. Squinting past the fog from the extinguisher, he inched closer to take a peek. From the corner of his eye, he frowned when he caught hint of several guards that had regrouped, whispering distinctly to each other as they hauled someone onto a cart.
Is that one of us? He turned to the other side to see Maya, Sloane and Hayden rushing to the elevator amidst the guards who were struggling with the newly-activated matches. No definitely not. Damien couldn’t make out the person’s figure, because of the confusion going on around him except that it looked like a tan-skinned male. It wasn’t Steve or Hayden, for sure but it definitely felt familiar. Too familiar.
From the corner of his eye, he could see several other guards rushing at him. Damien charged into one of them, slamming him to the ground. The other two were dispatched by another one the Haydens fighting for them.
“You should get going, Damien.” He said seriously. “Once you’re all out of here, this place will be set to blow.”
Damien’s heart pounded in his chest as he felt a sense of unease, glancing between that area and the exit. What were they hauling onto the cart? Was that another match? As much as he wanted to pursue that, there was no time. He had to get out of here.
Taking a deep breath, he nodded to the match in thanks and sprinted towards the elevator.
——————–
Present day at the Louvre …
Damien sighed as he approached the sink to wash his hands. He had just left the gift shop with Alana after collecting everyone’s new passports into an envelop. On the way he’d stopped to use the restroom, telling Alana to go on ahead and wait with the group until he was back.
Their escape from Eros had been several days ago. It had been a harrowing event and he’d nearly missed the elevator. But they’d made it out somehow. Fortunately, Hayden’s recently-installed piloting skills came in handy once again as they were able to use Rowan’s helicopter to make their getaway.
The old man had been livid, upon realizing they’d reprogrammed his matches against his guards. It even seemed he wasn’t quite over what Maya had done to his synthetic eye either. Watching him go ballistic over all that as they made off with his helicopter had been amusing to say the least. Even if it was one of the most cliché listing-out-the-good-guys’-transgressions-against-him speeches ever.
“You can always tell the authorities,” Damien’s jaw was taut in his defiance as he told off the irate CEO. “After you explain the whole ‘keeping us imprisoned’ thing.”
“Very glib, Mr. Nazario. But if you all think this will stop me, you are sorely mistaken.”
Everything else that followed felt like a blur as they’d flown from one city to another, hoping to stay off of Eros’ trail. The facility may have exploded, but its personnel had still made it out. By the time they’d landed in Paris, everyone was exhausted, though being in this particular city seemed to lift their spirits. Of course, Nadia had been more than excited to check it out and was especially excited about visiting the Louvre.
Even Damien had had to admit he’d felt lighter for the first time since their escape and was glad to see everyone relaxed for once. But what he’d seen at the facility still wasn’t sitting right with him. Clearly Eros had something else in store for them and was likely going to plan their next move at some point. After all, they did have an entire factory of matches. Had they all been destroyed in the explosion? Were there anymore out there?
He’d thought about bringing this up with the others, but thanks to how out-of-control that entire fight had been, Damien hadn’t been able to look into it properly. On top of that, everyone else was still coming down from the stress of everything they’d been through, so he’d decided not to add to it; at least not without having all of his facts together. So, he played it cool for the time being, much to Maya’s surprise.
As soon as they’d checked into the hotel, Damien had made plans to meet with one of his contacts who were in the city to obtain passports for everyone and to possibly gain some intel on Eros agents and their whereabouts. He was convinced without a doubt that while Eros was likely still recuperating from the loss of their facility, it was only a matter of time before they would be at their heels again.
There was also the fact that the night before they’d escaped the Arctic HQ, Damien had gone through several files and memos in Eros’ laptops and noted any names, terms or locations that had stood out to him. There was no way of knowing if Rowan or Cecile had caught on to him.
Either way, they couldn’t stick around here for too long; even after they headed back to New York, it wasn’t as though they could just get on with their lives. But hopefully once they found some stable place to lie low, they’d have an easier time keeping tabs on Eros and planning their next move. After all, with all the incriminating data against them lost, he and his friends were back to square one on how to handle all this.
The rest of the weekend had gone rather smoothly with everyone taking full advantage of the city of love. Maya had been surprised and maybe even a little wary of Damien’s change in attitude, which made him chuckle when he thought about it. She’d always been one to go out of her way to make him think positively, but now that he was giving it a try, she was finding it weird.
Occasionally, he’d seen a curious look in her eyes, as if she felt like something was off. They’d barely touched the subject during their trip to the Eiffel Tower but hadn’t delved too deeply into it. After all, he hadn’t found anything suspicious on Eros so far; no reason to worry her unnecessarily.
Damien couldn’t help smiling as he recalled that night.
—————————————
Two days ago …
Damien knew he sounded ridiculously sappy at the moment as he let himself loose with all the cheesy confessions; how overwhelmed he’d been at the thought of losing her before that now that they were safe, he could appreciate everything so much more. The harrowing events at the facility had changed everything for him.
What he’d experienced there, what Maya had been put through being holed up with what was essentially Hayden’s evil twin only to be dragged off to an interrogation room five minutes later; the way Cecile had used Harley to try and torment her just to collect data for their twisted experiments …
The idea of how much danger they were still in had become such a terrifying reality.
Now that they were standing here together at one of the most classic romantic getaways, any sarcastic comments about it being a cliché were lost on him tonight. All he wanted now was to enjoy this moment with her; just the two of them, safe and sound. Maya was watching him with wide eyes as she acknowledged how much happier or relaxed he seemed.
“Opening up about Beitan with you … definitely helped,” Damien said, nodding. “Having someone else who knows what happened … it helps me feel so much less alone.” His voice was thick with emotion as he spoke.
“We’re okay now Damien,” Maya reassured him gently, placing a hand on his cheek. “Even if we didn’t stop Eros for good, we dealt them a serious blow.” Then she smirked. “Literally. We blew up their factory. They’re going to need some time to recover from that.”
Telling Maya about Beitan was not something Damien had been looking forward to at first. But at the same time, the Eros guard using that information to get a rise out of him had been a harsh wakeup call that it was high time he faced this. There was no telling when they’d try using the same trick on him again and he wasn’t about to let his past become his weakness. Not when there was so much more at stake now.
It was a difficult subject for him and Damien had been genuinely afraid of what she’d think of him after knowing the truth; knowing about how his mistake had unwittingly led to a child’s death. But Maya had been understanding, insisting that it wasn’t his fault; that he’d done whatever he could. His superiors had told him the same thing. But hearing it from the woman who meant so much to him had made a bigger difference.
That had convinced Damien that he was ready to let the past go and enjoy the present; losing Maya was something he’d feared ever since they’d had to flee New York. And this wasn’t the end of it. All of them knew it.
But at the moment, all he could do was smile softly at Maya as she leaned against his shoulder, cuddling against him for warmth as she gazed out into the city. He wrapped his hands over hers, rubbing them together against the cold. Damien still couldn’t believe he’d wasted so much time hesitating to tell her how he felt when really, she could’ve been his a long time ago.
“We’ve been through a lot,” he murmured. “How are you holding up?”
“Things with Eros were pretty intense,” Maya said, her smile fading just a little bit. “All those matches there were so creepy.”
“We knew there had to be others,” he told her matter-of-factly. “Eros wouldn’t set up a whole operation for just two.”
“I know,” she said, a hint of worry etched into her features. “But I just never thought there would be that many. A whole factory of them …”
“Yeah,” he nodded seriously. “I’m worried about where things will go from here.”
A smile graced her lips. “You’re always worried,” she giggled.
He smirked. “Someone has to be the voice of reason among all you optimists.”
They talked and laughed back and forth for several minutes. Bringing up Alana’s actions was a little awkward to say the least. But Maya seemed to be handling it a lot better now. Initially, she’d been understandably furious; hell, they all were. But now, she was acknowledging how she could be valuable in the future.
There was no denying that Alana had major issues and that it wasn’t a good idea to get too comfortable relying on her. Practically speaking, sticking together had been the best option in that situation – so long as she felt that the situation could help her achieve her ends somehow. But her assistance was well worth it when confronted with all those guards.
However difficult she could be, Alana was a good fighter, resourceful and she had contacts all over the globe. Who knew? Maybe she would come in handy somewhere in the future? They were going to be on the run for a while longer after all …
“Besides … As much as I don’t trust her, I do still care about her well-being.”
Maya’s eyebrows shot up at his comment and she drew away from him slightly. “Care about her?” Her face didn’t show much, but he could detect a slight narrowing of her eyes.
Damien rolled his eyes, suppressing a chuckle. “She’s my ex, not my arch-nemesis. I don’t need to have feelings for her to hope she doesn’t get hurt.”
“Fair point.” A long, comfortable silence passed between them before she spoke again. “Sooo, is this the big date you were going to take me on when we got back to New York?”
He laughed. “Getting impatient?”
“I just know what I want,” Maya said, shooting him a devilish smirk. “I heard some people like that in a girl.”
He sighed, glancing ahead for a moment, then back at her. “This isn’t New York, and we’re not entirely out of danger yet. So, I’d like to wait.” He kissed her cheek, nuzzling her with his wind-chilled nose. Damien gazed into her eyes as he spoke plainly and honestly. “I want us to be at home, fully settled and back to normal. I want to be part of your real life … your boring, mundane everyday life. Being in dangerous situations like this, forced to rely on each other, all the adrenaline … it can heighten emotions, so it’s-”
“You’re worried I’ll leave you when things aren’t exciting anymore. Just like Alana did.”
Damien flinched, then sighed, rubbing a hand through his windswept hair. He hadn’t meant to compare her to Alana; not at all. Maya was nothing like her. But he’d learned a lot of things from his previous relationship, one of which was how quickly things between them had crashed and burned because of how they handled things.
They’d rushed into everything too fast, allowed passion and carnal instinct to guide their decisions with no thought of the future and what it meant for them. They’d known and spent time with each other due to the nature their profession but had never gotten to know each other beyond that. That was how he’d ended up finding out that Alana never truly loved or understood him the way he thought she did.
All of that was different with Maya. They’d been best friends long before he’d revisited his feelings, which was why he hadn’t been too happy about the fact that they’d only admitted their feelings for each other when they were on the run.
It had felt like déjà vu for him again and he couldn’t stand the idea of their relationship falling apart the same way. Maya was too special to him; she deserved more than just a getting-caught-up-in-the-moment-because-they’re-in-danger sort of thing. If this is going to happen, I want to do it right.
“I just want to make sure you want me for … me. The real me,” He said sincerely. “The boring, tired cranky me whose idea of a fun Friday night is getting drunk and making sarcastic commentary on made-for-TV movies.”
“Hey …” she stopped him before he could start rambling. “I get it. And if waiting ’til New York is what it takes to make you comfortable in this relationship, then I’m willing to wait.” Maya didn’t ask any further into what he’d meant, but he could see it in her eyes that she completely understood. God, how the hell did I get so lucky?
“I really want to kiss you right now.”
Grinning, Maya turned in his arms to face him and pressed her lips to his, stroking his cheek with one hand while her other hand felt up his chest. “Every time I kiss you, it feels like the first time all over again.” He murmured against her skin.
“Less cheesy lines, more kissing please.”
Damien laughed as he kissed her again and again, tipping her back slightly as he supported her lower back, his palms pressing against her. Each kiss seemed to go on forever and Maya moaned softly into his mouth, driving him crazy for her. “Maya,” he whispered in her ear as he kissed along her jaw and neck. “Can we go back to the hotel now?”
“So soon?” he could hear the amusement and desire in her voice as her arms circled around his neck, pulling him closer. “Whyever would we want to do that?” He could only answer her teasing with a low, hungry growl. Maya smirked at him, seeming to consider the idea. “Perhaps in a little bit,” she said teasingly, walking her fingers up his chest. “For now, let’s enjoy the view.”
“And then?”
She giggled. “Come on, we’re in Paris! I only get to see the Eiffel Tower once. Sexy shenanigans with you are available anytime.”
He drew back from her slightly, flustered at her insinuation. “Excuse me? Anytime?”
Maya raised an eyebrow. “Am I wrong?” She enquired with a cheeky grin.
No, not entirely.
Damien watched her carefully and felt himself starting to smile again as he’d done all evening, but he held back. “No comment,” he simply said as she laughed. He held her close and just when he felt as though he was about to spout yet another cheesy line, Maya started complaining about the cold.
He shot her a mock-hurt expression. “And here I thought you were cuddling me because you like me.” He chuckled. “You’re just in it for my body heat.”
She shrugged. “I’m a vampire of warmth.”
“Well as long as I get to hold you, I’m okay with that.”
She bit her lip, seeming to hesitate about something at first. Then she tilted her head to look up at him. “I really like you, Damien Nazario,” she said earnestly as she locked eyes with him. “You know that, right?”
She hadn’t used the actual word, but he’d heard it nonetheless; seen the honesty in her expression. The overwhelming flood of emotion he felt rendered him speechless. I’ll never take another moment with you for granted, Maya, He thought as he kissed her temple with a soft and happy hum. I’ll make this well worth the wait.
“I’m so incredibly glad.”
————————-
Damien shook himself before he could get too caught up in reminiscing the carnal activities that had taken place soon after that.
As he started washing his hands, he heard movement behind him; a couple of footsteps entering the bathroom and then stopping as though waiting for something. He frowned at that. He was the only one in here; it wasn’t like they had to wait in line to use the bathroom.
Something’s not right.
Damien kept his head down and watched the floor with the corner of his eyes, making out several pairs of black dress shoes and pants. He had a very good idea of who they were from.
One of the men walked up behind him, seeming to think he was still preoccupied with washing his hands, and reached into his pocket.
Damien whirled around just in time to intercept the man’s hand, which was aimed at his neck; in it was a syringe. Eros. I knew it. Snarling, he knocked it out of the man’s hand and stomped on the needle, crushing it as he twisted the man’s arm and flipped him onto the ground.
As he glanced back up, two guards were rushing at him. Damien blocked one of their jabs and elbowed him to the side, only to be met with a savage punch to the jaw from another guard that knocked him back; his face collided with the sink’s marble surface before he fell to the floor. Fists and feet came flying at him from all directions. Damien dodged and blocked them the best he could until he knocked one of them back with a solid kick to the gut.
Just as he was pushing himself back up, the other guard pounced on him, tackling him back to the ground and trapping him in a tight headlock obviously intended to knock him out. Damien managed to swipe the guard’s taser from his holster behind him, shoving it into the guard’s hip and rendering him senseless.
In the flurry of movement, Damien wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it but it seemed as though there was another guy passing by the entrance to the bathroom wearing clothes similar to his own. But they’d left so quickly that he hadn’t gotten a good enough glimpse.
He jumped to his feet as the two remaining guards charged him again; he delivered a powerful uppercut to the first one’s head, knocking him out. Just as he did that, the other guard was coming at him, taser drawn. Damien ducked under his outstretched arm and maneuvered behind him as he grabbed his shoulder and shoved his taser into the guard’s back.
Damien stood there breathing heavily as he scanned the room, making sure all of them were down for the count. Then he walked over to the other side of the bathroom to search for his envelop; it had somehow fallen there during the fight … and it wasn’t there anymore. It must’ve gotten stolen while I was occupied.
As much as he wanted to search for it some more, he wasn’t about to stick around long enough for the guards to recover; or for any others to get to his friends. With that thought, he shoved the guards’ tasers into his jacket’s pockets and ran out into the hall, wiping off the trickle of blood from his jaw.
Damien went from hallway to hallway, keeping his body language inconspicuous as his eyes searched the area for any lurking guards. After a few minutes, he caught sight of Nadia, Steve and the others and darted over to them. “Nadia!”
“D!” Nadia squealed in excitement when she saw him. “You’ve gotta check out this-” she cut herself off mid-sentence as she noticed his current state. “Oh my god, what happened to you?!”
“Change of plans, we’ve gotta go. Now,” Damien said breathlessly. “Eros found us.” Everyone else visibly tensed upon hearing that. Sloane and Hayden looked to each other in worry. Steve immediately wrapped his arms protectively around Nadia.
“What?! How is that- and where’s-”
“No time to talk, let’s-” Suddenly, as he was looking over the rest of the group, he noticed that one person was not with them. A cold sense of dread filled him. “Wait, where’s Maya?”
“I was about to ask you that!” Hayden exclaimed. He was taking in Damien’s battered state and the worry in his eyes seemed to intensify. “She was just with you in the other hallway!”
“What? No, she wasn’t!” Damien watched him in confusion. “I was just at the gift shop with Alana.”
“But Alana was with you too! She said goodbye to all of us and headed off with a passport!” Nadia said shrilly. “Damien, what’s the matter with you? You were right there!”
He massaged his temple as he tried to make sense of what he’d just heard. Then he put his hands together as he tried to explain to the rest of the group. “I stopped at the restroom on the way back. Alana said she’d meet me out with the rest of you.”
“Damien, I swear we definitely saw her show up here with you!” Sloane insisted.
How is that possible …? “But I never came out with her because I was ambushed at-” He suddenly thought back to his near-capture at the restroom – his envelop with the passports going missing, the man walking by the bathroom; dressed exactly like him. “Oh my god …” he put his head in his hands as it all dawned on him.
“Damien, what?” Nadia grabbed his shoulders and shook them. “You’re scaring me! How can you not remember being with Maya?!” The anxiety in her voice was growing as she saw the haunted look on his face.
“I- that wasn’t me.” Damien looked to Hayden and Steve when he said it. “That wasn’t me!” He raised his voice to emphasize his point.
Hayden watched him in disbelief. Then he caught on to what Damien was implying and shock crossed his features. “He was a fake. Like Harley!”
Mierda. Maldito sea! “We have to get to her. Now!” He said urgently. “Where did you guys last see her?!”
Sloane pointed towards a hallway nearby and they all took off in that direction. As they approached the paintings, Hayden pulled aside a security guard. “Pardon monsieur. Avez-vous vu une femme aux cheveux violette?” He pointed to Damien as he was likely elaborating with a description of who Maya was with.
Damien swallowed hard, running his fingers through his hair as he tried to steady his breathing. The guard nodded and gestured in the direction of the exit. He barely mumbled a thank you to the guard as he ran for the door, hoping that Maya was safe.