Chapter 15 of The Edge of the World
A/N: Took a LOT of editing and re-reading, but here it is! I took a long hiatus to fix the outline, given how much I’ve diverged from canon, and was finally able to figure out a decent way to end the series. At this point, I anticipate about 10 more chapters left. Good news is, the worst is over for our folks as they work on getting the hell out of dodge. Stay tuned and thanks for reading 🙂
Supporting lyrics are from the song Dangerous by Within Temptation
Summary: Damien and Maya manage to regroup with their friends. Meanwhile, a nasty surprise is on the way . . . for them? Or for Eros?
A thief in the night, out of sight
It’s out there waiting to ignite
The fever will rise, rise, rise
Taking over my mind…
“Hello? Hello? We can hear you!”
“Sloane! Yes!” Maya could barely contain her joy that they were all right. “It’s us!”
Several exclaims of relief came from the other end followed by a barrage of questions all at once, each from a different person.
“Holy crap, where are you?!”
“Are you guys okay?!”
“Did anyone hurt you? They did, didn’t they?! Whose ass can I kick?!”
“What’s the deal with Dexter?”
“Oh thank goodness!” Sloane was talking at a rapid pace now. “I’ve been trying to find you guys for ages and Dames has been helping us – he prefers that we call him that by the way – and he’s been keeping track of what’s been happening and we heard some scary things-“
“Whoa guys! Sloane, slow down!” Damien cut in. “We’re fine. A little beat up, but we’re fine. I’m glad you’re all okay, and- wait who the hell is Dames?!”
After an awkward pause, a voice cut in that sounded exactly like him. “Uh . . . that would be me.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Damien groaned. “They copied me again?!”
“Pretty much,” Dames replied sheepishly. “Sorry.”
Damien clenched his fists, resisting the urge to smash the screens in front of him.
What am I, a fucking MP3? They had no right!
In just one day, Eros had had them chased and captured by a robot clone of him, dragged them around the countryside to be interrogated and tortured, and in the midst of all that, Rowan had still found time to bring around a second robot clone. Because reasons.
He took a deep breath, forcing down his anger. He would make them pay when a better chance came his way.
“We’ll talk about it later.” Damien spoke into the mic again. “Sloane, Cecile knows where you are. And she knows we’ve escaped. We need to move now. Since they haven’t found us yet, we can find our way to you guys with some direction. Think you can hack the security cameras?”
They could picture Sloane’s bright smile. “In my sleep.”
The trio were out of the office soon after, quickly making their way across the docks while Sloane gave them directions. They’d also taken Alana’s suggestion and found a pair of headsets, then set up a private connection with Sloane’s help so they could talk more freely without Cecile listening in. They scaled along the sides of each cargo container, stopping whenever guards were in sight. As they reached the end of one side, Alana held up a hand, stopping them. She pointed across the clearing where there was a medium-sized building. “Found it.”
“And it seems we’re not the only ones looking.” Maya was eyeing the clearing in front of her, noting about five or six uniformed guards walking towards the building with purpose.
Damien tapped his earpiece urgently. “Sloane, you’ve got company. Stay inside and have Hayden and Steve stand guard in case more come. We’re going in.”
He stepped out, Maya and Alana following closely. They crept quietly across the clearing until one of the guards picked up on the moving shadows.
“Stop right there!” the guard shouted, drawing a taser.
Alana reached him first. She grabbed his arm, twisting it until he was forced to his knees. She kneed him in the face. He fell back, unconscious. A second guard caught her from behind, but she slammed her head back into him.
“My nose!” he howled.
Their companions were already making a beeline for her, their weapons drawn and pointed. Damien grabbed one of them and slammed him to the ground. Then he swept his leg out, tripping another guard headed for Alana. While he was dealing with them, a third guard aimed his taser at Damien, oblivious to another presence behind him.
“Surprise, asshole!” Maya leapt from behind and delivered a roundhouse kick that hit him square in the elbow, knocking the weapon out of his hand.
“OW! Not the funny bone!” The guard lashed out with his other arm to backhand her, but she ducked under and surged up, elbowing him in the face. As he stumbled back, Maya caught hold of his taser and shot him square in the chest, watching as he crumpled to the ground.
Damien smiled at her in awe. That’s my girl.
They stood there for several seconds, breathing heavily and checking their surroundings for more guards. Once they were sure all was clear, they ran to the control room, knocking on the door.
“Okay guys, it’s safe-” The door swung open, revealing a worried looking Hayden, who ushered them all inside.
Nadia barreled past everyone and threw her arms around Maya. “Oh thank god, thank god you’re okay! You’re alive and you’re here!” She sobbed. “I was so scared I’d never see you again! I’m gonna kill Eros, then resurrect them and then kill them again! Nobody hurts my cousin!”
Despite her soreness, Maya just laughed and hugged her back tightly, blinking back tears. “I missed you too, Nadia.” With everything she’d been through today, her baby cousin and one of her infamous bone-crushing hugs were exactly what she needed right now.
Once she let go of Maya, she lunged at Damien, squeezing as hard as she could.
“Hey, Nadia – ow-!”
“Ahhhh! D, I’m so glad you’re okay!”
She suddenly reached with another arm and yanked Maya back to her, enclosing her and Damien in another tight hug. Sloane, Steve, and Hayden joined in. Dipper ran between them, barking happily at her friends’ return. Then Nadia glanced at Alana, who held up her hands, her eyes wide.
“I’m good, thanks-hey!” She was pulled in as well. “Watch the wrists, they’re still sore!”
“Oh shush it. I’m just glad you’re all safe!”
“So am I.” There was a ghost of a smile on Alana’s face before she forced it back. “Now let me go.”
Once everyone broke apart, they turned to find Dames standing back, maintaining a respectable distance from them. He gave them a half-smile. “Hey guys,” he said lamely. “Glad you’re okay . . .” he glanced at Damien and Maya and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Relatively, I mean.”
Damien stepped forward, studying him carefully. “I hear I have you to thank for our friends getting this far and staying safe.” His tone was friendly, though still a tad suspicious.
“Actually I’d say Sloane’s the one who deserves that thanks.” Dames replied. “If she hadn’t shown me the truth of what I am, I’d probably have just carried out whatever awful thing Eros intended for me to do. No matter how much I didn’t want to.”
“He’s right,” Steve said. “We almost got caught earlier and he helped us hide, even though it was the perfect opportunity to expose us.”
Damien nodded, considering that. “You’re probably right. Still, after what happened at the museum, I couldn’t be too sure, but-” He shifted uncomfortably as he noticed how Dames’ expression so closely mirrored his.
“Hey, be glad you only have two clones,” Hayden chimed in. “Let’s not forget there’s still hundreds of me out there, one of whom is a psychotic kidnapper.”
Deep down, Damien could tell he was genuine. Still, he doubted he’d ever get used to his looks and personality being paraded around like this – twice now. Exploited to hurt the people he cared about, exposing him in a way he didn’t want to be. It seemed like Eros had gotten every detail about him so right that they could just whip out some kind of template and recreate him out of thin air whenever they pleased.
And he didn’t like that one bit.
“Damien,” Maya gently placed her hand on his arm and he glanced at her. “If he’s anything like you, I’m sure he means well. He’s helped them to this point.”
“I know that, Maya. I just don’t want history to repeat itself. We’ve come this far, already.” He let out a long sigh, running a hand through his hair. Then he glanced back at Dames, softening his tone a bit. “I’m sorry, I just- I know I can’t be too shocked by this, but it doesn’t mean I can be completely okay with it.”
Dames waved him off. “I get it. Feeling’s mutual. I don’t blame you at all for suspecting me,” He said sincerely. “I would do the same. Although given that I’m supposed to be you, I’m sure you know we’d never hurt them. Can’t hurt them. Dexter proved that today.”
Damien stiffened, realizing what he was referring to. “How did you-“
Dames just pointed at his head. “Let’s just say Sloane can hack more than just computers. Everything that Dexter sees, I can see too.” Then he turned to Maya, a sad look in his eyes. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you, Maya…to both of you. You didn’t deserve that. No one does.”
“Thanks, Dames.” She whispered. “Did- did anyone else- I mean, was it-” Maya bit her lip and looked down, purposely avoiding eye contact with everyone else.
Judging from their confused looks, it seemed they still didn’t know what had happened earlier, and she wasn’t too keen on reliving that right now. How am I gonna tell them?
“Only us, Maya.” Dames affirmed, sounding more harsh than he intended. “Eros isn’t getting any data out of this. Not on our watch.”
Damien nodded solemnly at his doppelganger, a look of mutual understanding shared between them. “In that case, thank you . . . Dames.”
They were interrupted by the sound of Alana clearing her throat. “Sorry to interrupt an incredibly awkward moment here,” she quipped. “But we’re not out of the woods yet. Eros captured us for a reason – we have something they want. And it’s more than just Matches now.”
Damien nodded solemnly as everyone looked puzzled. It was time to catch up and make a plan. Who knew what sort of curveball was coming their way now?
———-
Many hours earlier . . .
Somewhere on the coast of Barcelona, a small, private cargo ship bobbed in the calm waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
“Move it! We have to be at Marseilles by tomorrow morning!” The captain was shouting directions to his men as they scurried in separate directions to take their positions. “And make sure the cell is ready!”
Freight containers were piled and arranged throughout the deck like a maze. In the center of them all stood one in particular, empty and surrounded by guards.
He adjusted his cap, before sighing and turning to the uniformed guard standing next to him. “I trust we will be paid in full?”
“You have our word.” The guard said. “You provide the transport, we’ll do the rest.”
“And my men will not participate in securing your . . . cargo?”
“Yes, of course.”
Unbeknownst to both of them, a tall blonde woman in a striped t-shirt and jeans had just walked up the ramp onto the ship. In her arms was a small boy, fast asleep. Accompanying her were several other people dressed similarly to her. Each of them were carrying large, heavy crates.
When she approached the guard she pressed a spot on her shoulder, revealing a glowing blue panel that identified her.
“Match #116.” The guard startled at the sight of it, his eyebrow arched in suspicion. “We weren’t expecting you. You were to be recalled when you failed to capture Mousavi.”
“We were, but then we were assigned a new task.” The woman said smoothly. “These are some new shipments for the Marseilles location. I apologize for the delay.”
“New shipments?” The guard narrowed his eyes skeptically. “I wasn’t informed we were receiving anything today.”
“That’s because they were actually scheduled to arrive in 2 days from Berlin, but due to unforeseen interference from Ms. Washington, the deal flopped. Ms. Contreras had to consult her contacts in Russia.”
She gestured behind her to the crates. “They were able to supply us with a little over 20 Elios 6 power cores. Limited, yes, but sufficient enough for Father’s immediate plans.” When he didn’t respond, she tilted her head sideways, lips quirked into a smile. “If you don’t believe me, we could always call and crosscheck with her. Although that could delay this entire expedition.”
The guard wordlessly crossed around her to check one of the crates, not noticing how the woman tensed. He peered inside the hole of the box, and sure enough, the aforementioned devices were in there; cushioned and packed with care. Then he came back to face the woman. “And the boy?” He pointed to the sleeping child.
“Mr. Mousavi’s son, Hamza. Though his father escaped us in France, we were able to catch him. Ms. Contreras is aware and hopes that with the boy in our custody, his father will give himself up.”
“All right then. Load the crates in one of the cargo containers. There should be plenty of space. We’ll arrange proper accommodations for you and the kid once that’s done.”
He walked ahead and she let out the breath she’d been holding, gently adjusting the child in her arms, ensuring he was still sleeping peacefully. Then she turned to her comrades, urging them along quickly. They carried the crates to where they were directed and arranged them while the guard stood by and watched. When they were finished, there was one left sitting in the middle of the cargo container.
When no one moved, the guard eyed the Matches questioningly. “Someone gonna take care of this?”
“With pleasure. Connor?” The woman gave a subtle nod, eyeing another Match standing behind the guard.
Connor noted the signal, strolled up to the guard and delivered a swift blow to the head, knocking him unconscious.
The woman watched with a hard expression, placing a hand protectively over Hamza’s head out of instinct. “And FYI, my name is Hailey.” she said evenly. Then she walked up to the lone crate. “You can come out now.” In response, several other Matches came forward, gripping the edges of the sealed crate and prying it open.
A man stepped out of the box, adjusting his suit. “Finally!” he exhaled in relief. “Were it not for all that yoga practice, I don’t know that I could’ve managed this long.” He instantly turned to the woman, eyeing the boy anxiously. “How’s he doing?”
Smiling knowingly, Hailey gently transferred the boy over to his father. “Just fine, sir. Didn’t wake up.”
“Please, call me Khaan. No need for formalities when we’ve come this far.” He said good-naturedly, addressing the Matches with a grateful, yet nervous smile. “I can’t thank you enough, Hailey. All of you.”
She just shook her head, chuckling. “I cannot believe this plan actually worked.”
Khaan’s expression turned serious at that. “It won’t work for long. We just lied through our teeth to get in. If I’m seen and any of them tells Rowan or Cecile, the jig is up. Let’s work fast.”
“You heard the man,” Hailey said, addressing her comrades. “Let’s move out! It’s time to clean house.”
——————–
Present time . . .
“Who did you say they were looking for?”
“Khaan Mousavi.” Damien explained. “Cecile and Harley let his name slip when she was interrogating me. And I think it has to do with those Sirens they were talking about before. Probably means he’s another employee. Sound familiar to you?”
“Yes!” Sloane replied. “He was my boss. I worked under him years ago back when Eros was still perfecting the Matches. This was long before they launched their matchmaking service. But not long after the first Match was finished and set to be released, he had a falling out with Rowan and quit. We never heard from him again.”
“Did he ever tell you why?”
“I think it was a difference of opinion. We never really talked much, but I know he’s brilliant! Khaan created the software that established their various personalities. His work gave the Matches their sentience.”
“So he’s the one who made us more human,” Hayden remarked. “What became of him after?”
“Five weeks ago, an announcement went around the company. We were told that he was arrested for fraud.” Damien and Alana perked up when she said that.
Sloane’s story was bringing an unwelcome sense of familiarity back to Maya and she couldn’t help thinking back to their time in New York when every step closer to finding answers only seemed to cause more trouble for them and increase Eros’ vigilance.
“Fraud? What for?”
“All they said was that he was embezzling the company’s resources . . . or . . . something like that. I don’t know. It was all very vague. I was afraid to ask.” Then she suddenly started talking more quickly, her tone more defensive now. “But it made no sense! Khaan had always talked about using technology to improve people’s lives. That’s what our earlier projects were used for, before Matches were made.”
“So they falsely accused him?” Nadia questioned. “Just like that?”
“Or maybe that was their way of making him ‘disappear’.” Maya said quietly. She looked to Damien, who seemed to share her suspicion. “Maybe we’re not the only ones who’ve gotten in trouble for knowing a little too much. And Khaan was with the higher-ups.”
“I think you’re right, Maya.” Damien said. “That’s probably why they’re looking for him. He clearly had an important role in the Matches’ development and whatever Eros has planned next, it definitely involves him.”
“How much did you know about him, Damien?” Hayden questioned. “It had to have been something important, if Eros was willing to torture you for information.”
Damien winced a little at the memory. “Honestly? I knew as much as they did. Remember those laptops we snooped through in the North Pole? They had memos, which I deleted, that contained random names of people who’d start projects, then disappear whenever they got popular.”
“Oh, I remember!” Sloane said. “You mentioned looking into some names for information on Eros.”
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t tell you guys much at the time.” He said contritely. “ The whole thing seemed like a dead end. Each name led to so many false trails that I couldn’t narrow down who or where he was. He made it very difficult to find him.”
“We were only in Paris for like three days before Eros found us. Maybe if we had a little more time, we’d have been able to really sit down and figure it out.” Steve said comfortingly. “Don’t kick yourself for that.”
“I . . . suppose. But the most recent name I found was Richard Cummings.”
Maya snorted at that. “Do you think his friends call him Di-“
“Ugh.” Damien facepalmed. Dammit, Maya. I should’ve known you’d do that. “Why are you like this?” She just laughed and shoved him playfully. “Anyway, that was the information Cecile wanted from me, since deleting the memo cost her that. During the interrogation, she let slip the name, Khaan Mousavi, which is when I realized they’re the same person.”
“At least you have something to go on now,” Dames said. “But we’ll have to investigate more after getting out of here.”
“Agreed.”
As they were getting ready to leave, there was a loud burst of static through the radio in the control room. “Sloane Washington,” Cecile’s voice came through an intercom outside, the sound echoing throughout the docks. “I have a message for you. Listen carefully if you want to get through . . . relatively unscathed.”
Sloane swallowed hard and Maya gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze as everyone listened.
“This spying and messing around has gone on long enough, Sloane. We know where you are. I can easily have my guards storm the control room and take you all in, but instead, I’m going to give you a chance to come clean.” Her tone was smooth with a hint of venom, chilling everyone to the bone. “If you want to walk out of here alive, meet us at the pier and bring Steve and Hayden. I will give you time to say your goodbyes. No one will harm you as long as you cooperate. You have twenty minutes.”
And just like that, the sound cut off and Sloane let out a shaky breath.
“Whatever,” Nadia snapped. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not going down without a fight.”
“That’s right.” Maya said firmly. “Whatever happens next, we face it together. No more mind games.” Everyone nodded in agreement. They knew the best course of action was to make a break for the car. If guards came their way, Hayden, Steve and Dames could fend them off until everyone was in.
However bleak their chances looked, they were done hiding.
They walked out into the clearing one by one, awaiting Alana’s signal. Once she gave the all-clear, they took off in a desperate sprint. They could hear the sounds of guards shouting nearby, which only hastened their pace.
“Guys, we need to hurry!”
“Just a little more, Nadia. We’re almost-” Suddenly, Damien stopped, grabbing her arm and pulling her back.
Cecile stood before them, flanked by several guards. “Going somewhere?”
“Cecile,” Hayden spat. “So nice to see you not at the pier as you said.”
“Oh Hayden,” She sneered at him. “When will you learn that we’ll always be one step ahead of you?”
“Well if you’re so smart, how come your Matches keep going rogue on you right under your nose?” He fired back. “You’ll never control us.”
“We’ll work with it.” Cecile signaled to her guards. “Get them.”
From the corner of her eye, Maya noticed a shadow moving behind her. But just when she was about to warn her friends, an arm wrapped around her shoulders, yanking her back.
“Hey, Maya. Miss me?”
She recognized his voice and instantly felt her body temperature drop. Maya started to scream, but he clamped his hand roughly over her mouth. “Easy now,” Harley whispered in her ear. “You’ve got some unfinished business to settle first. Can’t have your friends interfering now, can we?”
Maya watched in horror as several guards passed them and surrounded her friends, except Damien who’d seen what happened and was already plowing his way through them, trying to reach her.
She protested, elbowed and kicked at Harley, but he just continued to drag her away until they crossed to the other side of the building, throwing her to the ground once they reached the clearing. Maya bit back a pained cry as her already-bruised arms broke her fall.
Damien was moving in on them, drawing his taser, but Harley blocked his path, pointing a weapon of his own. “What’s your rush, Damien?” he jeered.
“Out of my way, Harley.” Damien snarled. “Or Dexter tasing you will feel good compared to what I’ll do to you.”
“Oooh, chilling.” Harley snickered. “But no can do, pal. You can have her back after Father’s had his talk with her.”
There was a warning flash on Damien’s face and Maya suddenly felt very aware of her rapid breathing. She pushed herself up, ready to intervene.
“Leaving so soon Miss Park?”
The unwelcome greeting stopped her in her tracks. Maya’s fingers curled into a fist, nails digging into her palm. Then she turned to face him, her glare fierce and defiant. “Rowan.”
“You’ve hardly completed all your tests, my dear. We have much to discuss.”
The countdown has begun
The walls are falling down
My life is on the line
But freedom is mine…