Quinton's palms hadn't stopped sweating all night. He finally gave up on sleep, grabbed a cup of coffee, and sat up near the surveillance monitors. Everyone was sleeping as he should have been.

Keeping the knowledge that someone had recognized Gunnar to himself was risky, but on the other hand would Olivia have reacted differently? He was their little wonder boy and few questioned his decisions. Matt found out about Gunnar's sister but hadn't said anything either, but Quinton had to admit, this secret was worse.

It would be fine, Quinton kept telling himself. Gunnar could handle this, just like he handled everything else and they'd be out of here by the end of today. Given Matt's strange report on possible chemical weapons, and a few rumors of brutal underground combat training Nate had come across, everyone was itching to leave. Judging by the constant surveillance and questions from Rorke and the other guards, they too looked forward to the departure.

Leaving would bring him back to Mischa. There wasn't a hell of a lot left to look forward in this world. If Gunnar kept his promise and put in a good word with Mischa, it could go a long way. Since running into Gunnar the first time, she'd changed. It was like her mind was always somewhere else and she and Quinton didn't connect like they used to.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Quinton's shoulders slumped. Of course, she would be up too, the cause of the other half of his stress.

"This place doesn't sit right with me."

Olivia nodded and readjusted her loose-fitting top. "I'll be giving the orders shortly to retreat."

Quinton turned away and grimaced. "That's great." He quickly added, "But don't you think an evening switch would be less suspicious? They're less likely to be noticed by other insomniacs like us."

"A minute ago you were ready to leave."

"I'd rather leave on my own terms than being chased by their security team, even if a handful of them are on our side." He was afraid that Olivia's stare would see right through him. But soon she was looking off in the distance again.

"We've already arranged for Amelia to switch out this morning. The rest can switch as you said in the evening. Did you sleep enough, you seem jumpy?"

"It's the coffee, really gets to me when I drink it."

Olivia nodded and yawned. "I'm going to talk to Yuri. Are you okay watching over everything?"

Quinton nodded and watched her leave them room. He needed to warn Gunnar to get his personal issues resolved today or he'd be on his own. Unashamed to wake the main source of all this stress, Quinton blared a message through Gunnar's earpiece. The guy jumped up and lunged out of bed with a knife. He had issues. He looked around for a moment before his eyes locked on the ear bud. Slowly, he inserted it into his ear.

"What's wrong?"

"Olivia wants you out, tonight. Finish up what you need to do."

"Could'ya stall her?"

"I already have."

Gunnar's end went silent but Quinton could see him pacing in his room. "Alright, this evening, got it. Thanks. Anything else?"

"No."

Gunnar took out the earpiece and crawled back in bed. It was unfair that he got to sleep while Quinton's guilt kept him from rest.

A message popped up on the screen 'Have you returned to the Dark side?'

Quinton smiled. Navjot could be more helpful in this matter. 'Only temporarily.'

His fingers rested over the keys as curiosity urged them downward. Navjot was smart enough to keep this channel private, so Quinton wondered if he could ask for a small favor without repercussions. He'd be doing everyone a favor, as the group's safety depended on knowing who Gunnar was really in it. But another voice nagged at the back of his mind, the one that reminded him how upset he had been when Mischa found out about his family's past without his knowledge or consent.

'Vader's ire is strong. Be prudent.'

Quinton laughed though, the situation was far less funny for his friend. 'Are you safe?'

'Until we figure out how secure our universe is.'

'Will it take long?'

'Hopefully'

Quinton dug his short nails into his palm. He could ask about Rob; that would be almost helpful. Maybe there were things Gunnar needed to know about him. Then Quinton could justify his decision of postponing their departure.

'An enemy ship is approaching the city of sin. R. Wells.'

The hum of the computer fans was eerie as Quinton contemplated taking back the request. It was a selfish one, but this was one of the only opportunities he'd get to learn something unbiased about Gunnar, even if it was by association.

'Travel duration: 19 weeks. Crew has been investigated due to suspicion of gang activity but released. The ship was involved in a fire that damaged 50% of its body severely. Rescue team arrived shortly after but could not locate the source of the fire. The crew claim a young woman was present.'

A young woman? Could that be Vita? That would explain the malice and why Rob hated Gunnar so much. Had the two of them ganged up on Rob?

'The ship was repaired as much as possible upon its arrival. It exhibits signs of being able to withstand certain radiation.'

Radiation? Was that related to the drugs, some weird experiments or just a euphemism?

Before Quinton could type anymore, the connection was lost and the messages disappeared from the screen. Quinton's stomach flipped; now he wouldn't be able to find out the truth. Another voice nagged that he could have gotten Navjot in some real trouble.

***

By lunchtime, Gunnar still hadn't made many moves to talk to his sister. Quinton wanted to help, but Olivia was being the little voice in Gunnar's head as per usual, so he couldn't do so without arousing suspicion. Gunnar would have to encounter his sister on his own, and with his ongoing security training keeping him occupied, that wasn't too likely. Quinton's stomach was twisted into knots. His silence put them all at risk.

To their luck, Aida was in line in the cafeteria, surrounded by a group of people. Gunnar walked up to them and flashed a smile that looked unnatural on his face, given how sour his personality usually was. A couple of people in the group were friendly and greeted him back, but Aida kept her arms cross and her mouth set in a rigid line.

"Gunnar what are you doing?" Olivia asked. "You need to fly under the radar."

Quinton changed his audio channel to the cafeteria and brought it up full screen. Travis' girlfriend was further back in the line, with narrowed eyes. Shit, what was Gunnar going to do?

"Aida, I really need to speak with you. It's urgent."

Aida kept her arms crossed. "If it was so urgent, they would have sent someone with more authority."

"I just want to speak with you for a minute."

"Say it here then, if it's so important."

"It's a private matter. It concerns your safety."

The boy who'd been friendly with her in the library stepped forward. "Are you threatening her?"

"This don't concern you. Back off!" Gunnar said with narrowed eyes.

"Gunnar, get out of there now! You are putting everyone at risk!" Olivia's voice filled the surveillance room.

Aida's eyes went wide for a moment and she uncrossed her arms.

"If you think you're going to 'talk' to Aida, you're high." The guy said loudly enough to attract the attention of a couple nearby guards. Then he put an arm around the girls' shoulder.

"Smooth this over and walk away," Olivia said calmly.

Gunnar scowled and took a step forward. The boy dropped his hand from Aida's shoulder and took a step away. Gunnar took a second to compose himself. "Aida, please I wouldn't ask if I didn't think it was important."

"Buddy, back off, she isn't interested!"

"Last I checked, you weren't Aida so shut yer damn mouth."

"Liv." Yuri stepped into the security room. "Travis' name ees coming on radio. Whatever your boy do, he need to stop. I can only protect you if you are secret."

"Gunnar you are out. We're leaving now."

The sweat on Quinton's arms had cooled and gave him the chills. Why the hell had he thought enabling Gunnar was a good idea? They were all so screwed. What if they all got caught? He'd be the first one detained with his injured ankle.

And if he thought things couldn't get any worse, Gunnar's battle scarred nemesis walked up. He threw a lazy arm around Gunnar's shoulder and said something to him too quietly to overhear. Gunnar shoved Rob away and yelled, "Don't touch me. And stay far away from my sister or so help me God, I'll..." His eyes drifted over to Aida.

"Liv," Yuri started, but Olivia held up her hand.

"Gunnar, you have to do damage control now or you're never getting out of here."

Rob smirked. "You don't have a sister, Travis." His eyes travelled toward the rapidly approaching guards. "What have you been taking lately?"

"Travis, it would be best if you returned to your place in line," the security officer said to Gunnar.

"No, I need to talk to her, it's important."

The guard whispered something in Travis' ear and Gunnar recoiled. "No, I wouldn't touch that. You know I'm in training." The two security guards looked at each other and toward Gunnar's shaking leg.

"We're just going to take you somewhere safe."

"Go with them Gunnar," Olivia instructed "It's all I can do from here."

"It's time you stopped scaring this young, beautiful girl," Rob said, placing his arm around Aida.

This was not going to end well.

Olivia whipped around and narrowed her eyes at Quinton. "What do you think you're doing, watching a damn movie? Get everyone else out of there now!"

Quinton changed the screen and audio feeds to find Nate. "Emergency exit everyone. Make any excuse to leave and I'll get you back to the entry point."

He switched the screen over to Reggie who was tending to an injured man. "Do you need an extra set of eyes?"

"Let me know how the South corridor looks."

Quinton scanned it quickly and finally, luck was on their side. "Clear for now."

He split the screen so he could chart Nate's route as the man talked to his scowling supervisor. The supervisor nodded but pointed at his watch. Nate agreed and took off with hurried steps.

"Mr. Hues, keep going straight until you get to the staircase."

Quinton pulled up some old looped footage to cover up Nate's escape as he led him through some disused corridors to get out of the dingy underground. He couldn't help but overheard bits of Olivia's yelling.

"I don't care who she is, we are leaving. You can go with the guards or suffer the consequences on your own."

On Olivia's screen, Gunnar yelled at Rob and struck him in the face. The other guard struck Gunnar and he fell to the floor. Olivia's hand flew to cover her mouth.

"Gunnar? Matt?"

Only the computer fans made noise for the next thirty seconds. How were they going to come back from this?

"If you make that choice we aren't coming back for you," Olivia said.

Quinton's eyes wandered over to Olivia's screen where Gunnar was now face down on the ground.

"Remember, you had no other help, no accomplices."

A voice interrupted his eavesdropping "Quinton, should I be using this hallway?"

Quinton's eyes shot back to his screen. Shit, Nate had gone too far but was smart enough not to get noticed yet. "No, go back forty paces and turn right. You're almost there, just two more flights of stairs. Yuri will meet you by the entrance to bring you back." The man beside Quinton grunted and walked toward the door. The light it let in stung his eyes a little.

Quinton tried to slow his rapid breathing and focus on the task at hand. Amelia was already out, Nate was nearly there, and Reggie had made it to the final corridor.

"What's Matt's progress?" Quinton asked.

"He's done. Nate and Reggie?" Her voice shook as she spoke. Quinton didn't question the nonsensical information. But he wondered how Matt had made it out so quickly on his own.

"Nearly there," he spoke into his microphone, "Just up two more flight of stairs and that last hallway is clear for you. You should recognize it."

"Make sure they get to that door. I'll get our bags."

Quinton peaked over to Olivia's screen but it was already off. "How are we going to get Gunnar out?"

She kept her back to him as she spoke. "We're not."