Venn ushered Giovanni and Brielle onto the ferry in front of him. Brielle stumbled slightly when she boarded. Venn thought she just tripped, but the moment his foot touched the deck, he understood. His legs felt suddenly weak and a faint nausea started in the pit of his stomach.

The ferry was iron lined. That was a very bad sign.

The trio sat down near the edge of the ferry. Giovanni didnt stay seated for long. He paced in front of them anxiously as the ferry started moving. He knew something was off, that much was clear.

Brielle closed her eyes and sat as straight as she could manage. She hid the discomfort better than Venn. Venn leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. The nausea was so strong he could almost taste it. He pressed a hand over his mouth and groaned quietly.

Giovanni was sitting at his side in less than a second. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Venn swallowed hard and nodded slowly. He squeezed his eyes shut. "I'll be fine."

Giovanni leaned against Venn, wrapping his arms around him. He didn't move away when Venn shuddered.

A woman in a long red dress walked over. "Are you two alright?" She looked between Brielle and Venn.

Venn kept his head down. Brielle looked over and smiled. "We're fine. Just get seasick. My husband has it worse than me."

The woman studied Venn, not missing the rose pinned over his heart. He didn't dare look up. If he kept his head down the scars weren't visible and he could be anyone. For good measure, he made sure to keep his pale hands out of view.

Giovanni looked up at the woman. His mismatched light and dark eyes took her by surprise. The harsh look he gave her made her wander away. She kept glancing back at them.

"Thanks, Gi," Venn murmured.

The ferry ride seemed to take hours. Venn had to focus hard to keep from throwing up. The entire ferry was suspicious of him now. Whispers of "Is that the ghost?" and "That rose, and the dark hair...is that a scar on his chin?"

As people inspected him closer, Venn pulled his blazer collar up to cover his neck and chin. He couldn't stop thinking about the article he had seen on the other side. The bolded headline of "Type Four Executed - Murder or Justice?" He desperately hoped it was wrong.

Venn felt the ferry bump against the dock. He didnt move. It would be safer to be the last off.

Giovanni had other ideas. He grabbed Venn's hand and tugged him toward the dock. "Come on!"

Venn didnt know why Giovanni was in such a hurry. Brielle got up and hooked her arm through his. She stood between him and the people, helping him hide.

Venn let out a relieved breath as he stepped off the ferry. The sick feeling was gone almost instantly. He pretended it wasn't though, as an excuse to keep his face to the ground.

Giovanni let go of Venn's hand and darted ahead. Brielle left Venn to follow Giovanni, thinking he was running off. Venn glanced up and saw Zip standing at the corner of a building, almost lost in shadow. A slightly less substantial form leaned against the wall. The figure was fuzzy, but Venn would recognize the flowing red hair anywhere.

Venn was about to start toward Zip and Reed, but someone grabbed the back of his blazer. Venn turned to face whoever it was, forgetting to keep his head down. It was a Fittes agent, tall and dark haired with deep brown eyes.

Venn raised an eyebrow at the agent. Cold radiated from him like he was made of ice. "Is there a problem, agent?"

The agent made a quick motion with something in his hand. Venn ducked out of the way, narrowly avoiding having an iron cord wrapped around his neck. He kicked the agent between the legs before sprinting toward his family on the corner.

Reed was standing up mostly straight now. His eyes were bright and alert, but he was hazy and translucent. Venn's heart wrenched when he noticed this, but he didn't have time to mention it.

"We need to get out of here. Agents," Venn said quickly. He pushed Zip and Brielle ahead of him, then nudged Giovanni along before following.

Reed fell into step at Venn's side. "So how was the vacation?"

"It was good until I heard you were sentenced to die," Venn said, glancing back.

Reed looked back calmly. "Can't have that now can we?" He waved a hand, sending two streetlights crashing into the agents' path.

Venn grinned and focused on staying behind the other three. Zip was clearly leading them somewhere and, though he was fast for his height, Venn still could have easily passed him. Even Giovanni had no difficulty keeping up.

Between Reed knocking down the occasional streetlight and Zip taking them on a winding path through the streets, they lost the agents. Zip didn't slow down until he had made several more turns. When he did allow them to slow down, everyone but Reed was panting.

"Where exactly are we going?" Brielle asked as Zip continued on at a quick pace.

Zip barely glanced back. "Just going to pick up our gear. Then we're going to the United States. They're going to protect us in exchange for a couple things. I'll tell them to you later."

"You contacted the United States?" Venn asked, sounding surprised.

Reed nudged Venn and leaned in close. "He talked directly to the president," he whispered. "Who knew our little dwarf could get such a good deal for us."

Reed calling Zip a dwarf made Venn laugh despite the tense atmosphere. Zip glanced back, raising an eyebrow at Venn. Reed and Venn just smiled innocently. Brielle shook her head, smiling faintly at the two.

Giovanni bounced next to Zip. "So you found a really cool secret spot for all our stuff?"

Zip laughed a bit and stopped in front of an old rusty door. "Something like that."

Zip shoved the door open. It opened right to a staircase going down. A light flickered at the bottom. A normal amount of cobwebs hung in the corners.

The group went down the stairs behind Zip. The room at the bottom was small. The pile of things Zip had saved from the house was barely worth noting. Venn instantly retrieved his Fittes rapier and held it carefully.

Zip handed Brielle one of the spare rapiers before carefully handing Reed's rapier to Giovanni. He said nothing as he divided the magnesium flares and salt bombs among them.

Reed watched in silence as they armed themselves. He stayed hovering close to Venn. He had started floating instead of walking at the top of the steps.

Zip ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Alright. Now we just need to make it to our getaway boat in the Thames and we'll be on our way to our rescue sub."

Venn opened his mouth to say something, then froze. He tilted his head. He looked at Reed. "Do you hear that?"

Silence filled the small room. Reed glided closer to the stairs. "It sounds like dogs..."

"I think it is," Brielle said.

The distant barking grew closer. Zip didn't need to ask what Reed had said, since he couldn't hear. He started quickly for the steps. "We need to hurry. Come on."

In seconds, they were running again. Zip led the way, as before, but he seemed to be moving faster now. They were a long way from his destination.

The dogs barking grew gradually closer. Shouts could be heard now too. Venn dropped back slightly when it became clear they couldn't outrun the dogs.

Zip looked back in alarm. "Venn what are you doing?!" he shouted. "We're almost there!"

Venn shook his head. "We won't make it all the way with these dogs. Take Giovanni and Brielle. Keep them safe."

Brielle glared at Venn. "Venn you are not going to stand alone against who knows how many dogs and agents."

Zip stopped running and turned to face Venn.

Venn stepped back slowly. "I won't be alone." He glanced at Reed.

Reed swooped behind Venn and gave him a hearty shove. "Don't try to be a noble idiot, Venn. RUN!"

Venn staggered forward a few steps. He turned to snap at Reed, but was met with another harsh shove. Giovanni ran over to Venn and grabbed his hand.

Venn resisted for a moment as Giovanni tried to pull him along. He stopped when he saw the desperate look on the boy's face. Giovanni was clearly terrified that Venn was going to walk away and leave him. The next tug Giovanni gave, made Venn keep moving.

The group continued on in a much tighter formation. Reed flew above their heads, occasionally swooping back to see if anyone was too close behind.

The Thames stretched out before them. A lone speedboat was parked at the edge. Zip got in quickly, closely followed by Brielle and Giovanni. Venn started to get in just as a gunshot rang through the air. The bullet connected with Venn's left calf. He fell with a sharp cry of pain.

He tumbled into the boat, hitting his head hard on one of the seats. He groaned and closed his eyes.

Brielle pulled him up onto the seat next to her. Giovanni sat in front. Zip started the engine, watching as Brielle bandaged Venn's leg.

Reed vanished, unable to hold his form surrounded by so much water as the boat pulled away from the street. Several more gunshots sounded as they sped away. Giovanni wailed as one bullet hit his shoulder.

Venn leaned over toward Giovanni, who had slumped forward slightly. "Put pressure on it, Gi. It'll help stop the bleeding."

Giovanni pushed a hand to the wound and whimpered quietly. He was shaking from adrenaline and fear. Brielle moved carefully to his side with the bandages.

Venn leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. He gazed at London as the buildings gradually farther apart. Zip slowed the boat once they were out of the city.

"I need you and Brielle to listen to me for a second," Zip said, raising his voice to be heard over the engine.

Brielle leaned forward and nodded. Venn titled his head to show he was listening.

"So I talked to the president. He pulled some strings so we can be considered citizens when we arrive. In return, however, he wants to be able to do some tests on you two and Reed. Not like what Raylan did but-"

"What?! You agreed to that?!" Venn tensed and glared at Zip. "You agreed to let them put us in a lab and run experiments?" A series of curses followed.

Zip fell silent during Venn's outburst. "It's just the occasional blood test as well as physical strength type tests. Nothing too painful."

Venn glowered but said nothing in response to this. Brielle seemed nervous, but she didn't object to it. Giovanni was pressed against her side.

The rest of the ride down the river passed in hostile silence on Venn's part. Deep down he knew Zip was right. He also knew why Zip had waited to tell him until he was on the boat. That didnt mean he had to like it.

It took them most of the night to reach the ocean. The sight of it made Venn relax, despite the slightly sick feeling the water caused. They were going to be free. They were going to a place where the government wasn't going to chase them down. His family was going to be safe.

Zip slowed their boat even more, looking around intently. Venn was about to ask what he was looking for when the water bulged up a short distance away.

Water poured from the top of a large submarine. Zip guided their little boat closer as someone opened the top hatch.

A tall woman with short brown hair climbed out and started climbing down the ladder on the side. She stopped when the water lapped around her feet and hung from the side of the ladder. Once the boat was close enough she hooked one leg over the side to hold it. She grinned at them. "Hello boys! And lady," she nodded in a way that hinted at a full fledged bow.

Zip shut off the engine and nudged Venn. "Hello! I'd introduce everyone but that would be better done on board I think."

The woman chuckled. She was about to respond when she saw Giovanni struggling to climb the ladder with one arm. Her eyes flashed angrily when she saw the bandage on his shoulder. She glared up the river before she gently reached out and put a hand behind his back. "Let me help you there, little man."

Giovanni hesitated, eyeing her suspiciously before he started climbing slowly. The woman helped him until he reached the top of the sub. A man was at the hatch ready to help them inside. Giovanni vanished through the hatch a moment later.

The woman came back down the ladder. "Any others injured?"

Venn got up and limped to the ladder. He forced himself to not collapse as pain shot up his leg. He didnt put his injured leg on the ladder. When the woman reached out to help him, he bared his sharp teeth at her. "Back off," he growled.

She blinked but withdrew, watching him until he was inside the sub. She looked down at Zip. "That's the spitfire we were warned about is it?"

Zip chuckled as Brielle started quickly up the ladder. "Yeah. It is. I'd stay out of his reach unless absolutely necessary."

The woman snorted. "We've got a fairly small sub here. There's not a lot of space. It's pretty cramped."

Zip hopped up onto the ladder. Before he could say anything, the woman laughed. "My goodness, you really are short! I thought it was just a trick of me being up here but good heavens."

Zip rolled his eyes. "In your measurements, four feet, ten and one fourth inches. Don't forget the fourth."

The woman laughed and followed him up the ladder.

The woman hadn't been kidding when she had said it was crowded. Zip's shoulders touched either wall and the ceiling was only a foot or so higher than his head.

An irritated looking man with pale blonde hair down to his shoulders scowled at Zip. His grey eyes were cold. "Your friends are below. The tall one is acting oddly."

Zip's eyes grew wide at that. He squeezed past the man with a muttered 'pardon me' and darted toward a ladder leading down. He descended quickly.

The place designated as below had an even lower ceiling than above. Zip's curls brushed the metal. Crates and boxes were stacked everywhere, making it seem even more crowded. Venn was curled up in a tight ball with Brielle and Giovanni on either side.

Giovanni got up and ran over when he saw Zip. He looked worried. "Venn is scared," he said. "Worse than scared. He won't talk to us."

Zip walked over to Venn. He almost lost his balance as the sub started descending. Brielle instantly looked sick and Venn tensed.

Zip sat down next to Venn and put an arm around his shoulders. It would be a long trip for him. The others could likely be of some use around the sub, but not Venn. Not with his crippling fear of small spaces and wariness of anyone he didn't know.

Giovanni squeezed himself between Brielle and Venn. He fell asleep in moments. Venn leaned his head back against a crate and looked at Zip out of the corner of his eye. "This had better be worth it."

Zip gave him a small smile. "You and Brielle aren't going to die. That's worth it enough for me."