Monday March, 2029

"Is it just me or is the snow getting deeper?" Daniel's voice pulled her from her reverie.

Ella rolled her eyes and sighed, her breath billowing in front of her eyes, perturbed. "Do you ever stop complaining?"

"I'm just asking- are we getting close?"

"Yes."

"Alright, great. This is great news, you see this? This is me, not complaining. How close are we?" He adjusted the rifles and switched shoulders.

"Less than thirty minutes."

"Oh, I was hoping for something more along the lines of, I don't know, 'just over this last hill'."

"We're climbing a mountain." She pointed out plainly and released a heavy breath, her patience running thin.

"It'll be past the middle of the night when we get there."

"Yeah, and won't you believe... no bandits." She feigned shock.

Daniel chucked a phony laugh, "Anyway, will we be able to get in?"

She scoffed, "We don't have a curfew." He started a retort but she stopped him, motioning for him to join by her side at the top of the hill, "You see that..." She pointed out a soft glow of light that emanated from the rest of the darkness in the valley between the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by mountainous hills and trees, the small city was walled in by a makeshift barrier reinforced with beams on the inside and sentries pacing the top vigilantly. From their place from the road, they could only see the glow from inside the wall but it was enough to give Daniel a reason to stop complaining. "Happy?"

"Very," he wiped away invisible tears and sniffled dramatically, "It's beautiful."

"Shut up and walk." She ground out and began her descent down the slippery slope.

***

Daniel looked up at the large wall, blinking against the snowfall, as they walked along side it. "So this is it, huh? Sanctuary?" He mused aloud but didn't receive a reply as she stopped in front of the large entry, closed by a large chain-link gate.

A man stepped into view from the other side of the icy gate and greeted them roughly, "Arms."

Bishop pulled down her sleeve to reveal her human brand, "Evening, Terry." She greeted and the older man smiled warmly.

"Ms. Bishop." He greeted, this time pleasantly. "Who's your guest?"

"I checked him, he's got information for Ari."

Terry nodded and smiled, motioning behind the wall to an unseen person to open the gate. "Well welcome home, kiddo." He added as he stepped away, the gate lifting upwards through the wooden portal overhead, just enough for them to walk under- though the gate could lift to the full height of the wall.

As she walked in without incident, Terry stopped Daniel from stepping through the gate. "Guns stay here, mister." His voice dropped back down to gruff, his cloudy blue eyes staring into Daniels bright ones intently.

"Uh, Bishop?" Daniel called out to get her attention and she shrugged.

"He wants your guns, Daniel, give 'em to him."

Daniel shook his head and dodged Terry's attempt to take them off his shoulder. "I'm not disarming, you'll just keep them for yourself." He argued, looking the stooped doorman up and down distrustfully.

"Daniel," She warned, "You'll get them back when you leave. All you have to give him are the rifles." She assured and he realized she was allowing him to keep his revolver hidden from the thin haired man. He dropped his shoulder and let the rifle straps fall into Terry's waiting, shaking hand.

"Sword." Terry demanded just as Daniel took a single step forward.

"His sword's fine, Ter'." Bishop allowed and the white haired man nodded curtly.

When Daniel was finally allowed to leave he took three brisk steps to come up beside her before they fell into step together, "You have that poor man up at the gate? He's like a hundred years old."

"He's a door man, we have guards lining the perimeter."

"I doubt he can see past his nose and the poor guy's shaking like a leaf..." He tossed his thumb behind him, over his shoulder, in the old man's direction.

"He's got great hearing though," she deadpanned and Daniel looked over his shoulder self-consciously, hoping the man didn't overhear his comments about his age and health state but the elder had already retired back into his shelter. "We tried to get him to work the library but he wants to help on the 'front lines'." She added and pointed to the right, her arm reaching across his chest to direct him down the intersection.

He looked around impressed, the streets were clean and lined with candle lamp posts, a man dressed in a sharp black jacket used a candle snuffer to put them out. The sidewalks were deserted but they were shoveled and salted for the next morning. As they turned down the street, he looked both directions where fully functioning stores were locked down but had displays in the windows.

"You have lamplighters... ?"

She glanced at him skeptically, "We're a fully functioning town. We have a hospital, police department, mayor, school, a library and yes, we employ lamplighters. What were you expecting?"

"A military establishment? Just a bunch of pissed off yous" he indicated to her with a pointed finger, "marching around an abandoned compound." He admitted with an ornery smirk.

"That's cute," she muttered and turned to her left, sending him reeling to catch up, nearly slipping in the fresh snow. "This is Syndicate." She announced as they walked up to the red brick building, climbing up a short set of stairs to the main, glass entry.

She opened the door and he stepped in, out of the snow. Inside was just as tidy and well kept as the outside, the tiled floor still polished and reflected the soft glow of the lanterns that lit the ingress. Past the lobby, was a second set of wooden doors that opened out to a large bullpen. Each desk had it's own lantern, though they were all snuffed for the night, and pile of files and papers on it.

Where they'd set up their office space was a large, carpeted room with vaulted ceiling. The back of the room was more window than wall but to the sides were large, metal cabinets that lined the partitions save for the double doors, that mirrored the other side, in the center of both walls.

"What is this place?" His voice echoed in the large room and he took a moment to look around.

"Syndicate," she repeated and guided him away from the closed office space, turning to the left.

"You guys function like cops?"

"No, the cops handle the goings on within the walls. We're more like agents... we function outside. Setting up and managing waystations, eliminating Huijari terrorist attacks, etcetera."

"Modern day F.B.I., cool. Why are we here this late? There's nobody here."

"Ari is always here." She opened another door that led to a separate hallway, a line of offices the length of the building.

"Workaholic, that's nice. He sleep here too?" He removed his gloves and stuffed them into his jacket pocket as he unzipped the front.

"Some days."

"I'm surprised that's not you- oh wait, you don't sleep." He snapped his fingers and threw his head back in exaggerated realization.

As they walked by each office, he glanced at the name tags and couldn't help but wonder if the were current or from fourteen years ago. She paused halfway down, stopping at the third room out of five visible, and opened the door. Daniel glanced at the name tag beside the door and found it empty.

She pulled her backpack off sluggishly, a soft, relieved moan sounding in the back of her throat as the weight fell off and onto the clean, carpeted floor.

"Is this your office?" He questioned, looking around the room at it's tidy appearance, what papers present on the desk were stacked evenly, the pens laid out in immaculate order, the oil lamp sitting uniformly with the right angle of the desk corner.

"Yeah, keep your voice down." She suggested and pulled off her jacket, revealing her olive green shirt.

His eyes shifted around the room, "Do people sleep here?"

She pulled off her beanie and smoothed her hair before rolling up the sleeves on her v-neck to quarter length, revealing her brand. "No, but Ari is here and if he hears you before I introduce you... he'll come at you with a gun."

"Sounds like a great guy." He mumbled but instantly regretted it when her eyes flashed in anger.

"Ari is one of the best men I know." She ground out between barely moving lips.

"Hey, look," he held his hands up submissively, "I don't know him from Jack."

Ella sighed loudly and tilted her head to the side while she rubbed her neck, "Yeah, okay, let's go. Do you want to leave your stuff here?" She indicated to his backpack and his person lazily with her free hand, her other resting at the base of her neck.

"No, I'll uh, I'll keep my stuff."He refused.

She dropped her hands to her sides and pushed past him into the hall, expecting him to follow. He glanced back into the room, feeling like its appearance just confirmed what he'd thought about her, and smiled before closing the door behind him- holding the handle down so the latch wouldn't catch until the door would close without clicking- silently.

Two rooms down from her office, Ella stopped at the entrance of the second to last office and without knocking she entered, stepping in as she swung the door to the wall. "Ari,"

"Liv', I meant to ask you-" A tan man, sitting behind his desk, started without looking up from the papers he was signing. When he looked up he instinctively leaned back, his eyes wide. "Jesus, Ella, you look like- who the hell is that?" He stood quickly, his chair flying out from under him and colliding with the wall, and pointed behind her to where Daniel stood.

"Your name is Ella?" Daniel asked from behind her, stuffing his hands in the front pockets of his cold jeans.

"Ari, listen." As she spoke, Daniel looked around the spacious office. A large window to the far left, the same length as the chestnut colored desk, ran parallel behind it. The adjacent wall was covered top to bottom with a full map of Ataxia, with United States of America crossed out in red marker and divided into separated territories of Ataxia.

"You can't just bring people here, what are you thinking?" He shouted, his accent heavy in his voice.

"Ari..." She started again.

"Okay, so I brought- Ella, what are you doing here?" Another woman came up behind Daniel and he pivoted, his hands still in his pockets as he pressed his back against the open door, allowing her space to enter between him and the door jam. "Who's this?"

The woman was tall and thin, her dress hanging off her body as though wet. Her hair was pulled up to the top of her head, revealing her spine from her neck until it disappeared behind her clothing. It was unhealthy how thin she was but what she lacked in body fat she made up in toned arms and legs, he thought briefly that she could be a runner.

"The waystation is gone. Paul, Izzy... everyone is dead. They were attacked." Ella reported grimly, her jaw tightened and Daniel could see her muscle ripple through her cheek.

"Is he your suspect?" The woman questioned pointedly, looking him up and down as she offhandedly gave a steaming mug to Ari.

"No, Olivia," Ella replied and Daniel could hear disdain in her modulated tone. "Daniel is a witness."

At hearing his name, he pulled his right hand out of his pocket and held it out submissively, "I don't know if witness is the right word... maybe a source?" He offered and replaced his hand, shrugging when Ella gave him a dirty look.

"A source." Ari spoke up again and tilted his head in observation, sticking his hands in his dress slacks, mimicking Daniel. "What information do you have?"

Daniel blinked rapidly and stood taller, "Well, I happen to know why your station was attacked." He started, pulling out his hand to gesture as he spoke. "I also happen to know who..."

The other man straightened to his full height and pulled at his ear as he released an exasperated sigh, "Yeah, and who would that be?" He asked, quirking a thick brow.

"Carver." Ella filled in and Daniel gestured to her, indicating she'd spoken the truth.

Ari blinked a single time and looked between the two of them. Offering a tight lipped smile before turning his back to them, he stood over his desk with his palms pressed down into the desktop. "I see, Carver is it?"

Replacing his hands in his pockets, Daniel glanced over to look at Ella who wasn't paying attention. "Yeah, that's right. He's a major threat to," he worked his tongue around his mouth as he decided on the word to use, "-to 'public safety', I suppose."

The towering man spun back again, the top of his black button-up was undone and the tie around his neck loosened. "You suppose- you suppose?"

"Hey, look, this man has been slaughtering people all across the nation, he and his people brought Sioux Falls to it's knees." Daniel defended and pressed his palms together, as if in prayer, and chopped them from one side to the other, in the air, as he spoke to better emphasize his words. "I suppose public safety is a fitting enough word to describe the massacres that follow him wherever he goes- and right now he's heading into Maryland."

Ella cleared her throat and looked back at him.

"I think." He added distastefully.

Ari crossed his arms against his chest, leaning back against his desk in the corner of the room. "Who else knows about this?"

"Most people who find the remains think that it's, uh," he took in a deep breath and looked back at Ella who held his gaze before he diverted and narrowed his eyes at Ari, his eyes crinkling. "-uh, they think it's Raiders... for the most part."

"What does he want?" Olivia spoke up, her voice more powerful than she looked, holding authority in her tone.

Daniel shifted his weight, feeling the soreness of walking up a mountain for over half a day. "Power. He wants to rule. To finish what the Ousia started but without the, 'benefitting the greater good' delusion." He diverted his gaze back to Ari and waited for a reaction.

"What proof do you have?" Ari demanded, looking between both Daniel and Ella for an answer.

"Well, your station for one. Bishop here says you have satellite locations all over Ataxia, save for a few hostile territories..." Ari's eye twitched as he glared at Ella and Daniel felt he just threw her under the bus but continued his monologue. "So has nobody reported these attacks to you, seriously?"

Ari flicked his angry glare back to Daniel but before he could reply, Olivia spoke up. "Are you accusing us of something?" She challenged, her big eyes wider in her expectation.

He glanced to Ella who shook her head subtly before turning to say her piece but he cut her off, "Possibly, I find it hard to believe that attacks like this really haven't worked it's way over to Syndicate... some way or another."

"Daniel-" Ella started.

"Enough!" Ari stood away from his relaxed position abruptly, his arms at his side. "Take him to the station, I want him locked up until I figure out what faction he's from. You from the Republic?"

"Not with that accent," Olivia offered.

"Yeah, Mahalo, Olivia." Daniel winked though he felt jilted.

"Hawaii, so you're from the Confederation." Ari assumed and turned to write on a loose piece of paper.

"Wrong again," Daniel chimed.

Ari sighed and slammed the pen down and Ella stepped up to prevent a confrontation, "Ari, wait... This... There's more."

All three looked to her in interest, waiting for her big reveal. Ari looked down at her from the bridge of his nose, his dark eyes cold and calculating.

"The Huijari have military grade weaponary."

Ari made a guttural sound, "We've suspected this for months, Ella, I-"

"There were rumors but never any proof of any Huijari safehouses we've raided!"

Daniel quirked a brow at this and stepped up timidly in order to get a look at Ella's profile, "You raid safehouses?"

When Ari moved to lash out at Daniel, Ella stepped between them, "Ari, listen, please."

"If what you're saying is true, then we need to be focusing our efforts on the terrorist threat, not chasing some faceless name halfway across Ataxia-"

"Maryland." Daniel interjected.

Ari's eye twitched but he continued with little diversion to Daniel's correction, "-for an attack on a waystation."

"Our waystation, our people!" Ella argued.

He shook his head and lifted his chin slightly, "An ally, not Syndicate."

"You're not going to bring this man to justice?!" She scoffed.

Ari laughed darkly and turned away before turning around fast enough to give them all whiplash trying to follow his movement, "How do you know it wasn't the Huijari you ran into- who had the military weaponry when they attacked. Did you even check the weapon inventory at the waystation?" He questioned, his tone accusatory.

Daniel watched helplessly as the one person standing between him and an angry leader began to fold in front of his eyes. "No," she finally responded, her voice quieter than Daniel had yet to hear.

"Or," Olivia interjected, "How do you know it wasn't him" she indicated to Daniel with a long, pointed index finger.

Ella laughed harshly. "Ari, you can't be serious." Ella addressed Ari, forboding Olivia's statement went unheard. "Do you really think I'd bring him here if I didn't trust him to some extent?"

"Thank you?" Daniel said idly, ignored.

"Honestly, Ella, I'm not sure. The way you've been acting lately..." He turned his back to her again and started to walk around his desk.

"'The way I've been acting'? Wha-"

"You've been erratic, I never know where you're going or why?" He laughed, "You just walked to a waystation-"

"To connect with our ally, they are a waystation for us just as they are for anyone going between territories. We knew- what about Paul and-"

"We are not talking about politics, Ella!" He slammed his fist down onto the wood surface of his desk, bouncing pens and the mug. "I don't trust this story that he's" Ari pointed to Daniel forcefully, emphasizing the word with disdain, "telling and I don't trust your judgment." opening a drawer, he tossed her a pair of handcuffs, making direct eye contact with her.

Her skin flushed at her neck and in her cheeks, accentuating her scar. "Ari..." She warned, her voice tight.

Olivia came away from the wall and sensually pulled at the tie in her hair, letting her long brown hair fall around her shoulders to rest at the center of her back. Daniel barely noticed, watching as Ella came up beside him, a glint of silver in her hand. He rolled his lip against his teeth and sighed heavily through his nose, "Really? I didn't have to come here..."

"It's too late for that." Ari contended.

Daniel narrowed his eyes and looked over Ella's head to peer at Ari's inscrutable face.

"Get him out of here." Ari demanded and turned away.

Ella shuttered her eyes and shook her head to silence any further protests from Daniel, if he didn't know any better he would have assumed it was to protect him. Disadvantaged and outnumbered, he reluctantly turned around and held his hands behind his back.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him as she clicked them into place around his wrists.

"Yeah," he replied gruffly, his voice lowering in his despondence.

As they stepped outside, Ella's hand on his elbow, Daniel could feel her shiver at the frigid air. He glanced over his shoulder and noticed her lack of jacket and pack. "You forgot your stuff." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Turn right."

"Are you serious? You're actually going to put me in 'jail'?" He scoffed and turned his head further in an attempt to see her.

"I don't have a choice," She replied, avoiding his icy gaze.

"Sure you do. You have a choice. Just let me leave." He looked back ahead as a gust of biting wind whipped his jacket flaps. "I came here to help and you-"

"Just give me a minute, I'll figure something out! -- In here." She instructed and pointed to a gray, stone building with a large black lettering marking 'Police Dept.'.

Inside, Ella walked straight up to the semi-circular receptionist desk, her boots squeaking against the laminate flooring. "Warrick?" She called when she found it empty, releasing Daniel's arm momentarily as she leaned her chest over the counter to peer behind it. "Hey, Warrick!"

"It's so hard to find good help these days." Daniel mumbled and heard her force a sigh in an attempt to cover her instinctive laugh.

When she turned to look at him, she'd covered her fleeting amusement with a glare. "Shut up," she grabbed his elbow again but he became distracted by a silver chain that had fallen from the cover of her shirt and rested against her chest. Around the chain was a small white gold wedding band.

He quickly glanced away, not wanting her to notice that he'd seen such a precious memento, but couldn't help looking into her brown eyes again- searching for something he knew he wouldn't find.

Ella tugged on his arm as she walked to the right of the departments lobby, into the next room through a heavy wooden door. "Warrick!" She called again to the empty briefing room. "Damn..." She muttered when there was no reply.

"So, who's Warrick? Does he do the booking?" He nodded and looked down on her.

"You're not-" she sighed forcibly, "You're not 'getting booked'."

"Ah, c'mon... fingerprinting me and putting me through the system? That's not something you've always wanted to do?" He urged, despite knowing it's impossibility due to the lack of power and 'system'- AFIS and CODIS were a thing of the past.

"I had my fill." She stated impassively and looked around helplessly at the deserted lobby as she pulled him back through the door to stand front of the desk, waiting for Warrick to return to his post.

Daniel back peddled and looked at her in over-exaggerated shock. "Did- was that an inside look into the enigma that is Bishop?" When her expression hardened and she diverted her gaze he continued, "Were you a cop?" He chimed.

"No, I was not a cop."

"Oh, I'm sorry- police officer?" He ducked his head as he shrugged, straining slightly against the cuffs.

"No."

"Detective?"

"Will you shut up?"

"Not until you tell me what you- wait, were you on the other side? Were you in the system?" He surmised.

Ella massaged her temple with one hand while crossing the other across her stomach, "What did you do before the war?"

"I asked you first."

She dropped her arms to her sides, "I don't have to tell you anything." and looked him in the eyes briefly before turning to look around for Warrick again.

"I was a Detective at Honolulu PD."

Her head snapped back to look up at him, "Wait, like... Hawaii Five-O."

"Yeah, the show, that's cute. I never heard that one before."

"At least not in fourteen years." She deadpanned and crossed her arms as she turned to look about the lobby.

"Will you- stop doing that," he diverted, referring to her constant spinning. "You're making me dizzy."

She stopped and looked at him expectantly, the ring around her neck bounced with her movement until coming to a slow stop to rest at her chest once more. "I want to help you,"

Her words paused every thought he'd been thinking at the time, about her ring and her past, and his eyes flitted to hers again. "Then let me go..." He implored softly.

"I can't, not yet." She replied honestly, "We have to play this through- the right way, or Ari-"

"Forget Ari!" He snapped but when she narrowed her eyes he softened his voice and relaxed his body, "You've seen what Carver will do, that waystation had links to a power that wasn't his own so he destroyed it, he does it wherever he goes... he could be coming here next or he may hit some random, unsuspecting town. He has to be stopped before he strikes again."

"I know."

"Then what are we standing here for?"

"Ari is suspicious of you and he doesn't think I'm mentally continent enough to..."

He eyed her suspiciously, "Are you?"

A door to their left opened and slammed loudly, echoing in throughout the front lobby. "Ella, my warrior princess!" A man belted equally as loudly as the door, his entrance as grand as his personality.

"Warrick, where the hell were you?"

"Sorry, my love, nature was calling... who's this?" Warrick's dark eyes flicked up and down Daniel's figure several times before resting on Ella again. "Drunk tank?"

"Do I look drunk to you?" Daniel challenged, narrowing his eyes skeptically.

Warrick shrugged and pulled a file from a drawer and tossed it open on the counter. "'spose not." He muttered and diverted his eyes back to Ella. The dark haired man rested his elbow on the desk and propped his head up on his fist, pushing his cheek up comically. "Where ya been, Pumpkin?" A wide smile spread across his face and revealed subtle dimples in his cheek.

"Investigating," She grabbed at a pen and started filling out the boxes.

"- this your suspect?" Warrick looked Daniel up and down again suspiciously, his brows heavy over his eyes.

"Why does everyone think that?" He couldn't help but ask, looking between both of them.

Ella sighed and signed the bottom line, "I just need him here overnight, Warrick. No one does anything to him, around him or otherwise without my approval."

"For just an 'overnight' that's some special care." Warrick stood straight and screwed his face into that of a painful grimace, scratching at his short, hair. "So what's the word, Hummingbird?"

Daniel glanced at Ella then back to Warrick, slightly slack-jawed in his surprise for the sheer amount of nicknames the man had for her and how she didn't seem the least bit bothered.

"Nobody in or out but me, okay?" She said and clicked the pen closed before handing it and the file to Warrick who received it effortlessly.

"Yeah, no problem, Honeybun..." He tossed the pen carelessly to the desk and started walking. "You okay, Sweetie? You look like death."

Daniel, again, looked to Ella at the new nickname- dangerously close to 'Sweetheart'. Her expression was inscrutable, as always. She turned to face him and grabbed his elbow to guide him alongside Warrick who led the way back from where he came.

"Just a little tired."

"'A little', Honey, you could fall over at any moment. When you're done here, you need to go home and rest!"

Her silence said enough and Daniel was, honestly, relieved that it was. Warrick opened the door and they stepped through to the other side.

The hall smelled of bleach, the off-white tiled floor still sheened in the candle light. The left side of the corridor was a plain brick wall with a observation window in the center, to the right side was a line of five holding cells. Two arms appeared at the center cell, pushed through the bars, and a face pressed against the cool metal in an attempt to see who'd entered.

"Aye, am Ah gettin' a roomie?" The prisoner asked aloud, his voice coarse.

Warrick sighed audibly and shook his head, "No, P, just sleep this one off!"

Grumbling and the arms disappearing back into the cell was the only response and Warrick apologized quietly.

"Bishop, c'mon..." Daniel attempted to talk her out of following through.

She glanced up at him, a slight frown on her face.

Warrick came up to Daniel's side and pulled at the sword sheath on his belt. "Do you have any other weapons on you?" He asked in a controlled manner, a vast contrast from when he'd been talking with Ella.

With a deep sigh, Daniel glanced back at Ella before nodding. "Revolvers. Arm holster."

The taller man, dipped slightly and pushed his hands under Daniel's jacket and pulled both revolvers out of their holsters. "Anything else?" He questioned, juggling the confiscated weapons in his hands.

"No."

"Okay, Ella, I'm going to take these in, you got it from here?"

"Yeah, Warrick, thanks." She replied flatly.

He winked at her but peered at Daniel before he left, going back towards the lobby.

"Don't do this." He appealed, "I need to stop Carver..."

Ella forced him to turn around and un-shackled him. "I don't want to. If I give him anoth-"

He spun around and cut her off by forcing her back against his chest- unsheathing the knife from her belt loop and holding it against her neck- the cuffs fell from her grasp and clattered loudly on the tile. "I'm sorry, I can't let you do this."

"You won't make it out, there are cops in the next room and Warrick will be back any minute." She grunted, straining against his hold.

"Then help me out."

"Did you hear me? You won't make it! There's only two ways out of here and they're both guarded- heavily!"

"I just needed supplies."

"That's why you came so easily... You weren't going to give us anything on Carver, were you?" She inferred.

"Hey, hey, buddy... if yer gunna 'ex-scape', help a fella inmate out?" P called out in a deep, raspy voice.

"Penelope, go to sleep!" Ella snapped.

"A'right, a'right... juss' gotta relass'!" She replied croakily.

Daniel narrowed his eyes and glanced down at Ella from behind her, their faces nearly touching. "P is a- she's a woman?" Ella glared up at the corner of her eyes, from under furrowed brows. "How do I get out of here?"

"Aside from the front door?" She asked in a honeyed voice.

"Don't test me." He replied jerkily, his voice strained despite his attempt to remain calm.

"You'll never make it."

"Yeah, so you've said."

He shoved her away from her and ordered her to pick the discarded cuffs off the floor. "Daniel."

"Don't try to be my friend now because you're not."

"I'm not trying to be your friend, I'm trying to keep you from killing yourself!" She slowly lowered herself to the floor, keeping her back straight.

"uh-huh," he replied absentmindedly, looking down both ends of the halls, "Cuff yourself to the bar." He demanded.

She turned to face him but didn't not move to follow his orders, the cuffs held limply in her hands. "This is your last chance to do the right thing." She attempted to placate him, her eyes appearing wide and honest.

"No, this is your last chance." He held the knife out in front of him, the tip pointing in her direction.

Shaking her head, she snatched the cuffs up jerkily. "You're making a mistake."

"No, I already made my mistake by coming here. I'm fixing that by leaving." He replied and pointed to the jail cell, "cuff yourself to the bar."

Ella sighed, her lips drawn thin and her eye twitching as she followed his order. "You'll never make it."

"See, I believe in the power of positive thinking." Daniel quipped, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes. He forced grin on his face when the cuffs clicked around her wrist. "Good luck with your Syndicate and your Huijari terrorists." He nodded curtly and offered an offhand salute as he backstepped away from her and towards the door.

"Daniel, wait... Daniel... Daniel- goddamnit!" She cursed as the door closed between them.