"Can you stop crying?"

The man strapped to Eli's chair screamed, fat tears rolling down his cheek. His shirt was damp with sweat and the air was heavy with the smell of it even though he'd been there all but fifteen hours. Hardly a hand had been laid on him. "I-I have a kid, please, I gotta-"

"Stop lying."

There was no kid. No family at all. He wasn't the sort of person to keep people around for long. His occupation required time and secrecy.

"For a Hunter, you're very easy to break," Eli said, sitting down in the chair front of him. "Why's that?"

Contempt flash across his face, lip curling the slightest bit.

"You afraid of me? You know what I am, don't you?"

When he didn't answer, Eli slammed the point of a blade between his fingers. His wrists were bound to his chair's armrests. All he could do was squirm and shriek, "I know!"

"And I know what you are. So you must know what I want. You guys really like grabbing people off the streets, don't you?"

"Enhanced aren't people!"

Eli pulled the knife out.

The Hunter watched the blade. "I don't grab inventory. I just find the buyers."

"Just," Eli repeated, acid on her tongue. "You just sell off the Enhanced to scientists or weirdos or whoever the highest bidder is for a quick buck."

"I-"

"I already know you don't kidnap them yourself. You're too chicken for that. " Eli slammed the knife back down, severing his index finger. Her blood sang while he screamed as his own spilled. "I also know you tell other Hunters where to find them, so you're going to tell me where they make the grabs, or you lose a hand next."

"It's not like I have addresses or-"

"Left or right?"

"Fuck you!"

"Eeny Meenie-"

"Listen, I'm not lying. I just send them to spots where they'll find Enhanced that fit our profile."

"Profile?"

"Easy to take, you know? Weak. Younger ones. They hang out together and stick to certain spots. It's like that in every city, even here."

"How'd you find those areas?"

"The first one told us where others might be. Then the next one did. And the next and the next. I send Hunters there."

"I want specifics."

"There's a club called Cison that hires 'em under the table. Enhanced see each other there and think it's a safe spot. Must be half their clients. The Hunters follow them out or make nice and take them whenever the opportunity comes up. They'll follow them out or make them think they're taking them home."

"Where else?"

"That's the only spot in the Capitol I know of!"

"You're going to give me names of all the Hunters you know. Do you understand? Give me the names, and I won't take that hand."

The Hunter didn't believe her. She could see it in his eyes. But he was a coward, so he gave her the names she wanted in the trembling voice.

Eli kept her word. She left him his hand and plunged her blade into his heart instead. A few hours later, she considered shoving that same knife into Director Knox's heart as looked at her from over his glasses with sympathy. "I know it's upsetting-"

"If we keep eyes on that club, we can stop them from grabbing more. The least we can do is warn-"

"The Elites aren't wanted anywhere around that club. The owner's establishment has made that abundantly clear. He doesn't trust us, Eli. We stay away for now. I'll warn him-"

"We don't have to tell him!"

Knox laughed, shaking his head. "You don't need to tell him. He's got an employee that can sense us. The last time I sent a group there, Aaron was waiting outside with a gun. We're going to take out the Hunters that were named, but beyond that, it's out-"

"Out of our hands," Eli finished.

The Enhanced were getting picked off and they couldn't officially do anything being Knox didn't want to piss off that prick club owner. Eli could always do something without permission. But that meant going there without backup to avoid being sensed and sending in bait that wouldn't be recognized by the owner.

It stayed on Eli's mind while she worked and ate and slept. It was definitely on her mind while she made eggs a few mornings later. The others weren't usually up this early so Eli often had the hours to go herself, but now the girl was there, sitting at the table in silence.

The Siren's gaze was making Eli nervous.

Eli looked over her shoulder when it became too much. "What?"

"Nothing," Iqbal said.

Eli turned away, swallowing. Iqbal's eyes looked like they could see through her, into her mind, into her thoughts. It made Eli's palms sweat. "Staring is rude."

"I was trying to see the clock. You're blocking it."

Heat went up Eli's neck. "You should've told me to move."

"I didn't want to be rude."

"Staring is rude."

"I wasn't staring." Iqbal sounded sweet and calm and it made Eli's skin flush even hotter. "Sorry for making you uncomfortable."

"I'd be less uncomfortable if you didn't humiliate me in my own home."

"Being wrong humiliates you?"

"Shut up."

There was a pause. "You must be embarrassed all the time."

Eli whipped around to glare at her, but she was met with a playful smile. "You're worse than the boys."

"Wrong again."

Eli could have fried the egg on her face. She looked back at the pan and glared at the sizzling whites instead. Why the other two were already so fond of the little demon was beyond her.

"Can I help?"

"Just don't talk."

She laughed and it reminded Eli of the windchimes on the porch when a gentle breeze pushed through them.

"Don't laugh either!"

Another laugh, quieter this time.

Eli thought about slamming her head against the cabinets. Maybe she'd be less annoyed after. It was less irritating when Iqbal seemed too afraid to speak. She'd grown comfortable far too quickly for Eli's liking and she needed to put a stop to it before she lost her mind. "Why are you even up this early?"

"Klaus asked me to," she said. "Think he might oversleep though."

Eli moved the finished eggs onto a plate and turned her back to the counter with the plate in her hand. "You getting any better at controlling it?"

She smiled again, but this was less light-hearted. It was cold, as frozen as Eli was under her calculating gaze. "No."

Eli sighed. "What did they even do with you in there, hm? You can't control it, so what use were you?"

The smile was gone, but the look in her eyes stayed. "You mean what use am I to you?"

"You're avoiding the question."

"I used to be able to. And then I couldn't control it," she said coolly, "but they could."

Eli didn't understand.

"Conditioning, Eli. Like Pavlov's dogs, but my bell was a high voltage shock."

Eli considered that. "So, if it comes to it, we can always resort to that."

She shrugged, unaffected, but in the coming days, she avoided her and was quiet when they were in the same room. She'd sit as far away from her as possible as if Eli was a leper.

"She's more quiet than usual," Alex said one day on the way back home.

Eli shrugged.

"She's not talking much to Klaus either. Only speaks when she has to." He frowned. "I thought she was warming up early on, ya know?"

Something akin to guilt crawled around Eli's rib cage like a spider. She was worried it would bite when she saw Iqbal.

"Klaus thinks she's overworking herself. She's stressed out and it's not getting her anywhere. He even started sparring with her to see if it helps, but she's pushing too hard. Especially with that wound. She gets upset when he goes easy on her."

"What am I supposed to do about it?"

Alex squinted at her. "I'm just telling you. I didn't say to do something. But maybe you could talk to her. Maybe she'd be more comfortable with a woman."

Eli scoffed. "The only person that can touch her without sending her ten feet into the air is Klaus. If she won't talk to him, she won't talk to anyone."

"Are you scared of her or something?"

"I could easily kick her ass. Nothing to be scared of."

"Not easily," he said, "not with the speed she's learning."

"I'll run you over and feed you to Foster."

Alex was quiet for a moment. "So, you won't talk to her?"

"Not doing it."

Klaus and Iqbal were sparring in front of the house when they made it back. They were drenched in sweat and Klaus's shouts of "Easy, easy!" carried through the woods. Neither of them glanced at her or Alex when they went in. Eli popped the cap off her beer and went back out to sit on the porch. An extra bottle sat beside her. The sun was beginning to set - brilliant hues of oranges pinks streaked across the sky paint even though gray clouds had begun to gather. The cabin always felt separate from the rest of the world, untouched by pollution and violence. Even the sky was prettier from here.

Eli was halfway through the first bottle when Klaus hit the ground with a yelp and complained in a loud voice when Iqbal laughed.

Even with the pleasant buzz of alcohol, her thoughts drifted back to the Hunters. She needed bait. Klaus was out of the question because he'd made a name for himself through all the chaos he caused. They'd recognize him in an instant. Alex was big. Burly. They wouldn't go for someone they didn't think they could take.

Eli watched Iqbal and wondered how the Hunters hadn't tried grabbing her when she was on her own. She was small, looked young. Weak. Like a gust of wind could knock her over. A girl like her was an easy target. But she'd broken out of that facility and she had Klaus eating dirt just a minute ago. Maybe she couldn't force people to do her bidding just yet, but she had it in her to pull the trigger when it was necessary.

The Siren was the perfect bait.

It wasn't until the first bottle was empty that Eli wondered if she'd already decided to use her the moment that Knox had opened his mouth.

Eli tipped her head back, getting lost in the sight of gathering clouds. Long after the sun had set, Iqbal stood in front of the porch while Klaus went inside. "What are you doing?"

Iqbal knocked her foot against the steps, large eyes cast down. "Apologizing? For offending you or-"

"Jesus Christ, don't look at me like that!"

Iqbal's face fell and she turned her gaze back down with her lips pulling down at the corners. They were full, bottom lip jutting out a little further than the top even when she spoke. "I'll try not to bug you. I'll work with Klaus to control it. And I'll stay out of your way."

Eli's drink-addled mind gave up on understanding what she was going on about, fixated on bitten red lips instead. When Eli opened her mouth to say something, nothing came out. She hadn't realized lips could be nice to look at.

"Eli?"

The noise that spilled from Eli's lips didn't sound anything like the huh she'd intended. She opened her mouth to try again, but her lungs were woefully lacking in air and she couldn't remember how to fix it. She just stared at her mouth, thinking pretty, pretty, pretty.

"Eli?"

Eli gave her head a hard shake and sipped from her bottle before saying, "Stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"With your mouth."

"Talking?"

Eli shook her head and pointed. "The other thing." Maybe something was wrong with her. Maybe she smacked her head too hard against her desk the other day and now it was messing with her. Or maybe her alcohol tolerance had gone to shit.

"Other thing," she echoed in a voice that sounded like the edge of a blade. "So stop looking at you. Stop speaking. Is there anything else?"

"You're mad," Eli said. The realization made her chest feel cold for some reason.

Iqbal didn't answer. She wasn't looking down anymore. She stared straight at Eli. Her eyes had the same hardened edge as her voice. It was like she could slice her apart.

"Was getting worried you were a pushover," Eli confessed. Her lack of response when Eli practically threatened her had cemented the idea. "Hate those."

"Why do you hate me?"

Eli shook her head. "I don't hate you. I'm wary, genius. You're trouble. You've disrupted things. Don't like that." She paused. "Maybe I do hate you. But only a little."

Iqbal gave a little laugh, but it was different from the one in the morning.

"Sit. Something I gotta talk to you about."

"No."

"No?"

She gestured to her bottle. "Not talking to you when you're like this." She went up the stairs ignoring the stunned look on Eli's face. "Find me when you're bearable."

The front door shut with a soft thud.

Sobering up didn't take long because of how little Eli drank. A few glasses of water and a hot shower did the trick, but Eli couldn't find her after. She wasn't downstairs. The only one there was Foster who had taken to barking at the sound of lightning. Alex had gone out and Klaus had locked himself away in his room.

Eli joined Foster downstairs, grudgingly petting him when he began to whine. He perked up and ran toward the door when it opened. "What the hell?"

Iqbal stood there with blank, red eyes and drenched clothing. Water dripped from the fabric while. Foster nudged her legs and slipped his head beneath her hand for affection. She went twisted around like she was searching for someone.

Eli caught sight of the tear in the back of her shirt and blood that stained it. "Are you hurt?"

She blinked, eyes darting around before looking at Eli. "Hello," she said, with a quiver in her voice. It was accompanied by a hollow smile.

"Hi."

Iqbal seemed to space out again.

Eli moved forward. "Come on."

She took off her shoes and let Eli drag her up the stairs. It was difficult to ignore the trembling. Eli wondered if it had to do with being caught in the rain or how red her eyes were. A hot shower would do her good, but one look at her made her think it wasn't a good idea.

Iqbal flinched as thunder cracked through the air and Foster barked.

"Why are you bleeding?"

Iqbal drew her brows together. "Bleeding?"

"Yeah. Where's the on your back from?"

She shook her head. "I-I don't know."

"I'll fix it."

"It's probably nothing."

Eli tapped her foot with impatience. It was fragile people who were the most reckless. Alex, Klaus, Iqbal. Brushing off things that drew blood like they were the ones with impenetrable flesh.

Iqbal made no move to comply. "I want to sleep."

"If it gets infected, you'll get sick or die."

That made her mouth twitch. "I'm sure it's nothing that dire."

Eli scowled. "This isn't a joke."

Iqbal shook her head. Wet hair stuck to her face and neck.

"You're getting blood all over our floor," Eli said and she knew she won when guilt washed over the other's face. "Go to my room and get that thing off. I'll get your stuff."

Eli grabbed the first pair of clothes in the bag of clothing that Alex, but it took time to dig out the first-aid kit.

Iqbal was sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting.

"I don't have x-ray vision, you know."

"It doesn't feel deep enough to worry over."

"It's bleeding too much not to check," Eli said. She sat behind her. "Come on. Lay down on your stomach before you get this stuff all over my sheets."

Iqbal surprised her by listening. She held still when Eli pushed the hem of her shirt up to her shoulders.

Eli tried to keep her face blank, tried not to let how her stomach twisted show.

Iqbal's back was made up of more scars than unmarred flesh.

Eli wiped off the blood that was still dripping before tipping a little bottle of alcohol over a cotton pad. Dumping the content straight into the wound would be quicker, but this was how she saw Alex tend to wounds. "Well, you're not going to bleed out or anything."

"I told you it wasn't bad."

Eli disinfected it and hoped the alcohol stung out of spite. "You're too breakable to risk it."

"Breakable?"

"You bleed."

"Like you don't."

"I don't," Eli snapped.

There was a moment before she said, "What do you mean?"

"My skin doesn't break."

"Ever?"

"Yes."

"That sounds nice," she said softly.

Eli was trying not to look at the scars, but she knew Iqbal was thinking about them. She caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror that hung in front of the bed. Sad. Wistful.

"How'd you get these anyway?"

"I tried running away more than once."

The scars were raised, overlapping with one another in certain spots. Not like any weapon Eli was familiar with.

"What did they use?"

"They sicced dogs on me to slow me down."

"A dog did this?"

"More than one. Don't know how many. I didn't try to look at them. They wouldn't look as bad if they let them heal. Guards used to hurt me there if I acted out until they were bleeding again."

Eli studied them. There were slashes here and there across the raised scars that didn't match. "Did it hurt?" Eli asked. She knew it was a foolish question. It had to have been painful. But she couldn't imagine the feeling of claws tearing skin, let alone having a new wound inflicted in the same spot before it could heal.

Thunder.

Iqbal jerked.

Eli kept her pinned down by the back of her neck. "I'm not done."

"I want to go!"

"Let me finish."

Foster started barking again and Iqbal let her face drop onto the mattress. Her shoulders were stiff.

Eli wiped away the dried blood before checking to see if there was anything left that could cause infection.

Thunder filled the silence once more and barking followed.

Iqbal's hands twisted into the sheets. Although Eli hadn't seen her particularly happy around Foster, she never took her as frightened either. She even greeted him in the mornings.

"Are you scared of dogs?"

"No." Her voice was tight. "Please hurry."

"If you are, I can probably to have Alex gi-"

"I said no!" She pushed Eli's arm away and turned to glare. "Is this a game or something?"

More thunder. More barking.

Iqbal's breath hitched and closed her eyes, face screwed up. Her shoulders rose as she pulled in a breath, one that was likely meant to be slow and steady instead of the shaky inhale it was.

Eli moved around to plaster the bandage on her back, keeping her gaze on Iqbal's face. "Was it raining when you ran?"

Eyes still shut, she nodded.

Eli had inflicted worse on other people. She left some of them with bigger, deeper, uglier marks than the ones on her back and didn't think twice about it. The sight of hers nagged at her anyway.

"Closing your eyes won't make the storm go away," Eli told her. She fished some earbuds out from under the bed and slipped them into Iqbal's hands. Eli plugged the earbuds into the little music player that it came with. "Here. You can wait until the storm is over if you want. Foster's going to sound louder if you're on the same floor as him."

Another nod.

"I need your help with something." Eli scrolled through the list on the screen. "I have a lead on where Hunters have been finding their targets and I need bait. You fit their profile."

"I can't make them do anything. I can't make it work when I want."

"You won't need to. I'll follow you and grab them." Eli found one, some loud movie score Alex was fond of. "You'll be safe."

Iqbal was very still. "You're going to stop them from taking more, right? That's the point."

"It is."

"Then I'll help."

Eli smiled and hit play.