"Woah, what are you doing? I thought they could track us using that thing."

Michelle looked away from her burner phone and allowed her gaze to settle on her husband before darting back to her device. The smirk that formed on her lips expanded her husband's confusion monumentally.

"They could," she nodded. "But, we'll be long gone by then. Pass me that notecard."

Lincoln grabbed the small sheet of paper that rested on the bureau drawer and handed it to Michelle who quickly began to mark on it in ink.

"What's that?" he pondered.

She clicked her pen, the tip retracted back inside. She powered off her phone before dropping it into the pocket of her shawl. "This...is our ticket to freedom."

Lincoln took the paper from her hand and cocked his eyebrow in confusion, however, the corners of his lips lifted once a thought came to mind. "Coordinates? Is this for Everette?"

Michelle rose to her feet. "Well...it'll lead us to Everette. Those are the coordinates of a nearby retributioner. I figured we'd sneak up on him, kidnap him, then see what information he has for us on Everette's whereabouts."

"...And if he doesn't know anything?"

"He'll know something," Michelle assured. "His life depends on it."

"Hey, kid...wake up," Lincoln demanded. He freed his mouth from the black cloth that rested over his face as he kicked the legs of the chair before him.

The guy in question blinked his eyes a few times and lifted his chin from his chest. The bruises on his fair skin were made apparent by the lamp that stood next to him. Sweat beaded down and dripped from his light blonde hair.

His pounding head made him impossibly more disoriented than he already was. He spat the blood, that stained the corner of his mouth, onto the cement floor and forced his gaze to meet Lincoln's.

"...What? What are you doing? What's going on?" the man groaned.

Lincoln nodded his head, "He's finally awake."

Michelle stepped out of the darkness and crept into the light, an unsheathed pocket knife rested in her hand. At the sight of the brunette, the man bucked against the coarse rope that bound his wrists and ankles.

"No, no, no! Get the hell away from me!" he demanded.

"Shh, shh, shh," Michelle coaxed. "Calm down, we just wanna talk."

"You're that woman," he swallowed thickly. "That woman, everyone's looking for. The woman Mr. Everette wants, you're...Michelle."

"I am and I'm so glad you brought up Mr. Everette," she smiled. "Let's talk about him for a little bit, Sean."

The man stopped breathing and narrowed his eyes. "How the hell do you know my name."

Michelle chuckled, "The same way you know mine...Versa Vice Sensus. In a way...it connects us. But, enough of that, we're kinda pressed for time, what do you know about the agency's plans? What do they have in store for me?"

Sean clenched his teeth and darted his eyes between the couple. "I'm not telling you anything," he muttered.

"You will," Michelle promised. "You can do it now, you can do it later, but eventually...you will."

"...Mr. Everette will kill me," he spoke through gritted teeth. "I can't. You know I can't."

The brunette twiddled the knife in her hand and leaned closer to the man. "Being a member of Versa Vice Sensus I'm sure you're familiar with my work. You know what happened to Tyson, what happened to the ADA, Martin Key, and all the rest of the people I put down for trying to stop me, for trying to stop us. You know what I did, how it happened, how heinous it all was. You know what I can do, what I will do. You shouldn't be afraid of Charles Everette." She leaned closer, her warm breath heating Sean's ear. "...You should be afraid of me."

Michelle softly grazed her knife along Sean's bruised cheek. "Start talkin'."

The pace of his breathing picked up at the feeling of the sharp blade sliding across his skin. "Look, I don't know much of anything. I'm new to the agency. I was told to do my retribution, so I did it. Believe it or not, that was just before you kidnapped me," he scoffed. "But, I don't know anything. I keep my head down and do what I'm told. I heard about you, about what it is that you do, about what happened, but I'm not in on it. I wasn't gonna kill you."

"You're damn right you weren't, I wouldn't let you," she stated adamantly. "You claim you don't know what their plans are...fine. But, where the hell is Mr. Everette?"

Sean sighed and forced himself to meet Michelle's gaze. "I'm not sure."

She pressed the knife against his cheek roughly, his skin instantly broke and blood spilled from the fresh wound. "Well, what are you sure of?"

The man inhaled sharply, his jaw quivering in the process. "Shit, stop!"

Michelle disregarded his demand and pressed the knife further into his face, the blade making contact with his cheekbone.

"Alright! He has a meeting up in Maine! But, I-I-I don't know why!"

"When?" she whispered.

"Tonight, he's taking a private plane, that's all I know, I swear!"

The brunette finally pulled the knife away and stepped back, her eyes surveying the man carefully. She nodded her head and grabbed her husband's arm, pulling him into a dark corner where neither of them could be seen by their panicky victim.

"I think he's telling the truth," Lincoln surmised in a hushed tone.

Michelle matched his low voice, "Yeah...I think so too." She placed her hand on the pistol that rested in her holster. "Well, I guess we're done with him."

"No." Lincoln narrowed his eyes in astonishment and kept her hand at bay, preventing her from lifting her weapon into the air. "Michelle...he's like, what, twenty-two? He's a kid."

"We don't need him anymore," she asserted. "He's dead weight. This has to be done."

The man shook his head, "No, it doesn't." He stepped closer to her once she scoffed and looked away. "We don't always have to do it."

Michelle narrowed her eyes and met her husband's gaze. "That kid over there...he's weak. You know just as well as I do the second he gets back he'll alert Mr. Everette. Are you gonna put our lives, our future in the hands of a kid?"

"We don't know that," Lincoln hissed.

"You willing to risk that?" Michelle immediately challenged. "We're close, Lincoln, real close. We're almost out and I'll be damned if I let some random ass kid ruin this for us. We've gone too far, we've done too much, we're in too deep. Now, I'm not willing to risk that, I'm not willing to give that up...are you?"

Lincoln's gaze faltered as he rested his hands on his hips.

"Didn't think so." Michelle lifted the gun from her holster and stepped into the light. Sean's eyes widened at the sight of the woman. He frantically shook his head, "No, no, no! P-please, don't!"

Silence fell over the entire room once the brunette fired a round into the man's skull. His chin dropped down and kissed his chest, crimson blood spilled from the center of his forehead and dripped onto the concrete beneath him. Michelle placed her pistol back into its proper slot and turned to her husband after he quietly approached her.

She breathed in deeply through her nose and although her eyes refused to meet Lincoln's, her words were full of conviction, "I don't...like it. Doing this, killing people."

"Michelle-."

"I know. I see the way you look at me after I..." Michelle allowed her voice to trail off before forcing herself to press on, "But, it's the only way. This is the only way we live. After your first kill, you can't stop, Versa Vice Sensus won't let you. They make us out to be these savage, vicious, cruel animals just because we want freedom because we want to live like human beings. They make it out like we're the bad guys like we're the problem. But I don't give a shit about that. I know who we are...we're not them."

Lincoln crept closer to his wife, forcing her to look up at him. "...I don't look at you any differently."

Michelle scoffed quietly, "Please, don't lie to me. Ever since I told you about my life, about what it is I've done, about the things I still do...you look at me like I'm not the woman you married. You look at me like you never have before."

"I look at you in awe," Lincoln swiftly asserted. "In amazement, in absolute astonishment. I've never seen someone so adamant, so determined to keep someone safe, to keep me safe. I look in your eyes and I think to myself, damn, this woman just might love me almost as much as I love her."

Michelle's eyes softened at her husband's declaration.

"This ends tonight," he whispered. Michelle granted the man a small smile once he grabbed her hand. "Let's go get our freedom."

"You got it?" Michelle whispered urgently.

She glanced through the large window towards the planes that sat several yards away. Her eyes surveyed the surrounding area while her husband hoisted an unconscious gentleman, that wore nothing but a t-shirt and boxers, into the air before carefully laying him down onto the cold floor next to another unconscious, poorly dressed man. He pulled the closet door closed, leaving the men in the dark, well hidden, enclosed space.

"Yeah," Lincoln exhaled heavily. "That should do it." He readjusted his navy blue hat and read: security. He grinned slightly at his wife who stood next to him wearing a matching outfit that resembled his. "Yours is a little too big, but...it'll do," he chuckled.

Michelle smirked, "Yeah, it'll do." The couple ceased their conversation and tugged on their hats, effectively shielding their faces once a man scurried past them. He stopped in his tracks and turned towards them while his eyes narrowed.

"Hey, you two, what are you doing?" he demanded.

Michelle discretely reached her hand into her back pocket where her knife awaited her. The couple merely shrugged their shoulders in response, their nerves spiking at the unnecessarily loud volume the man used.

"You don't know?" he bellowed. "Well, how about you hop your asses onto that plane? We have some very important people inside that will not wait much longer."

Michelle and Lincoln creased their brows and exchanged a glance. Lincoln voiced the question that both of them had, "Who are you?"

The man sighed, "Who the hell do you think I am? I'm Gary...one of the pilots! And you're security, am I right?"

Michelle simply nodded, her fingers finally loosening its grip on the knife.

"Great!" he exclaimed. They picked up an obvious hint of sarcasm laced in his tone. "Now that introductions are outta the way, can we please board the plane? Security is to be stationed near the cockpit." He plodded towards the sizable vehicle and motioned for them to do the same. "Come on! We don't have all damn day!"

Michelle granted Lincoln a quick nod before picking up her pace and swiftly stepping aboard the plane, Lincoln following closely behind.

As they climbed inside, they heard the quiet chatter of what seemed to be a small group of older men and women. They used their clothing to shield themselves from the glances that awaited them. They knew that if Mr. Everette spotted them before they could take a course of action, the whole thing would be over before it even began.

They maintained their averted gazes and quickly made their way near the cockpit as they were instructed. It wasn't long after that that they felt the plane move forward before finally lifting into the night sky.

"You see him?" Lincoln whispered quietly, his hand casually rested on his hips near the holster that hugged his waist. "I don't see him."

Michelle discretely surveyed the area, she made sure not to look for more than a few seconds. "...No, but he's here. I know it. We can't let him see us before we see him."

"There's only a handful of people here and I've looked at everyone. I don't see Charles Everette," he whispered.

Michelle narrowed her eyes before finally softening them at the sight of a nearby restroom. "There. One of the men went in, it has to be him."

Lincoln nodded his response and clenched his jaw. "Let's hope so. When he comes out, I'll be the one to check it out, he'd be less quick to notice me than he would you. Alright?"

"Yeah," she quietly retorted. She immediately lowered her gaze and pulled her hat closer to her face once they heard the bathroom door come open. After a few torturous moments of silence and once she was certain that the man took his seat, she discretely turned towards her husband. "Is it him?"

"...No," he sighed.

Michelle's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull at her husband's confirmation. "What the hell do you mean no? It has to be him."

"Look for yourself."

She slowly lifted her gaze and rested it on the silver-haired, fair-skinned man that wore a light gray suit. She studied his eyes and once she realized the man lacked the soul-sucking, relentless, Prussian blue glare that Mr. Everette had, she sank in defeat.

"What the fuck?" her teeth gritted in anger. "Why the hell isn't he here?"

"That prick must've lied to us," Lincoln surmised.

"Yeah," Michelle nodded. "Either that or...we're on the wrong plane."

The dread-head slammed his eyes shut in vexation and exhaled deeply through his nose. "Shit."

"Hey!"

Michelle and Lincoln straightened their posture and glanced behind them at the pilot that spoke with them earlier.

"One of you can stand there, the other needs to be inside the control room with us pilots," Gary asserted.

"And why's that?" Michelle pondered.

He shrugged, "Because that's how it works. There are safety rules and regulations in place for this kind of thing...I'm sure you know that."

Michelle gave the man a quick before quickly glancing at Lincoln. She stepped into the room and pulled the door closed.

Lincoln glanced towards the passengers then returned his gaze towards the shut door ahead of him. His face contorted ever so slightly at the small thumping sound that sounded from the room. He crept closer to the door and quietly slid it open.

His eyes widened at the sight of the two pilots hovering above his wife, her holster was no longer around her waist. Her pistol was aimed at her own head as Gary backed her into a corner using her weapon as leverage. Lincoln instantly yanked his gun out and pointed it at the two men. "Drop it!" he demanded.

Gary aimed his weapon at Lincoln and gritted his teeth. "What the hell's goin' on?"

"Funny," Lincoln narrowed his eyes. "I was just about to ask you the same thing. You said you needed more security in here...this doesn't look like that."

Gary scoffed, "You're talking about what it looks like? I just got radioed in from home base saying that they found two security guards unconscious in the building. They don't remember exactly what happened or who did it but someone's not who they say they are. What does that look like?"

"And why are you so sure that's us?" Lincoln challenge.

"You don't know the protocol, you don't know shit. You haven't known this entire time, I should've known something was up. And the real security guards were supposed to be on this plane, you're not them. And now...you're not denying it," Gary hissed. "So, I guess I've got my answer."

Lincoln gripped his weapon tighter. Michelle's eyes darted to the other fear stricken pilot that stood next to her before darting back to Gary's.

Gary breathed heavily as he spoke, "What is this a terrorist attack or something?"

"Not quite," Lincoln muttered. "Now drop the weapon and I just might let you live."

Gary chuckled darkly, but his laugh still didn't hide the panic in his eyes. "I was just gonna make you the same proposition. It seems to me that we're at an impasse."

Lincoln shrugged his broad shoulders, his glare still fixed on the man.

Gary took in a deep breath, "I don't know what the hell it is that you two had planned, but it stops now. There are good people on board...I can't let you do this." He quickly turned the pistol towards the brunette, his pointer finger preparing to squeeze the trigger.

Michelle couldn't help but flinch at the sound of the quiet rounds that went off in the room. She finally forced her eyes open once she heard a loud thud in front of her followed by a few more quite rounds and a soft thud next to her.

Her mouth parted slightly at the sight of the now deceased pilots. Blood pooled from their bodies and seeped into the floor. Gary's lifeless eyes were fixed on her's as she sat mere inches away from him. Michelle looked at the steaming pistol that rested in Lincoln's hand, she grabbed her holster and reattached it to her waist. She lifted her gun from the pool of blood and eyed her husband carefully.

"You okay?" he pondered, his voice laced with concern.

"Yeah." She turned her attention the control center and sighed a breath of relief at the green light above the term autopilot. Her gaze met Lincoln's once she returned to him. "...You?"

Lincoln lowered his eyes and nodded, "Yeah, it's just..." He slammed his eye lids closed once the blood that heavily stained the floor made its way closer to the couple. "They weren't bad people, they were trying to protect others, they...they shouldn't have had to die. But, he was gonna kill you, I had no choice, they made me do it. It had to be done."

"That's right," Michelle asserted. She bit her lip at the pain that she saw in her husband's eyes. The pain that never seemed to diminish, no matter how many kills he got under his belt. "And don't you forget that."

"We heard noises, what's going on?"

Michelle and Lincoln darted their eyes at the man who stepped inside, the bottom of his black dress shoes instantly became stained with dark red blood. He covered his mouth to prevent the rising vomit from spewing from his mouth. The silver-haired man quickly ran to the opposite end of the plane where the four other passengers stood cowering in fear.

"God," Michelle muttered. "They saw us Lincoln, everyone here. The people at home base, they don't know who it is, they don't know it's us, but everyone aboard this plane...they do."

Her lips formed into a snarl. After they realized Mr. Everette wasn't on board, she felt something that she hadn't felt for a long while...a sense of relief because for once she decided that no one would have to die. However, she knew now that that was a luxury that they simply could not afford. She exhaled deeply while reloading her gun with a full clip. "I gotta do it."

Her eyes met Lincoln's once she saw him hold his hand out to stop her. "It's hard to do, doing this...but I get it. I understand. We do it because we have to, because we love each other, to protect each other. It's hard...and you shouldn't always have to do the hard stuff alone. But, you need to know, when this is all over and you move west and you're living your life like you deserve to live it, whether I'm there or not-."

"You will be," Michelle stated adamantly.

"Yeah, I will...but if I'm not, what you've done, what we're doing now, what we've done, what we're gonna have to keep doing until this is all over...you're gonna have to put that in the past. That part of you, the hard part, the part that this agency created...it's gonna have to die when your new life blossoms."

"Our new life."

"You can't carry it with you, or everything we've worked for, everything new, everything good...it'll die too. You said it, we're not them. You can't forget that."

"Well," Michelle began, "even if I do, you'll be right there to remind me."

"Michelle-."

"Stop," she hissed. "You will be."

"You're strong, Michelle," Lincoln whispered. "You're the strongest person I know, you're a hell of a lot stronger than me," he chuckled. "And I'm gonna do everything in my power to stay here so that I can keep waking up next to you every morning, but if one day I don't...you still can."

"I can't, I won't," the brunette growled.

"You can and if it comes to that you will." Lincoln's intense and adamant glare seeped into Michelle's in the most sincere way possible and for a second, she almost believed him.

She clenched her teeth and forced herself to nod in understanding. The job still wasn't done which meant that she had to drown out all the depressing feelings that threatened to drag her down and instead focus on the one thing she could deal with.

Lincoln reloaded his weapon and stepped outside of the room, his wife following closely behind.

Michelle pinched the bridge of her nose as they listened to the passengers plead for their lives, but they knew better, they could leave no stone unturned.

As they lifted their pistols into the air and the cries of the men and women rang through their ears, they did their best to pierce through their skulls in the swiftest and painless way possible. Their lifeless bodies dropped to the floor, the smell of death soon scorned the only two remaining passengers.

Michelle watched the light go out in their eyes and she could only hope that when all was said and done, she and especially Lincoln, wouldn't end up like them. Because if she knew nothing else, it was that without Lincoln, she would be just as trapped, dead, and useless as they were.

So, I hope you all enjoyed this update. There are only a few chapters left and things are really gonna take off from here so get ready! Feel free to drop a few comments or maybe even recommend this book to your friends, it'd be greatly appreciated. Anyway, as always, thanks for reading! 🤗