June 6, 33 AE

The ride to Elsie's was almost completely silent. Normally, Mack would try to fill it with conversation, but not this time. For one, neither of them seemed to be in a talking mood. Second, Mack's mind was too preoccupied about finally reuniting with Jordan to think up topics for small talk.

Unfortunately, they drove for nearly an hour thanks to the numerous blocked roads and security checkpoints. By the time the building's gaudy neon light came into view, Mack was exhausted, and he wordlessly texted Elsie for access to the parking structure. Thankfully, she must have been waiting for him and replied immediately, allowing them to pull into a guest spot a minute later.

"My god, that was probably the worst traffic I've ever seen here," Mack grumbled as he turned off the ignition. "What d'you think?"

When Camilla didn't answer immediately, Mack turned, expecting to either see her glaring for trying to be friendly again, or she was passed out again. What he didn't expect was seeing her staring blankly at the glove compartment, her eyes glazed over and her posture limp.

"Camilla?" Mack asked tentatively. "You alright?"

But she didn't answer, nor did she react in any way.

"Camilla, can you hear me?" Mack tried again.

Camilla merely blinked slowly, not moving otherwise.

Mack reached out to grab her shoulder, but stopped just inches away and retracted his hand. He had no idea what was going through Camilla's head just then. But whatever it was, he didn't want to make it worse with unwanted physical contact.

"We're at Elsie's," he tried. "We're going to see her now."

When Camilla still didn't respond, Mack changed tactics. He got out of the car and rounded it to the passenger's side, then slowly opened the door.

No reaction.

He reached down and carefully unbuckled her seatbelt.

Nothing.

He held out his hand to her, offering his assistance.

At first, Camilla still didn't move, her gaze unfocused on the dashboard. But eventually, her head slowly turned to Mack's hand; several seconds later, she actually took it and allowed him to help her up.

As they made their way out of the garage and up to Elsie's floor, Mack kept an arm around Camilla's shoulders to steer her in the right direction and keep her upright. He felt like he was helping a drunk friend find their way home, except their night had been nowhere near as fun. (Plus, he didn't have many drinking buddies that were as tiny as Camilla was.)

Elsie answered the door immediately after Mack rang the bell, and she looked almost as bad as Camilla did. Her hair was tied up in a disheveled bun, as if she tried and failed to keep herself from taking her stress out in it. She had a soft, cream blanket bundled around her shoulders, and when it fell to the floor, it revealed her wrinkled light blue tank top and baggy gray sweatpants.

"Oh my god," Elsie gasped, and she rushed towards Camilla, arms extended.

But before Mack could advise her to wait, that Camilla probably wasn't in the best state of mind, Elsie stopped on her own, hesitant. Mack's surprise was quickly replaced by reason; after spending several weeks together, it was understandable that the two women knew each other better than he expected.

His surprise ultimately returned when, after a pause, Camilla closed the distance between herself and Elsie all on her own. Without a word, she rested her forehead against Elsie's shoulder, as if she trusted Elsie to carry her weight. A beat later, Elsie responded, wrapping her arms around Camilla and holding her tight.

Suddenly, Mack felt like a third wheel, and a wobbly one at that.

He spotted Jordan just in time, hovering in the background and looking just as awkward as Mack felt. As soon as their eyes met, Mack felt inexplicably happy, an odd sensation considering the scene he just came from. But he supposed Jordan had that effect on him.

Or maybe it was his outfit that had something to do with it, and Mack belatedly recognized the hoodie Jordan wore as his own. It was nearly impossible to miss; the sleeves and hood were adorned with gaudy red and yellow hibiscuses that stood out against the black fabric. And while the garment was relatively fitted for Mack's build, it hung loosely over Jordan's slightly slimmer figure. Mack must have left it at Jordan's the last time he was over; why Jordan was now wearing it was another mystery.

Eventually, Elsie led Camilla to the living room, seemingly carrying most of her weight, and Mack followed them inside. He approached Jordan and gave him a small, hopefully reassuring smile before returning his focus to the two women, and he didn't turn away until Camilla was safely seated on the couch.

"Are you okay?" Mack asked, looking Jordan up and down before returning his gaze to the man's eyes. Instinctively he reached out to hold Jordan's arm, then paused with his palm a breath from Jordan's sleeve. He wasn't sure how much intimacy Jordan was comfortable with showing the others, and the last thing Mack wanted was for Jordan to be upset.

"I should be asking you that," Jordan replied, his voice strained and his expression clearly drained. "I wasn't the one in a burning building being attacked by fireballs."

Jordan lifted his arm from under Mack's, and before Mack could mentally prepare himself for the disappointment of not being able to feel Jordan's presence beneath his own fingers, Jordan did him one better and brought their hands together. And when their fingers interlocked, Mack's soul unlocked, and he felt the stress of the night escape him like smoke rushing out an open door.

At the same time, Jordan let out a shaky breath.

"I thought you were..." Jordan paused to take another unsteady breath, his wide eyes never shifting from Mack's. "I thought I wouldn't see you again."

It wasn't until Jordan said it that Mack realized he had feared the same thing, and he gently squeezed Jordan's hand in comfort.

"I'm fine," Mack assured, his trademark smile coming easier than he thought. "A little tired, but fine."

Jordan nodded, allowing himself a tentative smile to mirror Mack's before his attention drifted to the two women. They were huddled by the couch several yards away with Elsie gingerly holding one of Camilla's injured arms and studying it in silent horror.

"She looks terrible," Jordan muttered sympathetically, tightening his hold on Mack's hand ever so slightly.

"You're not wrong," Mack agreed, following Jordan's gaze. "But I don't think Elsie would appreciate it if you told her that to her face."

Jordan turned back to Mack with a glare already set on his face. "I meant Camilla and you know that. I mean, sure, Elsie's a little sloppy, but that's normal for her. Camilla though..." He shrugged, as if that would finish his thought. "She normally seems to have a better handle on things."

Worry began to return to Jordan's expression, and Mack didn't want to make it any worse. At the same time, he couldn't leave Jordan in the dark either.

"Things were... pretty bad over there," Mack admitted softly. "But they could've been a lot worse if she wasn't there."

Jordan nodded quietly, his concern unwavering as he turned his focus back towards Elsie and Camilla.

"She needs your help, doesn't she?" Jordan whispered.

Mack followed Jordan's gaze and watched as Elsie's fingers carefully avoided brushing the burns that still stretched across Camilla's hands.

"Yeah," Mack answered.

He could feel Jordan's unspoken concern, rooted in the times he found Mack broken, physically and mentally, from his job. Jordan had stuck around to piece together the shards of Mack's shattered spirits and held him together until the glue dried, only for Mack to run off and help the next person in need. Mack knew he had a tendency to wear himself thin for the sake of others, but Jordan was hurting because of it.

"Okay," Jordan replied after a long pause, meeting Mack's eyes again. "Go be a hero. Just try not to overdo it."

Mack stared at Jordan for a moment, not sure if he heard correctly, before smiling widely. How did he get so lucky to be with someone like him?

Mack hadn't realized he said his last thought aloud until Jordan replied.

"Yeah, you really won the lottery with me," Jordan muttered sarcastically, but his averted eyes showed his embarrassment. "Want me to make you coffee?"

"That would be amazing," Mack said, already energized simply by how pleased Jordan looked from Mack's unintentional compliment.

Jordan gave Mack's hand one more squeeze before taking a step towards the kitchen.

"Extra milk, no sugar?" Jordan asked.

Mack beamed. "You know me so well."

And with the sudden surge of newfound energy, and the prospect of caffeine in his near future, Mack headed towards the others.

Surprisingly, Camilla didn't need much convincing to allow Mack to treat her injuries, sparing Mack from the inevitable headache. Or rather, his headache was merely delayed; it unfortunately appeared in full force after several minutes of using his abilities, and he could only grit his teeth to keep himself from wincing at the pain.

Thankfully, Jordan joined them in the living room not long after, bearing his promised mug of brewed caffeine for Mack. He considerately left it on the table within arms reach of Mack before wordlessly continuing across the living room towards the adjacent loveseat, but Mack restrained himself from reaching for it. He knew if he stopped his work just then, there was no way he could pick it back up, so he simply kept the awaiting mug in his peripheral vision as motivation.

Mack must have been more exhausted than he realized, and when Elsie's doorbell rang an indeterminable amount of time later, Mack didn't even register the irritable voice that announced its owner's arrival. In fact, he barely paid any attention when the newest guest paused in the living room, and the annoyance in his voice was joined by a tone of judgment.

"Why are they here?" Minyoung asked with his infamous lack of charm.

"Why not?" Elsie retorted as she joined Mack and Camilla on the couch.

Thankfully, Minyoung didn't have a comeback for such an excellent argument, and he joined them in the living room, taking the armchair closest to Camilla.

"Someone from the Org called," Minyoung continued. "They're pulling their people off of your protection detail."

"What?" Camilla suddenly asked, her voice soft and disoriented.

Mack only spared a second to shift his focus to Camilla's face. While the exhaustion in her expression was still prominent, and Mack wouldn't have been surprised if she passed out then and there, her eyes were wide with shock.

"I'm guessing this is news to you as well?" Minyoung asked.

After a pause, Camilla nodded slowly before turning her unfocused gaze back to the TV. Mack bit back words of comfort and refocused on his own task; anything he had to say would only fall on deaf ears anyway.

"Why would they do that?" Jordan thankfully chimed in. "I thought they said she was in danger."

"Apparently, they no longer think she's a target," Minyoung replied with more than a hint of bitterness. "Pretty sure they just think she's not worth the resources anymore.'" He paused. "You don't know anything, do you?"

Mack glanced up again on instinct and found Minyoung's eyes on his. He shrugged, and returned Minyoung's questioning gaze with a meek grin.

"No one really tells me anything," Mack said truthfully.

Thankfully, the answer was good enough for Minyoung, and he quickly returned his attention to a bag of candy he seemed to have procured out of thin air.

Crisis averted, Mack turned back to his work. Unfortunately, Minyoung's interruption had been enough to break Mack's concentration, and Mack had unintentionally stopped what he was doing. The revelation made him keenly aware of how tired he was, and Mack couldn't help but let out a restrained sigh as he tried to casually wipe a patch of sweat from his brow.

He thought he had done a good job at putting on an a-okay front, but this version of Camilla was oddly observant. She immediately pulled her arm away from Mack, not giving him the slightest chance to pick up where he left off.

"Just a little more, Camilla," Mack insisted.

Camilla threw a heated glare at him in warning.

"Sorry. Wyatt," Mack amended. "Just a little more. Please?"

But Camilla's glare was relentless, and Mack swore he could feel the air around him getting colder–or maybe he was just in worse shape than he thought. So, not wanting to exhaust either of them even more by pressing the matter, Mack conceded.

He got to his feet carefully before retrieving his mug from the table and gratefully falling onto the loveseat beside Jordan. Jordan, who was sitting sideways on the chair with his knees bent up, reached for Mack's arm and gave it a comforting squeeze. It was a small gesture, but it filled Mack with warmth, and he returned it with a small smile before resting his arm on Jordan's knees.

"We can't expect the Org's support anymore," Minyoung continued, then looked at Elsie. "If you want, I can look to hire non-meta security, but they might be costly since you've been attacked by metas twice already."

Mack sighed. As much as he disliked being the bearer of bad news, he preferred his friends to be alive, thank you very much.

"Hate to break it to you, but any reputable security service probably won't even take the job," Mack interjected. "It's too risky for them, and any price isn't worth losing their lives over. Anyone willing to take the offer would probably ditch at the first sign of danger."

"So we're shit out of luck, is what you're saying?" Minyoung said roughly, then scoffed. "Terrific."

"You really think they'll try to attack me again?" Elsie asked, her gaze darting nervously between Mack and Camilla. "What if they changed their target now? Wouldn't they have gone after this building instead if they were really after me?"

"I'm not willing to take that chance," Minyoung said

Mack and Jordan nodded in agreement; at least they could all be on the same page for one thing.

"They could just be waiting for you to be alone," Mack explained, trying to be as gentle as he could. "They might not try again when you're out in public, surrounded by people, but...."

"What if they tried while you were here?" Jordan chimed in.

Elsie narrowed her eyes at him. "Is that why you're here? Not because you were worried about–"

"I was worried about you, okay?" Jordan cut her off. "When I called, you said you were cleaning. I thought that was code for saying you were taken hostage or something."

"I was stress cleaning, okay?" Elsie snapped back. "And you decided to come over by yourself?! And what could you do? Annoy them into surrendering?"

Jordan raised his chin defiantly. "For your information, I know taekwondo."

"He has just about as much experience as a middle schooler," Minyoung added.

"I'm sure I could've been able to help somehow," Jordan insisted, then turned to Mack with hopeful eyes. "Right?"

Oh, crap. Mack paused for a second too long before giving Jordan a small smile. "You would've definitely tried your best."

Jordan's hopeful expression vanished instantly.

"Rude," he muttered bitterly before turning back to Elsie. "Still, it'd be better if someone at least sticks around, right? I can do it–people would just think we're dating again. Or, hyung, you could do it too."

"So people could think we're dating instead?" Minyoung replied incredulously. "No, thanks. Besides, I like my own bed."

"I can do it," Camilla suddenly announced, her voice still soft but more steady than the last time she spoke. "At least, if that's okay."

"That's what I should be saying," Elsie replied, her surprise clear on her face. "It's totally fine by me, but I don't want to cause too much trouble."

Camilla shook her head. "It's no trouble."

"That works out," Mack chimed in. "Cami–Wyatt needed a place to stay anyway."

"I won't be around all the time though," Camilla added. "Work, and all."

"I'll stop by every once in a while, and you will not," Minyoung said, directing his last words towards Jordan, who had a hand partially raised in preparation to volunteer himself. "I don't know if you remember, but you're in the middle of a promotion period. If you start slacking off on that, your manager will rip my head off with her bare hands."

"That would be so unfortunate," Elsie said sarcastically before smiling gently at Camilla. "I can show you to the guest room, if you want."

But fate wasn't ready to let them relax just yet. Just as the women got to their feet, the TV display burst into static, filling the air with a high pitched buzz. A second later, an image appeared, showing nothing but a mysterious masked and hooded figure standing in front of a gray cement wall.

"It's time," the person began, their voice heavily distorted. "It's time to explain how these 'horrific events', as you call them, have a reason, and they are merely the consequences of your own actions.

"We are Exodos. And we are here with a purpose: to reveal the atrocities of the American Protection Organization, and to eliminate all those that fight for and defend them. As long as the Org lives, so will we. We will continue to fight and reveal their secrets until the Org receives the death that it deserves. And anyone that stands in our way will receive the same fate as them.

"We were responsible for the attack at the Org's so-called Barracks in Los Angeles earlier this evening. We were responsible for the attack on the set of their revolting propaganda film, and the attack on one of their leading stars at the atrociously-named Unity Games.

"We made our entrance nearly ten years ago, with the attack on the Org's West Academy. Over a hundred young lives were lost, yes, but it was the Org that continued to send out the survivors to fight. And they will continue to do so, whether their soldiers like it or not.

"Approximately seven minutes ago, we released twenty-six of the Org's prisoners from Farallon. Some of them were our own. Others were just innocent people whose only crimes were speaking up for their freedoms. They didn't want to die fighting for a purpose they didn't believe in, but they were forced to simply because of the genetics they were born with.

"We are Exodos. And we will be responsible for the final scene of the tragedy known as the American Protection Organization."

Then the figure disappeared, replaced by nothing but static.

---

NOTES

And the villain is finally revealed! (Or is there something more...? Read Triple Point to find out, because I only have one more chapter of Ultraviolet left, and it's going to be completely dedicated to our boys!)

Thanks for reading, voting, and commenting!