Sam entered.
Drake nearly dropped his vials, but he closed the one as Sam approached him. He stood up and walked to her. "Oh my God, Sam, I've found you. We have to get out of here, now."
She smiled, then slapped his hand.
Stunned, Drake watched as all of the vials fell to the ground, shattering. His heart and hope shattered with them.
He looked back at Sam, whose eyes looked glossed over and void of feeling.
"Not yet." She held out her hand. "My father would like to see you."
Chapter 123 - Lucy
The guard who had been assigned to Simmons's detail jumped up as soon as Beleth landed, and pulled his rifle out. If Lucy had blinked she would have missed what happened next, but as it was, she couldn't pull her eyes from the scene. Beleth's hand extended into his deadly black blade and pierced the guard in the chest, killing him instantly.
Lucy clutched the serum and turned away from Simmons, who stared at Beleth.
"So you've come. I thought maybe you wouldn't, but I've been wrong about many things, it seems." Simmons faced Beleth through the bars. She straightened her back, looking him in the eyes. "Make it quick."
Beleth placed his hand between the bars, and it turned into a black claw with three long fingers. They grew apart, and the bars twisted and bent until she had space to crawl out. "I would, but you know another moves my hand." The claw retracted and changed back into a blade.
He moved past Simmons and walked toward Lucy, jerking his body as if fighting himself. Lucy had never seen him so disjointed; usually he had a grace and fluidness that none could match. Even his face strained against itself, as if fighting another power inside him—probably Steele's.
"You broke our agreement." He slowed down, but it evidently cost him as he groaned against the effort.
Lucy faced him, wondering what would happen if she ran. Would he catch up to her or keep fighting the power in him? "I couldn't kill an innocent."
Beleth looked sad. "She's not innocent. None of us are. Not anymore."
A replay of those memories flashed through Lucy's mind: all the horrible things Simmons had done. "I know, but now she's not a threat. She can help fight Steele."
"It's too late for that." He shook his head. "I've been sent...." He gagged as if he couldn't force himself to finish what he wanted to say. "I've been...." He continued to approach Lucy, very near her now.
She braced herself, serum ready in hand. If he tried to grab her, to take her away like before, she would inject him with the syringe and take away his powers.
He took another step, then extended his blade and aimed it for Lucy's gut.
She dropped to the ground, dodging his attack by a hair's breadth.
He then brought his blade down on her, an attack that would slice her in two, but he bounced off an invisible shield.
The cavalry had arrived. Lucy had planned for this eventuality and had a team in wait.
Luke stepped out from behind a building, concentrating as he held the force field to protect Lucy. Agents emerged from behind him, surrounding Beleth with rifles.
Of course, he could just fly away, but Lucy suspected he actually couldn't, not until he'd accomplished what he'd been sent here to do.
Hunter joined Luke, sword raised in defense. "Surrender, Beleth. It's over."
Lucy scrambled to stand next to Hunter, inappropriately turned on by how hot he looked with sword in hand, taking command. Bad Lucy! Focus!
She focused back on the threat. Beleth looked around as if trying to find a way to leave but knew that he couldn't. He curled in on himself and a protective ball of black oil grew around him, like a hamster ball.
Hunter yelled to the agents. "Fire!"
Lucy wanted to look away, for Beleth hadn't chosen this; she'd seen it in the memories and on his face. Everything he'd done, he'd been compelled to do by Steele.
Their bullets dug into the oily shield and it shrunk in on itself, compressing tighter and tighter. It looked like their bullets might actually break through. Then they stopped firing to reload, and the ball began to expand, like a balloon about to pop.
Lucy screamed, "Get down!" and pulled Hunter down with her.
Beleth's shield exploded outward, throwing all the bullets back at the agents at high velocity.
Luke managed to erect a shield around himself, Hunter and Lucy at the last minute, but the other agents got hit with their own arsenal and collapsed to the ground.
The three of them stood shocked, taking in the carnage: ten agents dead. Lucy's heart broke when she saw Agent Mark among them. The fire of hatred burned through her grief. Steele did this. He used Beleth to kill them and will kill others. They had to stop Beleth so they could deal with Steele, but stopping him meant killing him, and she hated the idea of another victim of Steele's madness dying at her hands.