Chapter Fifty-One Faith

There was no hesitation as Sarah entered the room, closely followed by Karl. Together, they grappled the two girls into a standing position. Sarah took charge of Avery this time, and was no gentler with her than she had been with Faith. The two hostages were thrust towards the door. Sarah eased it open a crack, wedging her boot in the gap so they could hear what was going on outside.

"I knew you'd show up eventually." Jacob's voice carried easily. "When you realised that I'd taken charge of your precious cargo."

"Precious cargo?" It was Danforth, as chillingly calm, as ever. "What on earth can you mean?"

Faith's instincts had been dead on. Danforth had not gone far. And she had returned swiftly to deal with Jacob and his group. But how many guards did the chancellor have backing her up? Sensing Jacob was readying himself for the big reveal, Faith braced herself.

"Well, Chancellor," Jacob's voice dripped with false politeness, "we happen to have a couple of hostages you might be interested in."

Faith's mind was racing. What did Jacob hope to achieve? With so few allies, what did he think Danforth would be willing to trade that could possibly strengthen his position?

"What makes you think I'd have any interest in bargaining with you?" Danforth shrugged off his threat. "Whatever advantage you think you have. Doesn't seem like you have a lot of support right now."

"What about you?" Jacob's tone dripped poison. "I see you don't have your usual army around you."

"I can assure you, this building is surrounded," Danforth sniffed. "You have no hope of success."

"Well let's see, shall we?" Jacob was gritting his teeth. "Perhaps when you know which of your citizens I'm holding prisoner, you'll change your mind. I don't need a massive force behind me for what I have in mind." He paused for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was chilling. "Bring them out."

At Jacob's command, Faith and Avery were pushed out through the doorway. Faith stumbled as she crossed the threshold. Karl yanked her upright, sending a lance of pain through her shoulder. Once she had regained her footing, she attempted to assess the situation.

The chancellor stood on the other side of the warehouse, just inside the door. Her body was strategically positioned behind three guards. Hammond stood front and centre, still heavily armed. Her gun was pointing at Jacob and the man he'd called Denton. The ex-Eremus men stood their ground, centre-stage, their own guns pointing at the group by the door.

The other guards had their guns trained on Sarah and Karl as they brought the hostages into the room. At the rear of their group was Susie, the remaining medic. She appeared to be unarmed and was dwarfed by her protectors.

Danforth's iron control remained as her eyes met Faith's. This, she had expected. But when she glanced at Jacob's second captive, her eyes widened. Her enemy had managed to surprise her.

Another bout of coughing racked Avery's body, cutting through the tension. As she struggled to control herself, Jacob shot her a look of pure hatred. She had ruined the drama of his big reveal, allowing Danforth time to recover her composure. More than that, her cough told the chancellor at least one of the hostages was less-than-healthy, reducing Jacob's bargaining power.

"I believe," Jacob pushed on, despite the interruption. "That these two young women are of great importance to you."

"Perhaps." Danforth shrugged delicately. "But you can't think that I'll let you get away with such audacious behaviour. No one threatens me." She shook her head. "I'll never agree to your demands."

"What makes you think I have demands?" There was a hatred burning in his eyes.

Suddenly, Faith understood. Jacob knew he didn't have the backup to beat Danforth. He'd given up on that goal. Which only left…

"All I want," he went on, "is to see you suffer."

Faith's heart sank. If Jacob wanted to punish Danforth, the best way to do it would be to destroy the people she needed to succeed. He was mistaken about Avery, she was certain. Daughter or not, Danforth did not seem to care either way about the young woman. But all the chancellor's hopes of success with the fertility experiments rested with Faith. Her death would be a huge blow.

With a sideways glance to check that his backup still had a gun trained on Danforth's group, Jacob stalked towards Avery. Sarah relinquished her hold on Avery, aiming her own weapon at Hammond. Grasping her arm so hard that she winced, Jacob thrust his prisoner to her knees. It was a position he'd once had Faith in. That time, it had been an empty threat.

This time, Jacob was deadly serious.

Avery's eyes flew to her mother. She really was expecting Danforth to save her life. Faith had no such delusions. The woman might have brought Avery into the world, made her feel special in her role as infiltrator at the academy, but she had failed to protect her when it mattered.

Looking back, it all made sense. Avery's superiority complex, her disdain for the other girls at the academy, her entitled attitude. Faith had hated her for it, in the past. Now, she pitied her.

"This young woman," Jacob went on, his voice low and threatening, "is your own flesh and blood, I believe."

He raised his gun, resting it on Avery's temple. She whimpered, the wheeze even more pronounced by her terror.

"And?" Danforth shrugged. "You think we live like you do in Eremus? That we have the same bonds with our biological offspring? The girl has helped me in the past, it's true. And she is my… daughter. But that means very little in the scheme of things. Here in Bellator we're about the good of the many."

Avery's face fell as the truth hit home. She had been fooled into thinking she was special to the woman who ruled over Bellator. But in the end, she was little more than a cog in a wheel.

"Oh, Abigail." Jacob's knuckles were white and his face had drained of colour. Grasping hold of the remnants of Avery's hair, he pressed the gun hard against her skull. "I think you're bluffing."

"Am I?" Danforth remained calm, but her eyes flickered to Faith briefly. "I think not. I've always been fascinated by procreation. It's true, this girl is my offspring. But I only had her out of curiosity. Wanted to know what it was like to bear a child."

She took a step closer to Jacob, her eyes on her daughter. Hammond moved with her.

"I had a medic inseminate me with seed from the bank. Chosen at random, of course." Her eyes stayed with Avery, who was chalk-white. "I wanted the experiment to be devoid of any kind of engineering. I observed the changes that took place in my body during pregnancy. At the birth. Postnatally. It was an extremely useful part of my research." Now she looked at Jacob. "But after she was born, I checked the records."

Faith went cold. She knew what was coming. As Danforth continued, she braced herself for the fallout.

"When I found out who her seed donor was, well…" a haunting smile graced her face, "let's just say I was less-than-happy."

"Her seed donor?" Jacob frowned.

"It was you." Danforth paused for a moment, letting the dust from the bombshell settle. "I lost interest in her after that." She didn't look at Avery, even when the young woman gave a moan of misery. "Until later, when I figured out that she could be useful to me at the academy."

"What?" Jacob's eyes were wild. "But… I didn't–"

"Oh Jacob," Danforth swooped in for the killer blow, her tone silky-sweet. "She's not just my flesh and blood. She's yours. Now are you going to shoot her?"

Jacob's hold on the gun went slack. Confusion and fury warred on his face. "You're lying." He thrust the weapon into Avery's temple again. She was crying now. Silent tears coursing down her face. Every breath she took sounded painful. "Bluffing, to protect her. Well, let me show you how far that gets you."

He cocked the gun. The clicking sound echoed through the empty space.

"No!" The word was out of Faith's mouth before she could stop it. "She's telling the truth."

Every eye in the room swung to face her. Faith cringed.

"How would you know?" Jacob frowned.

Danforth regarded her with interest. Her eyes reminded Faith of a snake.

"I read about it. In the records at the hospital." She took a desperate breath. "She's your daughter too. You can't kill her."

A heavy silence filled the warehouse. Jacob's breathing was heavy and ragged as he fought to take in the new information. His seed had been used to create hundreds of Bellator children, but he'd never known them. The news that the damaged young woman who knelt in front of him was his daughter had floored him.

Eventually, he lowered the gun and took a step back. A wide smile spread across Danforth's face as she sensed the change in her enemy. Faith tensed, dreading the moment when the attention returned to her.

"Not willing to kill your own offspring, then?" Danforth was almost laughing at Jacob's struggle. "You never did have what it takes, did you? Not like me. I assure you, I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to protect my people."

Faith recoiled at the words. The woman was a monster. How could she believe, after everything, that she had the best interests of her citizens at heart?

She refocused on Jacob, hoping Avery's reprieve wasn't just a temporary one. He was frozen, his expression haunted, fixated on the young woman who knelt in front of him. Would he make the right decision? After all he'd done, sparing his daughter might be the first step on the road to redemption.

But the chancellor wasn't finished provoking him. "My actions may seem extreme, but I assure you, they get results. I mean…" she paused, enjoying his discomfort. "I'm sure you already know how easily I disposed of your comrade."

At the callous mention of Flynn, Faith clenched her fists. How could the woman be so cruel?

Beside Faith, Sarah had stiffened.

"Disposed of?" she ground out.

Her reaction struck Faith as odd. Perhaps Jacob's group had yet to hear of Flynn's death. But did they care that much about him, after he'd pretty much run them out of Eremus?

Danforth ploughed on, oblivious to the tension. "I wasn't going to show leniency to a man who'd invaded my territory that way."

Sarah stepped closer to Avery again. Her face was twisted with a fury Faith didn't understand.

"You killed my son?" she hissed, her voice low and menacing.

"Your son?" Danforth questioned. "I don't–"

As the penny dropped, Faith realised the misunderstanding. But it was too late.

Narrowing her eyes, Sarah redirected her gun at Avery. "Let's see how you like it."

"No!" A cry escaped from Faith as the shot rang out.

Avery's body jerked once, then collapsed forward.

Faith found herself stumbling forward, dizziness overwhelming her. As Karl's hold on her tightened, she was glad of the support. It stopped her from collapsing.

Jacob stepped forward, bending down next to Avery. Gently, he turned her body over. Blood was gushing from a single wound in her chest. Her eyes were filled with horror as she attempted to breathe. Her breathing had already been laboured. Now, the sound was guttural. Faith recalled distant biology lessons. The bullet had punctured Avery's lung. And the effort it took for her to inhale suggested the damage was severe.

She glanced around. All eyes were fixed on Jacob and Avery. Even Sarah appeared to be frozen in place. Jacob's reaction had shocked her. As Faith returned her gaze to the pair on the ground, Danforth leaned close to Hammond, whispering something.

Jacob had his hands pressed to the hole in the middle of Avery's chest. They were soaked with blood.

"You're alright." He choked out. "You'll be alright."

But Avery's breaths were becoming less and less frequent. Her eyes sought Jacob's, and she lifted a hand, grasping at the air. Taking it in his own, Jacob brought it to his chest and bowed his head.

"C-can't't," Avery stuttered. "I c-c-can't…"

"Shh," Jacob hushed her, his tone unusually gentle. "Rest now."

Avery's eyes began to flicker. The blood flow from the wound seemed to have slowed, and she hadn't taken a breath for what seemed like forever. Faith was desperate to look away, but found that she couldn't.

There was a silence which went on for what seemed like forever. Eventually, Jacob bent to press a finger to Avery's neck. His body sagged.

"Gone," he said, releasing his hold on Avery's hand. He closed her eyes. "She's gone."

A shockwave reverberated through the room. Faith trembled. Behind her Karl had relaxed his hold a little, but she didn't even consider running.

Sarah stepped forward and placed a hand on Jacob's shoulder. Jacob jerked away as though she were contagious.

"Get away from me." He stood up, gesturing at Avery's lifeless form. "How could you?"

Sarah's eyes were wide with shock. "I'm sorry. I didn't think…" She paused, seemingly at a loss. "She doesn't mean anything to you. You've been cursing her for weeks." Reholstering her gun, she stepped closer. "So why…"

Jacob shook his head. Grief was carved into the lines on his face. "A child. My child."

Sarah blanched at his expression. "I'm sorry. I–"

But she didn't get any further. As Jacob's hand went to his belt, Sarah's eyes filled with horror. He raised his arm, aiming a gun at her head.

"No! Please, no." She stammered. "You're not thinking straight. You can't–"

For the second time in as many minutes, a gunshot destroyed the quiet of the warehouse. Sarah took a direct hit to the chest. Falling forwards, she hit the ground and lay still.

Danforth started laughing. The sound was vaguely hysterical. "You're hardly a threat if you're going to start taking out your own people," she sneered at the ex-Eremus leader. "I always said you were a little on the stupid side. You just proved me right."

Jacob faced her, his face twisted in fury. "Don't you care at all?" He thrust a hand at Avery. "Your own child, and her death has no impact?"

Danforth shrugged.

With a desperate howl, Jacob raised his gun again. He charged forward, his face scarlet with fury. But once he was clear of Faith, he lost his advantage. Hammond now had a clear shot at a man who was threatening her chancellor. She took it, firing a single bullet.

It hit Jacob right between the eyes.

As his body collapsed, Karl let go of Faith. He raised his hands over his head. Denton followed suit.

Jacob's rebellion was finished. But Danforth was still a threat. As the chancellor's eyes zeroed in on Faith, she recoiled. Her own suffering was far from over.