Rage and Ruin | 2

2 | 2

J A X O N

     "You get out tomorrow, right?" Finn asked Hunt as we stood together in the hospital room.

      "Yes, the doctors are finally letting me go." Hunt shook his head as it rested on the pillow. "I've already missed so much work."

      "Yeah, because you got shot," Riley said flatly, almost chastising him. "You needed all the time to heal you could get. Who knows if they're going to come for you again?"

      "We do know they're going to come for him again," Jake broke in, "And we can take advantage of it."

      Both Riley and Finn spun to look at him and stated simultaneously, "No."

      But Hunt turned towards then curiously. "What am I missing here?"

      "He has this crazy idea to risk your life and use you as bait for the masked assassin," Riley told him, crossing her arms sassily. "As if your life hasn't been put in enough danger as it is." 

      "He wouldn't be going in without backup," Jake reasoned coldly. "We wouldn't let the masked assassin touch a hair on that graying head of his; Hunt just needs to be there to lure the assassin to us." Jake glanced down at Hunt. "It's the only way that we can get the assassin to come to us. You'd be doing the ONNT a great service."

      "How do you expect to get the assassin there in the first place?" Hunt asked, surprisingly going with the idea. It seemed that, for the first time ever, he wasn't making things more difficult than they needed to be.

      "You're actually going to do it?" Finn asked the ONNT director in a low voice.

      "We'll spread the word of your presence to the right people," Jake went on, ignoring Finn. "I know exactly who to tell to get the assassin to hear."

      Hunt fixed his dark eyes up on Jake for a moment. "Okay, I will do it. Just give me a time and a place and I will be there."

      "Are you insane?" Finn asked Hunt anxiously. "You almost just died!"

      "I won't die this time," Hunt said, still watching Jake. "My life is in your hands. I trust that you'll take care of it."

      "How can you say that to the biggest criminal on the team?"

      "No offense," Arlo muttered under his breath for Finn.

      "He wanted to find Adiago Hundsen and did. I trust that he can do the same with this Imperium agent." That was a lot of blind trust for someone who was just targeted by a terrorist group.

Jake gave him a curt nod. "We will move forward with the plan." He set his flat gaze on Finn and Riley for a moment as he still spoke to the director. "I knew that you'd do the right thing."

      With that, he made his way to the doorway of the room. The others began to follow him.

      "Bye, Mr. Hunt," I told the man in the bed. "Try not to get killed again before the plan can happen." Finn had a pained look on his face but the director looked amused.

      Most of the others had gathered outside in the hallway as they waited for Finn and Riley to come out of Hunt's room. Finally, they emerged and closed the door softly.

      "What were you doing in there, singing him to sleep?" Arlo asked, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

      "I was saying goodbye to him," Finn retorted, slightly annoyed, "Because I'm glad that he didn't pass away from his injuries."