Triple Point

Chapter 78: Deals

It took a while for Elsie to fully comprehend Quentin's words; Mack, however, took no time at all.

"You damn traitor!" Mack nearly growled.

As Mack's eyes lit up in rage, Quentin let out a sound that was a mix between a whimper and a gasp for air, and he crumpled even further to the ground. It wasn't long before the only thing keeping him remotely upright was Mack's unrelenting grip on his hand, and the other intruders made as if they were about to intervene.

"Don't move!" Nakia ordered, but even they spared a nervous glance back at Mack.

And Elsie had an idea why. She knew that look in Mack's eyes, the one that was blind to the present and could only see the past. It was a gaze that watched a montage of memories play over and over in his mind, carrying with it an overwhelming flood of pain and suffering, of rage and misery.

Elsie knew this because she had seen the very same look in Camilla's eyes on more than one occasion. And she knew that even if Camilla had been safe and sound in their bed in the middle of the night, there were times when her mind could have been thousands of miles and months away from where Elsie was.

"Mack, stop," Elsie tried once Quentin's breathing became ragged. "Mack."

But her words didn't get through, and as Mack's eyes grew darker, Quentin's skin grew paler.

"Mack!" Jordan exclaimed, stepping in front of Elsie. "Mack, don't do this. Please."

Mack's glare twitched a little, but he otherwise gave no indication that he heard anything. Jordan reached out to take Mack's hand, but Elsie held him back at the last second—there was no telling how much control Mack had over his abilities.

"If you don't stop him, we will," the largest intruder said, gearing to attack.

"You will not," Hitomi intervened, keeping her gaze fixed on the intruders. "Jordan."

"I know, I know!" Jordan replied as he started to panic.

But after a few moments, Jordan's panic vanished. He seemed to have steeled himself somehow, and when he shook off Elsie's hold on him, Elsie complied immediately, surprised by his sudden shift in character. And before anyone knew what he was planning, Jordan ran up to Mack and tackled him.

While Mack was definitely the more muscular of the two, Jordan wasn't far behind, and he had at least three inches of height over Mack. The force of Jordan's tackle was enough to knock Mack off his feet and away from Quentin, and the two landed in a heap a few feet away. Mack sat up first, dazed and blinking slowly; Jordan remained on the ground, one arm dangling around Mack's waist from when he tackled him.

"Minseok-ah," Minyoung whispered at the sight of his brother lying motionless on the ground, and he took a step towards them before Elsie held him back. They still didn't know what Mack's state of mind was, and the last thing they needed was for both Song brothers to be hurt.

"Mack?" Elsie asked tentatively. "Jordan... is Jordan okay?"

At Elsie's words, Mack slowly looked down, and his blank eyes immediately widened at the sight of Jordan.

"Shit, shit, no—"

Elsie let Minyoung go then, and he rushed forward, rolling Jordan off of Mack and onto his back. At the same time, Elsie glanced at Quentin, who was also lying motionless and pale on the ground, then to Hitomi, who nodded.

"I will help your traitor friend," Hitomi told the intruder trio. "But do not move."

She didn't wait for an answer as she hurried to return some energy to Quentin, and Elsie turned her focus back to Jordan. While Jordan looked better off than Quentin did, his complexion was noticeably paler than normal and Elsie swore his lips were tinged blue. With Minyoung holding onto one of his hands and Mack grasping the other with a warm glow, Jordan's eyes fluttered open a few seconds later.