The Strays

Chapter Five

The guys made it back before I did; when I finally returned, Leo was getting checked over by Stitch, while Ty interrogated Drew in the cafe, his wrists and ankles shackled to a table.

"I know he's one of Hatter's lieutenants, but the guy helped save Leo. Surely that counts for something," I shouted up the stairs, making my presence known. Ty came storming towards me, a face like thunder. "You and I need to talk." He insisted, invading my personal space.

"If you want a civil discussion, I suggest you get out of my face, otherwise this is going to play out differently to what you've envisioned in your head."

"Are you threatening me right now, after that stunt you just pulled?"

"No, I'm just warning you. I'm not the type of person you want to start a fight with!"

"Because you're so tough, huh Caelyn, running away and changing your name all because you're afraid of some wealthy elitist, honestly you're pathetic and have caused nothing but trouble since you got here, so I hope the reason you came back is good enough."

"The reason I came back has nothing to do with you, so stand down."

"Would you two stop it? We're all on the same side here. Ty is right about Drew. Until we know why he came and we're sure he's not a threat, he stays locked up. As for you Indie, where the hell have you been?" Leo snapped as he pushed Stitch away, walked towards us and split us up.

I walked with Leo to one of our spots while Ty resumed his interrogation. "So… why are you here, and what does it have to do with me knowing that you’re Liberty?" Leo eventually asked, getting straight to the point.

"Who said any of this is connected to Liberty?"

"Don't, don't do that. You don't get to just show up after three years and act as if nothing has changed. You walked away, up and left in the middle of the night. Eventually, I got over that, but this, what you're doing right now, is crossing the line. It nearly killed me to find you on the doorstep like that, and it meant everything when Stitch fixed you up, but Ty is right, trouble follows you wherever you are, because you still think you can live two separate lives, one as Indie and one as Liberty, but the reality is no matter what you call yourself, you'll always be running."

"That's actually why I came back. I'm done running. Delilah is planning something big, something dangerous, the E.A.D tasked me with finding out what she's planning and to report back, once I've done that, I'm out of the game, Liberty will vanish into obscurity so I can come back to my life."

Leo looked at me and shook his head as he got to his feet. "When are you going to stop kidding yourself? Liberty is the guise you hide behind when you need to protect people. Indie is the guise you hide behind to protect yourself, but in reality, you're only hiding from who you actually are, Caelyn Lewis. Until you own your past, you'll never stop running. There's always going to be someone who needs help or a city that needs saving, but you have to be doing it for the right reasons. I'm not mad that you left. I know you've been helping other people, working with Ratchet and the rest of the E.A.D. However, you didn't even say so much as a goodbye. The only reason I even knew you were alive was the care packages you kept sending. You and I, we were a team, we made a pact, we told each other things, and now you're home again, you're sneaking around behind my back."

"You're right, okay? I should've told you what I was doing when I left. Put your mind at ease and I shouldn't have lied to Linc. When I left in the middle of the night, I thought I was protecting you. I knew that if I'd told you I was leaving, that I might not come back, you'd have insisted on coming too, but it didn't feel right doing that. The Paragon was your home as much as it was mine. I just wanted to make sure you were safe, away from me and the death that seems to follow. I only came back here to apologise for the way I managed things before. Now look at the chaos that's followed me since. I'm done putting you at risk."