Heartless || •OG• ✔️

Chapter 43 - Jericho

Two and a half weeks after June died and Asa got shot, the group was still in the pub. They stayed quiet and chose to settle down for the time being. The only difference was, they did watch shifts again. After the Jimin and Ariel incident, they were worried about more intruders. None ever came. They never had to deal with their neighbors or law enforcement either. It wasn't like the old man had family. If he disappeared, no one would notice. He spent most of his time off the grid anyway.

Jericho was in his room with Charlotte. Their relationship was sitting in an interesting spot. Jericho enjoyed her company, and he knew she felt the same. He came up behind her and stared out the window, watching the morning rain hit the glass. It was getting warmer, so at least they didn't have to worry as much about the heating bills. Less heat, more money saved.

Asa was in rough shape. Walking was an issue; he was limping rather than moving. On the bright side, Theo's shoulder was much better. At least one injury was healing. Theo predicted that he could coax Asa into sitting up. Contrary to what Theo thought at first, the gunshot didn't hit an artery. Good news, but how long would that last?

Charlotte placed her hand on Jericho's shoulder, giving it a small massage before she leaned her body against his. His lungs tightened from the intimacy, and his fingers dripped with moisture. After a beat, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her as close as they could get.

"Should we talk about London?" Charlotte asked. "We've put it off for too long."

Before Jericho could reply, there was a knock at the door. He answered, and it revealed the face of Kayden. Years of memories were resting in Kayden's eyes, yet he managed to push past them.

"We've been here two weeks now without any direction. Jimin's exhausted from doing night patrols, we should cut him some slack. What's our next move?" Jericho just noticed the smaller presence by Kayden's side. Ariel. Kayden directed his attention to the girl. "How's he holding up, by the way?"

"He's okay. Honestly, he seems better than ever. He still won't let me curse though," Ariel replied.

"That bastard."

"I know right?" Kayden ruffled her hair and turned back to Jericho, but Ariel snickered at the way Charlotte was peeking at them from behind Jericho. "Were you two having sex?"

"What? No," Jericho said, his jaw dropped.

"Really? Then where are those horse noises coming from?"

"Are you fucking with us right now?" Jericho asked, Ariel's smirk telling him that the answer was yes.

"Don't curse in front of her," a male voice said. Jericho saw the voice belonged to a shirtless Jimin, who was yawning and rubbing the sleep off of his face. His Dumbo plush was wrapped around his other arm, his eyes swollen from a night of slumber.

"Where's Ivan?" Kayden asked, Jimin blinking away his exhaustion.

"Bitch I just woke up."

"'Don't curse in front of me'," Ariel said, Jimin shooting her a playful glare.

Jimin glanced between Jericho and Kayden, reading Jericho's mood. They gave each other an unnoticeable nod before Jimin held out his hand to Ariel. Although perplexed, the girl took it and allowed him to guide her down the hall.

"Come on, kid. I'll make you breakfast," he said, giving them an excuse to depart the area. She agreed without complaint, Jericho making sure Jimin made it downstairs before turning back to Kayden.

"Plan?" Kayden asked.

"Well, we need to get to London, and we can't exactly check the plane times on the internet. The airport's far, but it's worth it to get that information. How about we have someone go and check the times and locations of the planes. You buy tickets for us for a London plane, we go back on the day they liftoff, then bam, we're in London. Sound good?"

Kayden froze up. "Wait a second. When did 'someone' become 'me'?"

"Well Kay, Jimin's making breakfast for the kid. Wouldn't want to interrupt that, hm?" Kayden grumbled a curse. "And Ivan's blind. Do you really want to make a blind man do that job?"

"To be fair to myself, that'd be fucking hilarious."

"You're such a piece of shit," Jericho said, Kayden not denying that. "Charlotte and I are more wanted than you. Disguises or not, there's a higher chance of us getting noticed at an airport of all places. That makes you the best candidate. You used to be Char's right hand, you can handle it."

"Yeah and now her current right hand is making bacon and eggs for a teenager that acts older than him."

"The jealousy is showing, Mr. Armani."

"Oh for fuck's sake," Charlotte said from behind them, pushing Jericho out the door. "Don't be a pussy. Put on a disguise and go on a date with Kayden. Get all the info you can about the planes and don't come back until you bought tickets for all of us. Take our IDs if you have to, I don't care. Just get it done."

She shut the door for good measure, Jericho staring at the wood. "Does that mean we're going to the airport?" Kayden asked, and Jericho recovered from his shock to instead turn to face Kayden.

"We're going to the airport."

~~~

The airport was crowded, people bumping into each other and not apologizing for it. Phone conversations were the loudest in the room. Jericho wasn't sure how to react to any of it. The benches and seats laid out were all filled, meaning they couldn't wait in comfort. They were stuck standing in the giant line, risking getting knocked over by anyone nearby.

Kayden was running a hand through his hair to pat it back. It got shorter. All of them were prioritizing self-care with the time they were given to settle down. Jericho preferred his hair at a medium-length. It was straight and curtained his head, shaping his cheeks well. That was what Jericho liked to think anyway. Not that anyone could see it. He was wearing a ginger wig that was down to his neck. It felt like he was wearing a mullet.

That was without mentioning how he begged Charlotte to help him blend in more. So, she gave him makeup to cover the scars on his face. Same with Kayden. They decided to not use contacts so they could at least somewhat match their ID pictures. Kayden wasn't wearing a wig or much in the way of a disguise. His confidence was something Jericho was envious of, which was ironic considering Kayden was never the confident type. Time had changed both of them, it seemed.

Tickets were so close yet so far. There was a London flight a week from now that was at a perfect time with perfect seats available. That was what they got from the terminals and workers around. They asked almost every uniformed person they found.

"Do you want to address the elephant in the room?" Kayden asked without looking at Jericho. He squinted as if that would help him hear better. Chatter surrounded the place, and the bright lights dozens of feet above his head didn't help to calm his senses. Each sense of his was battling for dominance. His ears won, but it took quite a while for it to be that way.

"What elephant?"

"Us. What can I do to help you forgive me?" Kayden asked.

It was then that Jericho saw their fight. The one that separated them for seemingly ever. However, life had a funny way of reuniting people who didn't want to be reunited. That wasn't what Jericho wanted to think about, but Kayden was of course bringing it up. Dwelling on the past was Jericho's new hobby, apparently. First with Kayden, then with a secret he wished he didn't have to keep.

"It's more about getting used to being around you, not forgiveness. Not that forgiving you is easy either."

"Are you ever gonna admit that your power trip was stupid and childish as hell?" Kayden asked, his voice harsher than Jericho had ever heard it.

"Power is the key to a secure future. I wanted a secure future for us, and you walked away from it."

"Oh here we go again. You did it to protect me? Everything that made us friends was gone the second you tried to get power," Kayden said, keeping his tone lower than Jericho was expecting. "I became a number in your system, nothing more. I lost myself in the process; I don't know who I am anymore. You can lie to yourself all you want about how fucking egotistical you are, but it doesn't change the truth. Was leaving harsh? Yeah, unlike you, I won't lie. It was harsh of me to leave you, especially when I ended up right back where I started. None of that changes how you were acting. You sent me on missions that were unnecessary and deadly. No matter what I said, you sent me on those missions and pretended I was okay with it when I told you I wasn't. You disrespected me and everyone around you."

Jericho set his jaw and didn't reply. There was a woman in front of them, waiting in line. He focused on her instead. Her hair was light like Charlotte's, but she was much taller. She was as tall as Jericho, and she wasn't wearing heels.

"Nothing to say?" Kayden asked.

It wasn't a pushy question. Kayden didn't pry. He wasn't known for prying, and that was what made he and Jericho such a unique match. Jericho didn't give much information, and Kayden was fine with that. Asking questions was often a detriment to Jericho's cause. Too many questions made Jericho suspicious of who he was working with. Back when he was a right hand, he never asked questions. If it was important, he'd be told about it.

Kayden was awaiting the answer. The problem with that was Jericho had no answer. However, he forced himself to come up with one. It was a terrible sentence he didn't wish to say, but the alternative was telling him he was right. That wasn't something he was ready for. He doubted he ever would be.

"Nothing to say."

~~~
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