the final mission

18

Roddy sat.

And she bled.

The blood was soaking into the fabric of the magnificent dress she had on, but at that point she didn't care. Livant Ders sat lifeless beside her.

Kai stood in the middle of the platform, watching as chaos erupted around him. Everyone was frantically trying to exit, but he didn't plan on leaving unless it was with Roddy.

As he strode into the hallway that he emerged from, he smelt something burning. He looked down the hall and saw a fire sizzling down the hall.

And it was coming.

Fast.

He hurried back to the platform and sprinted. He lept onto one of the seats and landed harshly on the seats. Kai could not find Roddy anywhere and he did not have a phone with him.

Panicking was not an option for Roddy. She had kept her eyes on Kai almost the entire time and was hoping he wouldn't move anymore. She pushed herself off the seat and lifted her injured arm, realizing the damage wasn't even too bad.

Roddy places her two fingers in her mouth and whistled. Going to stupid survival camps when she was younger really came in handy. That was a DIY rape whistle.

Kai's eyes shot up at her. His posture relaxed and his frown left his face, until he realized that they had very limited time to get out of there before turning into crisps.

"Follow me!" Kai mouthed as he gestured towards a stairwell that nobody seemed to be using. Kai snorted at the fact that even in times of need, upper class people still thought they were too entitled for the stairs.

It was a battle against time as the two pushed through crowds and jumped over seats. Roddy loved the exhilaration while Kai wondered how she was originally going to pull that off alone.

After about five minutes of them running at max speed, their paths crossed. Kai flung open the door for Roddy and gently pushed her in. Kai and Roddy turned around as he beheld the scene before them.

In a strange way, it was beautiful, serene almost.

★★★

"Do you want a quarter pounder or a double quarter pounder?" Kai took a glance at the bleeding girl beside him. Her arm was wrapped up and a gash on the side of her face was stitched, curtesy of him.

"Double quarter pounder with extra bacon, a large fry, and a vanilla milkshake." Kai grinned and asked the drive through lady for two of the order.

When their food arrived, they drove to a nearby building with rooftop parking. The two of them sat in the back of the Range Rover, staring at the sunrise laid out before them.

Kai took an exaggerated intake of breath as he inspected the girl beside him. There was a slight upwards tilt of her mouth that wasn't quite a smile. He found it to be absolutely adorable.

"Not gonna lie," she started, taking a decent bite out of her sandwich, "that was the most fun I've had in awhile. I'm glad you came along." Kai grinned at her, feeling mutual.

"Roddy, why did you bring the boys and I to your house?" Roddy raised an eyebrow at the question. She had expected him to ask it much sooner. It wasn't everyday you get kidnapped.

"Stockholm Syndrome already?" Roddy grinned at her own joke and it enlarged when she saw Kai's unamused facial expression. When she realized Kai was being serious, she sighed. Roddy started the car and drove him to a sight where police and firefighters were attempting to walk through rubble.

"What is this?" Roddy did not answer him for a few moments. He asked again. "Roddy?"

Roddy pulled a recent news article on her phone and handed it to him. The headline immediately rendered him speechless.

FLORES HOUSE BURNED TO GROUND: 50 DEAD

"Your house, it was burned. Someone was planning on murdering you and your three buddies." Kai's jaw went slack and his eyes widened in disbelief. There were no witnesses due to the house being situated on a large lot far off from other people.

"I don't care about that stupid house," Roddy's demeanor softened when she noticed the watery complexion of Kai's earthy orbs, "I care about my family."

Kai arose and began pacing. He didn't know what he was going to do. Everything was located in that house.

Everything.

"Karissa, Kolton, and Kassandra. They were my younger siblings. I was supposed to die before them. Me!" Kai collapsed onto the ground and his body convulsed as his whimpers rang through the packed driveway. No one paid him heed as the police, ambulance workers, and firefighters continued inspecting the house.

"My beautiful parents. Everyone loved them. I just don't get it. Why? Why me?  I should have left. All of them had beautiful lives ahead of them. I don't think I can do this anymore." The whimpers continued as he sat on the ground.

Roddy lifted his crying figure into her arms. She held him tighter than she had ever held a gun. She assured him with more conviction than she had ever commanded a mission. She cared for him more than she had any other.

"Kai? Kai! Look at me." Roddy gently lifted his chin with her index finger. "You are not gonna die. The boys need you. I need you."

"I depend on you. You depend on me. Mr. Flores left work behind and you will continue it because you're the only one who can. I might've not known him too well, but I do know that he's gonna slap you if he sees you anytime soon."

Kai's lips upturned.

He reminisced the times his dad pushed him to work hard and become a better man. Kai realized that Roddy was right.

Roddy leaned in extra close to wipe the water from Kai's eyes. He felt tired all of a sudden, the stress from the last few weeks finally catching up to him.

He vaguely remembered Roddy helping him into the passenger seat of the car.

She leaned over and kissed his forehead.

Kai fell asleep with a grin on his face.

Roddy made him happy.

He was content.