Chapter 20: Give Her Back

"I see… That's not a lot of time."

"We've worked with less."

Jay Pritchett looked down with his hands in his pockets. Nodding at their words, he knew this was a challenging situation. It was eight at night; they had only four hours left to find his granddaughter. Meaning they were short on time to save Alex from those monsters.

"Listen, Jay." His old friend, Alvin Olinsky, grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. "We'll do everything we can to find her. If we can't, intelligence has an emergency cache of money we use for these types of situations."

"Al's right. One way or another, we'll get your granddaughter back. You have my word." Voight declared as he stood next to Alvin.

"Thank you… Thank you so much." Jay whispered in an unsteady voice.

"Don't thank us just yet." Voight told him as he pulled out his phone. "I'm going to call Antonio; we need to get the ball rolling immediately. Meet me back at HQ when you're done."

Voight spoke to Alvin. The grizzled detective nodded his head. Voight then looked at Jay and nodded; he grabbed his jacket and left. Jay and Alvin stood in the pool room of his home. No words were exchanged between the men.

"Alvin… I'm sorry. About what happened before. I shouldn't-"

"Water under the bridge, old friend." Alvin gave Jay a small smile. "Let's focus on finding your granddaughter first. You can buy me a drink after."

Jay chuckled as he laid an arm on Alvin's shoulder. He was grateful for his friend coming in his time of need. It was more than what he deserved. He was genuinely appreciative.

"Jay, I need to talk to your son and the boy that was shot. I need any information they can give about what they saw." Alvin spoke in a severe tone.

Jay nodded and guided him down to where his family was located. Once on the main floor, a few of his family members raised their heads at them. Jay walked up to his wife and son; bending down, he rubbed Manny's shoulder.

"Manny. I need you to be strong and talk to my old friend there. He's a detective with the police. I need you to tell him everything you saw today." Jay said in a calm and firm voice. "Can you do that?"

Manny nodded and slowly stood up. Jay watched as Manny walked over to Alvin. The two started quietly speaking. Alvin had a notebook in his hand. Jay then smiled proudly at his son. Gloria stood up and hugged his side; rubbing her arm, Jay kissed the top of her head.

"Will he help us find Alex?" Gloria whispered.

"Yes, I know he will. He and his team are the best of the best." Jar answered; he then scanned the room. "Where's Harvey? Alvin needs to talk to him, too."

"I think I saw him out front with Luke."

Jay nodded and kissed her once more. Rubbing her shoulder, he let go and headed towards the front door. Opening it, he spotted Luke standing in the driveway. His grandson didn't move an inch. Looking around, Jay couldn't seem to find Harvey.

"Luke, where's Harvey?"

Luke slowly turned to him. Jay has never seen his grandson with such an expression in his entire life. The boy was always a bit dumb, but he had his moments of brilliance. So, to see him with a face as intense and steadfast was a shocking experience.

"He went to go get Alex."

"…what?"

•••

"This part always sucks." Josh spoke, he was leaning back on a chair. "We should've brought a radio or something."

"Be quiet, Josh." Tray responded. "I'm getting a headache. You complain too damn much."

Alex, Josh, Tray, Brandon, and Zack occupied the garage. Drake stepped out to handle some other business in private. Leaving behind the remaining men to their devices. Alex was still tied up but no longer had her blindfold on. Zack took it off, considering it possibly pushed her glasses into her face.

"Tch. Fucking uptight prick." Brandon whispered from the weapons table. "Never lets me do what I want."

Zack opened one of his eyes and stared at Brandon's back. He leaned next to a stack of boxes near Alex's seat. He looked at the girl as she kept her head down and stayed silent. With a grimace, Zack turned away from the sight. He never did like the waiting period.

"Yo, Tray. You got any more smokes?" Josh asked, walking up to the man in question.

"Nah, man. Just used my last one ten minutes ago."

"Damn. You think Drake will get us a pack, if I ask?" Josh asked as he held his phone in his hand, wiggling it.

"Only if you don't mind a bullet in your thigh." Tray responded with a chuckle. "Poor Sam. Should've known better than to ask for a bigger cut. Let it be known; never ask Drake for anything."

"Yikes, I almost forgot about that." Josh laid his phone on the table with all their plans and documents. A ping on his phone alerted him to a new message.

"Hmm. Alright." Josh clapped his hands and got everyone's attention. "Drake said it's time to wrap things up. The drop is two hours away, so let's get all our shit packed up."

A chorus of agreement sounded out in the room. All the men, minus Brandon, started moving around to gather their materials. Brandon turned from the weapons table, a massive frown on his face.

"I'm sick of Drake always telling us what to do. Always having everyone else do most of the work while he's off playing with his balls." Brandon complained. "He even gets the bigger cut! What the heck is up with that!"

"Man, shut up. You're lucky he hasn't thrown your body into the sea. You fuck up more than anyone else here." Tray spoke up from where he was placing some boxes into the back of the black van. "That kind of talk is gonna get you killed one day."

"See! Everyone else just rides his dick too! I can't stand it!" Brandon waved his arms around. "We should cut him out of this deal! Once we get the money, we pop one into his back. Divide his money up, and BAM! We're richer for it!"

"Brandon, if you don't shut the fuck-"

"Quite! Do you all hear that?"

Josh yelled at Zack, a finger in front of his lips. Everyone grew silent as they tried to listen to whatever Josh heard. Slowly, they heard a low rumble, almost like a roar from outside. Brandon looked confused as he lifted his hand next to his ear.

"The fuck? Is that a-"

CRASH

Brandon wasn't allowed to finish as a hooded man on a motorcycle crashed through one of the garage's upper windows. The man hopped off the black bike, causing it to fly in Brandon's direction. Brandon could only scream as the bike crashed into his body, smashing him and knocking over all the weapons.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

Josh yelled as he saw his crewmate be crushed. He then spun around and saw the hooded man stand up from the ground. Seeing the figure in a leather jacket and hoodie caused Josh to sweat. The hooded man grabbed the chain on his chest and whipped it out. Somehow, the chain ignited itself in fire!

"Move! Get to cover!" Zack ordered as all the men broke out of their stupor. Tray rolled to the ground just as the fiery chain was about to slam into his face.

•••

Alex sat there with her eyes wide in shock and disbelief. Someone just crashed through a window while driving a motorcycle! The bike went flying in that disgusting man's direction, smashing him. Alex wasn't sure if that killed him, but she couldn't bring herself to care. The hooded man started swinging his fiery chain around, trying to hit the men who abducted her. How was that possible!? Did he cover the chain in some flammable substance and ignite it?

Alex could only grunt as the gag prevented her from speaking. Could this reckless individual be here to help her? She desperately hoped that was the case. The man stopped his wild rampage and turned to her; it seemed that he then sighed deeply. Nodding his head, the hooded man then ran in the direction of the man named John, Who was trying to make a phone call. Only for his hand to be caught in the grasp of the flaming chain.

"AHH! FUCK!"

Josh yelled out loudly. It appeared that having mere contact with the chain caused tremendous pain. Without pausing, the hooded man dashed towards Josh and punched him. Josh was launched into the wall, a loud smack echoing. As the hooded man was about to attack John again, his head snapped up, and he rolled to the side, landing behind some crates.

BANG BANG BANG

It was well-timed. If it was a second later, the hooded man would have been peppered with bullets. Alex turned her head and saw Tray. He had an angry expression as he held a pistol in his hand. Eventually, she saw the man who took off her blindfold, Zack, run around a column with something in his arms. It appeared to be a shotgun in his hands.

"You piece of shit! Come out!"

Tray then ran to the side of the room to get a better angle at the hooded man. When he rounded the corner, his face lit up in surprise.

"What? He not there!"

BAM

Turning her head, Alex saw Zack lie on the ground with the hooded man on top of him. He was unleashing a volley of powerful punches. Zack did his best to defend himself; it was only due to his more significant musculature that he could hold out for so long.

"Motherfucker!"

Tray ran up to the two and aimed his gun. The hooded man threw what appeared to be a police baton at Tray's hands, knocking the gun out of his hands. With a yell of pain, Tray held his injured hand, only to look up and receive a blinding fast kick to his stomach. Tray bent over and gasped. The hooded man didn't give him time to collect himself as he grabbed his head and delivered a nose-breaking knee strike.

Alex felt relief as this lone man was slowly defeating every one of her captors. If he was indeed here to help her, she would be free in minutes! Suddenly, her eyes widened; Alex remembered that one man was left! The very one that was in charge! She needed to try and warn him, but all she could do was grunt and make incoherent noises.

Alex froze when she felt something metallic and cold press on her temple. Slowly looking up, she saw the very man she was worried about—an angry expression on his face.

"Take another step, and I'll blow this kid's brains all over the damn floor!"

•••

Harvey froze midstep. His eyes grew wide in terror as he looked at the man holding a gun to Alex's head. A cold sweat enveloped his body.

'There was one more!'

Harvey screamed in his head. Spirit cursed in his mind.

'In focusing so strongly on the movements of the people inside the garage, I forgot to think about more people being involved!' Spirit raged.

"Hands up. Now."

Harvey had no choice but to follow the man's order. He couldn't risk Alex's life, no matter what. The tall man looked around the room; everyone he attacked groaned on the floor. Harvey couldn't properly knock them out as he switched from one another. He had to keep moving and chip away at them. Otherwise, he would have been shot.

"Josh, Tray, Zack. Get up already." The man ordered. "Take his weapons."

Slowly, one of the men got up. He walked up to him and removed his chain from his chest. Patting him down, he also found his other baton and removed it. Seeing no other weapons on him, the man threw a strong punch at his stomach.

"Geh!"

Harvey landed on his knees, holding his stomach. He tried to regain his breath when he felt a powerful strike hit his back. Landing on his face, Harvey turned and saw the man he burned with his chain in the beginning, holding a steel pipe. The man glared down angrily at him.

"AH!"

Harvey yelled as he was kicked in his leg right over where he was shot. Glaring up, he saw the remaining man, a cold smile on his lips. The men didn't continue but looked at the man holding the gun to his friend's head. The man nodded and spoke.

"Go on, pay him back for everything. Throw in some payback for Brandon, too."

'HARVEY!' Spirit yelled.

Harvey cursed and threw his arms around his head. The three men then started beating him. They took turns so as not to get in the other's way. Zack, the more prominent man, was raining punches down on his face and arms. Josh, the skinny blonde man, kept hitting him with his pipe at his midsection. Tray, the man with a bun on his head, kicked away at his leg wound. Blood started to leak, causing a small puddle to form beneath him. After what felt like forever, the men stopped.

"Bring him here."

Harvey felt his body be lifted up and dragged. He was then positioned so he would be on his knees—the two men, Josh and Tray, holding him in place.

"I've heard about you. The city's scary vigilante. The one who hunts down criminals and beats them down like wild dogs." The man spoke. "You even do something that makes them cry like little girls. So, who are you?"

Zack walks over, rips his hood off, and pulls his face mask down. Harvey saw Alex whimper, and her eyes widened. Tray's eyes grow in realization.

"Hey, this is that kid that ran after the van! The one from today!"

"Is that so?" The one in charge said. "What's your name?"

"…ve her... back."

"What?"

"Give her back."

Harvey struggled to say. He felt lightheaded and was starting to go numb. His entire body hurt. More than ever before. His face was bloody and bruised; Harvey guessed his torso was in no better shape. Looking down at his leg, he saw the trail of blood from where he was dragged. Harvey gritted his teeth and growled.

"Give her BACK!"

"Hm, I don't think so." The man then looked to his men. "This changes nothing. He's not with the police. Being a highly sought-after vigilante known as Vengeance won't keep him in the cop's good graces. Get everything loaded; it's time to start heading over to the meeting place."

"Drake, what do we do about the kid?" Zack asked.

BANG BANG BANG

"Leave him."

Harvey looked down and saw blood slowly seep out of his shirt and hoodie. No longer being held up by the two men, Harvey falls forward, a few feet away from Drake and Alex. Harvey slowly looks up at his friend. Alex's face was one of sheer horror; tears streamed down her face as she rocked in her chair, screaming through her gag.

Harvey sees the corners of his sight start to blur and darken. Looking up, he notices Alex get picked up, chair and all, and placed inside a black van alongside some boxes. They maintain eye contact all the while Drake and his men finish loading up. Once they were done, they closed the back doors of the van. Before the doors were fully closed, Harvey saw Alex's grieving face. Her head was shaking as she sat helplessly.

The men then opened the garage door and began to drive off, leaving behind Harvey, who remained on the floor. A puddle of blood was growing underneath him; it expanded to reach Harvey's face. Coating his cheek in his blood.

"...Alex."

Harvey's eyes finally closed, no longer having the strength to stay awake.

•••

Spirit's flaming skull floated within the shared soul space between it and Harvey. The once fierce waves of fire that made up the walls were now but slow-burning embers—illuminating the dark space in a weak orange light. Spirit looked down and saw the metaphysical form of Harvey; he was floating in the space with his eyes closed. Spirit shifted his form and peered down at Harvey's chest, at the slow, almost imperceptible expansions of his lungs. Harvey was still alive, perhaps for a few more seconds.

"...Listen well, partner."

Spirit's form floated closer to Harvey until It was five feet away.

"For tonight, I will tell you my true name."

Spirit slowly opened its fiery jaw; its teeth made of fire burned white. With a quick snap, Spirit clamped down on Harvey's form. Gradually, Spirit's white flames became red, starting from the bottom of its jaw, and steadily wrapped itself to the top of his fiery skull. The now red skull made of flames slowly began to solidify, becoming a solid, tangible skull.

It became pitch black without any fire to illuminate the soul space. The still and eerie red skull that was Spirit remained floating in nothingness. That was until an explosion of magnificent blue fire consumed it. Causing a blinding blue light to shine through the infinite void they were in.

"My name is... Zarathos."