The day of the betrayal, Isla had been at school, drawing with crayons. Most of the other five year olds would have opted to spend recess running around, playing with friends on the slide or making castles together in the sandbox, but she sat alone at a small plastic table, doodling.

Her kindergarten teacher appeared behind her. “What are you drawing there, Isla?”

Isla snatched the paper up and crumpled it, but she could tell from the teacher’s concerned expression that she had already caught a glimpse.

“Go away,” Isla told her, turning away.

The teacher smiled as brightly as she could, hoping it didn’t look as forced as it was.

“Guess what?” she said. “Your mother’s here to pick you up now. She’s waiting inside.”

Isla frowned. “But it isn’t go home time yet.”

“Yes, well…” The young woman took a deep breath, and Isla could sense her nervousness. Or was it anxiety? “She wanted to spend some extra time with you today, so she’s going to take you home now, okay?”

Liar.

She quietly got up and followed her teacher back inside to her classroom, her classmates watching as she left. She’d gotten used to their stares and loud whispering a long time ago, but it didn’t make her feel any better. At school, she was always the center of attention. And she hated it.

Her mother stood at the entrance of the classroom, firmly grabbing onto her older brother’s hand. Isla could only remember bits and pieces of what she looked like- black hair in a bob cut and a burn scar on her right hand. She wore a simple red dress and a stuffed backpack. Her older brother she couldn’t remember at all, besides the fact that he was two years older than her and a big purple bruise on his cheek.

The two women exchanged a brief hug.

“Are you sure about this?” Her teacher asked. “There’s still the other options we discussed.”

“I’m sure.” Isla’s mother exhaled shakily. “But if they come for you too-”

“I’ll be fine. You just get to the airport as fast as you can. Don’t take the highway, there’s been a major accident. And don’t call me or anyone else around here.”

“Okay. Okay, I won’t.” Fighting back tears, her mother grabbed Isla’s hand. “Thank you for everything.”

“Of course.” Her teacher knelt down and gave Isla one last smile. “You’re strong, Isla. The strongest student I’ve ever had. So make sure you take care of your mom and brother for me. Promise?”

Clinging to her mother’s leg, Isla didn’t meet her eyes, but she nodded slowly. She didn’t exactly understand what was going on, but she had a feeling that she wouldn’t be seeing her teacher again for a long time.

And neither would anyone else.

She couldn't remember much about what happened after that. They’d thrown their school backpacks into the back of a taxi and started driving. Her brother had been quiet the whole time. She’d asked her mother a question- maybe about where they were going? And her mother had said something about her grandparents.

Then the gunshots started- four terrifyingly loud noises that she’d never heard before. They peppered the front of the car and shattered the front windshield. Isla’s mother had screamed and yanked the two kids downwards by their shirts into a ducking positions.

The car swerved and slammed into a tree. The front airbags exploded into position. Disoriented, Isla looked around the car and saw a red liquid oozing down the back of the driver’s seat in front of her. If she hadn’t been in shock, she might have realized what it was right away.

“Isla. Isla, look at me.”

She groggily turned to look at her mother’s face, who had cuts on her face from broken glass. Suddenly, Isla’s seatbelt was unfastened, and her mother scooped her into arms. With her right arm, she grabbed her backpack, instructing Isla’s brother to open the door and hop out. Isla closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, they were running through empty residential streets, Isla’s mother screaming for someone, anyone, to help her and her kids.

But nobody came.

At some point, Isla’s mother became unable to carry her any further. She set Isla down and they continued as fast as they could on foot, but Isla could barely keep up as her mother frantically led them through a series of streets and alleyways.

“Mommy,” Isla gasped. “Mommy, I’m tired. Carry me again.”

Her mother didn’t hear her. Her head was darting around, trying to decide which way they were going next.

“Mommy-”

Bang!

Isla’s leg was on fire. She screamed, falling to the floor, looking down at where the bullet had grazed her leg, a little bit below her knee. The sight of blood registered this time, making her nauseous.

She looked to her mother, who looked back in horror. With a start, Isla realized her mother wasn’t actually looking at her- she was looking behind her.

“Where are you going?”

The cold anger that had been spoken into the air made Isla freeze. She couldn’t move, but she knew exactly who was crouched down behind her, his .44 caliber revolver in his hand. He grabbed her by the back of the head and pushed her down into the pavement.

Isla looked back to her mother and brother. She couldn’t see her mother’s face.

“Help me,” she whimpered.

Her mother took a step backwards. Her brother shouted, trying to run towards her, but her mother pulled him back.

No. Don’t leave.

Her mother turned around, pulling her brother along as she ran.

Don’t leave me.

She kept running, not even glancing back as she did.

Don’t leave me with him!

She reached the corner of the intersection, and Isla opened her mouth to scream.

“Don’t leave me!”

Immediately, a hand clamped over her mouth. “You’re going to get us caught.”

Isla wasn’t proud of her initial reaction, but she’d also just been knocked out after being on the run from ruthless armed criminals. She shoved away the figure in front of her and kicked them straight in the crotch, dropping them straight to their knees with a yelp.

She grabbed the person’s collar with her right hand and got ready to throw a punch, but froze when she saw who was in front of her. Light stubble, dark shoulder-length hair tied back in a ponytail, and heavy bags under his eyes. He wore brown cargo pants and a black sweater, a black bandanna tied around his neck.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“...You?” Isla said in equal parts disbelief and disgust.

Michael groaned in pain. “You’re being pretty rude to the guy who just saved your ass.”

Isla heard the sound of rushing water and glanced around. They were under a bridge spanning about 50 feet, with a small river passing under it. Nobody else was around as far as she could tell.

“For all I know, you’re the fucker who just knocked me out,” Isla snarled, tightening her grip on his collar.

He raised his hands in mock surrender. “Ya got me. I’m also definitely not the guy who saved you from three of your ‘friends’ about to put you in their car.”

Isla released him from her grip and winced, lifting up her injured ankle.

“Is it sprained?” he questioned.

“What the hell do you care?” Isla snapped. “Actually, why are you even here?”

“I’m here because you’re shit at being on the run.” Michael stood up and reached out towards her. “Give me your phone.”

“Uh, no-”

“Don’t say another word. We can either sit here and argue until your dad’s men find us, or you shut up, do as I say, and get out of this without a scratch,” Michael told her plainly. “I’m not going to ask you to trust me. Hell, if I were you, I wouldn’t. But I’m not doing this of my own will or out of the kindness of my heart in the first place, so you don’t have to trust me. But there’s two things that you do have to understand: A: I’m not an idiot, and B: I’m trying to get you out of this.”

Isla gritted her teeth. As far as she could tell, he wasn’t lying. “Did Sophia send you after me or something?”

Michael scoffed. “Do you really think she’d ask that of me, of all people?"

Fair enough, Isla thought. She reached into her pocket and took out her phone, offering it. “What do you need it for?”

“Oh, nothing much.” With minimal effort, he tossed the phone into the river.

Isla yelped, running to the river’s edge, but the phone had already sunk to the bottom and was no longer visible. She turned back to glare at Michael. “What the hell?!”

“That’s how they’ve been tracking you this whole time,” he informed her. “Did you really think it was blind luck that they were everywhere you went, no matter how far you ran? They were tracking your phone’s GPS.”

“T-that… can’t be possible,” Isla stammered. “Sophia gifted me that phone. The security on it is top notch-”

“Is it a Futurebound model?”

“No, but-”

“Then it’s bypassable. You know what the Demons are like firsthand. Your father probably had them put some kind of software on it while you were sleeping or something.”

Isla opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Michael was right- she should have known better. How could she have been so stupid? Her father was capable of anything under the right circumstances.

“The bridge made it harder to pinpoint exactly where we are, but they’re still going to be in the area,” Michael continued. “I can get us out without getting caught, but you have to follow my lead. That means doing as I say, exactly when I say it. Alright?”

“No,” Isla replied. “I’m not taking orders from a psychopath.”

“Oh, okay.” Michael brought his hands to his face in a shouting gesture. “Hey, Demons! I’ve got your girl right here-”

“Fuck, alright, alright!” Isla snapped. “I’ll do what you say!”

A small smile formed on Michael’s lips, which surprised her. She’d only ever seen a bored, almost apathetic expression on his face at school.

“Alright, then.” He pulled the bandanna up over his face. “Let’s go.”

----------------------------------------

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Jin Ikari!” the Commissioner yelled. “City police! Open up!”

Silence. The Commissioner slammed on the door thrice more.

“Maybe he’s not home,” Lieutenant Singh suggested anxiously.

“His car’s in the lot.” She glared at her fellow officer. “If you’re not up for this, I’m happy to talk to him myself, Lieutenant.”

“No! No, I just…” Singh sighed. “Sorry, Commissioner.”

She reared her hand back to knock on the door again, but a deep, calm voice spoke from behind the door. “Show me your warrant.”

“I just have a few questions,” the Commissioner said. “About your daughter, Isla.”

The door swung open, revealing a middle aged Japanese man in a black bathrobe. His beard and short black hair was neatly trimmed and combed, though still wet from an apparent shower. His thick eyebrows were raised in mock surprise.

“Commissioner Prentice. Didn’t think you’d come to see me personally.” He glanced at the Lieutenant. “Police Lieutenant Mohan Singh. How’s your wife doing? She’s five months in, isn’t she?”

Singh flinched. “Wha- you...”

“Be careful out there,” Jin cautioned. “Growing up without a father can be very tough. I wouldn’t want your child to go through that.”

“Is that a threat?” the Commissioner asked quietly.

Jin chuckled, stepping outside onto the porch. “Oh, not at all. Just making sure he, ah... understands his priorities.”

The Commissioner didn't understand a lick of Hindi, but she could understand that Singh was muttering curses. She crossed her arms and stared straight into Jin's eyes.

“Your daughter has been on the run and involved in multiple violent incidents since this morning, yet you didn’t contact the police yourself or make any further inquiries. You didn’t even answer her high school’s calls asking where she was. Care to explain yourself as her legal guardian?”

“Yes, well…” Isla's father sighed. “My daughter and I have… difficulties communicating. She rarely ever listens to what I say no matter what, and usually spends most of the day outside before coming home at night. She’s skipped school before, too. No matter how many times I scold her or try to guide her into making better choices, she constantly chooses to go against me. Still…” He paused momentarily. “She’s my daughter. If I had known that she was doing… things she wasn’t supposed to, I would have immediately gone looking for her myself to stop her.”

“I'm sure you would have,” the lieutenant muttered darkly.

The Commissioner took a deep breath. “Do you have any idea of why she’s being heavily pursued by the Demons? Any odd changes in her behaviour recently?”

“Hmm…” Jin shrugged. “Not a clue, but Isla has violent tendencies. It’s possible she got into a fight with one of them and it caused this whole manhunt.”

“I see. Where were you around two and a half hours ago?”

Jin gestured towards his home. “Here. I haven’t stepped out anytime today.”

“Can you prove that?”

“...I think I’ve humoured this idiocy enough.” He closed his door behind him. “Last I checked, this isn’t a court of law, and you don’t have a warrant. But if I may, Commissioner…” Jin took a step forwards, towering over her. His expression was that of icy disdain. “You need to understand your limits.”

The Commissioner raised her eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“You’re always stretching yourself beyond your means, beyond what you’re capable of dealing with. You think of yourself as someone strong and noble. But in reality, you’re just a lone, frail woman up against something you don’t fully understand, trying to cater to your sense of ‘justice’ and the gratification it gives you. Honestly, you don’t actually care about helping my daughter, or even other people in this city, do you?”

“Are you finished?” The Commissioner growled. “Because if you are, I’m going to go get back to dismantling that something I don’t understand, piece by piece.”

“Really? I wonder what you’ll have to sacrifice this time,” he commented. “Or rather, who. From what I’ve heard, you lost quite a few officers during a sting operation years ago. How many was people was it again? Thirty?”

She froze in place, like a deer in headlights. A small smirk formed on the Demon’s face, clearly aware he’d struck the right nerve.

“Alright, we've wasted enough of our time,” Singh concluded. “Let’s go, Commissioner.”

"I see. Well, I hope I was of some help.” Jin opened his door and stepped back into the house, then turned around to face the two officers again. “Please let me know as soon as possible if you find my daughter.”

“We will,” Singh reassured him. “We’ll make sure to visit your cell.”

Jin laughed, genuinely amused. “Is that a threat?”

“Oh, not at all. Just making sure you understand your days are numbered.”

“Mhm. Have a good night, officers.” He shut the door and locked it with a click!

As they walked down the porch steps back towards the car, Lieutenant Singh asked, “What the hell was he talking about, Commissioner? There’s no record of any sort of sting operation where we lost that many people. That’d be headlines everywhere.”

The Commissioner stayed silent, but pulled out her cell phone and opened her contacts. She scrolled down a bit and stopped on a singular name: Michael Collins. Her thumb hovered over the ‘call’ button, and a fleeting memory popped in her head, one she’d been trying to forget.

That’s your problem, Rachel. You’d do anything for your damn justice. And she paid for it.

“...Rachel?” the Lieutenant prompted.

Gritting her teeth, the Commissioner pocketed the phone. “Let’s just get back to the station,” she told him. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

As she opened the door to her cruiser, she took one last look back at the house.

I’m coming for you, Jin Ikari.

She got into the car and slammed the door shut.