She sighed. Fuck it. They will believe whatever they want and there's nothing I can do to change their mind. Chloe turned and continued to walk. She had never been to the Bureau's facility before, but heard rumors of the multi-level so-called prison for supernatural criminals. Just like Dante's Inferno, there were different levels of the hell and it was supposedly based on how dangerous or how incapable a supe was to rehabilitate. Rene said there were four levels, but as she walked through the large doors that read "Level 6", she suspected that not only was the old Cajun terribly wrong, but if he was right that the higher the number, the worst a supe was classified, she was apparently in some deep shit.

Walking through Level 6 pulled a new fear out of her. She had been in jail before. A human's jail for stealing a gentleman's billfold. Yeah, that was downright comical to get out of once she found out what she could do. So easy, it made her wonder how humans could protect themselves from supes at all. Now the supes decided to take a page out of the human's book in civilization and build a prison that apparently was strong enough to keep the bad things inside. The echoes of metal slamming, electricity pulsing and some other otherworldly pulls of energy surrounded her as she walked down the path passed the watch station. Chloe saw some of the cells and they were not anything like a human jail cell. She had no idea who were in any of them. You couldn't see or hear anyone except for the guards and security outside the cells. A shiver went down her spine and she hated the vulnerability it signaled. She woke up to this life being trapped in a box. Dark. Alone. No one to hear her calls. It was a cruel existence.

I'll be damn if I go back to that again. That's not happening again. Ever.

How could another supernatural think of something like this?

The guards propelled her to a small office to the right of the watch station, where a suited man waited in a seat across a table. The closer she got, tension mounted in her joints as she recognized the smug face of her captor.

Ugh. Just kill me now and get it over with. Anything than to sit and take more shit from this one.

As she walked in, one guard shoved her into the empty seat. But not before she elbowed him with a hiss. "Watch it jerk!"

The guard found himself restrained by his partner as he took a step closer to her. Instead, they both looked at Hide, who sat patiently skimming through a manila file folder.

Hide cleared his throat. "That will be all, gentlemen. Please wait outside while I talk with Miss Hunter." He finally looked up, his glowing green eyes trained on Chloe. "This shouldn't take long."

Both guards nodded and stepped out of the office. Once the door was closed, Hide closed the file folder and slapped it on the table. "Chloe Hunter. Charges of mayhem, human trafficking, theft of mystic goods, bartering with demons and dayhounds, supernatural racketeering, numerous attacks on humans and the list goes on and on." Hide smoothed back is thick black hair and continued to glare at her. "You may be asking yourself how did you manage to fall into this deep level of shit."

Actually, she was just thinking about that earlier.

Chloe sat back. "Half of that crap you just listed wasn't even me! You give me far too much credit as the Boyettes didn't need me as much as you'd like to think." They were monsters without her. In fact, she managed to save a few necks that the boys would've cut down given half the chance. She wasn't looking for brownie points, but Chloe wasn't about to sit there and take all the credit. She stared into Nakamura's angry eyes, holding the same disgust the guard held for her. She was just wasting her time. The Tengu would hear none of her hero stories. Not when being the bad guy was far too comfortable for them. "I'm accountable for the shit I've done, alright? For the things I did have a hand in, I will gladly stand accountable. But I'm not taking the fall for all the shit the Boyettes have done!"

Hide slammed his fist on the table. A visible dent laid where his hand made contact. "You will stand accountable for every atrocity your brood has committed! Every time you stood by and let them do these things - you are accountable." He stood up. "What, do you think because you are half human we're to grant you special leniency for these crimes. You're no helpless creature. I've seen what you can do. It's sickening that you claim a human side when it's clear you possess no humanity."

Chloe leaned forward. "You don't know anything about me." They didn't. She had humanity. But every time she called to it, someone got hurt anyway. Either that, or she would be the one to get hurt.

Hide pointed at the folder. "Oh I know enough. It's supes like you that give us all a bad name! The reason our organization has to even exist. The other Boyettes we captured, Lucien and Deacon, have met their end, just over there in that chamber." He pointed beyond them to a steel enclosed room across the bank of cells. "The VHC came and took care of them personally. Because you're an anomaly--a part human anomaly, they refused to get involved with your fate. Otherwise, you wouldn't be sitting here now." Hide sighed. Though the Bureau wanted to try and spare the lives of all supes, he and Ethan learned a long time ago that some are beyond redemption. However, as a rule in this district, both of them had to agree in order for the Bureau to execute a criminal supe.

And sadly for Hide, Ethan took forever to review an inmate. He looked back at her. But she didn't know that. "We could be done with you by nightfall. A wooden stake or bullet to your chest and that's the end of you."

Chloe sighed. "Look, what do you want from me?"

"I want a confession and I want to know where the rest of your friends are hiding."

She couldn't help but scoff at his demands. He wanted to make sure there was no question about executing her. A confession would seal the deal. And the Boyettes? She had no more love for any of them. They were just part of the package when she fell in love with Edward. He was the youngest next to the twins Jaime and Emile, and every bit as dangerous. But when the world hated her, they were the ones to take her in and showed her how to survive within the shadows. They didn't shun her for being a freak. At least not a first. But once Alistair joined the rest of the brothers in Paris, everything turned a lot darker. A lot bloodier. It was because of Al's twisted sense of bucking authority (and Edward's need to follow), she fled the Old World and high-tailed it to the Americas. It wasn't soon till Edward found her and charmed his way back into her bed. Then the rest of the Boyettes followed. Living as a human was short-lived. All she knew was the easy way to live. To take like Edward and the others taught her. She could've kicked herself.

I was a monumental fool for getting wrapped up with them again. I know that. Maybe now I wouldn't be sitting here watching this pompous asshole look at me like I murdered a nun.

"Your guess is as good as mine where they are and trust me, I have no sympathy for them. Alistair likes to hang close to the crime. He's a vampire who believes in convenience, so I suggest you start looking at the seediest hideouts first. He's Victorian, so the more industrial, the better."

"Heh. No honor among thieves, right?"

What the hell did he want from her? She so desired to hit him now. Really fucking hard. It was so potent she imagined the feel of his blood on her knuckles.

One day, I'm going knock his fucking dick in the dirt.

She straightened her body, growing a cocky smirk on her face. "If you going to preach to me before offing me, I rather skip it. The afterlife sounds pretty awesome in comparison to listening to you balk at me like some desperate harpy." She feigned a yawn. "You're boring me to to tears, Tengu."

Hissing, Hide grabbed her chin forcing her to look at him. "You've got a smart mouth, rogue. Careful it doesn't finish you. You may think your tough, but I've spent a long time breaking supes. And you, sweetheart are no different. If death doesn't scare you, then maybe rotting away in one of these isolated cells may interest you." Hide watched the hint of horror widened her crimson eyes and he smiled like she revealed some great secret. "There's supes in here that have been locked up since we first built the place. Most are so loony, death would be kinder to them now. They refused to learn the err of their ways. Try as we might, rehabilitation may be beyond some."

A knot formed at the pit of her stomach as she glared at him. "You will not keep me cooped up here like some cockroach. Either kill me or set me free. I won't confess to any crime the boys did, but I'll track them down for you. Set me free and I'll hunt them to make it right."

Hide laughed. Hard. There she was, always trying to slither out the hangman's noose. "There's no way I'm trusting you out in society again. Dangerous hybrid like you. Can take anything you want. Feed from whomever you want. That's not happening." He crossed his arms. "Bet you wish you had your powers to break out of here and teach me a lesson, don't you?"

You have no idea.

Hide Nakamura grabbed the folder and moved towards the door. "If you won't confess, then you stay with us in your own little cell until we figure out what to do with you."

Chloe felt her fangs grow, one piercing the inside of her mouth. "Don't do this! Don't lock me away!"

Hide looked back with the door ajar. "Rot. Die. Makes no matter to me as long as you're not raising hell anymore. You make my skin crawl." With that, he signaled to the guards as he exited. Behind him echoing was the desperate screams of the hybrid inmate.

Struggling against the grips of the guards, Chloe kicked and screamed as reality hit her. They were gonna leave her powerless in a cage. Not again! "Don't do this to me! The bad ones are still out there! Don't make me pay for their crimes! Set me free or kill me! Nakamura! I'll help you catch them!" Fear, anger and uncertainty tangled with her fight or flight and something broke. A small chip at the stonewall hold they had over her powers. The moment she felt it, her body reacted.

Hide turned to see two guards fly through the air towards him as Chloe stood in her prison uniform. He saw her eyes darken as she heaved breaths. Shit. "She's loose! Shoot her!"

Chloe crouched low, ducking fire until she held out her hands to freeze the bullets in mid-air. There were times she would reverse the direction of the firing and take out her enemy with ease. She watched the horror in the faces of the guards as she stood there. They all looked at her like a monster. She just wanted to be left alone, but all they saw was a freak who could hurt them. She didn't understand why she cared to much, but...

She wanted to prove Nakamura wrong. She wasn't like the others.

Chloe eyed Hide across the walkway, his hand on his weapon. Once she gave up, maybe he would finally take her out. It's not like she gave him a choice this time. Far better than life in a box. Chloe lowered her hands and the assortment of ammunition dropped to the floor. "Do whatever you gotta—"

Suddenly, like a light switch, everything for her went black.

Hide watched Chloe slump to the floor unconscious in mid-sentence. His gun still drawn, he ran up to her and knelt down feeling her neck. The pulse was strong, steady and calm. As if she was resting. He grunted and looked up to find his old friend standing at one of the upper catwalks, watching them.

The guards closed in on him and Chloe. "Is everything okay, Director?," one guard asked.

Hide stood up and straightened his suit. "Yeah. Take her back to her cell." He grabbed the guard's uniform. "And this time make sure she's drugged long enough!"

The guard nodded. "Y-yes sir!"

As they retrieved Chloe, Hide holstered his gun, picked up the file folder and proceeded up the stairs to meet Ethan. Though a founder of the Bureau, Ethan worked quietly not as a Senior Director, but as a District Manager. Hide didn't understand it, but there was a lot to Ethan Raines that many didn't understand. He'd known the man for over a thousand years and probably knew no more about him when Ethan recruited him. Reaching the catwalk, he finally stood next to Ethan, whose face was unreadable as he watched the guards take the subdued Chloe away.

Hide grimaced. "What brings you here?"

Ethan adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses but didn't take his eyes off the scene below him. "Appears I'm missing all the action." He finally turned to Hide. "Interesting that I would find it here of all places."

Hide frowned. "Don't get all critical. Just a little miscalculation with her tranquilizer, that's all. And I was prepared to take necessary precautions, in case you were wondering."

Ethan shook his head at his high-strung colleague. "I didn't wonder. In fact, the moment I witnessed her tossing those guards around like rag dolls, you were going to end her, whether she surrendered or not."

"You know me well," Hide replied.

"That wasn't needed, but thank you. Luckily I was here to intervene or else she'd be dead."

"You're delaying the evitable with that one. I know you get bored but— "

"She did surrender when she clearly had the upper hand. How very interesting. In any case, she's no longer a threat now."

Hide's frown deepened. "Oh, she's still a threat." He handed Ethan her dossier, who thumbed through the file. "Talk about an epic read. This woman's been involved in all sorts of shit. She's not going anywhere."

Ethan skimmed through and looked up. "She's a Dhampir?"

"Yep. Class R. Fully functional and she's got a bonus power if you didn't pick up on it."

"Telekinseis," Ethan replied. "Even more interesting. Dhampirs by nature are extremely rare. Ones with power are over the top." He closed the file, then glared at Hide past his frames. "And you were going to eliminate her?"

Hide crossed his arms. He knew that tone and he didn't like it. "Either that or let her tear the place down. Which would you have preferred?"

Ethan paced, then braced himself against the rail. "Yes, about that. She had every opportunity to do that, didn't she? I know she wanted out and watching her kicking and screaming, she was desperate to get away. Any other supe with her power would've blasted everything in sight and got away. Fascinating that she chose not to, isn't it?"

"Not that fascinating. She knew we'd find her again. And we would." 

Ethan flipped through her file again, reading the litany of crimes and scattered accounts of her involvement with the Boyettes. Hide needed to learn to dig deeper into people's psyche. It was a lesson the Tengu demon never seemed to grasp neither during training nor in the field. There was something more to this Dhampir Chloe Hunter and there was definitely something in her offer she screamed to Hide that interested him greatly. So great, if they weren't such dark creatures, one like Ethan would call it happenstance.

"I have no doubt of that, Hide." Ethan walked closer to him. "So, I'm here because it is now my turn to select a candidate for our work release program. It's been a while and I've turned down my chances a while back, but now it's time this district takes a new ward."

Hide's confident smirk dissolved. "You've got to be kidding, Ethan. I brought you her file to clear for possible execution, not to consider her for your 'bring your pet to work' project!" He reached for the folder, but Ethan pulled it back.

Ethan's head tilted. "What makes you think I would consider her?"

"Because you haven't said you wouldn't." Hide replied in a flat tone. Ethan had a terrible starfish mentality that didn't always play well with their decision to destroy the ones that couldn't be saved. For such an old vampire to have such a rough, unforgiving life, he would've expected a much colder Ethan to reside in his ageless body. "I know you, Ethan. Why are you even entertaining this? We don't have time to babysit bad apples in hopes they turn good. She's a waste. She's been with those boys too long--that's all she knows."

Hmm. Hide did have a point. She had a wrap sheet longer than Hide's wingspan, but he wouldn't go so far as call her a waste. Perhaps Hide didn't realize he was there watching the whole display. "She offered to hunt them for you."

Hide laughed. "That manipulator would've said anything to keep me from locking her ass up in a cell. I don't believe a fucking word of it." His eyes locked on Ethan in warning. "And neither should you." He watched a silent Ethan look back down at her file, then tuck it under his arm walking past him. Hide sighed, rubbing his temples in dismay. He can't seriously be thinking... "Ethan..."

"The execution is stayed until I've reviewed Miss Hunter's dossier thoroughly," he replied, not looking back. His long strides moved down the catwalk and led to the spiraling stairs. He needed time to research. If the Dhampir meant what she said, she could prove to be a great candidate to join his team.

Or if she's lying, my biggest disaster.

But his instincts were often right. There was something about her that called to him. There was a warmth there. A humanity that still lived within her. If it existed, there was a chance. And he was nothing if not a gambler of the supernatural condition. The Bureau wouldn't have existed if he didn't. He stopped and looked over his shoulder to a distressed Hide. "Relax. You'll have my answer by tomorrow night. Like you said, she's not going anywhere."

Hide watched as Ethan faded on the stairs, then exhaled a frustrated breath. He had the not-so-funny feeling that his plans for Chloe Hunter was going to change if their enigmatic founder had anything to do with it. And if they were wrong (which Hide was near certain) then all of it will come tumbling down on all of them. Dhampirs were already dangerous, but Chloe's temperament and powers were even more threatening. Ethan was strong, but what if his judgement slips? He leaned over the rail to see guards sweeping up the bullets on the floor. Her split decision and Ethan's arrival saved her ass, there was no doubt. But she was bound to slip again. People, especially supes, sure as hell don't change overnight.

Just give us a reason not to trust you, Rogue. Any reason... And then you're mine.

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