Part VI

All the World's a Stage

Transitions III

LIVE: BBC1: "AWAKENED" HAILEY WINSCOMBE ATTACKS MALTON ESTATE

LIVE: justagirlinlondon: HOLY SHIT MAGIC FLYING GIRL CAR CHASE - GROUND VIEW

LIVE: RebelJournalism: THE REVOLUTION STARTS HERE: Hailey Winscombe Takes Down Corrupt Billionaire

LIVE: MikeMasters: BBC RESTREAM: AWAKENED UNCHECKED - EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO OUR DEMOCRACY

LIVE: JimThePirate: BBC RESTREAM: gaming on pause, this shit is crazy. get the popcorn

They watched the whole chase on a laptop in a safehouse, several streets away from the basement where Riley had taken Lily Laushire. Lani kept one hand on his holstered pistol at all times. He couldn't let Riley out of his sight. He still couldn't quite believe what he'd seen—or the woman she'd been hiding underneath all along. He still didn't, really. Every movement, every tiny reaction didn't match up with the "Rook" he'd met in that basement.

As Viper emerged from the car and tried to draw his gun, Riley leaned forward anxiously.

"Hailey won't do anything," said Lani confidently. He felt a need to reassure her, try to comfort her, despite everything he'd learned.

Riley shook her head. "She'll defend herself if she has to."

"She promised he'd be okay." Lani frowned. "It might be hard to keep him anonymous after this, though."

She nodded. "I'll take care of that."

"How?"

Riley glanced over her shoulder, throwing him a wink. "I've got my ways."

Lani's eyes narrowed, and his grip on the gun tightened. "...Don't."

The half-playful tone vanished, chilled to ice in an instant. "I can handle it."

Who is she? What is she? Lani got distracted a moment later, as Cinza emerged and gave her speech—declaring their independence. Their autonomy.

"She cannot succeed," said Riley.

Lani frowned. "She's got a lot on her side, you know. She could pull this off."

"Form a new nation in the midst of America? After taking part in an assault on one of the wealthiest men in the world in broad daylight?"

"Being wealthy just helps her," said Lani, leaning back in his chair, feeling like he'd just gone through the same windstorm that suddenly swept through the crowd as Hailey took off again, straight into the clouds and out of sight. "Everybody resents the rich these days. She's set us up as the victims—which we are, you know."

"You," Riley reminded him. "I am not one of you."

Malton was approaching the cameras now, though Viper continued to hang back in the shadows. The news crews didn't quite let him out of their sight—and based on what Lani knew, he doubted Viper would leave without the big boss anyway. As soon as Malton reached the ragged line of press and police, a dozen microphones and cameras shoved into his face, each begging for his personal attention.

"I have been viciously attacked and slandered today. That—that girl and her associates came into my home unprovoked and accused me of a crime I did not commit."

"Bullshit," muttered Lani, channeling Jeremy a bit. A pang of guilt accompanied the feeling, remembering that he'd just ditched his partner in the field for the sake of a woman he couldn't entirely trust. "We've got one of your guys in custody."

"That man will never talk," said Riley.

"With what he has hanging over his head?" asked Lani. "Homicide, domestic terrorism, and whatever else Aderholt wants to pin to his chest. He's not ever coming back."

Riley shrugged. "He knew what he signed up for. He understands loyalty."

"And you?" Lani turned away from the screen, where Malton was simply repeating his claims of innocence until Viper finally dragged him away into the car. "You turned on your boss. Where's your loyalty?"

"I never worked for Malton," said Riley quietly. Her eyes flicked over to the screen. Viper bodily pushed a reporter away from the car before climbing into the driver's seat once more. "He is unbridled ambition and cannot be trusted."

"So… your partner." Lani sighed.

Riley nodded. Her voice shifted back again—back to the woman he'd fallen in love with over the past two weeks. "Haven't you ever had somebody like that, Lani? Somebody so important, that you'd do anything for them, no matter what? Without question, in perfect trust?"

"...Yeah," said Lani. You, up until about six hours ago.

He knew he was falling right into the same trap he always did—something Jeremy had called him out on, in fact. He got too easily attached. Lani was young and inexperienced, and he knew it. First it was a girl back home in Hawaii, who'd flat-out rejected him. Next, Jeremy's sister of all people—who'd done the world for his self-esteem by letting him down easy. Maddie was the reason he'd pulled himself back together, after all.

Except… Riley had turned on Malton. She obviously didn't hold much love for the man. Even before Hailey had shown up, she'd already been trying to get away. Maybe she wasn't lying.

Riley smiled. "Stefen's that guy, you know? Not… not like that. He's like my brother."

Lani couldn't help feeling a bit of relief at that word. "Even though he's done some horrible things?"

"So have I," she reminded him. "I didn't enjoy it. I was helping him, because he'd helped me. It never really crossed my mind until much later what I was doing, and by then…" Riley shook her head.

How much of this is just her screwing with me? Trying to get on my good side? Lani's hand still hadn't ever left his gun, and he knew for certain Riley was unarmed. They were seated far enough apart that he could draw and fire in time. Yet… some part of him believed every word.

"You probably think I'm just fucking with you," said Riley, coughing slightly.

Lani winced. "No, I—"

"Seriously," said Riley. She turned away, posture shifting from the casual slump of Riley to the hard knife-edge of Rook. "I can switch it on and off whenever I want because I had to. That is how you survive. If you're in the middle of a combat zone, that is how you stay sane. You make jokes and have fun one minute, and then you've gotta be a cold-blooded killer the next. Stay too long on either side and you're dead." She sighed. "I learned how to use it, and I abused it as much as I could. When I returned home, that skill came with me. I made a career out of it."

"Riley," said Lani firmly.

She glanced up at him. "My name's not Riley, you know. Or Rook, or Tessa, or anything even Viper knows. I just pick whatever works at the time."

Lani shook his head. "You're Riley."

Riley smiled. "You're a nice guy, Lani. I know you probably won't believe it, but I really did like you."

"I love you."

Riley rolled her eyes. "Lani, didn't you just hear a word I said?"

He shook his head. "I don't care."

"...What?"

"So you used to be all those things. I used to be an FBI agent, and a crappy surfer, and a bad son." Lani shrugged. "You know what this whole awakening thing means?"

"That the world's probably going to end?"

Lani nodded. "That this world's probably gonna end. I'm on the other side now though, and I get to be whatever I want to be over here." He took his hand off his pistol and held it out between them. Riley stared at him, ice-blue eyes unreadable. Lani could never really tell what she was thinking, even before he'd understood who she really was underneath.

"You know what I've done, right?" she asked.

Lani shook his head. "As far as I'm concerned, that was some other person named Rook. All Riley's done is spent a couple weeks in the Greywood, still deciding whether magic's really for her or not."

Riley looked back to the TV. They'd finally switched off the street coverage. Still photos of Malton and Viper across from Hailey and Cinza filled the screen. Riley shook her head. "I've made threats and I've hurt people. I can't just walk away from that."

"Why not?"

"Don't be naive, Lani," said Riley, a hint of Rook biting through each word. "You heard Cinza. She'd kill me if she could."

"Make it up to her," he said abruptly, speaking as fast as the idea blossomed in his head. "Cinza's a fair leader. She listens. I'll vouch for you."

"You'll…" Riley shook her head. "You've been there as long as I have. Why would they listen to you?"

Lani grinned. "Because we're going to give them Malton."

"...How?"

"You'll have to be Rook a little bit longer." Lani got out his phone, tapping through his notes. "If you flip on the biggest target the Bureau's ever had, they'll leap at it. You'll get an immunity deal in seconds. That clears you legally. As for Rallsburg… well, you never actually did anything there, did you?"

"...Nothing that involved the Greycloaks," said Riley, nodding.

Lani shook his head. "If we're going to pull this off, you need to tell me everything. I'm bringing you in as a witness here, essentially."

"You really think this will work?" she asked, a surprising amount of vulnerability in her voice. "You sure you don't just want to run away somewhere? Me and you, a good view, nobody else around?"

Lani shook his head. "The world's too small. There's nowhere you can just run away to anymore."

Riley sighed. "Not with magic in the game, I guess…" She grabbed Lani's hand and squeezed it. "I'm done running. I never wanted to work for him anyway. As long as Stefen is unharmed, I'm in."

"And I don't really want to be an FBI agent anymore," said Lani, grinning. "Let's both start over."

Riley leaned in and kissed him. "I think it'll take a lot more convincing for everybody else… They never trusted me."

"Well, yeah… You didn't really help that much by…" Lani trailed off. "That's it. That's what you need to do."

"What?"

"Cross over. Show them you've changed." Lani reached into his pocket, withdrawing the scrap of parchment he'd been carrying every single day since he found it. He'd never let it more than a few feet away. It seemed waterproof and practically indestructible, with not a single new bit of wear on it despite its appearance. Riley's eyes widened as he withdrew it and held it up between them. "Start a new life."

"But…" Riley shook her head. "Lani, I wasn't lying about that."

"I know."

"I'm afraid of it."

"I know."

"You don't," she said firmly. "I don't do afraid. I haven't been afraid of anything since I was fourteen."

"What happened when you were fourteen?"

Riley winced. She hesitated, seeming to struggle with every word. "...They took me away. Put me on a ship out of Helsinki. I never found out where..." She trailed off. "It's not a good memory."

"...I'm so sorry."

She nodded, her expression hardening once more. "As you said. I am telling you everything."

"Yeah." Lani lowered the Scrap, meaning to withdraw it, but Riley held him by the wrist.

Her voice softened, back to the one Lani had fallen for. "You really think it'll help?"

He nodded. "I think it shows you're willing to try."

Trembling slightly, Riley picked the Scrap off of Lani's open palm. She started to unroll it, but paused, glancing back to him. "Even though you know I could still just be fucking with you? That I'm just doing this to save my own skin?"

"Are you?" Lani asked.

Riley shook her head. "No."

"Then that's all I need to hear." Lani scooted his chair back, giving her a little space. "I trust you, Riley."

She smiled. "You know, I actually really like the name Riley. I'm glad I picked that for my new life, wherever the hell we end up."

Before Lani could say another word, Riley looked down at the Scrap and began to read. She didn't need any instruction—after all, she must have seen more awakenings than Lani even knew about, between Viper, Malton's men, and any she witnessed in Rallsburg. Lani was reminded just how much more Riley knew about the world he professed to be a member of, and she hadn't even formally joined it until now.

As Riley fell backward off the chair, Lani moved to catch her. She struggled through the process in his arms. Grey-eyes appeared next to them, as she always did. Her eyes widened briefly in surprise, but she got to work. As Grey-eyes whispered the life-giving words in Riley's ears, the woman slowly came back to the world. Her ice-blue eyes fluttered open as she gasped through her first breaths of her new life. Grey-eyes sat back, watching the two of them carefully.

Lani grinned down at Riley. "How was it?"

"Awful," she spluttered—but she didn't move her head from Lani's lap. She still didn't look exactly happy, but it was a start. Riley twisted over a little to look up at the girl sitting next to them. "That's it, right?"

Grey-eyes nodded. "You're awakened now. You don't need me to tell you what that means."

"No kidding." Riley nodded. "So… what happens now?"

"You live your life." Grey-eyes shrugged. "I can't tell you what to do."

Lani put a hand on Riley's cheek. She clutched at it, holding it close like a lifeline. "Our new lives," he amended.

She kissed his hand. "Our new lives," she agreed.

Grey-eyes stared at the two of them for a moment before disappearing. Lani helped Riley to her feet. "So what do we do first?"

Riley glanced around nervously. "Well… I guess I should probably learn how to actually use magic, if I'm one of you now."

"Well, yeah," said Lani, "but I meant more big-picture. Should we go back to the Greywood? Get in touch with Stefen? Talk to the rest of the Bureau?"

"I'm not sure." Riley shrugged. "I hadn't planned further ahead than…" she winced.

"What?"

"Than abducting Kendra Laushire," she muttered. "That was such a reckless move," she added, shaking her head.

"Yeah… that was pretty insane," Lani agreed, grinning slightly. "How were you even going to get away with that?"

"I didn't," Riley pointed out. She grimaced. "...Should I apologize? Would that be too weird?"

"Weird? Yes. But you still should… when we can." Lani shrugged. "Before we go any further, we need to get you some protection—something better than deadman switch blackmail," he added, frowning.

Riley shook her head. "There never was any deadman switch. I was bluffing."

"Oh." Lani raised an eyebrow. "That was… pretty fast thinking."

She nodded. "And without Malton, I have no protection. It's just me."

"So that's our first step then. We're going to the Bureau. My last case as an agent before I turn in my badge and gun."

"You sure you want to do that?" asked Riley.

Lani nodded. "Like I said, I'm done with this job. I found something else to do that's way more important."

"Don't say me, or I'll slap you," she smirked.

He laughed. "No. I'm going back to work for Cinza. She's going to need all the help she can get after that. Everybody in the whole world's going to want a piece of her now. She needs people like us."

Riley frowned. "...Yeah, she does." She glanced over at the wall, where her long bag sat—with her rifle, explosives, and so many other tools of her past life. "You know, she's so much different than what Stefen told me. Do you think—"

Lani leaned down and kissed her before she could say another word. "Use them to protect somebody for once, right?"

She nodded. "Exactly."