One by one, the crew crept out of the closet. Their footsteps sounded near-deafening in the silent station halls.

By an unspoken agreement, none of them tried to seek out an officer to tell them the crew was leaving. Rede had a feeling they wouldn’t take kindly to the idea, though she couldn’t pinpoint why.

As if they’d read her mind, Officer Hollingsworth stepped around the corner. They clutched a handheld GPS underneath a notepad filled with scribbles, which they tucked into their breast pocket as soon as they saw the crew coming.

They folded their arms across their body armor and stepped to the left, subtly but effectively blocking their path to the office portion of the precinct — and, by extension, the doors. They cocked their head in what might have been concern, if the rest of Hollingsworth’s body language “Where are you headed?”

“Out,” Inna blurted.

Hollingsworth looked unimpressed. “Doesn’t seem safe for you all to be wandering around by yourselves.”

“We can take care of ourselves,” said Shay.

“We’ll see what the captain has to say about that.” Hollingsworth reached for their radio.

“Wait a minute.” Thanh crossed her arms. “You can’t just stop us from leaving. We aren’t in custody.”

Hollingsworth was silent.

Thanh hesitated. “We aren’t. Right?”

“We just want to clear a few things up.” Hollingsworth’s hand drifted toward their notepad. “Until then, we’d like you to stay in the station.”

“This is ridiculous.” Thanh tried to duck past Hollingsworth. “We didn’t have anything to do with this."

' Hollingsworth shifted to block Thanh’s path. “We’d like to verify that for ourselves.”

“Are you seriously implying that we had something to do with Ducky shooting your guys?” Thanh demanded. “We’re just a bunch of fucking kids with a canoe. We bring people stuff. What the hell do you think we could’ve done?”

“You’re getting awfully defensive,” said Hollingsworth. “If you haven’t done anything, then there’s no need to get hysterical.”

Inna winced.

Rede didn’t physically flinch. Mentally, though, she braced for impact. Thanh was about to launch into an award-worthy tirade, and given the fact that Hollingsworth was armed and volatile, Rede doubted she’d like the outcome.

The screaming rant, however, didn’t come. Instead, Thanh stood frozen for a few short moments, her shoulders and neck visibly tensing as she stared Hollingsworth down. Then she dropped into a crouch, delivered one swift kick below Hollingsworth’s knee, and took off for the door.

Before she had fully processed what was happening, Rede found herself leaping over the downed officer and following Thanh in her mad dash for the exit. The patter of footsteps behind her let Rede know her friends had the same idea.

Two — maybe three? Rede wasn’t sure — of the cops that had previously sat hidden by desk dividers jumped out of their seats and ran for the team. Rede mentally braced for impact as she skidded to a halt in front of the door.

Rede looked behind her to see one of the cops lunge for Inna. He yelped and dropped to the floor, executing a graceless log roll before scrambling to his feet. The officer tripped over Inna’s legs and tumbled to the ground. Mara leapt over his downed body and grabbed Inna’s arm, dragging him forward as she sprinted for the door.

Shay had already surpassed them both. She rushed between Thanh and Rede, wrenched the door open, and leaped out onto the canoe still tethered in front of the door.

Somehow, over the commotion, Rede heard the click of a pistol locking. She screamed and ducked just in time for the gun to fire. Splinters of wood rained down on her, a gouge now marring the spot on the doorframe right where her head used to be.

“Get in!” Shay screamed. She was already fumbling at the knots on the canoe tethers.

Rede threw a glance over her shoulder. Hollingsworth had their pistol drawn and pointed at the crew — which one exactly, she couldn’t tell — while the other cops barreled for the doorway. They would reach the crew in seconds. Once the cops had their hands on them, they didn’t stand a chance. Even if they did manage to get in the canoe, the cops wouldn’t hesitate to shoot.

Desperately, Rede swung her head from side to side. If only she could find a weapon…

Or a blockade.

Rede ran for the nearest table and threw her weight into it. The legs screeched across the floor as she pushed the table into the cops’ path. Some of the knickknacks on top clattered to the ground; with a sweep of her arm, Rede launched the ones that remained towards the stampeding officers.

Another table slammed into Rede’s. Mara had grabbed it from the other side of the room, widening their barricade and scattering even more detritus onto the ground.

The cops were only a few feet away and rapidly closing. Heart pounding in her throat, Rede flipped her table on its side and shoved it toward them. One cop, unable to stop in time, ran shin first into the tabletop and toppled over. The other slowed, turning for their downed comrade.

Mara flipped hers as well, but, instead of pushing it like Rede did, she used it as shelter while she crawled for the door. Rede sprinted, coverless, towards the canoe. She all but fell into her seat, fumbling for her paddle with shaking hands.

Seconds later, Mara tumbled in as well, slamming the door shut behind her. The others had already untied the boat; all Mara had to do was turn the boat away from the station as the others pushed off and began paddling with all their might.

The door swung open with a bang, followed by the sharp patter of gunfire. Screams erupted from the canoe as Mara took a sharp turn around the corner of a building. Bullets continued to hit the wall as the canoe shot further into the waterlogged alleyway.

“What the fuck?” Thanh whispered, over and over.

“What the fuck,” Rede echoed. She didn’t stop paddling, but she turned to look at Shay, sitting curled in the bench behind her. “The hell just happened?”

Shay shook her head, eyes wide with shock. “I know just as much as you.”

Rede turned her eyes forward, forcing herself to watch the water ahead. Hollingsworth had wanted to interview them; the other cops had done everything in their power to stop the crew from leaving; Hollingsworth had even fired on them in an attempt to keep them in the station. The police had already been angry that Ducky upset the status quo by injuring one of their own — that much was not only clear, but predictable. What had taken them all by surprise was the fact that Ducky’s act of aggression had somehow been linked back to them. Maybe it was something they’d said? Maybe the cops had uncovered some piece of incriminating evidence? Maybe, Rede thought bitterly, they were just angry that someone had challenged their power and wanted to eliminate everyone with the slightest connection to Ducky — including those under his pursuit.

Rede gritted her teeth and paddled on, hoping that, when they arrived, Ronan would be able to give the crew some answers.