Cage was nice enough to lend me some of his clothes before we left. Unfortunately, he was so much bigger than I was. Standing over six feet tall and muscled up to perfection, my small frame was no match for his, just like his clothes were no match for me. In the end, I had to roll up the sleeves of his jacket just to see my hands and pin the waist of his sweatpants so my Superman underwear wouldn't be on display for the whole world to see.

I looked like I was drowning in a sea of very expensive clothes. Also, they smelled very good. Like...unbelievably good. It should be against the law to smell that good.

He laughed when I reappeared from the bathroom dressed in his clothes. I was still a bit miffed about the ice water thing (I totally had it coming, I know) so I stalked past him, attempting to give Cage the cold shoulder. It didn't work and I ended up tripping over the threshold again. Fern's eyebrow makeup had nearly washed off, so in addition to looking like a drowned rat, I looked like a scary drowned rat.

"November." Cage's voice was tinged with amusement. "Come here for a second."

Despite my better judgement, I ambled over to him. Cage grabbed the sleeve of the jacket and pulled me closer. He perched on the arm of the couch, nestling me in between his knees. I waited in annoyance as he began pulling on the strings hanging off the cuff of the sleeve. "You didn't wear this right." He said.

"You didn't wear your face right." I grumbled under my breath. Because of our close proximity, he heard and he chuckled. With flushed cheeks, I waited as Cage tightened the cuffs and adjusted the size of the jacket with secret buttons and zippers that I didn't even know was there. When he was done, he pushed me away gently. It was meant to be an affectionate shove, but I ended up stumbling over the threshold again which resulted in Cage apologizing profusely and forcing me into a hug despite my protests.

Micheal, Heath, and Nick were waiting outside, holding rifles. Heath ignored me as he smoked a cigarette, Micheal smirked, and Nick glared at me. He wasn't dead, at least. I waited patiently in the awkward silence as Cage walked out after a moment. He tucked a gun under his jacket and grinned at me when I gave him a hostile glare.

"Are we walking?" I asked, as we began walking.

"No." Micheal whispered, coming to my side. "We'll go up to the surface, there's a car waiting."

"What are we doing?" I whispered back. Cage was up front now, talking softly on the phone. I only caught a few of his words, something alone the lines of 'careful' and 'girl' and 'soon.' Also, he might have said something about toilet paper, but I really wasn't listening.

"Cage wants to meet with Jonah, to find out what went wrong last night. You see, Jonah was supposed to check the background of everyone that Cage gets in contact with. Angelo Martin was supposedly checked out of the system with everything cleared. Obviously, something was missed because Angelo was a cop. We're lucky to have escaped."

I nodded, questions running through my head that I didn't ask. Heath looked back at me only once and then muttered something to Cage, who glared at him without speaking. I saw Heath's fists clench tightly after that. I cowered behind Micheal.

When we got outside, it was raining. I was shocked to see Cage just walk out of the building. Shouldn't they take more caution not to be seen? What if there were snipers and cameras watching us right now? I could not be involved in this, dammit. There was no explanation I could give to anyone if they found me with the Crows.

Since the building was just on the outskirts of the city, there was no one around. That was a bit comforting but also very unpleasant. Cage could do anything he wanted with me and no one would ever be the wiser. There was a long back limousine waiting for Cage. High status, high standards. That was the way of the Chicago Crows. Oh God, their name sounded like a baseball team.

I didn't even like baseball.

Micheal went ahead. Nick and Heath had already disappeared into the car. Cage was waiting patiently by the open limo door, a dark blue umbrella in his gloved hand. He looked so...gangster-y and dangerous.

"You're insane." I mumbled, brushing past him and into the limousine. There was enough room to fit a car inside. The plush leather seats, the red stripper carpet, and the mini bar filled with alcoholic drinks made me miss Ivey and Fern even more. I was so out of place here.

"Not the first time someone's said that." Cage replied quietly. I slid next to Micheal. The partition was up so I couldn't see the driver, but I was willing to bet my pinky finger that he or she worked for Cage Vickers and knew exactly what he did. We waited as Cage pulled down the umbrella and shook off the rainwater, and then slipped inside. He sat alone on the back seat. The limo began moving.

"Do you guys wanna play a game?" I offered again.

"I swear to God-" Heath growled, but was silenced by one look from Cage.

"Let's play I Spy." I was getting annoyed with Heath's hatred towards me. I wanted to leave just as much as he wanted me to leave. "I spy an asshole."

Micheal pointed to Heath. "Him?"

"Yes."

We high-fived.

We drove the rest of the way in silence. Micheal's jacket had a whole bunch of straps hanging off of the sleeve. By the time we arrived at our destination, I had braided all of the straps neatly. He gave me a weird frown when he noticed, but didn't say anything.

Slowly, the limo rolled to a stop. Looking out of the windows was useless. They were too dark to look in or out. Cage got out first, walking away quickly. He used the umbrella to shield his face. As soon as we were all out of the car, it drove away.

Chicago was so much better than I could have imagined. People in colourful jackets walked with their heads down and umbrellas up on the sidewalk. Cars drove through the cracked city streets, many of them bright yellow taxis. Buildings of all shapes and sizes and colours dotted the streets, the tall skyscrapers acting as protection from the world outside. It was amazing to be standing still, admiring the beauty of the old city as everyone went on with their lives.

Micheal, Nick, Heath, and Cage were already walking ahead. I could have just easily walked away then and disappeared into the crowd. But some part of me thought otherwise. Cage had kept true to his promise. I wasn't dead. And I had no clue how to get back to Ivey by myself.

"November, come on." Nick shouted back over his shoulder. They blended with the rest of the people. It was such a clever cover. No one would ever recognize them because no one knew what the Crows looked like. Raindrops fell from the grey sky, a soft pattering in the background of all the conversations, laughter, and noise.

What was I doing? I should have left. I should have just walked away before they realized I was missing.

I was trailing behind Heath when I heard my name being called.

"November." Cage voiced with frustration.

I could barely see him over Micheal and Nick's backs. "What?"

They waited as I made my way up front. When I finally went to Cage's side, he grabbed my wrist. Even though I couldn't feel his skin through the glove, it made a flutter go through my stomach. Cage Vickers was a strange man. He was nothing like they made him seem on the news. Cage stared at me for a second, a strange expression crossing his nice-looking face.

"Don't wander off." Cage growled as he began walking again. I tried to match his stride but failed. He noticed this and slowed down. Cage suddenly ducked his head down, using the umbrella to shield himself from a police car that drove by a second later. "November, where we are going is a very dangerous place. If you want to stay alive, then stay by my side. I won't let anything hurt you if you do as I say." He warned quietly.

I couldn't help but push his limit. "And if I don't?"

His dark eyes showed a storm of emotions. "Don't test me, November. There are many ways to hurt someone, and not just physically. I won't hurt you, November. I can't say the same about your sister Fern."

The way Cage said it was so casual and heartless. I stopped walking, anger unfurling in a tide when what Cage said registered in my mind. Tears burned in the corner of my eyes when I realized he was serious. The threat was just the surface of what Cage Vickers was capable of. Understanding this, I lost my temper. My life was one thing. But never for the life of me would I let anyone get hurt on my account.

Cage saw that I was about to throw a fit. Swiftly, he opened the door to a small building and shoved me inside before I could do anything to draw attention to us. Micheal, Nick, and Heath followed after, avoiding my eyes. They knew Cage had stepped over my limit but did nothing. Overwhelmed, I wiped my tearful eyes and shoved past Nick and up to Cage.

He cut me off before I could say anything. "You're cute, November, but that's not going to help you once you're fucked. Remember who we are. Remember what we do. You are nothing but a casualty for now. I said everything I meant. I will rip your life apart piece by piece if that is necessary. I've allowed you to live this long. I just hope you can keep that up."

I felt a tempting urge to slap him. "This morning-"

"-means nothing." Cage finished coldly. His icy eyes told the truth.

Seething, I forced myself to keep quiet. Cage Vickers was exactly what they all said: A heartless, cruel, empty shell of a man. His power was corrupt, his psychology was dead, and his morals were gone. For the sake of Fern, I made myself back down.

Cage grabbed my hand again, rougher this time. No one said anything as we walked through the building. It was the kitchen of some restaurant. It was empty, not a sound except our footsteps and breathing could be heard. Cage led us through the back door of the kitchen, into the restaurant, and through yet another door. It was a small storage unit stacked with cardboard boxes and extra silverware.

There was a trapdoor imprinted into the old blue carpet. Cage yanked it open. It made a creaky rust-filled noise. A set of stairs led into the darkness beyond. He let me go and quickly descended down the steps. I followed after, grumbling my complaints under my breath.

Also, I may have recited the quadratic formula because I was trying very hard to focus on something other than the cobwebs (and where there are cobwebs, there are spiders) hanging above our heads.

The stairs ended in the middle of a dirt room with five tunnels opened up around it. There was also a set of elevator doors and an advertisement for State Farm Auto Insurance, which only reminded me of my missing car. And eyebrow. Damn, I really missed my eyebrow.

"November!"

"You are going to wear my name out." I grumbled and came to the front with Cage again. This time, he didn't hold my wrist like before. Micheal pulled something out from a black duffel bag hanging over his shoulder that I didn't notice before and threw the object to Cage, who caught it with ease. It was a flashlight.

If I ever tried that, I'd miss.

Cage began to walk towards the last underpass. The Crows walked like they had something to prove. All swagger and no intimidation. I tried to mimic how Cage walked but it looked like I was doing a very messy catwalk across glass. That was covered in baby oil. In high heels.

We walked for quite a while. I was about to start complaining when Cage finally stopped at a metal door with a small window covered in bars. There seemed to be a lot of doors involved, wasn't there? Big doors, small doors, doors that might kill you if you walk through them...man, Cage Vickers must love doors. I loved doors, too. They were fun to open. The ones that weren't booby trapped, of course.

Cage glanced through the window and pursed his lips. After a moment, he frowned. Then, he turned to Micheal, who had an alarmed look on his face. Cage looked furious. "Fuck!" He shouted suddenly, startling us all. Cage closed his eyes and rubbed his temple.

"He's gone, isn't he?" Heath growled.

"What? You can't be serious." Nick spoke up, his voice bewildered.

"OMG." I added, not having a clue what happened.

Cage suddenly slammed the edge of his fist against the door. It was a moment of lost temper. Scared, I moved back. Whatever had happened wasn't good for them or me. An angry Cage meant a dangerous Cage, and a dangerous Cage meant my little butt was going to be a whole lot more vulnerable. At this point, I just wanted to be anywhere but here.

Cage pulled out his gun so fast that I nearly peed myself. Heart hammering, I moved back to stand with Micheal. They all looked vexed for whatever reason. I was utterly terrified by now. Even with the mercy that took away a terrible fate, I still couldn't forget what they were capable of. All the inhumane things Cage Vickers had done was still there. He was a monster. They all were, even Micheal. I couldn't forget that.

"Stand back." Cage ordered, his voice low with rage and deep with authority.

Without being told a second time, I followed Micheal and the rest of them to the back of the room. Cage stood back as well, but not as far as we were. He checked something on his gun. Positioning it on the electronic padlock on the door, I couldn't cover my ears any sooner as Cage began to shoot at the system haywire with his gun. A series of loud blasts that deafened all of us followed.

"Jesus Christ!" I muttered nervously, my heart going a mile a minute. Cage had destroyed the lock. Without looking back, he pulled the door open and disappeared inside, silently fuming. Curious, I followed them inside.

Whatever the room was before, it was completely destroyed. The room was turned upside down. Computer screens were shattered, glass littering the black carpet. Blood was splashed across the white walls, but it looked like paint so I wasn't completely sure. A computer chair was overturned and the monitors for all the cameras in the facility were broken. There were dollar bills scattered across the floor, as well as empty shell casings and a discarded bag of what looked like food containers.

I could understand Cage's fury. His entire system of cyber knowledge was gone.

"Shit." I heard Heath mumble under his breath.

"No." Cage was about to lose it. He paced up and down, throwing things left and right. He wasn't aiming for anything but nearly hurt Nick in the process when he barely avoided the shard of glass that came flying his direction. "No no no no. Shit. I'll fucking kill him. He's dead. He's- I'm going to murder that fucker.

"Cage." Nick called, his tone holding worry.

"Tell me he didn't." Cage snarled.

Nick was looking at the screen of one of the computer screens that wasn't completely destroyed. There were a bunch of wordy documents and a loading sign near the bottom that was halfway complete. "He did." Nick said angrily. "We're fucked. It's over, man."

Cage shoved Nick back hard enough to make him almost fall. Scrolling through the documents, his temper only grew.

"What happened?" I whispered to Micheal.

Whatever they were so angry at also affected Micheal. He bit his lip and watched Cage for a second. "Jonah." Micheal whispered back. "Jonah happened. He was the mastermind for our technology. I think what happened was that someone tipped Jonah off about what went down in Sector 13 last night. He thought that Cage was caught and bailed- that bastard. I suspected he was working with Angelo, but damn, this? Fuck."

"I still don't get it." I said quietly. "Why is Cage so angry?"

"Because Jonah was a rat. I don't know how much money the CIA offered him but it had to be a pretty large sum for him to betray us like this. Not only did Jonah double-cross Cage, he fucked us all over pretty well. He granted the CIA access to everything we've ever done for the past decade." Micheal said, his voice grim. "That includes our personal information and every contact we've had for the last five years. With all that information in their hands, it's only a matter of time before SWAT arrives."

"Can't you get it back?" I offered. "I mean, just cancel the loading of the information and clear the cache before it reaches the CIA drive. All of your information will be deleted but it the files won't be shared."

"Can you do that?" Cage suddenly asked. I looked up to see everyone's eyes on Micheal and I. They had been listening to everything. He stared at me hard. "November, is there a way to get our files back before the reach the CIA database?"

"Of course." I shrugged nonchalantly. "There's always a retrieval system in caches. It's kinda hard to find because cyber caches are meant to be inaccessible. It's like canceling a text before it reaches someone's phone. There is always a way to undo something-"

"Great." Cage interrupted, motioning to the computer screen. "So do it."

Being associated with the Crows was bad enough. I wasn't about to become an accomplice to their crimes as well. Besides, wasn't I supposed to be on the good side? I wanted the CIA to find Cage Vickers, right? I wanted to go back home to Ivey and that wasn't going to happen unless an outside force infiltrated them. So it was with complete assurance when I said, "No thank you."

Cage laughed, but it was a laugh without humour. I saw Micheal give me an uneasy look. Cage glared at me again, silent this time. "Let's try that again, princess." Cage smiled nicely. A moment later, I found myself staring down the barrel of his gun. "Cancel the file load or I kill you right here."

I glanced over his shoulder, worried. "You have five minutes before it's complete, Cage. I'm not an expert on this, I can't just-"

"Okay." Cage growled. "Let's try this one last time. Either you do this and help us or I will kill you. And before I kill you, I will drag you back to Ivey and let you watch your sister and her daughter die in front of you. You can join them, November. Or you can be a good little girl and do this."

"Won't."

He stared at me for a second in quiet contemplation, almost a sense of amusement in the air surrounding him. With a smile fit for predators, Cage suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled out a cellphone. As we watched in silent curiosity, he dialed a number in and held it up to his ear, still staring at me.

"Evan?" Cage spoke quietly when the person on the other line picked up. "I have a job for you. Yes, same contract rules apply. 1489 West Lincoln Lane-"

That was my address.

"Fine!" I squealed in panic, making a wild lunge for the phone. "Cage, stop! I'll do it-"

His eyes were still on me as he slowly ended the call.

My stomach was twisting frantically. I wished I had never opened my mouth. The loading was almost complete. I had about four minutes to retrieve the files, which was barely possible. I didn't even know if my idea was going to work. Cage was putting too much trust into me.

He was also pointing a gun at my head, which didn't exactly help.

"Three minutes." Heath murmured in the background.

Cage watched over my shoulder. The gun terrified me beyond belief but it also gave me enough motivation that I managed to convince myself that doing this for them with the hope of it never being traced back to me was enough to actually do it.