20. Finn
Finn stared at the building, an unassuming two-story cookie-cutter house.
The lights inside were on, a warm glow spilling out through the windows.
Lightning bugs blinked in and out throughout their neatly kept lawn.
They actually weren’t too far away from Lucie’s shop.
The thought made the food in his stomach turn.
He wanted her as far away from all of this as possible, and the thought of Legion agents close to her made him want to go ballistic.
Finn replayed the moment in his head when he dropped Lucie off back in her room just a couple of hours ago. Windswept hair and swollen lips. Had it only been that morning since he had asked her to be his? It felt like at least a week.
He thought of brushing his lips against Lucie’s freckled cheek.
Her smile had been soft, warm, and full of happiness he wasn’t sure he deserved, but he hadn’t been able to help himself.
He wanted her. In his life. In his bed. He wanted to wake up next to her.
Make her breakfast and eat it in bed together.
Bring her to the weekly movie night at the Way Station.
Now, a few hours later, he was out here, in the dark, dressed in all black, on another mission. The peace of the morning with Lucie and the cold tension of his work hit him hard. The weight of the situation pressed down on him, pulling him back to reality. A rip current he couldn’t pull out of.
He clenched his fists, his eyes scanning the perimeter, but his mind kept wandering back to her. Was she safe? Too tired for work? Thinking about him?
He missed her, alright?
All he wanted to do was be with her, see her laugh, hear her talk about her next painting, or feel the warmth of her hand in his again.
He swore under his breath. He shouldn’t be thinking about her right now. If he didn’t pull himself together, he was going to get himself or someone else hurt.
Finn sighed and looked over to Charlie and Sabrina. He didn’t know how they did it. How could they see each other in danger without panicking?
Both of them were in their own little world. Charlie was adjusting Sabrina’s bulletproof vest, tightening the straps, and giving her a once-over like he always did. His fingers brushed down her shoulder gently, making sure everything was secure.
Simultaneously, Sabrina grabbed Charlie’s gun from his holster, popping out the magazine, her fingers quick and practiced.
“You sure you’re ready?” she teased, cocking an eyebrow at him. She checked the bullets and added an extra one, filling the clip before returning the magazine to the gun with a familiar click.
“Always,” Charlie replied with his signature goofy smile. He leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, a gesture so natural that Finn almost looked away.
Charlie pulled back slightly, giving Sabrina a once-over, nodding in approval.
“You’re good,” he said softly.
Charlie and Sabrina weren’t just together; they were teammates working in perfect sync. It wasn’t something Finn could teach his trainees. They had something unshakable, even in the middle of all this chaos.
Finn adjusted his own gear by himself, thank you very much.
A pang of longing and something else hit Finn as he thought of Lucie again.
Dalton and Isla had done a perimeter check.
Whistler was on comms, checking security tapes, traffic cameras, and their satellite to make sure the coast was clear.
Whistler had a fancy heat camera to detect body heat.
Whistler confirmed the mother, father, and two children were stationed in the middle of the home, just as they’d agreed upon.
This was the first time they had been able to transfer a whole family without losing anyone. For once, they might be on time to stop something terrible before it happened—a rare change instead of being a part of the clean-up.
Legion only left a body when they wanted to send a message.
Atlas had called in the tip: suspicious activity near the home of Dr. Johnthan Reinhard, a scientist who once worked for Atlas before abruptly cutting ties six years ago. Finn had read up on Dr. Reinhard’s work—brilliant, respected, but secretive—the kind of person Legion would target.
Charlie’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “You ready, General?”
Finn grunted, shaking his head to clear the lingering thought of Lucie.
Sabrina knocked on the front door. Charlie stood behind Finn. The couple, with their usual playful banter, was replaced with a tense silence and stony faces. Finn could feel the shift and welcomed it.
After a moment, footsteps tentatively came to the door. The black French door swung open to reveal Dr. Reinhard—a short man with graying hair and tired eyes.
“Can I help you?” Reinhard asked, his voice twisted with panic.
Sabrina stepped forward, flashing her ID.
“We’re with Atlas. They called ahead. We’re here to help transport your family to safety.”
“We will need to take the back roads. They are doing some construction on the freeway,” Dr. Reinhard said, fixing his cuff links.
“Not to worry. I heard the Beltway leads directly out of the suburbs,” Sabrina said, finishing the code.
Tension smoothed out of the father’s shoulders, his arm pushing the door open further.
Reinhard’s eyes flared with recognition.
“You’re Henry’s girl, aren’t you?” he asked.
Sabrina hesitated, her mouth slightly open.
It was one of the first times Finn had seen Sabrina at a loss for words.
“You have his eyes,” Reinhard continued.
“I haven’t seen you since you were this tall,” he said, motioning his arm to his quad.
“After your mother and sister—well, it’s been a long time.
Please come in.” Reinhard glanced back into the house before stepping aside to let them in.
Sabrina seemed frozen in her spot. “This is my wife, Elaine,” he introduced as the Conductors walked inside.
Finn wiped his boots off before passing the threshold.
A teenager came out of the kitchen, shouldering a purple backpack that was busting at the seams. They were instructed only to bring what they could carry. It didn’t sit right with Finn that they were leaving all their belongings with them, but it was a matter of life and death.
“And who might you be?” Sabrina asked, coming up to comfort her.
“My name is Melanie,” she said, giving them all a shy wave.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Melanie. My name is Sabrina, and these are my friends.” She gestured to all of them. Charlie gave her a small wave back. “We’re here to bring you to your new home. I’ll protect you.”
Sabrina went off about how amazing the Way Station was and how sorry she was that this was happening to her. Chucky cut in and told her about the house they had for her and all of the other kids that were there.
While Finn walked away, Charlie was asking the younger brother what his favorite meal was. A familiar conversation Finn could recite in his sleep they had with all of the survivors.
Finn, meanwhile, let his eyes roam the room, taking in the framed photos and degrees lining the walls. His gaze landed on a particular photograph near an old Atlas photo. Normally, Finn wouldn’t have paid it too much attention, but something caught his eye.
It was Reinhard in a group photo, surrounded by other scientists in white lab coats. But what caught Finn’s attention was the familiar face standing beside Reinhard—a younger man, with the same sharp features and piercing eyes as Sabrina. Henry. Sabrina’s father.
Finn’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t known much about Henry before the Way Station. All he knew was that Henry was once a scientist for Atlas. Henry should be a bigger hermit after what happened to his family, but seeing him here, alongside Reinhard, made Finn’s stomach churn.
“Ayo, captain, gotta question,” Finn called out to Sabrina.
Sabrina excused herself while Charlie brought out the peanut butter cookies he had made for the family—another tradition to comfort the group, to give them a little energy in case they needed to get away as soon as possible.
Sabrina walked over as Finn nodded to the picture. At a loss for words for the second time that night as she stared at it, her face went pale.
“That’s . . . that’s my dad.” She swallowed hard, eyes scanning the image like she was seeing a ghost. “Who are the other people in the group?”
“Look at the lady in the back,” Finn said quietly, watching Sabrina’s reaction carefully.
“Is that the new President of Altas, Evelyn Ward?” she asked.
“Yes, and look at the man next to your dad. He went missing a year ago. We moved his family to Michigan,” Finn said.
There was a flicker of something in her eyes—confusion, anger, maybe fear. Sabrina shook her head, pulling herself together.
“Dad never talked much about his work at Atlas. It could be a coincidence, but . . .” she trailed off. “We need to look into this.” Sabrina took the photo off the wall, looked around, and threw the frame on the ground.
Glass shattered around them. Dramatic. But fair.
The family was out of the house and never coming back. If they wanted it, they would have taken it already.
Kneeling down, Sabrina picked up the photo, frowning at the frozen memory.
“Don’t tell my dad. Not yet,” she said, rolling up the photo and shoving it in her vest.
“You go,” Finn said. “Take the family back. I’ll stay behind and see if I can find anything else.”
Sabrina looked conflicted.
“I don’t like spitting up. Bad things happen when we do,” she said, resting her hand on her holster.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll call you when I’m on my way back,” Finn said, itching to look further into the office of the scientist. Anything good would have already been taken, but maybe he left something.
The anxiety and curiosity of finding the connection to her father outweighed her previous thoughts.
She nodded her agreement.
“Call the second you find something,” she said sternly.
“Pinkie promise.” Finn winked at her.
Sabrina rolled her eyes.
“Be safe. Love you,” Sabrina said, punching Finn lightly on the shoulder.
“Love you too, Bug,” he said as they parted ways.
Finn looked away as the family said their last goodbyes to all their belongings, their lives, friends, families, and their house.
They deserved to have a moment to mourn before they kicked them out of their own home.
Resolve came over Finn again. They needed to stop Legion at any cost.
As soon as they left, Finn lingered behind, staring at the empty place on the wall where the photo had been hanging.
Something wasn’t adding up. Why hadn’t Henry told them? If his colleagues were being targeted, he should have informed them. It would have been their best lead. If Legion was going after them, then they could pinpoint who to help faster. He needed to find who else was in the photo.
Finn wandered around the house for another two hours looking for any other clues without any luck.
Charlie sent a message that they had arrived home without any interference.
Finn messaged Sabrina and Charlie to say he couldn’t find anything and was on his way back.
Everyone was safe. For the first time, they had done it.
They won this round, then?—
—a sharp crack of a gunshot exploded.
Finn’s body jolted.
Instinctively, his hands flew to his abdomen, trying to staunch the flow, but the blood was already soaking through his fingers.
Two black figures came out of the window. Both were wearing metallic masks.
Legion.
Finn’s chest tightened, not from the pain, but from the crushing thought that he had never told Lucie he was falling for her.