After Archie and Andre figured out a way to use the generators to pump heat into their temporary living quarters, the group congregated in the center of the stone platform and began discussing their next course of action.

"Let me get this straight," Emily said as she munched on a piece of beef jerky that had been sitting in one of the backpacks they brought with them. "You want us to go back to The Acropolis? One of the most heavily guarded facilities in the country?"

Isra nodded. "I'm with her. That sounds crazy. Even with my luck, I don't even think I could pull it off."

"It's the only way we can get the others back before they get shipped off to The Vault," Chase told them.

"How do you know they weren't sent straight to The Vault?" Emily asked.

Archie shook his head. "When did we ever just send people to The Vault after catching them?" He glanced at Chase. "Blondie's right. They'll be sent to The Acropolis for a day or two while they get processed. Atlas' scientists will probably want to get a look at them too—especially Cassie."

The others nodded. The only thing Atlas loved more than fighting Primes was learning about them. They would surely take a few extra days to study Cassie and the others.

"Alright then," Emily conceded. "How're we going to get there in time anyway? Oregon is like two days away—and that's if we don't make any stops."

Victor sent Chase, silently urging him to tell the girl their plan. He hesitated for a moment. He wasn't sure how she would react. In fact, he wasn't sure how any of them would react.

Wanting to break into Atlas' headquarters was one thing. Contacting the former director of Atlas was another. While he trusted the man, there was no telling if Atlas was still keeping tabs on him. Getting in touch with Pearce Shaw could have led the Jaegers right to them.

Still, the man was the only one who could help them in a time like this. He surely would have access to some mode of transportation they needed to get to The Acropolis before their friends got sent to The Vault.

If they were too late, Chase feared they would never see the others again.

A heist on The Vault, even with Victor's teleportation ability, wasn't feasible. They had to do the extraction at The Acropolis. It was the only way.

And Pearce Shaw would help them do it.

Besides, he owed Chase a favor.

"Um, are you going to answer?" Emily asked irritably.

"Right. Sorry." Chase straightened his posture and nodded. "We were planning on finding a way to contact Director Shaw."

"Ex-director Shaw," Archie corrected.

He rolled his eyes at the boy.

"Yes. Thank you for that, Archie."

"No problem."

Emily narrowed her stare at Chase. "You're kidding."

"I'm dead serious. He's the only one who can help us get there."

"This is crazy." She took another bite of her beef jerky before preparing another response. "Alright. How do you suppose we talk to him? Anyone got his phone number?"

"We don't have phones," Archie pointed out.

"It was a rhetorical question, genius."

The sixteen-year-old scowled at her.

Chase pursed his lips as he thought over her question. She had brought up a good point, despite her unnecessary sarcasm. Getting in touch with Pearce Shaw was easier said than done. Not only did they not have access to traditional forms of communication, for obvious reasons, but they also didn't know of the man's current whereabouts.

Shortly after the former director of Atlas stepped down, Chase and his group went on the run. They hadn't spoken to him since they left. That was three years ago. He could've been anywhere now. For all they knew, he moved out of the country and was lounging around some beach in Ibiza.

He cursed under his breath.

"What?" Andre asked him.

"I just realized we have no idea where Director Shaw is."

"Ontario," Archie said.

Chase blinked. "Huh?"

"Ontario, Canada," he repeated. "Thunder Bay, to be exact. He's got a lake house out there. I remember him telling me that's where he wanted to go whenever he retired from Atlas. I'm pretty sure I could point it out on a map."

Grinning, he reached over and ruffled Archie's dirty blond curls. The boy squirmed and wheeled himself away.

"Ontario, huh," Isra said. She scratched the top of her head. "I figured a guy like him would've picked a more glamorous place."

"What's wrong with Canada?" Andre joked.

Laughing, she shrugged. "Too many mooses."

"It's moose," Archie corrected.

"Whatever."

Chase nodded slowly to himself. He vaguely knew where Thunder Bay was. It wasn't too far away from North Dakota. A drive there would take them around half a day, give or take. They would be able to make it to Pearce Shaw's house, get whatever help they needed, and jet off to The Acropolis within twenty-four hours if they were lucky.

"Perfect," he said. "We'll ride out soon."

As if on cue, the aches and pains that had been plaguing his body for the last few hours reared their ugly heads. He could still feel where Orion had crashed into him. His skin might have been indestructible, but that didn't mean he didn't feel the pain.

Grimacing, he rubbed his midsection.

"Maybe in a few hours," he added. "We all could do with some rest before we head over to Director Shaw's—"

"Why do you keep calling him 'director'?" Isra tilted her head at him. "General North is the new director of Atlas."

"I'll never call that man director," he spat. The girl recoiled at the harshness of his words. His cheeks reddened as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry. To answer your question...I dunno. Force of habit?"

Emily smirked. "He's got a soft spot for old Pearce. He was like a father to him."

Out the corner of his eye, he could see Victor glaring at the ground. The man's fists were clenched tighter than his jaw was.

Clearing his throat, Chase shook his head. "I have a father." His face fell at the thought of his old man. He hadn't seen him in three years as well. He just hoped they were alright. If he found out Atlas had done anything to them during his absence...

Anger flashed across his face.

He couldn't think about that. Not now.

"To be fair," Andre began, "Shaw was like a father to all of us."

Archie nodded. "Big Guy's got a point. After my dad died, he took me in and helped raise me in the facility. I'm not sure where I'd be if it weren't for him."

Chase's eyes widened. He had forgotten Pearce Shaw had practically adopted the boy all those years ago. During their first couple of weeks on the run, Archie had revealed to him that his father—one of the founding members of Atlas along with Pearce himself and Kane—died following a freak experiment. Without hesitation, Pearce took Archie and his mother in and gave them a home. He provided them with anything they would ever need.

The man did the same thing for Chase and all the others.

Atlas had once been a beacon of hope. Guardians of the new world. After President Crane convinced the United Nations to sign and ratify the PRA, that changed. Atlas no longer represented hope. They were totalitarian bullies who used force whenever they could. They didn't believe in safety. The only thing they cared about was having full control.

Of everything.

They took the company away from Pearce. They mutilated it, obscuring it and removing any recognizable feature. The man deserved better.

No longer was Atlas holding up the sky.

The sky cracking around them. And soon it would come crashing down.

"I'm glad you all have such a fond memory of my father," Victor interrupted. He stood up, his hand clutching the handle of the katana strapped to his hip. "If anyone needs me, I'll be scoping out the tunnels. You know, so we're all safe."

In the blink of an eye, he had vanished. Red and black particles swirled in the air where he once stood.

Everyone exchanged confused glances.

"Well, that was weird," Andre said.

"Tell me about it," Emily added. "What's his problem?"

"You know Victor," Archie replied. "He's always got a problem."

Normally, Chase would've agreed with them and brushed this incident off as Victor being Victor. But he knew that wasn't the case. Out of everyone in their group, he had the deepest relationship with the man. They started as fierce rivals, nearly killing each other multiple times. Now they were...acquaintances. He couldn't use the word friends, as they were nowhere near that.

Still, he could tell something had bothered him.

And he had a feeling he knew what that something was.

He stood up.

"Where are you going?" Emily asked. "We still need to figure out this plan. We don't have a lot of time."

"I'll be right back," he assured her. "Come up with ideas on how we can reach Director Shaw and we'll discuss them when I come back."

"But—"

He jogged off into the sewer tunnel before she could finish.

#

He found Victor deep within one of the tunnels staring up at a hole in the ceiling. The manhole was missing; snowflakes rained down from the black sky above. A chilling breeze entered the tunnel, rattling Chase's bones as he carefully approached the man.

"Why are you here?" Victor asked, his head still pointed upward.

"Was just making sure you were okay."

He snorted. "Oh yeah? Why would you care?"

"You might be a pain in my ass but you're still a part of this team."

He didn't reply.

"I'm assuming it has something to do with your dad," Chase guessed. "Right?"

Sighing, Victor nodded.

Chase took a spot next to him and mirrored his vision. The sky above was obscured by dark, snow clouds. Occasionally, there was a break in them that revealed the black, star-filled expanse. The sight was beautiful.

A frown tugged at his lips.

The stars were so far away. Just like his parents. His home.

Even the prospect of getting his friends back felt like a shot in the dark. He wouldn't tell the others that, though. They needed hope. They needed something to fight for. If not, he feared they all would succumb to the overwhelming numbness that he felt growing deep inside him.

It was the same numbness Victor had been dealing with his entire life.

Chase couldn't even begin to fathom what he had been through. Not only was his mother murdered by Kane, but he was abducted by the man at the age of ten. He was ripped away from his father and sister, Victoria. He didn't have the luxury of a normal childhood, as he was groomed and brainwashed into becoming a ruthless assassin. Dozens of people died by his blade, all in the name of Kane's psychotic philosophy of creating a stronger world.

Somehow, Victor had broken free of the hold Kane had on him. He killed the villain everyone knew as Apex and went off the grid.

He had been on the run for longer than any of the others. The man didn't have a home. Atlas never let him stay anywhere long enough to make one.

But then he found Bella—likely the only source of happiness in his life.

And now she was gone, captured by Atlas.

Victor had gone through more than anyone in the entire group. Yet, he was still there. Still fighting. Still breathing.

As hard as it was to admit, Chase admired him. He aspired to be as strong as him. His hyperstrength made him look weak compared to the mental fortitude Victor possessed.

"I haven't seen him in five years," Victor revealed. His glossy, blue eyes were brimming with tears. Sniffling, he angrily wiped them away and kept his gaze on the inky black sky above. "And that last time I saw him, I nearly killed him."

"That wasn't you," Chase told him. "You were still under Kane's spell—"

He chuckled. "There was no spell."

"You were brainwashed. Manipulated. Kane made you do those things."

"I believed in his mission," Victor said, his voice low. "I still believe in it." He turned to Chase. "Why should we have to live in the shadows? I could teleport to the White House and kill President Crane if I wanted to. You could crush the skull of anyone you come into contact with. Why do we have to hide and play nice with these people?"

"We can't become the monsters they want us to be."

"If they already see us as monsters, what's the point in trying to prove them wrong?"

Chase's brow furrowed. His brain struggled to formulate a response.

Part of him wanted to agree with the man. After all, he had a point. They were Primes—genetically superior beings with powers that should've only existed in the pages of comic books. Why were people who were far less powerful than they were in charge?

Yet, Chase couldn't get past the flaws in that way of thinking.

He saw what it did to Kane.

He wouldn't let it happen to him too.

They were still the good guys. The public might not have seen it that way, but that was fine by him. He would make them see. They weren't the enemy. They never were.

"I'm nervous about seeing him again," Victor said after a while.

"I know you are. So am I."

He huffed. "He hates me."

"No, he doesn't."

"How can you be so sure?"

He faced Victor. Placing a hand on the man's shoulder, he offered him a sympathetic look.

"Trust me. I know."

"Alright. If you say so, Sentinel."

Victor studied him before nodding. The two of them clasped hands while holding eye contact for a split second.

"You're alright, you know."

Chase cracked a smile. "You're not too bad either." He gestured toward the tunnel with his chin. "Let's get back to the others. We've still got a journey to prep for."

Exhaling loudly, Victor nodded. In one swift motion, he grabbed Chase's forearm and teleported them back to the group.

#

Chase didn't get much sleep that night.

Most of it was spent mulling over the plan and whether it would work or not.

Half of his brain wanted to call the entire thing off. Not only was making a twelve-hour drive to Thunder Bay shaving off precious time for them to rescue their friends, but they weren't even certain Pearce Shaw would be at his lake house. Atlas also likely kept tabs on the man and his properties. Who was to say the Jaegers wouldn't come kicking in the door as soon as they arrived?

It was a total shot in the dark.

But it was the only bullet they had left in the chamber.

The plan was simple. Get to Thunder Bay as quickly as possible, get help from Pearce Shaw, and get to The Acropolis in record time.

If everything went smoothly, they might have been able to free their friends from Atlas' clutches.

Shivering slightly, Chase stared up at the concrete ceiling. Snores and water droplets falling into puddles on the ground filled the spacious tunnel. Everyone was spread out around him, either sleeping on ripped-up sleeping bags rescued from their van or their winter coats.

Through one of the manhole coverings above, he could see the faint rays of the morning sun streaming through. Soon, it would be time to go. Soon, they would be reunited with their old boss and mentor.

Either that or they would get captured trying.

He tried not to think about the second possibility too much.

He already let his group down once that week. A second failure wasn't an option for him. They would make it to Thunder Bay. They would rescue the rest of their group.

Orion's face flashed across his mind.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he forced the image out. While he was still deathly afraid of another altercation with the Super Prime, which is what he decided he would call him, he convinced himself they wouldn't meet again.

After a few more minutes of laying down on the freezing cold ground, Chase groggily rose to his feet and began waking up the others. Once they were all awake and dressed back into their winter clothes, they made their way back to their van—which had been left at the entrance of the sewer tunnel.

Luckily, it was still there.

That meant the Jaegers hadn't found their position.

The snow hadn't ruined the van's ability to start, meaning they were all set to begin the drive. According to Andre, they had enough gas to complete most of the trip, but they would have to stop for some eventually. Chase would figure that out later. For now, they needed to get on the road.

"Everyone ready?" he asked as he climbed into the passenger's seat beside Andre.

Once everyone was filed into the back carriage of the van, they nodded.

After giving Andre the go-ahead, Chase stared off into the distance through his window. The rolling, snow-covered hills beckoned before them, the mountains in the background ushering them forward. A determined glint filled Chase's eyes. He set his jaw and nodded.

He wouldn't fail this time.

Because failure wasn't an option.