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The Chosen Ones of the North -- a dumb name, even for a dumb cult, Chloe has to agree with Coop on that one -- have stopped sending her threatening letters. A normal person would probably be relieved, she thinks, to no longer have their bullshit dangling over them, but Chloe's a more suspicious person than that. The last letter they'd sent nearly two months ago, had alluded to October being a month of change, had listed all the ways in which she had failed to satisfy the group's demands, had directly threatened Nate as a way to punish her for that failure, and had assured her it would be the last time she heard from them until the time of blood and renewal.

Chloe doesn't quite know what that means, but she has to assume it's not good. At least Nate's no longer in their line of fire.

She doesn't give it much thought until October rolls around and even then, she doesn't dwell on it. The first few weeks come and go, nothing happens, and Chloe forgets about it again, doing her best to just keep up with the life she has here. It's not until she hears from her buyer that the compass has been stolen from his personal collection that she really takes interest again. The compass she had nearly died getting him. The compass the Chosen Ones of the North have been so obsessed with.

The same day she gets home to find a note stuck under the door of her flat. It simply reads, Nate's gone. Therese isn't.

Chloe goes without giving herself time to think. She gets her pistol and her knife, then grabs her phone and texts Coop on her way to Therese's flat. He'd asked her not to go off half-cocked, so she's not. She's checking on Therese first, making sure the threat to legitimate before she goes flying off to their hideout.

Therese isn't home, though. And the deadbolt on her apartment door is broken, the wood jamb shattered from the impact of the blow that had forced it open. She enters the apartment and does a careful sweep, but it's empty, and she's heading back to her car, calling Coop at the same time, telling him to meet her downstairs. She makes jokes and she teases him, but when it comes to something like this, there are few people she trusts as completely.

"They took Therese," she tells him once he's in the car with her. She wastes no time pulling away from the curb. "And they stole the compass back. The buyer is pissed." It's clear she doesn't care about the buyer at all. Her concern is all for Therese.

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Well, so much for these people being similar to the cults he'd dealt with back in Los Angeles. The idiotic, inept cults that tripped over their own two feet. This wasn't like that. Coop frowned as he buckled himself in.

"Okay, put your emotions away for a little while," he told her, glancing over. "Gotta focus to make this work."

That's not something Chloe is particularly good at. What she's good at is not developing emotions in the first place, keeping a bit of distance between herself and another person, but when she succumbs to that, to actually caring about someone, she's never been very good at turning it off. She'd walked away from Nate and Syria and the bloody city of Ubar for Charlie, because she couldn't stomach the thought of him being one more casualty in Nate's current obsession. She's only going after Therese because she cares about her.

She would do the same thing for Coop.

He's right, though, she can't just blast in there all hot headed and angry. Someone will inevitably get hurt in that scenario and she can't run the risk of it being either of the friends she's gotten tangled up in this.

"When you looked into them, did anything get back to you about a ritual?" she asks as she drives. "They really believe the legend of this compass is true, that they can bring about the end of Darrow by using it to leave, but their letters made it sound like they had to perform some sort of ritual in order to make it happen."

"No," Coop says and frowns because that's not good. If they don't know what ritual they're talking about, they're going to be going in blind and Coop knows that that's not good even with inept cults.

"No one had any information about a ritual," he reiterates, "but most tend to involve a sacrifice of some kind so."

Drive faster.

"Yeah. They were threatening Nate before he disappeared," she says as she drives. They're moving quickly, but she's an excellent driver, she's careful and smart, and she knows what to do in order to not get pulled over because she's speeding. "They said something vague about punishing him for my failures and a time of blood and renewal. Which to me says sacrifice."

She hears the silent urging in Coop's words and does her best to drive faster without calling too much attention to them. At least they know where these idiots have their home base, at least they're not going to spend the next few hours scrambling around the city trying to find them. They don't have much working in their favour at the moment, but at least there's that.

"All this trouble and I'm not sure this compass was worth that hefty payday," she admits.

"Might want to stick to cigarettes and beer for the foreseeable future," Coop said, reaching for the handle at the top of the door and holding on.

"You have a weapon on you?" he asked, glancing over. "I don't. I don't do well with guns or anything. But, someone should probably have one."

"Always," she answers. "Do you want my knife?"

She knows Coop doesn't like guns and she won't force a firearm on him if he doesn't want it, but she'll hand over the knife if he wants to be armed. There's another pistol hidden in a secret compartment under the backseat and she plans on getting it for herself before they go in, which makes giving her knife over to someone else is just a little bit easier.

Besides, she's better with guns than she is with knives.

"It'll make me feel better," she says. "Knowing you're carrying something."

Coop would prefer no weapon at all but then she had to go say something like that and though he makes a face, he nods.

"Yeah. Let's just hope I don't stab my own eye out." His stupid ability was so stupid. He could deflect magic but that didn't do anything when shot at him with a frigging gun or stabbed him with a knife. He wanted a refund.

"Just keep the pointy end away from your face, darling," she answers and it's meant to be a light quip, but her voice is strained in a way that makes joking difficult. She doesn't sound light, she probably won't, no matter what she tries.

Taking a sharp corner expertly, Chloe drives them further from the centre of the city, toward the edges of Darrow as they know it. Out here are industrial spaces, some of them abandoned, though most still in use. At this time of the evening, though, the area is dead quiet.

"I wish we'd had more time to get information about them," she says in a low voice. She kills the lights on the car as they near the block where their home base is set, then lets the car coast into a parking spot.

"Thing is there might not be more information about them," Coop said, glancing over. "That might be what they're strength is, keeping themselves off the grip. It's happened with a lot of things here."

Every other week something new was appearing, terrorizing them, and they had no warning whatsoever. It wouldn't surprise Coop if that was a thing here.

"Might just have to go in blind no matter what."

It's not unusual for her, going in blind, not when she's working with Nate, so Chloe is used to it, but it's not her style. The job with the compass had been well researched and it had gone wrong due to the same cult they're going after now. Chloe likes knowing what she's getting into, what her escape routes might be, and what options she has going in.

Right now, sitting in the dark car, she knows this is the only option.

With her expression set hard, Chloe unbuckles her seat belt, then turns into the back so she can flip up the seat, getting out her spare pistol. She tucks it into the pocket of her jacket, then looks at Coop.

"Let's go," she says simply. Then she's out of the car, careful not the slam the door and draw any attention to their location. She's lucky he's willing to come with her.

Coop dumped himself out of the car and tried to keep up with her as best he could. He was right on her heels as he said, "I feel like I should give some big motivational peep or tell you to be careful or something."

But he wasn't doing either of those. "Don't go in there guns blazing, Chloe. She's in there and you don't want to tip them off, okay? I know you know this but you need to hear it right now."

"I'm not going to risk her life," she answers. She'd never do that. She'd never risk his either. It was why she'd all but shoved him out of that warehouse when it had begun to burn, and a part of her hates that she's brought him alone now, but she can't do this alone.

And there's no one else in Darrow she trusts to help her like Coop.

And she stays true to her word, walking quietly and quickly, leading Coop toward the building they'd pinpointed weeks ago as belonging to the cult. She nods at the alley that goes along the west side of the building where she knows there's a fire escape they can take up to the second level. A better vantage point by far.

Oh god, the effort this stupid cult was making them go through. He wasn't adverse to hard work but he doesn't exactly want to climb a fire escape and go slinking in windows. But, if it has to be done, it has to be done.

"Go," he murmured, nodding. "I can follow you."

And watch her back.

"Take this first," she says in a low voice, removing her knife and the sheath she wears on her belt. Coop can't be hurt by magic and she takes some measure of comfort in that, but the cult might very well not use anything like that. They might be all about their daggers and throwing punches and she wants him to be safe.

Going in tonight to save one friend and losing the other isn't her plan at all.

"Then boost me up?" she asks. "I can lower the ladder once I'm up there."

Coop made a face at the knife but he took it, tucking it in his belt away from his junk because that was the last thing he needed.

"Don't step on my head," he told her, holding his hands out and nodding. "And don't wait for me once you're up there. I'll be right behind you. Don't worry about keeping an eye on me. I'm competent."

When he wanted to be, he was very competent and he knew when to charge in and stay back. He was going to let her run this and be the best back up he could be.

"I know, darling," she answers. "You wouldn't be here if I didn't think you were capable."

It's not really the sort of endearments that might come from someone else, but from Chloe, it's saying a lot. She doesn't use the word trust, but she thinks it's quite clearly implied and she offers Coop a small smile as she steps into the cradle of his hands and then places her hand on his shoulder, pushing herself up quickly. With a swift movement, she grabs the metal rungs above her, then pulls herself up quickly, getting first one elbow on the platform, then the other. In another moment she's up and lowering the ladder, then doing what Coop had told her, climbing up to the next level so she can look in a low window.

"Shit," she breathes. Inside, there's the cult. They're not dressed in robes or cloaks, they're not chanting, they're not even standing in the circle, but even from this distance, Chloe can see the burning candles set up in a circle on a table, the compass in the centre of it.

And she can see Therese. Her hands tied. But she's alive.

"Oh, that's not good," Coop said, frowning. That just seemed like some really bad cult bullshit right there. It was cliche but he didn't see anything ridiculous about this. The cult he'd dealt with had been buffoonish and outlandish. Coop wasn't picking anything like that up here.

"She's alive," he said aloud. "There's still time. We're here, we can stop whatever's about to happen."

Chloe nods, then gestures to another window further along the fire building. They'll have to go over the edge and onto the next one, then the one after that, but it gives them a better entry point. One where they won't be seen when they drop inside.

"I want to keep them from seeing us for as long as possible," she says as she begins to move. There isn't much for them to hide behind once they're inside save for a few boxes here and there, but the longer they can stay out of sight, the better.

She goes over to the next fire escape easily, then the next, working on the window as she waits for Coop to join her. It's not a difficult lock to pick and she opens it after just a few moments, then slowly slides open the window.

Coop almost wishes he'd thought to bring the Living Numbers since it would have made the whole unlocking thing easier but what's done was done. He stays close to her, being the eyes while she works on their entrance.

So far, he hasn't seen much movement which worries him. There's gotta be someone in there besides Therese. They hadn't all gone home to have dinner.

For the most part, the cult seems more interested in the compass than Therese, which works in their favour as Chloe opens the window and then carefully slips over the edge. She's nearly silent as she slides down the wall and then lands on the floor and nods for Coop to follow her.

She moves slowly and carefully, not wanting to draw unwanted attention from the cult members clustered near the compass. Closer now, she can see one of them has a dagger at his belt, and she knows it's not just for show.

Carefully, she creeps toward Therese, then realizes Coop has her knife. He'll have to be the one who cuts Therese free from the chair they've tied her to while Chloe covers them. She ducks down behind a box, then gestures for Coop to join her.

God, it was times like this where Coop really did consider getting a desk job. All that filing and data entry would be so much easier than creeping around, getting involved in cult business and hiding out behind a box handing a knife to someone.

"You're not going to ninja star throw this, right?" Coop asked as he handed it over. He knew it was primarily to untie Therese but Chloe was pissed so better to be safe than sorry.

A bruise is blooming along her right cheekbone, a handful of other cuts and scrapes and dark blotches on her skin from when they dragged her out of her apartment and brought her here, her skin raw where she's been tied to a chair. This is, without question, the most frightened Therese has ever been in her life, and it doesn't help that she can barely comprehend what's going on. She's caught a few snippets of conversation, listened because there's been nothing else for her to do, but it isn't as if she can do anything about it herself. She isn't much of a fighter. Even if she were, she would be vastly outnumbered, incapable of standing a chance.

So she sits, and she waits, and she hopes that somehow, someone will find her. It's a surprise, though, when someone does, her eyes widening substantially when she sees Chloe and her friend by the window and moving closer to her. She doesn't dare say anything, but she tries to meet Chloe's eyes and nod, frantic.

"Unless you suddenly want my gun, I need you to cut her free while I cover you," Chloe whispers to Coop, though she's looking at Therese now. They're holding each others' gaze and she's trying to communicate somehow that she isn't going to let anything happen to her. These people have been screwing around with her for far too long, they're the reason she nearly died, the reason Coop and Nate had been in so much danger, and now they're trying to hurt Therese, too.

She needs to get Therese out without attracting their attention. They're clustered around the compass, talking among themselves, but she knows they won't stay distracted forever. She needs to get Therese and Coop both out of here and then she can take out each and every last one of them.

She can wipe the Chosen Ones of the North off the bloody map.

"Go," she whispers, drawing her gun, shifting her gaze to the cult members. She braces herself against a box, training her gun on the one with the knife. Trusting Coop to get Therese free.

Oh god oh god oh god oh god.

Okay, he darted out from behind the relative safety of the boxes and crept his way toward Therese. He gave her a slight nod as he approached and went for the legs first, trying to cut those loose so getting away could be the first thing they did.

"Chloe's here," he whispered, nodding. "Don't worry, she's handling things. Not me."

Therese doesn't actually know the man who's come in with Chloe, but right now, that doesn't much matter. There are few people here she trusts as much as she does Chloe, and it isn't as if she has much in the way of choice right now, anyway. Whatever it will take to get her out of here is worth it. Whatever this is, her heart is racing in her chest, she's queasy and pale with fear, and she doesn't want to find out what will happen if they don't get out of here soon.

She nods again in response, instinctively flexing her feet when her ankles are loose, relieved and desperate all at once. "Thank you," she mouths. The sooner they can get out, the quieter they can be about it, the better off they'll be, she thinks.

They're doing well, staying quiet, Coop is working quickly, and Chloe has her eye on the group of people near the compass. She has a moment when she thinks everything is just going to work, that they're going to get Therese out of here without an incident, but she should have known better.

Ever since coming to Darrow -- no, ever since working with Nate -- nothing has gone smoothly.

"Hey!"

The voice comes not from the group, but from the side, a door Chloe had looked over and dismissed. The group around the compass turn, almost as one, all of them staring first at the man who's come through the door, then at Therese and Coop.

"What the hell?" the man says. "Get away from her."

Chloe has to stand now, reveal herself, and she takes her other gun from her belt, training one on each group. She's a good shot, but this is pushing it. "Careful, darlings, I've been known to shoot."

"Oh, this isn't good. This isn't good at all," Coop said, standing up and trying to at least put himself in front of Therese while she got herself free.

"Uh, can't we sit down and talk about this gentleman?" Because he didn't want to get shot. Please no one shoot him. He was brittle and a little weak. He took a breath and looked over his shoulder.

"Bet we can settle this man to man or woman to man or whatever."

Therese at least manages to stand up, free of the chair, but she almost wishes she hadn't. It isn't as if she'd liked being held captive, but at least she hadn't been going against people who have seemed more than willing to hurt her. She isn't equipped to fight, if it comes to that; she doesn't think she's ever even thrown a punch before. For all that she wouldn't have wanted to see what would happen if they'd had their way before Chloe showed up, this is, somehow, all the more terrifying.

"Just let me leave," she says quietly, though she's not really sure to whom she's speaking.

Chloe expects the man with the knife to speak. The one she assumes is the leader. There's something about the way he holds the dagger that implies he'd been prepared to lead whatever ceremony it is they were going to attempt, but he's not the one who steps forward. It's someone else, a woman with dark hair, and she walks toward Therese and Coop without even glancing at Chloe's gun.

Chloe steps quickly from behind her boxes, makes her way to Coop and Therese, her guns still lifted.

"I'd stop there," she warns the woman. "One more step and you won't have the foot to walk on."

But the woman doesn't stop. She just keeps walking. And so Chloe does the only thing she can at this point. Lowering her gun, she takes aim at the woman's foot and squeezes the trigger. The bullet buries itself into the cement floor just to the left of the woman's foot, exactly where Chloe had wanted it to go, but she still doesn't stop. The next shot shatters the bones of her foot as Chloe tries to push Therese and Coop back the way they'd come in.

"You are not staying here on your own," Coop said, letting himself be nudged but refusing to completely leave. The last time he'd done that, Chloe had nearly died and no. He was not doing that again. He was not going to go to her hospital bed and wish he was a praying man so he could do something to help.

"Take them out or you leave with us," Coop told her fiercely. He didn't reach for her since she was holding a gun but he wasn't going anywhere.

Therese stumbles, unsteady on her feet from having been tied up and from how absolutely terrifying this entire situation is, though she's determined enough that she rights herself as quickly as she can. More than anything, all she wants is to get out of this; she won't be the reason that they don't, even if she has to cover her mouth to silence a scream when Chloe shoots through the woman's foot. He's right, though. She doesn't want Chloe staying on her own, either, least of all on her account.

"Leave with us," she echoes as fervently as she can. "We have to go, come on."

"Oh, you can be sure I'm not staying behind with these assholes," Chloe promises them, still without taking her gaze off the rest of the people. They're just waiting, though she doesn't know what for, and the way they remain completely silent unnerves her. They'd certainly been verbose enough in their threatening letters to her, but now they're not saying a word.

The three of them move back toward the window and Chloe isn't sure if she can hold everyone off long enough to get all of them up and out, but she has to try. The door is behind the cult. They're not going to just let them walk out of here.

"Go," she urges. "Try and-"

But before she can finish the thought, the man with the dagger raises it, then scoops the compass off the table and the entire cult rushes them in a soundless mass.

Well, that's not good. Coop just stands there, staring and then he -- well, he starts backing away from the group quickly, trying to grab at Chloe and Therese as he does. They can't fight this many people. They're outnumbered and outgunned and they're all going to end up in pieces if they stand and try and fight.

"We gotta go right now," Coop said, nodding hurriedly. "Right the hell now, we gotta go."

Because waiting even a little longer was probably going to be bad for them so time to go!

Clumsy as she feels on her feet with fear and general unsteadiness, Therese can still think of no better instruction than that. They need to leave, to put as much distance between themselves and here as possible, and then — well, she doesn't know what. There's no way she could feel safe sleeping in her apartment after this. She's not sure where she would. And none of that can happen until they get far away from here.

As hard as she tries to get away, though, the hands grabbing at her make it too difficult. Fingers close around her wrist, and she can't help the cry that escapes her when a blade slices her arm. She pulls back as quickly as she can, cradling her forearm to her chest without caring about the blood on her clothes, but somehow she gets the odd feeling that, if they were trying to do more, they would have.

Chloe has two guns, but she has to be careful with the group rushing them, knowing if she calculates her aim just the slightest bit off, she risks hitting Therese or Coop. She's shooting, taking them down here and there, but there's too many of them and the space simply isn't big enough to give her enough time to get them all.

The one with the dagger is the one she tries to stop, but people cross into her line, protecting him. She shoots twice, takes down two of the people running in front of him and she's aiming again when he suddenly swoops in and grabs Therese. Chloe tries to shove him off, but he swings the dagger and she can see blood and it takes just a moment before she has the barrel of her gun pressed right up against his temple.

"Don't think I won't kill you," she warns, but he's already backing off.

Therese's blood drips off the dagger, droplets spattering all over the floor, and then he smears the blood along the compass, painting it into the etching on the back that had made it so desirable to Chloe's buyer in the first place. She doesn't know what he's doing, what he's trying to do, but then the room is suddenly shaking, trembling as if in the midst of an earthquake.

"Oh god, this isn't good," Coop said, stumbling around when the room started to shake. He grabbed for anything to keep him upright, eyes scanning the ceiling to see if things were about to cave in. He shook his head, eyes finding Chloe and Therese.

"What's the plan here? This thing's gonna collapse if it keeps shaking. I lived in Los Angeles, I know earthquakes and they suck!"

God, if they were about to get sucked into a vortex straight to hell, he was going to be so mad!

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