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revnah1406 · 1 year

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Mason’s Legacy - Chapter 5: Past and present

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(there's a little gift at the end of the chapter 💕)

The tide of sleep began to recede slowly from her mind. The sounds around her were a bit clearer, sometimes she could even hear voices around her. She didn't know who they belonged to, she didn't even know what they were talking about, they seemed to her to be incoherent and meaningless conversations. She didn't know how much time passes between voices, minutes? Days? Weeks? She didn't care, they were like flies trying to disturb her tranquility, but she was so tired that she didn't even care.

Abby slept without caring what was going on around her, but she didn't dream either. Nobody visited her in a dream, Woods didn’t appear, much less her mother. Abby had a vague recollection of that strange last conversation with her. That was a strange dream, it felt different.

Alice's words brought her daughter out of the waters of unconsciousness. The light began to pass through the eyelids, She felt her back sink into a mattress and her mouth no longer tasted of blood.

Abby's eyes widened slightly, just a little. Her vision was out of focus, she had to blink slowly a few times. She felt that everything was heavy. Her mouth was dry and her ears were ringing. She was so disoriented that she hardly knew where left and right were.

Her eyes widened a little more and she struggled to recognize where she was. She recognized that she was on a hospital bed, the sheets were white and warm. She had an assisted breathing tube in her nostrils, a monitor recording her heart rate and vital signs. Abby noticed that there was a blue jacket lying on top of the sheets, covering and warming her chest. Abby frowned slightly, not understanding whose jacket it was. But she didn't give it more importance when she realized that one of her wrists was handcuffed to the bed rail.

Suddenly she remembered hearing a couple of voices discussing whether to use handcuffs or not.

Abby tried to move her arm, the muscles were tons, but she managed to lift her hand as far as the cuffs would allow. When she raised her arm, she realized that she had several intravenous and subcutaneous lines connected to her hand and forearm. Abby turned her head and looked at her other arm, all the cigarette burns had been treated and taken care of, she felt a cold sensation under the bandages. Breathing hurt her ribs but she also realized she had bandages around her chest and back, they were placed tighter than the ones on her arm, holding her ribs. Other patches, small bandages and gauze covered other areas of the hands and fingers.

She focused ers gaze a little further away from the bed. There was a nightstand, on it was a small astronomy book and a vase filled with wildflowers.

On the other side of the bed was an armchair, which Abby could tell had been moved closer to the bed. On the chair was a neatly folded pile of clean clothes. Abby recognized his black cargo pants, there was also her shirt now perfectly clean and without traces of blood, there was also a navy blue sweatshirt, it seemed warm inside although she thought that maybe it was going for something big, and finally there were socks and underwear clean. An old dark brown leather bomber jacket rested on the back of the chair. She looked down and at the foot of the chair she recognized her boots, they had been cleaned and the laces had been changed. She was wearing a hospital gown, had someone left those clothes for her when she woke up?

The morning sun was streaming in through the window. That bothered the tired eyes of the young woman. She wanted to look out the window, to know where she really was. She only had to get up and walk a few steps. But she grunted in pain when she tried to just sit up, her ribs aching like hell, so she dropped her head back onto the pillow. She sighed and looked back at the handcuffs that bound her to the bed. She had to find a way to get the little lock open, maybe with a bobby pin, a paper clip, or a simple pack of matches.

Suddenly the door opened. Abby had no choice but to pretend to remain unconscious. She closed her eyes and kept a blank expression.

Abby heard a couple of people come in.

"What is the kidl's situation?" A man's voice echoed through the room, low, calm, almost emotionless.

Abby had to force herself not to jump when she felt a cold hand touch her forehead.

"The fever has dropped noticeably. That's a good sign. She'll be back to consciousness soon." A woman's voice was heard next to the young woman. She sounded melodic and calm, she had a British accent.

Abby listened as the man lit a lighter. Maybe he decided it was a good time to smoke.

"You shouldn't smoke here." The woman scolded him but his partner ignored her.

"We can't waste any more time. This is important. If she doesn't wake up in the next few days, we'll have no choice but to force her to wake up."

Abby listened to the woman's footsteps pacing the room.

"That would be dangerous. We could cause brain damage. When she wakes up, we'll have to test her, let her adjust. We can't attack with questions from minute one. She'd end up getting defensive and we'd get nowhere."

"Since when do you worry so much about an interrogation subject?"

There were a few seconds of silence.

"She's different... You know that very well..." The woman's footsteps approached where the man was. "And if you don't want to create an internal war in the team, I suggest you don't touch a single hair on her head ."

There was another moment of silence, it became tense. Abby really wanted to open her eyes, curiosity was eating her up inside, but she wasn't going to risk being found out. So she kept still.

"And to you I suggest you put your emotions and feelings aside and focus on what our true goal is. It almost seems like…you're trying to make up for something…Are you guilt-ridden about something?"

"You don't want to do this…" the woman replied.

"We will wait three days. Until the rest return. If she hasn’t awakened by then, we will take action on the matter."

There was another silence, until shortly after the footsteps of the woman were heard leaving the room. Leaving Abby with that man. Abby could feel the heavy gaze of his eyes on her. She felt uncomfortable, but she didn't move. He was analyzing her for a while, until he sighed and left the room too.

Abby waited a few seconds, making sure no one else was there, and discreetly opened her eyes. She sighed with relief, it had been a short conversation between those two people but Abby felt that it had been eternal.

She didn't know who those people were, or what they wanted from her. She felt over the wound in her abdomen, she felt a cotton gauze covering it. Abby closed her eyes and cursed silently, the flash drive had been found and taken from her. Surely they wanted to ask her questions about where she had gotten that USB.

Either way, Abby mistrusted them, she had to find a way to get out of there and get back to her father as soon as possible. Maybe then she would find some way to recover the flash drive.

She was willing to get out of there, no matter the cost. And she was going to get it.

______________

He advanced calmly but decisively, without stopping. His footsteps echoed down the hall, greeting people he passed with a slight nod without changing his stoic expression.

He opened the door that led to the outside, as usual, he put on his sunglasses covering his eyes. The vehicles went from one place to another and the people too. He went towards the area of the helicopters and while one of them flew over him.

Just in time.

The helicopter landed in front of him, but the man was unfazed by the noise or the wind caused by the helicopter's blades. He didn't even mess up, well... maybe he didn't mess up because he didn't have hair...

The man in the sunglasses waited patiently for the helicopter to settle completely on the asphalt and the blades to stop turning. He rested both hands behind him, keeping equal weight on both legs, displaying a firm pose.

Two more men got off the helicopter, first a man with green eyes got off, his hair and trimmed beard were brown although they were beginning to show some gray hair, he had a satisfying smile on his face. He jumped out of the helicopter, slung his trusting sniper rifle over his shoulder, and walked over to the man in the sunglasses.

He was followed by a second person, who seemed to be the one who flew the helicopter as it took a little longer to get out. He was frowning as usual, his eyes were blue and his hair and beard were black, he seemed to have more gray than his partner. Despite the cold, that man didn't mind wearing short sleeves, he showed his tattoos, already somewhat old and a little blurred by the years.

"It's good to have you back" Greeted the bald man.

"Yeah, well… it wasn't a walk in the gardens…" the green-eyed man answered while the blue-eyed man remained silent.

The three of them began to walk into the facility, greeting anyone they met with a nod.

"Do you have it?" The man with the glasses asked.

The one with the green eyes bowed his head. "They were definitely there, but when we got there all the documents had been burned or moved…"

"Yeah… Those pieces of shit knew we were going there. They gave us a warm welcome" the blue-eyed finally decided to speak.

There were a few seconds of silence until they entered the building and walked through the corridors until they reached the elevator.

"How have things been around here?" The brown haired one asked.

The bald man sighed through his nose.

"We are still working on security measures. We are short on staff and resources… but we are staying afloat. In a few weeks we will be fully operational, it’s what you have to do when you move home…" he answered, calling the elevator.

"And how is she?" he asked again. In a slightly lower key.

The man with the tattoos looked up, watching the other take off his sunglasses.

The elevator arrived and the three of them went inside, pressed the button for the penultimate floor, and waited for the elevator to go up.

"Her brain activity has increased markedly, the fever has almost disappeared. I deduce that in a couple of days she will be fully conscious." he reported.

"Did you hear that?" The green-eyed man smiled and patted his partner's arm in a friendly way. "In a few days she will have woken up. The wait will have been worth it."

The man sighed and remained silent.

"Are you nervous?"

The man with the tattoos was going to answer but when the elevator doors opened on the designated floor. He immediately drew the pistol, setting off all his alarms. The other two men reacted in the same way, drawing their weapons and keeping their guards up.

"Shit…" the man with the tattoos was the first to get out of the elevator.

That floor was one of the least used. There were few personnel hanging around those corridors, so it was the best place to keep the girl for observation. In fact, few knew of the girl's presence. Even so, the place was well guarded, there were people standing guard in the corridors and personnel working there.

But now, all those personnel were on the ground, unconscious or trying to recover. There were signs of a fight, objects thrown on the floor, broken furniture, blood spatters...

"Search the rooms." The man with the sunglasses ordered.

The three men began to search the rooms. The one with the tattoos was the one who entered the room where Abby was staying. He entered slowly and quietly, always keeping his gun up. A knot tightened in his stomach when he saw that the room was in complete disarray. He walked through the silent place, watching his steps, trying not to step on broken glass or small debris. The vase where the flowers used to be was broken on the floor, the water had splashed everywhere. The book was gone, as were the clean clothes, and his blue jacket was lying on the floor.

His blue eyes noticed that the handcuffs that had previously tied the young woman to the bed had been opened, the lock had been forced with a bent paper clip. Those handcuffs served to prevent that, so that when Abby woke up and had a violent action towards them, they could contain her. In a way, that squeezed his heart, seeing how they treated the young woman as a threat, when he knew perfectly well that she wasn’t.

Still, the handcuffs weren't much help. They really were of no use. They had been easily opened

He frowned, it all didn't seem to make sense. Who could have taken the gkid? Who knew the facilities well enough to be able to blend in with the crowd?

The sound of someone waking up brought the man out of his thoughts. He turned and saw that on the floor next to the bed was Abby's charge nurse. She seemed to have been unconscious for a long time. He noticed that the woman had a syringe stuck in her leg. Someone had used the sedative on her.

He quickly crouched down beside her and took the syringe from her. He gave her a couple of pats on the cheek to make her wake up faster.

"Hey, hey. Wake up." The man kept insisting until the nurse opened her eyes "what the hell happened here?"

The woman looked confused at the man for a few seconds. She blinked a few times and looked around.

"Shit… it was her" she replied in a very weak tone.

"Her?"

"The girl. She caught me off guard. She attacked me from behind and then stuck the syringe in my leg… I don't remember anything else… Everything is very blurry"

He clenched his jaw. Why would she do something like that?

"Don't move, I'll go and get help." He warned.

He got up and left the room. He met his very trusting friend in the hallway.

"The weapons of some of the staff have disappeared. There is a lack of antibiotics and first aid supplies... but there are no casualties, everyone is alive. Those who are in the worst condition received a good blow to the head"

The man in the sunglasses approached them, seeming to bring more bad news.

"The rooms are clear but the USB drive has also disappeared."

The man with the tattoos took a deep breath trying to calm his thoughts but ended up channeling them into his fist and hit a table that was in his way. He didn't mind smashing his knuckles against the hardwood, he didn't pay much attention to the pain, his thoughts were too agitated.

He walked towards his two companions.

"It was her. Abby took the fucking USB drive…" The man with the tattoos was pacing like a mad dog, running his fingers through his beard thoughtfully.

He wasn't mad at her. He would never be angry with her, Abby had her reasons to distrust them, he knew it very well. He was angry with himself. If only he had arrived earlier, just a few hours earlier… All of this wouldn't have happened, all of this fucking disaster could have been avoided. Now they had lost the young woman and the USB drive again.

"We will find her." The green-eyed man spoke in a serious tone.

"I'll warn the rest." The third man continued, "we'll start a search party right away. He can't go far."

The man with the tattoos pointed at him threateningly.

"If your asshole men touch a single hair on his head…"

The man didn’t show any kind of reaction. As always with his ice cube attitude.

"Don't worry."

_________

"You have to open your eyes"

Abby obeyed, but everything was dark, she was only able to see small particles floating. She opened her mouth but was only able to expel bubbles and the little air she had left. She was underwater, still at the bottom of the Potomac River. Abby was unable to find the flashlight, everything was too dark, the water threatened to enter her lungs. The pressure in her chest was getting worse like a valve about to be blown.

Abby began to feel many hands grabbing her feet, legs, shoulders... Abby tried to swim up, wanting to escape from all those half-rotten corpses that wanted to drag her to the bottom of the abyss.

She wanted to scream but only bubbles came out of her mouth. The corpses began to climb up her body until they began to dig their nails into her face.

"Abby…"

The weight of all those dead people weighed on her more and more. The water entered her lungs and stabbed her throat.

"¡Abby…!"

She tried to scream again but no more bubbles came out. The mass of corpses began to surround Abby, almost completely devouring her. She tried to reach out as a last attempt to save herself, she still knew that no one would come down to rescue her.

"¡ABBY!"

Abby woke up with a start, her eyes widening so fast that the morning light hurt her pupils. In the midst of a panic attack, she scrambled backward so fast that her back and head hit the wall. She gasped, frightened, nervous, she was short of breath, she felt as if the water was still in her lungs and was blocking the air intake. She breathed heavily, her ribs ached terribly. Her eyes were focused on a single point in the room, she didn’t blink.

It took a few long minutes for her to manage to lower her anxiety levels, repeating over and over again that everything was fine, that she was no longer at the bottom of that cursed river. She held the hair on her head with both hands, almost as if she wanted it to rip it off

She took a deep breath and hid her face in her arms, making her body into a small ball, embracing her legs as she brought her knees up to her chest, and resting her forehead on them.

"Fuck…"

That nightmare had felt different. It all felt so real… it had happened so fast and at the same time it seemed like forever.

She managed to calm down completely after a few more minutes. She looked up from between her knees and looked out the window. The sun had already risen a couple of hours ago and the sun's rays illuminated the room.

Abby was in a room in an abandoned apartment, like the rest of the buildings and houses. She didn't want to sleep on the bed, the mattress seemed to be full of dust and it smelled horrible. So she slept on the floor on a piece of cardboard. If her body had been aching since the previous days, after sleeping on the hard floor parts of her ached that she didn't think existed.

Abby stood up, grunting from the pain in her ribs. She held her side as she got up. With her hands in the pocket of her sweatshirt, she walked to the window, leaning her back against the next wall. She wasn't going to risk sticking her head out of the window, knowing full well that whoever they were holding her on that hospital stretcher would be looking for her. She looked out into the street.

"Fucking Chicago…" Abby muttered, her voice rough from sleep.

When Abby escaped from that facility, she had to reconnoiter the area. Know where she was. So hse went up to the tallest office building she could find and when she recognized the Chicago buildings she almost wanted to jump off the top of the building. What the fuck was she doing in Chicago?! She was supposed to be in Washington DC?! How was she going to find a way to get to Washington DC, with the few resources she had?! It was going to take months!

Abby sighed tiredly. She turned away from the window, she was hungry, she had finished all the provisions she had taken at the time of her escape. She had been exploring Chicago for several days, looking for an exit route, resources... supplies... but she hadn't found anything for a couple of days.

She grabbed the leather bomber jacket that was hanging from a chair and put it on. She also grabbed the sniper rifle and slung it over her shoulder. She tucked the gun into the waistband of her pants and grabbed the backpack as well.

"Time to check the traps…"

During those days Abby found the parks, abandoned as always, the grass and trees had grown noticeably. Abby found the odd rabbit hole so she set up some makeshift traps out of bits of wire and twigs.

She left the apartment block and walked the streets of Chicago for a long time. Always crossing small alleys, shops or buildings, always avoiding avenues and large streets. With her eyes glued to the windows of the buildings and the trigger of the sniper rifle at the ready. Chicago was snowy, as was Washington DC, but at least the weather was fine and there were no clouds in the sky. The wind was calm and the cold a little more bearable, for which she was grateful.

Abby had to admit, it was strange to be alone while traveling through a city. With David at least she could talk, laugh and joke. With David she felt safe when traveling, but now that she was without her father, Abby felt exposed, alone, she felt that the slightest mistake she made would end up dead and no one would know. Abby had to get back to her father as soon as possible. But how was she supposed to do it? She would have to cross half the country to get to Washington DC. Even she didn't know if David was still there, or if he was alive. She would have to improvise, whatever it was, She wasn’t going to give up.

But first, it was time to see if she had caught anything with the traps.

She arrived at the indicated place, there was a small green area of trees that had grown in a square. The roots had lifted the asphalt and now there was a grassy area in the middle of a square. When Abby discovered that area, she saw rabbit holes near the trees, so it would be the perfect place to set a trap.

There were still a few meters to go when Abby realized there was a crouching figure where the trap was supposed to be. Abby cursed in her thoughts. Someone was stealing her prey. She grabbed the rifle from her shoulder and aimed it at the man who was trying to free the dead rabbit that was caught in the trap.

The sound of reloading the rifle made the man stop in his tracks.

"I suggest you stay out of that trap if you don't want to see your brains staining the snow." Abby threatened in a grim tone.

The man raised his hands slowly and stood up. His fingers were somewhat bruised from trying to cut the wire with just his bare hands.

"I see you got me…" the man showed a worried expression, he even looked scared. "Listen… I don't want any trouble…"

Abby frowned and put her finger on the trigger.

"If you didn't want trouble, you wouldn't have touched a trap that didn't belong to you." She maintained a firm position.

She raised the rifle aiming between the man's eyes.

"Hey hey!" the man raised his hands "we don't have to go to this extreme!"

"Give me one good reason not to." Abby had learned that people lied more than she realized. It is always better to prevent than to cure. She wasn't in the best situation to get stabbed in the back. One wrong move and she was dead, neither David nor Harper there to save her ass.

The man looked towards some trees and made a small sign. From behind the trees appeared a woman and two small children, both children around six and nine years old.

Abby clenched her jaw. Damn... that guy had to be fucking kidding...

"My family and I separated from our group a few days ago... we haven't eaten for a long time... my son has been sick for days, with a terrible fever..."

Abby looked at the little brother for a few seconds, his skin was too pale, he had a weak and tired expression. It seemed that he could barely stand on his feet.

Don't do it Abby... don't...

"We're just passing through. We're trying to meet up with the rest of our people. But I'm afraid my boy won't be able to finish the journey if he doesn't eat something…" the father continued explaining in a pleading tone.

Abby… no… it's not your problem.

"Please…at least let us go."

She looked away and closed her eyes. She was grinding her teeth, contemplating what to do until at last she sighed heavily.

"fuck it"

She stopped aiming and slung the rifle over her shoulder. She pulled out a knife and approached the man resolutely.

He got scared and quickly backed away from the trap. Abby ignored him, knelt down and cut the wire, freeing the dead rabbit.

"You were going to hurt yourself more if you kept trying with just your hands." Abby handed the dead animal over to the man.

He was feeling a little confused, but he accepted it. Abby put her backpack down and started rummaging through it. She took out a couple of pill bottles and handed them to him as well.

"They are antibiotics and antipyretic drugs. For the fever…" she pointed her chin at the sick little boy. "Let him take one every eight hours, he should get better in just a few days. But avoid traveling too much while he recovers" Abby advised as the man accepted the meds still in disbelief. That young woman was about to kill him and now she was giving him medicine.

"Why are you doing this?" The man asked, looking at his family and then Abby.

Abby sighed and smiled sadly.

"Because I like to think that there's still good in this shitty world." She paused and got up from the floor collecting her things. "I am also looking for my people." Abby slung her backpack over her shoulder. "I wish you luck on your journey." And she turned to go for her where she came from.

"You have a pure soul girl!" The man exclaimed watching Abby leave.

Abby stopped for a moment and looked at him for a few moments. Her green eyes said too many things without saying a single word

"Not really" and Abby turned to walk away and disappear among the cars and abandoned streets of Chicago.

Abby spent the rest of the morning looking through the rest of the traps, but they were all empty. So she decided to try her luck elsewhere. She looked for provisions in abandoned supermarkets and in all kinds of stores but found nothing. So when the sun began to hide, she went to the apartment where she had slept. She was tired, hungry, and she had to plan her next move. Nor could she stay in the same place for a long time, so she would rest for a couple of hours and travel at night. Maybe it was safer that way.

Abby returned to the apartment, went into the room where she had slept that night, and put her backpack on the floor. On her way to the apartment she found a tourist office and grabbed a map of the city.

She laid the map flat on the ground and began to scan the streets. With her finger she traced possible routes to get out of Chicago. She knew she had to head east, crossing almost the entire city. She had to hurry and find enough supplies to start her journey. She knew it would take a month if everything went well. But taking into account the deviations and possible unforeseen events, perhaps that period of time would double, even more. Abby thought about the option of using a vehicle, David taught her to drive at a young age, the problem would be finding a suitable vehicle without attracting attention. A well-maintained car was like throwing a piece of meat to the lions, any mugger wouldn't hesitate to attack Abby.

All those thoughts and options and possibilities made Abby want to tear her head off. She wished she could have her father there, guide her to the best option possible.

But suddenly Abby had to force herself out of her thoughts, when for a moment she thought she heard a door slowly open. Abby frowned, stopped moving, stood stone still, even stopped breathing. Focusing all her attention on her ears. Trying to hone her listening skills as much as possible. Had they been following her? Impossible, she had watched her steps, she had made sure not to be seen at any time. Was it the family that was found earlier? No, it was too far away, she had walked around the city too many times that day. The possibility that she had been being watched grew more and more in her mind.

Slow, careful boots creaked the floorboards. Footsteps were slowly approaching.

Abby cursed silently. There was definitely someone in the apartment besides her. Without making a sound, she reached for her backpack, drew her knife, and moved carefully until her back touched the wall next to the door. She tightened her grip on the knife and held it to her chest. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself.

Not today, not today, not today... today will not be the day...

The seconds seemed eternal until finally the boots stopped in front of the door. A few more moments passed, just as long or worse, until the door opened slightly. The first thing to peek out was a gun barrel. Abby had an instinct to want to take the gun from whoever the intruder was, but no. She knew it would end badly if she tried, so she waited a little longer, taking advantage of the surprise factor.

The door opened a little more, finally revealing the face of the newcomer. Abby was surprised by the curious scar that crossed his face. His eyes were behind aviator sunglasses and he was wearing tactical gear.

All this didn’t matter to Abby, with a war cry caused by adrenaline she raised the knife and pointed it at his neck. The man had surprisingly quick reflexes and managed to dodge the stab. Abby wasted no time, as the man tried to recover and kicked the gun out of his hand.

Well, now it was hand-to-hand combat… Abby didn't take her murderous glare from those sunglasses, and the man with the scar didn't seem to be far behind either. They both stood guard, slowly circling the room, like two wolves fighting over territory.

Abby's anxiety and adrenaline made her attack first. While the man was calm, serene and focused. Abby swung the knife from side to side very quickly trying to slit his stomach. But the man with the scar always managed to block Abby's movements and attacks.

The young woman was beginning to get impatient, that man knew very well what he was doing. He wasn't like the rest of the people she had fought, the calm and concentration with which he fought got on Abby's nerves. And she was afraid that this would cause some error in their combat.

So Abby put the full weight of her thoughts on her father's teachings when it came to hand-to-hand combat, kept her distance, and fought based on her possibilities and abilities. Abby was smaller than this man, that much was clear, so she searched for the gaps so she could fit the knife inside his guard. She used his fists, feinted, shifted the knife from one hand to the other, tried to move around him, always looking for weak spots.

The man with the scar always blocked the attacks without any problem until in a quick turn Abby managed to kick the Inside of his knee, making him unbalanced. Abby used that reaction and the momentum of the spin to brace the man on the side of the neck but he was faster and grabbed Abby's wrist.

The sharp point of the knife came within a few millimeters of scratching the glass of the sunglasses. Abby's hand trembled from the force she was exerting but the scarred man didn't budge. How was it possible when he was practically unbalanced?

But Abby didn't give up either, she opened her hand, suddenly dropping the knife. So as it fell she caught it with her other free hand. With all her strength she directed the knife towards the man's stomach, she was ready to kill him. The man had no other way to react than to put his other free hand in the way of the knife. The sharp blade passed through the palm of the hand and out the back.

The man grunted in pain, blood dripping from the knife and hand, staining the hardwood floor. This was not the result they both expected. Abby stared at the stabbed hand for a few seconds, trying to process what had just happened.

Suddenly her eyes snapped open.

Shit! She had been distracted.

The man twisted his hand, pulling the knife out of his flesh. He balled his wounded hand into a fist and with all his might smashed into Abby's ribs. She folded over in pain, hit right where her ribs were fractured. She had stopped breathing, an enormous desire to vomit invaded her. Her side throbbed and ached like hell, her entire nervous system screamed, her legs went weak and her vision blurred.

The man definitely knew her, knew where her ribs were broken. Abby realized at that moment that the scarred man had been on the defensive the whole time, blocking and dodging her attacks. It seemed almost as if he had been playing with her. Until in the end he decided to attack.

Fuck… Abby knew the moment she ducked her head from the blow that she had lost. She was finished.

The man took the opportunity to grab Abby's arm and execute a throwing hold. He knocked Abby to the ground, face first. Her cheek hit the ground. She didn't have much time to recover as a knee dug in between her shoulder blades. She closed her eyes and grunted in pain from the pressure. When she opened her eyes again the blade of her own knife was resting on her neck.

"Where is the flash drive?" The man with the scar went straight to the point.

"Fuck you" Abby despite the pain didn’t show any kind of weakness.

"What intentions do you have with that information?" He brought the knife closer.

"The only intention I have is to give you another scar on your ugly face," Abby spat.

The man didn't answer, instead the door opened again. The man realized that the rest of the team had arrived. He pushed the knife away, grabbed Abby by the collar of her jacket, and pulled her to her knees. Abby complained but didn't say anything.

Two more people appeared, a woman and a bald man who was also wearing sunglasses. Great… more people joining… Abby was starting to think this was all a fucking surprise party or something.

The woman crouched down in front of Abby, seeming to have a more sympathetic look. Or so it seemed.

The bald man approached the one with the scar. "This is not the way we had planned it." He said in a serious tone.

"But, the most effective one."

The man with the scar ignored everyone and started rummaging through the young woman's backpack.

"This is all our stuff. How did you manage to steal it without being detected?"

"Why do you care? You already have it back, don't you?" Abby shot back aggressively.

"Abby…" the woman called out to her.

The girl was surprised that they knew her name, but considering that the one-eyed man with the Russian accent knew it too... Still, she didn't show surprise, she decided to play the defensive card.

"We know you have the USB drive."

"Great, congratulations. You want a pat on the back? Take the fucking device and leave me alone. That's what you want, isn't it?"

"It's not that easy." The bald man took a step forward.

"You managed to escape from a CIA facility without any trouble, kid." The man with the scar took the flash drive out of one of the backpack pockets and looked at it for a few moments. "And you took the all-important Intel, so I take it you know what's inside."

Abby blinked a few times. The CIA? Did that guy just mention the fucking CIA? Now Abby was in trouble... for a moment she thought those guys were with the Hyenas.

Abby's breathing began to hitch, yet she didn't want to show any kind of expression. She continued with her plan to stay stoic.

"Oh excuse me good sir! I didn't know it was the CIA nor was there any fucking sign indicating it" She joked without any joy.

"Apologies accepted. Now, tell me what you know about this…" he showed the flash drive

"Adler…" the other man warned him. "This was not the plan…"

That Adler guy looked at the man. Without saying another word, he picked up Abby's knife and his gun that were still on the floor, before finally leaving the room.

"You are more important than you think Abby…" the woman spoke again, this time showing a small smile.

Abby gave a wry laugh.

"What do I have to do with the CIA?"

"Much more than you think. But we are not the ones who have to tell you" the woman got up and left too.

Only the bald man and she remained in that room. Abby inclined her head.

"Are you the one who has to tell me?" Abby asked dryly.

The man was silent for a long time, watching her. Abby knew there was something more to that look but she couldn't figure out what.

Suddenly the door behind Abby opened again. The man looked at the person who had entered and nodded, then looked back at Abby.

"No, I'm not the one who has to explain it to you. But he does." The man left, closing the door behind him.

Now Abby was alone with this stranger who just stood there behind her. Abby couldn't see his face, she could just turn her face away and end the mystery, but she didn't do it out of sheer pride.

Abby heard the man take off his bulletproof vest and let it fall to the ground. His boots walked frustratingly slowly toward her. It almost seemed that this person was hesitating.

Abby heard a sigh.

"It's been a long fucking time…don't you think, Abs?"

Abby's eyes widened, that voice…it was too familiar. She knew it too well. But from who? Ooh… Abby knew whose it was, she just didn't want to accept it. It was impossible, fucking impossible.

The man grabbed a chair and put it in front of Abby, sat down and rested both elbows on his knees. Abby looked up, wanting to see his face but her eyes lingered on his exposed forearms.

No, fate had to be playing a fucking joke right now.

Abby read over and over again the same phrase that was tattooed on the inside of his right forearm.

Semper Fidelis

Her lower lip began to tremble. And she shook her head repeatedly. No no no it couldn't be...

Abby dared to look up higher, finally, connecting her eyes with those she had lost over five years ago. Those blue eyes that now looked fifty years younger. His hair was no longer white, it was black. He had a thick dark beard, yet with a few gray hairs.

Abby was shaking her head, not wanting to accept it. Someone was playing a fucking joke on her. It couldn't be true. Her eyes filled with tears as he showed a sad smile.

The man waited, not that he knew what to say either. He wasn't very good with words.

"W-Woods?" Abby finally said it. The knot in her chest broke when she was finally able to name his name.

Frank's smile widened.

"Hey kid…"

And Abby shed tears, cried like she'd become a thirteen-year-old again. She hugged herself and lowered her head, letting her tears soak the floor. He was there, right in front of her, after so many years, missing him.

Woods held out a hand, not quite sure what to do. Damn he felt the same or even worse than Abby. All these years without being able to see her, and now that he had finally found her.

"Abby…"

Abby jumped into Frank's arms without warning. She hugged him around the torso, so tightly that even she began to hurt, but she didn't care.

Woods reacted instantly, he hugged her with the same force that she hugged him, buried his nose in her hair and closed his eyes fighting not to shed a tear.

Abby allowed herself to be embraced, inhaling that long-awaited smell. Woods always smelled of smoke, although this time it was mixed with gunpowder. But he still smelled like Woods.

They spent a long time hugging each other, trying to make up for all that lost time.

Abby didn't give a shit why Woods was alive, and why the fuck he was fifty years younger. At least not at that moment, she only cared that she was by his side again.

After a while Woods pulled Abby away slightly so he could see her face. Frank smiled.

"Fuck, you've grown." He said, chuckling slightly. "You’re older."

Abby wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and laughed, "And you?! Look at you! Why do you look like you're only fifty?"

Woods' smile faded, he didn't respond. He remembered why he was there.

"Abs…" Woods grabbed Abby by the shoulders. "What's inside the Pendrive..."

Abby frowned.

"The Blackout Project." She finished the sentence. "Is that why you're alive?"

Woods nodded slightly. "It's a classified CIA project, to stop Perseus. The CIA of these times needs the CIA of the Cold War. That's why they needed me back." Woods tried to explain it as briefly as possible. "Perseus stole that project to revive the old Perseus. If those assholes had full control of life and death... this world would already be over."

"The world is already over Woods"

Abby broke away from him and started pacing the room. Trying to process all the information. Now everything clicked, so President Bosworth gave her the flash drive. She had to give it to her father so that David would turn it over to the CIA. That's what the two of them were talking about in the White House. Did David know about Woods?

Abby had to put her hands on the table, she was starting to get dizzy. It was too much information for her. Woods, Perseus, Project Blackout... She laughed without any kind of grace, it all seemed like a fucking joke.

"This is crazy…" Abby stared at the table.

"Abs." Frank got up and walked towards her.

"I need to process it all. Fuck Woods!" Abby looked at the man. "You're alive! You're even fucking walking! How the hell did your knees get fixed?!"

Woods chuckled. "Technology and medicine have come a long way, you'd be surprised what new shit there’s now."

Abby looked at him for a few seconds as Woods approached her. "I didn't remember you being that tall, old man"

Woods smirked. "Well, it's not like I got a chance to show it either."

Abby was going to answer but the door opened again. Another man appeared, he had brown hair and green eyes.

"All ready?" he asked.

Woods smiled and nodded.

"Yes, she already knows. Well not everything."

Abby looked at both men strangely. What were they talking about?

The green-eyed man approached Abby. Abby felt somewhat uncomfortable with the way this man was looking at her. Did he know her?

"My goodness…" he murmured. "She looks so much like David."

Abby frowned, David? Who was that man? And why did he know her father?

"Uuhhh… have we met?"

Woods laughed, he seemed to be very entertained by the situation.

"Abs, he's your fucking grandfather."

"What?" Abby looked at the man again.

He smiled and held out his hand.

"Alex Mason"

________

Extra! 💖

#mason's legacy #call of duty #call of duty black ops #call of duty black ops 2 #call of duty cold war #Abby mason #call of duty oc #frank woods #alex mason #David Mason #mike harper #jason hudson #Russel Adler #Helen Park #lazar azoulay #lawrence sims #my fic <3 #my art <3

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