Chapter LIII

"I cannot believe you two were so careless!"

Giana and Yumi hung their heads in front of their parents, the adults berating them.

"You could have been attacked!" Takeho continued. "There are still members of the Men in Black out there that the agencies haven't found yet!"

"He's right," Janine added. "If you wanted coffee and a croissant, you could have easily asked someone to get it for you, or used a delivery app."

"We needed to get out of here!" Giana protested. "You and Mémé were arguing, and we've been stuck here at the CIA for weeks—"

"We're going home tomorrow," her father interrupted. "While you were out, Director Paulson informed us that they found accommodations for everyone in the Boston area for Xander's funeral and the holidays; once the new year comes, you'll all go back to France to unplug the supercomputer and resume classes at Kadic."

Giana looked to her parents.

"We were moved to the Back Bay shortly after Nico left," Sal explained. "It was earlier than we'd planned, but you know there's more than enough room — especially since, as you know, Quentin and your grandparents won't be leaving anytime soon."

"Just… don't do it again," Akiko said, bringing them full-circle.

Janine nodded. "While it was extremely reckless of you to go off like that without alerting anybody or bringing backup, we know you've been through a lot. Next time you want to leave, at least tell someone first."

The girls nodded before exchanging a knowing glance. They were at the point where the adults responsible for them would let them get away with anything.

It had been a few days. The night of Xander's services, Jack had given Giana his laptop and a thumb drive. Sitting in Jack's room, she plugged in the device and immediately, a window for a video player popped up.

It was Xander.

He smiled. "Hey, Giana. Jack probably read his letter and gave this to you." He paused a beat. "I don't even know where to begin." Taking a deep breath, he refocused his attention on the webcam. "First, I want to apologize. I was terrible to you. I don't know what the hell came over me — I was mad about a lot of things, mainly my parents' divorce, even though that happened years ago and my father was an awful person. But I like to think I've changed. I'm happier now, but I miss you like hell. Things are going well in D.C., I guess." He took a sip from a water bottle. "I only have a vague idea what I'm doing. Dad says we're supposed to be saving the world." Letting out a short, sardonic laugh, he composed himself. "The only way the world would be a better place is if he weren't in it."

Giana felt that crushing weight start to settle as she continued staring straight at the computer screen, numb.

Xander smiled again, and it actually looked genuine. "I hope that, once I'm done here, we can see each other again. There are a lot of things I have to explain, and I can't do it all right now. But, I'm afraid. I don't know if I'm cut out for this. And, if I don't make it home…" He cleared his throat. "Just, know that I love you. And I hope I didn't mess you up too much. I hope you're doing well in France — you deserve it. I know I threw a huge fit when you were accepted to Kadic, but I was really just being insecure at the thought of losing you. I think you made a good decision, though."

It took her a moment to realize she'd been crying.

His expression fell, the boy lapsing into a moment of silence. "I hope you can forgive me."

That was it. The picture cut out, the program closing itself once the video finished. Shoving the laptop away, Giana brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and burying her head as she continued to shake, choking out sobs.

"Do you think he knew?"

It was Jack. She looked up. "Wh…"

He entered the room, sitting tentatively beside her. "Do you think he knew he wasn't coming home?"

"I feel awful!" she cried.

"I understand." He placed a hand on her back. "He had a terrible way of showing it, but he really did love you."

"I know he did." She tried to calm down. "But even if his claims were true, I couldn't get back together with him. He really scared me, Jack."

"I wouldn't have wanted you to," he admitted. "He… had a lot of our father in him."

"I never even asked…" She stood abruptly, angry with herself for putting her own feelings first. "Jack—"

"I'm okay," he interrupted, somber.

"You dyed your hair again," she realized. "You're not okay."

It was true: He'd gone back to blonde, a lighter shade than the one he shared with Xander. But before he could explain, there was a knock at the door.

Nico, not waiting for formalities, burst into the room. "We need to leave," he said, stone-faced. "Everyone. Now."

"Where's Jeremie?" Giana asked. She got an immediate adrenaline rush. "What can I do?"

"He's helping Ulrich and William evacuate," her brother explained. He strode over to a window and unlocked it, pushing the pane up as far as it would go. "Jack, help me pop the screen. We'll sneak out this way."

"Are you freaking crazy?" the girl demanded. "We're on the third floor!"

"You said you fell from a rafter in the factory that was twice this height!"

"But William was there to catch me! And I didn't fall — I let go!"

"What the hell is going on?" Jack demanded. He went over to Nico, complying with his request for help. "Don't tell me you have Spidey senses!"

The boy nodded. "Come on." He motioned for his sister to join him. "We'll just run down the fire escape."

"We're not at home, Nico!" she protested.

"She's right." Jack was already halfway out the window. "We don't have a fire escape. You'll have to slide off the roof overhang and climb down the tree." Taking in their expressions as he looked back, he added quickly: "I do it all the time when I sneak out. We'll be fine."

"I found the supercomputer!" Jeremie shouted. "I turned it back on! This is because of me!"

They'd finally managed to get everyone out and far away, the kids meeting at a rendezvous point near the Central Square T station.

"This is because of my father!" Aelita shot back. "All you did was bring me back and try to save our lives!"

Ulrich vibrated to a halt after evacuating the final person from the Emerson's house. "That's the last of them. We got everybody."

Odd was right behind him, having finally dissipated his shield. "Where are Giana and Nico? Last I heard, they were with Jack." He did a quick look around at his friends. "And… has anyone seen William?"

Yumi already had her hand on her phone, when the group looked up as a pair of headlights swerved toward them.

William rolled down the drivers' side window. "Get in!"

They didn't hesitate, clambering into the van not a second before it took off again. "Who's after us?" Aelita demanded, fumbling with her seatbelt.

"Men in Black!" Nico replied, harried. "Who else?!"

Once they were settled, William floored it, their vehicle traveling at an incredible speed.

"Bang a uey," Giana instructed, in English.

Her boyfriend tensed. "A what?"

"A uey!" she repeated.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"MAKE A FREAKING U-TURN!" she shouted in unison with her brother and Jack.

He complied, the force of the turn causing the kids to bang against each other and the insides of the car. "Am I going back to Boston Police Headquarters?"

"Yeah," Nico said, without missing a beat.

"It's a good thing I left Vega—" Giana went rigid. "Sonya!" She turned to her brother. "We have to go home!"

"There's no time!" he shouted. "And that's in the complete opposite direction!"

Ignoring him, she turned to William. "With your smoke powers, we'll be there and back in no time!"

William leaned forward, trying to concentrate. "I am driving this car and trying not to get us all killed! I don't even have a U.S. license!"

Jeremie cleared his throat.

Giana turned and looked in his direction. "Jeremie! Ever teleport out of a moving vehicle?"

"No," he answered, frighteningly calm.

"Good enough."

She grabbed his hand and they disappeared in an instant.

"Damn it!" William swerved. "What the hell does she think she's doing?"

"She's trying to be a good person," Nico replied, burying his head in his hands. "But she's going about it in an incredibly stupid way."

"We should call someone," Jeremie offered, peering around a corner inside the De Luca family's home.

"Who?" Giana responded. "We don't have the luxury of the CIA or FBI's resources." She let out a breath. "We're on our own."

He swallowed hard. "This wasn't a good idea."

"I can't leave her here," she explained.

"Are we risking our lives for your guide dog, or your housekeeper?"

She gave him a weird look. "Both."

"Okay." He looked around the corner again. "The coast is clear. Come on."

"Has anyone heard from them?" Sissi questioned. "It's been a half hour!" She leaned forward, yelling up to William: "How are we not at the police station yet?"

"I had to take a convoluted route so we wouldn't be followed!" he responded. "And I'm not used to driving on the right side of the road—"

"Didn't you drive in France?" Ulrich snapped.

"No!" He swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle. "I only have a British license!"

"I'll try calling them." Jack took out his phone and pressed the button on Giana's contact card.

It took a moment, but everyone's faces turned pale as they heard her familiar ringtone from inside her bag. Aelita tried Jeremie, and they heard his as well.

"I'm gonna kill them," Nico announced.

Sonya straightened when she saw the duo. "Oh! Giana!" She paused. "And… Mr. Jeremie?" Scrutinizing them, she frowned and switched to French. "What's wrong?"

"We have to go," Giana said. "Now." She reached down to pet Vega. "Where's her working equipment?"

"Where are your parents?" Sonya asked, leading them into the front hall. Giana grabbed Vega's leash and harness from the bannister and secured them to her dog.

"BPD Headquarters," Jeremie said. "We have to go, ma'am."

Sonya pulled on her coat, clutching her keys in her hand. "Yes. Right."

Someone was trying to break in through the back. Vega stiffened, her ears perking up.

"Go." Giana pressed her dog's leash into Sonya's hand. "Get in your car, and drive. Go to the police headquarters. We'll meet you there."

"Giana—"

"Do it." She closed her eyes, hating herself for what she was about to say: "That's an order."

The woman deflated. "Of course."

Once she was gone, the brunette turned to Jeremie. "Do you have your phone?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Me neither."

"Why stay and fight when I can teleport us out of here?" he demanded.

"This ends now." She opened the front hall closet and found one of her backup canes, unfolding it to use as a makeshift weapon. "We can't keep running forever."

"It already ended, Giana!" he protested. "We defeated XANA! We won!"

"But we're still being hunted!" she shot back. "Do you want to worry for the rest of your life, constantly looking over your shoulder?"

He was about to respond, when he heard gunshots coming from an alarmingly close distance. "Get down!" he screeched, tackling the girl to the floor.

They fell, disappearing in the process as he activated his powers. When they opened their eyes, they were in the middle of the Boston Police Department Headquarters.