467 By All Means, Slice His Throat.

Damien ordered his men to assist Chris and get him to their car outside. Chris's stitches were still fresh and he shouldn't be moving in order for him to heal, but due to their circumstances, he had to. The anesthesia given to him during the procedure was slowly wearing off and every move he made was painful.

Chris's body had gone through physical trauma the past weeks when Damien shot him and earlier today when the Vertex came to hunt him down, so he had more than the usual injuries his body was used to. If he hadn't taken years of training from Shadow, he had probably already died in a ditch somewhere.

In the elevator that was going down to the basement parking were Katherine, Damien, and Chris, surrounded by Beta Team. As soon as they stepped out, they headed towards the Range Rover with Markus in the driver's seat. Chris and one of the men from the team got inside the backseat and Katherine was also about to get in when she noticed some movements behind her.

Turning around, she saw a tall figure in the shadows a few meters away. At this time, Katherine and Damien stood next to each other and the rest of the Beta Team surrounded them. In an instant, everyone was on guard—the men drew their guns, Damien was in a defensive position while shielding Katherine with his body as she swiftly pulled out the pair of "God of Death" knives that were concealed around her waist; she spun them a couple of times before gripping them with her hands, the sharp blades glinting under the light from the ceiling lamps.

The man wore a black tactical outfit and a black cap that covered his face while he kept his head down. They cautiously waited as he slowly walked towards them, anticipating his next move. 

"No guns. We can't alert the police," Damien reminded his men in a low voice. And as if he already knew that the woman beside him was itching to move, he could only warn in a whisper, "Be careful."

A tiny smirk formed on her lips as she acknowledged his words and responded, "Always am, Love." And she dashed forward towards the mysterious man.

Noticing the movements, the man quickened his steps, lifted his feet up the air sideways in succession, and kicked the wall, then his right leg went straight towards Katherine's head.

She ducked just in time that his foot went past above her head, avoiding his kick. If she had bent down a second later, she could have twisted her neck and gotten injured.

The man was quick as he sent another kick her way, in which she blocked with her lower leg. The same movements went on a couple more times, making Katherine instantly on the defensive mode. She gritted her teeth when every blow seemed to be heavier than the previous one.

Damien, whose entire body was ablaze, could only watch the scene unfolding before him. He had so badly wanted to give a hand but if he interfered now, it could only endanger her more. All he could do was wait for an opening before he could make any move. He was slightly relieved when he saw her land a blow, but his heart kept racing every second as he painfully waited. 

However, the man recovered fast and was back on his feet so soon. Just as Katherine was about to slash him with the blade, he caught her wrists and gripped them tightly. Then, he lifted his chin up to meet her gaze, and uttered with a smirk, "I knew it. Welcome back, Agent Queen."

Katherine was taken aback when she realized that it was none other than Gus. Caught off-guard, she fell back when he kicked her off him. Holding his name—The Gazelle—with honor, he speedily dove towards her, tackling her to the ground. "It's been a long time. Missed me?" he goaded.

She struggled as he held her down until she managed to move one blade towards his neck, but his grip flew to her wrist just before she could graze him and had pinned her other hand with his. "I'm no longer an Agent," she bit out under gritted teeth as she tried to push the blade towards his throat.

He scoffed. "You and your knives."

"Stop!" Chris's weak but assertive tone rang in the area as he got off the vehicle.

Gus raised his head immediately upon hearing Chris's voice, giving Katherine the chance to flip them and switched their positions. She was now looming over his huge frame with the sharp blade of her knife almost a centimeter away from the carotid artery in his neck. "What about me and my knives?" she mocked, a wicked grin slowly forming on her face.

"Katherine," Chris called. "It's okay, we can trust him."

"I don't believe that. He kidnapped me." She glowered. "Friggin' starved me the whole afternoon."

Chris turned rigid and his eyes fell at Gus. "You did what?"

"Parker's orders," the other answered.

Sighing, Chris shifted his gaze to Katherine and said, "Queen, disengage."

She couldn't let go of Gus, unsure if they could really trust this man, and Damien felt the same way. The latter could barely be in the same room as Chris and it's only because they needed him that Damien was willing to take the other in. And now, there was another man? He didn't like the idea.

Dragging an angry stare at Chris, Damien questioned, "Are you positive that he's not a threat?"

"Yes," Chris answered in an instant.

Damien studied Chris's eyes and he could only hope that he was not about to make a mistake. "Katherine," he called as he slowly approached her. "Let him go."

"But…"

He placed a hand on her shoulder and reassured her, "Let him go for now. But as soon as he becomes suspicious—by all means, slice his throat."

With a huff, she withdrew her knife and got up. Then, without warning, she harshly stomped on his hand that was still on the ground. He groaned in pain and cursed. In an annoyed tone, she spat, "That's not enough for what you did to me, asshole."

Gus couldn't complain. He totally deserved it. Clutching his hand with the other, he got to his feet and turned to Chris who gave him a brief brotherly hug.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't warn you ahead of time. I only knew when Parker had already dispatched the three," said Gus.

"I know..."

"Parker sent more agents to search for you. He knows you're injured, so they're checking out hospitals."

"How did you know where I was?"

Gus glanced at Katherine and Damien behind Chris and muttered, "Lucky guess." Just then, he brought his hand up to his left ear and he froze for a second as he listened to some voices through his comms. He stiffened when he looked up and told Chris, "A couple of agents are already here. We need to leave. Now."

Taking heed of Gus's warning, Damien ordered his men and soon, their team was out and away from the hospital.