481 North Pole

Soon, Damien and Katherine arrived at the old apartment. Styles was excited that he immediately grabbed his share of the food and started munching on the crunchy, sweet, and spicy chicken. The rest of the men took turns eating while Damien and Katherine stood on the side, his hand resting on her waist as they watched everyone have their fill.

Chris came out of the bathroom and slowly limped his way to the living room where everyone was. He looked at her and instantly spotted the bandage on her. "What happened to your hand?" He attempted to go near her without thinking much, but Damien stopped him before he could get any closer. The two exchanged looks and he backed away.

"We dropped by the pharmacy and I ran into Scar…" she replied.

Chris, Gus, and Styles widened their eyes upon hearing the name as if it was taboo—the three stared at her. While Chris and Gus were shocked and speechless, Styles dropped his chicken and stopped chewing the food in his mouth before he swallowed it at once. Then, he wiped himself clean, went to Katherine, and embraced her. "Thank god you got away," he said as his heart beat rapidly in his chest.

Damien wanted to pull him away from her, but Katherine told him 'it's okay'.

"Is he that bad?" Felix wondered when he saw their reaction.

"He was," Gus answered. "Then he got worse."

Styles shivered at the thought that he had in his mind, remembering how he looked like and the things he did. "Shît. That man still gives me chills and I haven't even seen him for a long time. Would you guys believe me if I tell you that he keeps pictures of those he had… 'disposed'?"

"I would." Gus grimaced. "I saw them on the wall of his bunk. That guy is sick!"

"Ew…" Katherine felt like gagging.

Chris clenched his jaw. He had seen Scar's bunk in Castle and even he found it disturbing. "How did you get away? What did you do?" he asked her.

She started explaining what happened back at the pharmacy and sighed. "He was gone before we left." She tried to brush away the remnant memory in her mind about the way Scar looked at her earlier, clenching her hand when she thought she felt something tiny crawling under her skin.

"Are you sure you weren't followed?"

She nodded. "We made sure no one was following before we came here."

Chris glanced at Gus, then he told her, "Scar isn't only a reaper now... He's one of Parker's guards."

"Wow. He indeed got worse," Styles muttered as he went back to his food.

Turning to Damien, she explained to him, "Being Parker's guard is like an honor. They would do anything for him, no questions asked—not that any other agent had a choice, but it's different… His rank got higher. And with Scar being the way he already was before, it's such a bad combination."

"I'm telling you… If Scar wasn't in Shadow, I'm pretty sure he would be a serial killer," Styles said.

"Like Hannibal. But with a scar on his face and some burnt marks everywhere." Styles squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to erase the image on his mind. "Ugh. Talking about that man is making me queasy. Please let me enjoy my food."

Taking the cue, Damien strolled to where Styles was and asked, "Where's the program?"

Felix took out a low profile flash drive and handed it to Damien. It was smaller than an inch, so it was hard to notice it. Then, Damien nodded at Katherine.

Turning to Gus, she contemplated how to tell him until he noticed her hesitation and he questioned, "What?"

Breathing out, she sauntered towards him, maintaining a safe distance and started, "We'll let you go." 

Gus raised a brow. "I thought you wanted me dead?"

"Maybe. But more than that, I want to bring down Shadow."

Chris somehow told him the short version of what was going on at the moment. And although he did not know all the details, he could make out the reason why she was after the organization. "What does that have to do with me?"

"I need you to go back to Castle and plant this program." She gestured to the tiny flash drive in Damien's open hand as he approached. "You're the only one who can get inside."

"What's in it?"

"You don't have to know that. All you need to do is plug this to the mainframe. That's it."

He scoffed. "You're crazy. I don't know if you remember, but agents just can't go anywhere near that area."

"We'll come up with a plan. You won't be alone when you do this. You'll have external help," she said in confidence.

"I get that we used to work together, Queen… But that was years ago. People change." Gus chuckled and glanced at Chris before he looked at her again. "Let's say that's possible… What makes you think that I will do that for you? What's in it for me?"

All of them who came from Shadow knew what it was like to be there, and Katherine wanted to use this to her advantage. She turned to look at Damien and met his gaze. Then, he began, "In exchange, I can send you anywhere you want in the world. The Bahamas… Tahiti... The Philippines… With housing, new identity, and enough cash for you to live comfortably for years."

Gus considered as he stared back at Damien. A small smile forming on his face as he mused, "Even the North Pole?"

Damien's brows knitted. He crossed his arms and shrugged. Whatever this man wants, he'll give it as long as the task gets done. "Sure. If you don't mind your house to be constantly floating and shifting around due to the ice plates moving, why not? I'll have you literally dropped off from a plane via skydive as a freebie. I'm sure you're skilled enough, right?"