An abandoned steel mill, Sacramento - Easter edition

Argyle leaned out of the room just in time to pick off another dark figure approaching him with his rifle. With a loud crack, he was down.

There couldn't be many left now.

"Olivia, stay here," he called back, setting one foot out of the room. "I'll be back." He paused, his eyes resting on the look on her face. "I'm sorry."

He closed the door behind him and wrenched a steel girder into place in front of it. As he ventured out into the main room, he found it to be eerily silent. Bodies littered the floor. Had Praetorius finished them all off?

Rounding a corner, he found the man lying on the floor, unconscious. Before he could make another move, he felt a gun barrel press against his back.

"On the ground, NOW!"

The agent had hardly finished his sentence when Argyle rolled out of the barrel's path and crumpled him with a chop to the neck.

Then, kicking the limp body away from him, he ran to Praetorius side, looking down at him.

"Jesus. You've been beat to shit."

Praetorious' eyes snapped open at the sound of Argyle's voice.

"Jesus. You've been beat to shit."

For a moment, he was confused, disoriented. Then he was hit with a stream of recollection.

Steel mill.

Gunshots.

Death.

Marnin.

Jackal.

He tried to sit up, and instantly registered pain. The area behind his eyes burned as if a liter of acid had been poured into his skull. Without warning, Praetorious felt his throat seize up, and he put his hand over his mouth to stifle two hacking coughs. His hand came away stained with a thin, black liquid. Praetorious didn't know what it was. It took him a moment to remember Argyle standing right next to him.

"I'll be okay, I think. Are you or Olivia hurt?"

His hand flew to his mouth as he coughed again.

"No, luckily." He grumbled, offering a hand. As he did, he looked around.

"I don't know if there's any left, but there are plenty enough dead."

When he returned his eyes to Praetorius, he considered what might have happened. He knew Praetorius was no one to fool with, so had it really been the officers who took him down?

"What happened to you?"

Praetorious took Argyle's hand, pulling himself shakily to his feet. He pulled a tissue from his back pocket and wiped at the black liquid on his hand and around his mouth as he spoke. "The jack-"

Praetorious stopped himself for a moment. Crushed down the thing inside him. Forced the dark, calm emptiness back around himself. Slipped completely back into his normal placid affect.

"Marnin led the agents here. I think he followed me. He killed the ones around me to prevent me from killing them, to cause..."

He paused again.

"We fought. I pinned him down, almost killed him. But he managed to escape."

He fell silent for a moment, beginning to pace awkwardly.

"Argyle, I think something big is happening. Marnin was different this time. He was corrupted. Changed. He was... like I was. But not quite the same. He's been in contact with Essum, or something relating to Essum. And there's someone else, a woman. I think they're working together, planning something massive. They're trying to get at me, and most likely you by extension. As you've already seen, you and Olivia are going to get caught in the crossfire. If you want to leave, I understand. Otherwise, we need to figure out a way to stop them, and quickly."

"Him again, huh," he muttered, half to himself. "We're attracting all kinds of attention now. Marnin, that gunman, that monster... my son...."

He paused for a moment as he reflected on Praetorius' words.

"This is all starting to get confusing. If Essum is really gone, I wonder what he has to do with all this... I..."

He could back out now. But... he couldn't. He had become, made a deal with the Artificier, and met all kinds of monsters. Praetorius was trying to help the world, at least a little, by putting the Objects back where they were. And this Essum was the bane of existence. Just the mention of it reminded him of Jack. He knew where he stood on the issue.

"I won't run away. But... I'm not sure about Olivia." His eyes searched the darkness. "I left her in the room. I should go retrieve her if the coast is clear. And I need to know what she's going to do..."

"It should be," replied Praetorious. "And even if it isn't, a straggler of two shouldn't be difficult to pick off." He paced back and forth, thinking. What could they do? If this really did have to do with Edo Edi Essum, then it was something far bigger than himself. Far bigger than he or Argyle or Olivia or anyone else.

At any rate, Praetorious was glad Argyle had decided to stay. It had been a long time since he'd had allies. And his connections would no doubt help. Praetorious tried to think of who else he knew. The list was short. The only people he really knew were the people he killed. In fact, the only person who sprang to Praetorious' mind was Jude. Jude would certainly be helpful to have, Praetorious mused, but he didn't hold out much hope for finding him. Praetorious hadn't heard from Jude in a very long time.