Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Ring-

“Pick up the phone, Blue.”

First mistake. He hated being called that.

“Didn’t you get the signal? My band’s been buzzing for the last hour, almost. Damn thing won’t turn off, god knows why. The location came through clear enough. Pink’s was on the fritz a while back, so ...”

Second mistake. Red wasn’t an idiot. They both knew the suits were working. He’d only run the tests yesterday morning, all fine. Red was trying to give him a way back in. He almost laughed. He did sob. It was too late.

“Look, we don’t have much time. There are four Betas, almost fully formed. It’s a public area and we can’t just let them run wild until you show. Your dramatics can fucking wait, we need you here, now.”

He snorted. He wondered if Red would regret those words. Probably not. Red never did.

“Damn it, I know you’re there. Even you’re not stupid enough to be anywhere else alone at a time like this. Grow some balls and get on your bike. Are you going to watch the news tonight, Blue? Do you want to see their faces when the heroes don’t show up, is that it? The Shades aren’t going to go away just because you’re too much of-”

“FUCK IT, RED!” he snapped, before grabbing the cellphone out of its dock. There was silence down the line as he tried to compose himself. He could barely hold the cell straight. Quiet, he ordered to himself. You’re dead, remember. He could faintly hear murmurs in the background. There was a child crying in the crowd. He couldn’t do this.

The phone clattered to the table and the power cut out. He stared at it. The murmurs were still there. Murmurs and screaming. The people needed him. No, he cut in harshly. They’d had him. Nothing had changed. They needed themselves. And he needed to escape. This was the only way.

Ring, ring. Ring-

“You and Pink can handle three Betas between you,” he spat into the cell. “White can hold off one until you’re ready to finish it. Betas know us, they won’t bare their back to chase civilians. You don’t need me.”

“I’m not willing to risk that. What the hell are you thinking? We can’t lose. Even once. The moment one gets away, that they know they’re safe, we’re all fucked. You’ve got maybe five minutes before the first one pops. Get on your bike and that’s a god damned order.”

“No. I told you yesterday, I can’t do this right now.”

“You don’t have a choice! We don’t have a choice! This isn’t going to get any easier and you need to accept that. Have you been taking those pills I brought you?”

“Don’t you wish,” he muttered. He didn’t know where Red had stolen those from. He’d taken one. He hadn’t even tasted it. Didn’t trust them.

“Damn it. You knew this would happen. You’re not an idiot. Not usually. Why are you doing this, Blue? Is ... Ugh, is it because of what Pink said? She was drunk, and she told you she was wrong.”

Ha. Of course Red would think that first. Pink had only been half right. He might have asked her to come with him, but he didn’t trust the other half. The half that still told her she needed to fight. The half that kept her at Red’s side, and in his pants. The half that walked away from another bloodshed with burning eyes and a baleful grin.

“Is it White? I heard you arguing over his suit. Shit, he’s- he’ll be fine. ... If this spat is about my leadership again, I will-”

“Leadership! Is that what you call this?!” This time he did laugh. “Four Betas and your plan is to play twenty questions with the guy on the cell?”

“Listen, Blue, there is a time and a place for this kind of thing and now is sure as fuck not it! Just get the hell down here and we-”

“How long did you say you had again? What, three minutes now? I felt the buzzing forty minutes ago. I could have been held up, but you knew I wouldn’t show. You’re lying just to get me marching like a good little soldier again. You don’t even trust me.”

“And fuck it, I was right! This isn’t about four bloody Betas, this is about us. This is about our war. Not even once, Blue! There’s not enough of us left for you to just hide away. You know what happened to Yellow the first time, if the news even thinks we’re starting to lose it ...”

Click.

“What- What the fuck was that. Blue. Do not fucking play games with me right now. Too much depends on this. Don’t you even dare. Get on that bike. People are in danger.”

“People need to learn to fight for themselves,” he said sadly, fingering the gun’s trigger.

“Stop. Mathew. Please. Listen, we have time. We can still talk about this. Let me speak to you in person. Let us speak to- What? No, shut up White. He’s fine. Blue, how many more times to I have to save your arse? Put-”

Bang.

For a moment the line was quiet.

Thump. Cra-

The moment he saw the power light go out he grabbed the cell and smashed it against the desk. The screen was already cracked, but he wanted to be sure. It didn’t really matter if it rang again before he was gone, but ...

He glanced at the clock on the wall. 15:32. He’d checked the location himself, of course, and it would take six or seven minutes for Red to get back to this building from there. Betas took an hour or so pop. Red could maybe make it back in time, and might risk sending White. He might not have long.

He threw the cell aside and placed the faintly smoking gun on the table. He turned and headed towards the basement, kicking down the rickety door rather than bothering to open it. It was dim down here, but he could still see outlines. Boxes. His motorbike. A ladder. Some extra helmet they’d never figured out how to use. A body, slumped on the ground.

Mr. Johnson was still unconscious. He didn’t know the man’s first name. He didn’t care. Red was right. When there would be many deaths before the people learned, one more didn’t seem to matter much. He grabbed the body and flung Johnson over his shoulder, struggling back up the stairs. The moment he’d felt the band, he’d crossed the street to offer some homeless man inside for a drink on a hot day. He’d drugged the iced tea with Red’s pills, and Johnson hadn’t woken since.

The suits had another function beyond killing the Shades. There was probably nothing more important than keeping them out the Shades’ hands. Or the government’s. Yellow had only found seven that day. They still didn’t know who made them, or if there were any others left. Probably not. There were only four suits now; Yellow had been shot by the military, Green had turned traitor and Black had been killed by the first Beta. Now Blue was being worn by some drugged up, well meaning bum on the kitchen floor.

Bang.

He dropped to his knees and started rummaging through the waste bin. Once the wearer flatlined, it triggered a self destruct mechanism in the suit. It took about three minutes, and couldn’t be stopped. Some chemical thing he didn’t really understand. Where was that envelope? The blast would take care of any lower level Shades that stopped to feast, and give the rest of the suits time to escape. Betas weren’t stupid though. It was lucky Pink had been ready. If Red had found it ...

Ah, there it was. He quickly tore it open and pulled out the cash. There wasn’t time to clean up, but nobody would notice in the rubble. He could duck into a public restroom before getting on the first bus. He wasn’t afraid of the Shades, really. He knew how to recognise them. He knew when to run. He just couldn’t fight any more. This was the only way that Red wouldn’t find him.

Just before he opened the front door he spared a glance at Johnson’s body. The gun rested at the edge of the blood pool. Two bullets. Shit. He hoped the explosion hid that. He couldn’t leave it to chance.

He snatched the gun and first bullet from Blue, then to the backdrop of murmuring Mathew ran out the door.