Hazy Shade of Winter [ON HOLD FOR NOW]

09

Diego rushed into the boxing club down to his room, Adriana following, still covered in Patch's blood. He figured Five and Luther were still there, and sure enough, they were.

"Piece of shit," Diego muttered, stalking towards the bed where Five was seated.

Before he could do anything, he was stopped by Luther.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?!" Diego asked angrily as Luther grabbed him and picked him up. "No! Get your ape hands off of me!"

"I can do this as long as it takes you to calm down," Luther said.

Diego let out an angry huff. "Fine."

Luther released him and asked, "Now; wanna tell us what you're talking about?"

Diego glared at Five. "Our brother's been pretty busy since he got back. He was in the middle of the shootout at Griddy's, then at Gimble Brothers after the masks attacked the academy looking for him."

"None of which is your concern," Five retorted.

"It is now. They killed a friend of mine."

"Who are they, Five?" Luther and Adriana questioned.

Diego aggressively urged Five to continue and he said, "They work for my former employer. A woman called The Handler. She sent them to stop me. Then, as soon as Diego's friend got in the way, well, fair game."

Diego's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, well, don't start singing just yet. My friend died! Adriana was there too, you know!"

Five's eyes widened, instantly feeling awful. "Ana, are you okay?"

Adriana nodded. "Thankfully, yes."

Diego pursed his lips. "And now those two assassins are my fair game. And I'm gonna see to it they pay."

"That would be a mistake, Diego," Five warned. "They've killed people far more dangerous than you."

"Yeah, we'll see about that." He slammed the door behind him.

Five looked down, ashamed. Adriana stepped closer to him and offered a small smile.

---

Klaus appeared back on the bus, in olive green attire. He was dirty, bloody, and in complete shock. He started breaking down.

When he got off the bus, Klaus angrily slammed the briefcase on a bench repeatedly and threw it. He yelled and the briefcase caught fire, causing it to explode.

Klaus knelt on the ground and started brushing at it desperately before curling into a fetal position and breaking down.

---

Klaus made his way back to the academy.

Five and Adriana made their way to Klaus' room.

Five knocked on the door and asked gently, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just a... Long night," Klaus replied.

"What about the briefcase?" Adriana asked. "Where is it?"

Five met her eyes. "Briefcase?"

Klaus nodded. "They had a briefcase."

Five studied Klaus. "You did it, didn't you?"

"Did what?"

"You know, I can recognize the symptoms, Klaus."

"The symptoms of what?"

"The jet lag. Full body itch. The headache that feels like someone shoved a box of cotton up into your nose and through your brain. You gonna tell me about it?"