This idea has been trapped in my mind all weekend, and I wanted to set it free, so here it is. You all know how much I love Toll Road as well as Lee and Barney, so this story is kind of centered around him. I am also dedicating this to Pavs, whose encouragement has helped me decide to post this story even though my last few Expendable stories haven't been read much. I really hope you enjoy it.
In the depths of the woods, five men were crouched in wait. The leader looked at his watch, knowing that at any minute, they would be called to action.
"This doesn't feel right," one of the men said. His brow was soaked with sweat, and he was flexing his arms anxiously. He was a large man, African American, and deadly in confrontation. This was Hale Caesar.
"It never feels right," the one beside him scoffed. His hat was low over his eyes while he scanned their surroundings. He was Caucasian and one of the best fighters. This was Toll Road.
"Nope," the third agreed. He was another Caucasian, tall and Swedish. There was a scar under his right eye along his cheek, and he was antsy for battle. This was Gunner.
"Focus, will you?" the fourth muttered. His British accent cut the air like a knife, which was his main weapon and one he was very good at using. He was also Caucasian and easily annoyed. This was Lee Christmas.
"Enough," the fifth, and leader, retorted. The Caucasian Italian looked at his men and tried to look braver than he felt. He kept his fingers near his holstered gun, just in case. This was Barney Ross. They were down a man, Yin Yang having been dropped off above China a few months ago. Barney had almost contemplated calling up Maggie Chan, but he didn't want to bother her. This mission seemed simple enough, but he had a funny feeling that there was more to it than what they were told.
"Here we go," Lee said, hearing the trucks. The others cocked their guns and waited for Barney's signal.
"Now!" he hollered, gesturing. They flew up out of the brush and into action. With the trucks gone, that meant the village was void of soldiers. At least, that was what Barney was hoping for. They were looking for a briefcase with a disc in it. Church had called in a favor again, leaving Barney to wonder if the guy was competent enough to do his job ever.
"Go, go, go," he urged as they slid inside the village without being seen. They all knew what they were looking for. They split up, covering more ground. They didn't get far, however, when shots were fired.
"Fan out!" Barney shouted, ducking from the flying bullets. So much for not being seen. He lost track of his men when more of the shooters appeared.
Nikita
Her mother barricaded them in the house when the shooting started. She was crying.
"Mom?" Nikita asked, feeling scared.
"Bad men. Very bad men," her mother kept repeating. She started rocking back and forth on the floor. Nikita sat beside her, taking her hand and trying to comfort her.
"It'll be all right," she reassured her mother.
"We will see," she responded, making Nikita swallow hard.
Lee
He ducked for cover behind an old, broken down truck. He checked his ammo and saw that he had plenty still. He had no idea where to even start looking for this briefcase. This village seemed awful strange for something so high tech to be hidden, but then again, maybe that was the perfect cover.
"Anyone find it yet?" Barney's voice came over the comm system.
"No," Lee answered. "Can you hold them off?"
"Too many."
"Looks like Church will have to get it himself," Caesar's voice said. Lee agreed with this. He was getting tired of doing the guy's dirty work anyway, especially after Vilain.
"I think you're right," Barney responded. "Wrap it up and get out."
"Copy that," the others said. Lee looked for an exit and found one. He went for it.
Toll Road
He got ambushed, forcing him to enter a house. He hit the floor as the glass shattered around him from the window. He heard screams of two women, but he wasn't paying attention to them as he had to get rid of his assailants first. He flipped onto his back, firing off shots out the open window. He heard one man go down, but another was still shooting. Then, the shooter was in the doorway shouting in a foreign language.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Toll shouted, seeing him aim at the women. He finally noticed it was a mother and her daughter. They were both terrified.
"You hiding him! You hiding him!" the man shouted in broken English. The mother shook her head furiously.
"No!" she cried. The man shouted into his intercom, leaving Toll to assume he was spreading the word of a traitor to his buddies. He lit right back into the woman once he was done.
"Traitor! You help him!" he shouted.
"She wasn't," Toll started. The man ignored him, promptly shooting the mother square in the chest. The girl screamed, and Toll showed no mercy to the man out of blind rage. Who could just kill an innocent person like that?
"Toll?! Where are you? We gotta go!" Barney's voice yelled into his ear. Toll looked at the girl, who was huddled on the floor crying and rocking. He couldn't leave her. They'd probably kill her since they all thought she and her mother were traitors.
"Hey!" he said loudly, bending down to her. "Can you understand me?" She nodded. More shots outside, and she flinched while Toll looked to see where they were coming from.
"If you want to be safe, you gotta come with me," he said. She stared at him. "Come on!" He couldn't waste anymore time. He'd get left here.
"TOLL!" Barney and the others' voices all shouted in his ear.
"Please," Toll begged her. "They'll kill you."
She looked at her mother and then back at him. He could tell she knew this was true. Finally, she stood.
"Great. Come on," he said.
"My teddy," she said back.
"Your what?" he asked, confused. He watched as she ran into her bedroom to grab a teddy bear and run back, tucking what looked like a locket under her shirt. Toll was astounded, but then again, stuffed animals were a great comfort to kids. She looked to be between about six to nine. He took her hand and rushed out the door.
"Stay low. Don't look at them," Toll ordered as they ran. She remained silent but did as he asked. He shot some other men as he fled. He had no idea if they'd get out of this alive.
Barney
"We gotta go," Lee urged. Barney twisted in his seat.
"I can't leave him," he answered. Where the hell was Toll?! Gunner and Caesar were getting anxious in the back. They wanted to get out of there before reinforcements came.
"Comin' in!" Toll's voice shouted.
"Finally," Lee huffed. Barney started the plane. They heard clattering in the back as Toll scrambled inside. Barney looked back at him and discovered that he wasn't alone.
"Hey, whoa," he said. "Toll, what is this?"
The others were staring at the girl too, who stared back at them. She was a small, African American girl, and she was afraid. Barney could tell. He'd be afraid of a plane full of strange men too, if he was her.
"They're gonna kill her," Toll explained.
"What?" Gunner asked, shocked.
"They thought she and her mother were hiding me. They shot her mother. They'll kill her next. They think she's a traitor."
"We don't have time for chitchat," Lee said angrily. "Can we deal with this later?"
"Are you sure?" Barney asked Toll. "I don't want to be accused of kidnapping."
"They will kill me," the girl piped up, startling them all. For a small girl, her voice was very strong. "I want to come."
"Is that good enough for you? She's willingly coming with us," Toll said.
"Strap her in," Barney instructed, turning back to face the front. The plane started to move. He wondered just what they had gotten themselves into.
Nikita
She was trying not to feel scared. She had never been on a plane before. She clutched her teddy and her necklace hard, leaving a groove in her hand. It may have seemed silly to the man, Toll, that she went back for them, but they were all she had left of her mother and her father. Her father had given her the teddy before going off and getting killed. The locket was her mother's. Nikita knew the pilot of the plane was skeptical of her coming along, but she knew she couldn't stay behind. She closed her eyes, the image of her lifeless mother appearing suddenly. She started to cry.
"Hey," Toll said. "It'll be all right."
She tried to nod, but it was difficult. Toll patted her knee awkwardly. The others were taking turns looking at her.
"I miss Mom," she said after a while. Seeing Toll's face, she knew he just realized that she had indeed see her own mother getting shot. Since it seemed like something he did all the time, it was easy to forget she assumed. She wasn't all right. She was very traumatized, but she knew if she was going to survive this, she had to be strong. Her mother was with her father now in Heaven. She had to believe that.
Toll Road
He had no idea what he had just gotten himself into. He could tell the others were skeptical and puzzled as to why he brought this girl with them. It was just his gut telling him he had to save her. He couldn't explain it otherwise. She was crying now, and he knew she was thinking about her mother. He felt furious at this. No little girl should see their parent die like that. He just knew she'd have nightmares. He knew he was going to. He leaned his head back, feeling the vibration from the plane. He had no idea what to expect once they landed.
Should I continue? I hope you're intrigued enough to want me to! :)
