Author's Note: This is my first story that I've decided to post on this site. I already post on Blogger and a group site, but I wanted to give this a try! I hope you guys like it!

April 27, 2007

Her lungs burned , the muscles in her right side were cramping up like nobody's business and the bullet hole in her shoulder hurt like a bitch. It seemed like a clean through-and-through. But it was still bleeding some. It wasn't pumping out though, so hopefully there was no arterial damage. Pausing against the trunk of a tree with her good arm, she could feel the slow, sticky drip of her life's essence fall down her arm.

Can't stop. Keep moving. Get to safety.

Stumbling through the edge of the tree-line, she stared at the options in front of her. There were a few houses sporadically placed in a large clearing. It looked like a ritzy little neighborhood. To her right was a new section of woods and to the far left was a gravel road… it looked more like a private driveway than a street. While she stood there debating, she noticed that the house closest to her had a sliding back door. An open sliding back door. Behind her, she thought she heard a low buzz of ATVs that could be following her by now.

Please don't be a house full of people.

Being as careful and as stealthy as possible, she side-stepped through the grass in the backyard, all the while praying that no nosy neighbors were staring out their windows. Stopping at the door, she stayed flat against the frame of the house and pulled her gun out of her shoulder holster with a barely audible gasp of pain.

It had been awhile since she'd actually held her weapon, aside from those times at the range for target practice, but the piece felt like an extension of her arm. Hopefully she wouldn't have to use it.

Fucking lucky that they shot my holster shoulder and not my left one.

Taking a deep breath, she entered the house. It smelled like popcorn. Not a good sign that it was currently empty.

Strike one.

Stepping through the kitchen and taking in her surroundings, she listened carefully, hearing the buzz of a television coming from the front of the house. She tiptoed over the tile and stifled a groan as her bag tilted and pressed against her wound. Walking lightly down the hallway, she could hear voices along with the sounds of some sort of sporting event.

Strike two.

The initial sense of calm that had come over her after stepping through the back door was draining her energy. Or maybe it was all the blood she'd lost so far. Either way, she could feel her adrenaline high come crashing down. She needed to get this over with. Quickly. She took a deep breath, cringed as the movement pulled at the stitch in her side, steadied her gun and stepped into the room.

Taking a quick inventory, she noted the two guys sitting in matching leather, over-stuffed recliners. They were the only two people she saw. Each one had a bowl of popcorn in their lap and she noted the longneck bottles on the coffee table in front of them. Their eyes were glued to the TV and she looked up as well, watching as a bunch of guys skated around a rink, smashing into one another. Bringing her focus back to the men, she leveled her gaze at the closest one. He was tall and lanky, a slight curl to hair that looked like it needed cut, and he was chewing on his lip.

The second one… he sent a shock of awareness through her body as she drank in the sight of him. He looked to be shorter than the first guy, closer to her height, and he had dark hair and a killer smile. It lit up his entire face as he laughed about someone falling to the ice. She could've stared at him forever but her moment was cut short when the bigger one stood and turned her way.

Strike three. I'm out. Fuck.

He hollered something in a language she didn't know and a look of surprise flew across his face before he glanced at the other man. She wished she knew what he had said, but languages weren't her forte. No, that was Orion's line of… she blinked back the threat of tears and leveled her gun at the big guy. Later… later she would mourn the loss of her team. After she got the bastard responsible.

"English Geno! I don't under… TABERNAK!"

The second guy stood quickly. His popcorn fell to the floor, spilling everywhere, and the smile she'd just been mesmerized by was gone from his lips. In its place was a fierce expression that she figured was meant to intimidate her. He obviously didn't know who he was dealing with. Then again, neither did she.

Keeping her gun trained on the giant's chest, she stared at this second man. His eyes were blue, bright blue. Like the glaciers she'd seen up north on her last mission or the water she'd been able to swim in during her first undercover-op in Bora Bora. She wanted to look away, but couldn't.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

His accent was thick, but it was distinctly French. Maybe he was French-Canadian. She'd been sent to Pittsburgh and it was full of hockey players. Maybe these were two of them. It would explain the house. And could cause a potential problem… as if the day could get much worse.

She continued to stare at him, not answering his questions. The magnetic pull she felt toward him almost brought her to her knees as she tried to keep from stepping closer to him. Maybe it was that loss of blood again, but she felt like she was going to pass out.

"Listen, I don't want to hurt you. I came in here for help."

"You 'ave a gun pointed at my friend. You broke in here… and you want our help? Are you crazy?"

He didn't sound scared, just extremely pissed off. She could understand that. She'd be pissed too. Her gun wavered slightly as she fought not to black out and she wondered if they noticed.

"Listen to me. I'm a 'good guy.' U.S. military… I'm just having a very, very bad day. Look, I'm going to put my gun away."

Making a big show of un-cocking her gun and throwing on the safety, she tried to tuck it back into its holster. The twisting movement pulled at her wound though and she bit back a whimper of pain. As the light-headed feeling came back at full force, she pitched forward, her gun dropping at her feet. Not a classy move for a person in her position.

Blue Eyes jumped in to keep her from hitting the floor. As he reached to keep her upright though, his fingers squeezed where the bullet had passed through and the whimper she'd held back before came out, this time as a cry of pain and a curse. He kept one hand around her waist but the other one was held up between them, covered in red. Obviously the blood had soaked through her coat.

"What the… fuck, you're hurt! Is this blood? It looks like blood! Why are you bleeding?"

"Like I said," she gasped, "bad day. Now, if you want me to prove who I am, you're gonna need to help me get my identification out of my bag. I don't think I can get it off. Not without cutting the strap… and I really don't want to do that. Will you help me… please?"

She didn't know why she'd said please, but it had come out easily. And the plea must've made up his mind because he started to tell the tall one to go grab towels and hot water but then he must've thought better of it.

"Wait Geno… just get out of here. Is that alright if he leaves?"

She nodded her head and listened as the two of them fought about 'Geno' leaving. He didn't want to but Blue Eyes finally talked him into it. They were talking quietly and she didn't know what he told him, but the big guy nodded and headed out of the room at last.

"Don't… don't call the police. I need to call my boss first. He'll know what to do. I'm trusting you to keep that guy from running straight to the station."

"He's not going to any police building. He's going to… our boss I guess you could say. Let's go look at this injury. What happened?"

"Who's you boss? Are you in the mob?"

"No. And he's a pretty big deal around here. He can help."

"Is his name Lemieux?"

"How did you know that…"

"He's a friend of my boss."

They turned to go back the way she came, back toward the kitchen. A wave of dizziness hit her and she stumbled toward the wall. When she would've hit it though, she found that the wall felt strangely soft and smelled delicious. Strong arms picked her up, cradling her in an embrace that was soothing and jarring at the same time. Ever mindful of the throb in her right shoulder, she snuggled against the expanse of his chest. He sighed.

"Look, I'm trusting that you are who you say you are. A 'good guy' as you put it. If you want my help, the least you can do is tell me what the hell happened."

When they got to the kitchen he set her down on the edge of the table. He coaxed her bag from her shoulders, apologizing when the release of pressure caused her to try and stifle a groan of pain. The coat was easier to get off and she noticed that he didn't get squeamish at the sight of the hole she was sporting. Before he could continue his perusal of her injury, she placed a hand on his arm.

"Listen to me. I n-need you to do something for me. There's a satellite phone in the pocket of my bag. Get it, hold down the 'SEND' button. It'll connect you to my boss. When he answers… when he answers, tell him…"

Her brain grew fuzzy and her vision blurred. Mac needed to know what had happened though. Hell, he might find out before she called him if what Blue Eyes said was true.

"Tell him what," he insisted.

"Fuck… tell him 'Team Alpha' is in trouble. All gone but the Bard. And Benedict Arnold is on the loose.' Repeat that to me, okay?"

She listened, enthralled by his voice as he repeated it twice. She nodded at him and he pushed her back onto the table to relax as he pulled her phone out.

"Blue Eyes… listen… once you tell him that.. Take my stuff and get out of here. Leave me my gun, but take the rest. The possibility of men following me is too great for you to stay here too."

"I can't just leave and let someone kidnap you!"

"Kidnapping isn't what they'll have in mind. They would just want to finish what they started."

She watched his eyes flash as he comprehended what she'd just said. She was the last piece of the puzzle that stood in the way of a psychotic man's plan. Looking up into those eyes, she tried to stay alert enough to make sure he did what she asked.

"Call… him…"

He nodded gravely and put the phone to his ear. Mac should be expecting her to call and check in. As she fought to stay awake she heard the man relay her message. She held up her hand for the phone after he'd finished but he stepped back, ignoring her request. He stared at her as he listened to something Mac was saying.

"Yes sir… no, she's got a hole in her shoulder. I don't know. Per'aps she was shot. She's pretty out of it right now. I refuse to leave her with the possibility that someone is after her as we speak!"

She tried to tell him that he had to get out, had to get to safety before trouble came their way, but her tongue didn't want to move properly.

"I can get her the help she needs. My boss is pretty important around here… Mario Lemieux…"

She shook her head no, gasping at the pain. He needed to go. Mac had to understand that even a friendship wouldn't be enough to get her to safety right now.

"Mac," she yelled, "Mac you know we can't ask that of him. Tell him to get out of here!"

Blue Eyes glared at her and listened to whatever her boss was saying. He leaned down and tugged at the neck of her shirt. The material pulled at the dried blood and she hissed a breath through her teeth.

"She needs a doctor… now. I can get her out of here."

Once again he tried to move the fabric but this time he pressed against the wound itself. Tears swam in her eyes as she tried to stay conscious. If she fainted then she wouldn't be able to talk any sense into him.

"Y-you… you don't know what you're getting yourself into. Mac, I know you can hear me! Make. Him. Leave."

He took the phone from his ear and hit a button. She tried to sit up and then leaned against him as Mac's voice boomed in the silence of the kitchen.

"You listen to me Forbes. You're the last one, and if he can get you out of there, I'm letting him! I'm going to call in a favor. His boss will call him with instructions. Blue Eyes, when you get her to wherever Mario says to go, you call me back. Understand?"

"Oui. I will call you."

"Good. You hang in there Forbes. I haven't been able to get rid of you before, don't start wimping out on me now. That's an order, you got it?"

"Yes sir," she said with as much force as she could. The blackness was taking over and she could feel herself slipping.

"Good. Now I just have one question… who is this that I'm talking to?"

"Maxime Talbot of the Pittsburgh Penguins, at your service."

She fainted in his arms.

Author's Note: This story is already finished and I'm going to be posting daily (hopefully) until I get it done!