Juggling afoot, (There be)

1.24.2013

AN: Also not an update but a new story. Don't worry, I'll get back to DD. Soon.

AN2: I started writing this without a summary and so I'll make one up now, I was too excited to get in on this story to really bother with framing it for readers... same thing with the title... hmm... what to say about it?

Summary: Her day had not ended how she envisioned. Especially not with a phone call from him. That said, it wasn't exactly how he planned it either.

Chapter 1

"Darien?" Surprise was paramount in her voice as she answered her cell phone. It had been ringing for the last hour but she hadn't been able to pick it up until now and even so her hands were still full. The cell sat couched between her cheek and shoulder as she brought the heavy box in through the door.

He hadn't called her since... well since she met him in Vegas.

"Where are you?" He breathed harshly and she couldn't help but look up from her box in surprise.

"At my shop." She answered without realizing that he wouldn't even know she had a shop or where it could possibly be. But since she didn't realize she didn't explain but he didn't seem to need an explanation.

"You slipped your security detail to go someplace so obvious?" He bit out tersely.

"Security detail?" She felt weak. "Why is there a security detail on me?" She hadn't even noticed anyone following her. "They must be good."

"They're the best." He responded and she realized she'd spoken out loud. "And yet you've managed to shake them." He caught his breath as if resetting his temper and pushing it down. She hadn't known him very long but she'd only known him to be angry and it must have been difficult for him to do such. It must have been very serious for him to put away his natural aggression towards her. Which was conversely ironic really. "I imagine you haven't seen the news."

"I've been busy." She replied a bit annoyed at how he had barged into her life, again.

"Listen carefully cara mia. There are people looking for you, bad people. They're going to find you. When they ask-" He inhaled sharply and she wondered what had set him off. "They'll ask you if I care for you. I want you to tell them that you mean more to me than anything else in the entire world."

"But I don't." She countered not understanding the gravity of the situation.

"I want you to tell them this. And Sere, I do care for you." He breathed heavily. "Please do this for me, it will protect you."

"Wouldn't it be better-"

"No." He highly stressed. "Leave the shop, go somewhere unexpected and wait for Falcon. I'll call you right back." He clicked off before she could protest and she felt her heart beating faster. She put down the box on a counter top and grabbed up her purse, turning back to the door, she barely locked it and crossed the nearly deserted street when she felt a presence behind her and she slipped into a restaurant that was readying to close. It wasn't far enough away she knew, but with the presence of other people, hopefully it would dissuade a scene. Her phone pealed off again before she could explain her plight. She felt safe as a half dozen people worked on closing up. There were too many witnesses!

"I shouldn't tell you this, but since there is no way I can get to you in time, I need to give you all the information. Please don't be afraid. I tell you this not to scare you but to give you the best possible advantage." He spoke before she even greeted him, having just sliding her phone open. These must be really bad people to have him so worked up.

"Go ahead." She breathed shakily.

"They've tracked down the last three women I've been seen with in an intimate setting. They've shot all three in the head when they've denied any closeness with me. They cannot be allowed to do this again. They can't-" And here his voice cracked. "kill you too. I promise you though, if they do take you, I will find you and bring you back. Nobody will ever touch you again."

"Darien?" She asked, her lips trembling.

"Serena." He sounded like he wanted to say something more, something important but the phone was taken out of her hands as a group of men came in. It was only then that she noticed that all the employees had gone into the back for a variety of reasons and would come back out at any moment. One of the men went to the door and stood in front of it, keeping it from opening again.

"She's unfortunately unable to continue this conversation." Then he shut the phone without realizing who he spoke to. He might have taunted Darien otherwise if he had known, or perhaps he had done so intentionally, just to torture Darien. Not that he really cared, he just didn't want the blame for her death on his hands as well.

Another man forced Serena to her knees and the man who had taken her phone pressed a gun between her eyes. That was a definite kill shot. She looked up at him with defiance in her eyes. He had a hat on to hide his face from the cameras but she saw him clearly and she gasped as she realized who he was. The biggest gun-runner in America had come out personally for her. This was not his territory and even her, who didn't watch or read the news knew his face.

"Let's cut down the chit-chat, shall we? I'm going to ask you one simple question and I want honesty. Are you Darien Shield's girlfriend?"

"Honesty hmm?" She refused to be cowed. "No, I'm not his girlfriend." She raised her hands to stall him before she even said it, his finger flexed almost impulsively. "But-" Her glance flickered over to the camera she knew was in the room and she scowled at it. "I am his wife."

"His wife? Ho-ho-ho, now that is spectacular information." He removed the gun from her and she breathed in relief, her spine hurt from staying so still and she couldn't help that little tell. "Hear that boys? We've got Mrs. Shields on our hands!"

There was laughter from the men in the room and she felt hands on her arms and hauled her to her feet. "We must treat someone of such status with respect! I thought you were just another whore he'd brought to bed. I had hoped for a woman that could bring his attention to us, but with you, we can bring him to his knees. He won't want to let his wife come to any harm." He brushed the gun against her jaw and she whipped her head away from it, glaring at the man.

She was brought over to a chair and sat down in it. "What do you want?" She demanded unimpressed.

"Oh I've got exactly what I wanted, I got you and soon I'll have what belongs to me but that doesn't mean we can't have fun in the meantime. He turned and looked directly into the camera. "You'd hate that, wouldn't you?" Then the man turned back around and roughly grabbed Serena's face in one hand, his meaty palm covered most of her face. They were huge hands and two of his fingers could probably crush her skull if not seriously damage her jaw. His lips were cruel and painful on hers and she fought against him, her nails scratched deeply at his cheek and he let her go, furious that she managed to draw blood and he smacked her backhanded and she went flying to the ground and couldn't move for several moments.

It was good that she was still on the ground because suddenly all hell went loose. Bullets flew over her head and shattered windows. They ground into the walls and into the men surrounding her. She covered her head with her arms though she knew that wouldn't protect her if a stray bullet decided to track her.

The man in charge grabbed her ankle and started dragging her towards a back exit and she prayed that any employees that had remained were all right and wouldn't be caught in the cross fire as his men opened fire back. She refused to go willingly and tried to dig in to the slippery floors. As if anything she could do would be any resistance to a man of his size and power. She grabbed at anything that would offer even the most momentary slowdown and felt her shoulders straining as she gripped a table leg and kicked at the man behind her, not understanding her own strength as she was unwilling to let go, and to do so it put strain on her joints. They were screaming at her to give in but her heart fought back and she couldn't release her grip. Thank goodness that the table was bolted into the floor otherwise she'd have taken the table with her out the backdoor.

There was a few shouts in Spanish that she didn't understand and a muffled curse and she was released, she pulled herself further from the man and closer to the leg of the table. He took off with the remaining men and she couldn't let herself believe that this might be the end, that he wouldn't come back for her. She squeezed her eyes tight and wrapped her arms around the leg of the table in a more secure hold and flinched as she heard male voices and feet crunching the glass in the restaurant and them spreading out as they moved quickly through it.

A hand landed on her shoulder and she flinched, squeezing the leg tighter. "Serena?" His voice was flat and familiar. She'd heard it before and she knew that the man behind it would be unemotional and direct. "Are you hit?" He spat something at one of the other men in the room and she felt another set of hands on her. "I knew it was a risk to open fire with you in here, but we couldn't see you but we saw them and knew if we could take out enough of them we could follow them back to where they were holding you. Darien's going to kill me." Falcon groaned and knew that he was scared of his boss, something she would not have associated with the stoic man so similar to Darien. "I swear I didn't know you were in here." There was a pause. "Serena? Please say something, I need to report back to Darien and I would like to tell him unqualified good news."

Men were leaving and following out the back door where Raia had disappeared through and some were coming back in. "They're gone sir. We have men following them in the Terrain." One of Falcon's men reported. "If all goes well we'll have him pinned down shortly."

"If all goes well." Falcon repeated but his attention was still on the woman on the ground. "Serena, you're safe now. I'll bring you to Darien..." He knew being so close to the matter that it wouldn't be as reassuring as others might believe, since nobody before today outside their three person circle even knew that Darien had married her. However to his surprise she relaxed her death grip on the table and turned to him, she sagged into his arms and he swept her up instantly, not taking her acceptance lightly and moved quickly out of the devastated restaurant.

"Get the tapes." He ordered all calm again now that he had what he wanted and with his boss's woman now in the protected shell of his arms. He had never heard his boss the way he'd heard him over the last week. Now he would restore the balance and put Darien's mind at ease as well as fill his arms again with all the answers to all of his questions. Nothing was more important than a good woman and Falcon had spent a lot of time since she'd entered Darien's life following her and learning that she was a very good woman who had gotten a bad deal with how things went down. And it had just gotten worse.