AN: I do not own Star Wars or Taken, nor any of its characters... which is quite a shame, because these movies are really awesome!
I hope you like my little crossover and I would really appreciate it, if you left a few reviews! ^^
Taken (96 hours crossover)
The ginger haired man was lazily fumbling for his keys in his pockets. It had been a more or less successful day. He had found the evidence he had needed to get that son of a bitch out of his way, but unfortunately that asshole was nowhere to be found. The man snorted at the thought, it was just a matter time until he would be found, no need to concern himself with this anymore.
With a firm push the old wooden door to his little rent apartment was opened and the ginger haired man stepped into a small entryway. Without care he threw the keys on a wooden commode and hung his worn out leather coat at its place on the garderobe next to the door. With a yawn he walked into his kitchen and straight to the refrigerator which had also seen better days. The refrigerator was almost empty, but with a knowing grip he pulled out a bottle of bear and promptly took a swig once he had opened it.
With another yawn the man left the kitchen to enter his sleep and working place. He was halfway on the mattress that made up his makeshift bed when something strange caught his eye. His answering machine was blinking, something that had not happened since years, back when he had still been working with his partner. Immediately the man's mood obfuscated at the thought of his old partner, who had dumped him without a word after twelve years of working together and building up trust and friendship.
Waving this train of thoughts aside, he put the now empty bottle aside and reached out to push the button on his answering machine. A beep sounded, followed by the electronic voice of a woman, "You've got one message."
"Figured as much," he grumbled and sat back on the mattress.
A moment later a familiar baritone voice sounded, "Hey Ben…" said man had already sat up halfway hand outstretched to shut off the machine, when he was stopped by the voice again, "I know you are furious with me. Hell, you've got every right to be... Damn, why is this so hard? I don't even know what to say. I don't even know if this is still your number..." There was another pause, in which Ben retreated his hand again, now that his curiosity had been spiked. "I'm sorry. I know this sounds lame and I would like to apologise properly, even though I doubt you want to hear it," he sighed heavily, "I bet you have already figured that I did not only call to apologise. It's pathetic, I know. I'm pathetic."
"I can only agree with that," Ben growled, eyes fixed in the answering machine as if he wanted to burn a hole in it.
"It's… I... I need your help, Ben. They… some bastards got my daughter. You remember her, right? I don't know if I am able to reach, let alone find her without your help. Sam says I've got only 96 hours and a few of these are already over. Please Ben, if not for me then do it for Kim and Lenore. Please!" The voice wavered at the end and eventually broke. Some sniffing was heard and then the call was cancelled.
Ben huffed and let himself fall backwards onto the mattress. He folded his arms under his head and continued to glare daggers at the ceiling. The nerve of this man! After years of no contact he suddenly calls and asks for help? Actually it had been more begging than asking, something the Bryan Mills he had got to know, would not have done. Either he was sat up, his former partner decided to hurt him even more or it was really serious.
Ben knew that Bryan loved his daughter and he knew his former partner would take in the whole damn world to get her back.
"Fuck!" Ben turned on his side. Kim had been like a sister to him as soon as she was born and if it weren't for her, he would not even consider contacting Bryan ever again. "Fuck it all!" he finally exclaimed and sat up again.
He wouldn't find any sleep now and with a last longing gaze at the mattress, the ginger haired man stood up and went to his desk. With studied and precise movements he started his computer, the monitor flaring up after month of no use. It was time to see where that asshole was and what he was up to. Ben sighed, he would need to contact Sam first.
Of all the goddamn places, it had to be Paris. It was not that Ben particularly disliked the city… alright, that was a lie. He absolutely despised the city. Under all the glamour and shine the news always delivered, Paris was a shithole. Illegal activities greeted the watchful eye around every corner, be it drugs or prostitution. Ben wondered that Bryan ha even allowed his daughter to travel with just her friend to Paris.
He sighed and shook his head, he needed to find Bryan. Even though he doubted that this would be a real challenge. Not when the current news in the newspaper were any indicator. Apparently Bryan had been busy with killing a few rugs that employed an illegal brothel near a construction site.
Ben huffed and straightened his steampunk cap with goggles and his new black cloak that hid all the weapon and devices he carried. Maybe he worked only part-time for the government now, but that didn't mean he would be caught unawares. Not that somebody like him would be easily caught unawares, still he liked to have at least his Spec Ops 1911 with silencer. With this little baby, he could easily wipe out areas with bad guys, without being seen. And then there was his foldable dragunov sniper rifle or short SVD. It may not shot through heavy armour, bit a headshot was deadly and Ben never missed his target.
It had been a real pain bringing his little girls with him, but the ginger haired man had no doubt that it would pay off in the end. That and he felt as if a great part of him was missing without the girls, especially during such a mission like this one surely till turn out to be. Hopefully he wouldn't need to use them often, or better yet, not at all. Maybe his hacker skills would be enough…
Ben sighed, now he was giving himself false hope. Oh, how he hated Paris.
Finding Bryan had been embarrassing easy. Either his former partner had lost his touch or Ben had gotten better. Probably the latter applied since the French police hat walked straight into his little mobile phone and walkie-talkie trap; how embarrassing.
"This is the cheapest trick in world's history and they fell for it!" he exclaimed loudly when the tall man he had searched walked right past him.
The man in question whirled around, eyes wide and expression one of shock. It seemed to take him a moment to figure out, who the masked figure before him was, but then his expression turned hopeful.
"Ben?" he took a hesitant step forward.
The ginger haired man raised an eyebrow, not that Bryan could see it under the rim of his cap and the goggles over his eyes. "Expected somebody else?" it didn't come out as harsh and sarcastic as Ben had wanted it to be.
"For one moment I feared you were Jean-Claude…" he trailed off.
Ben huffed in annoyance and pushed himself away from the wall he war currently leaning on, "Please, that idiot couldn't find a tree in a forest."
The older male chuckled, "I hadn't thought you would come."
"Make no mistake. I am not hear because you asked for my help or because I want to fix our relationship," he huffed and Ben noticed that he was doing that a lot currently, "I am doing that for Kim and for nobody else, got it? So don't expect anything from this."
The taller man's little smile vanished immediately and for a few seconds, something appeared in his eyes that Ben couldn't quite place. Unfortunate it had been gone almost as soon as it had appeared and the ginger haired man doubted he would figure it out anytime soon. Eventually Bryan nodded and waved the younger male to follow.
Ben took a deep breath before pulling off his goggles and mask and following one step behind the other male, right towards a metro station. This could have gotten worse, he figured, but also a lot better…
Well, let the hunt begin.
It had not taken Ben long to figure out where the place the girl had described, was located. And only a short amount of time later, a plan was created and Ben had the faked identification card ready.
On the short trip to the house the young woman had led them to, Bryan had told him all the information he had already gathered and Ben was more determined then ever, to see that Kim would return home safe and sound.
Ben gave the taller man a last nod and then hurried the ladder up, to reach the roof of the neighbouring houses. From there he had a good sight on the dirty place that was crawling with all kinds of pathetic insects and other scum. In a few rooms, curtains were drawn shut, but there was no movement in those rooms, so Ben figured they were not of great importance for now. He would keep an eye on them either way.
"Ben, are you there?" a voice from his ear bud sounded.
"Almost set," he retorted. With great care and without much sound, Ben was readying his sniper rifle. From his position he had almost free sight and after a few adjustments to his scope, he had a clear view on Bryan. "I see you… there are two rugs sitting behind the door, they are playing a card game and they've got weapons. Be careful, don't make them angry."
"I'd never do that, you know me."
"I thought I did," Bryan grimaced at that, "Alright, I'll keep an eye on you and that assholes and I will update you on their position and if I am able to shoot…"
Bryan nodded, "Anything I need to know?"
"Upstairs are a few rooms with drawn curtains. There seems to be no or almost no movement… maybe they held the women there. But to go there you have to get rid of the assholes first. I am going to help you with that, at least as much as I am able to. I cannot tell you how many there are, there are too many corners I can't see properly."
"You'll manage, I know you will."
Ben hummed and watched as his former partner, or were they something like partners now, stepped into the lions lair.
It was astonishing how easy Bryan could manipulate those apes. Granted, they were utterly stupid, but Bryan played his part great too.
At Bryan's next words, Ben became fully alert, "You don't remember me? We spoke on the phone two days ago."
"You'll take care of the rugs in the room, I'll make sure no one else enters," Ben said over the earpiece and readjusted his weapon, while mentally readying himself for shooting and coming to Bryan's help should things get out of hands. From his position he should be able to get to his partner's – and for the lack of a better word, Ben would call Bryan that now – position in no time. He had always been good in free running.
"I told you I would find you," and from that point on, the party had started.
Bryan had easily taken out the bastards in the kitchen and Ben had shot from his position every one, who dared to come to near to his partner. At one point he had to search shelter, for the rug had turned on him, but Bryan got rid of them too, so that the ginger haired man could fire again.
"I had expected a better fight."
"It's not over yet," Bryan warned over the earphone and Ben just barely kept himself from rolling his eyes.
Bryan was making his ways upstairs know, opening door and looking into them. At least that is what Ben heard him doing. When the older male suddenly whispered, "Kim," the ginger haired man's heart skipped a beat.
"Bryan? What's going on?" he demanded, but the other male kept silent. Ben cursed the man in four different languages he knew, the older man wouldn't understand. He wasn't so stupid to pretend however, that the older man would not catch their rough meaning anyway.
Another door was opened and this time a shocked, "Amanda," escaped the older man's lips.
"Amanda? You mean Kim's friend?"
"She's dead," the voice sounded pained and on the edge of breaking, "overdose of drugs…" Ben took a deep breath and decided not to comment on it. "What about Kim?"
"Not here."
Bryan was moving again and at some point, he was in Ben's line of vision again. The man was heading straight to the small and demolished kitchen, where he picked up the dirty prick that he had talked to previously and with him he headed straight out.
Ben knew what was going to happen next. Trying to find his centre again, he packed up his stuff and quickly climbed and jumped off the roofs until he landed by Bryan's side again, who was unceremoniously throwing the man onto the backseat and climbed onto the driver's seat. Without a word, Ben sat next to him on the co-driver seat.
Once more Ben found himself waiting outside. The first time he just had not wanted to see and hear Bryan torturing the man. He had worked long enough with the man to know he understood his craft. Still, he had not wanted his headache to worsen and the clear air of an approaching evening helped him clear his head.
Currently Ben was stationed outside of Jean-Claudes' house. Bryan was already inside, but Jean-Claudes was just arriving. He had quickly send Bryan a message that the eagle had arrived to his aerie and the man actually had the audacity to answer his message with a winking smiley. Ben didn't know if he should laugh or cry at this.
On one side the two of them were working together as if they never had been apart. Granted, they were older now, more experienced in some ways and certainly not as fast as they used to be. It was barely visible, but both of them had been getting older and their skills had lightly suffered from it.
On the other side, Ben was still uncomfortable with this whole situation. He and Bryan had not talked with each other, except the exchange of the information that was required. The rest of the time they had just been too busy with finding clues and not getting killed. But then there was the behaviour and the non-verbal interaction between the two of them and you did not need to be a genius or something like that, to figure out there was a connection between them.
Ben sighed and let the wind of a cold breeze play with his hair. He had pulled of the cap for now to enjoy the air and to ease his headache. If it weren't for that longing and hopeful tint in Bryan's eyes, every time he looked at his younger counterpart and if it weren't for said counterpart's treacherous hear, things would be a lot easier.
At the sound of a closing door and footsteps, Ben opened his eyes. He had not noticed that he had closed them in the first place. A few moments later, Bryan stood next to him, a knowing look on his face.
"Headache?" he inquired.
Ben barely nodded, "Found what you were searching for?" It was the older man's turn to nod, "You know, I could have just hacked into their computer…"
"And where would the fun have been in that?" Bryan grinned, causing Ben to roll his eyes, partly in amusement and partly in annoyance. "Besides, I had to clarify something with that son of a bitch."
"I see. Well, let's get moving."
Ben had already pushed himself away from the car and had turned around halfway, when he was stopped by a hand on his arm. "Lay down on the backseat and rest. I will drive."
A sense of nostalgia was in the spoken words and the kind blue eyes, which looked older than they really were. But so did Ben's eyes and he quickly shoved the thought aside.
"I am not going to sleep where that swine had laid…"
"By all the," he growled, "damn it, Ben. Stop acting like a spoiled brat. I am sorry that I cannot give you a five star hotel or enough time to sleep properly, but you are acting like a spoiled child."
"Well, excuse me for not sleeping for over a week and for holding onto the little bit of my dignity that remains. The rest was torn out and stomped upon once my partner dumped me and humiliated me in front of the whole fucking organisation. Now let go of me!" The last part was yelled.
"Please, you are an adult for god's sake. If you can't ignore mindless words of others, then you have no place in this field of work. In fact, from what I've gathered just now, it was a good thing they obviously threw you out."
Ben just stared at the taller man before him, too shocked to form a reply. Bryan's anger immediately melted away and turned into shame once he realised what he had said.
"Ben," he tried, but the younger man cut him off, by freeing his arm and placing the cap back on his head.
"Let's just get this over with and then we don't have to see each other ever again," Bryan flinched at the emotionless and almost depressed voice in which the words were spoken.
"Ben, I am sorry, I-"
"I don't need to hear it. What's said is said and cannot be taken back. Besides, as you just kindly told me, I should not let mere words affect me too much. So, let's just find Kim, shall we?"
Bryan could only nod, for the other male had already turned around and climbed into the car. Bryan wordlessly followed and while the ginger haired man gazed out of the window, he started the motor.
It hurt, it damn hurt to see little sweet Kim presented like this. Drugged and clothes barley concealing her private parts.
Ben could barely keep himself from grabbing his gun and shoot every one of these dirty and pervert old bastards, but it would not achieve anything, except that his own lust after revenge would be sated.
While Bryan threatened the man to buy his daughter, Ben kept an eye and an ear open. He barely saw the threatened man's slight movement and pushing of a hidden button.
So the coward had called his little pets to come and rescue him, how sweet. Ben's gaze turned towards the taller man's back. In the semi-darkness he could barely made out how angry and tight his posture was. His attention was completely on his daughter and the ginger haired man immediately knew he wouldn't listen.
With silent and careful movements, Ben stepped further towards the wall and once he reached he, he silently slid through the door. The bidding was almost over anyway, besides, he could already hear the gorillas coming.
He hastily opened another door and checked the room. It wasn't lit and looked like another bidding room, but here were no other people. Quickly he scrambled into the room and closed the door. Nit a moment later he heard the men talking just before the closed door and it was only seconds later when he heard a bump and a heavy body meeting the floor. So Bryan had walked directly into their trap, obviously too focused on finally getting to his daughter. Ben wondered if his partner had even realised that he wasn't there or if he just thought Ben would follow and obey him like a lost puppy.
"Fuck it, we were so close," Ben mumbled and cautiously followed the men who got Bryan. Even though they were build like cupboards, they struggled carrying the tall man. Ben would have laughed, if their situation was not so damned serious.
The corridors were empty except the bastards who were carrying Bryan and Ben, who had pulled his mask and goggles back on and followed them. At some point another man another, more regal looking man joined the little group and Ben immediately categorised him as their boss.
Eventually they stepped through a door and metal stairs lead lower into the building. Ben had to keep more distant now, or they would have heard him. At one point he had to actually hide in a little corner, where he patiently waited for the men to leave. Unfortunately only the boss left, which meant there were still five gorillas with Bryan and the three guarding the door.
He took a deep breath and silently pulled his gun out of its holster in his cloak. He checked the magazine, six bullets. Of course he had more ammunition with him, but Ben doubted he would be able to change the magazine once the action began.
Silently the ginger haired man lowered himself to the floor and looked around the corner. Two of the guardians would see him as soon as he came out of his hiding place, the third had his back turned towards him. Ben would go after one of the men facing him first, then take out the others and finally the one, who did not face him.
"Now or never," Ben mumbled and the action began.
The assholes had had no chance against him. Ben did not even let them draw their weapons. Maybe he should have changed the magazine, just to be sure, but Ben did nit know what the gorillas were doing with Bryan and therefore he didn't want to waste any more time. He crept into the room and was glad to see Bryan awake. He was struggling against on of the men, who was strangling him with a brown leather belt. Except the one doing the dirty work, the gorillas were all facing away from him.
Ben's grip on his gun tightened and with his left hand he grabbed the knife he had hidden in one of his black leather boots. He could at least bring one of them down without using another bullet.
Everything happened in slow motion once Ben stepped forward and rammed his knife into the first man's neck. His blood splashed from the open wound once Ben pulled back and he used the moment of surprise to ram it into another man's arm and to shoot the third gorilla. Two more shots and two more dead bodies later, it was only Ben, Bryan and the man who held a gun to the taller man's head.
Ben stepped a confident step forward, gun pointing towards the remaining opponent, "Don't come any closer, or I'll shoot his brain out of his skull." The voice sounded panicked, which was good. Ben could easily use the man's fear against him.
"Do it and spare me the work… in fact, you would do me a great favour you know." Ben ignore the taller man's shocked and hurt stare and kept his gaze firmly on the gorilla, who's hand had began to shake. "If you kill him, I can go to his wife – the love of my life by the way – and tell her how I tried everything to save that sick motherfucker," he huffed, "That's right Bryan, poor Lenny will need a shoulder to cry on and who would be better than me?"
"You damn bastard!" Bryan yelled now that he had caught onto the game Ben was playing, "I'll kill you if you get near her!"
"You cannot do that when you are dead…"
The gorilla looked uncertain and seemed to think about his next step. Eventually he moved his arm so that the gun now pointed at Ben, who had stepped even closer while the man had been occupied.
"I'll just kill you then."
Ben shrugged, "Do it! It would be just another favour you would make me. Right now, I've got nothing to lose and I am not stupid enough to believe that Lenny will ever truly love me, not the way I love her and certainly not the way she loves him."
"You are a sick bastard!" Bryan exclaimed.
Ben tilted his head, "Maybe I'll just get her pregnant so that I've got an heir, preferable a daughter. And then Lenny passes in an unfortunate car accident…" he hesitated, "If I cannot have her, nobody will!"
"I'll kill you!" Bryan roared.
The third man in the room looked very uncertain. His gaze flickered between the two conversing men and Ben used this. He dropped his own weapon and grabbed the man's wrist, pointing the gun away from him. The bullet hit the wall, but the ginger haired man did not let himself be bothered with this. A strong blow against the man's elbow and the bone was broken, causing the man to cry out in pain and let the weapon drop. Ben still held onto the wrist with his right hand and with his left fist, he continued to punch his opponent's face. A loud snap and Ben knew he had broken either the man's nose or his jawbone, maybe even both. With a last powerful punch, he sent the man onto the ground, unconscious and bleeding.
He then turned to Bryan, who was pulling hard on his restrains. Ben had to step onto his toes to reach up, but he eventually got a grip on the handcuffs and started pulling simultaneously with the taller man and eventually the pipe broke and Bryan was free. He handed the older man a needle so that he could free himself and meanwhile he picked up his gun.
"Thanks," Bryan said breathless and Ben grunted in acknowledgement. "But…" he hesitated, "why did you not just shoot him?"
Ben held out the gun for the older male to see and pushed two small buttons so that the magazine fell onto the floor.
"It was empty?" Bryan asked bewildered.
"Yeah," Ben said while loading the gun with a new one.
"Why didn't you change it, I knew you easily could have."
"I did not want to waste bullets… I've got the feeling we'll need them."
Bryan nodded and huffed in amusement, "You are a sick bastard, you know that… Damn, I don't know if I should punch you or kiss you."
"Let us go for neither, alright. Now come, time is running out."
Ben distantly wondered how stubborn people could be. Bryan was extremely stubborn, but apparently so was the man from before, from which they wanted the information about the whereabouts of the girls.
He shook his head, they would just loose precious time like this. He fumbled for his mobile phone and started typing on it. Bryan gave him a questioning look, but not a moment later had he hacked their friend's phone and he could read the messages.
"They are on the docks. A boat is about to leave, we have to hurry."
"What?" the man exclaimed, "How did you figure this out?"
"You are standing before the world's best and most wanted hacker, asshole."
The man's eyes went wide when Ben showed him the messages he had sent from his own phone, "Impossible."
"Not for him," Bryan cut in and was that a hint of pride in his voice?
Ben shook his head when his partner killed their friend, "You always leave quite a mess, you know that. The poor suit, complete ruined thanks to you."
"I guess he just has to buy himself a new one for his funeral."
Ben hummed in amusement, "Pity, really."
Ben and Bryan ran outside, just in time to see one of the assholes load in the last girl and to start driving away. Bryan hesitated only a second and then he ran off, following the driving car.
"Is the man fucking serious?" Ben sighed and looked around until his eyes landed on some fancy looking black sport car. "Well, let's go the whole hog then." It took the ginger haired man less than a minute to break open the car – by breaking the glass – and to activate the electronic starter. He immediately took off and followed his running partner, who could only watch helpless while the women were loaded onto the boat. Ben came to a halt next to him.
"Get in you old asshole!"
"Get on the passenger seat, I'll drive," Bryan demanded, but the younger man would have none of it.
"The heck I will. Now get moving, before we lose them!"
The older male looked as if he wanted to protest, but he just shook his head and did as he was told. As soon as he had sat down and closed the door, the ginger haired man stepped on the gas and the motor began to howl.
They were driving at high speed and against the traffic. Luckily the young man had very good reflexes and enough experience driving cars through difficult situations, even being a ghost driver, and he managed to get the car towards the bridge without a single scratch on it.
He slammed on the breaks and as soon as the vehicle more or less stood, Ben opened the door and jumped out of the car. He ran towards the bridge's end, looked down to check the distance and eventually took a few steps back, before jumping over the railing. During the short fall, he had pulled out his knife and his gun and he made a roll once his feet touched the boat. As soon as he was kneeling, he rammed the knife in a startled man's neck and another asshole was shot right between his eyes before he could so much as blink.
A moment later Bryan landed on the boat as well, but Ben had already moved forward, killing another man and in the process of throwing another overboard.
"You take the left flank, I take the right," Ben ordered and without waiting for a response, he moved forward.
Ben had hacked the bastard's communication system, some old junk he wouldn't even gift his grandmother. Thanks to his automatic translator he knew that he had been spotted while throwing that asshole in the cold and dark water, but from what he gathered, his partner had not been spotted. Ben sighed in relief, he had seen the older man limping, certainly from the fall and was glad for every ape he got to kill. It not only meant his partner would be kept alive, but the chance of Kim surviving was bigger as well.
He shook his head to clear his head again. It wouldn't do him any good if he was distracted. A distracted man, was a dead man. This was one of the lines he always got to hear from Bryan. At least for one thing the bastard had been useful.
Gun shots as well as the sound of machine guns were heard over the ship. Ben had his hands full. Between shooting, dodging and reloading his guns, there was almost no time for breathing or thinking. He was running only on adrenaline and instinct now, just like old time. In fact, like every time he was on another mission for the damn government, even if it were simply information gathering. Something he could easily have done from home, if the old geezers would just give him enough money for the needed equipment, but of course the government had to save money and he had to suffer from it.
What seemed like an eternity, Ben had finally reached the end of his corridor. He was greeted by a great white door and he carefully approached it, only with his knife in his hands. He had lost his weapons some time during the fight. He had taken the bastards weapons, but discarded them as soon as their magazines were empty.
"Fuck," he breathed out once the pain caught up with his mind. He would have some nasty bruises later and he thought one of the assholes had managed to shoot him in the side, but because of all the adrenaline, Ben wasn't so sure. Suddenly deciding that he needed more air, he first pulled of his cap along with his goggles and then the mask. His cloak soon followed suit and he left a small pile of clothes behind. Only clad in black jeans and a tight black t-shirt, he silently moved forward. The only sound that could be heard came from inside the room and it sounded like nervous shuffling. Where the hell was Bryan?
A moment later someone came crashing through one of the cabins and Ben instinctively took a step back. To his feet laid the grunting form of Bryan Mills and a smug looking guy appeared at the hole. He was holding two blades and motioned for Ben to come closer.
"Come, let's dance you American scumbag."
"I am Scottish you Arabian swine," Ben retorted and began his attack. He didn't even notice the blood that was starting to soak his shirt.
"Ben," Bryan groaned and the ginger haired man turned his head for the briefest second.
"Go, I'll just finish this swine and then I'll join you."
The man laughed, "I want to see that, rat."
Bryan did as he was told and distantly he could hear voices speaking. He knew that the Arabian man was leading him further away from his partner, but he decided to play along for now, for Kim's sake. He heard a single gun shot and then everything except the clashing of metal and the two man's heavy breathing, went silent.
"Looks like your friend was killed," the man laughed.
"I don't think so."
He huffed, "Why don't you just surrender. I'll promise you a quicker and almost painless death then."
"Please, as if I believe a word you say. You probably know who I am either way."
"Ben Kenobi, one of the American dogs. You are very high on our black list and I am going to cut your head off your shoulders and earn the money that is on it."
Ben tightened his hold on his knife, "Try me, asshole!"
He had expected the attack, in fact he had anticipated it. With a firm grip, he held onto the dark haired man's wrist and turned until he heard the bone snap. The man yelled out in pain and Ben let go in order to break the man's nose and jaw.
"Fuck you, asshole!" The man managed to wheeze out and Ben was surprised that he was still able to talk at all.
"Well, screw you," Ben retorted and embedded the sharp blade into the man's skull. He silently cursed when some of the blood came into contact with his face.
"At least I know now, why you always wore that goggles and mask of yours," Ben only turned his head at the sound of his partner. The older male was standing there, clutching his side and his free arm wrapped securely over his daughter.
Ben turned back to the dead body on whose chest he was still kneeling. He suddenly felt exhausted and he wondered why. The adrenaline should still be in his system, unless… He laid his hand on his injured side and was shocked that his glove was completely covered in crimson blood.
"Dear god, Ben. Are you alright?" Bryan was already moving forward, but the ginger haired man got up and got out of his reach.
"I will be… shouldn't you be worrying about your daughter?"
"Who are you?" said daughter asked in a tiny voice and Ben's calm gaze settled on her.
"The last time we saw each other, was on your fifth birthday… you barely reached my waist back then."
The young woman's eyes widened in realisation, "You gave me this… this ridiculous soft teddy, right?" Ben nodded with a small smile. "Oh my god, I can't believe this."
"Ben," Bryan spoke up and reached out towards the other male, "I am sorry, for everything. I am truly sorry and if you would just let me, I would find a way to make it all up to you."
Their gazes met and the ginger haired men chose his next words very carefully, "There are some things that cannot be forgotten." Bryan's eyes shone with pain, "Sometimes it is better this way, so that certain mistakes won't happen again… I will never forget what you have done… but maybe I'll be able to forgive you in due time."
"That's all I ask of you," the older man gave him a small smile and Ben nodded, before he turned towards the boat's railing.
"Now, if you'll excuse me. I have an appointment with a doctor and with that he jumped onto the wooden jetty. He barely made it, but at least he did not get wet. He turned around and saw two people gazing open mouthed at him. He winked and waved them good bye and vanished in the busy streets of Paris.
How he hated this city.
Ben watched as Bryan said good bye to his daughter and her family. His arm hung in a sling, but it didn't seem to hurt him. He waved, even after the car was already out of his vision and it was then that Ben decided to approach the man.
"Did you know that I hate Paris? Even more so now, after all of this."
The taller man whirled around at the voice of the newcomer and his eyes shone with happiness, "Ben…" He paused, "Where the hell have you been? We've been worried."
Ben shrugged, "Here and there… gathering a few information, threatening a few politicians and making sure that those assholes will never touch a young girl ever again."
Bryan huffed in amusement, "You are something else, you know that."
"I've been taught by the best. Now, how is that arm of you doing? Want me to lend you a hand?"
"My arm is fine, thank you very much. It is me who should be asking!"
"I will hear, it was just a scratch, nothing really life threatening. Besides, I've got worse."
"What will you do now?"
"Don't know… maybe wait until my partner decides to hunt another strange bunch of total bastards in order to safe, I don't know who…"
"Or you could just come with me and the both of us will have a long talk. It is about time the two of us have a heart to heart," the taller man said seriously.
Ben shrugged, "Well, alright. But you pay the taxi!" With that he grabbed the older man's bag, before the latter could to it, and together they got into one of the waiting vehicles.
Maybe life was not always going as planned, and maybe there was not always the happy end you would wish for, but this was no reason to just throw everything away. Life is just too short for that.