Last Escape
Summary: Sometimes death is the last escape.
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. And quite frankly I don't want to own No Escape.
He gives the young American family the name Hammond. It's not his real name, obviously. Briefly he wonders how they would react if he told them. They probably wouldn't even recognize it. It's not like he goes around advertising his existence. His enemies know who he is, but to the rest of the world, it's like he doesn't even exist.
The news Kenny gives him after they see the Dwyers safely to their hotel is… troubling, to say the least. Apparently the actions of his former employers have destabilized things even more than he realized. The situation is far more worrisome than he realized. It is these troubling thoughts that lead him to the hotel lounge, where he again finds himself face to face with Jack Dwyer.
Dwyer is about as different from Hammond as night is from the day. Where Hammond is shadows and secrets, Dwyer is light and honesty. He radiates a kind hearted innocence that Hammond isn't sure that he ever possessed. If he did, then it gave way to cynicism so long ago as to be unrecognizable. There is no blood on Jack Dwyer's hands. If Hammond has his way there never will be.
It is that thought that is in his mind as he watches Dwyer head back to his family. Downing his last shot, the man who calls himself Hammond heads out into the night to try and defuse this situation before it spirals completely out of control.
It will be morning before he realizes that it is already, far, far to late for that.
When the riots begin, Hammond feels his stomach clench. He races for the hotel desperate to save those he can, only to realize that it is to late. The hotel is already overrun, and the people there are already being slaughtered. He feels like he is in daze as he watches the carnage around him. Even after all the violence he has seen, this somehow feels worse. Everything he did was for Queen and Country. It was simply business. This is so much more awful, because it is so much more personal.
When Hammond finds the Dwyers hiding in the old man's garden, it is like a great weight has been lifted off his chest. He has not failed completely. Even with all that has gone wrong, this family is still here, surviving, against all odds. The moment that he lays eyes on them Hammond has only one vow. Somehow, some way, this family will survive. If it is the last thing he does, he will make sure of it.
He takes the family to the last place that people will think to look for them. Never has he been so grateful for his past indiscretions, they are accepted and hidden without comment. He is grateful for that. It provides a welcome reminder that there are good people even in the darkest of places.
The first chance he gets, Hammond pulls Dwyer to the side to talk to him. The man has changed. The innocent optimism that rolled off him is gone now. Hammond doesn't need to be told to know that Dwyer has killed to protect his family. He has also guessed some of the truth about Hammond. Oh, not all the particulars, he's hopelessly American in his understanding, but enough to get the general idea. Without really meaning to, Hammond ends up confessing more than he should. This is his fault. He is the one who caused this mess. He expects to see anger and re-incrimination in those eyes. Somehow the fact that he doesn't just makes it worse.
The fact that the sniper catches him unaware upsets Hammond. A voice in his head mockingly whispers, "You're getting slow old man." He wants to snarl, but that would just scare the girls. Then Kenny goes down, and things really go to hell. The moment that happens, he knows the truth. There is no way that they all make it out of this alive. The bullet that pierces his own chest is just confirmation of this fact.
He makes his decision in an instant. If they all try to stay together all of them will die. He knows that they won'te willingly leave him, but he's not going to give them that option. He's an old, worn-out spy, well past his prime. He's no good to anyone. But maybe, just maybe, he can buy them enough time to give them a fighting chance.
When he turns to face the truck Hammond feels strangely at peace. This action will not erase the blood on his hands. Nothing could do that. Still, if he's going to die, this is a good way to go.
As he levels his gun, the face he sees is not the drivers, instead it is his own, and with the reflected faces of everyone who has ever died because of his actions. As he pulls the trigger, he swears that he can hear them all crying. "Goodbye Mr. Bond. We'll see you in hell."
AN: So a couple of weeks ago a friend and I went to a preview showing of No Escape. Full disclosure, we both hated it. I only made it through the movie by creating a personal head canon in which Hammond was really an aging James Bond who had decided to go out with a bang. I wasn't going to do anything with it, but the story wasn't going to let me sleep until I wrote it down. This is the result.