A/N: I decided to give this one a rewrite. It's been awhile since I have written anything and after reading this I wanted to make changes so here it goes!- Slight changes to chapter 1 and 2. Major revisions after that.
For those who haven't read this yet-Yes another Ian Edgerton fanfic. It's fun to write. I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no money off of this. Just taking the characters out for a spin.
The shot seemingly came out of nowhere. Even Ian was taken back. He didn't know of any other trackers on this side of the mountain looking for McHugh. Ian had doubled back in order to surprise the pharmaceutical company's hired gun while Don edged up on their target. No sooner had Ian taken out his prey did he hear the crack of a high powered rifle. He turned looking for Eppes to make sure he was alright, and caught sight him staring down at McHugh who wasn't moving. For a second he thought Eppes had taken him out. But Ian knew the rifle Eppes was carrying didn't make that sound, and Eppes looked just as confused as he was.
Ian moved deftly down the hillside to Eppes who was still in a bit of shock at the sudden turn of events. Both he and Eppes called over their radios to see who took the shot, but no one was coming back claiming responsibility. Ian scanned the body then the hillside. It was a perfect drop shot. An impressive shot for anyone considering McHugh had been running from Eppes at the time. Ian knew there wasn't much time to figure this out and though he had a pretty good idea of where the shot had come from, he wished Charlie was here to narrow it down faster. It would take a little while to find the exact location and by then the sniper would be gone.
A low whirl caught both Agents attention. A black chopper came into view, skimming over their heads and heading in the direction Ian knew to have a clearing. "Shit" Ian swore under his breath and both Agents took off in the direction of the chopper. Making it to the clearing, Ian and Don took shelter behind some trees and sized up the situation. The chopper had landed but the rotor was still going. Both readied their weapons and with a nod of Eppes head, they emerged from behind the tree line as a figure cut through the brush toward the waiting chopper.
"Freeze, FBI" Eppes yelled. The slim figure dressed in camouflage pants, a green shirt and baseball cap with a rifle slung across the back froze and lazily raised both hands. The door to the chopper swung open as well as the window to the pilot and Ian and Don found three firearms pointed back.
"Turn off the chopper and lower your weapons." Don tried again.
This was going to go down real fast Ian thought if those boys decided to shoot. The figure in the middle of all this slowly turned, glasses obscuring the eyes and a bandana covered the mouth. Ian sucked his breath in. Don watched in shock as Ian lowered his weapon.
"Ian what the hell" shouted Don over the hum of the rotor. The woman in front of them slowly put down her hands, her smirk evident despite the bandana.
"Don't move" Don hollered as the woman took steps backward toward the door. With one step Ian was standing between the woman and the business end of Don's weapon. Don's eyes got even bigger but he holstered his weapon almost immediately and the chopper carrying the mysterious woman took off.
Don grabbed hold of Ian by his collar. "What the hell was that Edgerton?" Ian pushed Don off easily and stalked back into the tree line with a grim look on his face, annoyance clearly evident. "Why are you pissed Eppes? I've been the one traipsing through the woods tracking this guy."
"Why am I?" Don sputtered. "An innocent man was just shot dead and you stepped in front of his killer."
"How about a thank you? You wouldn't have been able to take her Don. They would have popped your brain box if you tried. If you want some answers you better keep up."
Don looked at Ian unsure. The sniper may have always come through for him and his team in the past, but Ian better have a good explanation for his actions. Don thought he had come to know the elusive sniper but clearly there was more to Ian's past than Don knew, though he wasn't really surprised. Not like Ian was the sharing type. From Colby, who practically ran Ian's fan club, he knew the man was a legend in Afghanistan, the kind Army Rangers talked about over camp fires. He also knew he was the best damn tracker the FBI had ever seen and one hell of a shot. But other than that, what did Don really know about the man? Reaching the SUV, Don climbed in just as Ian hit the accelerator, deciding to place his trust in the bastard son of John Wayne and Yoda once more.
Speeding down the mountain, Don's knuckles were going white from holding onto the handle above the passenger side window. And people thought he drove crazy. Don called Charlie to let him know he needed to stay where he was. Not knowing exactly what was going on, Don decided he wasn't going to call this into the FBI until he had a better handle on the situation.
Don lurched forward as Ian hit the brakes as they peeled into what appeared to be an abandoned airstrip, but for an abandoned airstrip there sure was a lot of activity. A large cargo plane sat on the tarmac, and the black chopper wasn't far away. Don heard his cell phone go off but chose to ignore it as a large man came out of the hanger and Ian was out of the car. As the two agents approached, the man stood with his hands raised in front of his chest as though trying to defuse the situation he knew was coming.
Ian strode right up to the man and his right fist cracked against the unknown man's jaw sending him stumbling backward. The man stood up and spit the blood out of his mouth. "Yeah okay I might have had that one coming" he said.
Ian's eyebrow raised and his lips were pursed as if to say "you think?"
"Where is she?"
"Mind filling me in here" Don piped up looking between the two men who were sizing each other up for another go.
At that moment, the woman from the mountainside came sauntering into view, a bag thrown over her shoulder as she made her way to the plane. Don immediately moved toward her but he found both men blocking his path.
"Listen, I don't know what's going on here but she's coming with me." Don's phone went off for a second time.
"You're going to want to get that Agent Eppes. Not a good idea to ignore your boss" the unknown man advised.
Don was caught off guard by the fact this man knew his name and eyed him warily. "Eppes" he snapped as he answered the phone. "Yes, Sir. I understand Sir. But. No Sir. Yes sir." Don hung up the phone and pushed it back into his pocket. "Langley, NSA?" He asked accusingly.
A ghost of a smile played across the woman's lips and she moved toward the plane again. Ian stepped forward and snaked his arm across her front, blocking her path. She merely looked up to him with her head tilted to the side. The man moved toward the duo looking slightly concerned but the woman waved him off. The mystery woman continued to face toward the plane as Ian faced the hanger. Don barely heard Ian's voice as the cargo plane's engines started. "That was a hell of a shot."
"I'm sure it was" she replied. "I heard whoever took it was trained by the best." And she leaned in and pecked him on the check. Ian's arm dropped and she walked over to the plane. The doors closed the moment she boarded and the other man got into a waiting car.
"I'm getting real tired of asking this today but what the hell was that about Ian? Tell me that wasn't the CIA acting on US soil. And who the hell was that?"
Don had never seen Ian at a lost for words, but there he was, just staring at the plane, moth slightly agape. There was a mixture of confusion and anger clearly evident in the older agent's face. Don did a slight double take when pain flashed in the agent's eyes. But when Don had looked again it was gone, if it had ever been there to begin with. What he saw instead was the legend himself, squared jaw, sunglasses in place. With a huff the man turned on his heels and climbed back into the waiting SUV, leaving a confused Senior Agent to watch as the plane carrying the mystery woman took off.