Welp, my first resbang story. My first resbang story.
Oh boy, this was the product of blood, sweat, and a lot of tears. Needless to say, I am very glad that it is finished.
And, uh, as a disclaimer, I didn't do nearly as much research as I should have, so there are probably a lot of inconsistencies and unrealistic scenes. Most likely, there are. This entire thing is bordering the ridiculousness of Allegient if I'm being completely honest.
But I worked hard on this, and no matter how flawed it is, I love it. That's all I can really say, right? :)
Warnings: minor character deaths, mention of terrorism, explicit language, violence/slight gore, illness/talk of diseases, pathological warfare
The peculiar thing about life was that you never knew when something would blow up in your face.
Of course, unexpected things like that happened all the time. Whether it was a supplies shortage within mere minutes of a scheduled surgery, or someone trying to blow up your hospital, it didn't really matter.
Nothing mattered at the moment.
Maka Albarn wanted to laugh, wanted to give whoever was in charge of her destiny a high five because they really out done themselves this time. She guessed that life really did blow up in her face, considering the west wing of Death City's General Hospital was now going up in flames.
Now that she thought about it, it was quite ironic, a place that was supposed to save someone's life residing in a city of death.
The explosion was sudden, the sound of the boom echoing in Maka's ears. It rattled the walls and the tables covered in test tubes, and it took a split second before Maka hurried out of the room, her eyes wide in panic. It was bad, bad enough that she heard the explosion from the opposite side of the hospital. She knew she had to help.
She entered the lobby of the second floor, staring in awe at the chaos unfolding in front of her. Loved ones of patients were screaming in terror, hospital personnel were wheeling patients out of their rooms, everyone was talking all at once in this great panic; it was at that moment that Maka knew this would be one hell of a long day.
The lights were flickering, showing signs of failing electricity. It casted an eerie glow on everything, making it seem like it was out of a horror movie.
"Maka!" She turned her head to see Kilik, her friend from medical school rushing towards her. "Good, you're here. Do something to help calm these people down, I have to make sure my patients are stable."
Maka nodded and stood up on top of a chair, getting a clear view of everyone, "Attention everyone, hey—hey!" She whistled an ear splitting whistle, catching everyone's attention.
"I understand that things right now are hectic, but I can assure you that we will figure things out-!"
She was cut off by the sound of gunshots, gunshots of all things. Maka dived behind the desk with a yelp, taking cover.
Maka crawled over to the other side of the desk, reaching Kilik who was crouched down as well. "What the hell is going on?" He flinched at the sound of another gunshot.
She looked over at him, "You don't think that—KILIK!"
It was so sudden; she almost didn't believe it happened. She screamed as he fell over, his glasses cracking on the linoleum floor. The man standing over him held a twenty-two caliber gun, a disgustingly lewd smile growing on his face. Dried blood splattered his face and Maka was close enough to actually smell the metallic scent.
Disgusting.
"Dr. Maka Albarn. It's nice to finally meet you." The man lunged at her, painfully gripping her hair in his meaty hand. "Gotta come with me blondie."
She struggled against him, trying to get away. She had to admit, he was strong. He just stood there, taking her kicks to his shins like she was kicking a pillow. After a few seconds of her thrashing he slammed the butt of the gun against her skull, hard enough to draw blood, but not enough to knock her out.
"Quit moving, you bitch. Anymore, and it's going to be a very painful ride for you."
Maka tried to blink the stars away, breathing in deeply. She had to get away. Gunshots were still ringing in the air, and she had no clue why this was happening. She had to get her research and run, run far away from this mess.
"You bastard."
"Ugh, shut up and get moving." The man shoved her, the gun pressed to the small of her back. Her mind reeled, trying to figure out a way to get away.
"Now what you're gonna do," The man continued to talk, his voice low, "Is that you're gonna take me to your lab. Once we get there, you're going to get your research and you're gonna give it to me, yeah?"
Maka gritted her teeth, wanting nothing more than to punch this guy in the face, "Fuck you."
The man grabbed her loose hair again, pain sprouting in her scalp, "You're gonna get that research you've been working on, do you understand?" He enunciated each word, as if he was talking to an ignorant child.
"Crystal."
Maka could practically feel him grinning at her, "Good, now why don't you—oomph!"
The man holding the gun against her suddenly fell to the floor, the gun falling out of his hand. Maka whipped around, coming face to face to a man that supposedly rescued her. His own gun was pointed at her captor's neck, making sure he wouldn't wake up
"Dr. Albarn, you're going to have to come with me. I'll keep you safe." The man grabbed her arm, his grip firm but not painful. "I'm Agent Evans, with a secret organization called Spartoi. We've been assigned to protect you."
Maka looked at him with wide eyes, watching him pocket his gun. "Did you—did you just-!"
"No, I didn't shoot him, I tranqed him. We don't kill unless it's absolutely necessary." He rolled his eyes at her apparent ignorance and tugged on her wrist, his other hand still on his gun, "Dr. Albarn, we don't have time for introductions. We gotta get going."
She eyed him wearily. Did he really expect to go with another man, especially after she was almost kidnapped by one?
"Evans," They both looked at another man with shocking blue hair, firing his gun at the other enemy gunman, "Quit lollygagging!"
Agent Evans waved his hand dismissively and looked at her expectantly, but not making any move to force her. That's what made her trust him at that moment.
Maka relented, "Fine, alright. But I have to go back to my lab; all of my research on my latest project is still in there." She had a feeling that the information was severely important. Her friend just died because some scumbag wanted her research. Of course it was important. She couldn't stand anyone like that murderer getting their hands on it.
He threw his head back in frustration, "Do you seriously need it? We need to get out of here!"
"Yes!" She spat out through gritted teeth. "That man wanted me because of the research, right? I can't just leave it there!"
Kilik died right in front of her eyes because of something she's been working on. Of course she needed it.
The man in front of her moved his jaw in contemplation, and then finally conceded, "Fine, lead the way."
Maka nodded and turned on her heals, her white lab coat flowing behind her. She kept her face forward, not looking back at her dead co-worker, her friend. Kilik's blood splattered her dark blue scrubs, turning the fabric into a violet hue. She wanted to mourn for him, God did she want too, but she knew something bigger was going on. She made a mental note to get some information out of this—this agent. She needed to know what was going on.
His hand was on her back, making sure that she wouldn't get hit by the flying bullets. Or that she wouldn't run off and do something stupid. Either way, they rushed out of the second floor lobby together and down the hall that Maka originally came. They briskly walked towards her lab, silent along the way.
She kept on glancing at him, trying to figure him out. She would admit, she thought the worst when she first saw him. He nearly looked like the spawn from hell, the impossibly tall man baring his teeth sharp like fangs at her hostage and his hair a pale, almost ghostly blond. But when he grabbed her, he made sure he didn't hurt her. He didn't kill the man holding her hostage when he obviously could have.
She prided herself on her instincts and Agent Evans' rich burgundy eyes had this intensity that made her trust him. But she couldn't read him. She couldn't tell if he was nervous, or if he was in the least bit angry that some bastard blew up a hospital. His face was a perfect mask and that pissed her off to no end.
They finally reached her research lab, Maka quickly turning the handle to let themselves in. She briskly walked to her computer and booted it up, typing in the password.
"What are you doing?" Agent Evans leaned over her shoulder, his face very close to hers.
"Ah," Maka glanced at him, but looked back at the screen. She really wasn't used for anyone, especially a man, to be this close to her. Her stomach did a strange flip, but she ignored it. "I'm loading all of the necessary files onto the flash drive. I figured it wouldn't be smart to keep the hard copy, so we'll just destroy it."
"Alright." The man just stood back, watching her work.
Maka didn't know what to think about him. He saved her life, she would admit that much. But he just didn't talk to her, didn't offer any information at all. She couldn't take it.
"Okay, quit standing there and me what's going on! My hospital was just attacked by god knows who, and now you're here to make sure I'm safe?" Maka just about had it with his silence. Granted, she was stressed out and she was taking out on him, but she didn't know anything that was going on. Surely this man who rescued her from some—some jackass that murdered her friend would know something?
Maka watched the filed load onto her flash drive, waiting for him to talk. She was about to whip her head around and snap at him, but he finally spoke, "Look, I have about as much information as you do. All I know was that I was supposed to get you to headquarters safely. This whole bombing thing," Agent Evans waved his arms around, gesturing to the room around him, "Was not supposed to happen. Apparently someone has the same idea as we do. Getting to you that is."
Maka's shoulders slumped, her heart falling into her stomach. She was overwhelmed. She was just an intern, researching a peculiar case that her mentor assigned to her because he thought it would be a good learning experience. And now people were apparently fighting to get to her first. It was just all so… so surreal.
She searched his face, looking for any signs that he was lying to her. The man met her gaze evenly, not flinching at all when she narrowed her eyes at him.
She knew Agent Evans wasn't lying to him. She believed him.
She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. Maka would have plenty of time to sort out her mind when this mysterious agent took her to her safe haven. She would draw her answers out of him or whoever was in charge then.
Maka looked back at the monitor, seeing that the files were finally finished loading. She extracted the flash drive from the computer and turned to Agent Evans, "Alright, now let me just shred the files and then you can take me to wherever you have to take me." He nodded and reached for the flash drive, only for her to move it out of his grasp, "Woah hold on, consider this my insurance policy, Agent Evans."
He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, annoyed with her, "God, you a fucking piece of work, doctor. Let's go; everything will be explained later."
She nodded, pocketing the flash drive. She guessed she didn't fully trust him just yet. She went to a filing cabinet and began to extract the files that needed to be shredded. The agent followed and took the files, feeding them into a shredder.
She would get her answers. She had too.
As soon as the two finished destroying the research files, Agent Evans quickly ushered her out of the hospital and into a sleek black SUV. The other man that was with him (now that she thought about it, the man had blue hair. Blue!) followed swiftly behind, slamming the door behind them. A blonde haired woman took off, the car's tires screeching on the pavement.
"What the fuck did you do?" The blonde glanced in the rearview mirror, glaring at no one in particular, "The mission was to get her out safely, not to fucking blow up the hospital!"
"Quit your shrieking. God, you think we did that?" The blue haired man narrowed his eyes in fury, "People were already dead when we got there."
Agent Evans spoke up, adding in to the conversation, "Little miss scientist over here had a gun pressed to her head. They got to her first, Liz."
"Well, fuck." The woman, apparently her name was Liz, floored the gas. The car lurched and Maka had to hold on to the seat to prevent her from falling over. "Who got to her first, Soul? Care to explain to me what's going on then?"
"We're as clueless as you are." Agent Evans' voice was laced with annoyance. "Do you really think we would run into a situation like that not prepared?" Maka tried not to flinch at his rising voice.
She listened to the two bicker, the panic they possessed tangible enough to cut a knife through it. Maka remained silent, mainly because these were the people who saved her life and she wanted to make she was safe. Her shooting off question after question was just going to distract them.
Maka swallowed thickly, glancing back and forth between the two men beside her. While they were masking their anxiety well, it didn't make her feel any better. How could she feel better? She saw one of her close friends get murdered before her eyes and some random bastard held her at gunpoint, demanding that she retrieved her research on her latest project.
She hated to admit it, but she was scared. For the first time in her life, she was truly terrified at what would become of her.
Maka mentally slapped herself. She could not let this consume her mind; she had to keep a clear head.
"Dr. Albarn right? Any idea, any idea at all, as too why the hospital was bombed or who those people were?" Liz's voice rang through her ears, and she almost didn't register what she asked. She was too lost in thought.
"I—I don't really know—!"
"You were there! You should at least know something!" The woman's gunmetal eyes narrowed, reminding Maka of a feral animal.
"God Liz, just leave it," Agent Evans snapped at the other agent, "She's already freaked out enough as it is. No need for the twenty questions."
"Can't you give a damn about something for once? This could have gone seriously wrong!"
"Fuck, chill out you two. We got her, she's not dead. Now we just have to focus on getting to the headquarters without getting ourselves blown up." The blue haired man rolled his eyes and grinned, knowing full and well that Liz was about to retort back, most likely it being an insult.
"S'not the point 'Star." Liz jerked the wheel, them flying down a discreet road. She was pissed. She was pissed that information was being withheld from her and pissed that he cut her off. "Why the hell-!"
Liz couldn't finish her sentence due to the sound of gunshots and glass shattering ringing through the car. Liz yelped in surprise and jerked the wheel, swerving the car into the other lane. She glanced in the rearview mirror and cursed a colorful array of words.
Agent Evans and Star (she assumed that was his name; no one introduced her to him yet) both lunged for their gun. Star was immediate to react while Agent Evans threw himself over Maka's body, shielding her from whatever it was that might come through the car window. Cinnamon and the burning smell of shots being fired wafted through Maka's nose. Her face was buried in the agent's neck and she could have sworn her face would have caught on fire if it weren't for the fact that they were being chased by another car.
"I need you to stay down Dr. Albarn." Gun drawn, Agent Evans rolled down his window to shoot back at the offender. He lifted his body of off hers slightly, allowing her to shimmy herself down to the floorboard.
She couldn't believe this was happening. She couldn't fucking believe this was happening.
Her heart was pounding in her chest and nervous sweat made her hair stick to the back of her neck. The two men were shooting bullets out the car window and she was stuck huddled on the floorboard afraid she was going to die.
She hated it. She hated the fact that she got herself stuck in a situation like this, and she hated the fact that she couldn't do anything about it. She hated being powerless.
"Goddammit Liz, now would be the time to lose them!" Star retracted his head from outside the window, "I'm out of ammo Soul!"
"Shiiiit, me too." He withdrew his head as well. He ducked down to avoid getting hit.
Liz grunted in acknowledgement, speeding up the acceleration. Agent Evans' hand was braced on her back, probably making sure that nothing was going to happen to her.
"If we fucking knew," Liz kept glancing in her mirrors, occasionally making a sharp turn onto a different street, "If we fucking knew what was going on, we would have gotten the car with the bullet proof glass."
"Can't argue with you on that one." Star grunted, peaking his head over his seat. The sound of screeching cars and gunshots were distant. "I don't see any cars Liz."
Maka sighed a breath of relief, slowly sitting up. Her back was against the car door, her legs splayed out in front of her. She glanced up at Agent Evans, and she was slightly reassured that he himself relaxed a little after glancing back behind him.
Liz laughed a loud, almost bitter laugh. Maka had to agree with her; what just happened was not very pleasant. "Well, that's a good thing because we're nearly there."
Star slumped back in his seat, a dumb smile on his face, "Thank fuck for that. Ha, haven't had a good gun fight in ages."
Agent Evans halfheartedly glared at the other man, tiredness etching his face, "Shut up, save it for when we get back. You can exaggerate everything when we get there."
Maka wanted to throw up. Everything was happening so fast—she didn't know what to do.
What the hell did I just get myself into?