In, one two three. Out, one two three. Lance sent his focus inward, trying to steady his heartbeat as he lined up his sight.
He could feel the pulse in his fingers and knew that if he didn't get it under control fast, there were going to be consequences. He almost jumped as Shiro's voice sounded over the line.
"Everyone in position?"
"Yellow in the clear."
"Green has eyes."
"Red at the ready."
He hesitated, "…Blue in position."
If anyone noticed his hesitation, they didn't say. Lance shifted a little in his position in the empty window ledge. The drop below would easily kill him, but falling was the least of Lance's worries.
"Good luck everyone." Shiro's voice sounded again, "Hunk, whenever you're ready."
Not a moment later, as if he'd been anticipating it, Lance heard the telltale whistle overhead as Hunk's projectile arced toward their mark.
The resulting explosion sent a shockwave through the ground, even Lance felt the ledge beneath him tremble a little, and he couldn't help but smirk. Hunk knew his way around ballistics like an ant knew its way around a hill.
Shouts and gunfire sounded from the smoking building, Lance quickly put an eye to the scope, counting his breaths.
"One, two, three…" He breathed out, "Red, Black, Yellow."
He could see each of them just by naked eye alone; Hunk barricading the front, Keith silently slipping through a window on the second story, and Shiro covering the side entrance of the terrorists' hideout.
"Red, report."
"Proceeding through second floor, no hostiles in sight, heading up."
Lance lifted his scope a fraction, watching through the window as Keith disappeared around a doorway.
The gunfire around the exits came to a halt, and Lance quickly readjusted, focusing his breathing once again. This was the moment he'd need it the most.
Sure enough, a moment later he spotted a dark figure in the shadows, headed toward Shiro.
He felt a spike of adrenaline and his instincts took over. He couldn't remember pulling the trigger, but in less than a second, the enemy was on the ground.
Lance let out a breath. Shows them not to mess with Team Voltron.
"Red." Pidge whispered, "The target's on the fourth floor, second door on your left."
"Thanks Green."
Meanwhile, Hunk and Shiro were beginning to close in on the building, and faced with defeat, the enemy was getting bolder.
Lance downed another three guys before they'd made it three yards closer to the door. So far so good, and Lance was starting to feel like the mission was going a little too smoothly.
Just then he noticed a small black object launch into the air from the entrance. Bomb.
Without hesitating, Lance shot it midair, which was a mistake.
Lance jolted backward as his scope was filled with a blinding light. His right eye stung as he recovered on the ground three feet from his rifle.
Flash bomb. This was not good. Lance scrambled back to his position rubbing at his eye, praying for his eyesight to come back quickly.
Through his left he could just make out Shiro and Hunk backing away quickly, they'd gotten the worst of the flash bomb, both clearly struggling to see as they shot blindly.
The building shook again as Hunk lobbed a grenade, but it wasn't enough, and the enemy streamed out of the building.
Lance shot by into the crowd, not using his sight, and managed to take down a few, when Keith's vice came over the intercom.
"Ugh… Guys, I need backup, now!"
"Red what happened?" Shiro asked as he hid in a doorway, leaning over to fire a few rounds off to keep the enemy at bay.
"He had more guards than we thought. I got bitten by his stupid mutt." Pursuing now, but he's heading down the stairs."
"Movement by the north wall!" Pidge yelled, "Looks like they're trying to sneak him out from a window on the second floor. Red, you have to get down there!"
"I'm trying!" Keith grunted and the short pop of gunfire sounded, "His guards have me pinned in the stairwell."
"Blue!" Shiro shouted, "Help red out!"
Lance jumped up, checking his dual handguns as he sprinted toward the exit. "On it."
He exited through the ground floor, glancing around the doorway quickly. The enemy made it out of the building, they could be anywhere by now and he'd given away his presence by shooting into the group.
He made his way quickly but quietly around the few buildings between himself and the fighting, taking the widest route he could risk.
A dark figure jumped around the corner in front of him, Lance put a bullet between his eyes before the figure could even register his presence. Lance stepped over the body and kept going.
He rubbed at his eye furiously, relieved as his vision began to bleed back into focus.
In what felt like forever to his speeding heart, he made it to a building across from the north wall, and sure enough there was a group of figures climbing down what appeared to be a rope ladder.
There were four men on the ground, one helping what appeared to be their target from the bottom of the ladder, as two more hung perilously above him.
Lance could easily see their target just reaching the ground. There was a yell and a body fell from the window, knocking the remaining bodies from the ladder.
Lance grinned as Keith appeared briefly in the window before ducking from a wave of gunfire.
Lance growled, leaning around his doorway, and aiming. Two men went down, and the group went into a panic.
Two of the three uninjured guards immediately stepped in front of the target and began to whisk him away as the third blindly fired at where he presumed Lance to be.
Lance snorted, wrong building dumbass.
Lance raised his gun, and fired… Missing by almost an inch. His heart stopped as the man turned directly toward him. Lance rubbed furiously at his eye as he ducked around the corner bullets peppering the brick behind him.
His eyesight was almost back as he heard the telltale click of an empty magazine behind him.
The man was down before he could reload, and Lance darted out after the target. He could just make out Keith halfway down the rope ladder.
"Blue wait for me!"
He heard Keith shout, but he knew he couldn't let the target escape their sights. Not again.
He sped up, and whipped around a corner, but he was too rushed and one of the guards spotted him.
Lance felt the air part beside him as a bullet whizzed past his ear. He didn't have time to contemplate his umpteenth dance with death as eh dove into a roll, just making it around the corner as another bullet hit the pavement where he was a second before.
He leaned up against the building, guns at the ready, slowly counting out his breaths.
He nearly jumped as a figure crept up behind him.
"Woah." Keith blinked as Lance's gun gently touched the spot between his eyes, "It's me."
Lance was insulted that he didn't seem that particularly nervous, but turned back to the corner anyway.
"You should go around, let me distract this guy, try to cut off the target."
Keith nodded, setting a hand on his shoulder as he took off again.
Shit. Lance thought. If they lost the target it would totally be their fault. He'd never hear the end of it from Allura.
Another brick exploded next to his face, and Lance backed up slowly, weighing his options.
After a moment's deliberation he decided to take a page from Keith's book. Fuck it.
He sprinted into the middle of the street, catching his assailant, who had crept up to five yards from his corner, and shot from a pivot.
One bullet hit him in the neck, and the other his forehead. A bit overkill, but it got the job done as the enemy slumped.
He felt a sharp pain in his thigh and looked down to see blood seeping through his pantleg. It wasn't enough to have hit his femoral artery, so he'd live.
For now, he had to take advantage of the adrenaline high keeping him from feeling the extent of his pain.
Without another thought he took off in the direction he saw the target and Keith go.
"Red." Lance rasped staggering a little as he ran, "Report."
There was static on the other end which meant one of two things. One, he was close enough to the target that he couldn't report without giving away his position. Or two…
Lance quickened his stride, ignoring the steadily growing pain in his leg. He'd endured worse, and he'd probably do so again in the future.
The only thing that mattered was Keith. And the mission. Keith and the mission.
He paused at a corner, and just as he was about to peer around it, he heard a single gunshot. Just one gunshot and nothing else.
His heart skipped a beat. He closed his eyes. In, one, two, three…
And he whipped around the corner, guns drawn and saw Keith standing in the middle of the street. He released his grip on the target, who slumped to the ground, body hitting the pavement next to that of his last bodyguard.
Keith's knife glistened as he spun around, noticing Lance.
Lance put a finger to his ear, not taking his eyes off Keith as he did so, "Target neutralized. Red and Blue safe and sound."
"Black and Yellow retreating now. Six assailants still standing."
"Green still keeping an eye."
Lance sighed in relief, noticing some of the tension let out of Keith's shoulders as well.
His leg throbbed sharply as if to remind him of the gaping hole in his thigh, and he stumbled. Keith appeared under him as if he'd been there the whole time and Lance sagged into his arms.
"Lance," Keith shouted, "Lance!"
"Dude," Lance straightened as much as he could, his face inches away from Keith's, "I can hear you, it's just my leg."
Keith looked as if he was debating dropping him, so Lance leaned in, closing his eyes as their lips touched.
Keith gasped greedily, pulling Lance closer in a crushing kiss, and Lance tasted blood. He must have been biting his lips again.
"Ahem."
They leaned back slowly, both aching from the loss of contact as Pidge coughed into the headsets.
"Will the two lovebirds please stop swapping spit in the middle of the street long enough to make it back to the rendezvous point? Hopefully before they get shot."
Lance and Keith rolled their eyes, but the mention of shooting had them both back on high alert. Keith slung Lance's arm around his shoulders and began helping him limp down the street.
"Ughhh." Lance moaned, "I have to walk three blocks like this?"
Keith snickered, "You've gotten through worse."
Lance dropped his jaw in fake shock, "Wow. Remind me again why I'm dating you?"
"Because I'm the only one who'll put up with you." Keith answered affectionately, and Lance continued to pout.
"Jesus." Pidge groaned, "Black and Yellow are back, we're going to swing around and pick you guys up, just…. Stop with the flirting."
"Yeah, guys, save it for the pillow talk." Hunk piped up.
Lance and Keith snickered to themselves.