This is my first attempt at a Fastlane fic. I must warn you for spelling, grammar… fault because my English isn't that good. I hope it doesn't suck to hard…

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Van and Deaq sat in Deaq's car outside a warehouse ,which was located near the beach, where the deal of the century would go down. Deaq was dressed in a need black shirt with a decent black pants. while Van simply wore jeans with a white shirt.

" This is it, Van. The case where we've been working on for the last six months is finally coming to an end." Deaq said to Van. Six long months of getting in the organisation and gaining the leader's trust.

" Yeah, finally." Van replied, sounding a bit nervous. The case wasn't much different from their other ones. Some drug dealer who killed some people and sold illegal drugs, the usual. There was one big difference with their other cases though: this dealer was pretty much the ruler of the underworld. He was clever, cold blooded and hated betrayal. His main purpose was to rule the entire drug operation in LA. Every gang was afraid of him and would do everything to suck up to him to make sure their gang would be save. They had to take him down. This guy was really dangerous. They couldn't blow it now. If one thing went wrong, they would be dead before they could even speak. Deaq's cell rang and he put it on loudspeaker so Van could hear too.

" Alright, guys, let's go over it one more time. Deaq, you're still the leader. Van, you're handling the money. Remember to act clumsy and maybe drop it a couple of times to get Deaq mad. We have to let those guys show that we hate messing around. Just try to get it over with as quick as possible. Back-up is ready in case of an emergency and will make the bust when both of you are out." Billie said. When they penetrated the gang, they had introduced Deaq as a very powerful drug dealer from New York. Van was his clumsy accomplice. Their play had worked like a charm.

" No prob, Billie. We can handle it." Deaq replied.

" Yep, we have it all under control." Van beamed.

" Remember, no guns." Billie warned. That was way to risky. Once they went in armed on the guy's property and let's say Van paid a bit of a price for that: he got beaten up, not to badly but he was still sore days after it. They weren't wired either which meant in case of trouble Billie couldn't react and they couldn't go in with their cell phones.

" We know. We're going in." Deaq said before switching off the conversation.

" Ready?" Deaq asked. Van nodded. They got out of the car. Van grabbed the two suitcases with money in it.

" Let's do this." Van said. They started to walk to the warehouse and carefully entered. The warehouse was completely dark which worried them. They said 4 pm and it was 4 pm. Deaq looked at his left and could make out Van's profile. Their eyes got used to the darkness and they exchanged a look.

" Yo, Dustin. We don't have all day, you know?" Deaq yelled. Still nothing. Van put the suitcases down. Something wasn't right.

" Fine, then we're going." Deaq tried again.

" No, no, no. The two of you aren't going anywhere." A voice echoed through the darkness.

" So the deal is going down. Are you gonna show yourself or are we gonna play hide and seek all day until you decide to hand us the damn drugs." Deaq said, sounding not really sure about himself. He didn't like this, not one bit.

" You wanna know what I discovered, officer Strummer and officer Hayes?" Van sighed. Okay, they knew they were cops but they still didn't know his real name. Talking about getting a job done right.

" Officers, my ass." Deaq yelled.

" Don't deny it. We know all about you two, where you live, what you do, when you go to bed and even what your favourite food and movies are." Dustin said.

" Then you have it all wrong because we are no fucking cops." Deaq said. sweat started to from on both boys their faces, knowing they were screwed. Then the light sprung on and they found themselves surrounded by ten men, all having a gun pointed at them. Deaq and Van blinked a couple of times against the bright light. From behind a guy Dustin stepped forward in his neat black suite. His brown eyes held an expression that said 'don't-mess-with-me'. His short dark brown hair looked even darker due to the light which also made his face even more pale then it already was.

" Hands in the air. Both of you." Dustin ordered. Van did but Deaq refused.

" You really don't know me do you? You really don't want to piss me off." Dustin threatened.

" Than you don't me because that's what I'm good at." Deaq shot back. Dustin laughed.

" You're a smart-ass, aren't you?" Dustin grabbed a gun, pointed it at Van's side and pulled the trigger. The bullet grazed van's side and a second later blood started to from on his shirt.

" Van!" Deaq exclaimed.

" I'm fine." Van hissed between clenched teeth.

" Now hands above your head or I might start aiming better." Dustin said, once again pointing the gun. Deaq did and silently begged Van for forgiveness.

" Good boy." Dustin mocked, walking over to them. " I really don't like cops. Let me rephrase that: I hate cops. Even more so when they try to trick me." He continued, standing in front of him. " What to do to you two? To bad I'm into girls or this could've been fun. Lucky for the both of you I guess." Dustin turned his attention to Van. " I hope you can keep your mouth shut unlike that partner of yours. Let's hope he keeps his mouth shut or I'll happily kill you in front of him." He said, kicking Van in his already injured site before kicking him hard in the stomach. Van gasped and fell on his knees. Deaq growled dangerously and wanted to help his partner up but a gun pointed at Van's head stopped him short.

" Leave him alone." He hissed instead. Dustin laughed again.

" It's time to play by my rules." He said. Van got up, flashing a small smile at Deaq.

" Good, you're though, nice to know. It'll be more fun torturing you than." Dustin said. Van opened his mouth to say something but decided against it, knowing Deaq would pay the price for it so he just glared. Dustin smiled and grabbed a rope. He roughly pulled Van's hands behind his back and tied him up. Deaq's hands remained untied.

" Umm, boss. I located at least five black cars outside." Some one spoke up behind Dustin who let out a sigh.

" Back-up. Let me guess, they storm in here the minute they suspect something's wrong."

" Exactly and they'll kill you all. I'll happily help them with it." Deaq replied, immediately realising he shouldn't have said that last part. He looked at van who also knew Deaq did it again. Not that van could blame him. Deaq had a big mouth and that helped them more then once, only know it had the opposite effect. Van braced himself for more pain which soon followed when another bullet struck him in the leg. He dropped to the ground, blood spilling from his leg. He winced when he hit the ground. Of course he had to land on his bad side again. He didn't dare to look at Deaq who would by now feeling extremely guilty, instead he focused on getting his breathing under control. Dustin roughly pulled him up. Van yelped when he put pressure on his injured leg. The ropes that were cutting in his wrists weren't helping much either.

" Okay, so where are those cars located?" Dustin asked, keeping a tight grip on the rope.

" Front of the building. No cops at the back for as far as I can tell."

" Quite stupid, aren't they. Good, Deaq, go to your car and call that chick. Tell her there's no deal. If I see one cop, he dies, got it?" Deaq nodded and swallowed hard. He walked to his car and grabbed his cell.

" Billie, it's Deaq. There's no deal. Y'all can go home." Deaq said.

" Where's Van?" Billie asked suspicious. From her position she could only see Deaq.

" Still inside, checking the place out. I better go back. We'll report back tomorrow." Deaq replied. That actually sounded believable.

" Okay, see ya tomorrow." Billie hung up. Something wasn't right but she trusted Deaq when he said everything was cool. She called the team leader and informed him everyone could go home. She would see tomorrow.

Deaq sighed and saw all the cars drive away. This was it. They were officially screwed. He should've given Billie some kind of hint but no, his mind was with Van and he simply forgot. He returned inside and noticed Van lying on the ground, knees pulled up protectively. He knew those guys were gonna hurt Van, no matter what he said. He ran to his partner's side and dropped to his knees.

" Van, you okay?" Deaq asked, glaring up at Dustin. Van's only response was a grunt.

" What did you do?" Deaq directed his question to Dustin who shrugged.

" Couple of kicks, nothing more." Dustin replied, clearly enjoying seeing Van in pain and Deaq feeling guilty. " I take it the cops are gone? Good, than we're out of here. You take him, I doubt he'll be able to walk much." Dustin ordered some guy.

" No way. I'll take him." Deaq quickly said.

" You four, start the cars, I'm coming with you. You five stay here and make sure they don't try anything, if they do, shoot 'em." Dustin ordered and walked with two of his men after the other two after he took the suitcases of money with him.

" Come one, partner, try to get up." Deaq begged. Van looked at him for the first time eyes filled with pain and it hurt to see Van like this.

" I can't. My leg is hurting like hell and I have a few cracked ribs." Van replied, feeling more comfortable on the ground than trying to get up.

" You have to or they'll kill you." Deaq tried.

" I'm dead anyway… here's an idea, I create a diversion and you get out." Van whispered.

" Not gonna happen. Not without you and don't even try to argue with me." Deaq hissed back, starting to help Van up. Van nodded. He would never leave Deaq behind either. With Deaq's help he managed to get up. He held one arm around his bruised ribs and one arm around Deaq's shoulder for support while Deaq had an arm around his waist. Together they made it outside and in the car. Two guards sat in the front and another one next to Van who was leaning heavily against Deaq. Deaq could hear van's breathing getting a bit more shallow and realised sitting like this must hurt a lot.

" You okay?" Deaq asked worried.

" My ribs… they hurt so much." Van replied, conforming Deaq's thoughts. He burst out in coughs which hurt even more. Deaq rubbed his am.

" You gotta relax, man. Try to focus on your breathing." Deaq said. Van nodded and did which worked… for about two minutes when another series of coughs overcame him. Deaq could do nothing but listen to the coughs which sounded a bit forced and painful. Van had to get to a hospital. He already lost a lot of blood and might have a punctured lung, too. He hoped Billie would figure out something was wrong and started to search for them.

After about an half hour drive, they arrived at a house in the middle of a forest which reduced their chances of escaping considerably. Not that they would get far anyway, Van couldn't walk and Dustin probably knew this place better then anyone else did. Deaq helped Van out of the car by holding one arm around his waist. Dustin gave his men the orders to separate them and take Deaq to the basement. Van was pulled away from Deaq and was already being pushed ,more dragged, to the house.

" If you hurt him, you'll be dead meat." Deaq threatened. Dustin shrugged. Not like Deaq was in any position to do something about it. Deaq was taken to the basement where he was pushed down on the ground by a guard and his hands got tied up to two iron rings above his head. They made sure the ropes were well tied and cut painfully in his wrists. Then the two left.

Deaq studied the room. It wasn't that big and was extremely filthy. There was one light on the ceiling which gave a bit of light. There was also a small window in the right wall. He noticed it was already turning dark outside. It was a little over two hours ago that they had entered the building and walked right into the trap. Those two hours looked more like two days to him. He tried to loosen up the ropes a bit but that didn't work: he was to worried about Van to concentrate on getting the ropes loose. They sure wanted to make Van suffer. Van could handle a lot but this was already starting to get to much for him. He wished they would've taken him. He got beaten up a lot and he could handle more then Van. He really couldn't remember one thing he hadn't broken yet. He hoped they just locked Van up and left him alone but that was highly doubtable. He tried yet again to get the ropes loose but that proved to be impossible so he just gave up and waited for what would come next.

He didn't know how long he sat there when the door was opened and van was thrown in. He gasped when he saw Van's face which was completely covered in cuts, bruises and blood.

" Van!" he exclaimed. He struggled hard against the ropes that held him to reach his partner but the only result were two sore wrists. Yet, he didn't give up. He needed to get to his partner. Van was leaning on one elbow, holding his stomach with the other. His eyes held an expression of deep pain and Deaq saw he was about to pass out.

" Come one, Van. stay with me." Deaq begged, pulling at the ropes. Van was starting to cough up some blood and looked a him before passing out on his back. " Shit." After a lot of pulling and fumbling he got the ropes to loosen up and slid his hands out. He ran to van's side, checking for a pulse which he found but it was faint but at least he was still alive. He unbuttoned van's shirt to see the damage and gasped. His chest started to look like a real Picasso: Blue, yellow and purple where spread out over whole his chest and his side was covered in dried up blood as was his leg which was still or started bleeding again.

He ripped a shred from his shirt and tied it tightly around Van's leg, hoping to stop the bleeding a little. He stroke some hair out of van's eyes. Blood was dripping out of various cuts on his face.

"Damn, Van. What did they do to you?" Deaq mumbled. He wanted to wake up Van but decided against it. Like this Van would be in less pain. He sat down next to van and kept close watch that Van kept breathing. Deaq looked outside and noticed it had turned completely dark now. A while later a soft moan came from Van. Deaq who had been dozing off was immediately alerted.

" Van?" Van opened his eyes and looked at him, first not understanding but then he pain returned as it caused him to curl up in a ball. He found breathing pretty hard and he started to panic which wasn't helping any. He grasped Deaq's arm.

" Van, relax! Try to even out your breathing. I'm here with you" Deaq soothed him. Van nodded and finally managed to catch his breathing.

" What happened?" Deaq asked.

" I remember them… pulling me away from you. They brought me… to some room and… started beating me up. I was… awake the entire… time but it seemed… so unreal." Van replied, stopping sometimes to catch his breath. Deaq nodded. Van turned back on his back.

" Where does it hurt?"

" About… everywhere but my ribs… are the worst." Van answered. Deaq sighed.

" I'm sorry."

" For what?" Van asked, confused.

" For giving them a chance to hurt you. It should've been me they were hurting not you." Deaq answered sadly, looking away from his best friend. Van reached out and rested his hand on Deaq's arm.

" Hey man, it isn't your fault. That guy would've hurt me anyway so I rather get hurt after you pissed him off then for no reason at all." Van reassured him. Deaq smiled.

" It's your turn to piss him off you know?"

" Nah, you do a better job at that." Van replied.

" But then you got all the beatings. I can handle it better, I got beaten up since I was a kid." Deaq said, knowing this didn't really make sense but he would do everything to get that guy's attention away from his partner. Van rolled his eyes.

" I can handle it." He tried to sit up but the pain in his ribs stopped him short.

" I can see it." Deaq muttered dryly. Van glared at him for a second before managing to sit up.

" Maybe we should go sit against the wall." Deaq suggested. Van nodded and together with Deaq's help managed to cross the short distant but even the few feet had exhausted him when he finally ,after what seemed like ages while it were only seconds, sank back against the wall. Deaq took place next to him and listened worried to Van trying to catch his breath and coughing violently in the progress. Van rested his head against the solid wall when he was calmed own.

" I'm fine." Van said before Deaq could ask. Deaq wanted to make a comment but decided against it and just shook his head. Van ignored Deaq's shake of the head, finding it useless to argue and yawned.

" It must be pretty late." He stated.

" Yeah, maybe we should get some sleep and hope Billie finds us. Getting exhausted isn't gonna help us any." Deaq suggested. Van nodded. Soon he fell asleep, head dropping on Deaq's shoulder. Deaq shifted Van so that he was leaning against him completely. In the progress he got a look at Van's back which was covered with cuts.

" I'm gonna get you out of here, buddy. One way or another." Deaq whispered.

At the candy store, Billie was still up. It was already 2 a.m. but she couldn't help but feeling like something wasn't right. She had called Van's and Deaq's over a million of times but they didn't reply. Okay, maybe they were out or something but she was still worried and started thinking. Deaq said there was no deal, then why check the warehouse? Not that there was much to check. It was mostly one big space so why the hell bother checking it out? Something happened to them and it couldn't be good.

She took her car and drove back to the warehouse. She got out, grabbed her gun and a flashlight and entered. When she found the light switch, she put it one and looked around. She walked to the centre of the building and looked around. Everything looked normal. Maybe she was just imagining things. Just as she was about to leave again, a red substance on the floor caught her attention. She kneeled down next to the puddle and came to the obvious conclusion that it was blood…fresh blood. Damn, she knew she shouldn't have left them. She grabbed her cell phone and dialled her boss' number.

" Boss, sorry to call this early but I have reason to believe that two of my men have been kidnapped… No, I won't wait until the morning, I want some men now… Thank you, send them to the same warehouse as earlier… Half an hour? Okay, thanks." She hung up. Now she could only wait until they arrived.

Deaq was starting to get tired but he couldn't fall asleep. He had to make sure Van kept breathing. Van couldn't handle more so he could only hope Dustin would leave them alone. Of course, just at that time, Dustin and two guys entered. Deaq instinctively held Van close.

" Aww, how cute." Dustin mocked. " Now wake him up." But that wasn't necessary since Van stirred and opened his eyes. He looked between Dustin and Deaq and sighed.

" Here we go again." He muttered, only loud enough for Deaq to here.

" Get up both of you." Dustin ordered.

" What? He can't stand." Deaq exclaimed.

" I'll be fine, Deaq. Just help me up." Van replied. Deaq shot a glare in Dustin's direction and started to help his partner up. Van leaned against the wall, trying to keep pressure of his injured leg. The bleeding had stopped but it still hurt like hell. Deaq stood next to Van.

" You, get over here." Dustin said to Deaq who remained where he was much to Dustin's annoyance. Two of his guys walked over to Deaq, grabbed him and threw him against the ground in front of Dustin.

" Deaq!" Van yelled. Deaq got up and nodded reassuring at Van.

" Good, now that you're here, I want you to shoot him." Dustin said simply, enjoying the look in Deaq's eyes.

" Ain't gonna happen." Deaq said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

" You shoot him or I shoot you."

" Fine then. Shoot me." Deaq replied firm.

" Deaq, no." Van warned.

" Let me rephrase that so you get the idea a bit better: either you shoot him or I shoot him but be aware of the fact that he'll die for sure then." Dustin said, handing him a gun. " Ooh, and I wouldn't try anything with that gun." Deaq noticed one gun trained on him and the other one on Van so he decided not to shoot that bastard and pointed his gun at Van's arm instead. Dustin was clever. He didn't need to hurt Deaq physically to hurt him because this hurt him more then any physical pain he had ever experienced.

" One more thing: no arms or legs." Deaq aimed higher.

" I can't do it." Deaq said, eyes filling up with tears. Van saw how difficult this was for Deaq. He flashed Deaq a smile.

" Do it. I'll be fine." Van said. Deaq shook his head, lowering the gun slightly.

" Come one, partner. I'll get shot anyway so I rather have you shoot me." Van tried.

Dustin couldn't help but grin. This really was great to watch. Obviously, they cared deeply about each other so it was gonna be even more fun to kill Van in front of Deaq in a couple of hours.

" I'm gonna kill you. Even if it's the last thing I do." Deaq hissed to Dustin before pulling the trigger. The bullet his Van in the stomach. Van gasped at the burning pain that seemed to spread through his body and pushed his hands against the wound, blood already gulping over his hands. His once white t-shirt was now nearly completely red.

" Nice shot. Exactly what I would've done, only a bit higher." Dustin said. Deaq dropped the gun and ran to Van's side kneeling down next to him.

" Shit, shit, shit." He muttered. Van once again sank back against the wall. Deaq kneeled down next to him and pulled Van's hands away to see the damage which was obviously big since there was a lot of blood. He ripped another shred of his shirt and pushed it firmly on the wound. Van moaned.

" Hang on, Van." Deaq pleaded. When he looked back, Dustin and his men were gone. He focused his attention back to Van who had his eyes closed and was breathing shakily. Deaq swallowed the lump in his throat.

" I'm so sorry." he said. Van opened his eyes.

" Not your fault… you didn't have… a choice but… next time aim… a bit higher." Van managed to bring out.

" Why?" Deaq asked.

" I want to die, Deaq … you were right… I can't handle this." Van replied.

" You gotta hang on. Billie will find us." Deaq said shocked.

" No, she won't… By the time she finds us… we're dead… I rather die… fast then like… this." Deaq shook his head. " Next time… when he asks… you to shoot me… kill me or… piss him off so he'll… kill me."

" I won't do that. I'm not letting you die." Deaq said, still adding pressure to the wound. Not that it was helping much, his hands were starting to get covered in Van's blood also.

" If you care… about me, you'll… do it." Van said. Deaq shook his head again. " Promise me,… Deaq." Deaq looked in Van's eyes and saw the pain. Van wasn't gonna make it out of here, neither would he. By the time Billie found them, they would be dead. He didn't like to see Van suffering like this so he nodded.

" I promise." He whispered. Van smiled weakly before passing out. Deaq kept pressing against the wound until it stopped bleeding. He took Van in his arms so his bruised ribs wouldn't cause to much of a problem. Van's head fell against his chest. Deaq had to hold back tears. Van was dying and he just promised to kill Van. How could he do that? How could he ever kill his partner, his best friend? They got off at the wrong foot but now they trusted each other completely. He trusted Van with his life and vice versa. Deaq nearly burst out in laughter at that. Van didn't trust him with his life but with his dead. He so wanted to start laughing hysterically but that wasn't gonna help, instead he remained calm and started praying for a miracle.

Meanwhile at the warehouse, some back-up had arrived along with some guy of their lab who took a sample of the blood to see from who it was. She hoped it wasn't from one of her guys.

" What do we do, sir?" the squad leader of the team of seven men asked.

" I want you to start looking and collecting information about Dustin Brook's whereabouts. Innocent looking boy but dangerous once in the suit. He has two of my men which means he knows about us. He won't let them live long because he thinks that we won't know something's wrong until the morning. That's where he's wrong. We have to strike soon or we're lost." Billie said, giving him a picture of Dustin. The squad leader, named Erik, found it hard to believe that a boy like this could do all this stuff.

" Don't worry, sir. We'll find them. We're the best team." Erik replied. Billie nodded.

" Good, keep me informed." She said. " Do we have a match on the blood?"

" Yes, it's Van's." the guy from the lab replied. Billie sighed. This team was her last hope that her men would be found.

" Okay, let's move it." Erik yelled. The eight men got in their four cars and returned to their office to start searching for information. Billie returned to the candy store to do the same. An hour later, she got a call from Erik.

" We followed one of his men and know where he's hiding." He said.

" Good, I'm on my way. Wait outside the station." Billie grabbed her jacket, got in her car and raced to the station, breaking about every speed limit to get there as soon as possible.

Deaq watched in horror as the door once again opened. Dustin and one guard entered. He woke up Van who looked at hem pleading. Deaq shortly nodded and got up. He promised Van and he wasn't gonna break his promise no matter how hard he wanted his partner to survive but Van was suffering and he would do anything to take that pain away.

" You know what I found out?" Deaq said in a mocking tone. " You're one hell of a jerk. I knew it from the first time we met. To bad I didn't kick your ass back then. Would've saved us the trouble of sitting here huh? Because I'm sure I could wipe the floor with you and you know why? Because you're all tough looking but you don't fool me for one second. You rather let some one else take care of your dirty businesses then do it yourself." He saw Dustin was already getting pissed and he wasn't even pushing hard. That guy had some serious anger issues. He walked a bit closer to Dustin.

" Well, I can still kick your ass now, can't I?" Deaq challenged. " What do you say about a few cracked ribs to go along with the black eye you'll have in a moment?" Okay, now he was just talking bullshit. He looked over at Van who smiled weakly at him and then looked back at Dustin who was trying to maintain calm but it wasn't working that good. He knew exactly what would make him loose it. Before Dustin could react, Deaq kicked him hard in the gut. Dustin doubled over in pain as the guard grabbed Deaq and threw him roughly against the wall. Deaq hit his head pretty hard and when he rubbed the back of his head, he felt blood.

" Okay, I had it with you two… This is really gonna be fun to kick him to dead in front of you." Dustin said, getting up and rubbing his stomach. He pulled Van up and dragged him to the middle of the room. Van's eyes widened when he realised he was screwed even more. He looked over at Deaq who was looking at him without actually seeing. He smiled saying 'thanks even if it didn't work out the way as planned.' He would die anyway, maybe not as painless as he hoped but dead was dead. A hard kick landed in his stomach. He gasped and fell to the ground. More kicks followed and he was sure he just felt another rib break. He protectively wrapped his arms around his ribs area trying to stop more blows from hitting him there. He felt kicks hit his back. He felt awful but he knew it would all be over soon. He looked over at Deaq again and said a quiet goodbye when their eyes met before he firmly closed his eyes to block out the pain.

Deaq shook his head to get rid of the dizziness that threatened to overtake him. He looked over at van who was just looking at him. He could see the pain in his eyes and something else: Van was saying goodbye. In that second a lot of unspoken feelings and words travelled between them. Then Van closed his eyes. Something in Deaq snapped. He couldn't just sit here and watch his partner getting even more tortured by that guy. He stood up slowly and threw himself at Dustin, not caring about the guard. He pulled Dustin away from Van ,who was relieved when the kicks stopped and turned on his back to catch his breath, and threw him hard against the ground.

" This is for hurting my partner!" Deaq yelled. A battle started between the two. Dustin was good but Deaq had a slight advantage: rage. Before the guard could interfere, the door flew open and a loud call of "Police, freeze"' was heard. Deaq was glad to hear Billie's voice but didn't pay much attention to it, neither did Dustin who had other worries like trying to defend himself against Deaq who was obviously pissed.

Billie immediately went to van's side. She wasn't to eager to stop Deaq from trying to hurt Dustin since she could already tell Van was hurt badly. She sat down next to him and laid her hand on Van's arm. He opened his eyes and smiled weakly at her. He turned his head when he heard a painful gasp coming from Deaq.

" You have… to stop them." Van gasped out.

" Okay, just hang on. Help's on its way." Billie replied. Van nodded and closed his eyes again. The guard had already been escorted out by two police men, leaving another one in the room, waiting for orders. Billie nodded. Together they managed to get the two apart. Dustin had been the hurt most but also managed to get in a few good hits.

" I'm gonna kill you!" Deaq yelled. Billie grabbed his shoulders.

" Deaq, calm down! Van needs you." She reasoned. Deaq was immediately calm. He nodded and smiled at her before glaring at Dustin once more and sitting down next to his partner. He took his hand, causing Van to reopen his eyes.

" You… okay?" Van asked.

" Yeah, I'm fi- Van!" He exclaimed as Van's eyes rolled back and his head dropped to the side. He searched for a pulse and detected a very faint one.

" Yo, Billie, where's that ambulance!" Deaq yelled. Billie sat on van's other side.

" I don't know." She replied. " He doesn't look good."

" I don't know everything that happened but he got beaten up pretty badly." Deaq said. Billie could tell he was holding something back but she would bring it up later. Finally two paramedics rushed in the room.

" What's the situation?" one of them asked.

" Three bullet wounds: one in his leg, side and stomach plus he got beaten up pretty badly." Deaq reported.

" We better take him to a hospital and fast." They lifted van on a stretcher.

" Deaq, you're coming with me."

" No, I…"

" That's an order." Billie interrupted. Deaq muttered some things under his breath before giving in.

" Hold on, van." He whispered. Het got in the car with Billie and they drove off behind the ambulance.

" Spill it."

"What?" Deaq asked.

" What happened in there?" He sighed and started telling about how they were ambushed, Van getting hurt because of his big mouth, the drive to the house and being kept in that room when Van was brought in heavily beat up.

" finally I managed to get those ropes loose and I ran to him. He woke up not so long later. He was in so much pain, Billie, and I couldn't do a thing to help him. I could do nothing except see him suffer. Then they returned a while after Van had fallen back asleep and Dustin made me shoot him. Van said it was okay, that he rather got shot by me. Shit, Billie I shot him. I'll never forget that." He quickly wiped away some tears. Billie listened shocked. It must've been so hard to pull the trigger.

" Go on." Billie encouraged.

" Dustin congratulated me with the shot, said he would've aimed a bit higher. Van was in pain and I made it worse. That's when he said he wanted dead. He couldn't handle it, couldn't fight the pain anymore and that's all my fault." Deaq said, turning his head away and letting some tears escape his eyes. Billie knew that this was tearing them apart. Van and Deaq were very close, even closer then Van and Dre were. Van and Deaq both went through hell in that couple of hours.

" Deaq, it wasn't your fault. You're his partner, his friend."

" Exactly, what kind of a friend does this?" Deaq interrupted, staring at her, clearly feeling way to guilty.

" Look, Van knows you didn't have a choice, he won't blame you!"

" What if he doesn't make it? What if he…" Deaq trailed off.

" He won't, he's strong Deaq, he's been through worse before." Billie comforted him. Deaq leaned back against the chair and closed his eyes. This was all his fault whether van blamed him or not. He felt like he should've done something, something to draw the attention away from his partner.

" You're not finished yet." Billie sated. Deaq sighed and continued.

" He made me promise that when those guys returned I would ether kill him myself or push Dustin so hard that he would finish it. God Billie, he made me promise. He passed out not soon after that. Dustin and a guy returned after a while. Van looked at me pleading so I had no other choice then to do what he asked: I started pushing Dustin but it didn't work instead of killing Van he started to beat him up. That's when I lost it and you guys came in." Deaq finished, sounding miserable.

So that was what was bothering Deaq so much: the promise of getting his partner killed. She really didn't know what to say but she ken one thing: Deaq was gonna blame himself forever.

They arrived at the hospital a quarter after the ambulance. They went to the waiting room and both sat down, impatiently waiting for news. An hour later, Deaq started the pace. This waiting was making him extremely nervous.

" Why is it taking so long?" he asked.

" I would be more worried if it didn't take so long." Billie replied. Van was hurt bad and an operation like this could take very long. Deaq looked at her for a second before starting to pace the small waiting room again.

" Will you sit down? You're making me sick." Deaq mumbled an apology and sat down, tapping his foot. Billie groaned and shook her head. Another three hours later, the doctor returned. Both stood up.

" How is he?" Deaq asked, worry clear in his voice.

" He'll make it. He did loose a lot of blood because of the bullet wounds. The bullets have been easily removed. He had two cracked ribs and bruises all over his body. His ribs will cause a bit trouble but nothing to serious." The doctor informed them. Deaq let out the breath he was holding but then started to feel dizzy and sat down.

" Deaq, you alright?" Billie asked.

" Yeah, just hit my head, that's all." Deaq replied.

" Better take a look at that. Come with me." Deaq followed the doctor while Billie stayed in the waiting room, worrying about both her men now. Deaq reappeared half n hour later with a bandage around his head.

" You okay?" Billie asked.

" Yeah, just a mild concussion and bruised ribs but I'll manage. The doc wanted to keep me in a room but I refused. Ooh and one o us can see Van" Deaq replied. Billie nodded.

" You go. I think he needs you more right now."

" You sure?" Deaq asked.

" Yeah, besides I still have some papaers to fill in. You've got time off until he's recovered." Billie said. having Deaq around when Van wasn't, was as good as pointless.

" Thanks Billie." Deaq gave Billie a kiss on the cheek and walked to Van's room.

Billie watched him go and smiled. Things would be fine. She returned to the Candy Store to start filling in some reports about what happened.

Deaq quietly entered Van's room and sat by his bed.

" I'm so sorry partner. I should've kept my big mouth shut." Deaq whispered.

" For the hundredth time, it's not you fault and it's okay." Van replied, opening his eyes.

" You're awake." Deaq exclaimed.

" Obviously."

" How are you feeling?"

" Sore and tired but I'll be fine." Van answered. " What about you?"

" Hit my head." Deaq replied. Van could tell by the way Deaq was sitting that there was more.

" And?"

" My ribs are a bit busted up from fighting Dustin." Deaq replied, wondering how Van knew there was more.

" Thanks for that. I thought I'd be dead for sure." Van said. Then he wanted dead but with that last beating up he realised he'd rather live.

" I wouldn't have needed to save you if I kept my mouth shut." Deaq said.

" Deaq! For the last time, it wasn't your fault." Van nearly yelled.

" Yeah, it…"

" Don't start." Van interrupted, yawning.

" Go back to sleep, we'll talk about this later." Deaq said softly.

" Okay but don't go blaming yourself. it really… wasn't your fault." By the time his sentence was finished he was already asleep.

" I do blame myself and that isn't gonna change anytime soon." Deaq whispered. He left and returned home, thinking. When he reached a conclusion, h called Billie.

" Hey, it's Deaq."

" Everything okay?" Billie asked.

" Yeah, I talked with Van for a couple of minutes and he'll be fine."

" What about you? What's bothering you?" Billie asked.

" This whole thing. I think I'm going back to New York." Deaq said.

" What? Van needs you here so do I. You're one of the best undercover cops." Billie exclaimed.

" You'll both get over it. I just need to go away for a while. Maybe I'll be back." Deaq replied. He didn't want to leave Van behind because that boy always got himself in trouble. He didn't doubt Billie would get Van a new and better partner. Every time he would look a Van, it would remind him of how he let his partner down last night. Last night… it was only a about 17 hours ago that they entered that building although it seemed like days.

" Deaq, stay for a while longer. If let's say after 2 weeks you still want to leave, I won't stop you." Billie suggested. She knew Van needed Deaq here now. Deaq couldn't run away from this forever. Okay, they had their problems but now they had this bond, a bond that couldn't be broken that fast but if Deaq left, the bond would be gone.

" Fine, I'll think about it."

" Good, Why don't you go sleep. You sound tired." Billie suggested.

" At noon? Nah, I'm just gonna take a shower and rest a bit." Deaq replied.

" Okay, I'm going to visit Van later on. You coming, too?"

" Maybe." Deaq answered. With that he hung up. He wasn't sure if he was gonna visit. Like he said,

Maybe…

The End

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So what did everyone think of this? Not to bad? I re-read this a couple of times but I'm pretty sure I missed half of my mistakes so sorry for that. Let me know what you think of it!