-Warnings: This is a Loke/Gray fiction.-
-This is an AU fiction. -
-Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tale or any of the perspective characters from the show. All other characters that appear in the story, however, are my own.
-Summary: Loke Lion was a CIA agent who went missing on a mission. Five years later NYPD Homicide Detective Gray Fullbuster gets a case that leads him straight to the missing agent only to find out the man had been forcibly genetically altered. Now part man, part lion, Gray must help Loke seek revenge while also protecting from his old comrades. ( )
Lethal Instincts
Chapter One: Failed Escape
He was panting heavily, nostrils flared to try and bring more oxygen into his lungs so he could keep going. The sound of his footsteps pounded against the soft ground and echoed through out the forest. Worn leather boots sloshed through puddles of cold mud caused by the rain that was pouring down in sheets. It obscured his vision and caused his white button down shirt to cling to his toned chest and the white wife beater he wore underneath. The thick denim of his jeans seemed to become heavier as they soaked in the moisture. Though it was most likely just exhaustion starting to catch up like a beast that could not be stopped.
One boot caught a wet rock, the sole slipping back. The man's lithe frame pitched forward. A grunt left his lips as he tried quickly to right himself. Falling right now would be more than troublesome, it would be deadly. He scurried forward until managing to straighten up. Cold muddy water rushed into a tear in the leather of his left boot. It sent a shiver skittering up his spine. Worse yet, it added extra weight to each step he took. Trying to run like that would only cause fatigue to race up to him quicker. He needed to find a place to hide, somewhere to hole up until both the weather and danger passed him by.
His bright orange hair was stuck to his forehead by rivulets of rain water. He raised a hand to rub the water out of his face. The thick black eye liner that had been expertly applied around his hazel eyes was starting to smear down his cheeks. He had been wearing a pair of sunglasses when this had started but somewhere along the way he had lost them. The over all appearance was that of an emo rock star leading in his own crappy music video Running in the Woods in the Rain. With a low, annoyed snarl, he tucked his tired body behind a large tree trunk as his hand pulled the pistol from the holster that had been tucked neatly inside the cuff of his right leg.
Loke held the pistol up beside his face as his breath continued to puff out in white plumes before his face. Anger was coursing hot through his veins, the only thing keeping him warm in the icy rain. It was suppose to be an easy case. As easy as his cases came that was. News came in about a large, yet secret human trafficking ring. It was run under the guise of a dating service, but clients had gone missing. Loke was then sent in undercover to find what was needed to bring them down.
Except things had gone wrong.
He had been made by someone and now he was being chased through a dark forest by men that were ordered to silence him. It was only with his CIA training that he had managed to survive this long.
Loke fell silent, trying to calm his breathing so that he could listen. Silence seemed to spread out over the forest. Nothing alerted him to a presence around him, making him think he had finally lost his pursuers. Good. It would give him a chance to get in touch with head quarters. He needed an evacuation and he needed on now.
Shifting his weight, Loke pressed his back against the trunk of a tree. His free hand came up to press a small button on the silver hoop hanging from his right ear. Stylish and useful. As his finger tips pressed on the earring a burst of static seemed to come alive in the center of his skull. He flinched with a short hiss as reverb finally calmed himself. As it did, the crackle gave way to a voice.
"Identify yourself!" The voice snapped, standard procedure when an agents radio went off air for a length of time.
"This is Angent Loke Lion." His own voice was strained and raspy, trying to make sure that it would not carry too far. Luckily the pouring rain provided a perfect sound cover.
"Can you confirm this by giving us your identification code?" The voice seemed almost cheery, a fact that raised Loke's hackles and brought a sneer to his face.
"There's no time for this shit!" He growled out in a low tone. "My cover was blown and I've got a group of angry men with guns chasing me. I need an evac!"
Loke paused, hazel gaze snapping to the right. His whole body stilled almost sure that he had heard movement off to the side. Had they caught up to him already? A snarl left him as he tried to peer not only through the onslaught of rain but the curtain of it that poured down his face. His hand swiped at his eyes as the gel that had been in his hair stung at them.
"Sir, I'm going to need you to confirm your identification code." The perky woman now had a sharp tone that gave away her own annoyance.
"For fuck's sake." His leaked with venom. "650221! Now get me the fuck out of here!"
His head snapped back to the right at the cracking sound of a twig broke out through the air. This time he was sure about it. They had caught up to him. He could no longer waste any more time trying to answer questions for Susie Q. Crouching down, Loke pushed his weight forward on his toes as he prepared himself for an attack. All he could do was wait for another sound to give him a location. Once he knew which way they were coming from he could head in the opposite direction. His muscles ached and he strained to hear whatever he could over the weather. It was because of this position that he was nearly sent into cardiac arrest when Susie Q came blaring back.
"Agent Lion, extraction is on the way." She reported. Her tone was more formal now that she knew she was talking to an agent. There was no need for a pleasant secretary act. "We locked on to you location and should be there in ten."
He ground his teeth together in a show of frustrated anger. Ten minutes? That was unlikely. It would take ten minutes just to get a chopper off the ground, let alone to his location. He was more reasonably looking at twenty minutes. That meant he had to survive out here until then and stay away from those who were surrounding him. Just as he was about to respond to her a loud crack echoed out in the forest. It was a sound that he knew too well.
A gunshot.
Reflexes kicked in and he jumped forward in a low roll just as a hole was blasted out of the trunk he had been leaning against. It seemed there was no time to think or plan. They had tagged him so laying low was not an option. All he could do now was keep ahead of them until help arrived to pull him out.
Coming out of the roll, he found his feet and charged into the brush. Branches snapped out of his way, some stray twigs tearing at both fabric and flesh. It was a noisy dash but he did not care. The time to try and sneak around was long past and all he could do to stay alive was to stay one step ahead of them.
"Agent." Susise Q's sudden resurface from the radio nearly sent him stumbling in shock. It was crazy how being in a situation like this could make one forget when you were not actually alone.
"Agent?" He repeated when the he did not answer. "There's a clearing about half a mile ahead of you. It's the only place where the chopper can land. You have to get there for the pick up."
Loke was about to answer when a solid force connected with the back of his shoulder. The force was enough to send him staggering sideways, a burning starting to ooze out painfully from the center of the hit. His teeth clenched together tightly as he tried to straighten his path as his training instinct kicked in. All he could assume right now was that he had been shot even though it did not feel like any bullet wound he had felt before.
"Agent!" Susie Q was damn near shouting now that she was not being answered straight away. "Do you copy those orders?"
"Yea, I heard you. But there better be a medic on board." Loke ground out. "I was hit."
"Just get to the pick up zone, Agent Lion." Susie Q's voice actually sounded sincere as she spoke now and Loke had the sad realization that she was new to the job. "We'll get you out of there and back home."
Loke almost told her not to hold her breath or take this personally. The orangenette had been a player in this game long enough to know that when a solo mission went bad, a happy ending was very rare. Still, there was no reason to add stress to probably her first evacuation call. He forced a grin as though she could see it as he staggered forward.
"Sure thing, Susie Q." He rasped, skin now starting to feel warm. "Then first round of shots are on me."
"Susie Q?" She muttered, some humor filtering into his voice.
Loke was about to answer her when the entire forest tilted around him. He staggered to the left, one hand groping out for a tree to steady himself. It was like a fog was rolling in over his brain and his vision dimmed. The spot on his back now felt like it was on fire and he tried to swipe at it to see how badly it was bleeding. Instead his hand brushed against something soft. His fingers closed around it and tugged. A short sting made him hiss as he pulled out the dart he had mistaken for a bullet.
Drugged? He had been drugged?
That was not good. There was only one reason a band of miscreants drugged a CIA agent that uncovered their secrets. And it was nothing pleasant. Most agents would rather die than face the alternative that he was now staring down. It would be a long, slow and brutal end. His hazel gaze moved to the gun clutched in his left hand to remind himself as he had other options.
Loke finally pushed off the tree trying to make another lurch for the drop zone. However he only made it a few steps before his knees buckled and sent him crashing to the muddy ground. He sputtered as a puddle splashed up against his face. The world was starting to grow fuzzy and he realized he no longer felt the cold biting into his flesh.
Sounds were becoming muffled, but he could make out the distinct sound of feet rushing through the underbrush towards him. It was like he was no longer a threat because of the drugs in his system. A dismissive snort left him as he figured he would just have to show these people what a fully trained agent could do even while dosed.
With a grunt of effort he pushed up to his hands and knees. One hand tried to fish around in the mud puddle for the gun he dropped when he stumbled. His other hand moved to press against the silver hoop as he spoke again to the girl.
"Hey Susie Q..." His voice came out slurred and it would probably be easy to figure out that something was terribly wrong with him. A slow chuckle left him. "I think I'm gonna to take a rain check on the drinks."
His finger curled around the earring just as the woman started shouting back. Once he had a firm grip on the accessory he tugged down. The thin metal bar easily tore through flesh of his lobe as he pulled it out, hardly able to feel the wound through the haze caused by the drugs. The last thing he wanted was for that new girl to not only know that something had gone wrong, but to hear it as well. In this line of work nightmares would eventually reach her as they did everyone else. There was no need to give her a head start.
Loke waited until the earring was completely submerged in the puddle before he lurched forward in a stumbling crawl. His fingers curled around his lost gun as he gripped it tightly although he kept up the act, pretending to be more under the influence of the drugs then he actually was. He staggered to the side, dropping down to the ground and curled up as though he were unable to move. The sound of multiple sets of feet ran in his direction as he tightened his muscles. He was preparing a strike for when they got close enough. Just a few more steps; three, two, one...
He spun quickly onto his back and tried to ignore the vicious tilt the world took around him. The first man that reached him blinked in surprise just before the bullet tore the left side of his face off in a pink mist. The orange haired agent grunted as the weight of the dead man crashed down on him. He jerked to the side weakly kicking the corpse away from him and turning the gun on the second man. The muzzle flashed in the dark night before the large hole was punched into the man's chest and the stream of gore blasted out behind him in a crimson arch. One of the man's legs twitched before he crashed in a still heap on the wet ground.
The scent of blood was now hanging thick in the air, strong enough that Loke was sure he could feel the coppery taste of it coating his tongue. Death was not a new thing to him, nor was killing. So he did not miss a beat in whipping the muzzle of his pistol toward the third man just in time to have it kicked out of his hands. With the drug now nearly ravaging his system he was unable to keep his hold on the weapon. It skidded across the wet ground, but the moment it left his hand it was forgotten. His training had taught him not to worry about the weapon that you once held but rather what you still had at your disposal.
As the foot that disarmed him came around for another kick, Loke reached up and grabbed the ankle. He threw all his weight into a twist and was rewarded by a sickening pop as his attacker's hip was dislocated. The man let out a screech as he collapsed. Loke swung his leg around in an ax kick. His heel drove into the soft flesh of the man's throat, crushing his wind pipe. The scream was cut off with a wet gargle. Blood spewed out of the man's open mouth as he tried to breath around the liquid flooding in his broken throat.
Loke was panting as he rolled away from the thrashing man. As this point his vision was beginning to waver more, blackness creeping in at the edges of his eyes. He did not have much longer before the drug would take full control. Taking out the first three men had been lucky, but he knew by the distant rustling of grass and leaves that there were more coming still. If he wanted to make Susie Q smile he needed to start heading towards the pick zone.
He did not bother with his gun as he lurched back up to his feet. At the rate his vision was becoming altered he would not have been able to fire off a straight shot anyway. Fighting was no longer an option, this was now a matter of flight.
Over head he heard a muffled thumping noise that he was able to identify right away. A helicopter. His back up was here so maybe he would survive this botched mission. That was if he could make it to the safe zone before the others caught up to him. Shoving up to his feet, Loke plowed through the bushes to try and make the mad dash to where he was suppose to meet the bird.
His path was hardly straight, his form swaying from side to side. It caused him to move in a drunken serpentine. Now and again a knee would buckle and send him crashing to the ground. His breath grunted out of him and each time he want down he found it harder to get back up. At this point he could hardly see anything and the sounds of the forest now seemed to grow farther and farther away.
A growl left him him as he shook his head. This was not the time for him to lose himself. Not when he was so close to getting out with such important information. Loke grunted as he clawed forward feeling desperation welling up in his chest. The dull thump of the chopper's blades whirled out in the distance and his darkened vision was almost set ablaze by the bright flood light on the side of the bird.
So close...
Mustering up a final bit of strength, Loke started to rush forward. This was his last chance. He did not bother to look behind him. Which turned out to be his last mistake. Another blast sounded out as a sharp pain slammed into his lower back. One more dart.
Loke grunted and staggered to his knees. His upper body hunched forward, fingers digging into the mud. This was the end of his line. There was only one other option for him. His right hand fumbled over himself, trying to find the knife he knew was hidden in his left boot. Just as he was about to find it, hands grabbed him from behind. He was whipped around, back shoved into the ground as a strip of leather was shoved between his teeth to stop any loud sounds. With this gagging his fate was sealed.
The second dose of drugs rushed through him and chased out any fight he might have had left in him. His body sagged as every muscle in him went limp. His entire vision went dark and the last thing he could remember seeing was a large cheshire grin before his face. Then there was nothing but black.
About 30 feet away, a silver hoop laid in the bottom of a mud puddle, blood staining it. A crackled but desperate tone called out into the empty night unheard.
"Agent Lion?" The voice called. "He's gone..."
-I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please leave reviews to let me know what you think!
