Still Alive
"Well that was a fucking mess!" roared Randy as he kicked a chair across the room. Everybody else in the room was silent but they all felt exactly like Randy had said. The whole operation had literally been a fiasco.
Dean sighed as he continuously ran his fingers through his hair trying to think. What was he missing? He wasn't naïve enough to think that after his break in at C Tower that the mayor wouldn't change the plan of smuggling the drugs into the city or try to alternate it a bit. However, he thought, or rather hoped, that the mayor and his goons wouldn't have time to change the plan entirely.
The 'Armageddon' file had been quite clear that this was an elaborate scheme that had taken a whole year of careful planning to put into place. Plus, he had counted on the fact that there would have been little time to let the suppliers know what was happening and change the meet up.
Dean had hoped that the idiotic sheriff Kane would just beef up security, which would have been a whole other problem, but one that they had prepared for. What they hadn't prepared for was a fucking death trap complete with trip wires and pipe bombs scattered around the supposed site of the drop off.
Dean picked his head up as Little Rome came into the room with a grave air about him, his pants and shirt splattered with blood that was not his own. "How's Sami doing?" Dean asked Little Rome as the big guy sat down heavily beside him.
"Doc thinks he'll pull through," said Little Rome as he patted Dean on the back, "It looks worse than it actually is. Kid will have tons of scars for life but better that than death, right?"
Dean cringed at Little Rome's words. It should have been him not Sami lying on the doctor's primitive operating table right now. Everything had just happened so quickly. One moment Dean was cautiously walking towards the docks that the scouts had determined held no sign of life and the next an explosion had filled his line of vision and Sami had pushed him to the ground putting himself between Dean and most of the shrapnel.
For a horrible moment, Dean had thought that Sami was dead. There had been so much blood but a cough and groan from the man had alerted Dean to the fact that he was still alive. To make matters worse, Sami wasn't the only one seriously hurt during the failed mission. The only sort of bright side to this whole day was that there had been no casualties but nevertheless Dean was still beating himself up about leading his men into danger. He should have known something like this would happen. He should have foreseen this possibility and planned for it.
Dean chanced a look at Punk across the room. Dean knew that if Punk thought that he had fucked up then he would be the first one to tell him so. However, Punk was just staring into space obviously in deep thought and didn't meet Dean's glance.
"What are we going to do, Dean?" Randy asked pacing the room furiously as he looked to his leader. "There was no sign of the drugs anywhere. None of our informants have even heard a mention of this drug being introduced to the population yet. What is Cena waiting for? A fucking invitation?!"
"He's waiting for the perfect time to strike," said Punk simply as he got up and tugged on his disguise.
"Where are you going?" asked Little Rome with narrowed eyes at Punk who was cinching the leather belt around his waist and hanging the rosary beads from his belt just so.
"I'm not much for waiting around," said Punk, as he straightened his grey robe, fully turning into the perfect picture of a friar. "I'm going to go see what my contacts know about this mysterious drug. I'm not convinced that this situation is as cut and dry as it seems."
"Or you're just taking the opportunity to slink away and do God knows what?" said Little Rome suspiciously as he glared at Punk. Rome didn't know what it was. Call it his intuition maybe but he didn't trust Punk one bit.
Punk coolly turned to Dean who, due to his mind being elsewhere, hadn't noticed the tense exchange between Friar Punk and Little Rome.
"Dean put a muzzle on your dog, would you? Before he says something that he regrets," said Punk bluntly as he returned Little Rome's glare with an even stare.
"Be nice, Punk," stated Dean tiredly as he looked up at his oldest friend who was now looking at him with concern.
"You should get your shoulder looked at Dean," said Friar Punk in a tone that communicated to Dean that if he refused then Punk would just drag him down to the sick room whether Dean liked it or not.
Dean grimaced as he turned his head to look at the state of his left shoulder. While Sami had saved Dean from the bulk of the shrapnel, the back of Dean's left shoulder had gotten more than a few pieces of metal embedded in it. The bleeding had stopped for the most part and Dean knew it would hurt like a bitch when Doc would set to work yanking the pieces out of him but at the moment, Dean knew he wasn't in any mortal danger.
"Not until the rest of my men get medical attention," said Dean forcefully as he looked up at Punk daring him to argue with him. As always, Dean's personal health was one of his lowest priorities.
"Most of them have already been seen by the Doc, Dean," put in Little Rome, forgetting Punk's slight against him for the time being and focused his attention instead on the well-being of his leader, "Punk's right. You should head down there now."
"I'm gonna go check on Seth first," said Dean with a groan as he stood up, "and then I'll go down to see, Doc." Dean said before Punk and Rome could protest further. "Happy?"
"I'm never happy," quipped Punk as he headed out the door, "I'll be back later with my report, Dean. Will you be here or at the soup kitchen later on?" Punk asked referring to Dean's legitimate job.
"I'm not sure, just come back here when you're finished and I'll meet up with you sooner or later," remarked Dean as Punk nodded and closed the door behind him.
"Are you sure we can trust him?" asked Little Rome to Dean when he was positive that Punk was gone.
"For the millionth time, Rome, yes!" exclaimed Dean.
"Why are you so sure? He's a con artist, Dean, lying is what he does for a living! You haven't seen him in a long time. People change."
"Not Punk," said Dean stubbornly as he shook his head.
Little Rome tugged his hands through his hair frustrated, "This whole thing with Cena's drug scheme has me on edge, Dean. Something just doesn't feel right."
"What are you worried about?" asked Dean taking his friend's intuition seriously.
"I'm worried that we know next to nothing about this mysterious drug. All we know for sure is that Cena has something diabolical up his sleeve and I know, for a fact, that he has an unhealthy obsession with catching you," said Little Rome his eyes looking pleadingly at Dean, "I really think you should lay low for now."
"Not this again, Rome," protested Dean as he rolled his eyes. Dean loved Little Rome like a brother but the guy had this annoying quality of being a little overprotective of him at times, in Dean's humble opinion. "I'm a big boy, I can handle myself."
"I know you can, Dean. But admit it. You tend to be reckless and take unnecessary chances," said Rome carefully, trying to be diplomatic.
"Remind me if I'm wrong, Rome, but wouldn't you be dead if I haven't taken unnecessary chances when you were in danger?" asked Dean knowing that he was striking below the belt but didn't Little Rome understand that if Dean didn't do something who would?
Little Rome sighed knowing he had lost this argument. "Yes, I probably would be and, in return, I'm trying to keep you safe from your crazy ass self. But I can see that I'm wasting my time," finished Rome as he threw his hands up in the air and walked out of the room closing the door with a harsh thud.
No one else in the room spoke or moved for a few moments. Everyone hated it when Dean and Little Rome fought or disagreed. It was never pretty.
"Randy?" said Dean in a raspy voice.
"Yeah, boss," said Randy having now calmed down.
"While I'm gone, why don't you take some men and comb though the files again to see if we've missed anything," said Dean as he tucked his wounded shoulder against his body and then headed out of the room.
"Sure thing," said Randy at Dean's back.
Dean grimaced as a wave of pain shot through his shoulder. It hurt more than he let on to everyone else. However, he wanted to give the doctor a chance to tend to the rest of the wounded before he sought medical attention. Dean always put his men's needs before himself, which was one of the many reasons why he was such a great leader.
As Dean reached the door to Seth's room he found the newbie talking amiably with his guard which was Finn at the moment. Since, Dean had shown Seth around the Merry Men's hideout a couple of days ago, Seth had proven to be extremely friendly and had made friends fast. Everyone seemed to love and enjoy Seth's company, Dean included.
Seth was funny, helpful, a good listener and didn't complain about a thing. Even though Dean knew from experience that it was no fun being cooped up somewhere and not being able to move freely without permission, but Seth took the whole thing in stride and was making the most out of his situation.
In fact, the only people who didn't like Seth were Punk and Rome. To be fair, Punk didn't really like anyone except for a select few and Little Rome…Dean sighed. He really wished that Rome would just trust him instead of fighting his decisions at every turn. It was starting to get exhausting. Dean shook Little Rome out of his thoughts as he walked up to Seth and Finn.
"Hey, Finn take a break, I'll take over for a little bit," said Dean as the two men looked over at him.
"Okay," agreed Finn nodding his head but couldn't help but notice his leader's bloody shoulder, "Are you alright, Mox?" Finn asked still keeping Dean's identity a secret from Seth.
"I'll be fine. It's just a flesh wound." Said Dean with a grin trying not to let on how much his shoulder actually hurt him.
"I won't say no to a break then," remarked Finn, "See ya later, Seth."
"Bye," returned Seth with a slight wave as Finn headed down the tunnel probably headed to the kitchens to get some food.
"Have you eaten?" asked Dean as he stepped into Seth's holding cell, closed the door behind him and then sunk gratefully into the desk chair wincing as the movement caused another spasm of pain to go shooting down his arm.
"Yeah, I have," answered Seth as he appraised Dean's condition with an observing glance. "Why did you lie to Finn?"
"I didn't lie," said Dean indignantly, but then stopped his protesting almost instantly, as Seth gave him a look which communicated that he didn't buy a word Dean said regarding his health. "Okay, maybe I exaggerated the truth a bit, but you don't know Finn like I do. I swear that man worries more than an Italian grandmother."
Seth let out a small laugh at Dean's explanation for his actions as he took a seat on his bed. "Why haven't you been to seen the Doc, yet? You know those wounds are going to get infected if you don't treat them properly."
"Yes, mom," shot back Dean sarcastically, rolling his eyes at Seth. Great, he thought to himself, another worrywart just what I need! "Dean told me to check in on you first, so here I am," explained Dean gesturing around Seth's room.
Seth raised his eyebrows in shock at Dean's words. "Dean sent you here before the doctor?! What an ass! Mox, you need to take care of yourself. Screw Dean! And I don't care, I will say that again to his face!" said Seth heatedly as he stood up and took a second look at Dean's shoulder.
Dean hissed the second Seth even barely brushed his shoulder. Dean didn't even know what to say to Seth's outburst. Although that's an interesting thought, he said to himself, is it possible to be an ass to yourself?
"Well Mox, as you can see I'm fine," said Seth straightening up and gesturing to himself, "Now go, right now to the doctor! Before you get a serious infection."
"There are still other guys in worse shape than me that need the Doc's attention," explained Dean as he made no move to get up from the chair, "I offered to come check up on you. Believe me, Seth. Dean doesn't order me around," said Dean wryly. "Besides, this is important. I need to ask you a few questions and I need you to answer honestly and as best you can," said Dean as he sat up in his chair and fixed Seth with an intense stare. "Because what you say could mean life or death for thousands of people."
"I'll do my best," stated Seth as he sat back down and nodded at Dean to continue.
"That night when I saved you from those thugs," began Dean, "You seemed to know what that drug was that they were going to inject in you. Now I've been all over the city. I know it like the back of my hand but until that night I had never seen that type of drug before. Do you know what it is?"
Seth gulped at Dean's question and looked down at his hands for a few seconds. Dean noticed that Seth's hands slight shook. He's probably thinking back to that night, thought Dean guessing that those memories were probably very traumatic for the young man.
"It's known on the street as 'Succubus'," said Seth slowly through gritted teeth, "they call it that because it basically sucks the life out of the user until they die."
"How come I've never heard of it before?" asked Dean as he leaned forward.
"Because all of the people who knew about it are dead now," whispered Seth as he fixed his eyes on the far wall not looking at Dean, "all except for me. I was the last person who knew other than the top officials and they almost succeeded in silencing me had it not been for you, Mox."
"How do you know all of this?" asked Dean gently. He could tell this was a painful topic for Seth to discuss but he needed to know.
"I…I…worked in one of the top secret developmental labs at C Tower," admitted Seth shakily as he looked at Dean obviously afraid of what Dean would think of him now, "I swear I didn't know what our purpose was. I…I wanted to change the world. I wanted to create drugs to cure and prevent diseases. I didn't know what we had on our hands until it was too late."
Dean sat back in his chair as he pondered Seth's words. That definitely explained a lot.
"Do you know what they planned on using the drug for?" asked Dean.
"No," said Seth shaking his head, "I assumed that Cena would want to weaponize the drug and then sell it to the highest bidder."
"Does the name, 'Armageddon' mean anything to you?" asked Dean as he gazed at Seth.
"No," said Seth looking puzzled, "Should it?"
"I guess not," stated Dean, "Thanks, Seth, you've been a big help." Dean got up to leave, Seth's words running around in his head. He had a lot to think on tonight.
"Now go straight to Doc's," said Seth still worried about Dean's shoulder, "Dean can wait for your information, Mox."
"Don't worry Seth, I will," said Dean with a cheeky smile towards Seth, "Dean's at the soup kitchen for the night anyway."
"Soup kitchen?" asked Seth confused.
"Yeah, Dean helps manage the soup kitchen down on 12th Street," explained Dean.
"He's still an ass for not making you see the doctor first," put in Seth.
"I agree," said Dean with a smile, "Dean's an asshole."
Sheriff Kane stomped his feet and blew on his hands trying to keep warm. He had been standing out in the frigid, night air for the better part of an hour and still no sign of the kid. The sheriff growled to himself, the kid promised he would meet me here. He better show or I won't hesitate on kicking his scrawny hide across the river!
The sheriff was getting desperate. He needed to deliver Dean Ambrose to the mayor soon. There was no telling what Mayor Cena would do to him this time if he failed again. Finally, Sheriff Kane spotted a familiar figure in the distance.
"What took you so long?" growled Sheriff Kane as his spy cockily strode up to him.
"They've been keeping an eye on me," shot back the informant pulling his hood even further down, "they don't trust me completely yet. I told you, it takes time to build trust."
"Well we don't exactly have the luxury of time," hissed the sheriff not liking the attitude the kid was giving him tonight, "Cena wanted this done yesterday."
"I've an idea," the kid said slowly.
"I don't read minds," snapped Sheriff Kane, "spit it out, kid."
"I'm not a kid," exclaimed the spy indignantly.
"You're a kid if I say you're a kid," said the sheriff in a dangerous tone, "Now spill! I'm freezing my ass off here!"
"Dean Ambrose helps manage 'Good Meals'."
"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" asked the sheriff gruffly.
The kid let out a long-suffering sigh, "It's the last soup kitchen in the city. It's on 12th Street and Dean Ambrose goes there, alone, it would be the perfect spot for an ambush instead of a raid on the Merry Men's hideout. Plus it would be much easier for everyone involved."
"I don't know," said the sheriff thinking it over. "What about the rest of the Merry Men? They need to be apprehended too."
"Why?" protested the kid, "They're nothing without, Dean Ambrose. They're sheep. They need a leader and once we take away the leader they will scatter. Trust me."
"Fine," agreed the sheriff warming up to the idea of an easy job, "So, what does he look like and do you have an alias for him? I assume he has one for when he works at 'Good Meals'."
"I'll do you one better," said the kid, "I'll get his work schedule so then you'll know exactly what time he'll be there and then you can plan accordingly."
"Why don't you just tell me what he looks like? It'll save time!" said the sheriff confused.
"I have my reasons," replied the kid shifting from side to side.
"Unless you don't know what he looks like," said Sheriff Kane narrowing his eyes, "What are you not telling me, kid?"
"I have my reasons," said the kid again, "Don't worry. I've got everything under control."
"You better," warned the sheriff, "you better not let me down, kid. You might not live to regret it."
"Ah, there it is the classic, sheriff threat," said the kid in his usual sarcastic voice, "I was wondering how long it would take you to bring that into the conversation."
"Listen, you little…" began the sheriff.
"No, listen to me," hissed the spy, stepping closer to the sheriff, not intimidated by him in the least, "You've brought me in because I always get the job done, something that always seems to elude you. Let me take the lead on this one and I promise you, Dean Ambrose will be yours soon enough. Just give me a little more time."
"I can buy you a couple more days, but no more than that," said the sheriff finally acquiescing to the kid's plan.
"Thank you. That's all I needed. I'll be in touch," said the kid roughly and without another word, he turned and quickly melted back into the shadow of the city.
That's all for now. Let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to leave a review :)