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An Ames/Guerrero fic.
Chapter Four.
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Disclaimer: See Ch. 1.
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A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews so far, guys! You rock!
In this chapter, they get a little hint of who ordered the hit, and Guerrero has some to thank Ames for.
I hope you guys like this one, I know I'll love writing it.
As always, please read and review, I live for feedback!
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Ames managed to slip out of the room about an hour after Matty had fallen asleep, stretching her stiff muscles as she came down the stairs of the office. Winston and Ilsa had already left, deciding that Matty was in capable hands with Chance and Guerrero watching over him.
Yawning, Ames moved into the kitchen to grab a soda, needing a sugar jolt to wake her up.
The other two were hard at work in the office, so she moved into the smaller room to join them. "How's it going?" she asked them.
Guerrero glanced up at her briefly, but it was Chance who answered. "Slow," he told her. "How's he doing?" he inquired, motioning to the room above them.
Ames shrugged. "Okay. He's sleeping now." She peered over at what Guerrero was doing, noticing that he'd matched a few of the faces to mug shots, and at least one of the prints. "I can take over," she told him, "if you want to go up with him."
"Considering that he's sleeping, and therefore wouldn't know that I'm there, I think my time would be better spent finding out who wants him dead," Guerrero informed her. "Wouldn't you agree?"
Ames held his gaze for a moment, but then looked away. "If you say so."
Guerrero turned in his seat, taking his attention away from his task for the moment. "What would you have me do, Ames? Rock him to sleep, sing him lullabies? Do you think that'll make him forget that the woman who took care of him for the last 5 years was murdered because of me?"
Ames shifted uncomfortably, looking at him with sadness and wariness in her eyes. "It wasn't your fault, Guer-"
Guerrero waved her off. "I don't need your placation, Ames. You really don't even need to be here, right now. Go home," he told her, turning back to his work.
Ames sighed, chewing on her bottom lip. "Okay," she replied, not wanting to argue with him. "I'll just ... I was gonna bring him a glass of water. Then I'll leave."
Guerrero nodded absently, ignoring her.
Chance watched her walk out of the office, letting his eyes fall on Guerrero once she was out of earshot. "What's that about?"
Guerrero looked over at him. "What's what about, dude?"
Chance stared at him pointedly.
"What, I'm supposed to bend over backwards and thank her for taking an interest in my kid?" Guerrero wondered. He wouldn't say it, but he was both grateful that she was taking an interest, and jealous of how easily she got along with him. Even when it was just him and Matty, he always had a hard time letting his guard down. It was easier for him to sit there and focus on defending and protecting him, than it was to go bring him a glass of water in case he was thirsty in the middle of the night.
Chance shrugged, knowing there was more to it than Guerrero was letting on, but deciding to leave it for now.
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Ames quietly set the glass of water down on the beside table, glancing down at the sleeping boy. His arm was curled around the stuffed polar bear that he'd had in his bag, clinging to it as though it was his lifeline. Ames smiled softly down at the kid, thinking of how much he reminded her of Brody at that age. So full of life, but with a hidden, haunted past that he couldn't quite shake. As much as she loved Brody, Ames hoped that Matty didn't grow up to be like him. She wanted him to have a happy, normal life. Someone should get to ...
Ames was turning to leave when she heard a strange, scratching sound coming from the window. Peering over from the opposite side of the bed, Ames was able to make out what appeared to be a circular shape being scratched into the window. Her eyes widened after a moment, realizing that someone was attempting to get in through the window.
She froze, trying to figure out what to do. She could call out for the others, but whoever was on the other side of the window would probably hear her. The lights were off in the room, so he probably couldn't see her. She could make a run for it, but even if she got out of the room and to the others, the guy would be in the room before they got there. If she tried to pick up Matty and make a run for it, the guy would have them both.
The scratching increased, and Ames knew that he would soon be inside the room.
Keeping her body low, Ames tugged Matty towards her, stirring him. "Ames?" he mumbled sleepily. "What are you -"
"Shh, Matty," Ames told him, pulling him off of the bed and down to the floor. "You have to be silent."
Matty's eyes widened, seeing the fear in her eyes. "What's happening?"
Ames put a finger to his lips, reaching up to pull the covers back on the bed, so that what she'd done wasn't so obvious. She could feel his lips trembling, and pulled him closer to her body, lying him down under the bed. With her left hand, she reached down for her pant leg, hiking it up to get at the knife that she'd strapped there earlier in the day.
Matty buried his face in Ames's shoulder, his scared little body trembling.
Ames pounded her feet on the floor a couple of times, hoping that Guerrero or Chance would hear it and know that something was wrong. She stopped almost as soon as she'd started, however, as she heard the piece of glass being removed from the window.
A second later, she heard the unmistakable sounds of someone climbing through the window, his feet touching down on the carpeted floor lightly - almost gracefully. Next, she heard what sounded like a clip being undone, and realized that he must have repelled down from the roof to get at the window, knowing their were security cameras all along the inside of the building. Everywhere, except for the upstairs bedroom and bathroom.
Ames shut her eyes briefly, thinking that if they survived this, that was something that would definitely have to change.
From underneath the edge of the bed, Ames could see the man's feet standing perfectly still. He was likely looking around the room, trying to find the boy. She wondered how long it would take him to check under the bed.
Ames carefully switched the knife to her other hand, adjusting Matty's position as carefully as she could. The movement was enough to startle the worried boy, and he let out a choked off whimper. Ames watched with widening eyes as the feet turned sharply, and then began to move.
She pushed Matty into the middle of the bed, sitting up quickly. She spotted her target immediately, seeing him raise a gun at her - a gun with a silencer. Without a second thought, Ames flung the knife at him, catching him in the shoulder. Ames cringed, intending to have hit him in the heart. Matty was full-out crying now, his small body shaking underneath the bed. She stood from the floor, hoping to rush the man before he recovered from the startling wound.
The man regained himself quickly, however, pulling the knife out of his shoulder and staring at it. With a furious look at Ames, he pulled his arm back, preparing to throw it back at her.
Ames turned just in time that the knife only sliced her upper left arm, but it would enough to make her cry out in pain.
The man brought up his gun once more, intended to finish the job.
Unfortunately for him, he was grabbed from behind. Guerrero had one arm gripped around his neck, holding him tightly, while the other shot up to knock the gun out of his hands.
Chance was right behind him, capturing the hand that came up to shake Guerrero off, and snapping it at the wrist.
The man cried out in pain, still struggling against the two of them. Ending it quickly, Guerrero slammed his head into the wall a couple of times, until he was knocked unconscious.
Ames watched the scene play out in relief, her chest heaving with erratic breaths.
"Matty!" Guerrero called out, looking for his son.
Ames dropped to her knees, covering her bloody arm with her right hand, holding her left one out to the boy. "It's okay, Matty. It's safe now."
Tears were streaming down his face, as he slowly took Ames's hand. Chance carried the thug out of the room, leaving the three of them alone.
Guerrero moved to the bed, crouching next to Ames. Once Matty was clear of the under-rail, he pulled the small boy into his arms, thankful that he was okay. He glanced over at Ames, who was holding her wounded arm, clearly in pain. Without thinking about how she would probably never live it down, Guerrero looked into her eyes and stated, "Thank you."
Ames nodded after a moment, happy that they'd come up when they did.
...
Ames sat on the kitchen counter as Chance dressed her wounds, Matty sitting on her right side, cuddled into her body. Guerrero had taken the man into a secluded room, where Matty wouldn't be able to see or hear what was going on.
"Well, you're definitely one of the team now," Chance commented to Ames. "Got the battle-scars and everything."
Ames rolled her eyes at that, but grinned in response. "Gee, thanks."
"Are you okay, Ames?" Matty asked worried about his new friend.
Ames nodded, looking down into the blue eyes of Guerrero's son. "I'll be fine," she assured him, giving him a one-armed hug with her right arm.
"Why did that man come here?" he asked her next. "What does he want?"
Ames glanced at Chance, trying not to wince as he bandaged her up. "That's what your dad is going to find out," she answered finally.
Chance smiled softly down at Matty. "Meanwhile, it looks like you've got your very own guarding angel," he said, nudging his head at Ames.
Matty grinned at her, tightening his small hands around her waist.
Down in the smallest office, where Guerrero and Winston had boxed themselves in from the men hunting down Chance's friend, Guerrero was busy bolting a chair down to the floor. He'd cleared everything else away from the man, leaving him alone in the middle of the floor, strapped to the chair.
His hands and legs were zip-tied to the chair, and then covered in duct tape. He was secured to the chair with more rope and duct tape, and a rag was stuffed into his mouth, held there by another tied around his head, so that his screams couldn't be heard outside of the room.
Guerrero grabbed a cup of water, thrusting it into the man's face.
He responded immediately, moving his head from side to side as he shook the water off of him. He noticed his predicament almost immediately, struggling against his bonds.
"You're gonna wanna save your energy," Guerrero informed him, holding up a bunch of cables in his hand. Now that the man was awake, he began placing them in various places over the man's body. With unsympathetic eyes, Guerrero attached the final cable to the man's groin.
The captive's eyes widened, realizing he was to be tortured - by Guerrero, no less.
"Now, I usually don't start as small as this," he informed the bound man, toying with the switch that he held in his hand. "But you came after my son." Guerrero turned on the switch, feeling it charge up in his hands. He set it on the second dial, knowing it would get a fair-sized rise out of the man in the chair. "So, this first one is on the house. I don't want any information for this first jolt." After another moment, he switched it to three, deciding he wanted to instill more than a little pain. "This is why you don't ever come near my family," he told him, and then pressed the button down.
Guerrero watched with cold eyes as the man's entire body spasmmed, electricity running rampant through his entire body. He finally eased up after a little bit, allowing the man to breathe. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, you're going to tell me what I want to know. Starting with who ordered the hit on my family."
The man was silent, staring at Guerrero with sweat and water dripping from his tensed forehead.
Guerrero raised an eyebrow at his defiance, and pressed down on the switch again.
A ragged cry erupted from the man's throat, but all that could be heard was a muffled moan.
Guerrero shut it off again after a moment. "Let's try that again, shall we?"
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End of chapter four.
Well, what did you guys think of that one? Like it, hate it?
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Until next time ...!