Disclaimer: I'm too much of a nobody to own anything.

No Way Out

I was at a complete and utter loss about what to do. I had never been in a situation like this before. I hadn't the foggiest idea where to even begin. Logan wanted to be a doctor when he grew up. Surely he knew what to do.

"Logan, what should I do?" I asked, an edge of panic in my voice, despite my best attempts to keep it out of my voice.

"Nothing. I don't want you to get hurt anymore," Logan answered, his voice already starting to sound weaker than normal.

"That's not what I meant. I meant medically. What should I do? What should I look out for?"

"Oh. Just…keep me awake. Keep talking to me. Otherwise, I risk going into shock. And if I happen to fall asleep, I might not wake up ever again."

I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting that. If the floodgates behind my eyes weren't open yet, then they were now. There was an unbearable tightness in my chest that could only mean one thing: my heart was breaking. Logan was dying! The worst part was there was nothing I could do about it! I couldn't imagine life without Logan. I didn't want to!

This was my fault! All of this was my fault! If only I had forked over my cell phone in the beginning, then Logan and I wouldn't have bullets embedded in our bodies. Logan wouldn't be dying! He lied to the bank robbers to protect me! What was I thinking? As if the bank robbers would ever just be like, 'Okay, we're going to turn our backs. When we do, go ahead and phone for help with the cell phone you aren't supposed to have.'

"He needs to go see a doctor!" I shrieked, tears stinging my eyes.

Tony laughed heartily as he walked over to me. He had a very smug expression on his face.

"Tough luck! There's tons of things that I need but don't have. That's just the way the cookie crumbles," Tony commented.

"So you're just going to let him die?" I shouted.

"What do I care if he does or doesn't?"

"You monster!"

"Why thank you!"

My nostrils flared, and my temper was bubbling just beneath the surface. I clenched my hands into fists. I didn't care if he was a guy and I was a girl! Logan needed to go to the hospital. I wasn't just going to sit back and do nothing! Tony hadn't ever felt the wrath of Camille before, but if he kept it up, he soon would. That's a promise!

"Camille, calm down. It's okay," Logan said softly.

"No, it's not!" I snapped back.

I instantly regretted my words when I felt him squirm out of my embrace, and drop his arm from around me.

"Aw! Is someone getting feisty? What are you going to do about it?" Tony asked, poking me hard in the chest.

"Camille, don't!" Logan pleaded.

I got to my feet in record time, pulled my hand back, and slapped him hard across his masked face. The mask protected his face from some of the impact, but only moderately. I made sure he still felt the sting of my slap. I don't think I've ever slapped anyone so hard before in my life.

Tony narrowed his eyes at me. If he were a cartoon character, there would probably be steam coming out of his ears right now.

"Since that was the first time, I'll give you a free pass. Do that again, and I'll blow your brains out. Or…better yet, I'll blow your boyfriend's brains out. Do I make myself clear?" he asked sinisterly.

After hearing him say that, I just wanted to slap him all the more for threatening Logan's life. However, I had to keep my emotions in check. I couldn't risk it. It was too dangerous. I didn't even know Tony, but if I learned anything about him from watching him during the bank heist, it was that he meant business, and that he wasn't a person you should cross.

"I have an even better idea! Joey, get over here," Tony said, beckoning his other accomplice over to him with his hand.

Joey left the door on the other side of the building unguarded as he went over to the center of the bank where we were. I realized for the first time that I didn't really know anything about Joey. He had been pretty quiet throughout all of this. I don't think he's said or done anything yet. It's all been Tony and Johnny. That left me hopeful. Maybe there was a kink in their armor. Maybe that kink was Joey. If I could just get him to flip on them…

"What do you want, boss?" Joey questioned, his voice dripping with venom.

"Don't get snarky with me!" Tony retorted.

Joey shifted uncomfortably where he stood. Something was definitely up. He wasn't tight with Tony like Johnny was. I didn't know how to describe the dynamic between Tony and Joey but that's because I felt like they had no dynamic.

"How may I help you?" Joey asked, being extra polite.

"I want you to put Logan here out of his misery," Tony replied.

"Why? He's already bleeding to death!"

"Don't question me! Know your role! Or do I have to remind you of our little arrangement?"

Okay, now I was curious. What arrangement could Tony and Joey possibly have? Was Tony somehow blackmailing Joey or something? I glanced around and saw that everyone in the bank were watching the two arguing bank robbers with interest.

"When I ask you a question, you answer me! Or have you forgotten that too?" Tony remarked, spitting a nice, big green wad of spit in Joey's face.

Joey didn't so much as flinch. He didn't even bother to wipe the spit from his masked face.

"Oh, but our lovely audience doesn't know of our little arrangement, now do they? Well, perhaps we should enlighten them," Tony said, smirking.

"Tell them if you want. See if I care," Joey responded indifferently.

"Joey here has an eleven year old daughter who has a terminal illness. Hospital bills can get quite expensive nowadays. Isn't that right, Joey? I offered him a solution; help me rob a bank, and he'll get a cut of the loot more than substantial enough to cover any hospital bills. Refuse, and Joey's daughter and lovely wife will die a rather…premature…death."

Several people gasped in horror. That was terrible! That would certainly explain why Joey didn't seem like he knew what he was doing. That would account for why he and Tony didn't seem to be able to stand one another.

"Now then Joseph, what will it be? Kill Logan, or I pay your wife and daughter a little visit?" Tony asked.

"Leave them out of this!" Joey roared.

"Tick, tock. Tick, tock."

"Joey, no! There's another way!" Logan exclaimed with such fervor that it startled me.

"What are you talking about, kid?" Joey asked.

"Have you ever heard of Arthur Griffin?"

"No."

"Well, he's a super rich C.E.O. I know him. He owns the record company I am signed to. I could get him to give you all the money you would need to cover your daughter's hospital bills. He can make sure she has the best doctors and specialists money can buy. But the only way I can do that is if you spare my life."

Looking into Joey's eyes, I could see that he was seriously considering Logan's counteroffer. It was painfully obvious that Joey didn't want to kill anyone. This was a fare more peaceful solution.

"There's one small problem; disobey me, and I kill your daughter and wife. Then, there will be no one for you to save, Joseph!" Tony interjected.

"Don't listen to him, Joey! The only way he can get to your daughter and wife is for him to leave this bank, but he can't do that, now can he? The police have this place surrounded. He steps one foot out this door, and they'll shoot him," Logan stated.

"Do you ever shut up?"

Tony pointed his gun at Logan's head. In a shocking turn of events, Joey raised his gun and aimed it at Tony's head. Now it was definitely clear that Joey had no sense of loyalty to Tony.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" Tony commented.

"Drop your weapon, Tony!" Joey demanded.

"You're making a mistake."

"I said drop your weapon!"

Tony innocently held his hands up, and lowered both of his arms. Joey lowered his weapon as well. In a crucial mistake though, he let his guard down for a fleeting moment. Unfortunately, that was all the time Tony needed. He quickly raised his gun, changing his target. One gunshot later, and Joey was lying on the floor right next to me in an ever-growing pool of blood. Screams of terror filled the room once more.

I felt an overwhelming sense of hopelessness now. Joey had been our only chance. He was supposed to be our savior. Now, he had a bullet in his chest. Now he was dead. He was no good to us now. How were we ever going to get out of here now?

Everyone in the bank sat in silence. All of us were wrapped in our own thoughts. I don't know how much time passed like that. The silence was periodically broken up by the sound of someone sobbing.

I still couldn't wrap my head around what just transpired. Tony killed one of his own. Granted, Joey was never really one of his own, but still. What was to become of Joey's deathly ill daughter and wife now?

Without a doubt, Tony was ruthless. He was completely and utterly ruthless. There was no low he wouldn't sink to in order to get what he wants. He didn't care the slightest who he walked over, who he hurt in the process.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Logan's eyelids start to droop. I scooted over to him, and caught him before his body fell to the floor. I shook him gently. Again, I panicked. Lately, it seemed like all I knew how to do.

"Hey, Logan? You have to stay awake. Remember? Logan? Logan!" I exclaimed desperately.

To Be Continued…

A/N: I feel like a huge jerk face. I feel like it's unfair of me to ask for or expect reviews when I don't review other people's work nearly as much as I SHOULD. That point was really driven home when it came to the 2011 BTR fic awards. Looking at the nominees, I'd be like, "Who's that?" or, "I know who that is, but I've never read that story." BTR fic awards aside, I feel like there are authors who I am a fan of because I've read some of their work, but there are still some of their stories that I have yet to read and/or review. Other people are probably really great writers who write really great stories, but I don't even know because I've never even read or reviewed anything of theirs.

It's not that I'm not appreciative of the reviews I DO get. I'd like to think that I have a pretty good rapport with my reviewers. I try to reply to the reviews I get that aren't anonymous via review replies. I don't know. I kind of think that the reason some people choose to leave anonymous reviews is BECAUSE of my review replies. I can't help but feel like I annoy the HECK out of people with them, and so they're like, "There's NO WAY I am logging in when I review his stuff!"

Honestly, I don't even ASK people to review my stuff anymore. I used to, but I haven't done that in a really long time. If they do, that's great; I really sincerely appreciate it. If they don't, that's okay too. I mean 122 people have me listed as one of their favorite authors. Frankly, that's 122 more people than I deserve. I don't DESERVE to be on ANYBODY'S favorite author list.

The point of this author's note is to let you all know that I am seriously considering taking a hiatus from writing for an undetermined length of time. Like I said, I shouldn't be getting ANY reviews when I review so LITTLE. Who knows? Maybe REVIEWING is all I was meant to do here.

I know NONE of you know me personally, so I feel obligated to tell you a little more about myself in the hopes that you will understand where I'm coming from better. I'm really sensitive and emotional. Often, I get comments like, "You're overreacting!" Or, "You're taking this WAY too personally!" I'm also really analytical. Like I seriously dwell on stuff much more than I should. I'll think things like, "Why did he say that?" Or, "What did he mean by that?" Or, "This could have meant X, Y, or Z." Something else that I've learned about myself lately is that I don't handle feeling overwhelmed particularly well. Also, it's not an action/reaction kind of thing with me. That's not how I deal with my emotions at all. I tend to bottle things up rather than deal with them then and there. I rather bottle them up and push them to the back of my mind than even CONTEMPLATE getting into a confrontation over it. I use the bottle metaphor to describe how I deal with my emotions. When I have an emotional breakdown (which is VERY rare) like crying or yelling (that is the rarest; I am typically a pretty mellow guy), it's not just ONE thing that sets me off. Rather, it's an accumulation of things that have built up over time. So, while it may SEEM that one little thing set me off, it really wasn't that one little thing's fault. Like that one little thing MAY have caused the bottle to overflow, but correlation does not imply causation. That one little thing on its own wasn't nearly enough to fill up my metaphorical bottle, you know?

I'm just a complete and utter mess right now. NONE of you should want all of THIS as one of your favorite authors. The fact that I was nominated or won any BTR fic awards at all is a complete joke! There were FAR MORE deserving authors than me! I'm not even that good of an author! My body of work seriously pales in comparison to A LOT of other people here, and those are just the authors who I HAVE read some of their work. That's not even taking into consideration the MANY authors whose work I haven't even read yet. I mean I'm the manager of the Logan X Camille C2 Community. The freaking MANAGER! I can't even tell you the last time I've read another author's Logan/Camille story! I'm sorry if I'm such a disappointment to you now that you know that I might give up writing. I'm just…SO sorry…