AN: Alright, it took me a little longer to get this ready, but hey, that's what happens when you come back from vacation, right? Anyways, hope you all enjoy the update!

Chapter 9: Oh good, you aren't dead yet

XXX

River's POV

As soon as I see the others run for the stairs I hold out my hand for Harley's phone. She hands it over, no questions asked. I hit the speed dial that had been pre-programed in and wait for it to connect. It takes a few rings, but he picks up quickly.

"Do you have what I want?" The Joker almost purrs into the phone.

"Are you in position?" I ask him before I relinquish the phone.

"Oh don't you worry your pretty little head kitty cat… we'll be there."

After hearing this, I hand the phone over to Harley, who eagerly takes it while jumping up and down like a little kid.

"Puddin!" She says excitedly. "I missed you sooo much."

"There's my girl…are you enjoying your time with the kitty cat?"

Harley looks puzzled for a moment before she connects the dots. "You mean Tam? Oh, yes, she and I are havin' all kinds of fun. Digger's here too. He's got a crush on her."

I feel my face flush as she says this. I'm not as much surprised at what Harley said, more of who she told it too.

I try and deny her assessment. "He's a flirt. He doesn't have a crush."

This makes Harley break into hysterics. "Oh I think she's got a little crush too." She says with mirth. This makes me blush even harder.

But before I get the chance to deny it, a Reaver comes smashing into the glass elevator. I quickly pull one of my kerambits and go to work slicing at the monster.

"Gotta go Puddin', see you soon." Harley says as she puts the phone away just as another Reaver comes swinging inside the elevator car. Harley immediately starts bashing it's head into the floor with her bat.

"These things are really getting to be annoying." She says after the head is now a bloody pulp.

XXX

As Flag, Alpha team, and the rest of the squad are making their way up the stairs, almost all of them are out of breath or panting by the time they hit the 19th floor.

"I really… should… have gone… with them." Boomerang says as he pauses to catch his breath.

Unfortunately for Boomerang, Croc is right behind him as he says this, and shoves Boomerang for his idiotic comment. Boomerang stumbles and unceremoniously falls on his ass. Chato and Deadshot can't contain their chuckles as Boomerang quickly picks himself up and dusts his ass off.

"Oi! I was just sayin' is all!" Boomerang tries to say in his defense.

"Save it! We're almost there." Deadshot says as he keeps trudging up the stairs.

Flag is just about to go past the door on the twentieth floor, when the door swings open. Everyone immediately draws their weapon.

It's just Harley though, and everyone glares at her not out of breath state. "Hey, guys! Come on. Let's go." She says as she turns and walks towards where River is sitting on the ground working on her computer.

"Oh good, you aren't dead yet." River says with a smirk as Flag stalks towards her, anger clearly written on his face.

XXX

River's POV

"What the FUCK do you think you were up to, huh?" Flag nearly screams at me as he stops in front of me.

I don't have time for his temper tantrum though and quickly turn my computer towards him. I had managed to hack into the security cameras in the building, and what I show him instantly erases the anger on his face.

"I needed some time to get an idea of what we are walking into." I say as he takes me computer and studies the screen. Each miniature screenshot of the higher floors shows the same thing… Reavers.

"Shit." He says as he hands the computer back. "You figure out a way around them?"

I click a few keys on my keyboard and pull open the schematic for the building. "We may be able to go thru them… here." I say as I zoom in the cameras for the 20th floor. "This floor was being renovated, and the scaffolding outside might allow us to traverse around the Reavers without them knowing."

"So how are we gettin' in there?" Flag says as he motions to the doors behind me.

Since they were doing renovations the electronic locks had been disabled from the lobby and I wouldn't be able to pop the lock via my computer. I quickly close my computer and stuff it back into my backpack before walking over to where Digger stands. As I approach him, he smiles at me and I playfully roll my eyes as my hands start investigating his inner coat pockets.

"If you wanted to touch the goods doll, all you had to do was ask." He says with a chuckle as my hands find what I am looking for.

I fish out the old-school lock picking kit and hand it back to him. "If you wouldn't mind." I say as I motion to the doors behind me.

"Not at all luv." As he walks over to the doors and starts working on the lock.

Flag watches as he goes to work, and the others mill about, hands on their weapons… just in case.

It's then that I feel Croc kind of slide up next to me… sniffing heavily as he does. I turn and give him a questioning glance. "I smell bad?" I ask quietly.

"You smell…different." He responds.

I pick up small thoughts and comparisons from him, but it's still puzzling. "Different?"

"Most people… they smell like a type of meat. The flavors are all a little different, but the smell is similar."

"What do I smell like?" Harley ask inquisitively as she moves to stand by me.

"Rotting steak."

She and I both chuckle. "So is that why you eat people? We're just a more tasty version of steak?" Harley asks.

"I eat people to absorb their power. But you…" Croc says as he looks at me. "You smell like something else. I can't place it."

I laugh. "Just a whole lotta crazy up here," I say as I tap the side of my head. "Trust me, you don't want to try and find out."

Croc laughs. "I like you."

"The feeling is mutual big guy." I say as I knock his shoulder with my fist lightly.

"Got it!" Digger yells from behind me and everyone's attention snaps to the opening doors. Once Alpha team moves in to secure the first corridor, the others quickly follow and Harley doesn't wait for an invitation. Croc on the other hand doesn't move away as fast. He's still trying to place the smell.

"Shall we?" I say as I motion to Croc.

He gives me a small growl that I assume means he's pleased and walks towards the doors. Digger is still waiting near the doors and I try to not giggle as he bends with another flourish to usher me inside.

We are all walking as quietly and quickly as possible. This floor may be clear of Reavers, but something still feels… off.

"How come they ain't blowin' us out the air?" Jayne's voice echoes in my head and I whip around almost expecting to see him standing next to me. When did he say that? My memory seems fuzzy and I shake my head a little to clear my head.

As we get further onto the floor, both Flag and Deadshot pause and signal everyone to hold. "I don't like this, Flag." Deadshot says as he takes stock of the surroundings.

For once he and Flag are in agreement. "I don't like it either."

Now it's Mal's voice that echoes around me. "They wanna run us down. The up-close kill." Again I try and shake the voices from my head.

"Pussy." Harley taunts Deadshot as he slips his mask on.

"I will knock your ass out. I do not care that you're a girl." He says over his shoulder.

"They want us alive when they eat us." Except that time the voice wasn't in my head. I said it out-loud and everyone is looking at me.

But they don't get the chance to ask what I meant though as dozens of Reavers begin falling through the ceiling. As the first one hits the floor, it becomes a hailstorm of bullets and chaos.

I quickly pull my kerambits and begin slicing and dicing any Reaver that gets near me.

"You don't belong... dangerous. Can't be controlled... can't be trusted." Enchantress' voice invades my mind and I stumble as a Reaver charges me at full force. I am lashing out at it as best I can, but it's taking all my effort just to hold it off of biting my throat.

But the next minute the Reaver is pulled away from me and Digger's yanking me back to my feet.

"Thanks." I say as I try and catch my breath.

We don't have time to rest though as Deadshot calls out over the melee. "They're after Flag again."

My head immediately snaps to where five or six Reavers are trying to drag Flag off again. He's yelling for them to get off, and shooting at all of them, but not doing much good. I quickly run towards him with Digger hot on my heels. Between the two of us, we quickly make short work of the Reavers with our bladed weapons and yank Flag to his feet.

"Circle up. Circle around him." I scream out over the gunfire. Deadshot, Harley, Croc, Boomerang, and Katana are quick to follow my command.

Flag is trying to push out past us and not too happy when no one will let him pass. "Let me fight!" He yells.

"You die. We die." Deadshot replies calmly as we remain huddled around Flag.

"Everyone move to the scaffolding!" I say as I try and steer us towards our original checkpoint. Alpha team is clearing as many Reavers as they can, but by the time we get to outside towards the scaffolding, we are being rained down upon by gun toting Reavers outside.

"FUCK!" I scream as I duck behind a cement pillar and Alpha team returns fire. None of us can move from our cover, but I can hear Deadshot starting to get up in Chato's face. I look back and see the two getting heated.

"Where you been, homie?"

"This aint my fight!"

"You know what? You dont stand for ain't about shit!" Deadshot says as he pushes Chato's chest.

"Don't touch me, man!"

"Deadshot cut it out!" I yell, but he doesn't hear me.

"Dont touch you? What you gonna do?" Deadshot yells over the gunfire.

"Don't touch me!"

"Im touching you! Im touching you! Do something. Do something!"

Chato is becoming more and more enraged. "Dont touch me! You wanna see something?"

"Yes, I wanna see…"

"You wanna see something?" Chato screams before turning and unleashing a blood curdling scream. Seconds later there are flames shooting from his hands like flamethrowers.

"GET DOWN!" I scream as everyone around me hits the deck. The flames are licking at everyone's backs. The flames do the trick and the Reavers fall from the scaffolding on fire to the street below. Unfortunately, the entire scaffolding is also on fire, meaning my original plan is out the window.

After a minute the flames stop spewing from Chato's hands and he is panting with the last bits of anger burning away from him. I watch as he turns towards Deadshot, who now does hold up his hands in surrender slash apology.

"I was just trying to get you there. Phil Jackson. We good, right?" Deadshot says as he backs away slightly.

I roll my eyes. Men are such boobs. But before I can move to talk to Chato, Harley grabs him in a hug and plants a quick kiss on his cheek. "I knew you'd come through." She say before releasing him from her hold and bouncing over to me to offer a hand up. I take it chuckle a little as Deadshot's last thought filters in my head.

"That shit crazy."

"Tam, you got another plan since your previous one is going up in smoke?" Flag asks as he walks over to where Harley and I are standing.

I can't help but chuckle at his small joke, but I am quick to stifle my chuckles as he glares murderously at me. "Give me a minute." I say as I fish out my laptop and pull the schematics of the building up again. It takes a few minutes, but I find something.

"There is an interior stairwell that accesses the higher levels, we can blow a hole in the concrete supporting wall and access it here." I say as I point to the place on the schematic.

"Alright let's move." Flag says as he trudges ahead.

XXX

River's POV

Luckily, we don't have much more interference from other Reavers as we make our way up the alternative staircase. No one is too happy about having to climb another fifteen flights of stairs, and this time they go much slower. I am in between both groups as I feel Harley stall behind me. I turn and watch as she seems frozen in place, looking over the railing, and I hear small threads of the memories she is experiencing. I motion for the others to go ahead and I wait a minute for Harley.

As I gently place a hand on her arm she draws her pistol on me. "Woah. Relax. Just me." She holsters her pistol quickly when she realizes who it is.

"You ever been in love?" She asks rather plaintively.

I shake my head in the negative. "The upbringing I had… didn't really give me the opportunity."

She looks at me with a sad face and her thoughts are trying to pry into the underlying meaning of what I said. "But you like Digger?"

I nervously laugh. "I don't know what I feel towards Digger."

Harley smiles a little. "He's not a bad guy you know. I mean he's a bit gruff, rude, vulgar, and yeah, granted he's another textbook sociopath, but who isn't these days? He seems to like you too."

Enchantress' voice rears it's ugly head in my mind again. "He's a weakness. A liability. They all are."

I try not to think about what the voice says and concentrate on Harley. I nervously rub the back of my head. "We'll see Doc."

XXX

As Alpha team finally reaches the right floor, they quickly exit the stairwell and secure the atrium to where HVT-1 is located. It doesn't take them very long.

"Clear."

"Clear." They repeat as they check behind various pieces of furniture and desks.

"All right, secure the roof. Sweep for shooters so we can bring in our aviation assets." Flag instructs them as River and her team move in.

"Where they goin'?" Deadshot asks quickly as Alpha team moves past him.

"Going to the roof." Flag responds quickly. As Deadshot moves closer to the door to the next room though, Flag stops him. "Wait here. Please. I don't wanna give this dude a heart attack okay?" Flag says as Deadshot stops and appears to concede to the command.

"Aw, He's embarrassed of us." Harley taunts.

River moves to follow Flag, but he quickly stops her too. "Keep them in check, ok?" Flag says quietly.

River glares at Flag, but doesn't fight him on it. She moves towards the windows to look out over the city.

"Hey, Flag. This dude better cure cancer after all of this shit." Deadshot calls towards Flag's retreating form.

XXX

AN: So, everyone happy? Not as much of a cliffhanger this time right? I will try and update soon. ;)