Against All Odds

Chapter Ten

As soon as Brandt collapsed to the ground after being shot, Ethan quickly knelt down over him in attempt to help him, but then looked up toward Dmitri and when he saw the man turn and leave the bar out the back, Ethan took off running after him as he called out for Jane to take care of him. She rushed over and knelt down above Brandt as she placed her hands over the wound, followed by Luther. Zhen ran over to Declan to make sure he was all right, while Benji just stood where he was and stared down at his friend in shock at what he had just done. All of Vasiliy's men, whom they fought against, were either dead or unconscious.

Jane looked into Brandt's eyes, as he was still barely conscious, and softly said, "Just hold on, Will. You're going to be all right."

Brandt struggled as he started to ask, "Dimitri…?

"He's gone, but don't worry about him," Luther replied. "Ethan's gone after him. He'll find him and we'll make him pay."

"Luther's right," Jane agreed. "For once, just focus on yourself right now."

Zhen finally managed to arouse Declan and after helping him up from the floor, the two of them walked over to stand beside Benji as the team's technician asked fearfully, "How is he? Is the wound bad?"

Jane answered, "There's no outgoing wound through his back. The bullet's still lodged inside. It isn't bleeding much, but…"

"But it's lodged in his chest and a chest wound is bad, no matter what," Benji responded. "I got it. We need to get him to a hospital."

"We can't do that," Ethan said angrily as he suddenly took Luther's place beside Will after running back inside, while Luther ran off to move the van just outside the bar.

Benji asked, "Did you catch him?"

"No," Ethan grumbled. "Scumbag got away."

Declan asked, "Why can't we take him to a hospital? If we don't get him help, he'll die!"

Ethan quickly looked up at Declan, then back down at Brandt as he replied, "Because our names are still not cleared, but even when they will be, Dimitri has friends in high places, including with the police, and God knows where else. We can't trust anyone besides ourselves."

"I think that I can remove the bullet, but it's going to hurt like hell," Zhen answered quickly. "Our first aid kit doesn't contain any morphine or anesthesia. And his wound may not be bleeding much now, but believe me, it will."

"Do it," Brandt responded as he looked over at her. "I trust… trust you."

Ethan looked out the door as Luther pulled up in the van and then said, "We need to get out of here. It won't be long before the police arrive. Can he wait until we get back to the factory?"

Zhen replied grimly, "Possibly."

Luther came back over and took Ethan's place, as he and Jane gently lifted Brandt from the floor and helped him into the van. Ethan, Zhen, Declan, and Benji started to follow out behind them, until suddenly a phone rang, but quickly realized that it wasn't any of theirs. It was then that Ethan spotted the phone on top of the bar.

"Hunt," Ethan answered gruffly as he picked up the phone. "What do you want now, Dimitri? Didn't get enough pleasure from shooting your target?"

"Actually, I did enjoy it," the man responded smugly. "Quite a bit actually. I was aiming at you, but I have to say that I am very pleased my old partner took that bullet for you. He's braver than I remember. It couldn't have worked out any better."

Ethan asked angrily, "What the hell do you want, Dimitri? Out with it!"

Dimitri replied, "I called to let you know, as a courtesy, the bullet inside his chest; it's tipped with a poison for which only I know where to find the antidote. I had these bullets made special for times such as this. Will Brandt will die slowly and painfully, assuming that he doesn't die from infection or the loss of blood, unless you set my uncle free and hand over the boy, whom I'm assuming is still alive, to me. I'd say you've got about thirty-six hours. I'll be in touch."

"Is he serious?" Benji asked as he had heard the conversation over the com. "Well what are we going to do? We can't let him go or give up the kid."

"I know that!" Ethan said angrily as he slammed his hand down on top of the bar. "Can the technology we have send a blood sample back to IMF?"

Declan looked at Ethan and asked, "What are you thinking Ethan?"

Ethan answered, "By now the poison will be in his bloodstream. If we can get a sample to IMF, they can run a test and find out exactly where we can find the antidote. Is it possible?"

"I think so," Benji responded. "But it's going to take time and you heard that monster. We don't have much."

"Then let's get going," Ethan replied. "The police can take care of things here."

While they were in the van, Benji was able to send IMF the results from a sample of the blood he had taken from Brandt as he had told Ethan that he could. It wasn't long before the teams were back at the factory and once they arrived, they got Will inside as gently and quickly as possible, as he was growing worse the longer the bullet was still inside of him.

Zhen got to work on removing the bullet as soon as their medical supplies and bandages had been pulled out. When she ripped open Brandt's shirt, his teammates gasped when they saw the cuts and bruises forming across his chest due to the beating he had received earlier and found that at least two of his ribs were broken.

"My God!" Ethan said as he looked down at his friend. "I am so sorry that I didn't stop him sooner."

"Just don't let… let him… get away," Brandt answered. "You have to stop him… for me. Please."

Ethan squeezed his hand and looked directly into his eyes as he responded, "You have my word, Will. He will pay for this and everything that he's ever done. Just stay with us. Do you hear me?"

Brandt only nodded and closed his eyes as he prepared for what was about to happen. Benji stayed by his computer in another room and worked to find out what the police were up to, involving them. He couldn't take what was about to happen. Declan went in to check on both Vasiliy and Fyedka and then came back in to be there for his friends. Jane took out a small towel she had brought with her from her bag and put into his mouth for him to bite on during the procedure.

Ethan stayed on one side of Brandt and Luther on the other as the two worked together to hold him down, while she cut into him and dug for the bullet that was lodged pretty deep. As Zhen had said earlier, his blood began to flood out of the wound as soon as she began and Jane used several of the teammates' shirts to sop up the blood to help keep as much of it in as possible.

Sweat poured off of Brandt as he cried out from the overwhelming pain and tears fell from the corners of his eyes, while his friends kept trying to encourage him to hold on. Ethan and Luther both felt their hands were about to break as he held onto them with what little strength he had left. Toward the end of the operation, he finally fell unconscious, for which they were grateful that he could have some kind of relief, no matter how brief it would be. By the time Zhen found the bullet, pulled it out, and stitched up the wound as best as she could, it had been over three hours since she had begun.

After she finished, she used the top of her wrist to wipe the sweat from her own brow and said, "He's lost too much blood. He needs a transfusion soon, but I don't think we've got the equipment we need to do it."

"Then, we'll break into the hospital and steal what we need," Jane replied firmly.

"I'm going in with you," Benji responded as he walked into the room. "I haven't done much to help. I can monitor the security cameras and watch your back."

Ethan nodded and answered, "All right, but do it fast and be careful."

Jane stood as they both nodded and left. Ethan stood as well and then walked out to go and speak with Vasiliy, while he waited impatiently for IMF's results from the blood test. Declan stayed behind with Zhen, as the two of them wiped down Brandt's body with warm water to try to lower his fever that was slowly beginning to rise. They also worked on wrapping up the other numerous wounds and bandaged his ribs, hoping that the broken ones were not as severe as they feared they might be.

It was about forty-five minutes later when Benji and Jane returned from the hospital. Luckily, they never ran into any problems, so they were able to steal what they needed and get back to the factory quickly. When they walked in, Ethan was pacing back and forth, while Zhen was sleeping in Declan's arms on the ground beside where Brandt lay, still unconscious. He gently woke her when Benji and Jane came in and she got to work right away to start the transfusion, which Brandt desperately needed, as he was now extremely pail from the loss of blood.

As she worked, Ethan angrily said, "We won't be bringing Dimitri back home with us along with Vasiliy and the kid. I'll kill him first."