Rebel, chapter 10

A Revolution fic Bass Monroe, Charlie Matheson. Miles Matheson. Charloe. Blackout AU.

Denver, Colorado, 2027. The blackout didn't happen in 2012 because the weapon failed, killing most of the Nanotech project team although the Matheson's escaped and continued their work. When Charlie found out what they were doing and tried to warn people, everything changed and she was a fugitive, running to the only person left who might be on her side, her Uncle Miles.

AN: Hi, thanks so much for coming back again, hope you enjoy this one Cheers, Magpie

…

Bass hit the ground running, a steel hubcap from one of the display cars clutched in his left hand as a shield, his body moving in the fast, familiar, liquid, instinctive dance of zig zag, hit, deflect, check position and objective, hit, dodge to cover again, fire, bullets and fists flying and bodies falling around him.

Miles was a tall, dark blur at 3 o'clock heading towards Charlie, forging a grim, unstoppable path through the enemy in his way, black coat swinging, his own hubcap shield sparking the sunlight into silver splinters as he hurled it against one of them, knocking the man flying.

Jeremy and Nora were further away at 6 and 9, Jeremy and his prosthetic hand pummelling bodies with a force like Thor's hammer, his shield almost superfluous, the pendant swinging around his neck.

Nora fought in a fast, lithe rhythm, her kicks and punches smooth, graceful and deadly, a fierce grin curving her full lips as she worked her way steadily towards the Murphy twins, still tied to their pole but awake and looking extremely pissed. She hadn't bothered with a shield, instead at each step she tossed small balls out of her belt pouch that exploded at her opponents feet, knocking them off balance and leaving them coughing and gasping in writhing clouds of coloured, odd smelling smoke.

The big space echoed with shouts, screams and the sharp crack of gunfire, the number of enemy left standing shrinking fast. Some of the people held captive by the pretend prisoners were joining in using whatever they could find as weapons while others hustled crying children out of the way. The real prisoners watched from where they were tied up against the wall, struggling but helpless.

Bass finished off the last soldier in his path, sending one elbow slamming into the guy's ear and knocking him to the ground, finishing the job with a hard jab to the forehead with the rifle butt. Then he glanced over at Nora and Jeremy, seeing them holding their own and then checked the prisoners, assessing them for possible threat and finding none, dismissed them and turned to the bastard holding Charlie.

Her captor seemed to be in shock, his eyes wide, gaze darting round the space, shaking his head in anger and denial. His mouth opened, lips moving.

Bass couldn't hear what he said above the noise but it looked a lot like 'what the fuck'. He choked off a laugh because hey, the guy was right although he didn't realise just how fucked he was. He'd touched Charlie, hurt her.

He was dead, now or later, just didn't know it yet.

Miles had run out of enemies and was stalking towards Charlie and her captor, his face set and hard. His dark eyes found Bass, an eyebrow lifting, raised fingers moving in a signal. "Ready?"

Bass nodded, sending back a signal of his own. "Fuck yeah."

The other man noticed them, going very still, gaze skating over Miles to Bass then quickly back again, recognition and shock widening his eyes and dropping his jaw, his attention diverted from Charlie for just a moment.

It was enough.

Charlie moved, her head jerking back hard and fast into the man's face sending blood spurting from his nose, her body curving round, one knee smashing into her captor's groin as she twisted free, her fists punching into his throat before dropping down to her feet to undo the ropes round her ankles. As they dropped to the ground she reached up, tore the hood off her head and blinked in the light, her eyes finding Miles first, relief gleaming bright then sweeping to Bass in a split second clash of clear blue heat that curled his toes.

She reached out, grabbed the guy's gun from his belt turned and ran full tilt towards Bass as her former captor collapsed to the ground, his face twisted into an anguished, gasping snarl.

Miles watched her go, eyes narrowed, then flashed a glance at Bass, suspicion and a dawning understanding in the dark eyes. Then he closed in on Strausser, lips curled in a grim, angry smile as he flipped his rifle butt first, raising it above his head.

Strausser watched him come, eyes glaring, bitter and tried to crawl away but couldn't make it. Nor could he avoid the rifle butt as it crashed into his temple, toppling him like a tree.

Bass grinned as he watched Charlie run towards him, hair flying and looking like every good dream he ever had. Fuck, she was something else. He held out a hand, thumb up, grin getting wider at the look of sheer triumph on her face. He tore his eyes away and looked around. Nora, Jeremy and the Murphy's had taken care of the rest of the pretend prisoners and none of them were still standing. He took a moment to be glad that whoever had trained these guys had done a piss poor job of it. They'd fallen like amateurs.

Charlie had almost reached him when her eyes widened and she pointed over his shoulder, shouting a warning, her voice harsh. 'Bass. Behind you.'

Shit. He whirled, counting half a dozen soldiers coming in fast from one of the service corridors and head towards cover behind a row of toppled benches. Another man followed behind them, older, slower, obviously civilian, dressed in khaki like the others, all of them wearing a familiar triangle in a circle insignia. Patriots. His whole being rebelled at the name they'd given themselves. Blowing millions of people off the map wasn't any kind of patriotism he recognised.

Outside the supermarket in the big centre space, Nora had freed the twins and was checking Pete, her fingers vainly searching for a pulse at the side of his throat, when she heard the new soldiers arrive. She turned, grief morphing to alarm and backed away, keeping low, going after the twins as they darted towards the cover of the escalator banks.

Jeremy followed, tossing screens and fake palm trees from a fashion display into piles to give them more cover.

Bass watched to make sure Nora and the others made it, reaching in his pocket and pulling out a new clip, slapping it in by feel. He glanced at Charlie. 'Damn it. These fucking patriots keep coming like flies at a barbecue.' He caught a handful of her hair, gently pulled her close and dropped a hard, fierce kiss on her lips, 'and as for you, you know that I'm not going to let you out of my sight again, ever, right? And If I'm not there, Miles is gonna be…'

Charlie was flushed and panting after her escape and the kiss, her eyes glinting up at him, full of a combination of heat, relief and irritation. 'Don't be an idiot. I totally had it covered.' She slipped out of his arms and swooped down to pick up a couple of rifles from the floor, checking them over before swinging them over her shoulder, 'But thanks anyway.' She glanced over at Miles, marching over towards them, 'and as for Miles? If you two hadn't gone all gung-ho marine back there I wouldn't have had to go outside in the first place.'

Bass looked down at her, a mix of emotions roiling in his head, echoed on his face, his chest tight. 'Charlie… I..'

'I've been wondering when these guys'd show up.' Miles came up beside them, blood dripping from a cut on his cheek, his coat torn and tattered and knuckles bruised. He glanced at Charlie, eyes softening, his free arm wrapping her in a brief, hard, hug. 'Hey, you did good, kid,' He threw a hard look at Bass, then softened again, dropping a kiss on her head, 'but try to keep your stupid to a minimum next time, ok?'

'What do you mean, my stupid?' Charlie pulled away from Miles, glaring up at him.

Bass sucked in a breath and tore his gaze away from Charlie, eyes going hard as they met his brother's. 'There won't be a next time because next time we're not going to be the morons blocking the fucking door so she has to go outside to take a piss.' Blood dripped from a cut above his eye and he wiped it away with the back of a hand.

Miles stared at him, his face a mix of confusion and outrage. 'What door?'

'I'll fill you in later.' Bass pointed with the barrel of his gun towards the newcomers. 'As for the traveling show, looks like the ring master of this little circus is here too.' He tipped his head towards an older man coming up behind the newcomers, 'see the old guy? Take a look at what he's wearing round his neck.'

Miles frowned, shook his head and turned to look. 'Well, crap.' Miles stared at the pendant. 'He's got one of those damn things too. What the hell is Ben doing up in Colorado, handing 'em out like candy at halloween?'

Charlie was staring too, her eyes narrowed and the hard, cold blue of icicles. 'That's Randall Flynn. He's been behind everything, the blackout, the bombs. My parents ending the world. Everything.' She shook her head, fury and determination thinning her full lips to a hard line. 'I am so over these fucking patriots.' She took a couple of steps then paused mid stride, looking back over her shoulder, a hand holding her gun straps steady on her shoulder. 'Are you coming or what?' She didn't wait for an answer but was gone, long strands of dirty blond hair swinging as she sped away.

Bass swore. 'Damn it, why does she keep doing that?' He glared at Miles, 'it's your fault.' He started after her.

'My fault?' Miles followed him, keeping pace and slapping a fresh clip into his gun as he ran, 'how the fuck is it my fault?'

Bass was doing the same, his hands quick, efficient, practiced. 'You're her uncle aren't you? So it's your fault. She's so like you it isn't funny.'

Miles looked pleased, raising his gun and taking aim. 'Really?' Then he frowned, the gun dropping a little and suspicion glinting. 'You and Charlie seem pretty close.' He fired, taking cover behind a pillar as a bullet buzzed past and sent a hard glance at Bass. 'Too fucking close.' He glared, peered around the pillar, firing again and glancing back, eyes harsh. 'I know you. What did you do?'

Bass swung in next to him, glaring back at him. 'Nothing she didn't want me to.' He leaned out, let off a couple of shots and ducked, a return bullet just missing his ear.

'Are you fucking kidding me?' Miles swung around, anger and disbelief fighting for supremacy in his eyes. 'You and Charlie? Really?' His voice was harsh, getting louder, 'and you actually thought I'd be ok with that?' He fired again, a rain of shots, the sounds echoing back. He grunted in satisfaction, diverted for a moment. 'These morons don't have any fucking idea, do they?' He smiled like a shark, all sharp edges and narrow eyed glare, 'once we're done here, Bass, you and I are gonna have a serious chat.'

Furious now, Bass fired then swung back, his lips tight, voice harsh. 'Bring it on, Miles, what you did with Rachel doesn't exactly give you the right to take the high fucking moral ground.'

The space around them became, crowded, testosterone taking up all the room, the air thick with tension and taut, male muscle.

'I think it's ok, Miles, or doesn't what I think matter to you?' Charlie was suddenly there, looking from one of them to the other, eyes blazing. 'Now are you two going to focus or am I gonna have to do this on my own?' She didn't wait for an answer, just turned and left. She knew they were coming though. She could feel them, blue eyes and black boring into her back...

Heading for Nora, Jeremy and the others, she flew from cover to cover, dodging bullets almost feeling natural now, just another part of her day. She sucked in a breath and focused, Flynn and that other pendant had to be neutralized or they could all be in deeper shit.

Closer now with Miles and Bass coming up behind, she could see the twins tag teaming hand to hand with a couple of the soldiers while Nora and Jeremy held the others pinned down from behind the counter of a tech accessory stall. She couldn't see Flynn but as Jeremy waved at her, beckoning her over she caught a glimpse of his grey head, keeping low, trying to stay out of sight. Her skin crawled. The coward. He made her feel sick to her stomach, he'd killed so many people, destroyed so many lives.

Determined to end it, end him, she ran the last few yards and slid in, nodding at Nora then slipping in beside Jeremy, glancing up at him with apology in her eyes. 'You know what I said about needing it back?'

Jeremy was already pulling the thong over his head, the look on his face calm, reassuring. 'Don't worry, honey, soon as I saw the old man had one too, I knew you'd need it back.' He passed it over, pressing it into her hand. 'Finish the bastard.'

'Thanks,' she smiled up at him although her eyes and fingers were already busy on the pendant. 'I'm going to try something, I'll try not to lose power to your hand, but if he works out what I'm doing before I finish, I don't really know what'll happen. We could all end up floating in space or something worse maybe...' Her voice was preoccupied, distant, fingertips fluttering over the tiny controls on the edge of the pendant, her mouth twisting in a wry smile, an eyebrow quirking. 'Nearly there. My dad really is a genius, you know.' She a small adjustment then hesitated before making the final move, frowning. 'I think this'll work, but if it doesn't…' She took a deep breath and let it out. 'If it doesn't I could set us all on fire.' She looked up at him, her eyes wide. 'Jeremy. I don't know what to do. What if…'

Jeremy put a hand on her shoulder, squeezed, 'Like I said before, Chica, I believe in you.' He nodded. 'Do it.'

She swallowed, took another breath, let it out then nodded. 'Ok.' Her fingers moved.

….

Randall Flynn wasn't a soldier, but he knew how to use a gun and had used it while he watched the girl run with Miles Matheson and Sebastian Monroe together against all the odds just behind her. Had kept firing at her when Strausser and his soldiers fell. He kept firing too while fury and disappointment curdled together like hot lava in his belly, cursing his bad aim and lack of practice. When he saw the girl reach shelter though he put the gun down, reached up to cradle the pendant around his neck and started creeping back towards the exit. No choice now but to cut his losses and get back to the trucks, back to Colorado, back to Ben and Rachel Matheson who would do whatever he told them to or he'd make an example of their son.

Then he would rain ICBM's and hot fire down on Chicago and rid himself of Charlotte Matheson and her band of traitors.

He frowned. Something strange was happening. He looked down. The pendant was getting hot in his hand although it never had before. It got hotter, then hotter still, the metal searing his skin. Eyes wide with shock and disbelief he tried to let go but it was stuck to his palm, pain shooting up his arm and as he looked down and saw the ring of crackling brightness that surrounded his feet panic flooded him, terror building as he saw flames race to catch his trouser legs, felt the soles of his boots burning, his flesh melting as the concrete under his feet caught fire, stinking smoke rising, the pain excruciating, unbearable…

He screamed.

'What the fuck?' Miles stared at the hissing, writhing pillar of flame, the colour leaving his face as it collapsed into a smoking red crusted pile on the floor sending sparks and ashes spiralling up into the air.

Bass glanced at Charlie then looked back at what was left of Randall Flynn, his eyes gleaming and the corners of his lips lifting in what looked like an admiring smile. 'I gotta find out how she did that.'

There was a clatter of running feet and both men turned, guns raised, ready, then dropped almost at the same moment as Sophie, Jim and the rest of the town militia came towards them at a run.

For some time after that everything was noise and confusion as they all met up, everyone talking at once, people from the store coming out to join in, cautious but happy to see the newcomers, more than happy to offer help to move the bodies outside and gather supplies so that they could all leave.

No one wanted to stay longer than they had to.

…...

Charlie had given the pendant back to Jeremy and had one arm round Miles, the other holding tight to Bass, a smile lighting her face as she watched Jim and Sophie organise people into teams gathering supplies and loading them onto trolleys ready to take back to town. Nora was over there too, hugging some of the kids, reassuring their parents before heading over to join them. 'Nora was amazing, wasn't she?'

Miles nodded, holding a hand out to Nora as she got closer, 'Yeah.' He slid a glance at Bass over the top of Charlie's head, eyes narrow, black. 'So were you, kid. But we need to talk.'

Nora heard him as she slid under his shoulder and reached up to pull him down for a kiss. 'Don't be such a pain in the ass, cowboy.' She sent a dark eyed, laughing glance towards Charlie. 'This is the apocalypse, cut 'em some slack.'

Charlie grinned back at her and let go of Miles, turning to Bass, reaching up to put her arms around his neck, leaning into his strength, loving the way his body welcomed hers, relief that they'd all come through making her feel light headed, almost giddy. Then she sobered up, 'Flynn's gone, but what about the others, the ones he was working with?'

He pulled her in close, 'we'll need to go talk to your dad about that, but how about we get back to town first, gather some real Intel and do it properly.'

She nodded, her eyes turning wicked, 'ok, but let's find a place of our own, Miles' place is going to be a bit crowded.'

'I heard that.' Miles looked up from kissing Nora, 'you are not going to shack up with that moron, Charlie. Your dad would kill me.'

Charlie lifted an eyebrow, 'excuse me?'

Nora chuckled and pulled him back. 'Hey, you're going to be too busy making up for lost time with me to worry about anything else, Miles Matheson.'

He sighed and shook his head, resigned. 'Ok, I give up.' He wrapped his arms tighter around Nora then glanced at Bass then Charlie, 'I can't stop you doing anything, kid, but you do know that Rachel's gonna kill him if Ben doesn't, don't you?'

Bass dropped a kiss on the top of Charlie's head, his hands gentle on her shoulders, 'It'll be worth it.'

Charlie reached up and pressed her lips to his, his scruff tickling her chin and upper lip, his kiss sweet and deep, tasting of smoke, danger and the promise of pleasure to come. She laughed against his mouth. 'Don't worry, I won't let them touch you.'

…

Will Strausser watched from his hiding place in a cleaner's cupboard as the girl, Monroe, Matheson and the others left, the real prisoners set free and grateful to be left to fend for themselves. His hands were tense, itching to kill someone, anyone, but he forced them to stay still at his sides. He'd wait for the right time. Like when he had her again. He smiled, his eyes hot, avid. She was a peach and he could eat peaches all the fucking day long.

Once he was sure they'd gone, he strolled over to where Flynn was a pile of charred ash and bones. Using a stick he moved the still cooling fragments around, searching. It was almost too much to hope that it had survived the flames, but he was a hopeful man.

His stick hit something harder than bone and the sullen gleam of metal glinted from under the ashes. He bent to pick the pendant up, his thumb rubbing the oily ash off to reveal pristine silver, not really surprised that it seemed whole, undamaged. It was almost as though it was meant to come to him. Good.

He'd watched Flynn enough to know the basics of how to use it but needed time to work the kinks out. Flynn had been a fool and a fanatic and now he was dead. Will Strausser didn't intend to make the same mistakes.

Plans already forming in his mind, Strausser started walking back to base and the trucks.

….

AN: Thanks so much again for reading and sticking with this story – and for some encouraging and very welcome comments. I've kind of left an opening for more if the muse moves me but for the moment, this is it.

Hope to catch up with you at another story, wishing you all the very best. Xx Magpie