Hey guys, so this is it. I apologise about the length but Epic was requested and I brought it big time! This is a Frankenstein's monster. Think Battle of Five Armies on crack merged with 300, attack the block, shaun of the dead and Olympus has fallen.
Monday 24th November- 9:36am
It was raining heavily and the car park was bleak. It was always bleak. Bleak and dull.
His domain.
Sitting on the throne he could look down on his subjects and pity them. Tiny pathetic creatures, they knew nothing of the world or anything in it. They got up, argued with their spouse, went to work and lived another day breathing in the stale oxygen of life.
"Ants," he whispered, his breath fogging up the glass slightly.
They would never be anything but lowly ants to him, mindless working creatures who couldn't see the complexity of life and the diverseness of the human condition.
It sickened him but the poor mighty creature that he was almost envied the Worker Ants in their ability to be ignorant.
"How small they are," he sighed heavily turning away from the window and shrugging off his jacket, hanging it on the back of his chair.
The dark world of crime and death had engulfed him as a boy. Animals feared him, his mother hid the kitchen knives and his father drank scotch by the bottle. Later Father had been blamed for the house fire which killed his parents. Social workers said mental illness ran in the family after his elderly Aunt and guardian had used drain cleaner as mouth wash, though the lack of suicide note was a puzzling problem for the police at the time.
The freedom that money and coming of age gave him was short lived. Drugs and alcohol were fine for the average human but he was so much more.
In a dim corner of a bar just outside of Moscow on a bitterly cold night in January, he came upon his purpose in life. Within the bar a name had been whispered in the shadows, a spider at the centre of a vast web pulled strings which threw him into his perfect career choice, showing him his divine calling.
The door shut behind him with a creak and a thud. His shiny shoes reflected the florescent light and the noise of his steady footsteps carried down the hallway.
It was an odd thing. He had risen through the ranks of the criminal underworld, fighting and back stabbing, until one day he found that same spider standing in front of him with his gun against the man's temple.
"Look at you. I knew you'd be big but then so many others are. You've got this far, why not finish the job?" The Spider had smirked gleefully, pushing his forehead against the barrel of the gun.
"You want me to kill you?"
"It is the natural order of things. It is the way things are done. We make our own demons Boy, and all demons catch up with us one day. It sets us apart from the angels. They may hunt us but it's our own demons that kill us in the end,"
"Then I shall be both." He squeezed the trigger and in a spray of scarlet mist, which caught on the wind and blew over the rooftops of Canary Wharf, he watched as his path was laid bare before him.
The elevator dinged and he stepped into the metal cube and tapping his foot lightly to the song that was playing through the speaker system. Readjusting his tie in the mirror, he stepped out and walked towards the custody desk.
"Morning sir," the custody officer had said politely, jumping to his feet and nervously trying to flatten his hair.
The man paused for a few seconds, pulling back the sleeve of his suit to check his watch. Satisfied he turned to the officer behind the desk.
"Good morning," he smiled, retracting his 44 Magnum from within his jacket and blowing the man's head off at the neck. The officer's body slammed back into his desk chair and wheeled itself back into the office out of sight, the man's headless body slumping like it had been a few minutes ago.
Sighing contently, he replaced the gun.
Suddenly deafening droning sirens filled the air and red flashing lights made his eyes sting. Deep within the building he heard shouts and the desperate scramble of feet.
"Sir, what's going on?!" Someone asked him as the entire of Scotland Yard started spilling from their offices and filing down the staircases.
"Don't ask stupid questions! Go to the rendezvous and await further instruction!" he bellowed, ushering people through the main doors and then retreating quickly into the shadows as the lights went out.
The cells and interview rooms in the bowels of Scotland Yard were a maze at the best of times, for anyone else it would have been impossible to navigate in the dark. But, then he wasn't just anyone.
Expert and precise, he moved through the abyss of shadows, savouring the noises of anguish from above and the cold shiver of adrenaline through his veins.
The sound of breathing halted his steps.
"Has all gone to plan?" He asked forcefully, his spine tightening as the albino moved to stand behind him, his hot breath brushing unpleasantly against his neck.
"All electronics systems are down and so is the backup generator," the albino reported.
"And what of communications?"
The albino faltered and he heard a faint shuffle of feet, "The Huggins' haven't cut the communication tower or the underground telecom wires."
He steepled his fingers, tucking them under his chin, he smiled and marched down the corridor with the albino following at his heels.
Most refreshing, Baggins had finally shown he was worth killing.
"Get it open. Then go see to the telecom tower yourself. I want all signals blocked," He ordered flatly when he halted at Interview Room One.
Throwing his shoulder at the door, the albino landed in a sprawled heap on the floor as the door burst off its hinges in a cloud of dust. He stepped over the albino's body with indifference and eyed the Go Lem balefully.
The pale man's clammy hands were clamped round the DCI's nose and mouth with feet pressing down on the detective's chest. His smile was broad and gleeful, madness flashed in his eyes as he whispered sweet nothings under his breath.
"Go Lem! That is enough; we have had a change of plan. The Huggins are down," He barked loudly, making the little man jump, making a low hissing noise in the back of his throat.
"Boss said enough, you mad bastard!" The albino growled lumbering to his feet and taking a surly step towards the Go Lem.
Save me from the idiocy of henchmen, the man thought as the albino and Go Lem began to squabble over DCI Oak's unconscious body.
With more hissing Go Lem slunk away to wait impatiently at his boss's side, the albino roughly hefted the DCI onto his shoulder and awaited instruction.
"If Baggins as' killed the Huggins boys, how are you gonna get the code back?" Go Lem asked quizzically, peering up at his boss.
"The spider shall lure the fly," he breathed shallowly, excitement of the chase catching in his chest as he pulled a pen and paper from the inside pocket of his blazer and began to pen a note.
Setting it on the table top, he made for the door and gestured for his henchmen to follow behind. The group disappeared into darkness but his words echoed around the now empty Interview Room One.
"Baggins is our fly and without him it wouldn't be a chiamata alla ribalta finale,"
*0*
Bilbo's breathing faltered and his stomach turned to lead in his gut. Running ahead along the corridor to Interview Room One Bilbo stared blankly at the empty cell and using the light of his watch, reread the note that lay on the table. There was a small puddle of blood which dripped off the corner of the table and onto the floor.
Mr Baggins,
I cordially invite you to a gathering in basement C. Come alone and bring the USB. In return the DCI will remain unharmed.
Decline my request and I will hang the Detective from the roof by his entrails.
Yours Sincerely,
RD
Bilbo felt numb and that was the honest truth. He was cold…yes, cold would be the only way to describe the vast emptiness that swept through his muscles. It was as if he had been plunged into freezing water, the air had been punched out of his lungs and his throat seemed to contract around his heart.
Numb.
Cold.
Alone again.
No comfort to think of, no warmth or kindness to hide behind. It was Bilbo who faced his nightmares alone. And alone he walked. Back down the corridor, he knocked on Interview Room Two and quickly he ducked inside.
"Did you find him?" Dwalin asked harshly. His lined face was a dusty grey by the light of his phones LED screen.
No signal. The internal phones lines were down and the mobile phone signals were being blocked. Basically they were up a creak without a fucking paddle.
Bilbo shook his head and tugged his fleece over the top of his head. Dragging his fingers through his messy curls, Bilbo moved to Dwalin's side, bunching the jumper up, pressed it against Dwalin's ruined shoulder.
The Detective was in a bad way. Bilbo had seen enough emergency ambulance shows to know that he needed immediate medical care or he risked bleeding out and infection. But then Dwalin was the biggest and most stubborn person Bilbo had ever met. Even if he was in pain, he grinned and bared it.
Watching Dwalin grimly take his administrations Bilbo made his mind up. He took a step back from where Dwalin rested on the floor, his bloody shoulder smearing on the wall behind him.
Bilbo took two steps back. "The room was empty and I saw no one in the halls," Bilbo stated his voice deadpan. Dwalin swore but Bilbo ploughed onwards, taking yet another step to the door. "I am going to help. If you stay here when I can I'll send someone to find you."
"Baggins what the hell game do you think you are playing. You will stay where I tell you for fuck sake!" Dwalin growled fiercely, trying to keep his voice low in case he drew attention towards their position.
"I can set this right Dwalin. All of it," Bilbo pleaded, his voice trembling slightly as his hand wrapped around the door knob. Dwalin panted with pain as he sat himself up and glared dangerously.
"Don't be a fool Baggins. You are a civilian. Whatever fucking half arsed plan you've dreamed up, it won't work. Don't be an idiot."
Bilbo watched his feet for a few seconds before sighing deeply and pulling open the door to the dark hallway beyond. "I haven't been a civilian for a long time, Dwalin. Ever since I met Bert and began to fear for my life, I am not the accountant I once was. I understand my part in this. And I am the only one who can stop this madness. "
The thud of the door was deafening in Bilbo's ear as he marched into darkness.
*0*
His head pounded. No, it hammered. Pain drilled into his temple and his throat was nails being dragged against sandpaper.
The floor tilted dangerously and his head span. Thorin's mouth tasted like stale vomit. Sighing painfully he tried to wipe away dried blood from his chin but with uncomfortable twist of his muscles he discovered his arms were tied. In fact his chest, arms and ankles were laced with thick green rope and wrapped around a strong wooden chair.
"Fuck," Thorin moaned as his head lolled forward and pain exploded behind his eyes.
He had concussion and his brain was probably bleeding. Fuck.
"Your Detective is awake boss," a deep voice to his right said. Male, baritone so most like a large man with native Russian judging by accent.
Thorin's head was snapped back by a vicous yank of his hair. He let out an involuntary hiss of pain as he blinked at the harsh light that was shoved into his face. Thorin could hear shallow breathing but the harsh light made his eyes water making it impossible to see anything.
"Oh my old friend, how the mighty have fallen," a snide voice laughed in his ear. Thorin tried to turn but his head was held in place.
Imprisonment and torture were common place in the army and as such Thorin had received survival training. But the reality was so much more terrifying than Thorin had ever truly imagined. Dying he could deal with, it was his job, whether it was soldier or Detective, but having to lie with the knowledge that information forced from your mind was horrifying. Not because of the pain that would no doubt be inflicted but, if you did survive, living with the knowledge that your information would be used against your comrades.
Thorin sucked in a steadying and deep breath to try and clear his head. He swallowed experimentally to clear his throat but found he was too parched to make saliva.
"It seems you have me at more disadvantages than one. I do not believe we have met before," Thorin rasped, his voice hoarse but his tone firm and taunting.
Suddenly there was a mechanical whirl and buzzing in front of him. Thorin flinched and shielded his eyes against the florid LED screens which sprung to life in front of him. Dozens of computer screens piled high on top of each other, booted into life, their monitors awash with endless streams of numbers.
Standing in front of the computer screens were two figures. One was large, taller and broader than Dwalin; the albino man stared hungrily at Thorin and curled his upper lip. His thick pale arms were like coiled knots of rope and his shoulders bunched around the nape of his neck. Thorin noted two knives strapped to the albino's belt, one a thick hunting knife and the other an old fashioned cut throat razor. With a sickening wash of clarity, Thorin remembered the cross cut into Bilbo's neck.
Before Thorin could study him the other man stepped forward, he stopped in front of him and watched him carefully through dead eyes. He was tall and thin, his sharp cheek bones pressed against his skin and the overhead light caught in his grey curls, casting long shadows down his hollow cheeks.
"You," Thorin heard himself breathe as his brain refused to make sense of what he was seeing.
"DCI Oak, I do hope this won't be mentioned in your paper work,"
"Chief Inspector Scale,"
*0*
His lungs burned and Bilbo's legs ached but he finally- mercifully, made it up the final staircase to Thorin's office. It was empty, the lights were out but morning light streamed through the emergency shutters that covered the windows.
Gulping down a cup of water from the water cooler by the door, Bilbo dragged himself towards Thorin's office. It was just as he had left it not an hour ago. Quickly dragging open the draws and digging through Thorin's desk, Bilbo found what he was looking for. His fingers closed around the USB pumpkin, and grinning determinedly, Bilbo marched to the door.
But on the threshold his foot hovered in mid-air.
"Don't be an idiot." Dwalin's voice echoed in the back of his mind making Bilbo pause. Slowly he turned and scanned his eyes about the small office.
If he was going to do this, they were going to play by his terms.
*0*
He was losing too much blood too quickly.
Arterial blood congealed and soaked through Bilbo's jumper that Dwalin had wrapped around his shoulder. At first it had staunched the bleeding but as he dragged himself down seemingly endless corridors a thick wet trail of blood was left in his wake.
"I am too old for this shit," Dwalin ground out through his teeth as he fell on his knees at the entrance to the forensics lab. Sat at the very bottom of the building the forensics lab was the only place that had the medical supplies he needed.
Smearing blood over the glass door and handle Dwalin heaved himself forward once more, and using the tables covered with microscopes and petri dishes to hold himself, Dwalin stumbled over to a selection of cupboards.
He needed gauze and bandages and morphine and antiseptic and …Fuck.
His knees buckled and he fell to the floor. Dwalin tried to hold the edge of the counter but his hands had no strength in them. Too late, he was too late for Bilbo, too late for Thorin and too late for himself. Fuck.
His eyesight swam and Dwalin felt sleepy. Taking in a deep resigned sigh Dwalin rested his head back against the cupboard.
"What a fucking stupid way to die," Dwalin grumbled softly, he let his brain begin to drift and closed his eyes.
"Whose there? I warn you I am armed," a tentative voice called from far across the lab. Dwalin's eyes snapped open and for half a second he thought it was an angel, but no, it was just Bofur.
"Don't be an arse! You couldn't hurt a butterfly with a net. Now Bofur, do you want to stand fannying about or are you going to help me!?" Dwalin snapped harshly, pain clouding relief in his voice.
On the edge of his fuzzy vision three figures appeared in a scurry of frantic footsteps and someone let out a loud curse. "Jesus, what the hell happened to you?" Fili asked, quickly grabbing a handful of gauze that Bofur pushed into his arms.
"Quiet lad, you don't know whose out there," Dwalin replied grimly, clenching his teeth as Fili, Kili and Bofur helped him on to a table that had been hastily cleared.
"So, it's not a drill. Scotland Yard is under attack. We are under lock down," Kili said darkly, shaking his head and crossing his arms over his chest.
"I knew it! I just freaking knew it! Didn't I tell ya. The forensics staff are always notified when there's a drill so that none of our experiments spoil. If it had been a fire or something the temperature gauges would have caught it but no, not a word," Bofur chirped happily as he began to peel away Bilbo's sodden fleece and cut apart Dwalin's shirt.
"Yes, we know, we heard you the first dozen times. Hell, maybe we were unlucky getting stuck down here with you," Kili smirked arching his eyebrow at Bofur.
"So then what the hell is going on?" Fili asked sternly. He was stood a few feet away; he stared into the blank screen of the CCTV camera footage on Bofur's computer. Tension radiated from the young officer and his spine was held tight.
"That Huggins guy I was interviewing got a gun through reception but that is only a small part of the bigger picture-,"
"Keep still!" Bofur snapped.
"Ah! Are you qualified to do that?!" Dwalin snapped as Bofur began to probe at him with tweezers.
"I may not be Doris when I comes to a nice gooey corpse but I am certainly better qualified than Pinky and Perky over there," Bofur smirked pointing at Kili and Fili with bloody tweezers before swapping them for a pair of forceps.
"Be that as it may we cannot just sit here all day while Scotland Yard – home of the British police force – gets ripped to bloody shreds!" Fili shouted as he began to pace up and down the lab.
Suddenly Kili made a squeaking noise and his head snapped towards Bofur.
"How are those computers still operating if the powers been cut?" Kili asked excitedly, striding forward and grabbing Bofur by either side of his beanie hat.
"Our machines are part of a surge protection system. They have an energy delay which stores the electricity from lightning strikes to the communications tower on the roof," Bofur said slowly, a broad smile curling on his lips as understanding dawned.
"Then I don't have a lot of time!" Kili exclaimed as he actually leaped across the lab, slid in front of a computer on a wheelie chair and began to type so fast that his fingers were a blur.
*0*
The corridor was black. Lined with long pipes and thick coils of wire the service tunnel was light with a thin line of fluorescent tape which ran along the concrete floor. It did little to penetrate the consuming darkness living Bilbo to tentatively feel his way along the cold wall. Somewhere in the far distance Bilbo could hear water dripping from a pipe and the tall tale sound of rats scuttling past his feet.
Idiot Baggins! You should never have got yourself into this mess. It was none of your business. You are only an accountant for fuck sake!
The mantra played round and round in Bilbo's head yet still he made his feet move. And to tell you the truth, he didn't know why. Was it an innate want to set things right? Or finish something that he had started? Or maybe Bilbo couldn't, in good conscience, leave a friend only in the darkness.
Using the LED screen of his phone Bilbo searched for the door leading down to basement C. Two iron doors blocked his path. One was padlocked and was labelled "Boiler Room". The other, the door in the right, stood ajar and in big bold red letters said "Basement C."
Taking a deep breath Bilbo stepped forward. Stuffing his phone back into his pocket, he squeezed himself through the gap and felt around. The darkness was worse in here. Cold air made Bilbo's chest hitch and his nose sting. Dust and copper hung on the air like the utter and complete silence that surrounded him.
Hands reaching out he found the top of a metal bannister, carefully edging the toe of his boot forward Bilbo took the first step down the long seemingly endless flight of stairs. He counted to 46 then halted. There was a noise up ahead and a bright flicker of light.
Bilbo held his breath to listen.
"How dare you! You are supposed to protect the innocent, you took an oath to uphold the law and yet you turn into …this!" Bilbo would have recognised Thorin's voice anywhere; it was deadly in its anger making a cold shiver run up Bilbo's spine.
There was a humourless laugh from a voice Bilbo did not recognise. "Beautiful isn't it. So simple and so obvious, and yet even the greatest minds in Britain couldn't see. They didn't want to see the puppeteer moving his figures off stage. "
"Why?! Did you enjoy being a traitor to your country, or was it the money and power that came from killing and destroying people's lives!" Thorin growled through his teeth.
"Ah Thorin, you Oaks were a naïve family. Your failing is that you never think of the bigger picture," The man said dismissively.
"Tell me!"
The was a pause. Bilbo carefully stepped forward again, his ears straining to hear.
"Because I enjoyed watching you dance," barely a whisper, Bilbo would have missed it if had not been for his keen hearing.
"So, Thror was just another puppet for you to play with? He was a good man and an even better police officer-,"
"They are all good men! They think they are untouchable, too honest for brides and back handers but let a small temptation fall in front of them and what them jig. Make no illusions of grandeur Thorin Oak, your grandfather was as much a criminal as your common car thief! You are so like him, he got under my skin just as he did. I thought a small car bomb would do the trick but it turns out you are quite hard to kill."
"You lying bastard Scale!" Thorin let out a cry of rage, wood creaked as he strained against the chair.
"I have to hand it to him; Thror did try harder than most to get out of our little arrangement-,"
"And that's we you killed him. Because he wouldn't take dirty money anymore," Thorin spat with revulsion.
"I killed him because it was fun! And because it sent a message to rest of the police force. Red Dragon cannot and will never be brought down!" Scale exclaimed, throwing his head to the ceiling so that his voice echoed through the entire of basement C.
"No it won't. Trying to take down Scotland Yard was a mistake. It's not just a building but an idea. This building is more British than the Queen for fuck sake! Do you really think people will stand by and let you do as you damn well please," Thorin said stonily, cold hate seething through his words.
"They will do what I tell them to do!" Scale let out an insane scream, his manner flashing from cold calm and collected to hysterical in a matter of seconds.
"And I'm sure the population of London would just love that," Thorin smirked sarcastically. The man let out a shallow laugh and Bilbo heard a shuffle of feet and a scrap of wood against concrete. About ten meters away from the staircase a large white light sprang into life, making Bilbo's eyes water and sting. The light was an Apple Tablet which had been connected to other old fashioned monitors, slowly they synced together and with a whirl of mechanics one image was plastered over their shared screens.
The harsh computer light illuminated the basement in a sterilised whiteness. Long shadows sprang from the corners, Bilbo quickly ducked into on and kept himself hidden as the albino and the thin man paced around Thorin.
Bilbo was relieved to see the DCI was tied and bound, but save the nasty looking cut on his forehead, he was well.
"London! Too small, Thorin, you must think bigger," Scale breathed tiredly, his voice growing bored and weary.
Suddenly, from deep within the dark corner of the basement came a voice that Bilbo made tremble with fear.
"Boss, we' has got a visitor. My precious is come to see me, yess' yes he has," Go Lem whispered out of the darkness making Bilbo gasp.
"Take him," Scale said dismissively over his shoulder as he turned and began to type on one of the computers.
"Bilbo, get out of here! Now, that's an order," Thorin shouted desperately once again pulling against his ropes. Without a thought the albino marched forward and slammed his fist into Thorin's face, snapping the detective's head back painfully.
That made all of Bilbo's temper snap.
"That is enough!" he snarled, stepping out from the shadows and facing Thorin and the two men. "You wanted the USB?" from within his pocket Bilbo pulled out the new improved pumpkin USB.
Dwalin was right; he had been an idiot to think he could fix this. But he would certainly do a better job if he had leverage. Copper wires coiled around the USB that was fixed to the base of a torch battery.
"I may be just an accountant but I'm not an idiot! One wrong move and I'll send an electric pulse large enough to fry a cat through the USB and destroy all of your data," Bilbo declared brandishing the device over his head so that they could see.
"Hah! Very very clever, I do like it when people are clever. Baggins, you are a pleasant surprise," Scale laughed, clapping his hands together in a mocking applause.
"So glad that I amuse you," Bilbo snapped. Something flashed out of the corner of his eye, and moving quicker than possible, he wrenched the Taser free from the back of his trousers and fired. Go Lem screamed with agony and fell, writhing on the concrete floor as fifty thousand volts rampaged through his body.
Bilbo enjoyed the pale man's screams and watched as those clammy hands clenched and unclenched in pain.
"Yes! Oh yes! Excellent, Baggins you are special. Its men like you who will have a place by my side when the time comes," manic and wild, Scale's body shivered in excitement.
The man is mad! Bilbo thought as he kicked Go Lem in the head for good measure and turned to carefully watch Scale.
"He wants no part in your crime syndicate!" Thorin snapped spitting a mouthful of blood onto Scale's immaculate suit.
"Oh Thorin, you fool-," Scale smiled apologetically at Thorin as if pitying his simple mind and danced back to the computer screens. "Crime and punishment. The world order since time in memorial ….BLAH BLAH BLAH! BORING! Better yet, the angel-," Scale pointed at Bilbo with a long tapered finger, "- and the demon." He twirled back to Thorin his fingers steepled under his chin.
"Think boys, think really hard. What's the point of having heaven and hell? No one is innocent anymore or pure or good, no one! So let us start a fresh." Scale smiled coldly, moving round Thorin's chair and resting his hands on Thorin's shoulders. "A new world order. Born from the ruins of the old and crowned with fire. A new age where there is no good or bad, only power. A power of a person and their ability to take what they want!"
Scale leapt across the room and extended his arms lovingly to the computers screens, his cold eyes alight with fluorescent numbers at whizzed across their screens.
"A wannabe Hitler. Fan-fucking- tastic," Thorin sighed derisively and clenched his jaw as, once again, the albino slammed his fist into Thorin's face.
"You're mad! You want to start World War Three and for what?! So you could throw the world into a new dark age!" Bilbo shouted hysterically as his muscles tensed- his body knew it had to escape but he refused to leave Thorin, he wouldn't! He had one Taser cartridge left and it had Scale's name on it.
"Baggins, see the bigger picture. You are the key, you always were the key. In your hand are the encrypted code systems to every nations defence systems," Scale rested his palms against his cheeks in a look of mocking shock. "I'm not going to do a damn thing. The world is going to rip itself apart and I'm going to be the one to catch it when it falls apart. Neat, almost poetic don't you think to use trafficking for not only boring monetary gain but also as a secretive system to transport the access codes-,"
"Warning! Attempt at external to send out external message!" a mechanical voice said over the computer speaker. Scale marched to the computer and began punching the keys viscously.
Bilbo tried to inch towards Thorin but the albino stepped forward and growled, showing his filed down teeth. In retaliation Bilbo shoved the wired USB out in front of him, in an attempt to keep distance between them.
"Oh yes! Isn't this neat. Someone is trying to send out an SOS through our firewall, isn't that just precious, they fear for their lives-," Scale said sickly sweet; he turned and scanned Thorin's face for emotion. The DCI showed none. "Very well, Azog you have some friends waiting down there, shall we send them some company?"
The albino's thin lips pulled into a tight smile as he turned back to the computers, snatching up a walkie talkie as he did so. He turned to watch Bilbo's eyes widen in horror as Azog spoke into the phone.
"Open all cells. Release the wold pack."
Thorin was too stunned to say anything. Why had he been so blind! Two days ago the cells had almost been empty and now they were crammed to the rafters with Scale's fucking henchman. Whoever was still in the building would be ripped apart. Thorin wanted to scream and rage but a part of him already knew it was too late.
"No! Please, we had an arrangement. Just let me have Thorin and-," Bilbo's harried cries were quickly silenced by Scale.
"Yes Azog, that was quite impolite. You must always give people five minutes' notice before you have them murdered." Scale reprimanded his henchman and swung on a wheelie chair, and began typing a message in large bold letters so that Thorin and Bilbo could see.
YOU ARE ABOUT TO DIE. YOU CANNOT RUN OR HIDE. MY WOLVES WILL FIND YOU. PRAY THEY KILL YOU QUICKLY.
*0*
Kili's fingers were a blur as they moved over the keyboard.
"If we are very very lucky, whoever has taken control of the tower may have been lazy when applying the firewall but then who knows they may have a hidden encryption under the original algorithm that I can't see or the main frame of the internal LAN-."
"In English if you please Kili," Dwalin said tightly as Bofur began to tightly fix bandages around his shoulder. He couldn't move his arm and with no pain killers it was still agony but Dwalin's had stopped bleeding and he could stand without fainting. Small mercies and all that.
"Basically, if I can hack their firewall I can get an SOS message to the outside world," Kili stated through ground teeth and he slammed his finger down on the enter button. "If we are lucky they won't expect people down here and therefore the firewall will be weak."
"But isn't that a bit risky?" Fili asked coming to stand by his brother's side.
"Only time will tell I suppose," Bofur sighed tensely as he started to bundle up gauze. Actually it only took 1 minute for the message to be alerted.
"YOU ARE ABOUT TO DIE. YOU CANNOT RUN OR HIDE. MY WOLVES WILL FIND YOU. PRAY THEY KILL YOU QUICKLY."
The message flashed on the screen as alarms and sirens blared out. As the entire group stared in horror at the message a skull and cross bones flashed on screen and began to cackle at them.
"Fuck!" they all swore in unison.
"What do we do know?" Fili asked frantically looking at Dwalin for guidance.
"Guys-,"
"What do they mean 'wolves'?" Bofur asked.
"Guys-,"
"They're bluffin'-,"Dwalin replied assuredly.
"Oi! Will you freaking look!" Kili shouted at the group pointing at the CCTV screen on one of the computers. Whoever was controlling Scotland Yard had allowed them a view of the cells. Twenty cells with four inmates in each were now spilling free; armed with guns, knives and various other weapons. They were hunting and they police were the hunted.
"We have to move," Dwalin's command needed no argument. Grabbing a few medical supplies, Fili looped his arm around Dwalin's waist as the small group headed to the upper levels. The roof was now their only option. From the roof they could maybe catch a single or attract help. It was a long shot but what other choice sis they now have.
As they mounted the stairs they could hear distant woops and war cries from the Wolf pack. On the fifth level Dwalin pulled them to a halt and raised his hands for silence. They waited and listened intently. Footsteps and panting coming towards them down the stairs.
"How did they lap us?" Bofur whispered but Dwalin silence him. Taking charge the DI pushed the group just round the stairwell and prepared to charge. Injury be damned, if he was going down he was going down fighting.
The seconds ticked by agonisingly slowly. The panted breathes got louder and the footsteps more hurried. Dwalin counted three pairs of heat, one slightly smaller than the others, he hoped they weren't armed.
As soon as they rounded the corner, Dwalin charged and tackled the largest round the middle, dragging him to the ground.
"Dwalin wait!" Kili exclaimed as Dwalin began to punch frantically at the man's face. He looked round to find four pairs of startled eyes watching him.
"What the fucking hell do you think you're doing!? You almost broke my nose you bastard!" Dori shouted, grabbing his collar and throwing Dwalin's body off him.
"What am I doing? Doris, what are you doing you mean?" Dwalin asked angrily, he jumped to his feet ignoring the sharp pain in his shoulder.
"Did you see the message? They've emptied the bloody cells," Nori said grimly, running a hand through his spiky hair.
"Cause' we saw the message we're heading to the roof," Kili said frantically checking over his shoulder as something downstairs exploded.
"No good, they've men stationed on the main roof doors. There armed, cut us all fucking down like daisies," Dori stated flatly but his face turning white. Dwalin noted a few spots of blood on the doctor's collar.
"How many did you lose?"
There was a pause when Ori spoke. " Seven. They're dead and there's nothing we can do. We can't stop them but we can go down guns blazing."
"What did you have in mind?" Dwalin asked, smiling despite himself at the young officer's gumption.
Ori smiled back. "No time to explain!" He grinned before leaping down the stairs and disappearing through the adjoining door to level 3.
"I remember when he wanted to be a postman," Nori breathed and their small group darted after him.
It didn't take much effort for Fili and Dori to kick down the door to Evidence Room 4. It was basically a dark and dingy cupboard, and with no lighting it was completely black but Ori went straight into the room. Five minutes later he returned with his arms full.
"Care to explain," Kili asked intrigued as Ori's handed him a riot helmet and shield.
After making the group don stab vests, helmets and shields Ori pulled out a small box from the evidence room. After keying in a code the box sprung open to reveal what looked like four lumps of clay.
"Fucking hell!" Kili exclaimed quickly trying to drag Fili back a step.
"This is C4. Don't worry it's harmless until I've put a charger on it," Ori began explained.
"Our little brother, mastermind extraudinary, had the brilliant idea of offence is a good defence," Dori said sarcastically shooting Ori a dangerous look.
"Pardon?" Dwalin asked as if he was missing something.
"We charge the lower levels and make as much confusion as possible until we get a chance to blow the front doors. We may die but we also may live." Ori explained, a broad grin growing across his young face.
"That's suicide!" Fili gasped shaking his head and looking doubtful at the riot helmet. Riot gear may protect from a few knock and scrapes but probably not a whole load of debris blown apart by a few bricks of C4.
"That's chess lad', we have certainly have the element of surprise. And I prefer this plan to waiting around to be murdered," Dwalin nodded, tightening the scrap of the helmet under his chin and slapping the front of his stab vest.
The young brother's shared a long look before they both nodded and began pulling on their armour.
"If Thorin knew what we were going to do he would kill us!" Kili smirked eyeing the C4.
"I'm pretty sure he has his own problems to deal with right now,"
*0*
"You've had your fun. Now, hand Thorin over!" Bilbo demanded his voice barely keeping steady as his body began to tremble.
"Bilbo, you are too trusting by far. I was never going to let either of you just walk out of here, you must understand this," Scale stated in a bored tone as he continued to stare at the endless streams of numbers running down the computer screens.
Panic rose wildly in Bilbo, his blood hammered in his ears and cold sweat dripped down the back of his neck. He looked to Thorin but the Detectives eyes were glued to Bilbo's chest. He didn't dare to look down for he already knew what he would see.
Resting over his heart was a small red dot.
"Computerised sniper system. Quite illegal but very effective." Scale noted still not looking over his shoulder.
Bilbo's heart skipped a beat.
He watched Thorin brilliant blue eyes turn toward his face. Those eyes, so warm and comforting, now filled with fear and regret. Turning away, Bilbo blinked back a tear, and then clenched his fists with determination.
"Then I'll destroy the USB, I'll deprive the world of your new order!"
Scale turned slowly on his chair to face Bilbo. All resemblance of normality had gone. His hair was wild with grey curls and his eyes held coldness, occasionally glinting with insanity. His lips thinned as he met Bilbo's eyes. "Such a pity. You had so much promise. Now I'm afraid I'll just have to make you hand it over,"
"Kill me! Do whatever you want, I don't care. He'll never give you that USB, Bilbo will get out of here," Thorin growled staring pointedly at Bilbo.
"It doesn't matter that you don't care but you see Thorin, he does." Scale smiled sweetly at Thorin then turned to Azog. "Kill the Go Lem."
Without a second thought Azog marched over to Go Lem's unconscious body and shot the man twice in the head. The shots rang out, no body moved.
Bilbo didn't know what to feel. Blankly, he stared back at Scale.
"Now you see I'm serious, Azog, if you please," Scale said coolly. With a wave of his hand, Scale gestured to Thorin and Azog complied. The albino stood in front of Thorin, checked the barrel of his gun, and then began to raise it.
"No! Use the straight razor. He is a detective after all!" Scale called, chiding gently.
With slowly, almost sensually movements, Azog pulled the straight razor from his belt. Thorin tried to pull away as Azog placed his hands round his neck but he was held in place by his dark hair. The shining blade glinted in the computer light and touched the pale skin of Thorin's neck. One single line of scarlet blood pooled and slowly dripped into the collar of Thorin's shirt.
"Make your choice Bilbo Baggins,"
*0*
The Company paused and waited. Their heat beats almost synchronised as they waited for the most opportune moment to strike. The journey down the building had been relatively uneventful. If of course, you don't include the gang waving machetes about or the lunatic running about with the flame thrower.
They had slowly, carefully made their way down the building. Armed with nothing more than shields, batons and a pair of fire extinguishers, they were now facing the main force of the Wolf pack. Twelve surly convicts armed with assault weapons stood milling around the barricaded glass doors to Scotland Yard.
Stood in a wedge formation they stood and waited. Waited for the opportune moment, but mainly they stood savouring their last moments, or they knew that when they burst through those doors they would most likely not live much longer.
"Lads, we move and we move fast. Don't break away. And whatever you do keep Ori covered while he's planted the fuses-," Dwalin commanded nodding to each of the Company. Fili shook Kili's shoulder reassuringly, Nori smiled proudly at his younger brother and Bofur pulled off his beanie hat from under his riot helmet and handed it to Dwalin to keep safe. Dwalin smiled as he stuffed the hat inside his stab vest then turned and kicked the door open.
All hell broke loose.
*0*
"Make your choice,"
Bilbo's mind froze. All systems stopped and the internal gears shuddered and halted. The knife pressed down on Thorin's Adam's apple, a sniper rifle was aimed at his heart and he held the key to the free world in his hand. He knew what he had to do but doing it was something else entirely.
He took a step forward. One boot at a time, he inched closer to Scale.
"Bilbo, no," Thorin hissed as he tried to wriggle from Azog, but with his arms tied Thorin only succeeded in driving the straight razor further against his skin. Bilbo locked eyes with Detective and refused to look away, even as he approached Scale.
"Just trust me DCI Oak, it's what our friend Gandalf would have wanted," Bilbo pleaded in his mind for Thorin to understand his hidden meaning but before he could find out the world exploded.
Bilbo was tossed into the air like a penny and thrown straight into the opposite wall, air was punched out of his lungs and as he gasped he was engulfed in water. Cold and savage the gushing torrent pinned him in place by such an impenetrable force that Bilbo had to dive under the rising level of water to free himself of the current.
In the corner of his eyes he could see the Go Lem's corpse floating face down against the corner wall.
Sucking air into his starved lungs, Bilbo came gasping and choking to the service. He swam wildly around searching in the darkness behind the wild crash of waves and sound of explosions for Thorin's voice. At the far end Bilbo could just make out the flicker of computer screens, so he swam, he swam against the seemingly unstoppable current to reach Thorin. Before he even knew what he was doing Bilbo dived down, into the blackness of the murky water, he hands reaching out.
First there was a brush of hair, then a muscled shoulder and then a struggling body almost a meter under the rising water line. Blindly he humbled, his fingers seeking wildly for the knot until his lungs burned for air. Kicking off the floor Bilbo rose to the service, sucked in a lungful of air and dived again. He tugged and pulled until the skin of his fingers bleed but then something gave and He dragged Thorin to the service. Wearily the detective held on, his muscles too starved of oxygen to work, the only thing Thorin could concentrate on was the ringing in his ears and the oxygen in his lungs.
"Baggins!" Azog roared his red eyes glinting in the darkness as Bilbo struggled to keep Thorin exhausted body afloat. Using all him might Bilbo dragged Thorin towards a disused cabinet and haled his body on top.
Bilbo kicked off the cabinet and swam just out of reaching distant of Azog. Thorin was dead if Azog got to him, he needed time to get some air into his lungs and time was Bilbo's gift to him.
"It's over. The authorities cannot ignore an explosion. Whatever you did, you've most certainly drawn attention to yourselves," Bilbo laughed in Azog's face, causing the Albino to snarl and lash out at Bilbo in frustration. Bilbo dived away but quickly resurfaced and coniueted to swim around in circles.
Some of the remaining computers flickered to life, sending long eerie shards of translucent colour dancing off the tops of the waves. The bank of light was block momentarily by one tall thin figure rising from the water and standing with his back to the light.
"You are outstanding. Truly Bilbo, I don't know how someone so naïve as you could have engineered such a feet but I must say you astound me. It really is a pity you must die." Scale smiled slowly and without feeling, it was him simple pulling his lips over his teeth which sent shivers across Bilbo's skin.
"I don't have anything to do with the explosion but you must see its over, Scale, you have lost," Bilbo called trying to make his voice sound stronger than he felt. Scale laughed.
"Yes, I suppose you have won, if you can call this a victory, but that doesn't mean you shall survive. Azog drowned him," Scale commanded almost regretfully as he turned away and disappeared into the darkness forever.
The albino advanced on Bilbo, wading through the water and parting the waves with his coiled muscles and thick limbs. Bilbo readied himself to dive away but suddenly a blur collided with Azog and his disappeared under the water.
Thorin had moved faster than Bilbo could see. One moment he had been almost unconscious and then three words cut through the fogginess of his oxygen starved mind. "Azog drowned him." A fire awoke and burned in Thorin's chest. Strength seemed to return to Thorin's muscles as he slammed his fist repeatedly into Azog's gut.
The two men rolled and wrestled under the dark murky water until a surge of water broke them apart. Kicking himself to the service Thorin gasped for air and swept his soaking hair out of his eyes. Azog's pale head surged through the water and he rose eyes glinting and his fingers curled around the silver straight razor.
"Fuck," Thorin breathed as the giant albino surged towards him, the knife winking in the fading LED light.
"Thorin here!" Bilbo cried desperately grabbing the back of Thorin's collar and hauling him up and out of the water. Scrabbling onto of a crate Thorin turned to watch Azog's approach.
"I will kill you first Detective, then I will kill your little friend," Azog whispered darkly, lowering the razor so that its blade cut through the water. Before he knew what he was doing Bilbo stood and met Azog's hungry stare.
"See you in hell." Bilbo raised the Taser and Azog screamed as electricity surged through his body. For a few seconds Bilbo's saw sparks dancing of metal fillings in Azog's mouth and the smell of burning hair filled his nose. Thorin grabbed and pulled Bilbo's face into his wet chest as computer screens imploded in an ear shattering blast. Shards of glass and sparks filling the air with blinding light, scorching Bilbo's hair and skin.
I couldn't tell you if it was five or ten minutes, but the pair clung to each other like a port storm, and surrounded by metres of lashing water, I suppose that what they were to each other- Ports of comfort.
Tentatively pulling back from Thorin's chest Bilbo looked about, it was quiet almost too quiet. He looked up and smiled.
"Thorin-," Bilbo whispered tapping Thorin's arm and pointing upwards. Part of the roof had been blown off the basement and part of the wall to Boiler Room next door had been blown in. But up, up past the bits of glass and pavement, up past the gathering ambulances and helicopters the midday sun was out and it was a glorious day.
Bilbo smiled as he tapped his head against Thorin's jaw. "I'm pretty sure we died but I'm not complaining."
Just then Dwalin poked his head over the whole in the pavement and glared down at them. "Where the fuck have you been!?"
"Guess we spoke too soon," Thorin smirked as he pulled Bilbo and him to their feet.
*0*
Bilbo's head was pounding. Not because of his numerous near death experiences or close encounter with actual super villain. No it was because he was sat in the back of an ambulance with dozens of people talking at him.
It was enough to make a man run screaming for his life, red shock blanket trailing behind him.
"I could get them to give you some morphine if you like." Bilbo looked up from his hands to see Thorin standing in front of him. His head had been stitched up and his hand was wrapped in a bandage but apart from a thick layer of bruises around his eyes, the detective was perfectly fine. IN fact, with damp hair curling around his jaw, he looked certainly better than fine.
Bilbo tried to pat down his hair. "Morphine. Got anything stronger. How are your friends?"
"Alive. Though you can never be sure with Ori, lad hardly says a word," The two men laughed for a bit but it was awkward and uneasy. Bilbo chose to cut to the question they both wanted to ask.
"How's the case?"
Thorin shook his head. "But I still have no proof. Scale might as well be dead for as much good it does Thror. He will go free. Probably deep in the criminal underworld somewhere causing more suffering and hurt. "
Suddenly he felt like an absolute idiot. Blushing from head to toe, he lifted his shirt and ripped of the package he had taped there. Pressing the stop button Bilbo the handed the plastic covered Dictaphone to Thorin and cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I saw an episode of CSI where one of the team did that, I thought it was a good idea at the time but I don't know how much it would have picked up," Bilbo floundered stammering over his words.
Thorin was silent for a long time. He studied the silently warm package in his hands, turning it over as he tried to think of words that would truly show his gratitude. He couldn't.
"Remind me never again to underestimate an accountant. Are they all so wonderful or is it just the ones who topple worldwide crime syndicates and would be tyrants?" Thorin smirked and shook his head in disbelief, sighing deeply as studied the Dictaphone again.
"You'll be surprised how fast I can power through a tax return." They bother laughed easily. Bilbo felt a warm flighty feeling pool in his stomach, but he pushed into the back of his mind putting it down to hunger.
"Bilbo, I would really love to-," Thorin began but a young uniformed officer appeared by his elbow and pushed a mobile into his hands. He smiled at Bilbo apologetically and turned away.
"DCI Oak…Where!? Send a squad, proceed caution, I'll be there as soon as I can," Thorin stated sharply down the phone before passing it back to the PC. "There's been a sighting of Scale-,"
"Than what are you waiting for you daft git! Go!" Bilbo shooed him away and watched as his figure turned and started to make its way through the crowd.
A hollow pain started in Bilbo's chest as he slumped down and pulled the shock blanket tighter around his shoulders. He shivered with cold when a large dull weight fell against him and slammed their forehead into his.
"Ow! Sorry Bilbo…You like Chinese, right?" Thorin's face was red and he was panting as if he had sprinted all the way across the car pack. In fact he had as Dwalin was watching him from their abandoned police car with an expression that was a mix of dismay and amusement.
"I do like Chinese," Bilbo replied tentatively watching warily for any hint of a joke or miscommunication. But none came, Thorin's eyes dilated around his brilliant blue irises and he took a step back and shoved his hands deep into his pockets.
"Good, that is good. And sometime, only if you wanted to of course, we could like Chinese together-," Thorin's voice petered off as he became very interested in his shoes.
Bilbo stopped breathing. He didn't whether to laugh or do a back flip in celebration. Instead he let his Baggins caution take over.
Brushing a thick curl from the front of his eyes, Bilbo looked up and smiled.
"That would be… nice."
THE END
Hello all,
Just a quick hello.
Thank you for reading and reviewing. Half way through this I found it really hard to write and it was like getting blood out of a stone. But hey ho we got there in the end. And almost a day before I go to uni so YES on time as well. RESULT.
You may care or you may not but my next project I'm working on is a Hobbit crossover AU with His Dark Materials the Philip Pullman book which is basically daemon verse so do keep your eyes peeled. I'm completing it before I publish and its completely non-can, so it'll be fun to read and fun to write. HOPEFULLY.