Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.
What a cliffhanger I left you guys with last chapter! I won't spoil anything, but I promise there won't be much more suspense. Although you'll have to get through this chapter first... ;)
Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 12
As soon as Jane busted down the door and rushed inside, Ian's men were startled but well prepared for the intrusion. There were two of them playing a game of poker on an old table, which was immediately flipped over to give them time to get to cover.
From behind the wall in a corner, each of them stuck their arms out to shoot at Jane and Frost, who fired back. It was hard to hear in the room, the loud and chaotic sounds of gunshots and shouting filling everyone's ears instantly.
"Put your weapons down and you can walk out of this alive!" Frost ordered, although he didn't expect such ruthless killers like those to comply. He was right, of course. As soon as he uttered the words, a bullet was fired in his direction.
"Go to hell!"
"After you!" He shouted back between shots, carefully peaking his head out behind cover to get a look at where the voice came from. The room they were in was somewhat large, and with the constant popping of gunshots, both in that room and up front where Korsak and Gibbs were, made it difficult to pinpoint someone's position.
Meanwhile, Jane was behind the old dusty bar, seeking cover from the rapid fire being shot in every direction. She heard the interaction between Frost and the criminal, hoping that it distracted them enough for her. At least for a few seconds.
The Sergeant signaled to her partner she was going to move, and got a quick nod in response.
As quietly as possible, Jane crawled on her knees to the other end of the bar. Despite the the loud noises of bullets ripping into the smoke filled air, both from cigarettes and gunfire, she didn't want to chance one or both of them hearing a creak in the rotted wood floor by her movements.
Just like Frost had done moments ago, Jane peered around the edge of cover and saw both of the men looking in her partner's direction. Grateful their attention was elsewhere, the brunette fired her weapon at each of them.
They screamed in pain from their wounds, collapsing to the ground and clutching their bleeding legs. She didn't want to kill them unless absolutely necessary, so Jane aimed for somewhere not as life threatening.
"Frost!" Jane said, checking on her best friend as she kept her gun trained on the henchmen.
"Yeah, I'm good." He replied, stepping away from behind his cover. The detective approached the screaming men and kicked away their guns, effectively rendering each of them weaponless and unable to keep fighting. "I got things here, go find-"
"Let go of me!"
Jane and Frost nearly froze at the distraught shout, both recognizing that voice belonging to Maura.
"Maura!" Jane yelled, running towards the sound of her cries for help. They seemed to be fading, as if she was being moved somewhere else.
She turned the corner and intended to walk down a narrow hallway, one that most likely led to a small office, but was met with more gunshots. Jane ducked into a doorway, presumably a bathroom since it wreaked of one, and heard Ian's thick accented voice speaking to her.
"If you come any closer, she's dead!"
"Let her go or I swear you'll end up in a body bag!"
"Not a chance, Sergeant!" He smugly yelled back as he roughly held Maura against him in a near chokehold, the poor woman unable to fight her way out due to her injuries. "How about we play one last game?"
"Let. Her. Go." She demanded, practically snarling at him.
"That's not a good attitude. Part of the game is letting her go... If you want a chance in saving her, you'll have to catch me."
"You're cornered, there's nowhere else for you to go. Just give up! There's no reason for any more of your idiotic games."
"How much do you know about this building, Jane?"
The question threw the brunette off, and it took her a second to think of an answer.
"Enough to know that you have nowhere to go." She said, then added "We already took care of your boys in the back. I'm sure you can hear my partners taking care of the ones up front. It's only a matter of time before we come back there and kill you."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong." Ian replied, his tone still thick with smugness. "I do have a way out."
"What are you talking about?"
"Jane! He's going to-" Maura tried to warn, but was cut off when Ian held her throat even tighter than he was already.
"That's enough out of you..." He warned in a low growl. "I'm terribly sorry for the interruption, Jane. Now where were we? Oh, yes... My way out. If you know so much about this building, then you'll know how old it is. How it's practically going to fall down at any moment."
"What's your point?" Jane asked, her anger building even more than it was at the sound of Maura getting hurt yet again.
"My point is that things are falling apart. Including this wall I'm standing in front of... A hole is in it leading directly to the building next door, where my car is coincidentally parked behind. Maura and I will go for a little joy ride, and if you catch us, you'll get her back. But if you lose, she dies. So how about it, Jane? Will you play? Oh that's right, you don't have a choice."
"Don't you even think about it..."
"Catch ya later, Jane." Ian mockingly laughed, and disappeared from the bar manager's office with Maura still struggling in his arms every step of the way.
"Faulkner!" Jane shouted, but didn't get a response. She felt her heart stop, and knew in her gut that he wasn't lying about the hole in the wall. Jane suddenly sprinted back to where Frost still was, intending to grab the car keys off of him. "Ian escaped with Maura, I need the car! Now!"
"I'll go with you."
"No! There's no time. Stay here with Korsak and Gibbs, make sure they're ok. Just give me the keys."
"Be careful." Frost advised her, tossing the keys at her that were in his pocket still. He hated that she was going alone, she could be falling right into a trap for all they knew. But it had to be done this way. This may be the only chance they have at rescuing Maura and the window was closing fast. Frost knew Jane would do anything it took to get her back.
Without another word, Jane made a mad dash for the car.
As Jane rushed outside and hopped into her car, she could see Ian's speeding off, rocks and grass getting kicked up from his tires. She also saw his arm outstretched, pointing a gun to Maura's head.
She didn't waste any time and pressed her foot on the gas pedal and floored it out of the alley, chasing the man who took her girlfriend.
Although she was worried about leaving the others behind, she knew they'd be ok without her. There wasn't much room in a tiny bar like that to fit many people, and fully trained men such as Frost, Korsak, and Gibbs would have no problems taking care of it.
It didn't take long for Jane to catch up to Ian, right on his tail within a minute of the chase. She wasn't sure how she'd stop him and not inadvertently kill Maura in the process, but she couldn't very well lose sight of them. Maybe if she could just get close enough, Jane could tap his car with hers. Not enough to send the moving vehicle spinning out of control, but enough for him to take the gun away from Maura and put both hands on the wheel to prevent a crash. If he did that, Jane may be able to shoot him.
It was a near impossible feat to do that, but that was the only thing Jane could think of. She's been in her fair share of car chases before, but never with a hostage involved. It was tricky thing, and Jane hoped there was some way to keep Maura alive.
Even if it costed her own life to save her. Although she didn't want it to come to that, of course. But if that meant Maura would live, she would die for her.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Ian suddenly cut the wheel and sharply turned left, merging onto a busy road and side swiping a few cars.
Jane flicked on the sirens in an effort to clear the way for her, and was grateful people pulled over onto the shoulder. At her fast speed, Jane nearly slammed into a barrier, but the expert driver was able to avoid the collision.
With Ian and Maura still in her sight, Jane sped up again.
The tall woman grabbed her gun that had been lying in her lap, ready to shoot if she was given the opportunity.
Although the cars nearly a whole mile back moved aside for the Sergeant, it was difficult for the ones ahead to do so. Traffic was so thick and congested on the bridge, no one could get anywhere for at least a half an hour. Jane knew Ian would have no choice but to stop.
What happened next both terrified and amazed her.
When Ian attempted to squeeze through the cars, Maura bravely took the opportunity to disarm the unsuspecting man. She moved away Ian's arm away from her and slammed his head into the steering wheel, sending the car flying into the back of another.
Airbags instantly deployed, somewhat cushioning the blow of the crash. When Maura lifted her head up, she saw Ian scrambling to look for the gun he had dropped as he held his bleeding nose, which appeared to broken. The honey blonde didn't waste the previous seconds she had and opened the passenger door so fast she broke the old handle right off, not paying any mind to it as she bolted for safety.
It was at that moment Ian found his gun, right where Maura's feet had been, and tried to shoot his escaped prisoner. Maura heard the shots and screamed, and in a panic, she dove behind one of the cars.
Jane saw the whole thing, and as soon as she reached them, she slammed on the brakes and jumped out of her car. She saw Ian get out of the car as well, and knew he was going after Maura. The Italian woman shot at the criminal, but the bullet misses.
The revived gunfight distracted Ian long enough for Maura to move to another car, just as people left their cars and ran for safety, screaming in fear for their lives.
Jane sat behind the trunk of a large pickup and reloaded her weapon, taking the time to taunt Ian.
"What are you going to do now, Faulkner? Game's over."
"It's not over until one of us is dead, and it won't be me." He shouted back, also reloading his gun. "You thought Hoyt was a sadistic son of a bitch? You haven't seen anything yet! I'll do so much worse to you and Maura."
"You won't ever get the chance. It's over. The only way for you to get out of this alive is to just lay down your weapon."
"I think you and I both know that's not going to happen." Ian replied, cocking his gun after sliding in the round of ammo. He leaned out of cover and shot at Jane's direction, effectively keeping her pinned down. When he did this, he saw Maura's bruised and bloodied feet hiding behind a nearby vehicle. He grinned evilly and walked over to her in a crouched position.
Maura knew Ian was close, having heard his and Jane's brief shouting match. She had to move or else he would find her.
The bridge they were on had water only a dozen feet below, which was safe enough to jump into at that height. Maura decided that once she was in the water, she could hide under the bridge and out of Ian's sight.
Not wanting to chicken out of jumping, Maura didn't think twice about it as she ran to the edge. She put one leg up and over the thin railing, and was about to slide over when she saw him.
"It seems fitting you go out the same way my brother did... Goodbye, Maura."
Ian stood up as he aimed his gun at horrified hazel eyes and fired, the bullet hitting her left shoulder. The sudden and powerful force of it sent her flying over the edge, her body smacking loudly into the freezing cold water.
The revenge driven man made yet another mistake. He was so fueled by his rage in wanting to kill Maura, he failed to notice he was out in the open.
Jane saw her chance and took it, shooting the vulnerable man in the head and killing him instantly. He collapsed to the ground with a thud, blood seeping out of the gaping wound.
Jane's gun was still smoking as she ran past Ian's lifeless body over to where Maura had fallen just seconds ago, and looked over the edge of the bridge.
"Maura!" The terrified woman frantically yelled, and finally saw Maura's body that was floating face down. Without thinking, Jane hopped over the railing and jumped in after her.
The water was bone chillingly cold, but it luckily didn't have a current too strong for a skilled swimmer like Jane. Although it only took her a matter of seconds to get to Maura, it felt like a lifetime to her.
She pulled Maura's face out of the water, and saw that she was unconscious. Jane lightly slapped her face a few times in an effort to wake her, but Maura wouldn't respond to it.
"Come on, Maura... Wake up." Jane begged, struggling to keep both of them afloat as Maura's shoulder wound trickled out blood and into the water surrounding them. "Sweetie, you gotta wake up. Come on!"
The Sergeant looked around for someone to help, or anything useful, and saw land that was fortunately just a few feet ahead of them. She dragged Maura across and onto the rocky patch of land, where she immediately began CPR.
A gunshot wound to the shoulder isn't usually life threatening, but the added danger of Maura's beatings as well as the shock of being shot and falling into cold water certainly didn't help matters much for the weakened woman.
"It can't end like this for us, Maur... You can't die!" Jane pleaded in a hoarse cry as she kept giving her chest compressions between breathing as much air into Maura as her lungs would allow.
"I was going to propose to you." She admitted as the tears kept from flowing from her brown eyes. "We were going to get married and have lots of kids together. You have to keep scolding me about my unhealthy diet. You have to... You... God damn it! Come on, Maura! Breathe!"
One one thousand. Two one thousand. Three one thousand.
Jane pressed her cold lips to Maura's as she breathed in more air until she was panting heavily from the exertion, but it still wasn't enough to revive Maura.
"You..." She stuttered out in a broken voice, both from the cold water and from heartbreak. "You have to keep correcting me about calling Bass and Blastoise tortoises and not turtles... You know I'll forget."
Seconds turned into minutes, each round of compressions getting harder and more frantic as time went on.
"Please don't die on me! You have to live... Please don't die... I love you, Maura. Please baby, don't leave me. Come back to me. Please..."
Suddenly, Maura scrunched up her face in obvious discomfort and pain, and coughed loudly. She sputtered in her breathing as she spit out water, and Jane turned Maura's head to the side as the smaller woman expelled the rest of the water from her lungs.
Jane let out a huge sigh of relief as tears kept falling down her face, unable to stop them even if she tried as she closely hovered over Maura, whose coughing fit slowly subsided.
The soaking wet and shivering women gazed at one another for a moment until Maura whispered something so quietly, Jane had to lean in closer to ask "What did you say?"
"Yes." Maura repeated a little more loudly through her lips that had turned a light shade of blue.
Jane pulled her face back a few inches and stared at Maura with a puzzled expression, her hand affectionately caressing Maura's cheek as she felt warmth slowly returning to them.
"Yes what?"
"Yes, I'll marry you."
Oh my god... I don't know about you guys, but even I got emotional during the whole CPR scene and I wrote the damn story! What an intense and action packed chapter. At least it's all over... Right? ;)
Find out what happens in the next and final chapter, posted soon! Follow my Twitter or Tumblr accounts, both XBgamer94, on when it'll be ready. I sure hope you guys have enjoyed this story. It's been a wild ride. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. Be sure to leave your thoughts and predictions in the reviews! :D
