A/N: Hey guys! I do apologize for the delay, but it was unfortunately unavoidable…This is a really short chapter, but I'm finishing it up! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Bringing you chapter 12!
Disclaimer: PoI not mine. Story and Shawn are mine.
Chapter 12: The Snake
"Shut up, Harold." Finch stopped short and his breath caught in his throat, so startled he was by the shear animosity in his nephew's voice, but that wasn't the only thing that stopped him in his tracks. It was the gun in his hands and it was pointed at him…
Harold stared at the gun in shock and fear. So it had come to this. His payment for allowing his best friend to die in his place was to be killed by the boy who honored him by calling him "uncle". As the old saying goes, blood is thicker than water, and when it came down to it, Harold was just water.
"Will, you don't understand—,"
"You're right. I don't understand." Will replied acidly, turning to Shawn even as he kept the gun trained on Finch, who still leaned against the wall. "Now, what were you saying, Walter?"
Shawn grinned eagerly, glancing smugly back at Finch. He had won the boy over to his side now and he was reveling in it, but Will wasn't having any of that as he turned the gun on him instead.
"Talk!" He demanded and Shawn was visibly shaken by Will Ingram's sudden change in demeanor. Finch was unnerved. He had never seen this in his nephew before. "If you're not going to talk than you're of no use to me…" The gun clicked in warning and both Finch and Shawn gasped in surprise.
"Look, Ingram, you don't know what you've got in your hands—," A shot rang out and a bullet whizzed right past Shawn's head, leaving him stunned.
"I've been a medic in some of the nastiest parts of the world, Shawn. I know exactly what I've got in my hands." Will said, face as hard as stone: "Your life."
Slowly, Shawn began to laugh despite his situation. "You, Mr. Ingram, are as crafty as your father and Harold."
"Oh? How so?" Will shot back sarcastically and Shawn nodded as if impressed.
"You wanted to know what it was your father was working on and here I am presenting it to you on a silver platter and you turn on me just like that." He snapped his fingers together, watching as Will flinched. Whatever mask of bravado young Will had been putting on was quickly unraveling and Shawn knew it. Finch did not like this at all, but all he could do was watch this drama unfold.
"Enough of this; you were about to tell me. Spit it out!" Walter took a few cautious steps toward the man holding the gun and Will did nothing. He did not shoot. He only glared.
"Or what? You'll shoot me?" Shawn taunted and spread his arms out in surrender. "I know that first shot was simply an attempt to look brave, but would you shoot an unarmed man? Would Will Ingram, the humanitarian, pull that trigger with intent to kill?"
"I know you would." Will said, swallowing as he realized the tricky situation he put himself in. "As for me, humanitarian or not, I don't think I'm above defending myself."
"Will, please, don't make yourself like him." Harold pleaded, pulling Will's gaze away from Shawn as he spoke. "You have to understand that what we did was for good. What we made, the secrets I kept. They were all to protect people, but when our creation came back to bite us, your father sacrificed himself to protect me and you can see what happened to me. I regret keeping so many secrets, but…some things should just stay hidden."
As Finch had spoken, Will had lowered his weapon, distracting them both from Shawn as he pulled his own gun from behind and took aim. He didn't have to speak, he could've just shot them right there, but another gunshot stopped him first, one that left a bloody hole in his gut and put a strange, petrified look on his face. He fell to his knees and another to the heart sent him flying backwards onto the ground, dead.
Will and Finch were so startled that it didn't process right away what had happened, but when they looked to the door, they could have shouted for joy. Reese. Carter. Fusco? Who cared if Reese had tacked onto the team (for just this once, Finch would assure him)? They'd made it. Finch guessed Reese hadn't run out of perfect timings after all and for that, he was grateful. However, his gratitude would have to wait. He looked down at his side and immediately felt dizzy from blood loss. Maybe he had thought too soon.
"Finch!" Reese shouted and ran for his boss as he collapsed, sliding down the wall to a curled up heap on the floor.
"Oh God, Uncle Harold!" Will cried, but he was already unconscious. Reese had made it in time to save them from Shawn, but would they be in time to save Finch from a bullet?
