They had the element of surprise on their side. That, and the fact that they had waited and toiled for two weeks until they could pursue him. Now, as Lexa looked through the scope of her sniper rifle, a burly guard in the crosshairs, her body seemed to hum with energy. There was no one else for miles and miles, they were in the middle of a desert, isolated and solitary. They were ready for this.
She had watched as Clarke disappeared over the other side of the ridge adjacent to the mansion. It really worked in their favor that the architecture of this mansion depended on much of the rocky slope behind it, actually built to lean into it, much like Minas Tirith, the nerd in Lexa thought. There were sections of its flat roof that connected to the hill, making it a cakewalk for Clarke to rappel herself from the rock-face and onto the gravel lining the top of the roof. Lexa was lying flat on her stomach in position on a ridge, connected to the slope that allowed her full visual of the front and back of the mansion.
It was now up to Lexa to eliminate the guards outside without alerting the rest of the security team – which of course sounded a lot easier than it was. She blinked once to clear her eyes and looked into her scope, watching, deliberating on which to kill first. She also was considerate of where their body would land, and whether others would notice it. She cleared her throat, took and deep breath, and fired at the first target. He fell almost silently from his post at the garage, a key region for their plan.
Lexa instantly repositioned her rifle, and adjusted the scope so that she could focus on her next target. Her heart rate was a steady 48 bpm as she quickly and efficiently eliminated one, two, three of the guards. The deck and the grassy yard were clear, and so was the garage area. Clarke signaled the universal "OK" with her right hand, and she set to work infiltrating the back porch that had just been cleared by Lexa.
Meanwhile, the brunette eyed the front of the building. She could see a few of the security team milling about at the guard house. That would be up in flames in about four minutes, she noted as she checked her watch. Her cheek was pressed against the rifle as she sat there diligently watching over Clarke, keeping her safe as she worked on getting through to the garage.
Lexa couldn't help whistling, impressed as Clarke performed a tight back flip off of the deck, landing silently like a cat. The blonde moved quietly over to the garage, and Lexa went back to watching for movement inside the house.
"You look great honey." Lexa commented as the blonde went out of sight, and she heard her hushed laughter as she worked on planting the bombs.
"You're such a perv." Clarke commented quietly, the tone of her voice playful and teasing, and Lexa grinned.
"You're dating this perv."
"Oh gosh you're right. Guess we should break up then."
"Harsh." Lexa remarked, her finger tapping the trigger of her rifle as she eliminated a security guard that was getting a little too close to the gate. "And I was thinking about running away with you too."
"Tough." Clarke responded briefly, which earned a low huffing laugh from the brunette.
Lexa continued watching the perimeter of the building, slowly picking the guards off until she was almost certain that the only ones that remained were the ones in the guard house and any who had been posted in the mansion. It was better this way; most of these men were likely trained by former U.S. army Major and Kane's current second-in-command, Byrne, a tough, gritty woman who'd rarely ever lost a fight, from what Lexa had heard.
"Charges are laid." Clarke said minutes later, and Lexa tapped her earpiece to answer.
"Got it, coming your way now." Lexa packed up her rifle and bolted down the ridge, leaping on the treacherous rocky slope like a mountain goat. When she finally made it to the ledge connecting to the roof, Clarke was perched in front of the skylight waiting for her. The blonde had the remote in her hands, and once Lexa was at her side mimicking her position, she pressed the button.
The explosion was deafening, and Lexa hardly flinched as the garage and the guard house went up in flames. Debris was flying everywhere, and in the confusion, as the few guards were racing out from the main building to confront it, Clarke bent down and broke the skylight with the butt of her MK18 rifle. Clarke jumped through first, landing on her feet in the master bedroom. After eliminating the guards milling around the front and back of the house, Lexa jumped in after her.
They moved as one down out of the room, making a point to check for any unaccounted-for guards. The target was Kane.
Then she saw him, in the dining room as they got to the top of the staircase. Her rifle was up instantly, and she fired off a shot, missing only by a hairsbreadth. He seemed to have noticed her, his attention drawn from the fire and debris outside, and he immediately ducked under the $100,000 sofa.
Clarke let out a shout, and Lexa turned just in time to see Byrne, coming at them fast from the foot of the stairs. A beast-like personality, if Lexa was forced to describe this woman. Lexa fired twice, hitting Byrne repeatedly in the chest, but she didn't seem to be slowing down, given the Kevlar she wore. There was a flash of yellow, and Lexa watched in surprise as Clarke jumped down from the bannister to meet the other woman.
Clarke barreled down, an elbow catching Byrne in the jaw as she took the older woman tumbling down the steps with her. They both landed with a thud at the bottom of the stairs, and Lexa looked away for a split second, scanning for Kane. He seemed to have taken the distraction that Byrne had caused to race out of the dining room, with Lexa catching sight of the top of his head as he rushed to the adjoining room. Knowing Clarke could take care of herself, Lexa huffed and took off down the stairs to pursue.
She was just running through the doorway, rifle up and ready when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Out of pure reflex, Lexa ducked, and as she looked up she saw a butcher's knife now hilt-deep against the spot on the wall she had just stood in front of seconds before. She saw Kane on the other side of the kitchen, using the island as cover, and she had to dodge out of the way as he threw another knife at her. Lexa fired at him, and he tucked and rolled out of sight.
Then he stood suddenly, and then she scrambled to find some cover of her own. He must have stashed a pistol in one of the cabinets, right next to the cheese grater probably, typical household item to have around. She hid behind a cabinet, and she listened as he fired off several shots, and then went silent. She stood as he was reloading with a new clip, hearing the satisfying sounds of the bullets hitting the island.
"You know, I'm disappointed!" Kane shouted over the sounds of the rifle. "I would have hoped for an old-fashioned fight, but it seems you just want to be a coward and go about it the easy way!"
Lexa snorted, annoyed. "Like I'd trust you to fight fair!" She retorted. Her rifle empty, she crouched down again, and she heard Kane fire at her. What a trusty old oak cabinet, she thought somewhat sardonically. To her chagrin, she noticed that her Glock was also empty, and she made a decision.
She heard the click that indicated he was out, and Lexa took that opening. She raced over to the side of the island and out of sight, listening. Then she heard footsteps coming around, and she leapt at him, tackling him against the kitchen counter. She smirked grimly when she heard the cracking of bones, a fist raised up to sock him hard in the jaw. Kane recovered quickly though, using his legs to kick her.
Lexa reflexively used the momentum to flip onto the island top, her fingers clasping around the knife at her belt as she landed on the other side of the island. Kane glowered at her from his side, his left arm kept low, covering what seemed to be broken ribs. She wouldn't trust him though, and Lexa recalled one training session where he had pointedly faked injury to win a match against another agent.
She kept her fingers loose around the knife, and they glared at each other for a few heartbeats, when suddenly he bolted for the doorway and into the study. Lexa hurled her knife, and saw it hit its mark, right in the back of his thigh. It didn't seem to slow him down though, and she chased after him.
She saw him rushing towards the wall, and Lexa immediately knew what he was going for. She immediately searched the walls as well, impressed by the amount of ornaments littering each side. Kane pulled down an impressively well-kept sabre, and she rushed to find something to defend herself. As he rushed up to her, her hands quickly found a chair, using it to block his attack.
Lexa used the legs of the chair to put distance between them, blocking each attempt skillfully. Then, as Kane was about to jab at her waist, Lexa repositioned the chair with a flick of her wrist. She grinned when the blade pierced the seat of the chair, and instantly she thrust the chair forward, pushing Kane against the collarbone and knocking him into the coffee table directly behind him.
As he fell, Lexa pulled out the knife sheathed at her ankle. Kane recovered fast, performing a kick-up so that he was facing Lexa head on. Then he grimaced and reached behind his thigh, pulling out the knife she had thrown at him and holding it out, ready and waiting for her attack. They were glaring at each other like hungry wolves, with Kane bleeding from his leg and favoring his left side, while Lexa's injured leg stung from the exertion.
"I'd like to say I've seen improvement, but I'm quite disappointed by your technique." Kane sneered. Lexa didn't bother answering, simply searching her mind for her next move.
Kane lunged at her suddenly, and Lexa jerked back, just narrowly avoiding the brunt of the knife. She felt the sting of the blade cut at her left arm though, the blood there soaking through her sleeve instantly.
His second jab was parried fast, and she moved quickly to counter. She feigned an attack at his right, then switched hands, her fist punching him hard in the stomach. As he was bent over in pain, Lexa moved to knee him in the face, but he caught her leg.
Her back hit the ground with a loud thud, and as she was still recovering, she felt a swift kick against her injured leg. Lexa rolled to avoid a second kick, and as he was striding to catch up to her, she reversed her roll and sank her knife the incoming foot, feeling the blade go through it completely and lodge itself into the hardwood floor. As he let out a scream, Lexa scrambled messily to her feet, taking the knife that Kane had dropped and slipping it into her belt.
His hands were at the hilt of Lexa's knife, but before he could do anything, Lexa punched him hard, breaking his jaw on impact. But before he could even retaliate, she stomped down on the knife, and as the blood was gushing from his foot, she attacked him with a flurry of punches against his face and throat. Her last blow knocked him onto his back completely, and she felt the bones in her hand break.
"Had enough, asshole?" Lexa snarled as she stood above him, trying to ignore the pain of her broken fingers.
Kane was wheezing from the blow to his throat, a crushed windpipe, in all likelihood. For all that she saw before her, the imminent victory at her feet, Lexa only felt numb.
"Why Kane, why did you do all this?" She asked harshly. She wanted to kill him, but she needed an answer. He met her glare, and there wasn't a trace of the man she knew many years ago.
"For the control." He snapped. "Do you know, how hard it is to live your life fully controlled by others, especially as long as I've been in the agency?" Kane struggled into a kneeling position. "I've bled, lost, and been tortured, all for my country. There's only so much more a man can give." He exhaled heavily, and Lexa heard a bubbling sound lingering in his breath. "I decided that a man should be able to take control of his own life. And it was glorious, being in control of other people, watching them be the pawns."
"Your meddling got Costia killed!" Lexa snarled, rage building up within her. It took all of her self-control not to snap his neck right now.
"An unfortunate accident." He wheezed. "I wasn't aware that it was your team in charge of the mission, or else I wouldn't have tipped them off."
"Bull shit!"
"It's the truth!" Kane glared up at her. "And if you hadn't stuck your nose into something that didn't concern you, like an old woman's motherly concern for an irrelevant person, you never would have gotten into this!"
Lexa clenched her jaw, breathing heavily through her nostrils. "No. The root of the problem is you. All along." She pulled out the scavenged knife, and looked down at him, hardening herself for the task at hand. Yet, despite her anger, her rage, and all the misfortunes that had materialized in her life because of him, she couldn't do it.
She felt extremely uneasy at this revelation. Lexa had never had problems killing people before, in fact, she felt at times that her lack of guilt afterward was slightly disconcerting. But for reasons unknown to her, she could not bring herself to kill Kane.
While Lexa was waging this internal war, she suddenly heard gunshots from the other room. Clarke. Her head instinctually turned to the sound, and that's when Kane took his chance. Without preamble, he pulled the knife from his foot and thrust it at Lexa. She only narrowly avoided it, and then it became a game of ducking, avoiding, and exchanging blows. Somewhere within the heat of it, the duel had brought them deeper into the study, Lexa's back facing the floor-to-ceiling windows.
As he was moving forward to jab at her again though, she sidestepped the blow, and watched in shock as he fell through the glass and down the rocky slopes below to his death.
She looked out the window for a second more, before she remembered the gunshots. Worry invaded her instantly, and she took off in search of Clarke.
Lexa caught sight of her at the main hall, lying on her back, her eyes closed. A few meters away from her, Byrnes was dead, a bullet wound in her temple enough indication of what had happened. Lexa immediately rushed to Clarke's side. The blonde was bleeding from a deep wound in her torso, and Lexa brought her hand up in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding.
"Clarke, Clarke can you hear me? Please, Clarke, wake up." Lexa pleaded, a hand at the blonde's cheek as she tried to get her to answer, to breathe, to say something. "Clarke, don't die, please, come back to me." She was a babbling mess, and she could feel the tears on her face as she took in the broken, bloody figure of the woman she loved. Lexa pulled Clarke's body up in her arms, burying her face in the blonde's chest as she wept freely.
"Lexa?" The brunette felt the vibrations in Clarke's chest when she spoke, and her head snapped up to look at her. Clarke's eyes had fluttered open, looking up at her with concern.
"Clarke!" Lexa breathed, and she stroked her cheek gently. "You're going to be fine." She whispered desperately, and the blonde smiled at her, her eyes shining with pain.
"Lex, can you," She paused, closing her eyes in agony, before she opened them to hold Lexa captive to her gaze "can you say it, one more time?" Lexa could feel her heart shattering within her chest as she clutched Clarke tightly against her body. There were many thing she wanted to say, but she obliged to Clarke's request, her voice broken when she said it.
"I love you."