CHAPTER 20. Taking cover
"I've already given you my reasons, Sherlock. Cant you just drop it. I agreed to come live with you on Baker Street." John ran a hand through his hair. The Alpha in front of him started to pace.
"John, I don't understand your logic."
"Sherlock. I'm free. I want to test my freedom-" John was cut off by a deep growl, and he took a step back as Sherlock stepped closer.
"You are mine!"
"Get your mind out of the gutter! I didn't say that. I'm not saying I want to sleep around you dult! I just don't want to be told what to do and how to live my life, that's all. I'm not ready to play house and make babies." John silenced the dark haired Alpha with a quick kiss. "Now come on, Mycroft asked if Molly and I would go check out another one of the houses used for illegal sex trade. He doesn't want to move the bodies and wont let anyone in to contaminate the scene."
"I don't blame him his co-workers are all idiots." Sherlock growled.
"Well it's not like you cant come along."
"Pass." Sherlock made a face. "I don't jump through hoops for my brother, as a rule."
"Oh, you sweet lovely boy. This is why I love you." John gave Sherlock another quick kiss and left him standing in their room. They'd been sharing this room for the last four months, up until then the words I love you hadn't been spoken.
After the lab incident it took Molly a little longer than John to approach the lab. The Alphas on the research team guilty of conspiring to commit assault, and running an illegal experiment among other things, were taken care of by Mycroft personally. The others were given a strict warning, that the same should happen to them if anyone steps out of line.
This ended the cat calls, but John and Molly were still given looks of disgust. The up side to the incident was that Mycroft gained more knowledge of the drug Moriarty was attempting to prefect.
That and Sherlock was surprised to see his brother reassigned Molly new sleeping quarters. The new sleeping quarters being the same as the British Government's, however to Sherlock's knowledge his brother had yet to bond with the female. He wondered if she was giving the same excuse as John was, then decided the opposite. It was perplexing to the Alpha, he was sure John enjoyed the two days of his forced heat. The injection had worn off, and lucky for John and Molly their birth control hadn't been affected. Sherlock then wondered over his usually cold and stoic brother, obviously he was a slave to biology himself. Something Sherlock had to take pleasure in knowing, although he did feel sorry for the young pathologist, he had a feeling their lack of bonding was more Mycroft's decision than Molly's.
"So we get some fresh air then, huh Molls?" the smaller Omega nodded to John, her eyes focusing on the scenery flashing by. He sensed she was less than cheerful these last couple weeks. He made a note to ask her later, when they were in a more private setting.
The two were seated separately from the Alphas, which probably only added to the animosity. Sherlock had insisted John sit up front with the armed Beta and of course Mycroft agreed. Looking over his shoulder through the cab window, he could see the uncomfortable faces of the research team. The roads weren't exactly paved. Mycroft and Sherlock weren't any closer to finding Moriarty but they did keep finding these abandoned little places. They found John and Molly useful in selecting tissue samples of the bodies left behind.
Before John could think anymore into this, the cargo truck at the front of their caravan burst into flames, the road beneath shaking, and the heat blast was enough to push their truck back and rolling it on its' side. When the dust settled, John coughed, "Molly?" he managed.
"Yeah." She groaned, her body practically on top of his. He squinted through the dust, and smoke. The driver had a bullet in his head, the Doctor cringed, not having time to mourn the stranger. They were surrounded by gunfire, he could guess the truck at the back of the caravan was under fire.
He climbed over Molly, "Let me go first." She didn't protest, climbing through the shattered driver side window he scanned the area, and he had been correct. The military truck behind them managed to return fire, and John could see several men in black with AK's headed that way.
"Get out! Go!" John opened the door pulling Molly with him up and out, they both jumped down. They went to the back, several of the researchers were scattered in the grass groaning near the road, two more were dead. Molly closed their eyes, she turned away from the dead Alpha security officer with a broken neck just a few feet away.
"Molly!" John yelled snapping her attention to him. "They think we are all dead. I can tell by the way they are concentrating fire on the truck behind us. Let's get these guys further into the wooded area." The pathologist nodded, she forgot her aversion to Alphas and checked for the one's that were dazed and able to move.
Ryan was among them, he was helping one man limp in the direction John pointed. At first, the remaining four, excluding Ryan protested at the fact an Omega was telling them what to do. At that moment a man dressed in all black had rounded the truck, John didn't hesitate and shot the hostile in the head.
"Like John said, head for the trees!" Ryan growled.
"Almost there." Molly gritted, acting as a crutch to one Alpha with a broken leg. When they reached the trees she heard John right behind her, without hesitation he helped Molly in her struggle. They all laid flat hidden by the low hanging shrubs and underbrush, adrenaline pumping, John clutched the AK he'd acquired.
They witnessed soldiers in black demanding Mycroft's men get on their knees. John knew what came next, his stomach twisted. Molly let out a sob, and the others turned away. "It looks like they are going to question them first." John felt a sickening familiarity to this situation, he knew those men were good as dead.
"We need to assume they were targeting the research team." John wiped the blood from his lips, he must have bitten them at some point. "Lets push further in, find a low hanging tree or a cave to take cover in." No one protested and John moved ahead, about a mile away he found the perfect spot.
It was a small cave, the opening was narrow, and once you slide through there was a drop off where John and Molly could stand in this small space but the others had to sit or crawl.
"If they have Alpha's with them we are screwed. The scent of blood will lead them straight here." Ryan panted. Molly was busy putting a makeshift splint on the broken leg of a very pale Alpha.
"What's your name?" She asked softly.
"Arthur." He groaned when she tightened the strips of cloth she'd torn from her sleeves.
"I'm sorry Arthur but this is going to keep it in place until we can get out of here." John covered the caved area, and splinted an arm. Ryan had a concussion; he was the least injured of the group. John removed his army watch and handed it to the Alpha with the splinted arm. "Here, let him sleep but wake him up every two hours." He pointed at Ryan.
"You think we'll be here that long?" Ryan asked wincing John had taken his brown jumper off and turned one of the sleeves into a head bandage for him, as well as Henry. The rest of the jumper the blond laid over a shivering Arthur, fearing shock was settling in.
"Wait! Where the hell are you going John?" Ryan suddenly realized something was off.
"I have to go back to the road, it's been an hour. They may be gone by now, if so then we'll have a truck we can get away in. If not then we'll figure something out. Molly's gonna stay behind. I'll be right back."
"What if you get lost?" Arthur groaned.
"With the stink of you lot? I could find you in a hurricane."
"Hey! We don't smell. Do we?" Ryan protested, pulling his dirty shirt to his nose to give it a sniff. John laughed.
"Just hurry back." Molly kissed the blond Doctor's bruised forehead. He only saluted.
"Take care of this lot, don't think they'll be much use." There were several protests from the four Alphas, making Molly giggle.
John made it back to the road, he could see the smoke from the truck, and as he moved along the tree line he could make out loud voices.
He knew it would be at least another hour before Mycroft's people thought something was up, and sent someone to look for them. If he could just figure out a way to get to the others. They were still bound and on their knees in front of the truck. John felt his stomach twist, three had already been shot, leaving two. He had to do something, but what?
"Think Watson. Think!" he grumbled to himself. Looking through his scope he could see three men leaning against their own green tarped truck. A few meters behind the enemy was another truck. These assholes had expected more of a fire fight.
He stayed low, creeping closer it was easy for his small body to slide under the military truck. Mycroft's men were on their knees just within a fingers reach. John listened to their would be executioner yelling into a mobile.
Carefully he reached out staying low, tapping the boots just in front of him. He hoped the man was familiar with Morse code. The soldier followed John's directions, leaning back on his knees as if resting against the truck. Quick hands made to untie the thick rope, then he put one of the aquired 9 m in the soldier's hand. He moved slowly to the next man, and the next, all the while the unknown man in black was shouting about Omegas all smelling the same to him.
The small Omega handed his rifle to the second man he untied, taking the chance at being defenseless. Then the words he dreaded came from their attacker's mouth. "Goddammit! The Colonel is on his way. Less than five minutes. He wants to question these three." The goon pointed at the last survivors. "I almost feel sorry for them."
Right on cue Mycroft's men were up and firing, they retreated keeping close to John. The ex army doctor did a circle, to be sure they weren't followed, then John lead them into the small cave, careful to cover the opening.
"Holy hell." One of the security officers took a look around. "That was intense." Molly felt her stomach curling, too many Alphas in such a small space, their scents mixing. John felt her wordless panic, he slid closer to her his arm around her thin shoulders. She handed him back the hand gun, visibly relieved to be rid of it.
"We are going to have to find a way to cover our scent." John sighed.
"What?" a security officer frowned. "Why?"
"Because Moran is coming, he never travels without his pack of sniffer dogs. They'll find us easy."
"Well we radioed in for help, back up should be here."
"If communications hadn't been cut off before then." Another security officer with a bruised left eye and shattered cheekbone protested.
"I've got an idea." Molly offered scooting closer to John. "Why not take the bloody bandages and make a false trail. We can make it look like we traveled down stream. I can hear the running water, it cant be too far away." John could have kissed the woman.
"Brilliant. They wont consider the scent here, blood will make them follow the totally obvious path we make." John squeezed Molly to him, kissing her forehead.
When both Omegas started to climb out of the cave with the bloody bandages, the Alphas all protested. "No. It's too dangerous, you've done enough." Ryan stated quickly.
"It's true. It's our job let us do it." The security guard Howard went to pull the rags out of John's hands.
"I'll be faster, Molly and I are the only two not hindered by injuries. Besides this combined with our Omega scent is more convincing."
"No." Henry snapped. "It's too dangerous. Let someone-" The protective instincts of these Alphas were appreciated but not needed.
John ignored the protests he and Molly were already out of the hole, "Stay put!" The Doctor commanded and Molly tried not to giggle at the idea that they were ordering the Alphas around.
The trail was easy to make and they ended at the water, John cut his hand on a rock and was sure to wipe it on the trees they passed.
They returned less than thirty minutes later, they could hear the sound of heavy boots, and the smell of aggressive Alpha tainted the crisp forest air.
The two made it back and watched through the opening of their small hovel. Just as they predicted the men passed them unnoticed. "Oh Johnny boy I know you're out here! Come on home to daddy!" John froze, and he must have lost all color because Molly was helping him sit.
"It's him it's Moran. I'm not going back-" John nearly whimpered, startling those who had just witness his strength, bravery and skill as an ex soldier. Instinctively Ryan and Howard moved closer to the blond Omega, they were promising security and protection. John new better, he new they didn't have a chance if found.
"Oh, Johnny. You're hurting my feelings. How about I make a deal. You are so good at keeping a bargain. How about you and that other disgusting little Omega come out of hiding and we leave your merry little band of sub par Alphas alone. Just like last time." John held tight to Molly, Moran's voice was nearing.
"Sir! The river!" One of Moran's goons yelled.
Everyone in the cave held their breath.