A/N: Hey guys! So we have made it to the last chapter. This is super exciting for me! What a way to kick off my birthday.
I still haven't quite made up my mind whether I'll start posting the sequel on Monday or if I'll just give you guys a teaser while I hurry to finish it up. I'm still open to input if anyone has an opinion, however. :D
O
The van began its twisting and turning journey, obviously struggling to navigate some rather hairpin turns. Despite the sudden lull, Yassen took advantage of the time to study their escorts. Basic soldiers dressed in olive camo, armed with routine equipment: short range radios, sidearms, bullet proof vests, rifles. Yassen's eyes missed nothing. One or two had a backup guns in ankle holsters. Each soldier's belt came equipped with several pouches, likely offering ammunition, sedatives, and keys to the restraints. That was of particular interest to him. While it seemed like an oversight to give each soldier a key, in the event of an attack, all would need the ability to relocate the prisoners securely should the van become indefensible.
Yassen considered his options, ignoring the way Alex slid against his side as the van completed another precarious turn. Their body armor was basic and ended right at the neck, from what he could tell from the tell tale bulk beneath their uniforms. Not only would it leave them vulnerable to a well placed neck strike, but it would likely limit their range of motion as well.
Not that everything was in his favor. There were too many of them to take on at once, especially in close quarters and especially armed as they were. Of course, he'd have to find a way out of his restraints first. Perhaps if he-
Force hurled him against the side of the van, spinning them wildly.
Glass shattered somewhere nearby, but the reinforced windows held. Alex's head slammed against the metal, as did two of the guards. Fighting his momentum, Yassen reached out as best as he could, feeling the boy's head slam into his marginally softer wrists. The van spun a second time, coming to a sudden, jerking stop.
Yassen spared him a quick glance. Dazed, Alex's eyes remained wide and semi-lucid. It would have to do.
Gunfire erupted, semi-automatic rounds pitting on either side of them and rattling the exterior.
Radios squawked to life. "-under attack. Three vehicles, unknown number of assailants. Requesting immediate backup-"
Something pounded against the back door.
The soldiers gripped their rifles and raised them to ready positions, flicking off their safeties with a series of sharp cracks.
The one closest to the door twisted to face the others. "Hold your positions. Unless they break through, we do not-"
The van rocked as more shouts erupted outside, before a small controlled explosion sounded. One of the driver's doors ripped open with a shriek, rocking the suspension and leading to more gunfire.
The soldier nearest the door hesitated for only another second. If the driver and commanding officer had been killed, it was far more dangerous to stay in the back and let what Yassen assumed were Scorpia agents drive the van to a new location to be dealt with at their leisure. "Swanson, guard the prisoners. Mestiza, Tates, you're with me. Let's go."
The soldiers shoved open the doors, allowing Yassen one quick impression of three sets of vehicle lights broken only by the silhouettes of several dark figures, before shutting them sharply behind them.
The final soldier, Swanson, shot them an uneasy look before returning his gaze to the door. His breath came is short, controlled pants.
Alex was also riveted on it. Yassen nudged him with his knee and gave him a pointed look, blinking slowly. Seconds passed like an eternity. Yassen feared the child hadn't understood before Alex gave a small nod. Head tipping backwards, Alex slumped painfully against the van, arms dangling in his restraints above him in a solid imitation of a faint.
The radio crackled to life. "-reinforcements are en route. Team Delta's ETA is two minutes-"
Another volley of gunfire. Something that sounded like a grenade, too close for comfort.
"He's passed out," Yassen snapped, voice fast and urgent. "His head is bleeding."
The soldier glanced at the boy with a frown, shifting uneasily in his defensive position. Alex's slump was far too uncomfortable to be an obvious ploy. "It'll have to wait. Backup will send medics."
The van rocked again.
"That won't matter if he bleeds out," Yassen said, tugging on the chain securing him to the wall with a loud rattle. "At least put pressure on the wound. I'd do it myself, but I can't."
The soldier tore his eyes away from the door as the van began to inch forward. The radio fell silent. He stiffened, but it was impossible to tell who had taken control of the vehicle. Yassen couldn't feel the engine running, so likely it had simply been shifted into neutral and pushed.
The brakes screeched to life, halting them suddenly.
Panic-logic unfolded in the eyes of the soldier before him, the horror and realization breaking across his face like a crashing wave: he had to move the prisoners and assess the situation, with no guaranteed backup. The boy had to be conscious if they were to have a chance at getting out of here.
Rifle hanging by it's strap, he leaned forward to inspect Alex's head, fingers probing the blonde hair. He activated his radio with his free hand. "Prisoner injured. Requesting medical assistance. I don't see any blo-"
Yassen barely had enough slack; a centimeter less and he would have failed. Dragging himself forward, he felt the metal cuffs dig into his flesh and nearly dislocate his wrists as his fist dug into the man's jugular. He twisted. The soldier let out a strangled, wet garble as Yassen dragged him close enough to snap his neck.
He carefully shifted the corpse, trying to reposition the man's belt near his own hands. Another explosion rocked the van, followed by the droning whir of helicopter blades.
Alex sat up, staring at the limp man now lying in his lap. "Did you-?"
"Get the key," Yassen ordered him, nodding to the belt. "Check the first pouch."
Alex stared down at the dead man for a long second before self-preservation kicked in. Uncertain hands reached for the belt, fingers trailing along the edges of the pouch and fumbling with the catch. "I can't find it," he moaned, probing around before moving on to the next compartment. He exhaled with relief, hands fumbling as he produced a small silver key. Twisting his arms painfully, the boy managed to unlock himself with an almost inaudible click.
He turned to Yassen, key clutched between slim fingers, eyes flicking back to the dead soldier.
The assassin felt himself chill. "Alex?"
Another volley of semi-automatic gunfire made up the boy's mind. He quickly leaned over the dead man and wrestled Yassen's restraints off. "What do we do?" he asked, staggering as the van was knocked aside by a good three feet.
Yassen ripped the handgun free of the soldier's holster and checked the clip. Full and ready to go. He replaced it smoothly. "We'll have to chance it." Rooting around with his other hand, he tugged free the second, smaller handgun the man had concealed in his ankle holster and held it out. "Take this."
Alex's mouth dropped open. "You're giving me a gun?"
Another grenade went off, somewhere to their left. The sporadic gunfire was beginning to thin, though there was no way to tell which side was winning. The entire fight had only started less than three minutes ago.
"There's active shooting out there." Yassen felt his eyes narrow. "Why wouldn't I?"
Alex took the gun from him gingerly. "MI6 never let me have one, no matter how dangerous it was."
Yassen let out a disgusted sigh. "Of course they didn't." He braced himself against the door and turned back to Alex. "Stick close to me. Can you do that?"
"I think so. That injection is starting to kick in." Face tight and drawn, Alex looked down at the gun like he couldn't quite feel it's weight in his hand. Whatever fatigue inducing effects imparted by the sedatives had to battle the boy's adrenaline. They wouldn't have long. Yassen wasn't stupid enough to think that Alex would be much good in a fight in this condition, but hopefully he could stay on his feet long enough for Yassen to find them an exit. Semi-alert would have to do.
Yassen spared a second to wonder exactly what Alex's delusions made of all this before he flung open the van door.
High-beams assaulted his eyes, forcing him to drop into a quick crouch on the road. He felt rather than saw Alex do the same, pressing up against the reinforced metal of the van. A navy-blue sedan had pulled up horizontally behind the van, leaving ten feet of space between the two but otherwise blocking the road leading down the peninsula. It's crumpled fender suggested it as the source of the first impact, though now it offered cover to the two of remaining British soldiers as they returned fire. Their comrade lay fallen beside them, body still. Two more cars, dark shapes in the dim evening light, pointed directly at them from a position further up the sloped road; muzzle flashes appeared sporadically, set against the flickering orange strip of the mediterranean.
Yassen took a quick glance around the edge of the van, up the steep winding road that led back to the prison. Two large pickup trucks had forced their way around the van. Using them as shields, seven more Scorpia agents provided suppressing fire at the military forces trying to follow them down the road. Twenty yards to their left, a small, black helicopter waited in a tiny clearing between the trees of the jungle, rotors spinning and flanked by another four men approaching dressed in a mixture of black and white gear.
Scorpia.
The tide had turned. It took him all of a split second to decide his next move.
Yassen turned to Alex and grabbed his arm. "Stay close and just go along with it. Don't fight back. Don't question me."
"What? Who are they?"
"Scorpia."
Alex tried to jerk out of his hold, but his movements were unsteady. The sedatives must have been a bigger problem than he'd realized. "I told you. They'll kill me-!"
He shook the boy by the arm, giving him a hard look. "Just trust me. I have a plan."
Panicked brown eyes met his. Something flickered in them and he stopped trying to free himself. "Okay."
One of the regiment soldiers sheltering behind the sedan noticed them and turned back to hiss, "Get back in the-"
A bullet between his eyes silenced him. Yassen's gun spat out another, effectively ending the last of the British military presence in the center of the fight. Now, they were simply surrounded on the edges of Scorpia's makeshift barriers.
Alex's hand dug into his arm as Yassen dragged him towards the helicopter, refusing to release him. Given Alex's wobbly gait, Yassen realized that his grip was likely the main thing keeping the boy on his feet. The four men he'd spotted before shifted their weapons away from them as Yassen approached, nodding at him from behind their night vision goggles.
One man rushed forward, the light reflecting off his thin, but well built bullet proof vest. Mid-thirties, a tattoo of an octopus spidering it's way up his arm. Unfamiliar. He nodded to Yassen as the other three men swarmed around them, providing them with cover fire as a few shots made it past the wall that Scorpia had built with their vehicles. He had to shout to be heard over the whirring of the blades. "Gregorovich, we were told only you would be extracted-" he began, American accent just barely discernible over the noise.
"The boy comes." Yassen dragged him forward, as though to emphasize the point.
The man hesitated, eyes flicking back to Alex. "But that's-"
"Hey, Walker," Alex said, voice slurred as his fingers tightened around his gun. At least he'd had the good sense to lower it. "You graduated?"
Yassen felt his lips press together. Fantastic. Of course they'd run into someone who recognized Alex. The luck of the devil swung both ways.
He jerked his head at the helicopter, meeting Walker's eyes squarely. "Catch up later. I'll deal with the consequences, but he comes."
Walker gave a sharp nod, obviously unwilling to run out the precious few seconds they'd bought by arguing with their target. Stepping forward, he unceremoniously ripped Alex's handgun from his grasp and shoved him at the helicopter. "Very well. We need to move."
Alex tensed and scowled, but stayed close to Yassen as he staggered across the uneven ground. Not that he had a choice since Yassen refused to release his arm until they were onboard.
The pilot glanced back at them through the open door, but quickly returned his attention to the controls. Landing in this spot had been tricky enough, Yassen knew, and taking off without hitting any of the trees would be even harder. Once that was accomplished, there would almost be the matter of avoiding whatever forces the prison and surrounding military bases could muster in the next five minutes.
He pushed Alex in front of him, half lifting him into the helicopter before anyone else could climb in. "Put on your seatbelt."
Alex twisted to give him an irritated look from where he was struggling to climb over the seats, lips bloodless and eyes hazy. "That's what you're worried about? Now? That's what you think is going to get me killed?"
Yassen took the seat next to him, reaching over to snap the little spy's buckle himself.
Walker followed them in and crouched in the open doorway, snapping orders to the two men on the ground. The other operative took the seat across from Alex. One seat less than expected, the team's escape plans would have to be adjusted on the fly but Yassen was certain that the priority was to get in the air immediately. Whatever anti-aircraft munitions available on the peninsula were likely seconds away from being fully operational.
With a final nod, the two agents on the ground nodded and took off for the trucks.
The Scorpia agent across from Alex shoved a headset at the boy before offering one to Yassen. Grasping it, Yassen rammed the man in the chin, effectively knocking him out before turning to the door.
Walker pivoted mid-crouch, gun raised. Already too late.
Yassen never wasted a second. His bullet caught the man right in the side of his head. Hopefully Alex hadn't been too fond of the man.
Yassen kicked Walker's body out the open door, spinning on his heel to grab and haul out the prone form of the second man. It was difficult to gather the momentum in such a cramped space, but Yassen had done dicier things in smaller confines and quickly sent the body tumbling to the ground.
The pilot shouted something, twisting in his seat to aim at Yassen. A shot went out the open door, missing Yassen's shoulder by mere millimeters. He didn't manage to get off another before Yassen slid into the cockpit and shot him in the throat, catching a major artery before the man could begin calling codes into his headset. Blood spurted across the controls as the man instinctively dropped his gun, clutching at his throat.
Yassen scowled suddenly, wondering if the sight of spattered blood would fuel Alex's near inevitable panic attack. It was probably a small miracle he hadn't had one already, much less passed out. Yassen made a face as he finished the man off with a bullet to the temple, shoving open the pilot's door to dispose of the body even as he pulled the man's headset free of his head. Slipping it on, he slid between the seats and into the main cabin.
Alex clutched his harness with both hands, slumped forward in his chair, more or less cradled in it's straps. Yassen slammed the cabin door shut, not trusting the boy's unsteady legs enough to even bother asking him to do it, before turning to unbuckle him.
"I changed my mind. Come up front with me," he ordered.
Alex stared up at him, blinking slowly as Yassen ripped the straps free of his torso. There was no time for reassurances or to appeal to the part of Alex's brain still functioning through whatever fear or pharmaceutical based haze had swallowed him. Finally freeing the child, Yassen realized Alex's eyes had shut.
He grabbed his arm and tried to drag him from his seat. Alex shook his head, cracking open tired eyes with obvious effort.
"Can't," he mumbled, falling back against his seat.
Yassen only had seconds to decide. On the one hand, he was tempted to let Alex sleep in the cabin area in favor of getting them away. On the other, if he woke up or had some kind of hallucination, there would be nothing Yassen could do while flying the helicopter. He grimaced, hooking one arm around Alex's shoulders and the other behind his knees. The boy made a startled sound as Yassen carried him into the cockpit and dropped him into the co-pilot's seat.
"Seatbelt," he snapped, doubting Alex actually heard it.
"-rcraft Alpha, what's your status-"
He deactivated the radio and began checking the controls, noticing distantly that Regiment reinforcements had arrived and nearly broken through the Scorpia blockade. Fortunately, no one on Scorpia's payroll seemed to notice that their squad leader had died less than a minute ago. With luck, he had another before anyone realized they weren't being coordinated over the radio anymore.
Beside him, Alex struggled with his seatbelt. His blonde head seemed almost dwarfed by the large black headset, face pinched and weary in the soft green light of the cockpit. The sound amplifiers in his headset's microphone actually highlighted how faint his voice had become. "Yassen? I don't think I can stay awake much longer."
"Then don't," Yassen assured him, grabbing the lever as he gently tugged them into the air. "I'll wake you if I need you."
Yassen took off. The helicopter bobbed and swayed. Despite their proximity to the coast the wind was soft and negligible. Now, if he could just get them past the trees...
Alex absently bit his fingernails, seatbelt finally secure and struggling to keep his eyes open. "You're double crossing Scorpia. Again," he said.
"They'll kill both of us," Yassen explained, easing them up and out of the treeline.
The peninsula rose up beneath them, the mediterranean shining as the lights of Gibraltar flickered in the near-distance. Almost arbitrarily, he picked a direction along the coastline and opened the throttle. The chopper plunged forward instantly. Distance would be the biggest factor in their escape. Once he found a place suitably far from here to land, he'd have to focus on finding somewhere to lay low until he could access his accounts or steal whatever they needed to get out of the area.
Alex sighed and drew his knees up to his chest awkwardly. There wasn't much room in the cockpit to get comfortable. He shut his eyes. "Alright."
Something in his posture seemed off. Unless Alex was afraid of flying, he shouldn't be so tense, not as pumped full of sedatives as he was. "Are you having a hallucination?"
A sardonic smile curled around the boy's lips. "I've been having them ever since we got in the van."
Yassen furrowed his eyebrows, checking Alex over. "More than one?"
"Jack's burning," Alex mumbled, still not opening his eyes. His breathing was slow and steady, almost sleep-like. "Julius is laughing and you're bleeding." He opened his eyes then, the action seemingly taking a monumental amount of effort. A small, flickering smile was aimed Yassen's way. "The crocodiles are stuck on the ground, though. That's pretty good."
"Yeah," Yassen said, studying the boy in the dim light of the cockpit. Night closed in around them, reflected by the dark and rolling sea. The warmth of the sun had gone completely from the horizon, leaving a blank canvas for the stars flaring to life above them. "That's pretty good."