Assassins Chapter 26

Larry woke up, startled. A loud sound had awoken him and it took him a few seconds to realize that the 'bang' had come from the hallway. What was going on? What was that sound? Larry tried to think straight. It had sounded like... like someone firing a gun! Oh no... It had been a gunshot! But... who had been shot? There was only one person Larry could think of.

"Charles!"

Larry tried to get up, but unfortunately he failed and fell to the ground. He suppressed a cry of pain and bit his lip. The professor heard more gunshots and - frightened - he tried to stand up. Finally the door opened and one of the agents came in. He helped Larry to stand up and brought him back to the bed.

"T... that were gunshots! I have to get to Charles!", Larry wailed and didn't want to lie down but the agent told him that he was taken care of. Against his will, Larry had to stay inside his room, hoping that his friend was alright.

Daniel fell to his knees and let his gun fall. What had happened? He had pulled the trigger... and Professor Eppes had been hit by the bullet. The mathematician had collapsed, blood staining his shirt red. Satisfied, Daniel had lowered the gun and then? Then shots had followed and he had felt a pain in his chest. It hurt so much. That was the first thing Daniel realized. When he looked down at the hurting part of his body he saw blood. Slowly he touched his chest and stared at the red color on his hand. No... That couldn't be! They should have caught him, not shoot at him. That hadn't been part of the plan. He would die. Daniel didn't want to believe it. Everything had gone wrong. He had given everything he had... and earned nothing. Daniel's last thought was that he had failed. Then his heart stopped beating. It was over.

Charlie gasped for breath when he hit the floor. His chest hurt and it felt like he would chocke to death. He didn't even realize what was going on around him. He didn't realize Daniel getting shot and doctors arriving and talking to him. He didn't hear their words. His thoughts were louder than their voices. Why couldn't he breathe? Why was he in pain? His brain tried to digest everything and it came to the conclusion that Charlie had been shot... in the chest. And he was losing a lot of blood. Charlie started calculating how long it would take him to die. He was trying to distract himself from the pain but the thought of his nearing death wasn't any better. Charlie closed his eyes and tried to calm down to decrease the blood loss. Slowly he lost consciousness.

Don arrived at the hospital and got out of his car. Amita seemed to understand that right now it was best to be separated from Charlie and Larry. It was to their own protection. Don entered the building with a strange feeling and it proved to be correct when one of his agents came running to him. He looked upset and Don immediately asked what was wrong.

"Agent Eppes... Your brother... he's been shot!"

Don's heart stopped for a moment when he heard this sentence. Charlie had been shot? That couldn't be true. Don had done everything he could to protect him. And still Charlie had been hurt.

"Where is he? Who did it?", Don tried to get all the information needed as fast as possible. The other agent told him that Charlie was in surgery right now and that the perpetrator was dead already. Don thought about the man that had escaped him. He cursed inside. Don had failed and he had endangered his little brother. He was so sorry.

Impatiently waiting Don and Alan sat in front of the door leading to the surgery area. They didn't say a thing. Both of them were lost in their own thoughts. Thoughts about Charlie and how the surgery would go. Don and his father didn't want to be pessimistic but their worry was big. What if Charlie would not survive? They didn't want to imagine it. It was better to think of the moment when they would pull Charlie into their arms again. And this moment would be soon, hopefully.

"Don, Alan."

Both men looked up and saw Megan running towards them.

"I've heard it from Aaron. How is Charlie?", she asked out of breath and looked from Don to Alan and back. Actually she had come to talk to Larry about Jocelyn's 'wish' but when she had heard that Charlie had been shot she had come to Don and his dad immediately. Maybe she could help them somehow.

"He's... still in surgery. What are you doing here? Didn't you want to question this Jocelyn?", Don first explained his brother's situation and then asked in confusion.

Of course he was glad that Megan was there and that she was worried about Charlie as much as they were but since Jocelyn was the last person alive knowing who the client was and if there were more assassins, Don had preferred his partner to be at the FBI.

Megan glanced at Alan and decided that he could hear her words too. So she told him about the talk with Joss and her wish to talk with Larry. Don thought about the fact that he had already failed protecting Charlie and said: "There's no way this woman is talking to Larry, that's too dangerous."

Megan nodded. That was her opinion too. On the other hand it was the only way to get the information.

"But - sorry for interrupting - Larry would be protected by agents, right?", Alan asked.

"Yes, of course. But the mental stress alone could be dangerous.", Megan explained her concerns. She was just worried about what would happen when Larry and Joss met again.

"But it is the only way to protect Charlie and Larry, isn't it? You could at least ask Larry."

Of course Alan didn't want that Larry was hurt again - neither mental nor physical - but in his opinion his friend should at least decide it himself. And maybe it was the only way to get Charlie and Larry out of danger. Don and Megan exchanged a glance. Alan was right. Larry had to make the decision. So Megan went to see her boyfriend.

Larry lay in his bed, attached to the cables again which had been torn out because of his fall, and stared at the ceiling. The doctor had told him that he should never do something like that again if his health was important to him. Some time ago Alan had been there to tell him that Charlie was in surgery. Then he had left to wait in front of the surgery area with Don.

Larry was afraid. Afraid that after Amita he could also lose his best friend. That couldn't happen. Everything shouldn't have happened. None of them should have been attacked in the first place. Larry tried to digest it all as hard as he could but it didn't work. He just didn't understand how it had come to this.

A knock at the door attracted his attention.

"Yes?", he called out and when the door opened and Megan came in he would have loved to cry. To see the woman he loved so much relieved him a lot."Megan...", he started but didn't know how to continue. The agent closed the door behind her and sat down next to his bed, took his hand in her own.

"How are you, Larry?", were Megan's first words and Larry sighed.

"As well as can be expected if you look at my injuries. I'm more worried about Charles.", he admitted and Megan looked at him worriedly. She had already assumed that his best friend getting shot concerned Larry a lot.

"I'm sure that he'll be fine.", Megan assured him with a soft smile but the smile vanished when she thought about the reason why she had come.

"Listen, Larry. I have to talk with you about something.", she said and then she told Larry about the talk with Joss. With every sentence Larry's worry grew and when he realized what Megan was trying to say he was not sure what to reply. Jocelyn would give them the information that would protect Charlie and him from some protection program but he had to talk to her. With the woman whose actions had brought him here. He swallowed thinking about it. Was the information worth the cost?

"I... I will do it. If Charles and I won't have to go to a safe house then... Yes, I will do it."

Larry was not sure if he had made the right decision but when he thought about Charlie being separated from his family because of a protection program he knew that it was right.

Megan didn't know how to react. Larry had said that he would talk to Joss. The one thing she didn't want to happen would happen now. But she couldn't change it. Joss would be brought to the hospital and talk to Larry.