CHAPTER 29
Zack looked down at the dying body in front of him just a few feet away. Blood was spewing from his mouth and the hole in the chest wasn't making anything better. Bobby looked up at him motioning him to go as he held his chest with his hand to stop the bleeding the best he could.
"Poor fucker." Paulie whispered not feeling sorry in the slightest way Zack glared up at her. "He's gonna die slowly, but then again not my problem." She looked back to her bother putting the gun to him.
"Zack!" Max screamed running down the hall with Janet and Dominique. "Bobby!" Paulie looked up and went out into the hall firing her gun at them. They jumped back dodging the bullets. With this escape Zack had he bolted up and punched Paulie straight in the face. Giving blow after blow to his sister in pure rage wanting nothing but payback now, as a last resort Paulie blindly kicked out knocking Zack to the floor.
She looked around for her gun but found that it had fallen down the railing and on to the floor below. Paulie jumped up looking around for a way out and ran past the people quickly. Max had gone over to Zack's side to see if he was alright while Janet went into the room.
"Oh my god." She rasped coming back out of the room, Max looked up concerned. "Bobby's dead." Dread washed over all their faces and Zack struggled to get to his feet.
"We have to go." He wheezed trying to gain his balance. "Paulie is probably after Lucy, we have to help them." Max looked at him then to her teammates nodding, he was right.
"Let's go, we'll come back for Bobby later." She ordered running down the stairs quickly with her friends.
"Let's go quickly." Lucy rushed motioning with her hands to the girls to hurry up. "Scud where's our ride?"
"It's on the way Lucy." He replied and Lucy looked up to the sky impatiently for the helicopter. A rumbling was heard followed by the feel of gusted wind to their faces and the black helicopter came into view slowly making its way to the ground.
A smile of relief came on Nikki and Amy's face, a loud shot was heard and a bullet hit the aircraft making it spark as the bullet was deflected. Lucy jolted at the sudden shot and looked ahead of her self to see Paulie running over to stop them.
"Shit, Amy get back." She growled holding up her gun again.
"You're not going any where!" Paulie hissed and looked to the girls and Amy. "You are all getting on my last nerves." Paulie pulled out another gun aiming it to Lucy as well and no one made a move. "I'm going to enjoy this."
"No you're not!" Zack yelled out elbowing Paulie in the face when she turned around then fell.
"Zack!" Nikki called in glee and watched them fight for control. Zack banged Paulie's head to the ground dazing her.
"Get to that helicopter fast!" he screamed getting a back handed hit from Paulie. He flipped back at impact but sprang back to bring Paulie to her back.
"Scud bring it down now!" Lucy bossed as Nikki flinched and panicked with each hit her bother was taking. They had lost their gun for now and were just wrestling and punching.
"There's no way we can get them on if it's going to land." Max noted looking at the aircraft then the twins. "It'll take a while for it to get back up and by then she could kill us. We'll need to keep it in the air mid way and tie the girls up to be pulled inside."
"How are we going to do that? Janet asked looking from the helicopter then to the fight.
"I'll do it." Nikki volunteered Max agreed.
"We'll tie her up and she'll climb in and get the girls in that way. Tell Scud to go half way." Max explained Lucy directed the orders and soon the ride was half way down the ground and a rope was tossed out. Nikki grabbed it tying it around her self; Max checked to see if it was tight enough and gave her the ok to go up.
Nikki gave one last look to Zack who got a kick to the face from Paulie and she took a deep breath going up the aircraft quick but carefully.
"We don't have much time." Amy whispered seeing Nikki go half way to the top.
"Where's Bobby?" Lucy asked seeing they were one man short. A frown came upon Max, Janet, and Dominique's face.
"He didn't make it." Janet replied lowly putting her head down and Lucy's face was just like theirs.
"Ok I'm up!" Nikki signaled and Amy took the two ropes that were thrown down.
"Come on girls we're gonna go home now. When I tie this around you I want you to hold on real tight and don't move ok?" Amy instructed squatting down in front of her daughters.
"Yes mommy." Andy agreed upon and Amy began to tie her as Lucy got Jody.
"You're not going to win this time Paulie. Things have changed and even if you do win this they'll catch you." Zack panted out of breath as he circled his sister.
"You think I care? I'm just doing my job to watch my own ass Zack. I thought you got that all figured out." Paulie spat glaring at him she too was out of breath. "Are you trying to talk me into feeling remorse and say I'm sorry, that it?"
"No of course not." Zack shook his head and did a summer Sault between Paulie's legs and got up to grab the gun that was on the floor behind her. He jumped to his feet pointing the gun at her she turned around. "It's much too late for forgiveness don't you think?"
With that said he shot her straight in to the stomach, Paulie gasped out at the feeling of the bullet plowed into her and fell to the ground placing a hand on her wound. Blood pouring out thickly like a waterfall and Zack watched her suffer and fall to the ground, her face buried in the dirt. Zack let out a gust of held in air and dropped the gun walking back to the helicopter where Nikki was pulling Andy and Jody.
"It's over." He announced happy at last, everyone gave him a happy smile as well. Zack looked up at Nikki smiling widely at him and she smiled back at him.
"Janet go get Bobby's body we'll need to get him buried by the agency." Max spoke and Janet hurried off inside the warehouse.
"Ok they're in." Nikki sighed pulling the girls fully in.
"Ok Amy, Max you next let's go." Lucy called getting the two ropes and handed them out.
"We did it. Zack smiled seeing them go to safety, while he didn't see Paulie push up to her knees with the gun in hand. She grinned painfully and aimed the gun at Zack's back, Nikki saw her.
"No!" she pleaded Zack turned around to see what happened and Paulie pulled the trigger shooting Zack right in the chest. After the first shot there was a second one right to his heart he gasped out in shock choking on his blood in the back of his throat. Blood tricked down the side of his mouth as he held his bleeding wound and fell to the ground.
"Fuck!" Lucy screamed and Paulie laughed darkly aiming the gun to Amy and Lucy had only just a second to react. The sound of the back-fired gun was heard and Lucy went in to take it.
"Lucy don't!" Amy begged but it was no use, she was already in front of her and she was hit. Blood splattered on to Amy's clothes and some droplets even sprinkled onto her face. Paulie gave out one more shot hitting Lucy in the shoulder blade, Max enraged shot out her machine gun. The rounds went off one at a time all hitting Paulie's body, she shook and jolted at the impact and fell to the ground dead for real this time. A large puddle of blood spreading to the dirt staining it crimson red rapidly.
Nikki looked down to her dead brother in tears as Max and Amy went to Lucy's side who was still struggling to stay alive.
"God Lucy, she's…she's bleeding too much." Amy cried putting pressure to the wound on Lucy's stomach and Max got the shoulder blade.
"We can still save her." Max noted looking down at the bleeding brunette.
"Mama!" the twins spoke seeing the blood below Nikki held them back from not seeing while she too was crying.
"Scud where's the nearest hospital?!" Max asked taking Lucy's radio from her front pocket. She was going in and out of consciousness trying to fight the pain and the death around her. She was slightly going into shock, which was never a good thing.
"Lucy! Stay with me, look at me Lucy!" Amy yelled smacking her face to keep her up and her eyes open.
"It's 8 miles from here make room I'm landing." Scud informed and everyone stood back, Amy kneeled down next to Lucy her head in her lap.
Lucy opened her eyes again looking around her and saw the aircraft land just before passing out.
"Lucy? Lucy!" it was Amy's yell and that was the last thing she heard.
HOSPITAL
"We need an emergency surgery done let's assemble the team!" The doctor yelled while running and pushing the stretcher he had. Lucy was placed inside while nurses worked to keep the bleeding low she had various wires and tubes hooked to her.
"Gunshot to the abdomen and shoulder." A nurse noted looking the brunette over as her clothes was being removed.
"There could be main arteries and an organ hit we need to go." The doctor explained the gated doors opening up in front of him for the surgery. "Miss I'm sorry you can't come in here."
Janet and Max were at Amy's side stopping her from going into the room. The doctor gave her an apologetic look and hurried inside with the rest of the nurses to work on Lucy.
"She'll be ok." Janet whispered getting Amy into a warm hug as she cried.
"You know Lucy, she's always a fighter." Max added in to try and break any tension they had. Scud was over at the waiting room holding the girls though no one told them anything they knew what was going on.
Scud looked beside him once the girl quieted down a little more of their sobbing to Nikki. She was sitting in what looked like a curling position, tears down her face she seemed to be in her own world.
"Hey." Scud called to her, she turned around wiping away several tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry about your brother." Nikki gulped feeling this ball in her throat she held her stomach wanting to throw up everything she's eaten at this thought.
Her brother was gone, her crazed sister killed Zack but he wanted it. He would have wanted to die in mid fight with out a second thought. But though it did happen Nikki couldn't just wrap the reality of this around her mind so quickly everything around her was in slow motion.
"Thanks." Is all she said back and looked in front of her staring to her dirty blood stained hands. The battle was finally over but not with out a price and the lost of two people and pretty soon that was going to be three now if Lucy didn't pull through.
Scud looked back to the girls not knowing what else to say to Nikki in this state of mind so all he did was hold the girls closer to him. Their crying had stopped to sniffling and whimpering as they slowly began to go to sleep exhausted from everything around them. They clung on to Scud for comfort and judging how tight their hold was for protection too. He looked up seeing Janet sit next to Amy comforting her as she cried and Max walked over in front of him.
"How is it?" he asked afraid for the answer him self.
"It's a 50/50 chance at their best guess." Max replied taking a seat finally and relaxing just the slightest bit. "How are the girls?"
"Pretty much scared out of their minds but they're finally getting some rest." Scud answered looking down at them in his lap. They had quickly fallen asleep he stroked their hair softly.
"Now we wait." Max sighed out looking down to her hands on her lap the waiting room was thick silence. Too much silence for them all but there was nothing anyone can say or do to get rid of it. Everyone was in their own world of thoughts on this fight they just have beaten.
Soon Scud found him self a sleep in his chair while he wanted and only woke up to the sound of Janet's voice calling his name.
"Scud!" she whispered he only groaned and moved around only to find that he couldn't move. "Scud, hey can you hear me!"
He woke up looking around him and at Janet's face tiredly, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
"What is she ok?" Scud asked yawning and stretched the best he could with the twins still in his lap sleeping. He looked to his watch seeing he had been out for only thirty minutes but they've been in the hospital for over two hours.
"Lucy's still in surgery but I saw you with the twins and your legs must be in some need of a walk. "Come on I'll bring the girls to Max it's no big deal." Janet offered picking up Jody and Scud carefully got Andy.
"We're going for a walk would you like something?" Janet offered to Max and Dominique, Amy was asleep in her chair so she couldn't speak at the time. "Any coffee?"
"Coffee would be great thanks." Max agreed to and held on to the twins in her arms.
"We'll try to hurry back." Janet waved goodbye and walked out with Scud beside her. Together they walked into the cool night air it was relaxing to them to breathe in the sweet earthy air rather then the hospital air that was filled of all sorts of medicines, cleaners, and anything else they've added in there.
Scud gave Janet a loving smile as they walked to the street just a few blocks from the hospital. Janet went to order the coffees as Scud went to the back for any food he could get to eat he was pretty sure soon the girls would wake up and be hungry. After choosing the bars of candy he went to get a couple of juices.
His arms full of junk food and drinks he made his way to the front and placed them on the front counter where the clerk rounded them up and Janet paid.
"I know this is REALLY a bad time and this has to make me the ultimate person of bad timing but we need to have that talk now." Scud hesitated carefully not looking to Janet. She took her bag handing it to Scud and got the coffee, panic was placed on her face again.
"Ok when we get out side." She agreed to and they walked out seeing a bench not far away from them they took a seat. Or more like Janet took the seat Scud was up and pacing which didn't make matters better for them.
"Sorry just give me a minute here this is a big thing I'm going to say." He chuckled lightly taking a few deep breaths to gather himself together. "Janet I love you so very much you know that. You're my world and these few years of being together have been great and everything I could imagine. Hey I even give you major credit for putting up with me on how stupid I can be."
Janet began to worry seeing where this talk was going all she needed now for assurance was the But there would always be a but in this type of talk.
"But I…" Scud went on and Janet began to freak inside Scud faced her now. "Oh screw it." He dug into his pocket frantically. "I'm not one for big speeches in these type of things I don't know how Lucy did it. So I'm just gonna be straight forward and say Janet will you marry me?"
Janet's face shot up in glee at the question and even bigger at the sight of the ring Scud even went down on one knee.
"Yes!" she shrieked out in happy tears Scud looked up at her and she boosted off the bench to give him a tight hug almost knocking him to the ground.
"Ok babe as much as I like your hugs, I need air!" Scud chocked out Janet pulled back blushing and she jumped up and down in excitement while squealing. Scud stood up and took Janet's left hand in his own then placed the ring on her ring finger.
She looked to the diamond in aw on her finger it was a perfect fit. She couldn't help but wonder how could he have gotten this ring without her even knowing?
"You kept me in fear for this?" she asked looking up to her now fiancé Scud smiled giving her a nod.
"Well it wasn't supposed to scare you." He added in
"Every girl knows when her boyfriend says we need to talk it usually means a bad thing!" Janet tutored
"Well I'm not one of those types of boyfriends that go by those rules then I guess huh?" Scud smiled putting an arm around Janet's waist and gave her a kiss on her temple.
"No but that's what I love about you." She giggled looking at her ring one last time; she couldn't wait to show Max and the others. They both now headed back to the hospital with actually happy smiles in place.
