A/N: Still stuck in limbo. Haven't received my final walking papers from the bank. I'm digging in until I do. It's nice and toasty here and freaking cold over at that other house. Like a refrigerator.

Chapter Twenty-nine

Too Little Too Late?

Marcus's Pov

Looking at Christian no one could guess how angry he is by his calm demeanor. One look into those steel grey eyes and you can see the storm brewing there. Those of us who really know him know to be wary when he is this calm during a crisis at least one involving those he cares about. His control is likely to snap at any moment.

I am much easier to read right now. I'm desperate and don't care who knows it. I take that back, I wouldn't want our adversaries to see me in this weakened condition. All this fucking technology and we still don't know who is doing this or where the fuck Sonja and Ana are. We can have all the theories we can imagine but they are of little help until we know exactly who we are dealing with and where the fuck they are.

We had Sonja and Ana on screen then nothing. Everything went dead. If Christian's man Taylor hadn't restrained him and Mason and Jack hadn't held me back likely we'd have torn the place apart in angry frustration. What do these fuckers want? We've agreed to all of their terms up to now, not gone to the police and still we are being tormented.

My phone signals I have a text. Grabbing it off the conference table I hit the button so I see who dares to contact me at a time like this. It won't be either Sonja or Ana as it is to be assumed their phones were disabled when the GPS was disabled. Everyone in the building has been told not to call my office unless they wanted to find new employment.

"Fuck. Shit. Christian, take a look at this." I signal with my head for Taylor to follow close behind Christian. He'll need to be sedated after looking at what is on my phone.

"Oh God no. You fucking cowards. Come after me, not my wife and children." He's shouting at the picture on the phone as if there is someone on the phone to hear him. Calm now deserts him as with a sweep of his hand he clears everything within striking distance from the table. Picking up a chair he hurls it into the glass on the street side windows. Luckily they are made to take a heavy impact without breaking.

Taylor whispers something to Christian while holding him still with only a hand on the distraught husband and father's shoulder. Christian becomes boneless as he sinks into a chair. Dropping his head down he places it on folded arms. He is a defeated man. One believing all he holds dear is lost to him.

This is painful to see. Christian is such a powerful, prideful man and yet now he looks utterly defeated and broken. Taylor gives him a moment then whispers something else into Christian's ear that startles him into activity. He's back, Fifty Shades of Fucked Up and ready to decimate some assholes daring to threaten his woman and children. Now this, this is the Christian I know, the Christian I try very hard to stay on the right side of at all times. He's one dangerous motherfucker when crossed. Put his family in danger and all societal restraints are removed. This man is the man we've needed all along.

"Okay, I'm over it. I'm still so fucking mad I can't see straight but as Taylor reminded me we still have to find and rescue our loved ones. Thanks Taylor. As ever you're the voice of calm reason."

"You'd have come to your senses soon enough but as time is of the essence I felt it necessary to push you a little." For one brief moment they share a twist of the lips that passes for a smile then it's all down to business.

"Taylor, that chip I had injected into Ana, activate it."

What? He put a GPS tracking device in Ana? I'll bet they had a hell of a fight over that unless…Christian can be sneaky when it comes to stalking. I wouldn't put it past him to inject Ana while she slept. Damn it. I wish I had thought to do something like that, with Sonja's permission of course. I think I could have persuaded her, especially after recent events.

I'm still eyeing Christian as he follows Taylor to a bank of monitors connected to dozens of computers. Catching me eyeing him speculatively he growls defensively, "Ana and I discussed it. She agreed to letting me inject the device so long as I didn't activate it until needed during an emergency." As an aside for my ears only he says quietly, "She didn't consider needing to fuck her desperately as an emergency so I had to turn it back off."

"Hey man, I make no judgments. In fact, let me know where you got the damn thing so I can get one in Sonja." I'm frowning wondering why this technology didn't occur to me.

As if reading my mind he says, "This isn't on the market yet. There are similar devices but this one is special. It's something our foreign office is testing. It can't be disabled by any devices on the market as it has a frequency disrupter. I'm toying with developing it for government use. At least it isn't a bigger deadlier bomb."

Several seconds go by with all of us focused on the screens. Finally there is a blip. Now all we have to do is use satellite imaging to find a location. Within seconds we have a location. The blip is stationary. That is both good and bad. Good because we have the location and it isn't likely to change, bad because that could also mean…oh fuck! It could mean we may find only bodies.

Every man from Christian's security and mine are gathered ready to move at a moment's notice. We have some thirty men in all. It says a lot for their loyalty to have even those men off duty coming in without being ordered to do so. They are volunteering without bargaining for hazardous pay.

We pile into three vehicles. Since we're pretty sure they will expect us we must be even more cautious than usual. A nighttime operation would maybe be more amenable for our mission but we can't sit around on our asses waiting for dark.

Christian and I are both given a bulletproof vest and a glock. I've shot a gun before but not at a person. Christian is firmly against them so as a safety precaution I pull him aside to ask, "Christian, do you know how to shoot without taking your finger off or shooting yourself in the foot?"

"Fuck no I don't know how to shoot a gun. I meant to learn after the last Jack Hyde incident but what with having the kids it sort of went out of my mind. Guns and kids don't correlate in my book."

Standing in front of him so no one can see I give him a few quick tips. The first is how to take the safety off and put it on. The second is how to eject the clip then put it back in. With luck he won't need to reload. I show him how to chamber a round. He's holding the gun up sideways like in the movies. I take his wrist and tell him, "It works better this way. That sideways crap is only for the movies. It might look cool but it doesn't give you any better aim."

We've parked on the backside of the building across from where our quarry is. Fanning out we use abandoned machinery parked in the lot as cover. Mason and Taylor are in charge of our movements. Everyone is watching them for directions. I can tell Christian hates not being in charge just as I do. It doesn't feel right to place the safety of loved ones in the hands of someone else but in this case the other two men are more qualified for what needs to be done.

It feels like a long time before we are close enough to move in but it is actually only minutes. Mason is wearing a Bluetooth as is Taylor. The men all have them too. Christian and I share a disgusted look as neither of us thought to ask for one. Some heroes we are. I suppose we have the excuse of being distraught. I'm not afraid to admit I'm fucking terrified.

We get the signal to move in. A few men take hold of the doors. On a signal from Mason they open the doors then the rest move in quickly. Christian and I follow close on their heels. We are anxious to find our loved ones. My heart is in my mouth as the first spray of bullets starts being exchanged.

Oh God! My heart stops beating as I see a man standing over a pile on the floor that I assume are the children as it is so small and I see both Ana and Sonja. Sonja lunges forward tackling the man. He rolls then comes to his feet. Turning around he sends an evil glance over his shoulder I know is directed toward Christian. He then turns back to the pile on the floor raising his gun aiming it directly at Teddy's red hair.

Christian shouts, "You motherfucker Lincoln. I should have killed you the last time you fucked with my family. I'll rectify that mistake right now."

On the other side about twenty feet away is Honey, standing there with gun raised firing not at the men coming toward her but at another woman. From the description Christian and Ana have given me I'd say this was none other than Elena Lincoln, Christian's Mrs. Robinson.

The older woman falls to the floor. Honey then turns her gun in the direction of Sonja. Snarling something unintelligible she moves aiming her gun directly at Sonja. I see at least one bullet hit it's mark as Sonja gives a loud moan then is quiet. Mrs. Lincoln raises her arm holding a gun. Holding it with both hands to steady her shaking hand she fires, emptying the clip. Honey goes down. I don't know if she's only wounded or dead. God help me, I hope she's dead.

My attention turns back to Sonja. I only have time to see her throwing herself across the bodies lying amongst the pile of rags on the floor. Linc fires. I see Sonja's body jerking. I know she's been hit a second time. Linc jerks, I see a red stain growing on his shirt. He's been hit in the back twice.

Shots continue to hit him even after he's down. Turning I see Christian still clicking away even though he's emptied his gun as he walked toward Linc. He doesn't have a permit, this operation might not be totally legal, so, the last thing he needs is to be caught holding the gun that shot and likely killed a man. Shooting him in the back is not a justifiable shooting in the eyes of the law. With everyone here there is no problem seeing that Christian had a righteous shoot.

I want to go to Sonja but there are medics tending to her. Not being sure what we'd find we brought along several EMT specialists. Sirens are now reaching our ears. The police will be here in a matter of minutes. I need to work fast. Christian saved me committing murder. The least I can do is make sure it looks like Honey shot and killed Linc.

Removing the gun from Christian's slack hand I take it with me over to where Honey is lying. Feeling no pulse I remove her gun and replace it with Christian's after wiping the fingerprints. I then place it in Honey's hand making sure to place her fingers properly on the stock of the gun and the trigger. I put the other gun in the waistband of my jeans. I'll drop it down into the drainage ditch then retrieve it later when it's safe. Unless Christian confesses no one will know he killed a man in cold blood. If he hadn't I damn well would have.

Walking over to Mrs. Lincoln I feel her pulse. She is dead also. At least there won't be anyone left alive to dispute the story we'll tell about how things went down.

All of this sounded like it took a long time when we repeated events to the police later, but it all happened in a matter of a few minutes. Only a few minutes and three people are dead, two women traumatized and one, the woman I care about above all others lies still covered in blood while two men work to stabilize her so she can be transported to a hospital. The children didn't witness the carnage and we all agreed to keep it that way. No sense in giving them nightmares.

Christian has gone into shock. They are checking him out. He keeps staring down at his open palms. I'm wondering if he's imagining Linc's blood covering them. Ana is speaking to him quietly as they stand nearby watching as Teddy and Phoebe are checked out.

"They appear not to have suffered any from being drugged. It should start to wear off. We'll go ahead and hook them up to an iv just as a precaution. When we get them to the hospital they can give you a more precise diagnosis," one of the techs says. Seeing that Christian looks as if he's out of it he says to Ana, "Maybe we should have a look at your husband. He's not looking too steady. He might be suffering from shock. Can't say as I blame him after what the two of you have gone through."

"Christian, these men want to check you out just to be safe. They won't touch you. I'll hold anything that needs to go on your chest or back." Noting the puzzled looks from the techs Ana explains, "My husband suffered a trauma as a child and doesn't like to be touched on his torso."

"Fuck. Pardon ma'am but we're going to need another ambulance. We can't transport this many people in just two. It isn't safe plus, we couldn't move as freely as we need to if we're overcrowded. We'll take the kids and the woman. Your husband can ride in the ambulance that's on its way."

Christian stirs hearing them mention removing his children from his sight again. "No!" he shouts forcefully. "Please Ana." He sounds so beaten, so on the edge of a complete breakdown. Damn it, I've yet to speak to or touch Sonja and now I have to deal with this. Shit!

"Ana, why don't you let Christian ride with me. I'll follow the ambulances to the hospital. That way you can go with Teddy and Phoebe." It's the best I can do. I want to ride with Sonja but I owe Christian.

"No!" Christian shouts again this time raising pleading eyes to Ana. There is a shimmer of tears in his eyes. Fuck. To see this proud man in this shape is humbling. I want to let go and howl like a baby but I am needed by Christian and my sweet Sonja.

"Christian, look at me." When he turns his head to me I say with passion, "You know you can trust Ana and I hope you know you can trust me. Let us do what is best for everyone. I promise I'll stick right on the tail of the ambulance carrying your family, whatever it takes. I give you my solemn vow."

He stares into my eyes as if digging through all my crap down to the meat and bone of my soul. Whatever he finally sees must be convincing for he nods his head and stands ready to hand over his trust to me. Having settled this I now am able to focus on getting everyone where they are supposed to be and still find a few seconds to drop the gun Christian killed Mr. Lincoln with down the drainage grate out back. I had to make certain no one saw me as that would bring scrutiny I didn't want or need.

When I've made sure Sonja and everyone else is going to be alright I'll come back to deal with the gun. Dropping it in the deepest part of the ocean is preferrable to what I must do with it. Taking a boat out far enough would take more time than I feel comfortable with being away from Sonja. I suppose I'll take the thing apart and drop pieces along some lonely stretch of roadways over time. Certainly I won't keep the pieces in the same place until I can dispose of them. Better to go the extra mile than end up in prison because I got lazy.

All the way to the hospital Christian is quiet. Just as we pull into the emergency parking lot he stirs and says, "I won't forget what you and Sonja have done for my family Marcus. I can't get the picture out of my mind of him falling to the cold floor and yet I couldn't stop firing. If I had more bullets I'd have shredded that bastard. I hate what I had to do but I'd do it again without hesitation to save those I love."

"Christian, what you did, it...it will stay with you always. I won't lie about that. What I can say is it will fade and when things return to normal you can look at it all with calmer eyes. None of us could have done anything differently. They gave us no choice. Hell, if you hadn't shot the bastard I would have. I'm a better shot. I'd have taken his head off. Every round would have hit its mark. Go in, get checked out, then go be with your family. They need you and I know for damn sure you need them."

Unbuckling his seatbelt Christian opens the door then pauses. "Anything, anything you ever need, ask and it's yours."

With that we head into the emergency room. I have to find my Siren, by beloved Sonja.