A/N: Thank you as always for the reviews.
Two chapters on one day… please don't expect this going forward. The last couple of chapters were already done and just needed editing as I knew you would not like to wait too long for the updates of this part of my story.
I hope you enjoy!
Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.
Christian POV:
As we burst into the warehouse from all directions, our entrance causes the distraction we hoped for. What I didn't hope for, or even would have imagined in a hundred years, is what the hell happened next.
We are still about thirty feet from them when Sawyer attacks the guy next to him just as Linc pulls a gun out from under his jacket, but my eyes are running from Ana, to Mia to end on Sawyer.
"ANA!" Sawyer screams and my head snaps from Sawyer to Ana to see why he would be screaming her name and then my heart stops completely when I see Sawyer toss a loaded gun in the direction of my wife. Fired! He is so fucking fired!
In a state of complete and utter shock and disbelieve I freeze as I see Ana, my sweet, innocent and pregnant wife, catch the gun with her right hand, pull something back on the top of it with her left hand, aim it at Linc… and shoot… in one fluid movement… like it's the most natural thing in the world to her. With the face of an angel, void of any anger or rage, she pulled the trigger. Even in my shocked state, my brain registers how unbelievably hot my wife looked just now. Badass and beautiful… that's my wife.
When I look back to Linc, he is lying on the ground… gun forgotten behind him… and blood streaming from… FUCK!... it can't be.
One look around me at several grown men all grabbing their crotch as if they are in pain themselves and I know I'm seeing clearly.
Ana shot Linc in the crotch!
Now, from what Taylor has told me, I'm fully aware of what a good shot my wife is, so I know that she shot exactly where she was aiming.
I should go to her, but I'm frozen on the spot just ten feet away from her… looking at the scene in front of me. Sawyer is tending to Mia… who is crying hysterically. Cross is next to me… probably shocked to the core, just like me. If I wasn't in a state of shock, I would knock the look of admiration from the guys staring at Ana. Linc's two henchmen are lying on the floor… one partly cuffed and pleading for mercy and the other hopefully burning in hell right now for trying to take my life from me. Linc is screaming all sorts of profanity at Ana who is walking slowly towards him. Everyone staring at her as if she has lost her mind, but nobody makes even the slightest move. She stops right in front of Linc and looks down as if admiring… her shoes. Maybe she has lost her mind? She did have a very stressful pregnancy until now and perhaps everything just got too much for her at this very moment.
"These are my favourite shoes, but what the hell, I can afford new ones." And she delivers a kick to his ribs that definitely managed to break at least one.
"That was for kidnapping and drugging my sister." And another kick.
"That was for forcing me and Sawyer to come here." And another kick.
"That was for trying to ruin Christian's life." Maybe someone should do something was my thought when she bends down to pull his head up by his hair with her left hand. I was still wondering what she was going to do next when she pulls back her right arm and delivers a bone crushing blow on his jaw. Good Lord, she is going to kill him.
"That was for aiming a gun at my husband." For the first time since she delivered the first kick to his ribs, I register that she is still holding the gun. That surely explains the immediate bruise to his jaw with blood streaming out of his mouth.
"Help me! She's going to kill me." Or at least that is what it sounded like. I would imagine it would be hard to scream with a broken jaw.
"Oh for fuck sakes! If I was going to kill you, I would have aimed at your fucking head. You should count yourself lucky that I'm not particularly fond of murder. I would however, like to see you plan to rape an innocent woman again you sick, sadistic son of a bitch." She gets up and stand above him with a look of true disgust while his looking at her in pure, unadultred hatred.
"I should probably go to her." I say to Cross, unsure of what to do right now and still in shock. I can't even feel my feet never mind trying to walk on them. My wife, my sweet, loving, adorable, petite and pregnant wife, just shot a man before she beat the crap out of him. I would be turned on to the point of pain if I was not in a state of utter shock. If she looked this hot while training last year, her days of training are permanently over, unless I can be the instructor. There is no way in hell anyone will ever see her like this again.
"Yes… after you." Cross replies bemused. Did I mention the effects of shock already?
Before I have a chance to utter another word, sirens are loud all around us seconds before several FBI agents storm into the building… effectively snapping me out of my shocked state. I rush over to Ana and pick her up with the intention of getting her the fuck out of here. I'm stopped however by the Chief of Police himself. Great!
"Mr. Grey, we would need to get a statement from you and your wife before you will be able to leave." I would pray for strength, but at the off chance that I might just kill someone right now, I pray for patience instead.
"Mr. Carlton, I fully understand, but as you might be aware, my wife is almost six months pregnant and after what happened here today, I would like her to get checked out first." He takes a couple of seconds to think it over, before he nods.
"That will be fine, but two of the agents will escort you to the hospital and wait until you are ready to give your statements. I will also need that," he point to the gun still in Ana's bruised hand. Yes, I suppose he would need it.
Ana hands him the gun and then wrap her arms around my neck. Sawyer, with a crying Mia in his hands, is right behind us when we get to the SUV. How Cross managed to get away as well, I don't know, but he turns to me to answer my unspoken question.
"I explained that you need someone to drive. We'll take my car and Welch can arrange for the rest of the guys to get back with Angus and Taylor. Ryan and Reynolds can follow us, but I'm not staying here for the next couple of hours." Of course, Taylor will definitely not get away as easily as Gideon Cross.
I get into the back with Ana on my lap while Sawyer gets into the other side with Mia on his. I reach for my pocket to call my mom and she luckily answers on the first ring.
"Hello, Christian. This is…" she starts, but I cut her off.
"Mom, I don't have much time to explain. We are on our way with Ana and Mia. They will need to be checked out." I explain and she gasps. I can see her hand on her chest right now.
"What happened? Are they hurt?" she asks.
"No physical injuries. They were both taken, together with Luke. Mia seems to have been drugged. Ana is just severely stressed and emotional. We are about ten minutes away. I will have to go now as Ana will need legal counselling and I need to get hold of dad."
"I will wait for them down in the ER," she says and hangs up. I don't waste any time in calling my dad. After three rings, he picks up.
"Christian, what can I do for you?" he ask.
"Dad, its Ana. She will need your help. She shot Linc." I want to continue to explain, but dad immediately goes over to a fact finding mission while I hear him gathering his things.
"Was her life in danger?" he asks again and I hear the elevator ping in the background.
"We are on our way to the hospital, can you meet us there?"
"I'm on my way as we speak. Is Ana going to be okay?"
"Yes, she is shaken up and mom will look at both Ana and Mia. Before you ask, Mia was kidnapped by Linc in order to force Ana and Luke to cooperate with his sick plan. They are both fine, but I think Mia was drugged. I will explain the rest when I see you. We are almost at the hospital."
"I'll be there shortly." I end the call as Gideon stops in front of the hospital and get out as quickly as I can with Sawyer right behind me. Mom and another doctor with two nurses take Mia and Ana away, both crying now. Ana was so brave and strong, but I think what happened only just hit her as we arrived at the hospital. I feel like breaking something. Between talking to mom and then dad, I didn't get to comfort Ana properly and today has been a real shitty day all around. She needs me and I need to see for myself that she will be okay.
"Christian!" I hear dad call and turn around to see him walk in with Elliot and Kate shortly behind him. How they got here so fast I don't know, but I suspect Mom called them as it wasn't me and it couldn't have been my father.
"Dad, we will go to a private waiting room. Luke has already secured it and is waiting inside with Ryan and Reynolds at the door." We walk over to the waiting room and once everyone is seated, I begin to explain. Since I have some time to kill until I can see Ana, I decide to start from the beginning to keep my mind occupied.
"This is Gideon Cross. I'm not sure if any of you met him already. Ana bought New York Publishing from him last year." They shake his hand politely, but sit down quickly for me to continue. Kate was the only one showing a bit of hesitation in sitting down, she's probably thinking of her next big story involving Gideon, but he ignores her and sit down next to me. "I'm not sure where to start, so I will just try and explain as best I can. We had a suspicion that there was a third person involved in my kidnapping, which was confirmed this morning. Linc was the one that arranged it with Hyde, Elena was just a convenient person to take the fall with Hyde. Elena was and probably still is, unaware of Linc's involvement. He hates me for what happened with Elena and blames me for the breakup of their marriage. He has been planning today very carefully for months now and waited years for me to find someone and fall in love. It all started again with the manuscript. As it turns out, he never intended it to be published; it was just something to keep us occupied. There were several other reasons as well, but that is beside the point right now. We have also been receiving threats against Ana for a while now and it escalated on Wednesday to include Mia and Kate, which is why we assigned CPO's to them. This morning Mia tried to lose her CPO by sneaking out the back door of Fantasia, where Linc was waiting for her. She was drugged and taken to a warehouse outside the city." I explain and Elliot jump up to stand in front of Luke, who is pissed beyond believe himself.
"What the fuck was she thinking? Luke, I hope you will be having some words with her when you get home. Most of this shit today could have been avoided if Linc did not have her to force your cooperation as your actions would not have been the same. Borrow a whip from Christian or something, but that girl needs to be taught a lesson after today." Elliot says to Luke and by the look on his face, Mia is in for the conversation of her life.
"Elliot, I'm sure that won't be necessary. Mia should feel bad for what happened as it is. Maybe being too hard on her will be too much for one day." Dad tries to reason, but I agree with Elliot, she needs to be taught a lesson. I will be having words with Ana myself, just not today. She has to stop trying to protect me from everything.
"I will discuss this with Mia, but I don't think today is a good day for that. When she can go home, I'll take her home and let her rest before discussing her actions of today with her. She needs to learn to follow protocol and stop being difficult. Unfortunately, like Christian said, this was not the first time she needed a CPO and it will definitely not be the last. What happened today, can never happen again as we might not be so lucky next time. She put me in a position where I had to choose between her and doing my job by protecting Ana and I promised Christian that Ana will always come first when I'm on duty. This is very serious and she will understand the seriousness of it by the time our conversation is over." Luke says and signals for me to continue.
"Anyway, after he took Mia, he came to see Ana during the time that Taylor arranged for me to meet with Hyde. The two of them obviously discussed my visit as it was Hyde that told us that Linc has taken Ana before we even knew about it. Luke was forced to cooperate, after he voiced his concern about leaving without sufficient security, when he was told by Linc that they have Mia. As luck would have it, Gideon was on his way up to see me when he saw Ana and Luke leaving with Linc. Ana had her 911 phone with her and she phoned Taylor in order for us to hear what was going on. We were fortunate to be able to hear what was going on as well as Gideon that was following them. They went to the bank to transfer the $30 million Linc demanded and afterwards they were taken to the warehouse as well. We arrived just after them and were later joined by Welch and a couple of agents. Long story short, we stormed the warehouse which caused a distraction. Luke attacked the guy next to him to disarm him. He then threw the gun to Ana who used it to shoot Linc… in the crotch." Even I can't help but flinch at just the thought and neither can any of the men around me. "She then proceeded to beat him up badly while all of us were too shocked to make a move. Welch already had the FBI on their way and they arrived with the Chief of police himself due to this being a high profile kidnapping involving two Grey family members. The agents are currently waiting outside to talk to Mia and Ana. I'm sure Ana will be charged with something and that's why I needed you to come here quickly. She cannot talk to them before talking to you first." I stop and look at dad who is sure to have some questions as he has taken a note pad out of his briefcase.
"Was Linc armed and were Ana's life in immediate danger when she shot him?" he ask.
"He was armed, but the gun was aimed at me when Ana pulled the trigger. I guess that since his plan failed, he decided to just kill me instead."
"She shot him in defence of a third person, so she should be okay with regarding to the shooting. The beating is another story however. With a shot like… that, she would have disarmed him and therefore, no one's life was in danger when she assaulted him. Apart from him being able to sue her for assault, she could be charged by the authorities. We will have to get John to talk to her as soon as possible to evaluate her state of mind. We could argue that she is pregnant, was abducted and she was emotionally fragile already and as a result of the chaos erupting in the warehouse, she assaulted Linc in a moment of shock. If John verifies her state of mind and I have a talk to the Commissioner, I'm sure we can avoid any charges being raised. She is after all a Grey and elections are coming up. It might however cause you a reasonable donation to make this go away quietly." He explains and I take my phone to call Flynn when we are done here.
"I will make a donation. As for a lawsuit from Linc, he can go fuck himself. He got $30 million dollars from me today and I'm sure I won't see any of that money again. As far as I'm concerned, he was already well compensated in advance for the injuries he sustained. I will go and call John to get him down here. Please excuse me." As I walk to the door, Kate whispers to Elliot loud enough for everyone to hear. Why she even bothers to attempt whispering, I don't know, as she is never successful.
"Ana shot him in the crotch… good for her."
"He wanted... to rape her." Sawyer says with disgust, obviously he heard her as well.
"Oh fuck! She should have aimed for his head. Sick piece of…" Elliot says, but dad stops him.
"Elliot… language. There is a lady present even if she is your wife." Always the gentleman.
"Christian?" Flynn picks up on the second ring and I sigh in relieve that I got hold of him on the first try. Fridays he is normally fully booked.
"John, sorry to bother you. I know you are busy on Fridays, but I urgently need your help. Ana was kidnapped by Elena's ex-husband and she shot him and then proceeded to beat him up. Dad says we will need you to determine her state of mind to try and avoid any charges being brought against her. Will it be possible for you to come to the hospital urgently? I will compensate you for any loss of income this might cause, but I really need you to come right away." I'm talking so fast that I'm not even sure that he is hearing everything I'm saying right now.
"Christian, I will be right there. Did Ana get hurt?" he asks.
"No, she's just in shock… I think. They are still examining her and she should be out soon."
"Christian, I'm walking out as we speak, but it is very important that no one talks to her before I do in order for her state of mind to be used as a defence. There can be no influence from the outside and no one that upset her before I get there. You will be allowed in the room with me, as well as Carrick as her legal counsel, but you cannot enter before I get there. I will be there in a couple of minutes tops." He explains and as much as I would like to argue with him, I will have to follow the rules for now.
"I'll wait until you get here." I disconnect the call just as Taylor arrives with Welch. He fills me in on what happened after we left and tells me that Carlton did in fact mention that charges might be brought against Ana. I fill him in on the developments from our side before we walk into the waiting room.
"Gideon, you've met Jason Taylor. I was wondering if you will be willing to stay in Seattle tonight. We have a lot to discuss and I was hoping we could do that tomorrow morning. My apartment at Escala is available for you to use and Taylor will go and grant you and Angus access and see that you get settled. Taylor will give you the address to our house and you can meet me and Ros there tomorrow morning to finalize our business discussion." I tell him and he looks relieved that I'm willing to have this discussion with him when I stated that I will only consider selling the shares at the end of a twelve month period. After today, I'm obviously willing to reconsider.
"That is a very generous offer, thank you. I will be grateful to take you up on it. I will however like to wait to find out about Ana and your sister before we leave, if that is okay with you."
"Definitely. And thank you for today. I would have lost my mind if you weren't able to follow them." I shake his hand and sit back down to wait for news on Ana. I honestly don't know how I'm going to stay out of her room if John is not here before news come that Ana can accept visitors. Gideon walks out with Angus to make arrangements for their stay and comes back just as my mother comes into the waiting room. After she kisses my dad, she comes over to kneel between me and Luke.
"They are both doing fine under the circumstances. Mia has indeed been drugged with Rohypnol. The effects of a normal dose of Rohypnol can last between 8 to 12 hours. With the dosage Mia received, the effect might last well up to 24 hours. She would have been out of it within 30 minutes after it was given to her. Some of the effects, apart from the obvious lack of inhibition, are decreased blood pressure, memory impairment, drowsiness and confusion. It is even worse when taken with alcohol, but Mia said that she don't remember taking anything containing alcohol, but she can't really remember anything apart from being brought to the hospital, which I think might be a good thing. We have given her medication to reduce the effects and she will be able to go home in about an hour or so. I assume she will be going with you Luke, so I will stop by after work and again tomorrow morning to check on both of them. You will have to keep a close eye on her and let me know if you think that I need to come over." Mom explains and I'm beginning to really regret that Ana didn't aim higher and kill the fucker.
"Will she be okay once the drug wears off?" Luke asks with genuine concern. If I had reservations about Luke's feelings towards Mia, I wouldn't anymore. It is clear that he truly loves her with everything he's got. He can however be really glad that he did not choose to take Mia and leave Ana by herself in that warehouse.
"She will be just fine, although, you might have a busy night." Too much damn information for me right now and dad is sitting right across from us. At least he has the decency to blush and keep his mouth shut.
"Mom, what about Ana?" I ask.
"Ana is a bit shaken up. Her right hand is badly bruised, but apart from that, there is no other physical injury. I gave her something to calm her down, but she didn't want anything that will make her sleep as she is desperate to go home. She is very emotional and will need to stay in bed for the rest of the day or at least take it easy. Luke can go in first to see Mia, but John phoned to inform me that no one is allowed in Ana's room until he gets here in order not to cause problems with her defence. So I need to know, what happened that Ana requires a physiatrist, an attorney and a plan for a defence? Neither of them said much… apart from their demands to leave the hospital as soon as possible." I tell her to sit down on the seat Luke just vacated and take her hands in mine.
"Mia was abducted first in order to have something to force cooperation from Ana and Luke. She tried to lose her CPO and when she sneaked out of Fantasia and Linc took her." I wanted to continue, but is not at all surprised that she interrupts me.
"Linc? As in Elena's Linc did this?" She asks.
"Yes." I tell her the short version of the story and occasionally wipe the tears from her cheeks with my handkerchief. "Ana shot Linc when he aimed his gun at me and then continued to beat him. He definitely has a bad wound to his crotch, a broken rib or two, several definitely cracked, a broken jaw and perhaps some missing teeth. The fact that she shot him can be explained as defence of a third person according to dad, but the problem is that she beat him after he was disarmed and already severely injured. Dad is going to try and get her off due to her emotional state at the time of the assault. John feels that we will have a better shot at that defence if no one can be accused of influencing her current state of mind before he has time to examine her. Dad and I will be allowed in the room, but only when he gets here." By the time I'm finished, mom is her eyes out.
"I can't believe this. I cannot believe that the Lincolns are still able to try and ruin our lives after what Elena did to you. And Linc? Will he be charged for the kidnapping as well?" She asks dad who nods just as John enters the room.
"Hello, I hope I'm not interrupting. The nurse at reception said that we are able to see Ana now." John says as he stands by the door.
"Yes, we were just waiting for you. Thank you for coming so quickly." I say as I get up to follow him to Ana's room. Dad is trying to console my mother as we walk, but I don't think she will calm down before we get there.
Outside the room we stop and I call Taylor to arrange security outside her door until we leave. When I end the call, I knock softly and walk in. Ana first only stare at me before her lip starts to tremble and then she starts crying just as I pull her into my arms. When she notices John and dad in the room, she tries to stop crying, but the tears continue to roll down her cheeks. She looks exhausted and very pale and I just want to take her home.
"Baby, I'm so sorry for what happened today. You are safe now. John just needs to talk to you quickly before dad does. We are trying to get the authorities to back off until tomorrow at least, but no luck so far so there is a slight possibility that they would want to take your statement today still. But we will be with you for every minute. I might be asked to leave, but dad will be allowed to stay as your legal counsel." I say with my hands on both sides of her face.
"I'm safe… I'm fine… everyone is fine?" she looks a bit confused and it's hard to believe that this is the woman that shot and assaulted a man twice her size a short while ago.
"Everyone is fine. Linc has been brought to hospital, but we will get you and Mia out of here as soon as possible. Ryan is outside with Taylor and as soon as we are done here, mom said that you can leave. Are you ready to talk to John?"
"Why? Why do I need to talk to John? I'm just tired, but I promise that I'm fine." She cries and looks to John, "I'm fine. Really." He knows her well enough by now to know that fine is not so fine at all.
"Ana, let me try and explain this to you," dad says as he walks to stand on the other side of her bed and taking her hand in his. "We might be facing a problem with the events that occurred today. Although we could argue that you shot Linc to defend Christian that was unarmed, you assaulted Linc after he was disarmed and already severely injured. He might be able to sue you and charges might be brought against you by the authorities. As part of your possible defence, I asked that John speak to you to determine your state of mind at the time of the assault." Dad explains and within seconds, all traces of tears are gone and replaced with a baffled look on her beautiful face.
"Carrick, forgive my ignorance, but let me get this straight. My sister in law was kidnapped, then I was basically kidnapped with my bodyguard, then I had to pay Linc $30 million dollars, then I was told that I was going to be raped, which the sick son of a bitch was going to record for my husband to see, and he wanted to kill my husband when that failed. After all this, I might face charges for a couple of broken ribs and possibly a broken jaw to the man that is responsible for all it?" she asks with a tone just barely below shouting and clearly she is very pissed off right now.
A/N: Please remember to review if you can. I love reading it and some of the suggestions I received was really very helpful.
