DS #9 A Life for a Life (8/?)

By Carol M.

See prologue for details

Happy New Year! As someone said on the BB, let's make 2002 the year of I-man! On with the story…

Bobby pulled Golda into a sandy lot several hundred yards away from the underground lair of Royce McClellan. Several agency vehicles pulled up behind the van, kicking up the sand into a mini storm. Within seconds, 20 agents were loading weapons and preparing to invade the fortress.

Bobby gazed at the Official, who was busying loading a weapon of his own. "Sir, why don't you hang back here with the boys, let Monroe and I handle this," said Bobby.

The Official gave him an amused smile. "Nice try, Hobbes. But I was running missions when you were still in junior high. I can handle myself."

"Okay, if you're sure," said Bobby.

The Official looked off towards the abandoned farmhouse and nodded. "Oh, I'm sure," he said with confidence.

"Okay. We get in there, we find Fawkes and get out. Getting Royce will just be icing on the cake," said Bobby. He looked towards the group of agents standing nearby, all ready to do battle. "You boys wait for our signal."

One of the agents raised his hand. "Um, what's the signal?" he asked.

Bobby smirked. "You'll know it when you see it," he said as he patted at the miniature explosive device in his jacket pocket. He glanced at Monroe who was opening a bottle of spray paint. "You ready?"

"Let's get him back," she said firmly.

"Let's go," said Bobby as he started in a fast jog towards the facility. Alex and the Official followed close behind, their guns drawn and ready to be fired. They reached the edge of the property and Bobby stopped them short. "Cameras," he said as he pointed up tiny cameras camouflaged in some trees.

Alex instantly snaked around the trees and aimed the spray paint at the camera lenses, turning them black as the cool night. "Gone," she said.

Bobby began jogging again, motioning the Official and Alex to follow. The trio made their way towards a door that was armed with two night watchmen, both of whom were reading. "Take them," he said as he ran towards the guards. "Freeze!" he yelled.

The guards looked up in a panic, reaching for their weapons. Alex fired a shot, hitting one of them in the leg. The other guard instantly put his hands up in surrender. Bobby took out his handcuffs and cuffed both of the guards together. "Where's Fawkes?" he asked the injured one.

"Who the hell's Fawkes?" asked the guard.

"Your one man terminator. Where they got him?" he asked as he put pressure on the man's gunshot wound.

"Okay, okay. Level one, northeast corner," he answered.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" said Bobby as he kicked in the front door. Monroe and the Official followed behind him, covering each other with their guns. The hall seemed to be empty. They carefully made their way down the dimly lit walkway, watching intently for guards and cameras. They were about to turn a corner, when they heard the sound of footsteps coming down the other hall. Bobby reached into his pocket for the explosive. "Be good to papa," he said as he activated the explosive and threw it down the hall. "Cover!" he yelled as he pushed Alex and the Official against the wall.

The other hallway exploded in a gigantic fireball, sending ash and smoke spewing through the air. "Let's go," said Bobby as he got up and ran down the hallway, which was littered with bodies. More guards greeted them from the other side and soon they were engaged in an intense firefight.

The trio returned fire, ducking into small rooms and taking out an impressive amount of guards. Pretty soon, the guards were outnumbered when the agency backup arrived from the entrance.

Bobby stood up from his position and looked at Alex and the Official. "I'm going to find Fawkes. Cover me," he said as he made his way through several of the small rooms towards another hallway.

Alex and the Official returned fire, hoping like hell that Darien was still alive.

**

Darien's lungs heaved and ached as smoke slowly invaded his cell. He could hear gunshots and explosions outside and a small part of him thought that maybe he was finally being saved. The other part of him however, was just trying to breathe. He took in harsh gasps, and his eyes started to burn.

His cell door opened and he looked up at the distinct, horrible face of Royce. He had a gun aimed at his head. "Time to move," he said as he grabbed Darien and dragged him out of the cell.

Darien was too weak to put up a fight and let Royce carelessly half-drag, half-carry him through the halls. The smoke was even thicker in the hallway and Darien started to feel light-headed.

"Come on, you worthless piece of crap," cried Royce in frustration as he was forced to carry more of Darien's weight.

Darien blearily spied a door ahead. They were just about to go through it when he heard the distinct sound of a gun cocking from behind. "Hold it right there, pal."

Royce turned around, positioning Darien in front of him as a human shield. His face paled as he saw the face and body of Bobby Hobbes standing before him with a gun pointed at his head. "Drop him!" yelled Bobby.

Darien jerked up, seeing Bobby alive and well standing no more than five feet away. It couldn't be him, it just couldn't be him, he thought. I must be delirious, he concluded.

"You're dead," said Royce harshly.

"Oh well, see that's where you're wrong, my friend. As some old guy once said, 'Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.' Now let me partner go, you son of a bitch!" shouted Bobby.

Royce tightened his grip on Darien and pushed his gun against Darien's head. "I'll kill him," he said with cold menace. "Drop the gun or your partner's brains are going all over the wall."

Bobby took a deep breath and clenched his jaw. He dropped the gun to the floor and gave Royce a harsh stare.

"I'll be seeing you soon," said Royce as he began to open the door behind him.

"Not so fast, Royce," said the Official as he came up behind Bobby, his gun aimed at Royce and Darien.

Royce gave him a cool grin. "Well Chuck, this is a surprise. I didn't know you put in appearances anymore," he said as he wrapped his arm in a tight headlock around Darien's neck. Darien gasped, his oxygen completely cut off.

"You lose Royce. Give him back," said the Official.

"You owe me, Charlie, you owe me for your life, pal!" said Royce in anger. He pulled even tighter against Darien's throat, eliciting a choked moan out of him.

"Sorry, partner, but I'm not letting you destroy his life just because you saved mine. This is wrong, Royce. Don't make him pay for my mistakes," said the Official.

Royce laughed. "Yeah, it was a mistake all right. A mistake saving your worthless life. And what thanks do I get?" he yelled in anger.

"Drop him, Royce!" yelled the Official.

"Come get him!" screamed Royce as he pushed the gun firmly against Darien's head and prepared to fire.

"No!" yelled the Official as he fired his gun. The bullet caught Royce right between the eyes, spilling pieces of brain and blood all over Darien. The pair fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"Fawkes!" yelled Bobby as he ran to his fallen partner.

Darien lay on the ground, clutching at his neck, gasping and choking for air.

Bobby knelt down next to him and rubbed his back. "Breathe buddy, just breathe, take it easy," he said reassuringly.

Darien looked up at him with a heart-wrenching stare. "You're dead," in said in a choked whisper.

Bobby shook his head. "No kid, I'm not, I'm right here. See," he said he picked up Darien's hand and rubbed it across his face. "I was wearing a lining Fawkes. You didn't kill me."

A look of relief and sorrow washed over Darien's face. He sagged against his partner, still struggling to breathe. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he started murmuring.

Bobby wrapped his arms protectively around his partner, rubbing the back of his neck in a comforting fashion. "Shhh, buddy, it's okay. I'm fine. What did ya think? Ya think you were going to take me out so easily there?" he asked.

Darien wrapped his own arms around Bobby and started to sob like a little child. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he continued to mutter.

"It's okay, it's okay, partner," whispered Bobby in Darien's ear. He looked up at the Official, who was glancing at Darien with a look of horror.

"What did that bastard do to him?" he asked.

"He'll be okay, sir, he just needs to calm down," he said as he continued to hold Darien in a comforting embrace. He glanced over at the dead body of Royce and then his gaze fell back on the Official. "That was pretty great, chief. What you did for Fawkes…

The Official nodded. "Darien shouldn't have to pay for my mistakes," he said.

The sound of footsteps caused both the Official and Bobby to look down the hall. They could make out Alex running towards them through a blur of smoke. "Did you get him?" she yelled as she got closer. When she saw the dead body of Royce McClellan, she gave a small smile of approval. "I guess so. How's Fawkes?" she asked as she eyed the sobbing figure being held protectively by his partner.

"We need to get him out of here," said Bobby as he lifted his partner to his feet. The Official grabbed Darien's left arm, while Bobby took his right. Together, they carefully eased him through the hallways and back out of the facility, both trying to ignore the small sobs that escaped Darien's mouth every time they passed a body on the floor.

By the time they got him back to the van, Darien was barely conscious. He continued to mumble "I sorry, I sorry," over and over again like a broken record.

"Where are we going to take him?" asked Alex as she helped Bobby and the Official manhandle Darien into the van.

"Let's take him home," said Bobby as he climbed in the back with his partner. He threw the keys at Alex. "Think you can drive, my dear?"

Alex nodded. "Not a problem," she said as she clamored into the driver's seat.

The Official looked in the back of the van, watching Bobby trying to calm Darien down. He gave a soft sigh. "I'm going to stay here and wrap things up. Tell Claire, anything he needs, he gets."

Bobby nodded. "It'll be okay, sir, I promise."

"Yeah," muttered the Official as he closed the back of the van.

Alex drove off, causing a storm of sand to hit the Officials legs. He didn't care. All he cared about was his most valuable agent. But the gland didn't have anything to do with it.

TBC----um, I need a little help guys. There's probably another 2 parts left of this story and then I'm going to get started on my next one. Here's where I need the help. I've got two ideas in mind, one involving the under-funded five in a natural disaster, fighting for their lives, the other one a mission with Darien, Bobby and Claire that will be in the same tone and canon of the show. Which would you rather read next? A quest for survival fic with an emphasis on friendship and relationships or a lighter Darien/Bobby/Claire fic with lots of action, comedy and shippiness of both the B/C and D/C kind?