Sacrifices (7/?)

By Carol M.

See prologue for details

Note: Got this part out a little quicker than expected and decided to post it today. WARNING, this part is VERY intense. That's all I'll say. Enjoy it, folks!

Alex pulled her Corvette into the back of the airfield, taking care not use her lights in the pitch black of night. She and Bobby exited the car as quietly as possible, not even letting the car doors shut. About 200 feet in front of them was the hanger. Two cars were already parked in front of it and more cars were sure to be on their way.

"I'm calling for backup," said Alex as she reached into her jacket for her cell phone.

Bobby stopped the movement with his hand. "No way, Monroe. There's no time. The Agency guys would storm in there and everyone would scatter. We're taking down Thornton ourselves."

"Hobbes," said Alex, sounding uneasy.

Bobby pointed at the hanger. "I don't care who's in there. Whoever Thornton is selling the disk to can get away, as far as I'm concerned. I just want Thornton's butt in a sling and that sweet disk back in my fingers."

"Okay, maybe you're right. Maybe backup would be a bad idea," said Alex as she looked at Bobby and smiled. "I guess it's just you and me, little tiger."

Bobby nearly blushed. "Come on darling, let's go bust ourselves a criminal," he said as he pulled out his gun and started creeping towards the hanger

Alex followed suit and pulled out her own gun, tailing Bobby towards the hanger. They were about 50 yards away when another car pulled up to the hanger. Bobby and Alex duck behind a small shed filled with old airplane parts. They watched an older man with silver hair get out of the car, followed by two younger dark-haired men both armed with machine guns. The trio quickly made their way into the hanger.

Alex looked at Bobby in shock. "Do you know who that is?" she asked incredulously.

"Naw, who is it?" asked Bobby as they left the cover of the shed and headed towards the hanger.

"It's Armin Roberts. He's ex-CIA. About six years ago, he got booted after a mission went bad and all of his men were killed. Looks like someone wants a little revenge," said Alex.

"I'll tell you what, Monroe. We bust Thornton and get the disk, you can have at this Robert's fellow all you want," said Bobby.

Alex nodded as she and Bobby finally made it to the outside of the hanger. They found a side door and quietly entered the building. The door opened into a small hallway that allowed them to see into the large hanger without being detected themselves. They recognized four of the men standing around the room as some of the men who had helped hold them hostage earlier that day. Trey stood in the middle of the room with Roberts, Robert's men flanking the both of them.

"As you can see Mr. Roberts, I mean business. You said this thing would be impossible to get and I got it. I think the 20 million you're paying me and my men is a very reasonable price," said Trey.

Armin nodded. "Yes, I think that's sounds very reasonable," he said as he turned around and nodded to one of his men. The man quickly started towards the door.

"Vore," yelled Trey. "Follow him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Vore nodded and followed the man out of the hanger.

Bobby looked at Alex and nodded. "This is it, Monroe," he said as he clasped her hand for a second.

"Let's do it," she said as she returned the clasp.

They both stepped out of the hallway and aimed their guns at Trey's back. "Game's over, pal. You lose," shouted Bobby.

Trey jerked for a second and then relaxed. "So you're alive. How's your friend? Did I manage to kill him?" said Trey.

"Tell your men to put their guns down and get the hell out of here," said Alex.

Trey slowly turned around.

"Show us your hands!" yelled Bobby.

Trey raised his hands and glanced at Armin. "I'm sorry Mr. Roberts, but it looks like the deal is off."

Armin started to back away towards the door.

"Just get out of here. You haven't down anything wrong yet," yelled Alex.

Armin nodded and motioned to his other man to leave. They both quickly exited the hanger.

Bobby trained his gun on Trey while Alex covered his men. "Drop your guns fellas," said Alex.

The men hesitated and looked at Trey for instruction. "Do as she says!" he yelled.

The men instantly dropped their guns to the ground.

Bobby stepped towards Trey. "Give me the disk, you son of a bitch."

Trey smiled. "Tell me, was it worth it? Was it worth hearing and seeing your partner in such pain and agony? What kind of man lets his partner go through that?"

Bobby reached into Trey's jacket and pulled out his gun, dropping it to the floor. "Funny thing is, my partner is going to be just fine. Unlike you," said Bobby as he put his gun against Trey's head.

"That's right. Be a good little agent and take down the bad guys. But the thing is, I don't recall anything about revenge killing in the agent training guide," said Trey, his eyes drifting nervously towards the gun.

"Oh you haven't huh? It's a new chapter I'm writing. It's gonna be a real page turner," said Bobby as he took a deep breath and prepared to fire. "This one's for my partner. Go to hell you sadistic bastard."

Bobby had been so busy with Trey that he hadn't noticed Vore sneaking back into the hanger. When he saw Bobby holding a gun to his boss's head, he pulled out his gun, ready to fire.

Out of the corner of her eye, Alex saw the movement and swiftly turned around. "Hobbes!" yelled Alex as she fired her gun at Vore. She caught him right between the eyes, killing him instantly.

The distraction allowed Trey's men to pick up their guns.

"Monroe!" yelled Bobby as he realized what was about to happen and aimed his gun at the men. But he was too late. He took out two of them, but not before they had fired their guns right at Alex. Several shots caught her in her back and her chest. She fell to the ground in a crumpled heap with blood leaking out her body.

Bobby fired his gun one last time and took out the last of Trey's men. Then he smashed his gun against Trey's head, knocking him out cold. He let his body fall to the floor and then ran over to Alex. "Monroe," he said softly as he picked her body off the ground and cradled her in his arms. There was blood everywhere and Bobby could tell right away that she wasn't walking away from this one. Her eyes fluttered open and a small smile appeared on her face. "Aw crap," she choked out.

Bobby reached for his cell phone. "I'm going to get you some help, Alex. Just hold on for me, honey."

Alex reached her hand up and stopped him. "Don't bother," she whispered. She looked deep into his eyes, which were slowly filling up with tears. "I'm sorry, Bobby."

Bobby shook his head. "Come on, Monroe, you're a tough broad. Fight damn you, fight. Come on now, I need you. You're my partner," said Bobby as the tears started to fall. He pulled her deeper into his arms and took her into an embrace.

"Hobbes…Bobby…tell Darien that he's something special. Tell him he's worth so much more then he ever gives himself credit for," said Alex in a hoarse tone.

"Alex, don't do this," sobbed Bobby.

"Tell Claire I'm sorry for always being such a bitch. Truth is, I was always jealous of her relationship with you and Fawkes. And tell the Official that I loved working for him, no matter how much I never wanted to admit it." Alex swallowed and took a raspy breath, laughing slightly. "Tell Eberts that I had a secret crush on him."

Bobby smiled through the tears. "Eberts…As in Albert Eberts?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah," she said as tears started to glisten in her eyes. "I'm going to miss you most of all, Scarecrow. Tell Bobby Hobbes that he's a good agent. One of the best. Tell him that Alex Monroe loved working with him and that she admired his partnership with his big-haired Gumby."

Bobby started wiping the tears and blood from Alex's face. "Tell Alex Monroe that she's a beautiful intelligent chick who could have kicked Bobby's Hobbes ass in a heartbeat. And tell her it was an honor to work with her."

Alex smiled and her eyes drifted shut. Bobby started to shake her. "Come on, Alex, don't leave yet. Come on."

Alex's mouth opened and began to move. Bobby had to lean down to hear her words. "If you ever meet my son again, tell him that his mommy loved him very much." Her mouth closed then, and she sagged lifeless in Bobby's arms.

Bobby started to cry. He held her tight, wanting to give her her life back, but he knew it wasn't possible. He continued to rock her back and forth in his arms for several minutes, his tears mingling with her blood. He had completely forgotten about Trey until he heard a gun cock behind his head. "You're turn," he heard Trey whisper.

Bobby reached for his gun and turned around in one swift movement quicker then he ever thought possible. It took Trey by so much surprise that he didn't even realize he had been hit until he felt the blood dripping down his arm. But Bobby didn't stop. He kept on firing. Shot after shot hit Trey's body, spraying blood all over the floors and all over Bobby. He kept firing until he ran out of bullets. Trey's body fell to the ground in mushy heap. Bobby stepped to him and slapped him across the face, even though Trey Thornton was just a memory now. He reached into the man's pocket and pulled out the blue disk, which had managed to survive all the bullets. It was covered in a sticky film of blood.

Bobby stood up and fell to the ground in shock and grief as he glanced back at Alex's dead body. He crawled over to her and took her once again in his arms. Then he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number for the Agency.

**

The Official looked up in shock as Bobby strutted into the his office three hours later. Bobby took something out of his pocket and threw it on the Official's desk. "That's what you wanted isn't it?" yelled Bobby angrily.

The Official stared at the blood-soaked disk and looked back up at Bobby. "I'm sorry about Monroe, Bobby. She was a good agent and she didn't deserve to die," said the Official.

Bobby shook his head. "Not good enough it turns out. Monroe broke, I didn't. Shouldn't there be some kind of pay increase for that?" yelled Bobby in a sick, angry tone.

"Hobbes," said the Official softly.

"I didn't break, sir. I did my country a great service today. And I nearly got the person who means the most to me in this world killed. Not to mention that fact that I had to watch a fellow agent and friend slip away in my arms," said Bobby with tears in his eyes. "Was it worth it sir? Was it worth Fawkes and Monroe's life?"

"You did your job, Bobby. No one ever said this was easy, son. I'm proud of you," said the Official.

Bobby looked down at the ground. "But I'm not proud of myself. I should've saved Fawkes. I should have been the one to break, not Monroe. She broke and then I let her get herself killed and…and…" Bobby couldn't finish the sentence. He fell to the floor, sobbing.

The Official got out of his chair and knelt down next to Bobby. He reached out his arms and pulled him into an uneasy embrace. "This isn't your fault. None of this is your fault. You're a hero, Bobby. You're the best agent I've got."

Bobby shook his head. "I let him down. I let her down."

"You didn't let me down," said the Official softly.

At that moment, Eberts stepped through the door. "Robert?" he said softly as he eyed Bobby and the Official.

Bobby jerked out of the Official's arms and stood up. He quickly wiped at his eyes. "What do you want, Eberts?" he said angrily.

"Darien's asking for you. Claire just told him about Alex. He's pretty upset, he wants to see you," said Eberts.

Bobby stared at Eberts for a long time and then shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't see him."

Eberts raised his eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Because I can't look at him. I can't see that hurt look in his eye. I can't watch him go through all the pain and suffering again," said Bobby.

The Official stood up and cleared his throat. "Hobbes, Fawkes needs you."

Bobby turned around and looked at the Official. "No, he doesn't need me. Why would he need the person who nearly got him killed?"

"Robert," said Eberts.

"Sir, I'm taking a little sabbatical, starting right now," said Bobby in a zombie-like voice as he walked towards the door.

"Hobbes, you're not well, you need some help," said the Official.

Bobby turned around with a dead look in his eye. "So does Fawkes," he said as he walked out the door.

Eberts watched Bobby walk down the hall and then he looked back at the Official. "Sir?" he asked.

"Go stay with Darien. Give Claire a break for awhile," said the Official.

Eberts nodded. "Yes, sir," he said as he walked out the door.

The Official sat back down in his chair and stared at the bloody disk sitting on his desk. He thought of Darien, thrashing and moaning in agony on the ground. Then he thought of Alex lying in a pool of her own blood, slowly dying. It was too much too take. Claire was right, it hadn't been worth it. He picked the disk up and dropped it to the ground. Then he brought down his foot and smashed the bloody disk into a dozen pieces.

TBC