ACT III
"I already told you, I don't know," shouted Ivan as he struggled against the handcuffs. "And if I did, what makes you think I would give up the information anyway?"
Bobby pulled out his gun and pressed it against Ivan's knee. "Oh I think you would. Assassins are known as the fraidy cats of the spy world. You're on the outside, killing random targets left and right, never on the front lines. You'll talk. Think of it this way, you help us and we'll help you."
"I ain't saying nothing!" shouted the man.
Bobby uncuffed the man from the bed and dragged him over to Darien's sleeping form. "You see that," he said as he put the man's face an inch from Darien's stomach. "You did that. That's my partner. If he dies, than you all die. Forget about prison, my friend, you're looking at the firing squad. Now what's it going to be?" he asked as he slammed the man back against the bed and cuffed him harshly to the bottom leg of the cot.
"All right, all right, fine," he shouted. "We were hired out. Me and five other guys."
Eberts stepped forward with a file folder filled with photos. "These men?" he asked as he flashed the pictures of James Pitney, Robert Blair, Daniel Ketterer, Chip Sinclaire and William Ray.
Ivan nodded. "Yeah, yeah, those are the guys. We don't know who our employer is. It was all by code name. I'm Mr. Depp and our boss went by the name of Mr. Pitt. There was this other guy who ran the show, Mr. Ventresca."
"Did you recognize him from anywhere?" asked Bobby.
"No," said Ivan.
Alex stepped forward, sitting on the cot next to Ivan with an icepack pressed against her head. "How were you to be paid?"
"They were going to contact us when they job was complete. That's all I know, I swear," said Ivan.
Bobby cocked an eyebrow in Alex's direction. "You thinking what I'm thinking, Monroe?"
Alex smiled. "Why yes Mr. Hobbes, I believe I am."
Bobby pressed his gun to Ivan's head. "When your illustrious heartthrob of a leader calls, you play it cool. You let it on that something's up and you're a dead man, you hear me,?" screamed Bobby.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it, I got it," breathed Ivan in a panic.
Alex ran a hand down the man's cheek. "Yeah, cute stuff, you can lead us right to your fellow scumbags."
Ivan flinched away from her touch and lay back against the bed, sighing in anger.
"Alex, Bobby, we're ready," called Claire from the corner. Eberts was standing next to her, carrying a tray of freshly sterilized surgical tools.
Alex and Bobby both stood up and walked over to Darien, who had just woken up.
Claire stepped to him and ran a hand through his hair. "Darien, I can't remove the bullet because of my arm. Do you trust Alex to do it? I think she would have the steadiest hands here," she whispered gently.
Darien looked from Alex to Claire with fear-filled eyes. "Yeah," he whispered after several seconds.
"Okay," she said as she sat down on the floor next to the bed and grasped his hand with her good arm. "Alex, you need to wash your hands," she said in instruction.
Alex nodded and quickly walked over to a small sink in the corner of the room. She lathered her hands with soap and water and scrubbed for nearly a minute before rinsing them off. Eberts was waiting with a fresh pair of surgical gloves for her to put on.
The Official, who was sitting on one of the beds watching his agents, stood up and hovered over Darien's bed. "Are you sure you don't want me or Bobby or even Eberts to do this?" he asked as he took in Alex's nervous face.
Alex shook her head as she stepped next to Darien's side. "I can do it," she whispered with forced confidence.
"Let's get on with it already," said Bobby nervously as he sat down next to Darien's bed on the side opposite of Claire and grasped his partner's other hand.
"Ready," said Alex as she glanced at Claire for instruction.
"Okay, first you need to numb the area with an injection of Lidocaine," said Claire.
Eberts picked up a needle filled with the drug off the tray and handed it to Alex. Alex ejected the air bubbles and took a deep breath. Then she carefully injected several areas around the wound with the drug, trying to ignore Darien's pain-filled gasps.
"Easy, you're doing good, partner," coached Bobby as he felt Darien grasp his hand tighter.
Darien groaned. "Chief, if I survive this, then I want a new budget for bullet proof vests," he tried to say in a joking tone which nevertheless fell flat.
"Consider it done," said the Official as he stared at his agents.
"Does it feel any better, Darien?" asked Claire.
Darien nodded his head. "A little," he whispered.
"Okay, next step, get the bullet out," said Claire.
"Oh is that all?" whispered Darien sarcastically.
Eberts handed Alex a pair of forceps, which she nervously accepted in shaking hands. She took a calming breath to steady herself and then glanced into Darien's eyes. "I'm sorry if this hurts, but it's my first day on the job."
Darien stared up at her and nodded his head slightly. "I trust you," he whispered.
Alex nodded and then gazed down at the wound in Darien's abdomen. "All right, how do I do this exactly?" she asked, glancing at Claire.
"Use one hand to open the wound, and use the other to take out the bullet. The bullet shouldn't be too deep. I think this shot was a ricochet," answered Claire.
"Okay," she said. "Here it goes," she said as she reached down and spread the bullet wound open with the fingers of her left hand.
Darien immediately arched off the bed, his chest heaving in pain.
"Now, Alex, do it now," screamed Bobby as he began running his hand over Darien's forehead.
Alex shakily lowered the forceps above the wound. She closed her eyes for a second and cleared her head. Then she pushed the forceps into the Darien's flesh, searching desperately for the slug.
Darien screamed in pain and began whimpering like a puppy.
She pushed the sounds out of her mind and began wiggling the forceps around, searching for the bullet. A few seconds later, she heard a small click of metal and metal. "I found it, I found it," she said excitedly as she opened the wound further to see if she could spot the bullet. She could faintly make out a tiny slug sitting right next to the forceps. "Okay, almost done," she said as she moved the forceps to the left and grasped the bullet. She slowly and carefully pulled up, trying not to catch on any of Darien's internal organs. She brought the forceps fully out of his body, the bullet securely between the tongs. "Out," she said with relief as she dropped the bloody bullet on the equipment tray.
Darien moaned and then went limp, passing out from the pain.
"Is he going to be okay?" asked Bobby as he gazed with concern at his unconscious partner.
"He should be, unless an infection sets in," said Claire as she placed a soft kiss against Darien's sweat-covered forehead. "We just need to bandage him up."
Alex nodded and took the antiseptic-soaked bandages that Eberts handed her. She placed one directly over the wound and several more to the sides. The she took a large, dry bandage and placed it over the entire wound, taping it to the skin of his chest and back so it would stay on. When she was finished, she sank down to the floor, breathing a sigh of relief.
"You did good, Monroe. You saved Darien's life," said the Official as he gave her a friendly pat on the back.
Alex looked up at the Official and then burst into tears. Bobby quickly scooted next to her and brought her into his arms. "It's okay, it's okay, Alex. It's been a tough day for all of us."
Alex pushed out of his arms and wiped at her tears, shaking her head slightly. "It's not that," she whispered in slight embarrassment. "I guess I just kind of realized how much you guys mean to me," she admitted.
A surprised smile formed on Bobby's face. "Yeah well, if you hadn't already guessed, you mean a lot to us too," he said in a warm tone.
Alex laughed and sniffed away the remainder of her tears, glancing up at Claire, Eberts and the Official, who were all looking at her with slight amusement. "Don't let this new found knowledge go to your heads. I'm still going to be a pushy bitch who's less than a joy to work with."
"We wouldn't have it any other way," said Claire teasingly.
Alex smiled and then glanced up at Darien's unconscious form. "I don't suppose you would all keep this little confession a secret from our invisible man, would you?"
The group shook their heads. "Nope, not a chance," said Bobby.
"I didn't think so," she answered.
The group was interrupted by the sound of a cell phone ringing. Alex realized it was coming from her pocket. "That's Gatewood's phone," she said as she took it out of her pocket. She quickly ran over to Ivan and put the phone to his ear. "You say anything and your dead," she whispered menacingly as she pressed the receive button.
Ivan nodded and answered the phone. "Mr. Depp," he said. Ivan heard the distinct sound of Mr. Pitt's mechanical voice. "Aw, Mr. Depp, I've been watching the news all afternoon and have been particularly moved by the story I saw on the now defunct Agency. I want to congratulate you on a job well done."
"Thank you, sir," said Ivan into the phone.
"Now, I'm sure you're interested in your payment for this little task. Go to the abandoned shopping center on 3rd and Ocean Blvd. Wait in the old video store. Do you understand?" asked Mr. Pitt.
"Yes, sir," said Ivan.
"Good. I hope to do business with you again one day," said Mr. Pitt. Then the phone went dead.
"Shopping center on 3rd and Ocean," said Ivan as Alex took the phone away from his ear.
"Third and Ocean, I know it," said Bobby. "So how are we going to do this, chief?" he asked, glancing up at the Official.
The Official held up his hand to hold on and pulled out a cell phone, punching in a number on the keypad. "This is Borden. We need a SWAT team to rendezvous at the old shopping center at 3rd and Ocean. Tell them to hang back a few blocks so they're not spotted. Agents Bobby Hobbes and Alex Monroe will be running the show. Report back when everything is in position," said the Official. He hung up the phone and looked at Bobby and Alex. "Everything's set. Go and bust these bastards."
Bobby nodded. "With pleasure, chief," he said as he unhooked Ivan from the bed.
The Official nodded in approval. "No one messes with my agents and gets away with it," he said as he glanced at Darien's unconscious form.
"We'll get em', sir," said Alex as she collected several guns from around the room and stuck them in her waistband holster. "Ready?" she asked, glancing at Bobby and Ivan.
"Oh yeah," said Bobby. "This one's for Fawkes," he said as he pulled Ivan to his feet. Bobby, Ivan and Alex disappeared into the elevator, leaving Claire, the Official and Eberts to watch over Darien.
TBC in ACT IV