"It had to be a French restaurant," I muttered to myself in Michael's car.
He looked over at me. "You don't like French restaurants?"
I just shook my head, not wanting to let him – or whomever might be listening in – know that I was only saying that because I was so scared I couldn't think of anything better to say.
So mortified was I that I hadn't slept last night. When I had tried I just had nightmares of things going wrong and Michael being killed and Weiss being killed trying to save my life and everything falling apart. I'd sat up all night watching Coupling on DVD, shuddering and trying to gather my fantasies of Jack Davenport. I hoped we didn't actually have to eat, because I didn't know if I could keep it down.
My hand went to the bracelet on my wrist, engraved with the name Casey on it. My best friend Chris had gotten it for me when we were in high school together as an allusion to Sports Night's Casey McCall and it had always brought me some good luck and some protection. I prayed for both tonight as Michael put his hand over mine.
"It won't be that bad," I said, but I wondered who he was trying to convince.
I looked into the rear view mirror for the two sets of headlights trailing us. Since the tracer was audio only, our team was free to follow us directly in. As Michael swung the car into a parking space, I saw them fade off; they'd park down a bit so as not to arouse too much suspicion. Jack, Lex, Weiss and Vaughn would head inside to back us up. My partner had been the most adamant. "She's my partner," he'd said, "and I'm going with her." No one had questioned him.
Tony, Chris, Kevin, Steve and Leticia would secure a perimeter, covering all three of the restaurant's exits and setting up positions to gas the place. We couldn't be protected from the tear gas, but thankfully for all of us all it would do to a human was sting horribly. I figured it couldn't be much worse than what I was feeling as I walked hand-in-hand with Michael into the building, jacket covering my gun and stoicism covering my nerves.
I looked back over my shoulder, the only signal I could give. It was all going down tonight.
*Here by my side an angel
Here by my side the devil
Never turn your back on me
Never turn your back on me again
Here by my side it's heaven*
A few moments later, my backup team arrived. Jack and Lex seated themselves at the table nearest the door, diagonal to our table in the center of the room (with me facing the door for situational purposes, but I didn't like it). Weiss and Vaughn completed the diagonal line by covering our back. Michael poured for me from a wine bottle but I didn't drink, an abstinent nonalcoholic. We all made eye contact and subtle nods confirmed we were all ready. Over my ear radio crackled a similar situation.
"It feels like a long night," Michael said to me, and I tried to smile.
"Hopefully not that long."
I steepled my fingers on the table, looking deep into his eyes to find myself, and waited.
*Here by my side you are destruction
Here by my side a new color to paint the world
Never turn your back on it
Never turn your back on it again
Here by my side it's heaven*
"This is typical of our relationship," he said after a moment.
"Was that meant to be funny?"
"It might have been."
Outside, Tony and Leticia, covering the west exit, readied their grenade launcher from the roof of the building next door. Tony loaded four shots and clicked back the safety, sighting along the scope. Chris and Kevin had their own well concealed, and Steve was hefting his own piece of weaponry. They were all ready to go. It was Kevin who spotted the first activity along the perimeter and gave the signal to fade back into the silence and the shadows.
I set my jaw and shut myself down emotionally. "They're here."
It must have been terrifying for him to not turn around and look and give it all away. Over his shoulder I could see the first half dozen walk in inconspicuously, sight him immediately, and begin to make their subtle positioning moves. My heart beat once, then twice, and then it happened in seconds: they moved, we moved, and the war for Michael Colefield's life and my future began.
*Careful, be careful
This is where the world drops out
Where the world drops out*
Jack's first shot dusted the rear Code Five immediately, and when one turned to react Weiss took him out immediately. I fired, piercing the lead as the others went for whatever targets they could get. One lunged for Jack, and as my fearless leader fought back, Lex assisted him with two well-placed shots. We had promised that we'd try not to wreck the restaurant but obviously that wasn't going to happen.
I kept shooting. That was all I knew how to do. I didn't know where Michael was, where Vaughn was, where Weiss was, I just saw somebody I didn't know and aimed square for them. Soon I was out of ammunition and loading a fresh clip from inside my jacket into the gun. I only had one more clip. Weiss was also reloading, going after the Code Fives with a vengeance I hadn't thought him capable of but that made perfect sense given his loyalty to me and the fact that he didn't like blood-sucking evil bastards.
As soon as we were clear Lex went to work with the hand vac like it was an instrument of justice, set on doing his job. He got most of the explosion near the door but didn't get to the ones nearest Michael and I in time. Because Kevin was yelling in my ear, "They've got reinforcements!"
Another six Code Fives entered the fray and we started in again. I gave the order for Tony to gas the place and watched as he got all four of his grenades off cleanly. Almost immediately my eyes began to sting, but I dropped down and started firing as the Code Fives reacted to the gas. Michael needed another clip and Jack covered him as he reloaded. I was trying to keep track of how much ammunition we had expended but that was a worthless task.
And every time we killed more there were always more to kill us.
*Careful, be careful
You breathe in and you breathe out
For it isn't so weird
How it makes you a weapon*
"How many more are there?" I couldn't keep from asking as I gave the order for a second round of tear gas. Lex and Jack were moving back to join the rest of us, and we all just kept shooting. Michael, not unexpectedly, was the first to expend his ammunition. I tossed him my glass and he threw it in the face of one Code Five. Holy water apparently does work. He followed that with his own glass and dove back so I could cover him, but I was fast running out of bullets myself. I was firing on blind rage and I should have been more conservative.
Under the table with Michael I felt my trigger click on an empty chamber. I looked at him and tried to apologize but he wouldn't have any of it. That's when I heard something shatter, glass spray, and the table above us suddenly was thrown over. I figured I was going to die especially when the screams started in.
Weiss grabbed me by the hand and yanked me to my feet, then Michael. He had taken the bottle of holy water and thrown it into the advancing opposition, stunning all of them as it broke and sprayed them with the anointed liquid. He'd quite literally saved mine and Michael's lives when he'd wanted to take the latter not so long ago.
Nodding my thanks to him, I followed his directions to get behind him as he took more shots. The ashes were mounting, and I ordered my last round of gas as I knew we were running on empty. Only Jack and Weiss still had shots left and the rest of us were using whatever we could get our hands on. I didn't know if it would be enough to save us.
*And you give in and you give out
For it isn't so weird
How it makes you a weapon
Never turn your back on it
Never turn your back on it again*
We went through two dozen of them that night and we held the line, but it cost us dearly. I felt my own blood running down my side, warm and painful, and the others had taken a collection of hits and bruises in the brawl. Standing in the remains, the only sound was the running of the hand vacuum as Lex collected the ashes and we composed ourselves. As soon as we were done, we ran for the vehicles. No sense in tempting fate any further.
I threw open the Toyota's passenger-side door and threw myself inside, hitting my head on the door on the way but not stopping to comprehend it. As I lay there bleeding and battered, I asked for a roll call from my team members. One by one I heard their voices coming back to me. As the pain and promise came out in their words, and as we began to pick up the pieces, I let myself fade into the unconsciousness that comes with brutality and knowing you saved a life at the same time you've let it go. The blood came from my wounds, the suffering relief poured from my heart, and I couldn't feel anything anymore.