by: iluvaqt@hotmail.com
QT's notes: Blaze555 and MM, I'm happy to hear that you two are enjoying this so far. Please keep the feedback coming. :)
Chapter 15: Timely Arrivals
Syl flashed Max a mischievous smile, before shooting a dirty look at White. "Should'a known we had new scum on our asses. Pity though, you'd scrub up only half bad."
"We can do this the messy way, or the clean way. Your call," Krit said, his gun pressed into the side of the Russian boss' head.
Logan didn't dare move an inch. How deep did this guy's intel go? He knew about Max, about his background. Why should he be surprised to hear that Deck was involved? Not that he wasn't grateful for the appearance of Max's siblings, Krit and Syl, at this point in time. Considering his heart was pounding in his throat and his nerves were more than a little tense. He'd be hard pressed to make his aim count at present.
With the added distractions all around, Bling quietly crept down the metal ladder. After being spotted near the office window, he'd made a dive for the cover of some crates. Some 50 feet further along the catwalk. On his elbows, he'd crawled toward the nearest ladder. Waiting in the shadows, he could see the group below in a stand off. Logan was opposite Max, who had the Russian woman in a firm grip. And Syl and Krit in the middle of it all. He'd heard someone say VX gas and that had his palms sweating overtime.
Out of the corner of his eye, Mike spotted someone moving behind the Russians. He didn't get a chance to make a decision. Or even assess whether the person was a friend or foe.
Sensing a distraction, White kicked one of the Russian guards and grabbed his gun.
From that moment on, it was an all out frenzy of movement.
Krit planted his boot into the Russian boss, sending him to his knees. With a swift hit across the back of the head - with the butt of his Desert Eagle - he knocked the guy unconscious.
Hearing the distinct, faint click of a trigger, Syl turned and dove at Mike and Logan. Tackling them both at the legs and throwing them to the ground.
Max chilled to the bone that Logan had almost become peppered meat, took two hard blows to the stomach.
Johasha drove her elbow backward into the girl's stomach. Wrestling free, she kicked her and sent her reeling into a stack of crates. Not waiting for her opposition to get back up, she grabbed the detonator and flipped off the safely…
The briefcase exploded and money, mingled with grey gas, littered the air in the warehouse. The money gently floated down and the gas was streaming out of the cracked case. The briefcase had a false bottom. Inside were to canisters, both leaking gas profusely. It was spreading quickly. One man, who'd been near the briefcase had been thrown by the blast and lay slumped unconscious. Another, who'd been on the catwalk overhead, started chocking and dropped to his knees, grabbing at his throat.
Max struggled out of the debris, bits of straw sticking out of her hair and splinters of wood pulled at her clothes. Without hesitation, she jumped up and dove at the Russian woman.
They struggled for the needle that she was pulling out, from inside her jacket. Punching her hard in the face, Max got her to let go.
Max stumbled toward where Logan was crouching. The gas was starting to take hold. She knew she'd be able to hold out longer than a norm, but not by much. Logan was already shaking badly and his breathing was coming in wheezes. Max motioned for Syl to grab Mike and started dragging Logan to the exit. She felt herself slowing and Logan began to feel very heavy in her arms.
Outside in the cool night air, she began to spasm. She pulled the needle out of it's casing and forced herself to hold steady, bringing her arm down fast and plunging the needle into Logan's heart. Contents released, she fell back into the dirt, tremors wrecking her body.
Syl had held her breath the moment she'd heard the trigger go. She'd noticed Krit do the same. She could literally count the seconds that it had taken to get Mike outside. Dumping him on the grass, she tore off his utility belt and jacket. He'd started to tense up, and she didn't want any of his equipment getting damaged. She looked up, searching for Krit. She noticed a black man, unconscious, not far from where Max had Logan. Her heart lurched into her throat when she saw her sister collapse. "Max?"
An strong hand pulled her back, stopping her from going to Max. She was forcefully pushed back onto the grass. And before she could yell obscenities, at whoever was mistreating her, a sharp sting in her breast, silenced her.
Krit let go of Syl's arm and lifted his hand from the needle in her chest. She'd gone quiet and was breathing more steadily now. She didn't know it, but a few more seconds and she would have been on the ground anyway, shaking uncontrollably. Her nose had started to run and the veins in her neck were standing out like a horse's after the National's. He knew the gas' point of entry; the redness in her eyes confirmed it.
He had four doses left. He'd raided the chopper on their way in. He'd sabotaged the controls, so even if White and his cronies had tried an escape from the warehouse, they wouldn't have gotten far. He'd found a metal case strapped under the bench in the back. It contained six needles of Atropine, and four empty spaces. Where it'd led his thoughts, hadn't given him a 'warm 'n fuzzy' feeling.
Reaching Max, he dropped to his knees and smoothed the hair from her face. Gritting his teeth, he put a hand on her shoulder. He tried to still her convulsing body as best he could. He ripped the protective casing off, with his teeth. Looking her in the eyes, he brought the needle down.
When she felt the icy sliver of metal pierce her skin, her neck arched back and her eyes grew large. But the shock passed and all the muscles in her body seemed to ease. Instead of feeling out of control and burning up from the inside out, coolness began to wash over her nerves. Through the hazy cloud of vision, she saw Krit, and smiled in relief. Moving her head to the left, she saw Logan. The needle she'd given him was still protruding from his chest, but his body had stopped shaking and his breathing sounded better. A little way off, to the right she could hear Krit calling someone. They'd be okay.
"Okay, so I'll chalk this up as only the second, most-humiliating experience I've ever had." Logan pulled the wool blanket tighter around his shoulders and sniffled a little.
Max, Logan and Syl were sitting on crates, sipping hot chocolate. Krit was in the back of a nearby van, putting on a spare pair of clothes. Bling was still showering and Mike was supervising the treatment of the others that were pulled from the warehouse.
"Hey, contemplate the alternative. I don't think a hose down looks so bad," Max said quietly.
Syl shivered, "Let's not talk about it. Manticore, bluh, don't go there."
Krit approached the group, having finished dressing. He heard Syl's association and snorted, "They've got a tent, and you were in there for what…10 seconds tops."
His comment was followed up with a swift left-hook to the stomach.
Oof. "Hey! Ease up. I did save your ass. See, that's all the thanks I get." Krit grimaced and straightened. He wouldn't give Syl the benefit of gloating over his pain. Good grief, she was touchy tonight. He sidestepped discreetly out of her reach and took a seat alongside Max.
Max looked up at her brother and raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but said nothing.
Logan set down his empty cup and rubbed his palms on his pants. Somehow he still felt cold and twitchy. In the back of his mind, he heard that old cliché, You're getting too old for this. He chuckled inwardly. Not to old, too young to die! He watched Max talk with her sister, her eyes lighting up with excitement, as Syl told of the assignment they were on before coming to their aid.
He always thought about whether he was holding her back. She'd always said that he hadn't, but seeing her now made him wonder if she'd just told him what he wanted to hear.
"So, how'd Deck know about all this?" Max asked. "How'd you two end up working with him, anyway?"
"After Gillette, he made a pretty smooth offer," Krit interrupted.
"Wave a little green his way and say, jump. He'll be, 'Is this good?'."
Krit pulled a face and Syl just laughed it off, tossing her damp blonde waves over her shoulder.
Mike, who'd been lingering in the background, approached them. "Deck contacted me about a month ago. I've worked with him on and off for about five years. In this case, we both had something we couldn't lose. Might take awhile for these guys to pull through," he said, indicating to the men - who were being swabbed with alcohol - on stretchers. The breathing masks were barely registering exhaled air. They were in pretty poor shape.
Turning back to the group, Mike assured them, "They'll make it, they're not gonna get off that easy. Soon as they've got them cleaned up, they're airlifting them to the nearest secure treatment facility. When we're done, White will go down for assault, kidnapping, and multiple counts of conspiracy against several federal agencies. As for the Russians, the World Governing Committee banned production and use of VX gas in 2010. A terrorist act against America, isn't going to go over lightly with our government."
"An old world-superpower still smarting from a whipping almost a decade old," Logan mocked.
Max gave him a questioning look.
"They try to justify our society by dishing out blame and relentlessly pursuing foreign bad guys, instead of addressing the real issues of mass injustice and corrupt governments." They all rolled their eyes, but Max couldn't help a small smile from tugging at her lips. At least she knew him. He'd never change on her, or leave her constantly guessing as to what he wanted in life. She already knew.
"That maybe so, but just one man can make a difference," Mike said smiling. With a pat on Logan's shoulder, he left them.
"Or woman!" Syl called after him. With that, they all broke out in laughter.
"It's true!" she said in mock defense, a sultry grin soon giving her away.
A sharp pain tore through her abdomen, and Max paled. Gritting her teeth, she willed it away. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes, as the pain shifted across her stomach and then lower.
Max had gone quiet all of a sudden, and Syl watched the various emotions flash across her sister's beautiful face. Pain, fear and then what…something. She couldn't quite make out what the last expression meant. She was sure she'd seen it before, but when?
As soon as the warmth started to ooze and slip down her thigh, she tasted blood in her mouth. She'd bit down on her lip so hard that her teeth had cut into the soft flesh. For a moment, she noticed Syl looking worriedly at her, and then nothing but swimming blackness.
Max's eyes rolled back and she swayed. Syl grabbed her, before she slipped from the crate and at that instant she remembered when she'd last seen that look. It had been the look on Max's face, the instant Eva had been shot. The same look she'd had, when she'd told them about Tinga.
Syl gently supported Max and tried to fend off Logan, who'd suddenly found his feet again. She didn't know what was going on right now. But she knew it was bad, and that Max was pained over something. Something that was precious to her.