Author: Mirrordance

Title: For Every Evil

Summary: Legolas is a policeman in 2004. His colleagues start to wonder why the 10-yr veteran doesn't age & more trouble ahead after he runs across the Fellowship & some friends in modern incarnations, resurrected along with a new world-threatening peril.

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24: Rescue

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Rome, Italy

Mid-2004

" " "

Truth is actually very relative, Legolas reflected dizzily. He's not very sure if he said it aloud. Likely he did. He could not tell very well anymore. Though he was almost mightily sure. But not really. Or maybe not really because he hoped not really. But he's not so sure.

The stuff is potent, he thought, or maybe, again, he said it aloud. He could not tell very well anymore. His thoughts were jumping, and he was weary but his mind was bursting. Every question had some sort of answer. His will may be strong but it inextricably is, after all, encased by a body that had its earthly limits.

He remembered he squirmed and struggled, and pretty much bit at the hands that tried to touch him at the start. It only earned for him one more new set of ropes and this time about his neck. In the end they had their way, and he knew they would when he struggled at the start but really, it wasn't a waste of time if he at least shared with them some of his misery.

But that was hours ago. Or maybe days ago. He's not so sure. He could not tell very well anymore. They stuck a needle through a vein on his forearm and it stayed there, connected to an I.V. that held some clear… stuff. He looked up on that clear, unlabeled plastic bag containing harmless-looking clear liquid that dripped down a tube and into his body. It did not hurt, and the effects were more akin to falling into a restless sleep than any poison he's had the misfortune to encounter ages ago.

As Wormtongue said, it was not meant to kill. It was just made to make him talk.

But his heart was pounding, even as his limbs were leaden and his head was heavy and swimming, lolling this way and that. But his mind was jumping from thought to thought and really, that mad mad heart is about to burst.

He remembered, rather dryly, that Wormtongue said the damned thing did not kill in the right dosage, and he's not quite sure how much he's had by now.

As he said. Or thought. Or whatever. Truth is actually very relative. They asked him where the ring was and he said he didn't know. And cursed bastards wouldn't let up until they heard the truth they wanted. So they dosed him again and asked the same question. And again, and again for endless hours. Or days. He could not tell very well anymore.

Grima did not care if he died, that was obvious enough. He just wanted his answers. He just wanted that blasted ring which is, truth be told, no longer in existence as far as the elf knew!

In a way, Legolas was relieved that they were not asking him of things he did know about. That would be harsher, to have to reveal something that would end up useful to his enemies and endangering his friends. The Truth Serum did not play fair; no will could hold up against it because it deprived one of the choice in the first place. Though it hurt infinitely more, Legolas reflected that he much preferred the old-style beatings…

There were a few good questions though that Legolas had answered.

"Do you think you can escape from me?"

The elf smiled. It was funny, and impish and proud, but he knew it was true. "Yes."

"Are your friends coming for you?"

"They are crazy enough to."

"Would they know where to go?"

"They might."

"Do they know I'm behind all the killings, behind this new plot?"

He fervently tried to resist that one. This resolve only earned him another dose. "They think it," he muttered an hour or two later, and he really was rather irritated at them at this point.

Grima's eyes narrowed in thought. Of course they would think it, Emmett Rigare loathed the ground he walked on, and he did have this familiar face to show of which Gandalf would be familiar. But could they make the link between him and the attacks? Could they find him here? Either way, just in case, extra precautions must be taken tonight.

" " "

They retrieved the phone first, and were very relieved that it did not come with a friend's dead body. Harding kept it in safekeeping, seeing as most of their group would otherwise be occupied. Though the search was theoretically left cold because of the abandoned mobile they were tracing, the best thing to go on was Emmett's theory that they held Leland Greene near, especially linked as the place was to their top suspect Grissom Warrington. And so, they plotted their rescue plan.

Although Elladan would have been more comfortable leaving Anatalia in her father's house, or in a hotel somewhere between there and Rome, or in a spa or a parlor or anywhere but where he himself was going, and much preferred to bring one of his elven servants instead, she pointed out rather cunningly that she was far more clever behind the wheel of an escape car than any of his old kin. He had to admit it was true enough. She had an army of cars, especially in Italy where most of her family assets were based, for one. And secondly, he could testify with some white hairs and nausea that she was a big road hazard from when he lived in Italy with her some months ago and she offered to take him around.

Eowyn would not be left; one amongst the few of them with reclaimed memories, the Shieldmaiden of Rohan had a good sword swing to her yet. Her brother was the guide, naturally, though he'd have gone anywhere she went to protect her, as if she did not have enough protection from Faramir already. Gandalf and Elrond's twins naturally headed the group, and Horace Harding did indeed decide to look very closely over their shoulders. Jimmy Goran was dragged along to scramble the security systems with the promise of pardon and a few hundred thousand euros for his services. Brad had his hands on the wheel of the group's second car, and Adrian Aarons came along for some extra muscle, in case there was a need for immediate medical help, and for some manic brainstorming in tight spots that only the heirs of Aragorn could possibly have the troublesome talent for.

It was a fairly well-rounded team if Gandalf had ever seen one; functionally divisible with clearly defined roles. He's gone into greater dangers with seemingly far less (i.e., hobits to Mordor amongst those that quickly came to mind, although that particular episode turned out surprisingly brilliantly with each fellow turned toward a great and once-hidden destiny).

They were clad in the black of the night; they arrived some hours ago but could not attack until the cover of darkness. As the sun set they hunched low just outside the compound inside their cars.

The vehicle piloted by Brad contained the unimaginatively called Team A comprised of Eowyn, Faramir, Emmett, Goran and Harding. They were primarily tasked with the security and technology part of the rescue operation. Team B-- Elladan, Elrohir, Adrian, Gandalf and Emmett in Ana's car, was primarily tasked with retrieval.

"Comm check," Elladan murmured upon the hands-free digital radio they've commandeered from Imladris.

"This is Harding, over," said the Interpol agent, "I read you loud and clear, over."

"Do we really have to say that?" Elrohir whispered to his twin, mimicking, "This is Elrohir, over."

One by one, they ensured their communication links were in good working order. And then, then, the operation truly began.

" " "

Phase One of the plan was to take out the enemy high ground. This classification involved anything that had anything to do with eliminating the vantage point of their foe, any logistical advantage that they had. Originally, it was just to take over the security system—Emmett described it, and Jimmy Goran found a way around it—naturally! He exclaimed, for anyone who'd have doubted his genius.

But since they got to within sight of the building, they saw that the mercenaries gave it their own brand of protection and upon the roof, three guards (and if they were unlucky enough, they were snipers too…) stood armed and ready, looking down at the activities below.

And so the group parked a block away, just behind the construction site next to the Fortress compound, and decided that naturally, for any real plan to come to action, the guards on the roof must be taken down.

"When we take them down," Elrohir said in a low voice, knowing everyone could hear him over the comm., "There's no turning back. We have to see it to the end the very moment of the very first strike. We have to move more quickly, we have to be in and out before they notice their fallen men, or if they failed to report in."

"When you take them down?!" Goran replied, "From where we are? You're damned ambitious!"

Elrohir looked at his twin brother jauntily. "I believe the dwarf issued us with an interesting challenge. Are you up for it?"

"Who's the dwarf?" the ex-dwarf asked in confusion.

"Of course I'm up for it," Elladan grinned, "I think the best weapons for such a seemingly impossible shot is still those of the Elvish make, don't you?"

"Oh, yes," Elrohir agreed. "So. I guarantee the shot is going to be made, my friends. We'll need a bit of a shift in the work assignments since my brother and I will be otherwise occupied here. Hm. Faramir, go with Emmett?"

"Consider it done," said the regal soldier coolly.

" " "

Three arrows were fired in rapid succession from the streets and they faithfully met their mark, all the way up on the roof of the ten-story building.

And then the original Phase One began at last with Adrian Aarons cutting down the power to half the city. It was outrageous and crazy, but then again he thought about it himself and he did have some of Aragorn's blood in him. The idea was very inspired, considering it was an effective solution to their first roadblock.

According to Emmett, the Fortress building was completely wired by security cameras, and there really was no way they could enter the property undetected unless these cameras were taken out. But since the circuits of the building were inside, to get to these circuits they would be seen by the cameras they were trying to stop and therefore really defeating the purpose. They cannot shut the power of the single building alone; those switches were found inside too. So Adrian Aarons raised his hand with a suggestion that he was almost embarrassed to make, but that they all ended up following. The city power they can access after all…

Especially in a very crude manner. They invaded the nearest pole they could find, right next to their car. And what happened next was really rather easy to decipher—Adrian donned a utility uniform with a multi-pocketed vest and a helmet they bought from a kinky costume store down the street, protected himself with a pair of handy rubber gloves and a safety rig, and then electrical wires met the sharp end of an Elvish knife.

The very breath the lights went out, Emmett and Faramir broke into a run and adroitly sneaked into the compound unseen, taking great advantage of the dark and the initial disorientation. They brought with them Jimmy Goran's favorite hacker device. Emmett knew they had less than one minute to get to the circuit board in the basement before the generator kicked in.

They ran madly, dodging too-close foes whom they could see with their night-vision glasses, but to whom they were disguised by the blackness. They descended the metal stairs to the empty basement.

"There!" Emmett said in a low voice, pointing to a plexi-glass encased blinking panel on the wall. Emmett always insisted in order in all avenues of his enterprise, and it was readily apparent when they opened the glass and found all the wires properly labeled. They attached Jimmy Goran's compact device to the wires of the security cameras and closed the glass and ducked behind a cabinet of miscellaneous maintenance wares just as the generator kicked in and slowly lit up the entire establishment.

" " "

"Come on, Goran," Elrohir breathed into the comm. to speak to the hacker in the other car, "Show us what we're paying you for."

"Sit tight that little ass," Goran muttered, "Ha!"

They were in different cars, but Elrohir heard the cry of triumph and grinned.

Goran's laptop lit up with all the views of the security cameras within the compound. Now they could see what the security people inside were seeing. Brad leaned to get a closer look from his place on the driver's seat, and Eowyn and Harding moved in close too from their place at the back.

"Tell the two louts inside to duck lower," Goran said, for he could see the tops of the pair of heads from the security camera view of the basement.

"Emmett?" Elrohir called with the comm., "Faramir?"

"We heard," Faramir said quietly, and Eowyn watched with relief when her brother and her husband vanished from view.

"Goran?" Elrohir asked.

"Yeah, yeah, give me three minutes to loop," replied the hacker.

The idea was to record three minutes of the security camera coverage where nothing was happening. And then, they would play it for the security watchers inside, and loop it over and over until they rescued Leland Greene and left the building, with no trace of them ever being recorded and their presence hopefully never being detected. It was Goran's handiwork, overcoming their second roadblock. Now, they managed to take away the enemy's unblinking eyes. Not only could they go around the compound unnoticed, they even took the advantage away from the foes—we can see you, but you can't see us.

Goran finished recording the three minutes of peaceful footage. And then he typed commands that ate into the Fortress security system, and the cameras inside now surely played whatever it was that he wanted them to see.

"You're clear," Goran declared, grinning at his car companions proudly. This was a man who enjoyed his work, and Harding's eyes narrowed in thought. This was also a man who should be working for Interpol… But really, they ought to get through the night first.

"There," Eowyn said softly, pointing to one of the small screens that dotted Goran's LCD. "I can see Legolas."

"What does the place look like, Eunice?" Emmett asked his sister over the comm.

Goran zoomed in on the screen and frowned at the strange sight of the handsome young blond fellow who was strapped to a seat he sagged against, with a tube attached to his arm.

"I think it's the infirmary," Eowyn replied.

"Where's that?" Adrian asked.

"Sixth floor, east," Emmett said quickly. "The cameras are out but you're going to need to get through a bunch of guards. Faramir and I passed by several."

Faramir called up the images in his mind, recalling, "About eight guards at the door. Three loitering near the elevators. None at the stairwell. Move quickly, they all have radios and can report the disturbance at any time. We will strike them from within as you enter, that we may take them all out from both sides. Signal us." He sounded confident, but he glanced at his companion uncertainly. Eomer of Rohan was a fighter, yes, but he slept within a professional businessman. "That is if you're up to it," Faramir said belatedly.

"I can hold my own," Emmett guaranteed him, and they both unsheathed their borrowed elven daggers and commandeered shock-sticks. They had guns, yes, but they needed the stealth more and decided to make use of these only in extreme situations.

Phase Two officially began when Elladan, Elrohir, Gandalf and Adrian stealthily made for the entrance to the building, and their two other fellows slowly emerged from the basement and stood in wait behind the door to the stairwell.

"Now," Elladan commanded, and they burst into the door as Faramir and Emmett burst from the stairwell.

" " "

"Fools didn't know what hit them," Goran said, nodding his approval as he watched the fight break out from the screen of his laptop. He stretched his arms over his head, and when his sleeve lifted, Eowyn smiled at the sight of the little axe tattoo on his wrist.

Hacker indeed, she reflected, we do come in strange forms…

"Take one of their radios," Harding said over the comm., "So we'll know what they're talking about."

Brad looked at him, impressed. "You really are 007."

"Anatalia?" Eowyn called over the comm., remembering that the woman was alone in the other car. "Are you all right over there?"
"Yes," came the quick, tense reply, "They are doing well?"
"They are doing very well," Eowyn affirmed, watching the screens. "We'll know when they'll be out. Would you want to join us?"
"I won't have the nerve to watch," the other woman replied with a nervous chuckle. Truth was, already just by the sounds, she already had a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. She was tough, yes, but this was an entirely new situation and she wasn't insane enough not to be afraid for herself, and the man she loved and the things he cared for. A part of her wanted to watch, but a greater part wished to hold her ground. She had to be prepared. She had to be prepared for when Elladan rushes out those doors and jumps into the car and tells her to floor the gas. He trusted her with this role and she won't let him down.

" " "

The six warriors stood mightily over their defeated foes, and Gandalf picked up one of the radios as per Horace Harding's suggestion.

"They do not seem aware of us yet," the wizard announced, for the radios were not cackling with demands of reports or updates or inquiries into what was happening.

"Good," Adrian said, "The sooner we're out of here, the better. Sixth floor east?"

The group took the stairwell, and stopped at the landing of the sixth floor, just behind the door.

"Is the hall clear?" Adrian asked over the comm. to Goran and company who could see it from their view of the security cameras.

"The entire bloody floor isn't clear," growled Goran.

"How bad?" Gandalf asked.

"Four guards in the hall," Eowyn replied, "two stand outside the infirmary. Two more are inside with Legolas and Wormtongue."

"That's not so bad," Brad commented, "You took care of the last ones easy."

"But Legolas is caught right in the middle," said Gandalf gravely. "We have to be very careful."

"Is he in good shape?" Elrohir asked, "Can he move? Can he run?"

"He's pretty out of it," Goran answered, "Or maybe more like really out of it."

"He seems semi-conscious," Eowyn said more informatively, "He's tied to a chair. He's drugged."

Elrohir muttered a curse and he looked to his brother. "So?"

Adrian's mind was racing. He was at the brink of some idea. Fred was looking at him knowingly, and that was an uncomfortable gaze because it was so… trusting. As if the other knew Adrian would come up with something before he himself did.

"What's in that evil mind?" Elladan asked wryly.

" " "

Eowyn peered close to the laptop screen. Grma Wormtongue was circling a very disoriented-looking Legolas, and both were talking. She wished she could hear what they were saying.

And then a thought came to her. "Goran, record that."

"All right," the hacker said uncertainly, "What for?"
"It's going to show my uncle that my brother is right," Eowyn said with a proud smile, "That man is a bastard. We're going to bury Wormtongue, one way or another."

" " "

"Goran, signal!" Adrian commanded after he told his team of his brainchild.

"Everyone in this group is so demanding," the hacker muttered, watching the screen carefully. The doctor was kind of demented, for a doctor. He just went and thought of something crazy again.

"Now!" Goran exclaimed.

Adrian, Gandalf, Emmett and Faramir burst from the stairwell door when Goran signaled them that the four pacing guards were right in front of it. As they drove the four guards to the ground, Elladan and Elrohir maneuvered for a clear shot amidst the tangle of limbs and took down the two guards by the door of the infirmary with a pair of swift, true and clever arrows.

They moved to the door, and froze in front of it. Adrian, Emmett, Faramir and Gandalf rendered their own foes unconscious and joined the twin sons of Elrond.

"What's happening inside?" Adrian asked the other team.

"We can't hear what they're saying," Eowyn replied over the comm. urgently, "but they seem agitated. I think maybe they heard something from outside."

"I don't think we were very quiet," Elrohir admitted.

"Get away from the door!" Brad exclaimed, as he watched the screen and noted the two guards raising their guns and preparing to kick it open.

"Warrington's on the radio," Harding pointed out, "Give it a listen."

Gandalf did as ordered, and his eyes widened when he heard Wormtongue's panicked call for reinforcements and the reply of the person from the other end.

"He called for reinforcements," the wizard announced, "Some vans are coming in five minutes. A pair of helicopters in two. He might have been expecting us."

" " "

"That man really is like a slithering worm," Eowyn murmured, watching the screen as first Grima tried to untie the ropes about Legolas and drag him along, but then they were apparently done too tightly and he quit, vanishing into a back door. The two guards he left were making a heroic effort of defending the hall entrance against Gandalf and company as he sneaked away.

Her heart pounded all the more at the sound of the helicopters nearing the building, and Gandalf and co. still trying to break through the defense to get to Legolas.

"They won't make it out in time," she said flatly.

"What?!" Ana exclaimed.

"They're going to need some help," Eowyn murmured, wondering just how much help they would be if they tried to get up there.

Not much, she had to admit. Three helicopters, holding maybe ten men each, all armed to the teeth, fresh and ready, mercenaries willing to kill…

"Call the cops!" Brad exclaimed, "The invasion in the house, remember? The cops came and they all went away! They don't want to get caught, the whole enterprise is going to come down."

"Cops can't just storm some wealthy, well-connected guy's property," Hardwick pointed out, "They're going to need more than us calling them. Their hands are tied, we've been over this and--"

A pounding on the glass made them jump, and they were relieved to find a breathless Anatalia Craxi urging them to let her in the car. Eowyn scooted over and let her in, and she slid into the seat.

"You have live footage from inside?" she asked Goran urgently.

"Yes," Goran replied.

"And you have the footage of Warrington questioning Legolas?"

"Yes," the hacker replied, "What about it?"
Anatalia looked over her head as the helicopters flew over them and circled the Fortress building, about to land. She hurriedly grabbed her cellphone and called her father.

" " "

Adrian broke through the door first. When the two guards were finally downed, he fell to a knee beside Leland and took the elf's face in his hands. He was flushed with a fever, and his glazed eyes were wandering.

"Look at me," Adrian urged him, "Greene." Hesitantly, he called the detective, for the very first time, "Legolas."

"Aragorn," the elf said slowly, the doctor finally catching his attention and he tried to regain his bearings. His voice shook wearily, and the doctor was worried.

"What are you on?" Adrian asked, glancing up at the I.V.

"Truth Serum," the elf replied, adding uselessly, "It makes me tell the truth."

No such thing existed, Adrian thought instinctively; some myths, yes. Some disarming, inhibition-decreasing drugs and alcohol, yes. But nothing like the real thing. Then again, their foe did once work in bioengineering. Then again he, a decent, normal guy who did a normal thing for a living, did just break into a secure facility. Anything's possible, Adrian decided, not the mention the fact that he was talking to an elf and really, if they had one of those in the world, a lot of things likely existed that he did not know about.

Adrian rose to his feet, and his position was taken over by Elladan and Elrohir, who worked on the ropes as they spoke to their old friend.

"Are you hurt elsewhere?" Elladan asked him gently.

"Yes," Legolas replied to his dismay, and to the twins' surprise.

"Cursed thing really does work," Elrohir breathed, "It got the Mirkwood prince admitting weakness."

"Injury," Legolas drawled at him, "Not weakness."

"No," chuckled Elladan, "never that, mellon-nin."

Adrian grabbed a ball of cotton from one of the cabinets and some medical tape. He gently pulled at the tube wired to the elf's forearm and placed the cotton and tape over the seemingly insignificant needle puncture. Legolas watched him work, rather amused and touched by the ridiculously anal attention to trivialities. Adrian caught his stare and he smiled uncertainly.

"Force of habit," the doctor said quickly, "I think it calms me down." He knelt back beside the elf, and the others of the group hovered over them in worry and anxiety.

"They've landed on the roof," he heard Goran inform them over the comm., "They're taking the elevator down to your floor. They're waiting on it. It's coming up from the basement. Harding and Brad ran over there. They're gonna try to hold the elevators. But they'll get the hint and soon take the stairs."

"Grima's on one helicopter already," Eowyn reported, "He's escaping."

"We have to move," Elrohir said to Adrian quietly, as the doctor pressed a hand to Legolas' neck and found the pulse racing beneath his fingers. His brows furrowed in dismay. The elf's heart was pounding, but his body was lethargic in contrast. It's as if he was bursting out of his skin…

"If there's an antidote here," Adrian said determinedly, "We're going to need it."

"If we stay longer," Emmett pointed out, "We're all dead."

Adrian bit his lip in thought. He took a deep breath and made a tough decision. "Emmett, bring that. We'll figure something out," he said, pointing to the bag that held the Truth Serum. Elladan noted, impressed, that the adan instinctively left the hands of the warriors free— that is, himself, Faramir and Elrohir. They wordlessly coordinated the role of protector, one of them holding the front of the line and two others holding the back, as Gandalf and Adrian pulled the Mirkwood elf to his feet.

The group ran to the stairwell and practically flew down it to the ground floor.

" " "

Craxi Multimedia held several channels, one of which was a cable news network. Anatalia headed Publishing, and her father hired a cousin to run the television networks. But the formidable Marcelo Craxi still had his say over every Craxi enterprise, and when his daughter called him with the a controversial piece and a live exclusive, all the Craxi channels and radio stations cut regular programming for some breaking news.

The pleasantly beautiful but stern-looking young anchorwoman was so cool and calm as she delivered her report, as if she did not get the story but moments ago:

"Breaking news. The Rome Laboratories of Fortress Defense Systems International has been caught in a lockout for the past few weeks over labor issues. Tonight, we bring you live footage from inside the building, from their own security cameras, provided by our insiders, that Grissom Warrington, Vice President of Fortress Defense, is holding one of the Union leaders hostage and apparently, forcing him into a settlement…"

They ran the tape that showed Legolas bound and drugged and Grissom Warrington circling him. They blurred his face, but the message was already clearly made: a Union leader, captured! The outrage!

" " "

"Union leader?" Brad asked Ana wryly, shutting off the radio version of the program.

"I couldn't think of anything else," Ana said nervously.

"I hope your network exercises more truthfulness in its other news programming," Eowyn said wryly.

"Someone would have heard that," Harding said with approval, "Either the cops come, or the labor unions come, or the media. Well done, Miss Craxi."

She took a deep breath, and glanced at the screens as the rest of the team raced down the stairwell, the enemies hot at their heels.

"I'm going to get the other car ready," she announced, stepping out of the vehicle and heading towards her own. She looked forward to when Elladan slips inside her car and closes that door… she's going to floor the gas and just spirit him away and safe with her.

" " "

The reinforcement vans of the mercenaries likely got rerouted when the stream of police cars crowded the narrow streets. They might have also been called off and discouraged by their bosses. Too risky for the enterprise.

As they had before, in fear of capture, the mercenaries abandoned the chase, gathered their dead and wounded and seemingly vanished once again off the face of the Earth.

Adrian, Legolas, Gandalf, Elladan, Elrohir, Emmett and Faramir piled into the cars and drove off the property, just as the angry labor crowds, the cops and the media began to arrive.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Hey guys!!! Massive thanks for the reviews. I hope chapter 24 turned out okay, I sure had fun writing it. It is, as promised, a bit long, ain't it? with that in mind, I'll begin pacing my posts from now on so I can work on the other chapters of this fic. Keep the reviews coming if you can, but I just hope that all who read it have as much fun as I did writing it. thanks for your time… I know life can be really pressing and you've been very generous. So, until the next post!!! :)