Thank you for the wonderful feedback :)
Just to clarify, this version of Joe is not the one who slept with Sara or stayed at the farm with her. I'm using the loop that happened before that in this story, the loop where Cid became the Rainmaker because he saw his mother die (but in this case, she didn't die) and wanted revenge on the Loopers. It's kind of AU in a way. I hope that makes sense. I'll tie it together the more I go forward :)
Happy reading!
Sara woke up with a start, feeling confused as to where she was. When she finally got her bearings, it all came crashing down on her. She was in the year 2010. She was to collaborate with the Expendables in order to get her son back. She'd come face to face with the man who'd shot her.
The anger rose in her then. He'd meant to kill her, and he had tried to kill Cid. Who the hell was he and why did he do that? She was determined to find out eventually, even if he didn't remember her, which a part of her felt like he'd been lying. She thought about the man from the hospital, the one who had apologized to her before walking out. He could be the younger version of Joe. She thought hard. Why had his younger version taken her to the hospital then? Why hadn't he stopped his older self from doing what he did? Or had he not gotten there in time?
It all gave her a headache.
She padded around the room and got dressed, putting her hair in two braids on either side of her head. She found Barney in a room with tons of weapons. He was gearing up and turned to see her when she entered.
"Take anything you want," he instructed. "Keep it light and concealable, though."
"Okay."
She walked slowly, examining the weapons. She ended up choosing a small pistol and strapped it to her leg. She knew she'd have to conceal it better later. Barney zipped up his bag and headed out, making her follow. They arrived at the hangar just before five, and she wondered if Lee was actually going to show up when she heard his bike coming. She looked away as he pulled up and parked.
"There's the black cloud," Barney commented to him.
"Why am I friends with you again?" Lee asked, annoyed. He slung his bag over his shoulder and headed for the plane.
"Because you'd be lonely otherwise?" Barney countered.
"I'd be just fine and you know it. It's you who'd be lonely," Lee snorted. Sara walked behind them quietly. Once inside the plane, she started to feel nervous. It was a recon job. There shouldn't be any killing going on...at least, she hoped not. She had no idea what would happen when Barney and Lee found out she hadn't actually killed someone. It made her nauseous to think about doing, but for Cid, she'd do what she had to.
She hesitated as Barney started up the plane, and Lee made his way to the co-pilot seat without even looking at her. She moved to sit in the back and gripped the seat tightly with her fingers as they started to move. She'd never been on a plane before, and the anxiety was starting to choke her.
It was going to be a long ride.
...
"Lighten up," Barney said to Lee after they were in the air for a while. "And stop ghosting her."
"I'm ignoring her," Lee corrected. "That's different."
"No it ain't."
"Whatever," Lee said, knowing he was losing the war of words and definitions. "What's it to you?"
"My team has to be able to communicate," Barney answered, "and you pretending she doesn't exist is not a good form of communication."
"She shouldn't be here, and you know it," Lee said angrily.
"I beg to differ. What's more believable, two guys going to document rare birds or two guys and a woman?"
"We could have sold it," Lee retorted.
"Well, now we don't have to find out if we'd get busted right out of the gate," Barney said back. "I figured you'd be all gaga over her. She's smart, pretty, reserved...not to mention packed with an attitude the same size as yours."
"Then you date her," Lee shot at him.
"You're still thinking about that woman you saved, aren't you?"
"No," Lee muttered.
"If she's from around here, you'll see her again."
"Can we drop this please?"
Barney just made a face but kept quiet. He needed Lee on good form when they got there, not a balled up mess of emotions. He'd leave him alone for now.
...
Joe was still trying to put it all together. He rested the whiskey glass against his forehead as he sat alone in his motel room. He went back to that horrible day, trying to get a grasp on everything.
His loop had escaped. He'd gone hunting for him with the threat of death from Abe. He'd tracked him to a farmhouse and got there to find him shooting the woman he now knew as Sara and chasing after a boy. He'd eventually found his loop at the diner two days later, and after being told by his loop that he had no idea what he was doing, he killed his loop. Abe had forgiven him, and they moved on.
So what the hell had his loop known that made him go on a murdering spree? Joe couldn't understand it. He thought about his timeline next. He'd buried himself in drugs and alcohol from guilt of the woman (Sara...he still wasn't used to her having a name) dying. He eventually made his way to Japan and met his wife. He cleaned up because of her. They had a good life. He was hearing things about a Syndicate leader called the Rainmaker and trying to put pieces together of who it was to try and stop them.
Joe stiffened, clutching his glass tightly in his hand. The Rainmaker. That's what he'd been looking into when Gat men suddenly showed up and kidnapped him. Had Abe not wanted him to find out more about it? Was that why his loop had gone to kill a kid? Had he thought that boy was the Rainmaker?
"Argh," Joe said, massaging his temple. It made his head hurt, trying to figure it all out. He couldn't help but wonder, though, if his loop hadn't shot Sara, then maybe the boy wouldn't have become the Rainmaker after all.
Nobody would ever know now.
2050
Cid did as he was told. He was smart and caught on to things very quickly. He never let on he was weak or scared. He never let on how much he missed his mother.
Thinking about her getting killed was what made his anger surge. He channeled it and used it when needed, much to the delight of the Gat men and Abe. He acted like a shadow, eavesdropping and trying to gather as much information as he could. He couldn't prove it yet, but he felt certain that Abe had something to do with a Looper killing his mother. He wondered if it had been done on purpose. Cid definitely did not trust Abe, but for now, he was biding his time.
It was all he could do.
2010
Lee needed a drink, but he'd been putting off going back where the supplies were because he didn't want to see or talk to Sara. In the end, thirst won, so he had to get up and go. He walked past her and rummaged around for a water bottle when he noticed she hadn't said anything to him. Unable to help himself, he turned his head to look at her and was surprised to find her head in her hands and rocking back and forth with her eyes squeezed shut.
He had two options at this point. One, he could get his water and go back and pretend not to have noticed, or two, he could approach her and ask her what was wrong and try to help her through it.
The nice part of him was really wrestling with the pissed off part of him about this.
"Hey," he said, failing to succeed in being an asshole. "You alright?" She looked up at him, and he noticed the fear in her eyes.
"I'm fine," she answered stiffly. He was trying to figure out what was wrong when it hit him.
"Have you never flown before?"
She swallowed and hesitated before slowly shaking her head. Lee tried not to make this another point for his side of the board against Barney. If she had never flown before, then how could she be a mercenary?
"I prefer to drive," she said, reading his mind.
"So you just do local jobs then," he commented.
"Yes."
He studied her carefully. He had a feeling she was lying, but he didn't know how to pry that out of her and knew he shouldn't if he didn't want to get kicked out and told to swim home.
"It'll pass," he told her, moving back to his seat. He justified it with her own statement the night before: she could take care of herself.
"She good?" Barney asked when he got back.
"She's having a full blown panic attack," Lee answered, sipping his water before wiping his chin afterwards to clear up the bit that had leaked out onto him. "She's never flown before."
"What?"
"Do I have your attention now?" Lee asked sarcastically. "I repeat: she shouldn't be here."
"Why didn't you talk her through it?" Barney countered.
"I'm not her babysitter."
Barney growled and snapped on the autopilot, getting up and going back to see her. Lee tried not to feel guilty, and only a small part of him succeeded.
...
Sara looked up when Barney approached her. She was glad she couldn't hear them talking up front. She didn't want to know what Lee was saying about her. And to think she'd been attracted to him the first time she'd met him.
"You okay?" Barney asked, sitting next to her.
"I'm fine."
"You've never flown before?"
"No."
"Have some water," he suggested. "And take slow, deep breaths. It'll be over soon enough."
"Maybe I shouldn't have come," she started.
"Too late now," he said, "and there's a first time for everything."
If only he knew. Sara just nodded and gave a weak smile. The panic was subsiding a little, but it was still hiding in the background. He patted her leg comfortingly and then went back to the front. She closed her eyes, picturing Cid's face and trying to calm herself further.
She was doing this for him. She couldn't fail.
...
They were standing and waiting to be allowed access to the island. Barney was holding his breath as the man behind the counter looked back and forth between the three of them. Sara had the camera around her neck, and she appeared very calm and collected.
"You look nervous," the customs agent said to Lee.
"That's just his 'I have to take a shit' face," Barney corrected. "Seriously, you better let him move on unless you wanna mop this place up. It won't be pretty. I swear a grenade launcher comes out of that ass." He imitated the noise of a grenade launching and then exploding with his mouth while gesturing with his hands. He could literally feel Lee's death stare boring through his soul without him actually looking at Barney. He was very good at it.
One of the men off to the side was unable to stop a slight snort from coming out of his mouth. The customs agent barely cracked a smile, but he stamped their passports anyway, and they moved on.
"What the hell was that?" Lee demanded once they were out of earshot. Sara was openly laughing at this point. Barney cracked a grin.
"Your ass saved ours," he pointed out.
"If anyone has a grenade launcher coming out of their ass, it's you," Lee retorted. "I've lived with you before. I would know."
"You're just mad because I came up with it first."
"Unbelievable," Lee growled, walking quickly. Sara kept pace with them as they made their way along the street. After a bit, the noise of trucks made them pause and tuck out of sight. They watched as the convoy stopped and a big man jumped out and started yelling at the people on the street for not moving out of the way. Without being asked, Sara took photos of him and the skinnier, older guy that came out and grabbed an apple. He appreciated that she had the sense to do it.
"See anything wrong with this?" Barney asked.
"Everything," Lee answered.
"Come on," Barney said, moving on. They walked to the place they were supposed to meet their contact. Lee's leg was bouncing as they waited.
"You know," Barney said casually. "I think it's good you caught Lacy cheating when you did."
"Oh, not this again," Lee huffed. Sara looked intrigued but stayed quiet.
"Seriously. You would have invested a lot of time only to find out she was gonna rip your heart out anyway. I think it's for the best."
"Barney..."
"I think you need to find that woman you saw yesterday," Barney went on, unperturbed. "Your little eyes lit up while talking about her. I mean, clearly there was some kind of connection."
"Barney!" Lee snapped. Sara was looking at Lee curiously, and before Barney could continue, a woman entered the building. She definitely had Barney's attention.
"Are you here for the tour?" she asked them.
"Yea," Barney answered.
"I'm Sandra. You are?"
"Sneezy, Dopey, and Grumpy," Barney said.
"Hey," Lee bristled.
"And we're Butch and Sundance," Barney finished, gesturing between himself and Sara and making Lee growl slightly.
"Come with me," Sandra said, not even batting an eyelash. Sara was snickering slightly as she went first.
"Was that really necessary?" Lee asked under his breath as they walked behind her.
"What? I've seen you be all three of them."
"Shut up."
They followed Sandra to her truck, and Lee hopped into the box with a look from Barney. He wasn't about to argue. He flattened himself in the back to hide from sight. Barney looked up at the drawings attached to the roof of Sandra's truck as she drove along.
"Those are really well done," he commented.
"Take one," she said.
"Oh, no..."
"I insist," she told him, looking at him briefly. "A souvenir." Barney gave a slight chuckle and reached to take the one that was his favorite. He tucked it into his inside coat pocket and looked around as they continued to drive. When they stopped, he looked around some more and then asked her to take them to the palace. She put up an argument at first, but he wore her down. Before they got close to the palace, he asked Sandra to stop.
"What's happening?" Sara asked, looking at him.
"Christmastime," Barney answered, banging on the window behind him. The truck jostled as Lee jumped out. He removed his over shirt and hat, tossing them through the window at Barney, narrowly missing Sara's nose.
"Oh, good," Barney said. "I was hoping my hat would be saved from your sweaty head." He smirked as Lee growled, and then he continued to make his friend's day with his next statement: "Take Sundance with you."
"What?" Sara asked, alarmed.
"What?" Lee asked at the same time, aggravated.
"You heard me. Go on," Barney said, flicking his wrist and gesturing for her to get out. She obeyed, and he smiled to himself as Sandra drove ahead with him.
He had a bet to win after all.
...
Lee was simmering inside as they walked. At least she kept up with him, but he didn't want to babysit. How many times did he have to tell Barney he didn't want to babysit?!
"What are we looking for?" Sara asked a bit later. Lee crested a hill and took a look around.
"That," he answered, gesturing. They could see Barney and Sandra off in the distance. Sara stood next to him, feeling the pistol against her back where she'd tucked it before they went through customs.
"Why are we up here?" she asked. He shot her a look, and she closed her mouth.
"If you're asking these questions, then I really have to wonder how often you've done this type of work," he said to her. She said nothing else, and he put his focus back on Barney. After a moment, trucks peeled in, and Sara's heart clenched.
"Here we go," Lee said, pulling out his knives. He tore down the hill with Sara hesitating briefly before rushing after him. He could see Barney in trouble, and he let fly the knife in his hand to take down the soldier aiming a gun at him. Chaos ensued, and Lee moved fast. Barney did too. He lost track of Sara. He had no idea where she was or what she was doing. He didn't care.
Barney shouted at him when Sandra was being hauled away, and he ran to assist her.
...
To say she was astonished wouldn't even begin to describe what Sara was feeling as she watched Lee and Barney fight for survival. She'd gone unnoticed for the most part, and now she was watching Lee run to rescue Sandra. Sara had her gun aimed, but she couldn't seem to pull the trigger, that instinct to kill or be killed not activated in her. She saw Lee take down the man holding Sandra, and then she saw the man pop up from the other side of the truck and aim at Lee, and yet she couldn't kill him. In those split seconds, she saw Lee's eyes widen in shock at facing death and then bullets took out the man over his head. Lee shouted and clapped his hand on his head hard after turning to see that Barney had done it, nearly killing him in the process.
"You could have blown my head off!" Lee shouted.
"But I didn't!" Barney called back. "You're welcome, Princess!" Then Lee looked to see Sara, and his eyes hardened at the sight of her aiming a gun and knowing she hadn't done a damn thing. Her hands were shaking as he stormed off after Barney and Sandra. He didn't say a word as he climbed back into the box of the truck while Sara scrambled into the cab with Sandra and Barney. She held onto the door, trying not to throw up as Barney careened them around corners until they reached the docks.
"Go," Barney urged her and Sandra. Lee jumped out and looked at Barney.
"Give me a minute's head start," he ordered, and Barney nodded. Sara ran after him and Sandra towards their plane, and she wondered if they were going to get out of here alive. They practically skidded around the corner and pounded down the dock. Lee opened the plane door, and Sandra stuck her head in only to panic and back out.
"No," she said, shaking her head.
"Come on!" Lee exclaimed. "You'll die if you stay!"
"I can't!" she shouted back at him.
"Sandra," Sara tried.
"No," Sandra cut her off, still shaking her head. "My place is here. I'm sorry." She turned and fled, and Lee growled in frustration but got into the plane regardless. Sara got in after him. She could hear commotion now and knew Barney had started his process. Lee got the plane running and shoved the throttle forward. He wasn't looking at her, and she knew that he was beyond pissed at her.
"We can't leave him," she started when they were moving and Barney still wasn't there.
"He'll catch up," Lee cut her off, moving to stick his head out the window. Sara went to the door, and she could see Barney hupping it hard to get to them.
"BARNEY!" she screamed over the noise.
"RUN YA BASTARD!" Lee shouted from the front. Barney got to the end of the dock and launched himself at the door. His fingers caught the door frame, and Sara scrambled to help pull him inside. They fell backwards, and Sara winced in pain from the impact. Barney got up, slightly shaking, and yanked the door shut before going up to the front. Neither he or Lee said anything as he sat at the controls, dripping water everywhere.
"Where's Sandra?" Barney finally asked.
"She couldn't do it," Lee answered. Sara didn't say anything, but she felt surprise when Barney pounded on the wheel and swore, his emotions running high. Then he yanked the plane around.
"Boom time?" Lee asked.
"Yea," Barney answered. Sara was going to ask what the hell that was when she watched Lee slide back a panel to reveal a hole and crawled through it. She moved to the front next to Barney as Lee popped up at the nose of the plane.
"What is he doing?" she asked.
"You'll see," Barney answered, reaching to switch some levers. They were flying towards the docks again, and soldiers were firing at them. Sara grabbed Lee's seat to steady herself and stared as Lee fired bullets back at them. She watched Barney flick a switch, and she had no idea what he did until she saw Lee fire a flare gun backwards. Then he pumped his fist, shouting inaudibly as he looked at Barney, who gave a slight fist pump back.
"What did you just do?" she asked.
"Nothing they didn't have coming," he answered. Lee crawled back and landed in his seat hard.
"Well, that was quite a statement," he commented, looking at Barney.
"They deserved it."
"What now?"
"We go home."
Sara felt a bit anxious. They had to do this job or else she'd lose her chance to find Cid, but she kept her thoughts to herself. She thought she'd gone unnoticed when Lee suddenly rounded on her. He was pissed.
"What the hell was that earlier?" he demanded.
"What?" she tried.
"You froze!" he exploded. "I almost bloody died because you couldn't pull the trigger!"
"I..."
"I need to know that you have my back out there, and if you don't, then you are off this team," Lee went on furiously. "A second's mistake can cost someone their life, and you almost cost me mine."
"Christmas," Barney said to him, casting him a sideways glance. "Ease up."
"No!" Lee burst at him. "I told you from the beginning that she should not be on this team, and you didn't listen to me! When will you listen? When one of us dies?!"
"Settle down."
"I'm sorry," Sara said loudly, making Lee look back at her. "I've never killed anyone before..."
"Oh, well that's just great," Lee growled. He got to his feet and pushed past her, and she closed her eyes briefly, trying not to cry. She'd screwed up royally, and she knew it was going to cost her.
"He'll get over it," Barney told her after a moment. "He gets mad when he's scared."
"He's right, though. I froze," she said quietly. "I shouldn't be on this team."
"Why are you here?" he asked. "If you've never killed anyone?"
"I have to be," she answered, and he raised a brow.
"Have to be?" he echoed.
"Please don't ask me anymore questions," she said, a plea in her voice.
"If you're gonna be on my team, I need to know why you want to be on this team, and it can't be because you 'have to be.' Are you spying on me for the CIA or some other agency?"
"No..."
"Were you sent to kill one of us?"
"No!"
"Then why are you here, Sara?" Barney asked aggressively. She didn't know how to explain it without explaining it. In the end, she had to reword it, but it was the only option she had.
"I have to be here or else they'll kill me," she said quietly. He looked at her, mulling over her words. She knew he wanted to ask more questions, but he refrained. She was relieved because it was a lie, although she wondered if it really was a lie after all. Would Abe kill her if she failed these tasks?
"Why didn't you just tell me that to begin with?" he inquired.
"I wasn't supposed to."
"I see."
"I...I need to do this," she said, still looking into his eyes. "If I don't...I'm dead."
"Who's threatening you?"
"I don't know."
"Why are you to work with us?"
"I don't know. I just...I got instructions sent to me, and that's all I know," Sara lied. "They said if I help you with your jobs for the next six years, I get to live."
"Six years?!"
"Yes."
"Why six?"
"I don't know."
"Is Church in on this?"
"He was only supposed to get me to meet you. That's it."
Barney stared at her, and she wondered if she'd blown it. In the end, he simply exhaled roughly and ran a hand through his hair vigorously before saying: "Alright, well...we will talk more when we get back."
"I'm sorry," she said again.
"You'll get better," he said simply. "You've got skills, Sara. You proved that. Eventually, you'll get over the killing thing because you have to. You'll be fine." Sara swallowed hard. She wasn't sure if she wanted to get over the "killing thing" just yet. Taking a life was a serious thing, no matter how angry she got at people. She went to sit down, avoiding Lee as he drank from a water bottle and muttered to himself. He ignored her before going back to join Barney. She sat alone and dropped her head into her hands. She had no idea what she was doing, and she wondered how the hell she was going to pull this off without screwing up her chance to get Cid back.
...
After they landed, Lee was walking out of the hangar and going for his bike when Barney caught up with him. He was still steaming from Sara's freeze up moment.
"Hold up," Barney said. "We need to talk."
"No," Lee said back. "I'm out."
"I'm not asking," Barney told him. Lee hesitated, noticing the seriousness in Barney's tone. He sighed roughly and followed him to the little office near the back of the hangar. Sara was packing up and getting ready to leave. Lee watched her briefly through the window.
"Okay," Barney said once they were alone and the door was shut. "There's been a new development."
"With what?"
"Sara."
"You're not seriously going to keep her on this team after today's shit show?!" Lee exploded. He didn't care if she could hear him.
"I have to," Barney said solemnly.
"What?! Why?!"
"Sit down."
"No."
"Sit. Down." The glare cut through him like a knife.
Lee sat.
"She has to be on our team because if not, she dies," Barney explained quietly.
"Come again?" Lee asked, taken aback.
"She's being forced onto our team. She wasn't supposed to tell me, and I'm not supposed to be telling you, so this stays in this room. Got it?"
"Fine," Lee said, but he felt a bit wary and concerned now. Who was threatening her? Why did they want her on the Expendable team?
"She has to be with us for a while," Barney went on. "I know you're pissed, but I'm not throwing her out on her ass just to get killed."
"Who's to say she's not here to kill one of us?"
"She's not."
"And you know that for sure?"
"I can tell. She's scared about something, so this is serious for her. I'm keeping her on the team, Lee."
"If she can't kill anyone..."
"She will," Barney stopped him. "I'm assigning you to be her partner and trainer."
"Wha-? No! Give her to Toll or Caesar," Lee said angrily, banging his fist on his knee. "I'm not doing it."
"I trust you more," Barney said simply. "I need you to do this."
"Bloody hell!" Lee exploded. He launched into a tirade about it and how unfair it was and that he didn't trust her and why the hell should he be stuck with someone who gladly almost let him die?!
"Are you finished?" Barney asked when he was done.
"Yea," Lee said, breathing a bit hard still from his rant.
"You're still gonna be her partner," Barney told him. "End of discussion."
"But..."
"You're the best, Lee," Barney cut him off, giving him a serious look. "Make her the second best. I know you can do it. Now, get lost."
Lee stared at him with an unreadable expression. Then he got to his feet and walked out of the office. Sara was outside, and she looked lost. His steps faltered, and he wondered what the hell she'd gotten mixed up with that warranted her possibly getting killed. Then he shook his head. It didn't matter.
"I'm sorry, Lee," she said when he walked past her. He stopped and turned to face her. Then he walked towards her and stopped right in her face.
"I don't trust you," he said simply. "I think there's a reason you're here, and if I find out it's to kill one of us, you're dead. You hear me?"
"Loud and clear," she answered.
"I'm stuck with you because Barney seems to think it's a good idea. If I have to be your partner, then you're gonna damn well learn how to kill somebody," he went on. He aimed a finger at her. "You be at my place tomorrow morning. 0700 hours."
"Where is that?"
"Let Barney tell you," Lee answered roughly, walking away from her. He didn't look back.