(Seven)
They entered the building through a bomb shattered doorway and made their way up a rickety staircase to the top floor. Bruce scrambled into a corner, wanting the security of some walls, and called for help on his headset radio. Almost at once, a Dognan ship swooped down and began firing.
Valentin snatched at Bruce's headset and snarled into it with impatient rage into the radio. "Henry! Get us out of here!"
"I'm sorry, sir, but there's no one left!" Beast answered from the other end. "The next wave of pilots won't be here for another half hour! The rest are already there or shot down!"
Wolverine could barely hear the response over the crash of bombs and artillery and he moved closer to Gambit protectively. The thief was leaning against a wall, ducking down and doing his best not to reveal just how terrified he was. He was way out of his league here and it showed, he made no snappy jokes or goofed around as his protective teammate came closer,. He was white as a ghost and wanted no more of this. Buildings were exploding all around them.
"Then send Fallen!" Valentin continued to holler into the headset. It was still attached to Bruce's head and the man winced at his General's tone.
"Sir! The Lucky Dragon wouldn't last a minute in the crossfire!"
Valentin's anger exploded and he snarled, "I didn't say 'send her ship', you moron! I said 'send her'! Tell her to grab a harness and get her ass out here! There's only eight of us left!" He clicked off, furious. They were now trapped on the top floor of the abandoned six story building. The roof was gone and they were protected by only three walls, and those not for long. More Dognan ships flew overhead dropping bombs all around them. The building trembled and groaned in pain, not liking the abuse. The Dognan knew they were there, just not exactly where and were firing all over the place. Valentin turned his wrath on Bruce. "This is all your fault! I should just leave you here!"
"I'm sorry! How could I know they would bypass our cloaks so soon?" Bruce countered weakly. He was terrified of Valentin and it showed.
"It's your job to know these things! I wouldn't have put my men at such a risk if you hadn't told me it was safe!"
"I can only pass on what I've been told, Sir! I didn't make the cloaks!"
"You are still responsible!"
"How long will it take Fallen to get here?" Wolverine said, trying to deflect some of Valentin's rage off of the squirming man. Bruce might be an idiot but he didn't deserve to die for it.
"Not long, maybe ten minutes. If we even last that long."
Wolverine was surprised by Valentin's answer. Lucky was parked twenty miles away at least. With the fire fight going on, Fallen would be at great risk. Valentin saw his disbelief. "She's flown in worse than this," he said proudly with a smile. For a moment, Logan could see that Valentin valued her and on some twisted level, loved her. Logan just couldn't understand what it was between those two.
They waited, all of them nervous and tense. Moments later, Logan heard a familiar rush of wings and Fallen touched down in the middle of the room. She was graceful and confident, a smile on her face as soon as she saw him. Fallen wore the leather harness and had a radio headset on. She carried the usual tangle of leather in her hands, more harnesses for the rest of them. She tossed them down.
"Two at a time," she commanded, instantly in charge. She appeared to be unafraid of the bombs and noise and Wolverine couldn't help but admire her courage. She had a cloaking bracelet on her wrist and threw two more down on the straps. "These are set at a different frequency," she explained to the Clansmen. "Won't keep you from getting shot, but at least they won't have anything to aim at. I'll cover you with my TK as much as I can."
Logan steered Gambit over to her with a gentle shove, silently insisting he go first. Logan wanted him out of here and back where it was safe. Remy didn't argue. He and another of Valentin's men started putting on the straps and bracelets. They stood side by side and Fallen went between them, hovering slightly and clipping their straps to her harness. "Clear?" she spoke into the headset.
"You're clear," Seth's voice came from the radio. He was monitoring the Clan and Dognan ships.
"Ready. Steady. Jump!" Fallen grabbed the two men from their back straps and hoisted them into the air. She really didn't need to touch them, her telekinetic power held them to her. The straps were mostly for the confidence of her passengers. They winked out as the cloaking devices activated and were gone.
"That's my girl," Valentin boasted to Logan. He had seen the feral alpha's fine appraisal of his pilot. "She's not afraid of anything. She used to pull the Dognan men out of the battlefields when she first was made. Some of them are twice our size."
Fallen returned for another round and flew off again. This wasn't taking long at all. A good thing, the bombing was getting worse. One of the walls collapsed and Bruce cowered in the corner, unable to hide his terror. Justin came over and stood above him protectively without comment, silently shielding him with his large body.
Valentin watched this without comment, recognizing Bruce's uselessness out here. He himself hadn't moved at all, he stood at ease as though the bombs would never touch him. All he needs to do is start talkin' about napalm in the mornin', Logan thought to himself, wryly amused at the sight of it.
Fallen touched down again and Bruce snatched for the straps. He was trembling so badly, he almost couldn't get them on. A bomb exploded right next to them and he screamed.
Fallen yelled into her headset. "Seth! We're getting slammed!"
"You've got two ships on your right! The Clan's right behind them! Just sit tight! Wasayachay a recta set, Fallen. Don't worry!"
Bruce blinked and looked up in surprise, momentarily distracted from his fright. "Was that Siskan?" he asked, an odd light in his eyes.
Fallen ignored him, but she looked afraid for the first time since she had arrived. She busied herself with untangling some of Bruce's leather harness straps and getting him ready, doing her best to pretend the question hadn't been flung out there for all to hear.
Bruce wasn't going to let it go. He was now looking at Valentin. "Sir?"
"No," Valentin answered for her, his voice betraying uncertainty. His eyes were all over Fallen with renewed interest now as he motioned for Justin to take a set of straps. "It's just some silly words they always say to each other."
Bruce was taking too long. His hands were shaking so badly with the straps and the enemy ships were still too close. More bombs fell, making quite the racket. It was too rowdy out here for comfort.
"Shreikedickt belanda krishna dect! Watch yer ass, Fallen!" Kimble hollered next. He hadn't liked the sound of all the destruction and couldn't hide his panic. "Dontcha do nuthin' stupid, girl!"
"Who was that?" Bruce demanded in a near scream, unable to hide the renewed terror that blanched his face. It was unclear what had terrified him more, the situation he was in or the voice that had come over the radio.
He never got a reply. Another bomb exploded and Kimble was shouting into the headset again. "Fallen, gits outta there! Swing ta yer left an go 'round the back way!"
"Left and back, aye!" she shouted. She said nothing more, only rudely grabbed Bruce in her left hand ready or not, and Justin in her right, and vaulted off into the treacherous sky. Now only Wolverine and Valentin were left.
Valentin was clearly thinking hard in reaction to Bruce's questions and didn't speak, working his mind around it. Whatever Bruce had dragged up wasn't a trivial thing, Bruce's response to Fallen's computer personalities had seriously peaked his interest. Pieces to a strange puzzle had just snapped into place in the man's mind and perhaps not in a good way.
Logan didn't like the look in the First General's eyes, like he was hiding something Bruce had just made him realize. Fallen could be in danger and Wolverine considered killing Valentin right then and there. He had lots of good reasons to do this, not the least of which was the way the man had so thoughtlessly abused Fallen earlier. Rape was never justified in his eyes. Just the thought of it made Logan clench his fists. It was too easy for him to forget just how much of monster Valentin truly was out here when the man's bravery and courage blinded him, these were the things Logan admired in a fellow soldier. Still, it would be so easy to take him down in this place. Logan could say he was a casualty of war and no one would question it, especially not Fallen.
Valentin's eyes suddenly shifted towards him as though he just realized exactly what Logan was now thinking. He smiled a wicked grin and laughed. "Tempting isn't it? Just pop a claw and go to it, boy. If you think you can."
"Heh. Too easy, Valentin. Yer not even worth the effort," Logan spat, his resolve gone. It just wasn't in him to kill a man he respected, this much not without a better reason.
Valentin moved in front of him. "Go for it," he challenged arrogantly.
At that moment, Fallen touched down, returning for the two of them. She saw them squaring off but didn't interfere, her pale blue eyes glittering.
Valentin turned to look at her. "Saved by the angel in white," he sneered.
"Don't be so sure," Logan grumbled with a laugh.
Valentin looked into Fallen's eyes and didn't like what he saw there. She was hesitating, actually considering her options. She tossed Wolverine a set of straps, but kept the other harness to herself. Her headset crackled. "Leave th' fuckin' bastard, Fallen!" Kimble shouted, his voice loud and angry. He could hear every word they had said through the headset.
Valentin stood his ground, boring into her with his eyes. "You would do that? Leave me? What about the Four? You swore an oath. Honor, Loyalty, Courage and Sacrifice. You wear the Honor Sword of the Clan. You swore to protect your passengers at all costs, even if it meant sacrificing yourself. Kill me now and you will violate all you hold sacred. Where is your honor now? Your loyalty? I am Clan! You are Clan! Would you sacrifice your honor for something stupid like revenge? I've never done anything you haven't wanted me to and you know it!"
"Don'tcha listens ta him, Fallen!" Kimble insisted. "Grab Logan and run, girl! Do it now!"
As if in answer, another bomb exploded nearby with a thundering crash, reminding them they had little time for arguing. The building couldn't take the continuing abuse, the second wall finally crumbled and collapsed, leaving only one left for them to take shelter from. There was no way they wouldn't be seen by the Dognan ships flying nearby now.
Wolverine stepped up. "You gotta decide now, Fallen. We got no time!"
"You swore to me that you would never be responsible for killing anyone else, Fallen," Valentin continued, changing tack and easing the forcefulness of voice into something more tender. He didn't seem the least bit worried about what was happening here between them, he was just probing her.
Logan shook his head, his suspicions of Fallen's past confirmed.
"Leaving me will be the same as murder and you know it," Valentin said, raising his chin.
Fallen looked at him, torn between what she wanted and what she had to do. A single tear trickled down one cheek. "I hate you," she said finally and tossed him the last set of straps.
"Aw, Fallen, don' be stupid!" Kimble complained. He knew what her last transmission had meant. "You ain't never gonna get another chance to be free!"
"Fallen!" Seth called out next, breaking his silence. He could hear as well as Kimble what was going on out there and didn't like it.
"I'm sorry, guys," she whispered and shut her headset off, not wanting to hear their voices any more.
Valentin chuckled softly as he slipped the straps on, his emerald eyes all over her. "Someday, you'll realize you need me as much as I need you. You'll never kill me, not even for your pathetic little programs. Deep down inside you know it's just you and me, Fallen. Forever."
"Fuck you!" she snarled and leapt into the air. Valentin laughed as she jerked both him and Wolverine into the dangerous sky. They clicked their cloaking devices on and became invisible.