Sineater asks: For Whumptober, 28. Punching the Wall – Gordon

Characters: Virgil, Gordon

Warnings: Hostages, Punching a wall

'…so it makes sense. I'll stay here and you can use me as a hostage and you let these people go.'

Gordon was sure his mouth was hanging open. Of all the idiotic things his older brothers did, the Self-Sacrificing Idiot was by far the most common. He touched the comm button on his baldrick and spoke softly into it.

'John, tell me he didn't just say what I think he said?'

'Sorry Gordon, if you think he said "here, take me instead" then you would be correct.'

'Peachy.'

He tuned back into the ongoing hostage situation in the bank that they had stumbled in on. Earthquakes had such terrible timing.

'…why I should let the hostages go when I have them and you?'

Oh no, this was just getting worse by the second.

'There's only four of you. There are sixteen hostages. Can you seriously control all sixteen at the same time if there's an aftershock or a panic? One hostage would be much easier. I promise I'll be good.'

Gordon rolled his eyes. He could see his brother's reasonings, and now they also knew exactly how many unfriendlies there were, but when they got him out Gordon was personally going to kill him.

'John, any hope of back-up?'

'Negative. Sorry Gords, you're on your own for at least another half-hour. Kayo says to say if either of you screw up and die before she gets there she's going to kill you both in the training arena.'

'She can wait in line for our other big brother.'

'Indeed. EOS has found you a potential way in through the basement caused by the quake. Transmitting route now. Good luck.'

'FAB, John. Thanks, EOS.'

For the moment he remained where he was, thankful that their comms had been open when his brother had stumbled into the bank. He could see the entrance, and he listened to quiet murmuring as he looked over the holographic route his wrist was displaying. It wouldn't take long to get there but there were a couple areas that looked like a tight squeeze. Gordon didn't really want to leave his helmet behind but he might not have a choice.

The opening of the bank's doors caught his attention, and he watched as the hostages made their way out onto the street. Gordon knew he didn't need to alert John, men from the local rescue services were already moving in to help them. Good, less people for him to worry about.

There was nothing in his uniform that he could use like a weapon, and he made a mental note to ask Brains if he could have a grapple gun like Scott had. He didn't need a weapon, WASP had taught him hand-to-hand combat that had only been enhanced by Kayo and Scott's training sessions, but sometimes something physical to hold was a comfort.

He snorted. Time to go.

The path to the basement was very narrow, and Gordon cursed when he did have to leave his helmet behind. But he was thankful it was him here – only Alan would have managed this route and there was no way any of them wanted their baby brother in such a situation.

Eventually he came across a crack in the wall and, squeezing himself through, Gordon found himself in an office-like area. There was a table and a thick heavy curtain, and he realised with a start he was in the room where people took their security boxes for privacy.

Gordon cursed that he couldn't hear what was going on without his helmet, at least not without giving himself away, but he could almost guarantee what was going on. They would use Virgil as a shield at the very least. They may even put his exosuit to use and force him to break into the security boxes. He guessed it depended on how organised the thieves were.

There were sounds coming from the vault. The large door was open in such a way to hide his approach. Three men were inside, emptying trays into large black holdalls. That left just one upstairs with his brother. These were odds he liked.

Slowly Gordon pushed the door, hoping that the thieves would be too preoccupied to notice. As he expected the door moved silently and smoothly, and he couldn't help the grin that formed on his face.

He was three-quarters to his goal when one of the men noticed and gave a shout of alarm. With no time to spare now Gordon put on a spurt of speed and slammed it shut on them in the nick of time. Now he only had to hope that the shout hadn't alerted the man upstairs, but his luck had run out. He ran silently back to the private room as footsteps told him the man had come downstairs, and not alone.

The stream of curses made Gordon smile. It also told him that the heist was more opportunistic than he had originally thought since there was no way for the man to open the vault. Gordon had timed it so well that the bank hadn't lost any money, three of the four men were now safely behind bars so to speak, and all he had to deal with was one armed man who had his brother hostage.

His grin was feral.

There was the sound of a commotion that wiped the grin off Gordon's face and had him running out of the room. He was just in time to see the man throw Virgil to the floor and point the gun at his head.

Gordon saw red. The man didn't see anything.

Thirty seconds later Gordon was helping Virgil up off the floor. His brother had the good grace to look sheepish as Gordon examined what was going to turn into a beautiful black eye. It was already starting to swell.

Virgil suffered his younger brother examining him, recognising that Gordon needed to make sure he was alright just as he would if the roles had been reversed. But then Gordon turned abruptly away from him to deal with the unconscious man, flipping him over and using a zip tie to bind his wrists before standing up.

They returned to the main floor as the police, probably given the all-clear by John, entered the building with a suited man that was probably the manager, and they held a brief discussion with the man in charge, offering contact details before making their way outside.

'John, are we clear?'

'Yes, Virgil. You are cleared to go. Good to hear your voice.'

'FAB, John. Heading back to Two now.'

What worried Virgil was that Gordon wasn't meeting his eyes as they walked back in silence. His brother was unusually tense and Virgil knew he'd upset him.

Suddenly Gordon stopped and darted off. Virgil stood there for five minutes, bewildered, until he returned carrying his helmet, spinning it in his hands. He still looked tense and Virgil waited until he was beside him again before reaching out and laying a hand on Gordon's arm.

Virgil sighed when Gordon shrugged his hand off, but then his brother spun around to face him.

'Gordon?'

'You – you're such a jerk, d'ya know that?'

'What?'

'"It makes sense to keep me and let the hostages go?" I thought Scott was the only self-sacrificing idiot I had to worry about.'

'Hey!'

'He's not wrong, Virgil.'

'Shut up, John. What else could I do?'

'You could have just shut up and let the police do their job!'

'I couldn't let that group hold everyone hostage! Besides, I knew you'd get me out safely.'

The faith in his brother shone out of Virgil's eyes, but it didn't move Gordon at all. If anything, it made him angrier, and before he'd thought about it he'd dropped his helmet and punched the wall next to him.

Eyebrows in his hairline, Virgil reached out and tugged a resistant brother into a firm embrace, holding tighter once he felt Gordon relax eventually.

'Thank you,' he whispered in Gordon's ear and the final tension drained out of the squid.

'Idiot,' Gordon muttered, pulling away and punching Virgil's shoulder. He hissed in pain as it finally registered that he'd just punched a wall, shaking his hand out.

'You too, Squid,' Virgil replied, amusement clear in his voice. 'Come on, let's patch you up and go home.'

'Yes please.'

Virgil had cut Gordon's glove off and bandaged his hand, it was swollen and a bit bloody but fortunately he hadn't broken any bones and they flew home in companionable silence.

Scott was waiting for them when they finally arrived home, arms folded across his chest and a frown on his face. Virgil and Gordon glanced at each other and both offered small smiles. Their eldest brother rolled his eyes and strode forward, folding both of them into a crushing hug before holding them at arm's length and examining them closely.

'You're both idiots.'