Mercenary and the Beauty Ch. 7
Amelia was starting to come to, opening her eyes, she found herself in the back of a van. Trying to keep herself from having a complete melt down, she took a few breaths. She could see that someone was driving, but in the position that she was laying in, she couldn't really get a good look.
With her hands behind her back, and a gag in her mouth, she was starting to get scared. Closing her eyes, she tried to work her hands out of the ropes that held her. It didn't take her long to figure out that wasn't going to happen. With no other options then to lay on the floor and wait until they stopped the van, she was at their mercy.
She started counting the turns, thankful that Yang thought that was a good exercise for her to learn, telling her, if you can get away, you'll be able to follow the route they took, it will be the quickest way to get to a phone and call them.
After what felt like an eternity, she could feel the van make a stop. Trying to relax as best as she could, she tried to listen, to see if there was something that she was able to pick up, but unfortunately the van must have been insulated, so everything on the outside was coming through muffled. DAMN IT.
The sudden opening of the back doors made her jump, scared that something horrible was coming, but henchmen #1 seemed to pick her up gently, and set her down in a chair in a very creepy and abandoned warehouse. Looking around, she tried to get an idea of where she was, but this was nothing she's seen since moving to the city, regretting not taking Gunner up on his tour of the underbelly of city. If she got out of this, she would walk anywhere with the man.
"Well, you've grown up." Said a voice from the shadows.
Turning towards the voice she hoped that she would never hear again, her eyes wide seeing him walk out of the shadows. NO. It took years of therapy to get over what he did.
He could see her fear, "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." Stepping towards her, taking the gag off her mouth, "I would have knocked on your door, but I'm sure you would have told me to fuck off. This is the only way I could get you here."
Amelia wouldn't take her eyes off him, she hated the man in front of her, "What do you want?"
Church looked down, still as spunky. "Simple, you need to hack a computer. It's in Albania. The safe it's in, is protected by the algorithm that you created. Since it was in a plane crash, only one person can get it. You."
Rolling her eyes, "You said you'd never darken my life, yet here you are, darkening." Looking around, "So, let me guess, do it or else. Right?" she could see a young-looking Chinese woman looking at her. The way she stood, it reminded her of Yang. Small, but deadly. Great. "I guess I'll choose the or else, since you can't keep your word." Knowing that she would probably never see the light of day, "You can go straight to hell Agent Tims." Turning her head, she refused to cry in front of him.
Clapping, "You've gotten brave Amelia." Pulling up a chair in front of her, "I know after the last time, you do mean it. You wouldn't give a shit what happens to you, brave." Rubbing his face, he didn't want to threaten the girl, but what they needed couldn't fall into the hands of the psychopath that was in the region. "I'll make you a deal," turning to Maggie, "Maggie here will be our witness, do this, I will not only pay for your stepbrother to go to college, but I will scrub your name from our files. You will never be associated with Homeland, FBI, CIA, or any other agency." Extending his hand.
"Can't really shake on it, hands tied." She sassed.
Rolling his eyes, "Sorry." Standing up he cut her ties, extending his hand again, "Do we have a deal?" he asked.
She knew that if she didn't, he could mess with her family, or worse find out that she's been sleeping with a mercenary. Taking his hand, "Don't lie to me again, I will shoot you if I get the opportunity."
Laughing, "I have no doubts Ms. Lockwood." Turning to Maggie, "Get her in some traveling gear, and make sure you keep those yahoo's away from her." Turning back to Amelia, "Listen to Maggie, she'll keep you safe." With that he left, he was heading to that part of the world so that he could be close if Maggie needed help.
Amelia looked at the woman, "What yahoos?" she asked. Watching the retreated from of Agent Tims. She hoped that Toll, or one of the guys would notice she was gone, she knew that they would come for her. Hoping that when they do, Tims would be the first to catch a bullet.
"Dangerous men, unsanctioned mission, can't use our people." That was all she was going to say on the matter. Handing her a pair of black cargo pants, boots, and a matching shirt. She wasn't going to turn her back on the girl, while she wasn't worried about the small woman in front of her, she learned that you don't underestimate anyone. "Get dressed, we have to be at the airfield in an hour."
Amelia nodded, and quickly dressed, grabbing the jacket that the woman provided. She followed her out to the van. Seeing the zip ties, and the blind fold. "Come on, seriously?" she asked in disbelief.
Shrugging, "Not taking any chances that you get it in your head you want to escape." Grabbing the zip tie, she slipped it on, helping her into the back, she carefully put blindfold on. "The men we are flying with are dangerous, do not engage with them, let's just get this over, and I will personally bring you home." With that she shut the door, worried about the young woman, she wasn't trained for this, and it was a mistake to bring her. But Tims was her superior. Heading towards the airfield, she could only pray that the young woman listened, these men weren't known for their kindness.
Barney looked at his watch, it was coming on 5, and still no Maggie. He was getting edgy, he had the guys sitting in the plane, ready to spring if this was a trap, but as him mind started to think of escape scenarios, he could see a dark van approach. Keeping his hand his gun, ready to use it. He watched with interest when a tiny Asian woman walked up to him, "Maggie?"
Carefully eyeing the man in front of her, older, tatted, and deadly. If she wasn't here to retrieve the contents from the safe, or protect the hacker, she'd would have said something flirty. "Yes." Looking behind him, she could see the team standing, looking at her, she didn't like this, but she trusted Tims enough to know he wouldn't put her in a no-win situation without a plan B. "Let me be clear, I will kill anyone of you that touches the hacker." Not taking her eyes off them, she walked back towards the van, opening the door, "Let's go. Stay close." Cutting her ties, and removing the blinds, "I will protect you."
Amelia could only nod, that sounded horribly ominous. Slowly getting out of the back, she clung to Maggie like a second skin. As she rounded the corner, she could see the guys. Relief flooded her body.
Toll saw her before anyone, instantly pissed, he walked straight to them, only to find a gun pointed at his face, "MOVE!" he yelled at the woman.
Maggie was about to put him down, but the girl put her hand on her shoulder, "Please. I know them, him." Stepping around the shocked woman, she hugged Toll. "I'm so glad it's you."
The guys swarmed her, each one asking how she was there, but Maggie fired a shot in the air, looking at the young woman, "Does he know?" Trying to figure out if Tims knows.
Shaking her head, "No. Obviously not." Stepping away from Toll, "He's a fucking prick." Turning to the guys, "Agent Tims, he was the one that turned my delivery system into a bombing." Her eyes finding Maggie, "You going to report this?" she asked her.
Seeing how they all swarmed her to protect her, "No." Looking around, "We still need to go, if not he will make good on whatever threat he used to get them to do this." Looking at the men, she could see the understanding coming from the one in charge.
Toll held onto her as they loaded on the plane, he wanted to ask a million questions, but he would wait until they were in the air and leveled out so that they could ask all the questions that they needed. Keeping his arms around her, he could see the Asian one staring.
Once they were in the air, and over the ocean headed towards their destination, Amelia could see that they were looking for answers, she wiped a tear that escaped, "I was walking to my car from work, last thing I remember was dart hitting my neck, woke up in the van, tried counting the turns as we drove." She could feel Toll squeezing her, "I'm fine. No one hurt me." Letting out breath, she explained everything that got her here.
It didn't take long for them to figure out the Tims was Church. Gunner could see that she wasn't a fan, "He did more than use your computer program, what did he do to you?"
Growling out that he was observant. She could feel them watching her, Billy included, "After I saw what he did with my program, I lost it, I tried to stab with a fork, I think." Closing her eyes, "He said my program would help save lives, and he was going to show me what would happen to me if I ever thought of going to the other side."
Rubbing her face, "He stuck me in a room for 3 days, and well, waterboarded me. He said it was a lesson that I needed to learn, that my skills could help." Shaking at the memory, "I told him to fuck off, either kill me or let me go. But I was done. I guess he decided that I wasn't worth the paperwork to get rid of me, and that was the last time I seen him or anyone from any agency, until tonight."
Toll was shaking, his eyes never leaving hers, "I will kill him." He made a vow to her, his eyes finding Maggie, "You try and stop me, I'll kill you too."
She wasn't surprised by his declaration, Tims went too far, her eyes looking at the hacker, "How old were you?"
Caesar snapped, "DOES IT FUCKING MATTER? He took an untrained person and tortured her because she didn't want to kill people."
Shaking her head, "No. I guess it doesn't matter." Looking at the woman, "I'm sorry." Knowing that wasn't going to fix anything, she wanted her to know that she wasn't OK with that. Sitting back, she pulled out a book, it was time to mentally prepare.
The rest of the trip was quiet, Toll holding on to her, he would protect her with his life.
Stepping off the plane was surreal for Amelia, she never left the states, and now she was on a mission with the guys, in a very small way she was kind of thrilled, but she would have preferred not to have been kidnapped. Hoping that it was a simple retrieval, she followed behind them, keeping up with Toll, not being more than 3 feet from the man.
As they walked, she could see that Billy was running up the hill, laughing with the rest as Lee said he could do that. Turning her eyes, "You can't but I know I could catch him." She teased.
Barney looked at her, $5,000."
Smiling, "Deal." With that Amelia darted up the hill, it took a good minute, but she was finally able to catch Billy, and still running until she reached the top, looking behind her she could see that Billy was smirking. "Barney bet me money to catch you. I just won."
Laughing, he nudged her, "Not bad." Turing towards the guys, "I'm going to get in my position, you owe me a beer for kicking my ass." With that he jogged off to the vantage point to cover their asses.
Looking down, she could see the plane, it looked so ominous, and she had absolutely no desire to go into the belly of it, but she knew that's where the safe was. Amelia waited there until the guys were standing with her, she turned towards Maggie who was watching her, "I have to go in there?" she asked the woman.
"I'm sorry Amelia, yes." Maggie could see that the bodies around the plane were disturbing her. "I'll go with you."
Nodding, she took a deep breath, and carefully made her way down the hill. Her eyes watching the surround area, half expecting something to pop out and scare her. But it wasn't what was about to pop out, it was the wolves eating the bodies, that caused her to squeak, turning her head, she didn't want to see this. Hearing the firing of a gun, she turned to see Toll looking at her, "I'm OK." Keeping her eyes forward, she moved behind Barney, and Maggie, while the rest of the guys secured the perimeter.
She stared at the doors that were ajar, turning towards Barney, "Get Cesar, you two are going to have to hold this open for at least a minute so I can get the safe open, and whatever Tims needs." Crouching down, she pulled out the computer that Tims gave her, frowning at it, it was the one that she used when she was forced to work for Homeland. Knowing that as soon as she opened the safe with the computer, she was going to set the fucking thing on fire, never to be seen again.
When the guys got into position, she told them to pull, and immediately dived into the center, typing as fast as her fingers could. Hearing Barney yell for her to get out of the way, she knew it was a matter of time before he would lose his grip and kill her.
As the door opened, she reached in and grabbed the box, falling back, the doors snapped shut inches from her face. Blinking a few times, she was not going to cry in front of the guys. Shakily standing, she handed it straight to Maggie, "Take it. I don't want to know." Picking up the computer she ran outside and tossed it on the ground, she picked up a rock and smashed it until it was tiny pieces. As she stood, she could see the concern in their eyes, "My computer that they had me use, I never want to see it again." Dropping the rock, she made her way towards Toll, "Almost done, and then home."
As the words left her mouth, she felt something, freezing, she stepped away, looking around, she could feel Toll was standing with her.
He watched her, something was setting her off, "What is it Amelia?" he asked, his hand on the rifle.
Shrugging her shoulders, "I don't know." Looking around, there wasn't anything obvious that was standing out, her eyes found his, "Perhaps I'm just edgy, I just want to go home."
Nodding at her, "I'm so sorry that you were pulled into this, I will protect you." Leaning down, he gave her a small kiss.
"I know you will." Her eyes smiling up at his, "I'll leave the solider of fortune shit to you. I'm perfectly OK with being a house cat." She teased.
The guys including Maggie laughed at that.
Barney could see that Maggie was watching him, her body language indicating her interest. "BILLY!" he yelled, it was time to grab the team, head home, and never to be bothered by Church again.
They waited a few minutes, but he didn't come down, Barney called his name a few more times, but still no answer. Amelia looked around, trying to see any movement, gasping when she did, she lightly touched Barney, pointing, seeing the shapes come out of the fog.
Amelia watched in horror as the man cut his chest, but she kept quiet, she knew any attention to her, or for Billy could make it more volatile.
He wanted the box that was retrieved, she watched as Lee walked over and handed it to him, everything for her was happening in slow motion, when he told them get on the ground and keep their faces in the ground, she did, but something made her look up, as she heard the helicopter take back off, watching the man kick Gunner's knife into his chest.
Screamed, "BILLY!" she scrambled to her feet, rushing over to him, "NO. Stay with me Billy, don't you take your eyes off me." She could feel the others around her, his bloody hands cupping her face, "No. I owe you a beer, you have to stay with me." Tears sliding down her face.
His eyes locked on hers, "I love you, Cecille. I wanted to marry you." Coughing up blood. He could see the pained look in her eyes. "It's OK." Cupping her face. He wanted it to be the last face he saw.
Realizing that he thought she was his girlfriend, "I love you too William James Walker." Crying as he coughed up more blood.
"Don't be sad. Cecille." Gasping for air, his eyes fluttered.
She knew that he was moments away from dying, not caring what it looked like to anyone, she leaned down and kissed him. Feeling his life leave his body, Amelia cried, "I promise Billy, I will tell her how much you loved her." Leaning down, she hugged his body, "I promise you I will make sure she's taken care of." Kissing his forehead, she slowly stood. Her eyes finding all the guys, including Maggie watching her. She wrapped her arms around Tolls waist, crying.
Her eyes never stopped the tears, her sobs were quiet now. She listened to Barney read the letter that he had in his pocket, but as she looked around, she could see Maggie standing stiffly.
She could feel someone watching her, her eyes finding Amelia, "We need to get that computer back, it has the coordinates for plutonium from the cold war." Hoping that she would convince the guys to help her, she couldn't do it on her own.
Stepping away from Toll, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" She could feel that Toll was holding her back, while she appreciated it, she looked over at Barney, giving him a look. Turning back to Maggie, "That son of bitch had that plane shot down, right?" Turning her back on the woman, knowing the answer.
"I didn't know he was going to do that; I was just told to get the computer. That's it." Her eyes looking at Barney, "What are you going to do?" she asked, hoping that he would help her.
Standing tall, "Find him, kill him, and get your fucking computer back." Looking around he could see that everyone was in agreement, even Amelia. Knowing that what to come was something that she wasn't ready to see, but they didn't have any other options to bring her, his eyes locking with Toll, he knew it too.
Holding her to his chest, he was terrified of what she was probably going see. He hoped that what comes next wouldn't change her opinion of him.