Chapter 1 - Mia

Of all the ways for this job to go, it had to happen like this.

Barney Ross's face was pressed against the cold concrete wall and his hands were tied together. Like an awkward weight, he lifted his head from the wall to sit in an upright position. It didn't take long for his head to start pounding at a slow and agonizing drumming tempo. To take a grasp of reality was more difficult than he originally thought to be. The smell of mildew and dirty water filled his nostrils. Together, the two smelled like old, stale cigarettes. The room he was in was dark and barely lit with a single light bulb hanging from the decaying ceiling. The sounds of dripping water, and scurrying rats made his head buzz. The light bulb above grew into doubles. His black shirt was faintly damp with sweat while his military tactical vest was unzipped. In search of his gun, Barney's eyes trailed down to his waist. His favorite single action army was missing from its holster.

He shook his head before taking in his surroundings.

It was a surprise when Barney found a girl in the same room with him. Only about six feet away, laid a girl with fair amber hair. Her back was facing him, which made Barney unable to see her face. Blood stained her hair, and just like him, her hands were bound together. Barney wondered how long she had been down here and even if she was still alive. He couldn't tell if she was breathing or not.

Right across the room from Barney, a metal door suddenly swung open with a long groan before hitting the concrete wall. Barney saw the girl's finger twitch as a man walked into the room. He gritted his teeth when he saw it was a man working for Pressmen, the man who Barney and his team were after. This sleaze ball's name was Quinn. His body type was most definitely body builder as he stood at 6'2". He had an army buzz and a little bit of scruff as facial hair.

Quinn didn't say a word as he headed straight to the girl. "Good to see you again," Barney grumbled, trying to direct Quinn's attention from her. Like before, Quinn didn't speak. He reached the girl just as she was starting to stir. Barney pulled at the rope that held his hands, however it kept him at bay. She rolled on her back and then over to her other side. She was now facing him. Her skinny jeans were torn at the knees and the white wife beater was stained with dirt and her own blood. Her nose was clearly broken and bruised while the skin just underneath her eyebrow was split – causing blood to dribble and dry down the side of her face.

Quinn pulled out a hunting knife and cut the rope that tied her hands together. Letting her arm's drop heavily on the ground, Quinn noticed her blue eyes began to sluggishly open. Just as her eyes fell upon Barney, Quinn kicked her hard in the face. Her head snapped back just before she held her face in her hands. She let out an agonizing sob and blood oozed through her fingers as she continued to hold her face. "Morning, sweetheart," Quinn chuckled and snatched her up by a chunk of her hair. Her soiled, light pink converse kicked at the dirt before she stood on her feet. A hunting knife was pressed against the girl's swollen cheek and she froze.

"Quinn, don't do it," Barney warned and the both of them looked at him.

Quinn was smiling while the girl's eyes were stained with fear.

"Barney, Barney…tsk. Tsk," he began and pulled the girl closer to him. "Didn't you ever think you might fail a job at some point?" The man shook his head.

Barney shrugged, trying to hide his worry for the girl. "Eh, maybe." Barney's eyes stayed fixed on Quinn and the knife.

"You might want to say your goodbyes to Mia. Time is just about up for her," he told Barney and hugged himself against Mia.

Suddenly without warning, the concern in Barney's brown eyes disappeared. Quinn noticed this and before he knew it, Christmas had thrown one of this favorite kunai into the back of his head.

Quinn's body jerked stiffly before falling to the ground; releasing the girl. Mia jumped at the sight of the knife that was stuck in the man's head. Christmas jogged to Barney to cut him loose. "Looks like I had to save your ass again," Christmas joked and Barney shook his head with a smile playing on his lips. "We've got to get out of here. There are 7 blocks of C-4 just below us. It's set to blow in four minutes." Barney turned away from his friend and to the girl who was still standing next to Quinn. Christmas's eyes followed Barney's and they both watched her stare down at the body. The girl looked rough to Christmas. Not only was there already blood from the wound under her eyebrow and her bleeding nose, her cheekbone was badly swollen while the rest of her round face was colored with purple and red due to bruising.

Barney was the one to step forward first and she took a step back with an unsure expression. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you. You're name is Mia, right?" She didn't say anything but nod. Barney knew questions were useless at the moment with C-4 just underneath their feet. "Okay, we've got to go," he began, walking towards her. Christmas followed behind him. "There are explosives on the floor below us. We have to leave now." Panic spread across her face. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, speaking for the first time. Her voice was shaky and quiet. Barney's head was still buzzing with questions he wanted to ask her. Who are you? What did Pressmen want from her? How long have you been here?

"Alright, let's go." Barney said reaching her. The top of her head reached his shoulder and that's when he realized how tiny she really was. She was maybe 5'2" and couldn't have weighed more than 110 lbs. Him and Christmas turned to quickly head towards the door, but Mia stopped them.

"Wait," she said gently and turned to her right. There was a desk with a backpack on it. She quickly snatched it and Barney's gun that lay next to it. She came back to them. "Is this your's?"

Barney smiled and thanked her when she handed the gun to him.

Christmas and Barney led the way out a door and down a hallway. After a minute of running, Barney noticed Mia lagging behind. She was holding her side as small beads of sweat decorated the skin on her face. "Slow down," Barney told Christmas and the two of them slowed down their running.

"We don't have long," Christmas urged and Barney nodded.

Barney ran towards the girl. He knew she was in a lot pain by the look on her face and the blood from her nose was still dripping. The last thing he wanted was for her to lose consciousness during their escape. "Come on," he softly said and picked her up in his arms. She wrapped arms around his neck and hid her face in the crook of his neck. The two men were booking it down the last bit of the hallways as time was running out.