Chapter Thirteen: Bargaining
Justin Masterson stood watching the screens that showed several angles of the room they were holding Phelps and Zanetakos in. Their blonde, would-be leader looked ready to rip Franks' face off, but the restraints kept her firmly in place. Phelps was leaned forward, his breathing shaky and he was beaten into temporary submission. Franks was having fun, but he hadn't done any lasting damage yet. Some deep bruising, probably a few cracked ribs, and a couple of broken fingers. Blood soaked through Phelps' shirt from where Franks had managed to undo the quick patch up job on the deep gash Masterson had left in his former rival. Phelps was a tough bastard. It wouldn't kill him, but it had to hurt like hell.
"Any change?" Michel Geffroy asked as he came to stand next to him.
"She'll give soon enough. Those two always had a thing for each other."
"She sold him out to McCready."
"There's no proof she didn't kill McCready in the end," Masterson pointed out. "Phelps was always… emotionally compromised when it came to the Major. Zanetakos was always emotionally compromised when it came to Phelps." The older man snorted and Masterson rolled his eyes. "You were always soft on Phelps."
"I wasn't soft on the kid. I gave him hell and he still landed the top scores I've ever given in my class. He's good."
"He's dead. This time we'll make sure of it."
"Not before we get what we need from Zanetakos."
"You questioning Franks' methods?"
"I'm questioning you," Geffroy said pointedly. "You let your emotions get the better of you when you fought with him."
"Like you said, he's good. If I have a chance to put him at a disadvantage I will. Playing fair doesn't get us anywhere."
Footsteps drew his attention around and a trainee was making a beeline to Geffroy. She stopped next to him, speaking directly into his ear so that Masterson couldn't hear. He kept his expression purposefully even. They wanted to treat him like less than after he'd been a key factor in all of this, fine. Their time would come soon enough.
"Thank you," Geffroy said and dismissed her. He turned his gaze back to the screen. "The feds are outside. Tell Franks we're moving."
"What about you?"
"Do you job, Masterson."
Geffroy turned on his heel and Masterson stood there for a long moment, lips twitched down and irritation building. "Bastard," he breathed before turning towards the interrogation room. They had to move quickly.
She was nervous. She didn't broadcast it, but Scottie could see it in the way that Elizabeth checked her gun for the third time and her comm for the fifth since they had been told to hang back. They had surrounded the building fifteen minutes prior and then nothing. What the hold up was hadn't made it to them yet and if Scottie risked reaching out to her people to find out she could miss the greenlight.
"He'll be alright," she said instead, the encouragement spoken with all the conviction that Howard had delivered it to her with.
It drew her daughter-in-law's attention. "He wasn't supposed to go back into the field. I never should have -"
"You married a stubborn one. I'm afraid that he didn't have any choice with Howard and me."
Elizabeth managed the barest of smiles. "I can't lose him again."
"Neither can I," Scottie confessed. "I've lost him… so many times now. Too many times. I refuse to lose him again, and I imagine that between the two of us, we may be more stubborn than even he is."
The smile turned a little more real and her comm buzzed in Scottie's ear. "Are you ready?" Donald Ressler's voice sounded from the other end.
"Just been waiting on you," Elizabeth answered and Scottie heard the ginger agent snort from the other side.
"Let's go get your husband."
There were three main points of entry on the ground level. Navabi and Ressler were taking one, Solomon and Nez another, which left Scottie and Elizabeth with the third. They were all accompanied by SWAT, though Halcyon operatives covered the area to make sure no one slipped out of the the second story windows or somehow managed to get around the three teams breaching the perimeter. Mojtabai, Dumont, and Howard were watching from the Network for any backup that might be incoming.
A small explosive took the front door down and Elizabeth took off first to lead in, Scottie right behind her, and they were immediately met with opposition. Scottie flattened herself against a wall and she saw Elizabeth do the same. They knew they were coming, meaning that the people firing at them now were there to buy them time. Their window to get to Tom was closing fast.
The door burst open without warning behind Gina and Franks looked up like he was ready to turn his painful attention on whoever had interrupted him. Gina didn't have to turn to know Masterson's voice. "We have a problem."
"And it can't wait?" Franks growled.
"Not if you don't want to get arrested. Feds just breached the front door. Geffroy is already on his way out."
Franks cursed, looking back at Jacob who was leaned forward in his chair, still dazed by the last blow. "Get him up. We'll transport them both back to the school."
"No," Gina snapped.
"You fight me on it and I'll kill him and find another way to make you talk," Franks swore.
"That's not what I mean. Why don't I make this easy for you? He-" she nodded towards the nearly unconscious man - "will only slow you down. Leave him - alive - and take me. I'll give you the code when we're gone."
"Gina," Jacob managed from his place. "Don't."
"Why the hell would we trust you?" Masterson demanded.
Gina refused to look over at the bound and beaten man across from her. "Same reason he just said: Franks can find another way if I'm lying." She turned her dark gaze back on the interrogator. "You know I'm not wrong. You try to drag him along, you won't make it."
The indecision was brief and half a beat later he motioned. "Get her up. Get her out."
"You can't be serious," Masterson snapped and Franks shot him a dangerous look, wrapping his tools up.
"Do it. I'll meet you at the exit point." The order was given and Franks started for the door, leaving a gaping Masterson behind. He turned his green gaze towards Gina's former lover and she could see where his train of thought was going, even as Jacob straightened as best as he could in the chair.
"You do it, and I'll never give you a damn thing. Franks and the others will blame you. Wonder how long you'll last."
Masterson's gaze snapped back to her. "You killed the Major for him, didn't you?"
She flashed a dark smile. "I'll kill you too. Just wait. It'll be fun."
He pushed a sharp breath out through his nose and reached down, slipping the same knife he'd caught Jacob with through the zip ties at her wrists. "You want to give him a fighting chance, you don't fight me. Clear?"
"Clear."
Gina risked one more glance back at Jacob who looked ready to murder Masterson. She understood the impulse, but as it stood, even if she were to fight him here and now, there was no guarantee that they'd get out. The sooner Franks and whoever else was with him cleared the building the sooner the feds got in, and the sooner they found Jacob they could help him. Damn the man. She should have gone anywhere else.
Masterson hauled her up and Jacob fought against the restraints. "Masterson! Masterson, dammit," he shouted, his voice raspy and raw and his expression bordering on desperate. She could hear him continue to shout as Masterson dragged her out and down the hall, the battle raging behind them.
"They're in. You'll never get us out."
"You've known me long enough to know I'm a survivor, Zanetakos." He pulled her down the hallway and into a room without a clear exit. He seemed to know where he was going as he moved immediately to the middle of the room and kicked an old, dusty carpet out of the way, revealing a trapdoor. He pulled it open and finally released her, motioning to a ladder leading down. "Ladies first."
She heard him, even if no one else had. Liz knew she'd heard him and she pushed her way through despite the protests around her. Their attackers were thinning out, meaning that the people in charge were already gone or close enough that their underlings felt comfortable enough to flee themselves.
Liz rounded a corner and nearly straight into a St Regis operative on her way out. She was young and for the briefest moment she was terrified. It was one thing for Liz to say she understood what Tom meant when he said he was worried about the kids affected by St Regis shutting down, but looking one of those kids in the face was entirely different. She couldn't have been more than eighteen.
The gun came up and Liz reacted, catching hold of the girl's wrist and pushing up so that the bullet buried itself in the ceiling. She slammed her back against the wall hard once and then again until she released the weapon and Liz found a pair of wide, grey eyes latched onto her, narrowing.. "I won't go back, so you better just shoot me."
She didn't mean St Regis. Whatever situation Gina had plucked this kid from, she thought it was worse than death.
Liz kicked the gun and released her. "Go."
The girl blinked. "What?"
"Go."
She didn't have to be told a third time. The girl turned and Liz reached back for her, though she didn't hold on. "Wait. Tom…. Jacob Phelps. Where is he? Where are they holding him?"
"You're her, huh?"
"Only reason you're getting away," Liz reminded her softly.
The girl seemed to clue in on that and nodded. "Down the hall on your left unless they already moved them." Then she was gone, not daring to wait to see if Liz changed her mind.
Liz didn't wait either. She shot down the hall and turned at the open door to a scene that stopped her in her tracks. Tom sat ziptied to a chair, beaten and bloodied, and as far as she could tell unconscious. The last was disproved quickly enough as he looked up, his gaze taking a second to focus on her, and he loosed a breath. "Lizzie."
She swallowed hard as she crossed the space between them, dropping to a knee in front of him and taking in the damage, her fingers traveling along the cuts across his face and the bruising that was already starting to form peeking out from under his shirt. She winced at two fingers on his right hand that looked to broken and finally forced herself to look at where his shirt was covered in blood. "Babe," she breathed.
"I'm okay. I'll be okay," he promised, his voice rough. "Get me out of these?"
"Yeah." She reached into her vest to pull out a knife and he winced as she cut him loose, revealing the marks the makeshift cuffs left on his skin. She looked up at him, one hand moving carefully to his face. "I thought I'd lost you again."
He leaned forward, his forehead touching hers. "Never," he swore.
Liz nodded, accepting the promise. "C'mon, we need to get you out of here."
Tom didn't look thrilled at the idea of standing, but he set his jaw and shifted his weight. Liz moved to help take some of it on, his arm around her shoulders, but without warning his knee buckled with him and it was everything she could do not to go down with him. She eased him to the ground as best she could and and felt the fear spike as she saw his good hand grasping at where the blood was soaking his shirt. It was his, despite his protests of being okay, she knew it had to be.
"Liz we have… shit."
Liz looked up to see Nez standing at the doorway. "Get medical in here now."
The steady beeping was the first sound that broke through unconsciousness and dragged him back. Dark blue eyes blinked open and he instantly regretted it. Everything hurt, even through the obvious dulling of the pain medication that would be dripping down through the… yep. There was the IV to his left.
"I seem to remember something about staying out of the field being part of the deal you struck to take over the CEO position at Halcyon," a voice said firmly and Tom forced himself to turn, wincing as he did, and he found a face that had become familiar in the last couple of years. Dr Meredith Gramble had helped to save his life when Howard had had him whisked out of the ER after Garvey's attack two years before and she'd given him hell ever since.
"Desperate times," Tom answered and looked down to try to take stock of the injuries.
"Concussion, cracked ribs, fractured wrist, broken fingers, and, oh, were you aware someone tried to put yet another hole in you?"
"More like a gash," he answered with an attempt at a smile.
"Still had to stitch you back together."
"I really need to stop that."
"You really do." She heaved a sigh. "There were no internal injuries, and while I count that as a win after your last knife fight, that doesn't mean you're not chained to that bed until I say otherwise. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am," Tom answered with a hint of a smile.
She didn't look convinced, but she did turn to leave. Tom waited until he heard her footsteps down the hall before he reached to the IV and tugged it from its place. That was the first thing that needed to go if he had any hopes of helping Gina. The second was going to be more painful, but just as necessary. He pulled a steadying breath in and risked moving his elbows under him, pushing himself up onto them.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Getting up," he answered his wife.
"Like hell you are."
He grimaced, but pushed himself into a sitting position. "Don't," he breathed through gritted teeth as Liz moved to his side to push him back down.
"Tom, you need to rest. You just got your ass kicked."
"Thanks for that," he chuckled.
"You can be insulted all you want, it doesn't change anything."
"I know," he managed, forcing himself to look over at her. "You tell me you got Gina too and I'll lay down right now."
He had known the answer before he said it, but the look on Liz's face confirmed it. "Tom, I am not willing to lose you for that woman."
"I know you don't want me to risk anything for her, babe, but she just risked everything for me."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean they beat the hell out of me to get her to talk, and when you guys got there they planned to take me with them. Gina promised them the code in exchange for leaving me there."
There was a long moment of silence and Liz sank down to the edge of the bed. "If she does that they're going to kill her, aren't they?"
Tom grimaced, shifting a little. There wasn't a comfortable position to be had. "She bought some time, but yeah. They're gonna kill her."
There was a pain in Liz's eyes that he hated, and she leaned towards him and pressed her lips against his. He sank into it until he felt her push him gently down against the pillows, not breaking the kiss until he was laid back against them. She stayed where she was, though, leaned over him and those deep blue eyes of hers locked onto him. "What else?" she asked softly, the words not quite an accusation, but there was no question she knew he hadn't shared everything.
Tom reached up, fingers brushing her cheek. "She's… not going to be able to give them what they want."
TBC
Notes: Sorry this is late being posted today. I typically post over breakfast and just blanked this morning. Better late than not at all though, right?
Next Time: Gina makes things complicated for her captors, Ressler is forced to decide which lines he's willing to cross, and the team gets ready for the fight of their life.