The fight had started out much like the last one. Two opponents, both not the best at what they were being asked to do, nervously circling each other, waiting for somebody to throw the first punch.
Luckily, this time Derek didn't have his buddy by his side to get in on the action.
And now they were both injured, the kid having lost his glasses, his face a bruised mess, while Ryan had a hard time staying upright, the pain in his lower back making his leg cramp and tingle. The concussion blurred his vision, slowing down his reflexes a lot more than he could afford at the moment.
But it was down to the wire now and he owed it to his family and his partner to do the best he could to survive this.
And even if he didn't, he'd at least put up a hell of a fight and buy some time for Javi.
O'Donnell had moved them closer to the door where a slight breeze coming from downstairs chilled him even further. Late at night and down to one construction light, their standoff sent eerie shadows across the large room, distorting movements and straining his eyes.
Armed with his metal rod, Derek was breathing heavy, his eyes racing back and forth across Ryan's body, hoping for an opening in his defense that wasn't there.
Instead, Kevin kept his guard up, arms in front of his chest, hands balled to tight fists, his legs cocked as much as his injury allowed. It wouldn't help him against the guns that were involved in this sick practice run, but at least it gave him a vantage point when it came to evading the metal rod Derek was swinging back and forth.
"Come on now, stop dancing!", O'Donnell yelled from the sidelines, back to coach mode, completely oblivious just how utterly grotesque and coldblooded this whole situation was.
"Keep dancing, buddy, you got nice legs.", Kevin countered instead, successfully throwing his opponent off guard when Derek hesitated for a moment and looked down at his feet.
It would have been the perfect opportunity to attack but he didn't, knowing that the duration of this fight dictated the duration of his life and that of his partner.
Cursing himself for the umpteenth time for ending up in this situation to begin with; Kevin bit the inside of his lip, hating the fact that his whole body was hurting, that him buying time could potentially cause Javi to bleed out and die before Beckett would get here, that Jenny would be worried sick by now- and rightfully so.
If they hadn't gone down that alley, he could be in bed now, snuggling up to the love of his life while continuing their preparation for their second child. He would have put SG to bed, telling her a soothing nighttime story, protecting her innocent mind from the demons that travelled this city.
He would be around to love and enjoy his family.
But now, he wasn't so sure he would ever see them again after all.
Derek's temporary state of confusion didn't last long and the young teenager launched forward once more, the metal rod in his right hand, a battle cry escaping his lips as though he was taking on the Great Manitou himself.
With barely an inch to spare, Kevin ducked off to the left, stumbling against the cold walls as he felt the teenager's sleeve brush him.
"Get moving, you're too slow. You can take on this guy, that's easy. Get moving Derek!", O'Donnell hollered and protectively positioned himself by the door, blocking the exit.
There wasn't much time between his first attack and the next one which included the teenager using the metal rod in a stabbing motion, one time getting him in the top of the chest with it. It robbed Kevin of his breath for a second, the searing pain running up his neck and down his right arm, slowing him further.
"Good job, keep going. You gotta go for the kill. This shouldn't take that long."
Shouldn't take that long, Kevin thought, trying to ignore the throbbing in his limbs while focusing on his opponent. As if it wasn't bad enough to murder police officers, O'Donnell was actually setting timelines on how the event should unfold.
Remember the eyes.
As though he was standing right next to him, Esposito's words came back to mind. Without his glasses, Derek wouldn't be able to see too well. It was an advantage he had to use.
Pressed against the wall, Kevin waited for the teenager to come charging again, repeating his earlier maneuver of wildly stabbing the rod at him, hoping to hit something.
This time, the detective waited until the last second to move to the side, his left foot landing next to Javi's back, as he heard the unmistakable noise of metal hitting brick, followed by a yelp of pain.
"You idiot, watch where you are hitting!", O'Donnell bellowed in obvious disgust and paced the length of the room, his hand wrapped around the grip of the small .22.
Fueled by his mentor's words, Derek rushed toward him again, having changed hands on the rod, his expression growing desperate.
"Not as easy…as you…thought, now is it?", Kevin gasped and moved over toward the middle of the room, hoping to keep Javi safe from the fight.
His taunts only served to frustrate the teenager further and Derek huffed an angry snort as he waved the rod back and forth, pushing him across the room.
They continued their deadly dance, circling each other several times, causing O'Donnell's chants to turn into anger-ridden commands for Derek to take action.
And yet, it seemed that the longer their fight lasted, the less enthusiastic the attacks became until the kid simply stumbled toward him, hoping to hit something to appease his coach.
Kevin watched him do that a couple of times, waiting patiently for the right moment.
When it finally came, he moved off to the side once more, this time grabbing Derek by the back of his jacket and redirecting him toward O'Donnell.
The surprising maneuver made the disgraced cop gasp and stumble to the ground as the weight of his pupil's body slammed into him.
Using the opportunity, Kevin rushed forward and stepped on the man's outstretched wrist, reaching for the .22 and fighting O'Donnell's tight grasp for several tense moments. Finally, he began to peel each finger back, making several of them crack until the weapon loosened.
The moment the gun switched hands, Kevin retreated several feet, trying to keep as much distance as possible between him and his captivators.
With his heart racing and blood rushing in his ears, he swallowed hard, barely able to think clear between forced breaths that made his lungs burn.
Shaking violently, he watched the human cluster slowly unfold, not without loud complaints from O'Donnell's side, which ended in backhanding his pupil across the face once he was on his feet.
"You're not making it out of here alive, Ryan.", he growled menacingly, most of his body covered in shadows by now.
"That's where you are wrong, O'Donnell. There's a prison cell with your name on it waiting right outside this door."
Keeping Derek in his peripheral vision, Kevin trained the barrel of the gun at the greater of the two evils, his exhausted mind struggling to come up with the next steps to take.
"You are going to throw…the keys to the handcuffs…on the floor in front of me, and then…you will back up.", Kevin ordered, hoping to keep his voice from trembling as the adrenaline began to leave his body.
"It's never that easy, you know that…", O'Donnell sneered, a broad smile lighting up his features, "You see, our type doesn't travel alone. There's many of us, too many for your kind to handle. You think you have the upper hand because of that little gun in your hand? Think again. My boys will be back any minute now. They're going to enjoy putting you out of your misery. As for your brown friend over there, I think we're just going to tie him to the back of the car and drag him across town a few miles, see how long it'll take before there's nothing left to drag."
His terrifing words alerted him at once and Kevin trained his hearing to the nearby stairs, wondering if the other two boys had already returned.
It would mean the end of his short-lived advantage; and along with it, certain death.
Kevin's moment of inattentiveness wasn't left unpunished when he saw slight movement from below O'Donnell's jacket, mirroring that of a hand reaching for a concealed gun.
Recognizing that his focus had completely shifted to the disgraced cop, Derek lunged toward him, finally ready to make his mentor proud.