Disclaimer: I have nothing to with BTR, nor do I own any rights for the show.
A/N: All right 2nd time better be good! Tried to type this up a few minutes ago, but my daughter distracted me and I accidentally closed the window. So the tap for this fic turned on and started flowing the other day. Over a 1000 words in 24 hours, since starting this story it's a record. Also with class and everything haven't had time to do much writing. Much of this was written while listening to Kendall's Everyday Girl via YouTube. Will try to get the next chapter (and it probably be the last one, :( ) over the weekend. What I was going to say was that this was (and wow that's a lot of wases?) supposed to be the last chapter, but didn't end up that way so chapter 14 there will be. As always enjoy!
"Oh my God," Kendall grunted as he collided with Agent Lane's solid form. Paid radiated in his side as blood freely flowed from the neat wound soaking the bottom of the white shirt he wore. "He…" he cut himself off as sudden pressure against the wound sent another wave of pain through his side, radiating out like a bull's-eye.
"Shh, it'll be all right, Kendall," the crisp, detached, voice of Agent Lane said, as he was lowered to the cold concrete of the garage floor. In the near distance he could hear an engine roar to life and tired squeal as a car left at a high rate of speed. The grip at his side tensed momentarily causing him to hiss in more pain.
"Who…who are you?" he faltered, fighting through the pain Agent Lane's hand gripping into the wound caused.
"Agent Simon Lane," the dark haired man said, easing the fingers digging more than just painfully into the wound on the teen's flank.
"Are you…." Kendall swallowed the spit in his mouth thickly, pushing away another wave of pain; unsure if it was a good or bad thing that the pain seemed to fading some. "Are you with Adam?"
Agent Lane scoffed a bit, but shook his head. "No," he said. "Your mother sent me."
"M—mom?"
"Yes," Simon affirmed. "I promised her that I'd have you back by supper and in one piece. I don't believe you'll be back with your mom by supper, but I think we can at least get you fixed up before reuniting you."
A shudder worked through Kendall's body. He couldn't tell if it was from the pain still decreasing in intensity, relief that he wasn't going to be sold to anyone, or the cold seeping through the thin clothing Adam had forced him to wear from the cement he was half laying on. He leaned a bit more into the warmth radiating off his savior. "Si-simon?" Kendall said quietly, feeling exhaustion setting in. Another shudder worked through him, and this time he knew it was because he was cold. He just wasn't sure if it was the cold concrete under his ass or the blood trying to seep through the man's fingers at his side.
"It's shock," Simon said simply, seemingly reading Kendall's mind. "You've lost a lot of blood, and your body is going into shock." Kendall closed his eyes and nodded against the rough wool of the Agent Lane's sport coat. "Don't go to sleep, Kendall," he said, giving the young man in his arms a gentle shake. Using the only finger not stemming the flow of blood from the lean teen, Simon pressed a button on his watch. The small device emitted a soft beep before an electronic voice filled the still air.
"Sir?"
"V.A.N., I need you at my location now. Also, alert MI6's medical team they will be needed," he said in the general direction of his wrist, while keeping his eyes on the body slumped against pressed firmly against the point at the base of Kendall's jaw assured him that the boy was in fact still very much alive.
"Done," the electronic voice said. "On the way, sir."
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"Alert MI6's medical team they will be needed." Agent Lane's words bounced around Carlos' mind. Dread sat heavy in the pit of his stomach. He tried not to think about who needed medical attention and why. Although, he already had a strong guess that it was Kendall in need of the medical team's help. By the tone of Agent Lane's voice, tight and controlled, he knew that it would be bad if Kendall didn't get help soon.
His mind was still whirring through all the scenarios his father'd described almost lightly over late night dinners the two of them would have a couple times a week, when the van he and Penny were in screeched to a halt. The echo from the tires was deafening as it made its way through the underground parking garage. The side door flew open to reveal Penny's father kneeling on the concrete ground with a mostly unconscious and bloody Kendall leaning heavily against him. Carlos gasped at the sight.
"Kendall!" he called, forcing his jellied legs to move as he jumped from the van to his friend's side. "Oh my God!" His breath came in heavy gulps as he dropped heavily to the floor next to his bloodied friend. The barely three feet of space had felt closer to a mile for the panic flooding through the teen at the horrific sight of his normally strong, tall, and magnetic friend so small, frail and mostly dead looking laying there long legs stretched out, arms trapped behind his back.
"Help me get him in the van," Simon said, urgency lacing his words.
Swallowing thickly at his fear, Carlos moved to help the older man awkwardly pick Kendall up from the ground, keep pressure on the wound, and move him to the waiting van. It wasn't until Kendall's hands were freed and he was laying mostly comfortably on the floor of the van that he realized Penny had been there helping.
Experienced hands shoved Kendall's shirt above the wound, pressing a thick pad of gauze against the neat puncture mark. The same hands, stained with Kendall's blood, grabbed his and forced them on to the gauze. "Hold that there," Simon Lane's crisp voice said. Carlos could only numbly nod as he pressed down. Kendall moaned out in pain.
"V.A.N., get us out of here, NOW!" both Lane's barked at the computer controlled vehicle. The side door slammed shut, the engine revved, and tires squealed in response to the urgent command.
Carlos tightened his grip on the gauze, causing Kendall more pain, as the van rocked in its haste to flee toward medical help. "I'm sorry, buddy," he whispered to his wounded friend, tears tracing paths down his cheeks. "Hang in there, Kendall," he said, grabbing one of Kendall's hands and giving it a squeeze all the while keeping pressure on the wound. "Just hang in there."
The younger teen held tighter to his unconscious friend's hand, pressed firmer at the reddening gauze he held in place, and willed the van to go faster. He ignored the tears spilling from his eyes and down his cheeks, and the urge to wipe them away. Letting go of Kendall was not an option.
BTRBTRBTRBTRBTR
The Queen's Hotel lobby was void of people not in a stereotypical bad detective suit or police uniform as James and Logan cautiously made their way inside. Their fear of what could happen to their unofficial leader and best friend if Agent Lane was late by even a minute to the rescue over powered their excitement of knowing that Kendall would be home in less than an hour. The fact that no one had to pay a dime to get him back helped to life their moods slightly. The sober, somber quiet of the lobby fit their diluted mood perfectly.
Kelly and Katie sat leaning against each other on a couch near the front desk. They looked exhausted. Gustavo was kneeling in front of Mrs. Knight, who was seated in a chair facing the lobby doors, quietly trying to convince her to go up to their room and get some rest. She sniffled, shook her head and looked back toward the door.
"James! Logan!" she shouted, shooting from her seat to meet the teens. Her green eyes continuing to flick from the pair to the door.
"Carlos went with Penny and her father to get Kendall. Agent Lane said to give him an hour before we get worried," Logan said as James pulled the smaller woman into a firm embrace. "Where'd all these people come from?"
"The hotel called the police, who then called in the guys in suits. Gustavo and The Duke have been dealing with them," she said into James' chest, silently wishing it were Kendall she were hugging.
"Speaking of The Duke," James said, releasing his surrogate mother from the embrace. "We need to tell him that his money won't be needed." Looking up he spotted the man in question. Carefully stepping away from Mrs. Knight, James moved toward the man talking with Gustavo. Logan followed prepared to offer whatever back up James would need in ridding them of the opportunistic man.
"Excuse me," James said, his voice dripping with false honey sweetness, "Are you The Duke?" The man gave a slight tip of his head in acknowledgement. "The Knight family wishes to inform you that they have no use for your money or your creepy schemes."
"Has the boy been rescued then?" the man asked, a strange smile pulling across his face and an unrecognizable emotion written in his brown eyes.
"By now," Logan started, locking eyes with the slimy man, "yes."
"I see," The Duke said, lowering his gaze from the teens before him to the floor for a moment before raising his head, plastering smile on his face, and letting out a fake cheery laugh. "Oh well. I'm glad it's all worked out for the best. I wish you all the best of luck with your tour." With another obnoxious and creepy chuckle the large man disappeared in a crowd of officers.
"Finally," Gustavo breathed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index fingers. "He wouldn't leave no matter what I told him. Did he remind anyone else of a rat?"
The brunet boys bobbed their heads in agreement with their manager in answer to his random question. The tension in their bodies and the air relaxing slightly with the silliness of the remark.
"So…" Gustavo started just as Logan's phone rang and men in much better suits poured into the lobby.
BTRBTRBTRBTRBTRBTRBTR
The topsy, turvy ride in V.A.N. came to another screeching halt in front of a nondescript building, nearly dislodging Carlos from Kendall's side. Though he was glad the ride was over and help waited just outside, Carlos was terrified to be separated from the boy who'd become more of a brother to him than friend. What if he let go and the next time he saw Kendall…
The side door of the van swished open to reveal the waiting medical staff. A stretcher was wheeled closer so they could pull, tug, and slide the tall teen on to it. Orders were shouted in every direction. Carlos tuned it all out, scared and happy of the fact that his hand had been pushed harder against the wound and he was all but lifted onto the stretcher to sit on Kendall while keeping pressure on the bandage covered wound.
At speeds he never would have thought possible the stretcher was whisked away from the parking lot and into the building. Doors whooshed open, lights nearly blinded him with the brightness as the medical staff wheeled him and Kendall down a hall, on to an elevator, up a couple of floors and down another hall. It was at the end of the hall his fear of being separated from Kendall kicked in again as he was pulled, kicking and screaming, from the stretcher, shoved into a plastic chair and told to wait. The rest of the medical team wheeled Kendall through a set of doors and out of sight.
"They're the best possible," a female voice said as arms reached around his shaking frame.
Through red rimmed eyes, Carlos looked up from his blood stained hands to the face of the person holding him. Penny Lane, in her leather body suit sat in the chair closest to him, arms holding him tightly, sad smile on her lips. "Thank you," he said, dropping his head to her shoulder.
"They've taken him to surgery," Simon Lane said, pulling a chair from across the hall to sit in front of Carlos and Penny. "I'm sorry, Carlos, for not doing a better job of protecting Kendall during the rescue."
"Look, he's not dead yet, so let's not mourn him so soon!" Penny said sternly. "He's in surgery with more than an excellent chance of pulling through. We'll know in half hour how bad it is or isn't. We do need to call his mother and let everyone know that he's safe, but not out of the woods."
Carlos nodded, pulling his phone from his pocket. Wordlessly he handed it to Penny.
BTRBTRBTRBTRBTR
"Penny?" Logan said, clearly surprised. "Where's Carlos?...What?! What happened?...Why can't we come there?...Fine we'll wait here, but don't yell at me when Mrs. Knight attempts to kill you." Thumbing over the end call button on the smart phone Logan ended the call. Taking a deep breath, he faced the small crowd of family and their expectant stares.
"Good news, bad news?" James and Katie said recognizing the look on their brother's face.
"Bad news that it's going to be a couple hours before we can even think about seeing Kendall walk through those doors," he pointed to the main doors of the lobby, "because he's in surgery."
"What?!" They all practically yelled in unison. James and Gustavo reached out just as Mrs. Knight's knees gave out. Kelly wrapped a comforting arm around Katie, who in turn wrapped her small arms around the woman.