The Shoot Out

Chapter 15 Taylor's POV

After Brian and Roman lead Captain Lopez and the others down to our quaint little hiding spot, I walked over to greet them. "So, will you brief me as to what's going on?" Lopez asked as he got out of his truck.

"Lance told me Benny was holding Mia down here at the marina on his family's yacht. Dom and I snuck down there and I talked to Mia. She's fine but there are about twenty guys or more on the boat with Benny. That's why I called for reinforcements." I explained.

It didn't take Miguel long to notice that the guys were packing heat and I watched as a shocked look spread across his face, "Taylor, have you lost your fucking mind? You gave them guns Taylor! You gave the convicts guns!" Lopez stated as if I was crazy.

"Oh Miguel would you chill out already. In case you haven't noticed they're not exactly typical convicts. If I can trust them with my life; I can trust them with guns." I stated matter of factly.

Miguel shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Oh I'm so out of the loop. So who's the new guy you picked up? Another criminal; they seem to be drawn to you?" He asked, motioning toward Roman.

"He's an old friend of mine and my brother's. He's cool, don't worry." I replied and suddenly found myself searching the faces of the people he brought. There was someone missing, "Miguel…where's Walker?" I asked as I continued looking.

"He should be along any minute now. Why are you so worried about Walker all of a sudden? You just had to talk to him earlier and now you are impatiently awaiting his arrival." Lopez stated with a laugh, assuming I had a thing for him again.

"You've got it all wrong boss." I said without even cracking a smile.

His face immediately lost its smile, "What's going on Taylor? I can tell there's something you're not telling me." He knew me far too well. We've worked together for seven years now and have been friends just as long and he could read me like a book.

"You're right; there is something else you need to know," I paused, not sure how he would react to the news. Cole was Miguel's right hand man until I came along but I decided not to keep him in the dark so I continued, "Mia told me Cole was here earlier today. That's why I assumed you knew why I was at the marina. I thought you guys were keeping shit from me but when you didn't know why I was here, I realized it was Cole that was holding shit back…Miguel, he's working with Benny. The fact that he's not here probably means Benny knows we're here." I stated and not even five seconds later' the gunfire started.

Miguel shoved me to the ground and I watched three of our men hit the ground next to me with bullet holes in their chests. I looked over and saw Dom and Brian crouched down behind my truck and I tried to make my way behind the nearest vehicle, "TAYLOR STAY DOWN!" Dom shouted and I dropped my head back to the ground and felt a small whiz of air rush past the back of my head, "SHIT!" I yelled and quickly started rolling to take cover.

I finally reached the side of a truck and pulled my gun out of its holster. I peered under the truck and watched as man after man fell from the boat and landed face down in the water. I noticed a few agents coming around on the other side of the boat and so far they had went unseen.

I finally found my footing and peered up over the hood of the truck. Suddenly I saw two Asian guys coming up the side of the deck and they were heading toward Dom and Brian. Without hesitation I took aim and fired. The first shot hit one of them in the leg but the second had a bit more of an impact, hitting the same guy in the neck. The third shot took out the second guy as it exploded into his gut.

Benny's men had switched directions and were exchanging fire with the agents on the other side of the boat. I stood up, letting my eyes scan the length of the boat looking for any sign of Benny and that's when I noticed the small boat fleeing the yacht; carrying Benny, Mia, and two other guys, "Benny's getting away!" I heard someone shout from behind.

Within seconds the gunfire stopped and Benny's men were either dead or just about dead. I turned around again looking for Dom and Brian when I noticed Dom on his knees leaning over someone, "Oh my god…BRIAN!" I yelled as I made my way to Dom's side. I hesitantly peered over his shoulder but it wasn't my brother he was looking at.

Dom looked up at me with sad eyes, "Brian went to call for help." He stated and I dropped to my knees, pushing him out of the way.

I lifted Roman's head into my lap, "Rome, baby are you ok?" I asked as I rubbed his smooth head.

"I don't know Tay; my stomach kinda hurts a bit." He stated with a chuckle.

I reached down and lifted his shirt and saw the hole in his right side just below his ribcage. I checked his heart rate. It was slightly elevated but otherwise normal so I leaned down and put my ear against his chest, "Take a deep breath!" I instructed and he did.

"How's it sound Doc?" He asked with a smile.

"How am I supposed to know? I just thought it looked cool when they did it in the movies." I stated with a wink.

I turned to Dom, "Grab the shirt out of the back seat of my truck." I stated and he jumped to his feet.

"Don't worry babe, I think it was a pretty clean shot." I paused and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the end of my shirt then continued, "I'm sorry Rome, I never should have brought you here. This is all my fault."

"Hey, I wanted to help. It was almost like old times with the exception of the bullet hole in my stomach." He said with a laugh then continued, "But you're right…. it is all your fault and boy do you owe me…. big time."

"You laying here bleeding all over me and you still got jokes?" I asked, returning his laugh.

"Of course Baby Girl, you know me!" Roman replied as he grunted in pain.

"Ok, where do you want the shirt babe?" Dom asked as he came running back up to us.

"My guess would be where ever the blood is shooting out." Roman replied still trying to be funny. Dom just glared at him and shook his head.

"Just apply slight pressure. We need to try and slow down the blood loss. As you can see, he's already delirious." I joked and Dom quickly covered the hole and we sat there waiting for the ambulance.

After the medics loaded Roman into the bus, I leaned inside, "We'll be right behind you Rome, ok?" I said and he reached up and grabbed my arm, "No Taylor, you have to go get the girl. I'll be fine, don't worry about me." Roman said with a wink and they closed the doors.

Without saying a word, I walked past Dom and wrapped my arms tightly around my brother. "Tay…are you ok?" Brian asked returning my embrace.

"I thought it was you laying there in front of Dom." I whispered and kissed his cheek before letting him go. My brother hasn't been a part of my life for four years and I just got him back; I can't bare the thought of losing him.

"So where do we go from here?" Dom asked as he walked up and put his arm around me.

"Let me go talk to Lopez. Someone is bound to know something." I stated then headed toward the Captain's truck.

"How's your friend?" Lopez asked.

"He'll be fine; just a flesh wound. I need to know where Benny could be taking her Miguel. We can't wait til tomorrow; she'll be dead by then." I stated and could tell by the look on his face that he knew something.

He hesitated for a second then spoke, "The old abandoned warehouse up by his garage. We saw them going in and out of there yesterday."

"Fuck Miguel and you're just now telling me this? That's it! This time….we do this my way!" I stated then walked away.

"I'm right behind you." Lopez called after me. He knew not to argue.

I walked to the driver side of my truck, "Come on, let's go." I said as I brushed the shattered glass out of my seat.

"Where we goin'?" Brian asked as he hopped in the back seat.

I turned the key in the ignition and the truck roared to life, "To get your girl." I stated then pulled out, spinning the wheels as gravel flew up behind us.

The whole drive to the warehouse was silent. I stared at the road ahead and Dom and Brian just stared out their windows. I couldn't help but think how stupid I had been. Cole was in on this all along and I never saw it. As I sit thinking about it now, it is so obvious. He was the one that discovered it was Benny that had Mia and he was always the one Benny was contacting with his demands. Not to mention all those times Cole would just disappear without a trace only to reappear with a message from Benny.

'How could I have been so fucking blind?' I asked myself as I pulled up to the curb just around the corner from the warehouse.

"Hey, ain't that Walker's car?" Brian asked and I looked to the corner and saw the tail end of his car.

"Oh his ass is mine!" I stated as I jerked my door open and got out.

As I stepped up on the curb, Lopez pulled up behind my truck. "Hey, there's Lopez." Brian stated as he stepped up next to me.

"Yeah and he brought that little fucker with him." I stated.

"Who?" Dom asked as he joined us on the curb.

"Officer Reid, he's a rookie, just got out of the academy and he happens to be Walker's partner." I answered as I made my way to the kid.

I looked Reid up and down and for the first time I realized just how young this little brit was. But….that didn't take away from the fact that he was Walker's partner and there was a possibility he knew all along that Cole was involved with Mia's kidnapping, "Reid, I'm only going to ask you this once….Did you know what Walker was up to?" I asked with my eyes locked on his.

"I went with him to the marina today but he made me wait in the bloody car. I swear Agent Vaughn; I had no idea that the little trip to the docks had anything to do with that arse Benny." Reid answered never taking his eyes off mine. Believing him, I nodded my head and turned my attention to Lopez.

Before I could speak, Dom cut in, "Wait a minute, you actually believe this punk?"

"Dom, it's obvious he didn't know." I stated as I once again looked into Reid's big brown eyes, seeing nothing but truth.

"I swear I didn't know Mate." Reid stated, looking at Dom.

Dom stepped up and flexed his bulging chest, "Let's get one thing straight, I ain't your 'bloody mate' so don't address me as such! I'm not as trusting as 'Agent Vaughn' so you best watch you step!"

I was surprised to see that the young brit wasn't backing down, he didn't even flinch so I stepped between them, "Alright, you can have a pissing contest on your own time; right now you are on my time and in case you forgot, we've got kidnappers to kill." I stated as I glared at them both.

"Ok, this is what we do….we get a lock on Mia and make sure she's safe then we let our presence be known and try to talk to these guys." Lopez stated and Dom erupted in laughter, "That's funny! Who the fuck do you think we're dealing with here, Bert and Ernie? We try to go in there and 'chat' with them and they're going to kill my sister, not to mention all of us." He stated then looked at me.

"No Miguel, Dom's right; that'll never work. Like I said before, we do this my way….first we get a lock on Mia and make sure she's safe. You were right about one thing though; we are going to let our presence be known because we're going to shoot on sight." I stated and watched as Lopez shook his head before he spoke, "God, I have created a monster!"

More to come…….