So for some weird reason I dreamed this last night and just had to get it out of my head so I could go back to my other story XD
aaaaaa
Niko slowed the vehicle down as they approached the now familiar brownstone in Dukes. The three-story home loomed in the setting sun of the early evening. He had barely listened to the bickering and cursing from the backseat. Things had gone wrong so unbelievably fast that everything felt like a complete blur. The dead body of Michael laying in the bank as they escaped left him feeling bad. The poor kid didn't deserve that.
"Fuck dude, you're bleeding all over the place." Patrick's elevated voice called out from the backseat and Niko turned to look over the center console to see what the fuss was all about. He thought they had escaped unharmed, but maybe the adrenaline had worn off now.
"I'm fine. Don't bother me with your concern." Derrick's shaky voice spoke from directly behind Niko's driver seat and sent a chill over his skin.
"You most the fuck are not! Niko, man, he's been shot." Patrick glanced up from trying to find the source of the bleeding to see his friend in the driver's seat. They had one hell of a gun-riddled escape that he wasn't even sure if he had made it out unscathed.
"How bad?" Niko turned back to traffic and pulled up in front of their house, putting the four door SUV in park. He had been worried about both McReary siblings once the shooting had started. He hadn't made that level of escape since breaking out of prison in Europe. The heavy weight of his own bullet proof vest pulled on his shoulders as he twisted around in the driver seat to get a better look.
"No clue. But look." Patrick wiped his own hands along his dress slacks and frowned as it only seemed to smudge and not go anywhere.
"Is it safe to treat him at your home? Or do we need to go someplace else for medical care?" Niko could see the slow ooze of blood from Derrick's side, close to the hem of his dress pants. He figured someone had gotten a lucky shot off and it was either through and through, or the bullet was still lodged somewhere inside.
"Ma should be at an overnight sleep study appointment. Sleep Apnea or something. Fuck. No idea where Kate is. But we need to get him to stop bleeding." Patrick kicked the duffle bag toward his door and scooted close to his older brother, "I can call Gerry inside and see if he can come help. He knows a thing or two about stitching someone up. Doubt Kate will be up for this."
Niko weighed his options. He didn't like the thought of Kate walking into all three of them treating their wounds and a bleeding Derrick, but he wasn't sure how much longer Derrick could hold out. It was hard to tell the extent of his injuries from his angle of the front seat, "Fine. I know enough to patch him up. Let's get inside without people seeing." He put the SUV in park and killed the engine. He would help get Derrick stable, take his cut, and get out of there before Kate could see him. The thought of her seeing him heavily involved in crime didn't sit right with him.
"Thanks man, you're a goddamn prince!" Patrick picked up the three duffle bags in the backseat and crossed the shoulder straps over his body before shoving the door open to get out of the vehicle and make his way over to Derrick. The weight of the cash threw him off balance for a second, before his side lit up in pain. He glanced down to see his white dress shirt was stained red with his own blood.
"Hurry up. Too many people out on the street." Niko had his own duffle bag over his body, and he shoved it around him to his back in order to pull open the door Derrick was somewhat slouched in to.
"Yeah. Yeah. Got my own injuries." Patrick shuffled around the SUV into the street to help Niko haul his brother out of the backseat.
"Me boys, don't stress yourself. I can just sleep this off. No big deal." Derrick halfway whispered, letting his eyes close against the pain and blood loss.
"Fuck." Patrick swore as his brother went completely lax between them.
"Move." Niko spurred them on and kicked the door shut as they partially dragged and carried the eldest member of the McReary family around the SUV and up the steps of the brownstone.
"You got him?" Patrick looked around his brother's limp form to his friend in order to fish out the keys from his jacket.
"Yeah. Hurry up. Last thing we need is the cops called." Niko watched the street for people that might be looking their way and could get suspicious. Last thing they needed after losing such a high wanted level was some concerned citizen calling the police over a bloody couple of people carrying an unconscious person into a home. One look into the backseat of the stolen SUV would have any normal person calling LCPD.
"That's for damn sure. Frankie Boy would be more than willing to come lock us all up." Patrick rolled his eyes and shoved the door open, helping shift Derrick's weight off of Niko.
"Doubt it." Niko mumbled under his breath and helped drag Derrick over the threshold of the McReary home. The place felt cooler than normal, and he noticed the fireplace was out. An odd sight as their mother loved to keep the temperature of the home at almost unbearable temps.
"Don't put him on the couch till I get the plastic sheets. Ma will throw an absolute hell engulfing fit." Patrick let go of his side of his brother and rushed off toward the under-construction room between the living room and kitchen. Swiftly he reentered the room and draped over the couch a plastic covering, "Easier clean up at least."
"No need to explain." Niko shifted his hold and took the few steps into the living room in order to lower Derrick down into a seated position. The move caused the brother to stir awake for a second with a pain filled moan.
"Jesus. Haven't felt this bad since I had a laced dose of horse." Derrick cracked his eyes open long enough to see he was in the living room of his family home, before wearily rubbing a hand over his face.
"Hey, we are going to have to check your bullet wound. You want something to numb it?" Patrick walked around the couch and helped position Derrick into a better spot on the covered couch. The blood wasn't coming as quickly, but the saturated shirt was concerning.
"Whatever." Mumbled Derrick as he slunk down more from his upright position.
"You have a first aid kit?" Niko dropped his duffle bag into the armchair and removed his suit jacket. He was starting to sweat with the weight and heat of his own bullet proof vest. He could tell Patrick was trying to keep it together and be calm, for the most part, in front of him. They had lost Michael. And he wasn't sure how close they were to him, but any loss of life while in their line of work posed a dilemma. It could lead back to them, or it was a close friend to the family. Either way it was painful and problematic.
"Somewhere. Either the kitchen or the hallway bathroom upstairs. You take the kitchen, and I'll search upstairs. Hurry." Patrick removed the duffle bags and threw them toward the armchair. Silently he removed his suit jacket and loosened his tie. His side started to burn, and he placed his hand against it to make it stop. His own injuries could wait for now.
Niko watched his friend leave the living room favoring a wound of some kind. He shook his head before finding his way back into the kitchen. They needed to get to work on Derrick before he slipped into a deep enough slumber he couldn't wake from. He opened cabinet after cabinet, searching for anything that resembled medical equipment. Bottles of whiskey, wine, pots, pans, and a hidden stash of 'Bolivia' later and Niko was getting frustrated. Surely, they had bandages, gauze, wipes, rubbing alcohol? Something?!
The jingling and shimmying from the front door caused him to stand upright from the last bottom cabinet he was searching through.
He cursed his luck as he had left his rifle and handgun in the SUV out front. His eyes scanned the kitchen rapidly and he noticed a drawer that looked like it had been slammed shut many a time. He jerked it loose and felt around on the topside of the drawer and felt the cool metal of a handgun. He figured Gerry would keep a backup someplace handy where they did business and it had been close to where he had stood during the planning meeting.
He released the magazine to check for ammo before slamming it up and pulling the slide back to load a round. With trained precision he stalked through the unfinished space toward the living room, raising his acquired weapon toward the front door. If the cops were trying to break in and get the jump on them, they had another thing coming. Patrick hoping over the stair banister to land softly and out of direct line of fire caught his eye. They nodded to one another and got into position to kill whoever was breaking in.
"I thought I told them to lock up…" Kate's hushed, and irritated voice spoke out as the front door swung open. She stumbled into the foyer, several over loaded bags of groceries overwhelming her arms, and face hidden behind the brown of the paper bags. A single gunshot rang out and she dropped everything as she ducked down as wood splintered above her head. She shrieked loudly and jerked the headphones off her head trying to hear whoever had shot at her.
"What the actual fuck Patrick!" Kate yelled at the top of her lungs, frantically brushing pieces of wood out of her frazzled hair. She glared at her brother angrily before seeing the bright red blotches on his shirt, "What happened?!"
"Nothing sis. Get inside and shut up." He lowered his pistol and moved forward, slamming the front door and locking every available deadbolt and door handle.
"You're bleeding and shot at me! I have the right to-"
"I said shut up!" Patrick yelled, whirling around to jab his pointer finger in her face, making sure his handgun was somewhat out of sight.
"Okay! Okay! Let me at least help! How bad and how long ago was it you got hurt?" Kate swallowed her pride and panic and started to pick up some of the scattered groceries. It wouldn't be the first time her brothers came home shot, bleeding, and in need of some kind of medical help. Flashes of stitching them up over the years crossed her mind before she shoved the memories aside.
"I'm not the only one. It was about an hour ago? Maybe? Lost track of time running away from being hunted down and shot at." Patrick mumbled and leaned back into the front door, feeling the crash wanting to come down upon him. They were running on straight adrenaline and danger, and now that they were somewhat safe and could breathe for a moment, his body was dragging him down from his energy high.
"Not the… Only one?" Kate eyed him up and down seeing the only one major injury. He was filthy, smelly, and sweating profusely. Carefully she took a hesitant step into the living room to see her other brother hunched over on the couch, which had a familiar plastic sheet thrown over it. Her heart tripped into overdrive. He didn't look to be breathing. Then her eye caught movement from the opening toward the kitchen- and there he stood.
Mr. tall, dark, and mysterious Eastern European. The man who had called to take her out on the town. The person she had spent a few nights a week out with getting to know and chat. The guy who had witnessed one of her drunk breakdowns and over the top rambling apologies the next morning. The one she felt comfortable with enough to spill her heart out and listen to his own venting and musing. The air caught in her throat.
There was no way she was seeing Niko standing inside her home with both of her brothers looking worse for wear and he here was without even a scratch. It was surreal and had to be some kind of dream. She must have passed out from the heat outside on her way home from carrying the heavy grocery bags. 'Yep. That's what happened. This is some figment of my imagination.'
"Would you move?! Damn Kate! Derrick is bleeding out and I can't find where you put the stupid first aid kit!" Patrick almost yelled at her, making her jump horribly and turn his direction with wide eyes.
"Um. Right! Okay. It should be in the kitchen. Gerry needed it the other night. I can… I can go get it. Just let me grab the perishable groceries." Kate fumbled over her words and went back to picking up the toppled over bags, knowing at least a few things needed to get into the fridge soon otherwise they'd spoil. They didn't have the cash to burn on wasted food.
"Ugh! Here!" Patrick picked up one of the heavier bags and ushered her on. They didn't have time for this but knew she would worry and fret over the spoiled food and ingredients. He also didn't want a lecture from Ma tomorrow about wasting good food when they really didn't have the means to be wasteful. Though his eyes did catch the duffle bags as he helped carry the bags into the kitchen with Kate.
Niko stepped into Kate's path and took two of the three bags from her arms and turned on his heel to follow them back into the kitchen. He didn't like that her brother had almost blown her head off but seeing her stay weirdly calm and collected at the sight of Derrick caused something to shift in his chest. She was focused, serious, and worried. The lines at the corner of her eyes told him that.
Kate placed her bag down and partially smiled to him in thanks before moving over to an upper cabinet and pulling out a giant green plastic box, "Here. I doubt Gerry cleaned any of the needles or utensils, and I can get a pot of water boiling. If he has been shot, you will need sterile stuff. Use the towels in the hall closet to slow the flow of blood. I'll get to work on getting things ready." She refused to turn around to her brother and Niko as she opened up the box.
"Not sure if the bullet came out. I'll go check." Patrick dropped the bag to the kitchen island and marched out in search of the towels and to get Derrick laying down. They needed to help him and help him soon.
"This shit has to stop…" Kate whispered as she knelt down to grab a stainless-steel pot out of the cabinet below the gas burners.
"With your family, I doubt it."
Kate jumped badly and dropped the pot to the tile floor. She had thought Niko had left with her brother and his voice scared her. Even if the slight edge and accent grated against her skin and left a pleasant burn behind. She grabbed the handles roughly and shoved up off the ground, trying to hide her embarrassment as she shakily moved to the sink to fill the pot.
"I didn't mean to make you jump. You want me to get the burner going? The tools will need to boil for a good ten minutes before it can be deemed safe to use." Niko watched her place the pot into the sink with shaky hands. He couldn't imagine the fear she felt over her brothers being hurt and needing to help out. He was slightly worried about Derrick's condition. He wanted to warn them to wear vests, but they had been so eager about the job that he had let their bravado guide him.
And now someone was dead and two of them were suffering from bullet wounds.
"Um… yes. Please." Kate looked over her shoulder as Niko moved over to the stove to get it going. She bit her lip at seeing him in only a white long-sleeved shirt. Her thoughts yearned to run away from her, but her brother's health forced her to look back down to the pot. She shut off the water when enough was there to get it boiling quickly but would allow everything to be submerged.
"Here, I got it." He lowered his voice to be more soothing as he walked up behind her and grabbed the heavy metal pot out of the sink for her, "I don't know what all needs to be cleaned. You'd be better suited to look through it all."
She turned in time to come face to face with him as he reached into the sink to get the pot of water. She blinked several times at the close proximity of his face, trying to find the ability to understand what he had said. His eyes searched hers and she felt her knees want to tremble under her weight. They were a gorgeous shade of hazel. So many different streaks of deep rich brown, and forest green. His eyebrow lifted ever so slightly, and she gulped.
"The med kit?" Niko paused as he went to lift the pot out of the sink. He could see the questioning stare and lost gaze she sported and wondered just what was going through her head. They needed to get the stich kit, pilers, and other tools cleaned and prepped.
"Sor-sorry! I will check what all is good to go. Put that over the flame and I'll get the bandages out. Do you know if the bullet is still inside? Been a long time since we had a gunshot wound like that here. Gerry needed help once. And I swore I couldn't do that again." Her hands shook and she fisted them to hide it from him. They were friendly with one another and the last thing she wanted to do was appear weak in front of her brother's friends.
"I can. I know what to do. Any alcohol, rubbing or otherwise, will do. If it's lodged in his side, he might need more help than what I can offer." He watched as she leaned back into the counter by the sink and drop her eyes to his mouth and back up, as if she was needing to watch the words that left his lips. He could almost feel the fear pouring off of her. But something else caused her to shiver and close her eyes.
His voice was so smooth and thick. Her brain kept wanting to shut off and disappear into dangerous territory now that they were so close to one another. They weren't even touching, and his body and stature had her wanting to give in. There was a weird musky scent that wafted off of him through the sweat and dirt she could see on his once white long-sleeved shirt. Part of her wondered why there were raised sections under his shirt. Just what did he have under it? Then his words snapped her from her thoughts, and she turned her face to see the unopened green first aid kit.
She meekly smiled to him and ducked out of his personal space and opened a different cabinet, pulling down a large crystal looking decanter of brown liquid, as well as a plastic bottle of pure isopropyl alcohol. She lifted the top off of the decanter and took a long swig off of it, needing to settle her nerves and stomach. It was not how she imagined coming home from the market, but when was her life ever how she predicted it to be?
"Care for a sip?" She used the back of her free hand to wipe at her mouth and held out the bottle to Niko, "Something to take the edge off?"
"Maybe after. Rather be clear headed. Thank you." He nodded to her and lifted the pot up out of the sink and carried it over to the burning flame of the stove top, "Derrick probably shouldn't drink, but he will want something to help numb what's about to happen."
"I have stuff for that. Found the towels and Derrick's personal stash. Low heartrate gonna be an issue?" Patrick spoke up as he moved back into the kitchen wanting to know what the holdup was.
Kate busied herself with pulling all the opened metal objects out of the green box and dropped them into the simmering pot of water. She grabbed the paring knife out of the wooden block from the counter and dropped it into the water. Somewhere her mind told her they would need to cut him open more. They didn't have a scalpel. At least it was missing from their set of tools in the kit. Various packaged rolls of gauze, bandage pads, and cotton balls were placed on the counter as she searched for the medical grade thread for stiches.
"Lower should be okay. So long as it doesn't stop. Need something to numb the area, otherwise it's going to hurt him like hell." Niko turned back to where Kate was rummaging through the medical stuff and went to drag some of the sealed gauze into his pockets. His fingers brushed along the side of her hand as she placed another sealed packet down on the pile she had forming. His rough and callused fingertips felt a spark when they connected to the soft skin of her hand. He tilted his face to look at her as she let out a small, inaudible gasp next to him. Her eyes met his for a split second before she pulled away, blush forming along her cheeks and neck.
"I got blow, H, and some morphine. Not much, but enough to at least knock him out in order to pull a bullet out." Packie missed the exchange and headed back out into the living room to make sure his brother was still breathing.
"Don't let him give him anything bad. Derrick has a very high tolerance of that stuff, but he will bleed out before the drugs hit his system." Kate softly spoke as she grabbed a couple of large glass bowls from a different cabinet, "One for clean, one for used. I will bring out boiled, cooled water in a minute as well for your hands. You both should clean up some before touching his wounds. I have only three pairs of rubber gloves left."
"Don't worry. I will take care of him." Niko stacked the sealed medical dressings into one of the bowls and grabbed the isopropyl alcohol.
"And who will take care of you?" Kate bit her bottom lip the second the words left her mouth. They had blurted out on their own and she forced her eyes to stay trained on the boiling water and tumbling metal tools within the pot.
"I'm not hurt." Niko watched her hands grip the edge of the counter before deciding he had left Patrick alone long enough and needed to check in on Derrick. He knew what certain wounds looked like, and the sooner they knew what they were looking at, the better. If there was a bullet lodged inside him, they needed to get it out now.
Kate turned to look over her shoulder as she heard his footsteps retreating. Her eyes spotted several frayed openings along his back, a dark black material rested beneath, and her eyes widened in concern for him. She thought she saw a couple of metallic masses here and there and she turned back around quickly trying to figure out just what she had seen. Was he shot? Bleeding underneath whatever it was he had on? Was he as bad off as her brothers?
Niko entered into the living room carrying some of the medical supplies and watched as Packie removed the blood-soaked dress shirt from Derrick's side. Slow, sluggish, rolls of blood oozed from the puncture spot. It was bruising around the opening, and he knew it wasn't good.
"He is starting to feel warm too." Patrick softly spoke from his spot next to his brother. He looked up in time to see Niko place a couple of bowls down on an end table.
"Infection. Or his body is rejecting any kind of left-over stuff in his system. You two did a few lines before we left." Niko lowered down next to Patrick and pressed his fingers around the edges to see if he could feel the bullet or if they needed to roll him to his side in order to check for an exit wound.
"Gets the blood pumping. I'm going to call Gerry. He needs to know what went down." Patrick placed a small leather satchel down on the floor between them and silently excused himself to the front foyer to make a call.
Niko flipped open the cover to the satchel and saw a couple of glass vials and test tubes of a powered substance. Drugs no doubt, but if the clear liquid was morphine, it would be the best he could get his hands on in order to numb the wound. He tried to listen in to the conversation Packie was having with his other brother as he tore open a couple of medical patches. He soaked them in the alcohol before working on cleaning the area around the gunshot.
Derrick barely reacted to the sting and mumbled some uncoherent words before going back into a semi restful sleep.
"Okay these should be sterile if you need them. I drained the water and wore gloves in order to remove them from the pot." Kate carried in a small serving tray with a blue plastic cloth covering the surface. Metal objects of all kinds of uses graced the top- everything from a sharp paring knife, to needle nose pliers, hooks, and clamps used for stitching.
"Thank you. From the looks of it, the bullet went right through. I should be able to clean it, stich what needs patching, and then get him resting. He should not move from this spot for at least a day. His internal injuries will need time to heal first." Niko leaned over the slowly bleeding wound and felt around to his side, feeling the exit wound.
"Okay. I can help. I've done this before." She had pulled back her hair more in the kitchen before washing her hands thoroughly. The gloves would help protect her from whatever crap her brother may have picked up from his drug use. When Niko looked her way, she held up another pair of gloves to him. She was determined to help her brothers and get them back onto the path of healing.
"Okay Kate. Get the wire strung on a hook and get the clamps ready. With your help I should be able to get him patched up quickly." He took the gloves from her and pulled them on. While he didn't like her being involved and seeing just what their line of work could do, he figured she had seen just about everything at this point. Maybe not murder. But there was no telling what kind of fights, injuries, and drugs had been coming to and from their house. She liked to give off this impression of innocence. That she was completely unaware of everything but seeing her kneeling next to him and getting a vial of morphine ready for Derrick proved him wrong on every level.
"Here. Numb it. This should be enough to not wake him to the stitching but won't over work his system." She tapped the syringe with her middle finger looking for drippage and movement of the liquid. Once she saw it was ready to go, she turned it in her hand for Niko to take easily. So many times had she witnessed Gerry doing the same for various members of their gang of friends. Most of the time she kept quiet and hidden. But on certain injuries, she was asked to help.
Niko dropped his hand over hers in order to take the syringe and felt her fingers absently rub along the edge of his hand. He returned the gesture before taking the needle and giving Derrick several dosages around the gunshot. He could guess she was scared and worried for her family member. Who wouldn't be? They were bleeding out in their living room and cold sweating.
"Gerry is on his way. He asked that we give Michael's family his share of the cut. Pay for the funeral and hope to ease some of the pain." Patrick moved back into the living room, clutching his own side.
"What about Michael?" Kate looked up from her position next to Niko. She had tried several times to get the thread into the hook but couldn't stop the shaking of her hands. Niko had touched her back when she hadn't meant to give him such a bold action. He had been gentle, sincere, and it left her feeling flushed and queasy. But not in the meaning of being sick. More like a heart pounding, fluttering stomach, and endorphin coursing feeling. How was she supposed to focus on patching up her brother when her own mind kept thinking back to the man sitting next to her?!
"He is dead." Patrick spoke sternly and motioned toward the large pile of duffle bags, "Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to. Gerry is already pissed you are here seeing what you are seeing."
"Oh, because I'm so damn blind to the stunts you all pull!" Kate scoffed and let the anger still her hands in order to make the perfect knot on the hook.
"Michael was different, and you know it! How'd you feel if it was Gordon?! Or one of us! Fuck!" Patrick stumbled into the living room and leaned heavily on the edge of the couch.
"Let me see Packie. Will you be okay Niko on your own?" Kate secured the wire and used the pilers to give some leeway on the line, she used her elbow to tap his arm in order to get his attention and not risk contaminating the stitching wire.
"I got this. Take care of your other brother." Niko used more of the gauze to help press the wound closed. Carefully he took the hook from her hand and got the first pass going. He nodded his head and opened his mouth. Somehow, she understood his signals and placed one of the handles to the clamped wire holder in his mouth. He guessed she had experience with people doing this before and knew what he was silently asking. With trained hands he went back to stitching up Derrick.
"It's just a graze. Swear!" Patrick leaned into her as she approached him and felt his world turn sideways for a split second.
"Graze. Sure. Tell all the ladies that story when it scars over." Kate rolled her eyes and helped walk her brother back into the kitchen to patch up the bloody wound she could see through his saturated shirt.
"She gone?" Derrick croaked out and blinked his eyes open weakly.
"For the time being, yes." Niko had enough of a head start that he was able to put the used gauze down into the other bowl and use his free hand to form a neater and tighter stich pattern.
"She shouldn't have to see this shitshow. Too many times me brother." Derrick wiped at his forehead, "What's the damage my boy?"
"Gunshot to your lower abdominal area. Through and through. The bleeding has slowed enough to make me think it missed anything vital." Niko hooked the stich around and worked on crossing it back over his work, "I'll have to close up the exit wound next."
"You a good lad. You didn't have to stick around to clean up this mess. I'm sure Gerry would've done it, and no one would be the wiser." He cracked his eyes open to see Niko as he handily went about closing up the gunshot.
"This is my mess. Don't worry about it." Niko started to speak in Serbian but remembered no one else knew what he would be saying and went back to English.
"I'd tease you about me sis, but now doesn't feel right. Not with how flushed she looked and overwhelmed this day is getting for her." Derrick let out a weak huff and looked up to the ceiling, "Girl needs to see the world. Get away from all this crap. She's been holding us all together for so long. It'll break her soon or later. Just like the rest of us. Poor Michael. God rest his soul."
"Save your strength. When I turn you on your side it's going to hurt a lot worse than this." Niko tried to ignore the conversation, but Derrick had a couple of valid points. Kate was bound to snap at all of them when the dust settled, and she realized what had gone down at the Bank of Liberty. Somehow, they had outrun every unit of NOOSE, LCPD, and even a few FIB teams. The bloodshed and death toll was bound to be high. He didn't like killing cops. No more than any of the other people he killed on these ridiculous shootouts. Families were ruined within an instant. How many people were left to be told the sad news?
He shook his head with the thought and knotted off the wire, finishing his handiwork for one part of Derrick's gunshot wound.
"Not all of them deserved to die. They were just doing their job I suppose. For all I know Francis was out there." Derrick whispered the words seeing the far-off look Niko was sporting.
"I guess. Not sure how everyone would handle that news." Niko looked toward the entrance to the kitchen and motioned for Derrick to roll over to his side in order to work on the exit wound.
"The only one who would truly miss him would be Ma. Maybe Katie. But who knows what she thinks and feels about all of us." Derrick hissed and groaned as he attempted to get to his side, but the pain was intense.
"Here let me help." Kate briskly walked back into the room after hearing her brother nearly cry out in pain. Packie had what he said he had, a graze wound, a simple cleaning and large padded bandage, and he would be okay. She had left him in the kitchen with a glass of whiskey. The telltale sign of him taking a rail had her hurrying her steps back into the living room.
"Hey sis." Derrick moaned out and felt another wave of pain crash over his tired body.
"Hey Derrick. Do you want another round of pain meds? Might help you sleep." Kate tore open a new gauze pad and wiped his forehead of sweat, lowering herself back down at Niko's side.
"Yeah, that'd be nice. Thank you." Derrick leaned into her touch and sighed heavily.
"Let's turn him over first, then we can give him the rest of the morphine." Niko covered his stiches with a heavy surgical pad and taped the sides down. It would keep it clean and dry for the time being. Kate tucked her hands under her brother's side and waited for him to help turn him over. With one jerk of Niko's head, they lifted him up and helped reposition Derrick on the couch. The sharp inhalation of air from Derrick forced them into motion.
Kate pulled out a clean syringe and filled it up with the last vial of morphine they had in the house. Unless the boys had a stash someplace else. The label had been removed, and she wasn't sure if it was to protect the house from a LCPD raid or what. But even unmarked vials would be tested. She shook her head and handed it over to Niko who paused to look down at the empty vial.
"You sure this is morphine. If it's anything else, it might send him over the edge." He had somewhat checked what was present and felt a weird sensation come over him when she filled the syringe with a different clear vial.
"That's Gerry's personal use stash. He only keeps m, smack, tnt, and blanca. The powder is coke. But I don't think he kept liquid fentanyl on hand. Shit is too deadly." Patrick slowly made his way into the room and shoved the duffle bags off the armchair in order to sit down, holding the crystal decanter in his free hand, "But would a dose of smack really mess him up? Come on."
"Packie!" Kate whirled around and stared at her brother in astonishment, "Seriously! It could kill him in this state!"
"Sis it's not gonna hurt me. I've been stabbed so many times and shot up while bleeding out. I'm fine. Now will you two cut it out and get me fixed up?! Kind of in ridiculous pain over here!" Derrick rose his voice best he could and tried to ignore the way his body was wanting to start shaking.
"You two are impossible." Kate spoke under her breath and watched as Niko repeated the process of injecting the liquid around the opening, not using as much this time, much to her relief.
"Hold still best you can, I'll be quick." Niko glanced up to the pale complexion of Derrick before working the wire through another hook and got to making his initial stich.
"What can you possibly understand about impossible. Today felt impossible, and yet here we are. Alive and mostly well." Packie lifted the whiskey to his lips and took several large gulps, "Fucking pigs managed to hit us. Lucky we had help." His eyes trailed over to Niko before going back to staring at his sister.
"I really don't want to do this now." Kate fought back the tears that wanted to spring up. She was mostly sober and fighting off the panic of seeing everyone hurt. She would close herself up in her room later to decompress. But right now, she needed to help Niko get Derrick patched up. It was bad enough the hospital told her she didn't need to be around for her Ma's sleep appointment. They had been trying for months to get her into the doctor to help with her poor sleep habits.
"What a surprise." Patrick scoffed and took another swig off the bottle, "Gerry should be here soon. Said he wanted a full report when he gets here."
Kate's hands trembled as she wiped away blood from Derrick's wound as Niko worked the wire to close it up. She bit her lip and forced herself to focus on what she was doing and ignore the tone from her brother. He was in pain, lost some blood, was high and now getting drunk. He said the worst things while under any of those influences. They all did when she thought hard enough about it. Even her own mother said some questionable things while on her sleep meds and a stiff drink.
Niko put the clamper handle back in his mouth and used his free hand to place it over hers, silently letting her know things were okay. They would get Derrick back to health, Patrick would calm down, and Gerry would rage through them all, but he would be there. He gave her hand a small squeeze before letting her go in order to get the last bit of the stitching done. He ignored her open stare of him and instead chose to focus on his handiwork.
Her heart had nearly stopped when he held her hand in silent support. No one else had ever given her that. She wanted to return the gesture but felt whatever courage she held flee. She looked up to his face to make sure she had read his kind gesture correctly. But his face was unreadable, and his eyes followed along with his hands movements as he crossed over the stitches to make it tight and secure.
"What is there to tell? Fucking yahoo shot Michael and we killed him. We did the job. The funding is here for whatever he's got planned next." Derrick spoke up when Niko hadn't. He felt somewhat better now and could almost feel the drugs working through his system and bolstering him up.
"Maybe you three should talk about this when I'm out of the room…?" Kate handed Niko another large surgical pad when he knotted off the wire.
"I really don't care anymore. If you want to know, you can know, but this is the only warning you will get." Packie rested the whiskey container on his knee and leaned his head back into the chair, wishing his own headache would go away. It had been a long day and all he really wanted to do was shower and sleep it all off. But no. Gerry was racing over to the house, Derrick had nearly bled out, Niko was patching him up, and his sister was getting nosey.
"I'm going to go clean everything up, and make sure the groceries are put up." She talked so quietly as she stood up from the floor and went about grabbing everything in the bowls and couch. She would busy herself with sterilizing everything and throwing away the bloody rags. Last thing she needed was their Ma coming home tomorrow and freaking out about the bloodstains on everything.
"I'll help in a minute." Niko looked up from taping down the pad to make sure he got his point across to her. He didn't like the way she was shrinking in on herself. They were friends. At least she kept proclaiming they were. And friends made sure one another were okay. Plus, he needed his own break from the pair of brothers. Trying to direct them through the subway system and get away from the cops had worn him thin.
"I got it. You don't need to help." She couldn't bring herself to see his caring expression. She had seen it on a couple of rare occasions while they were out and about. It burned in her chest and forced dead feelings to want to rise up. She had closed everything off inside from wanting something more with anyone. And he was too tempting and contagious. Nothing should have her wanting to ignore the warning signs. Hell, he was here at the house with her brothers after, from what she could tell, murdering a bunch of people and had gotten shot at.
She carried everything into the kitchen and nearly broke the bowls as she dispensed them into the large sink. Her hands shook, her vision blurred, and her lungs constricted. The panic attack wanted to consume her and before she had a chance to use the exercises her therapist had given her to work it out, Gerry slammed open the backdoor to the house. She jumped and clutched at her heart with the rude intrusion.
"Where the fuck are they?!" Gerry spoke viciously and it forced her to flinch back with the murderous tone. There was only a handful of times he had ever spoken that way. Thankfully it was never directed to her, so for him to address her in such a way, the situation had to be bad.
"Living room." She barely had time to point in the direction, a ridiculous move the more she thought about it, Gerry knew the house, before he stomped off out of the kitchen.
She tried to zone out like she usually did when they started to argue, but Niko was in there, and she didn't like the idea of her brother yelling at him. But the now slightly damp paper bags of groceries caught her attention, and she went to work on putting everything up and getting stuff cleaned. Her work was never done at the house.
"Who was on crowd control? And how did you three NOT see this person pull a gun?" Gerry felt livid at having to break the news to Michael's family. This was supposed to be a simple in and out job. Blow the vault, take the money, keep people from calling the cops till they were free and clear. So something had gone wrong.
"Me and Michael were. Niko was watching the desk clerks. Derrick went down to set the charges. Just like the plan. How were we supposed to know there was some gun club member there? Granted he got what was coming." Patrick left out the part where he and Derrick started to argue back and forth and gave the gun wielding asshole the chance to shoot Michael. Everything went down the drain from there. The explosion had been too much and set off the alarms in the building.
"Oh is that it, is it?" Gerry started pacing and looked over Derrick and Packie's injuries. Niko was still knelt by Derrick and was helping him roll back over to his back.
"Come on Gerald. Things happen." Derrick accepted the clean washcloth from Niko and wiped his face off.
"What set off the alarms? The damn chase is all over the radio and news channels." Gerry turned to glare at Derrick who was paler than normal and was breathing shallowly.
"The charges, I think. Too strong of an explosion. Tore through everything down there in the vault." Niko used the couch cushion to stand up and felt his whole body protest the move. His back was extremely sore, and he knew he had taken a hit or two when fleeing from the helicopter.
"Makes some sense. It was only meant to blow off the lock, nothing more." Derrick closed his eyes and sighed. He had thought he had molded the PE4 correctly.
"So far all I am hearing is mistakes." Gerry crossed his arms and glanced between everyone, "I said to not mess this up."
"Then next time you come along! If you know so much better, then help us." Packie shoved out of the armchair and raised his voice to his brother, he was trying to not feel anything about Michael's death, but it was eating away at him on the inside. They were so mean to him on the way over to the bank and now there was no way to take it back.
"You know why I can't do that!" Gerald roared back.
Niko silently slipped from the room feeling like the three brothers needed to figure it out on their own. He wouldn't have ever been present for the conversation to begin with if it hadn't been for Derrick being shot. And Packie too now that he thought about it. All he wanted to do once they lost the cops was go back to the apartment, take a shower, and lay down. He was exhausted, worn out, and needed to check for his own injuries. He entered the kitchen to see Kate moving around from cabinet to cabinet. The white fridge door was open as well and he could see several items on the kitchen island that needed to be put away.
Kate closed the door to the dried pasta and jarred sauce cabinet and turned around to see Niko putting up the eggs and milk into the open fridge. The sight of him caused her to jump again and stumble back into the counter where she had laid out all the sharp tools to airdry after being boiled. The only problem is she had reached out behind her to halt her movement. Her hand landed on top of the paring knife; the freshly sharpened edge caught the edge of her pinky finger. She yelped at the sting and jerked her hands away from the counter.
"Shit." Fresh blood seeped through the thin cut, and she cursed at seeing it.
"I'm sorry. Let me see it." Niko closed the door once he heard her hit the counter. He hadn't meant to scare her, but she had seemed so deep in thought that he wanted to leave her be and help out where he could. Last thing he was prepared for was for her to injure herself.
"It's okay. Just clumsy little ol' me." She pulled a couple of paper towels free from the dispenser and clutched the appendage in her hand to try and stop the bleeding.
"Probably should've said something." He closed the space between them and held his hand out to take a look at the damage.
"You're like a freaking ninja or something. How do you move around without making a sound? All I can hear is my brothers yelling." She smiled at his snort and removed her hand away from the paper towel covered finger.
"The whole neighborhood probably hears them, it's good cover." He turned her hand over and pulled the paper towels away from it. There was a neat, very thin slice along the outside of her pinky finger. Nothing too deep, and certainly not in need of stiches or anything more than a bandage. But he still wanted to make sure it was cleaned first, "Come on. Let's get this clean and bandaged up."
She followed his lead without hesitation. His grip on her hand was firm, but gentle. And good lord was his body heat insane. He walked her over to the sink and reached over her shoulder to turn on the faucet and she felt such a profound need to lean back into his body just to see what he would do. He never touched her. Granted she never gave him the chance to. And now she wished she had never told him about being strictly friends only.
Kate felt tense in his presence, and he loosened his hold just enough to be able to turn her hand over and get it under the running water. Her hiss of pain forced him to squeeze her finger to alleviate some of the discomfort, but he felt the need to make sure it was cleaned. She had been helpful with stitching up Derrick and the urge to return the favor was pressing against his ribcage. He watched as her blood slowed and washed away down the freshly cleaned sink.
"I… I think it's clean now. Thank you." Kate whispered not wanting to move from her spot. Her other fingers curled down into his hand that held hers and stared in awe as he allowed her hand to rest in his own. His other reached up from its resting place against the sink to turn the water off. How she hadn't noticed the caged in position she found herself in before, sent a wave of surprised thrill down her spine. But the moment was broken the second he stepped back from her.
Her hair had tickled his cheek as he leaned forward to turn the water off. There was a sweet smell to it, and he wondered what kind of shampoo or body wash she used in order to smell this good at a later hour in the day. He guided her hand and turned her around from the sink and over to the kitchen island where the rest of the unused medical supplies were. He could feel her eyes on him and decided to not go there. If he looked to her, he wasn't sure what kind of feelings would surface and he wasn't prepared to handle that.
"I'm thinking it shouldn't be bent for a little bit. Let the skin heal." He used his free hand to shuffle through the types of bandages before picking out a short square one and some tape.
"Probably for the best." She kept her voice soft, and low like he had. She brushed her fingers from her opposite hand over his that still held hers in order to take over for him. Trying to open the bandage with one hand would be difficult. Though her thoughts got completely derailed as he used his teeth and free hand to rip open the packaging. With a skill she didn't know he possessed, he freed the gauze and tucked it over her cut and wrapped it tightly. He grabbed her hand and moved her fingers over the clean fabric to hold it in place while he used both hands to open the tape roll.
"How tight do you want it?" He glanced up to see her turn a shade of red from her neck up to her cheeks. Her reaction was curious to him. She looked unsure of herself and timid. Nothing like he had ever seen from her before. She was usually loud, bold, and combative when she didn't get her way. This was a quiet and reserved side he wasn't used to. She chewed her lip and lifted her face up just a touch in order to see him better. It was then that he got a good look at the way her eyes searched out his own.
The room felt quiet, warm- but not like the heat from the subway stations. It was comforting, welcoming, and he darted his eyes down to her lips before going back to her eyes. The rich reddish-brown hair was frizzed out along her hairline, and he wondered when she had started to sweat. He tried to memorize how she looked in this moment, because he wasn't sure he would ever get another chance to be this close to her. After she realized the true nature of how he ended up in their home and what had taken place things would be strained between them.
A piece of splintered wood caught his attention that rested over her ear, and he reached up to pluck it free. Her eyes closed as he used his thumb to brush the splinter loose from her tightly pulled back strands of hair. He pinched it once it was free and flicked it back toward the sink. On impulse he ran his knuckle over the spot and enjoyed the way the silky texture caressed him back.
"Thank you." Kate breathed out once she realized what he was doing. There was an air about him that felt so charged. Like what the city felt like before a massive thunderstorm. There was an excitement and urgency to it. She opened her eyes in time to see him look away from her and back down to the roll of tape that sat innocently on the island, "Um. Not too tight. I'd like to have some feeling left in my finger."
Immediately he lifted the roll of tape and motioned for her to hold out her hand so he could secure the cloth in place. He was slow in his movements and followed her instruction for how tight to get the tape. She leaned forward a hair in order to get a better view, or at least that's what she told herself. But he didn't shun the invasion of his personal space. He tore the tape free from the roll and did another small band below where the cut was in order to keep it from sliding around and irritating the cut.
"Keep it dry. You should be able to remove the bandage in the morning and use a smaller fabric one." He smoothed over the tape and waited for her to pull away.
"Sounds like a plan." 'Oh my God how lame… Seriously Kate?!' She internally groaned and stretched her fingers out, testing the tightness of the tape. It was perfectly firm but allowed some movement and blood flow. Her body started to tingle all over, and she realized how close she was standing to him. If she truly wanted to, she could lean just a few more inches forward to rest her head against his chest. That's when she noticed a few frayed strands of white fabric along his side.
'What the… Is he hurt too?!'
"Kate. Upstairs. It's late and I need to talk to Niko." Gerry's gruff voice snapped both of them back from one another.
"It. It was nice to see you again. Next time maybe it will be under better circumstances?" She gave him a teasing smile and ducked her head down as she moved around the kitchen island and past her brother. The angry warning to keep his hands to himself from Gerry forced the smile wider across her face. Clearly Gerry had seen something she had missed, and it caused butterflies to flutter around in her stomach.
Derrick was lightly snoring away from his place on the couch and even Packie looked like he was dozing off on the armchair, hand still firmly wrapped around the crystal decanter of whiskey. Carefully she released his grip of the bottle and took her own large swing. Things could have gone much worse from what she was gathering. Derrick had been shot. Patrick had a close enough encounter to cause him to bleed. The duffle bags had some blood on them too and she looked over her shoulder toward the kitchen to see if Gerry or Niko were on their way back in.
Another large gulp from the decanter and she was kneeling down to open them up and see just what they had all risked their lives for.
Patrick shot forward and gripped her wrists, "You open those and there is no going back."
She had jerked against his grip before going lax, "Maybe it's time? I'm so tired of all the secrets."
"Secrets have kept this family going this far. If you truly want to know why Michael died today, ask Gerry. This is his shitshow. Not mine. I'm telling you Kate. Let it go and go on to bed." He released his sister and let her decide on what to do. Would she unzip the bag and see the stacks of cash they had scored? Or would she stand up and go upstairs to her room and leave them be for the night.
Kate stared at the bags and played with the zipper. She wanted so bad to see what lay beneath the cloth fabric, but a small voice in her heart whispered to her no.
"Patrick? One of these days I fear that what you all do is going to catch up to me. That I will either be left to pick up the pieces or I'll be the one bleeding out and dying. Are you really wanting to put that burden on me?" Kate scoffed as she released the zipper and stood up, "Part of me thinks knowing would be easier, and maybe that's got some truth to it, but the other half of me just pities what's become of you boys." She glared at her closest sibling before turning on her heel and rushing up the stairs.
aaaaaa
Like I said it was some really random dream and it was a cool 'what if' scenario. Because honestly there was like a zero chance Kate didn't see her brothers, the guys, or even Niko come and go from missions that started or ended at the McReary home. I feel like she heard and saw more than they let on during the game.