A/N: omfg.
PREPARE TO SERIOUSLY HATE ME. i'm sorry.
why do good plots require people to die or betray each other or... or... GAHHH. i hate complicated plots. THIS WAS SO HARD TO WRITE.
omg still, thank you thank you thank you so much to:
psychotic honeybadger of death: you already know i kill off my characters for the sake of the plot all the time. don't hate me?
outside the crayon box: yep, yep. MASSIE FACE OFF WITH CLAIRE. she knows she won't win either. let's see how they do! so glad you loved the massington. i love them too. too bad i can never write them as fluffy, like i can with clam. it just never works out. it's pretty sad. );
the colors of the wind: thank you! the whole plot is revealed now. ;O
bullchizz155: you'll have to wait for the epilogue to see. though it's pretty obvious. hehehe you know i love massington.
emmy: i wish it could go on. but omg this was way too hard. fighting scenes get REALLY repetitive. like, i have to keep finding verbs to describe the same punches and kicks aimed a different parts of the body. and then i read back, and i'm like is this too boring? too predictable? not descriptive enough? action scenes are hard hehehe. still! it was very fun while it lasted. i learned so much about martial arts and self defense. thanks for reading and reviewing! there's still an epilogue next, i believe.
mystiques: LOL you were right 100 percent actually! haha great job!
cerulean cascades: your allcaps always make me laugh. it's almost over. please don't hate me too much.
amazingxlivexlovexlaughx3: yep! massie knows she can't win against claire! let's see what she does.
EDIT: to just saying: good eye! thanks for the catch! i accidentally wrote it twice. oopsie!
WARNING: EXTREME violence. torture. charcter death. of yeah, and language.
if you're still not scared off... here is the finale!
Chapter Five
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Cam's already nerve-wracking day amped up by a thousand at the sight of Derrick Harrington at his door. He hadn't slept in a week, what with the pressure to find Agent Block, the daunting task of placating the public, and the work he had to do to insure his place in the new government with Acting-President Dempsey Solomon.
"I don't have time for this, Derrick," He stressed, massaging his temples roughly. He crossed out another line of his speech for the press conference tomorrow.
"You'll make time for this, Cam," Derrick replied, a ghost of a smirk on his face. It was a repeat of the very same words he had said to Derrick almost a week ago at the Pentagon.
Cam ignored him, fighting to keep the annoyance from showing on his face.
Derrick raised his brows and lowered his voice. "Orders from BPS-6 Ops Director."
His head shot up at that, the pen in his hand slipping from his grip. Derrick watched him gloomily.
Well, that changed things entirely. He sat up straighter and blinked in surprise.
"We got her," Derrick told him grimly.
Cam was out of his seat before Derrick even finished his sentence. He grabbed his jacket and gestured for Kori to wrap up his office for the night. He led the way out of the White House, Derrick following on his heels silently.
Derrick flashed his badge at the security guard on the lawn, so Cam didn't have to.
"My car is around back," Derrick gestured towards the corner of the block. Cam nodded absentmindedly, letting him lead the way. He already preparing for his speech for tomorrow. This changed everything.
He was so distracted he didn't even think to question Derrick's motives, his feelings on his captured ex, the route they were taking.
In hindsight, he should have.
It came as a complete surprise when the moment they were in the deserted alleyway, Derrick swung around and thrust his elbow back. Successfully hitting him with a blow to the face, Cam collapsed to the ground. Derrick caught him right as he slipped into unconsciousness.
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"Wake him up," She ordered with a tilt of her head. Derrick grabbed a bucket of water and flung it at Cam's face.
He sputtered awake from the shock instantly.
Massie watched silently as Cam shook himself awake. Drenched in freezing cold water, he was disoriented, but still taking in his surroundings. Derrick dropped the bucket, it echoed loudly in the empty warehouse they were in.
"Hello, Cam," Massie said, rather pleasantly.
Cam watched her with hard eyes.
He turned to Derrick, "You fucking defected? Do you know what this means? Do you know what you're doing!?"
"Oh, cut the crap, Cam," Massie cut across him before Derrick could respond. She needed this over with as soon as possible. "I think we both know Derrick's not the only here who defected."
"I—what?" Cam stammered. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Massie raised a brow at Cam's words, crossing her arms over her chest. "The game's up, Cam. I broke into base. …Found your prints on my gun? Now, isn't that mighty suspicious?"
Cam's eyes shifted as he looked for way out.
Massie leaned down over him, her hands on his arms, tied to the armrests. Cam tilted his head back at her proximity. Her amber eyes gleamed in the low lighting. "So, Cam… Are you going to talk?"
Cam pressed his lips together and Massie smirked. She straightened up and turned to Derrick. Cam struggled in his bonds when he realized how serious they were.
"Massie, wait," Cam sputtered in protest. He struggled frantically, wiggling wildy. His hands fought to stop Derrick, who grabbed his leg and extended it.
Her face never shifted from its hard expression. Massie was in Agent mode. She was here to get the job done. She had just never had to do it to a friend before. She wondered if it was hard for Derrick too, who had been closer to Cam than she had been. …Maybe, maybe not. Chris Plovert had also been one of Derrick's close friends. If Cam had murdered him… and tried to pin it on his ex, …it wouldn't have worked out in Cam's favor either way.
They were trained to not feel much of anything during torture.
Massie shifted her stance, her hands braced into position.
"No! No, no—wait!"
Massie tilted her hips and extended her foot in a vicious side kick. She slammed her foot horizontally into Cam's kneecap. The sickening crunch was completely overpowered by his Cam's scream of pain, ringing out and echoing in the warehouse.
Derrick let go of his leg. Massie straighten up and approached again. Ignoring Cam's rough pants, she grabbed his face and turned his head to look at her.
"Why'd you do it?"
Cam's heavy breathing was the only sound in the room as he debated.
Massie had always hated interrogating witnesses any double agents with a passion. It had always been Claire's job. She should have been here, interrogating Cam instead of Massie. Ironic how she was involved in all of it. They lost their best asset at torture.
Massie turned to Derrick again with a grim look and he made to approach, but Cam spoke before they could do anything more.
"Alright! Okay, alright!" He cried out.
Derrick stopped. Massie turned back to Cam.
"They never told me they were going to frame you," Cam panted, his face twisted in pain, sweat beading on his forehead. "I swear, I didn't know that they were going to frame you."
"That wasn't what I was asking. I meant, why'd you kill the president, Cam? And if I don't like your answers…," She chimed softly, glancing down at his body, tied to the chair. "Well, I don't think you'll like my responses."
Cam swallowed.
"Who's they?" Derrick asked, before Massie could ask another question. She shot him an appraised look. Derrick kept his eyes on Cam, whose breathing picked up again.
"I—I don't know," Cam gasped out.
Massie frowned at him, grabbing a bat of the side table.
"Wait, okay, okay!" Cam cried. "Josh—Josh Hotz!"
"Who else?" Derrick bit out roughly.
"That's all," Cam breathed. "I swear!"
Massie looked at Derrick. Cam was covering for Claire, who they both knew for a fact was in on it all. They just wanted him to reveal the whole story, the whole plan, the whole plot. What Massie and Derrick didn't understand was the reasoning behind it all.
She turned back to Cam. "You're lying." She had barely finished her sentence when her fist flew out in a quick swing. Cam's head snapped to the side from the force of her hit and he spat out blood.
Derrick sighed loudly, rubbing his forehead. He shot Massie an impatient look. "We know all about Claire," Derrick finally revealed. "She was the one to file the report to Josh. She's the one who placed Massie's prints on the gun."
"So," Massie scowled. "Why'd you do it, Cam? Why'd you kill the President? Why did you deflect? What were you gaining?"
Cam shut his eyes tightly, still panting hard.
Derrick turned to Massie with a burning look. "He's in love with her," he told her.
Massie blinked in surprise. A laugh bubbled out of her throat before she could stop herself. Because of course. Of course. That explained everything. It was all making sense now.
Derrick had deflected because of his feelings for her. Cam had done it for Claire. She wanted to laugh at the irony.
"She played you, Cam," Derrick rubbed a hand over his face and then through his hair.
"She put your prints down on the file. On the reports too, Cam," Massie told him. "After I was dead, you were going to be put down too. Everyone knows you're the real murderer, Cam. You were the scapegoat."
"What?" Cam asked, his face twisted in disbelief. He didn't believe them, but it didn't stop him from asking questions.
Massie wanted to laugh again as all the thoughts were connecting inside her mind at what felt like the speed of light. Because of course. Training at BPS-6's first lesson was to always have a buffer. Always, always throw suspicion off you by making sure your motive was never obvious…
If you were third-in-command and you wanted to be the boss, you don't go out and kill the boss yourself. You convinced the manager, the second-in-command to do it. The manager is the buffer because his motive was obvious, the manager just wanted to be in command. Case closed. So, the manager goes down. While meanwhile, you're not only being promoted to manager, you became Command as well because all other chains of command above you were gone. Basic Spy Operations 101.
No one expects the real perpetrator when there was a buffer.
And that was exactly what was happening here.
"Cam, you've been played," Massie whispered in confirmation. She didn't derive any pleasure from breaking Cam. She hated that she had to be the one to tell him the truth.
She turned to Derrick. "It's Josh. It was all Josh, all along."
Derrick nodded solemnly. He caught his old friend's eye. "I don't know what Claire said to you, man. But she lied. She doesn't love you. She was using you as bait, as a scapegoat. You were her buffer."
"But—but, what?" Cam spluttered. "Why?"
"Because she's in love with Josh," Massie said. She wanted to laugh at all the irony.
Josh wanted to be Commander in Chief, but first he needed Cam's job. He needed Cam gone, but knew he would never get away with it by killing him. Josh had convinced Claire to join his scheme. Claire had been willing because she loved him.
Claire had then convinced Cam to murder the president of the United States to frame Massie. And Cam had done it because he had been in love with Claire. Framing Massie got her out of the picture, allowing Josh to step up another step as the Acting-Operations Director.
Josh could then send a hit out on her and when she was dead… Josh would release the evidence that Cam Fisher had also been involved in the murder.
The public would have an outcry for Cam's betrayal. Josh would be a hero. He would have been promoted to Commander in Chief. His fame would boost him up to President of the United States along the way in years to come.
Now, Massie laughed out loud, not even bothering to try and stop.
It was genius. Pure genius.
And it would have worked completely, worked perfectly…
If Derrick hadn't been in love with her.
Derrick couldn't kill her. He had deflected, warning her and letting her go and helping her.
He had brought the whole operation crumbling down.
And now all of BPS-6 was crumbling down along with it. Possibly even bringing down the nation along for the ride.
So now… It was Massie and Derrick's job to save it. They had to reveal the truth somehow. They had to bring down Claire and Josh.
"I'm sorry, Cam," Massie told him, genuinely sorry. They had all been pawns, all of them, swept up in a complicated multi-layer scheme. Derrick shut his eyes and turned away. He didn't want to watch. Massie couldn't begin to fathom how he felt. All his friends…
"I may be Wanted," She said softly. "But I'm still BPS-6. I was loyal to my country. I am loyal to my country."
Cam's eyes were widening in fear now. Massie's hands shook as she raised her gun. Yes, Cam had murdered the president, but he was still someone they both cared about. She shut her eyes in pain, in sorrow.
"And there's a hit out for the assassin that murdered the President of the United States."
Massie pulled the trigger.
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"Are you angry with me?" Massie asked him softly.
He turned to look at her in surprise. "What?"
Massie looked up at him through her lashes, her back pressed against the alleyway wall. "For Cam," she whispered.
Derrick closed his eyes, but shook his head. He wasn't mad at Massie; he was mad at the source, Josh Hotz …who had brought down the nation in his quest for power. Massie sucked in a deep breath and exhaled loudly. They had never killed someone they knew intimately before in all the history of BPS-6. It seemed as if Massie was tired of it all too.
"We're almost done," He told her, still watching cars speed by.
"And what will be left after all of it?" She asked him, tilting her head back in frustration and hitting herself against the wall.
Derrick didn't know the answer to that, so he tilted his head and said, "Let's go."
He watched as Massie pushed herself off the wall and nodded. She turned around and eyed the wall she had been leaning on. Pulling out a piece of chalk from her pocket, she scratched a thin white line on the brick.
Alicia would know they had been here. That it had been them. Derrick hoped she got the message.
She turned to Derrick then and they headed to the door. Derrick swiped in his ID card and pushed the door open.
It was three in the morning and the base was deserted, but Josh would be there. They didn't even bother keeping quiet or scouting ahead. They strode right in. Massie went first, shooting out all the security cameras, the gunshots echoing loudly in the silent hallway.
She was already implicated, but Derrick wasn't. Not that it really mattered anyways, Derrick thought to himself bitterly. He was done with it all. BPS-6 was over. Everything would be revealed.
They were all compromised.
Derrick took a deep breath, shooting one last look at Massie. She nodded at him. He pulled out his card and swiped. The door hissed open. Massie walked into the conference, as if it was any other day, as if they were only there for a simple debriefing.
"Massie," Josh said, blinking in surprise at the sight of her. "I would ask how you got in… but I think I already know."
Derrick stepped in and pointed his gun at him. The door shut behind him with a slam.
"Game's over, Hotz," He told him. "We know it was all you."
"What exactly were you two planning?" Josh asked them, edging around the conference room, placing the metal table top between them. "To kill me?"
Derrick shifted his eyes to Massie, who was slowly edging around the table too, to meet Josh on the other side. They didn't bother with a response.
"You'd be destroying everything. BPS-6 isn't public knowledge. The public will have an outcry for your war crimes when it gets out. The world already hates Massie for her murder of the President. Who's going to lead BPS-6? Kemp?" He laughed.
"No one's going to lead," Derrick bit out. "BPS-6 is done. You burned it to the ground when you set out to assassinate the president."
"I didn't set out to assassinate the president," Josh smiled. "Claire did."
At his words, the conference door hissed open again and Claire entered. Her eyes were hard as ice when they took in Derrick's gun at Josh and Massie slowly edging him to the corner.
"Don't move… Or Derrick shots," Massie told her.
"You're kidding, right?" Claire laughed. In the next second, she was flying at Massie, vaulting over the metal table. Massie spun out of the way, but Claire still crashed into her. Derrick fired, but Josh dodged and he missed. The bullet hit the other end of the room and ricocheted off the metal walls.
Derrick's bullets were lead, so it was only once, but still… It was too dangerous. Bullets in a contained area weren't a good idea. He couldn't risk hurting Massie, who had tumbled to the ground and out of his sight, Claire on top of her.
Derrick cursed and pocketed his gun. He jumped over the table at Josh, who met him straight on.
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Massie cried out, Claire's fist slamming down onto her nose. Massie choked and coughed on the blood. She dug her hand into Claire's elbow, wrapped her foot around her leg, twisted her hips and flung her over.
She rolled on top, pressing Claire into the hard floor. She flipped and grabbed onto Claire's arm, pulling it between her legs and lifting up. Pushing up off the ground, Massie hyper-extended. Claire's shoulder locked.
Claire wrapped her legs against Massie's and flipped them again with a grunt.
This time, before she could mount her, Massie kicked both her feet out, throwing Claire above and over her into the metal wall.
She rolled and jumped back to her feet. She glanced and saw Derrick and Josh fighting against the wall and cursed. They had to get out of this contained room. They needed weapons. Massie couldn't take Claire on by herself with hand-to-hand combat.
Massie jumped onto the table and was running for the door when Claire grabbed her leg and pulled. She slammed into the table with a crash. Massie twisted and kicked her leg up out of her grip. She caught Claire right on the chin. She fell backwards with a crash, but was back on her feet, barely slowed.
Massie rolled off the table to avoid Claire getting on top of her again.
On the ground, she grabbed a chair leg off the floor one of the boys had destroyed and swung. Claire tilted her body backwards out of the way, still barreling forward.
Massie cursed herself for teaching Claire all her evasion tactics. It wasn't like she ever needed them. She was stationed at the Capitol and the base for interrogation.
Unlike with Alicia, Claire never stopped for small chat. Her eyes were intense as they took her in and assessed her. Claire, no matter how hurt, never allowed her opponent time to recuperate, never allowed breaks in between the fighting.
Massie met Claire head on, slamming her shoulder into her chest. Undeterred, Claire punched out, hitting Massie in the face again. Massie barely felt it, adrenaline coursing through her veins, singing.
Massie ducked to the ground and kicked out, aiming for Claire's head. She ducked back just in time. Massie kicked up again. She aimed to wrap her legs around her neck, but Claire caught her foot right before she could twist. She tugged up roughly. Massie scrambled for purchase, kicking out with her other leg frantically as Claire kept tugging. She slammed her foot into Claire's hip. Claire cried out, but didn't let go.
She knocked Claire back finally, with a kick to the chest. She stole Claire's breath. Claire landed on the ground too, but she kicked out and smashed her foot into Massie's shoulder.
Massie gasped in pain, her eyes watering, as she shot Derrick a frantic look. He was grappling with Josh, neither gaining the upper hand. She wanted to order him to shoot, but knew he wouldn't.
Claire grabbed and pulled her up by the hair. Massie gasped for breath, her shoulder pulsating and her leg throbbing. She wondered how Claire could put up with all those kicks from her.
"Come on, Massie," Claire laughed, flinging her away. "What's the matter? Tired already?"
Claire twisted in a Massie-taught-maneuver, rolling over Massie's back. She knew it was coming, but couldn't stop Claire in time from grabbing her from behind. Claire threw and flung her backwards.
Massie crashed into the metal table, her head getting the brunt of it. Massie blinked in a daze, her vision blurry, her mind groggy.
But she couldn't stop. She had to fight.
Massie rolled to her feet, fighting against her head wound. Claire punched and bludgeoned her in the stomach. Massie fought to inhale, but Claire hit again, right at her pressure points.
Massie flew back against the wall with that hit, out of breath. Her hair clung to her forehead with sweat, as she fought to stay conscious. Claire grabbed her by the throat, pulled her forward, and slammed her back against the metal wall. If Massie had any breath, she would have screamed from the pain to her already concussed head.
Claire's fingers dug into her throat as Massie struggled to regain her movements, her fighting abilities. She tried to kick her foot out, but Claire stomped on it with her own and held it to the ground. She increased the pressure on Massie's throat.
Massie wheezed and struggled to breathe. Without leverage, Claire was going to choke her to death.
As she squeezed, Massie met Claire's blue eyes. Claire had always been like a sister to her. She had trained her, taught her everything she knew. She had found Claire's weaknesses and worked with her to rid herself of them. She knew all of Claire's secrets and all of her desires. Working together everyday meant that they were as close as spies could be.
Love had ruined their friendship. Love had ruined BPS-6.
Sides were chosen and Massie and Claire were on opposite ends.
Massie couldn't blame her at all.
She would have done it for Derrick.
She grappled with Claire one last time, wondering what Claire saw in her amber eyes. If they saw the forgiveness, the love she still held for her. Not just for her, for all of BPS-6, for all her teammates.
Stars were creeping in from the edge of her vision. Massie was going to die; her mind and her movements were slowing down.
A gunshot rang out in the metal room, deafening them all. It was a shot of adrenaline to the system. Massie's eyes shot open, her heartbeat still fighting, the blood in her veins soaring.
Claire's head snapped to Derrick and Josh.
Derrick was standing, his gun still outstretched. Massie didn't give in the the desire to cry in relief. Derrick's kill saved her life. She used Claire's shocked disbelief to her advantage, slamming her hands between her arms.
She grabbed Claire's head and dug her nails in. It was a cheap move, but Massie was seconds from dying. She latched onto her head, her fingers winding in her hair. Massie slammed her head forward. Her vicious head butt disoriented Claire and her fingers went slack.
Massie sucked in a deep breath, her throat burning and raw.
She pivoted now, her signature roundhouse kick slamming into her opponent's jaw.
Claire went down.
Massie collapsed to the ground with her, feeling the pressure still in her throat. She gasped in heaving breaths, panting hard. She couldn't even swallow from the pain. She rolled onto her back, not even paying heed to her bleeding head wound. Massie shut her eyes tightly, trying to regulate her breathing. When she opened them again, Derrick appeared in her line of vision. A black eye and a split lip, but okay.
Alive. That was all that mattered.
She didn't give a flying fuck about BPS-6 anymore.
If teammates could betray each other like that… could betray the country like that… She had thought they cared for each other, that they were really a team.
But Josh had set her up to frame her; Claire had tried to kill her.
Massie wanted to cry, but all she felt was numb.
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A/N: it's pretty rough. still, hoped the action worked. and the plot made sense.
ugh i research it and you know how in movies, the main character is knocked out and then brought to like a deserted warehouse? like cam was? that's like impossible! if you're knocked out for more than a minute, it means brain damage! holy, i had no idea. i put it in my story anyways, but i never knew it was so implausible. did you?
claire's still alive! just knocked out.
yeahhhh, i used the same old cam/claire/josh triangle from the books! eeeeep. the plot would have been too complicated if i hadn't. it's already crazy. LOL
recap: claire or josh (massie never found out) stole her gun. claire gave it to cam, who shot the president. claire did the analysis of the crime scene, planting massie's fingerprints into it. cam pushed derrick to reveal massie as the assassin. (remember how cam already knew about BPS-6? ...because he was already in on it with claire). josh set the hit on massie. cam's fingerprints were already on the gun because he was the real killer. josh kept it in the report because cam was the next target after massie was dead.
josh was the mastermind behind it all.
his motive: he wanted to be president, but needed massie and cam's job first.
hope that all made sense in the story!
see you in the epilogue! thanks for giving my action story a chance!