Damn, sorry darlings, been a while. Life has been busy. Not that I'v stopped this one, I'v just been writing ahead because I got stuck. Anyway's, here is chapter 6!

CHAPTER 6:

Night Watch

"We need to move." Leon said, glancing uneasily around the area, the voice in his head warned him that they weren't alone, and that something was wrong.

"Yeah," Jake agreed, feeling edgy too. What he heard didn't sit well with him, the name they's picked up was a name he'd hoped to not ever hear of again. "Something's not right here. We got a lead, so I think its time to break it." Damn it, he was angry, that name should have no more existence, so why was it appearing now in this mess? More importantly, why in this mess?

They started at a weary fast walk back the way they had came, silver blue eyes darted around every corner, every door and window, their breath fogging in the air masking there calm steady breathing. Only one light was on up ahead, giving them a half element of darkness to cloak their passing through the empty closed area.

'And to anyone else who is out there.' Leon thought, a horrible feeling creeping into his senses a feeling he got when walking the streets of Raccoon, that feeling of being a fish in shark waters. His breath caught, picking up his pace to a light jog, which Jake soon followed. Still a small while away from their plans of escape, still a small while away and yet too far away should something indeed go wrong. Hands were itching for their weapons as they moved, the cold night air seemed to close in on them.

Jake glanced at Leon beside him, a silent message passed through them before they both broke into a light run, side by side they were fast, they were quiet. A muffled noise in the distance behind them broke their rhythm and the nights cool. Identification of the sound was not processed until the next moment. A moment that the two were hoping to avoid.

A sharp wisp of air and the sound of a snap of a fast travelling object, followed by pain, was the only warning Leon got before his legs were knocked from under him with the force of the blow, coming in contact hard with the damp cold cement floor.

Jake stopped and turned at the sound of a bullet hitting something his mind immediately decided wasn't good, followed by a startled cry of pain. "Shit." He saw the agent collapse on the floor, and new their luck, if they had any at all, had just been cut short. He ran back the short distance from where he was to where the other was, and got just short of a meter away from his target before more snaps sounded around him, one after the other, which the later grassed his right shoulder. "Shit!" He cursed again, back tracking as another close shot hissed by his head, causing him to run to his right and take cover behind a corner of a building, temporarily abandoning his target.

Breathing was fast as the adrenalin ran through his veins, the familiar drug heightening his senses including the spark of worry that formed for the lack of presence beside him. He glanced at the blood on his right shoulder where a bullet had clipped him, and by the flow if it darkening the texture of his jacket, he guessed what kind of threat he was dealing with. Taking a fast glance around the corner, he caught sight of a spark on top of a building roughly 3 blocks away before the cause of those sparks forced him to take cover again, the bullets taking small chunks out of the wall he was standing behind.

Roof top sniper, and judging by the impact of the bullets, a 12.05 anti-material rifle, silenced. "Damn it." He muttered in annoyance Things just kept getting better, but then, they could have been worse. He dully noted as he grasped his gun from under his jacket, the weapon a comfort in his hands. He took a moment to think, before that feeling of being worried hit him again. "Leon?" He asked as he stood there, ears straining for any movement or noise.

His ears were met with a quiet, yet pained voice answering. "...Yeah."

Jake signed, relieved at the response small it was, but still comforting. He risked another glance, eyeing the agent who hadn't moved from where he had fallen, but could see him glancing his way before more clips on the wall forced Jake to duck in again behind cover, but in doing so, also revealed the shooters location. 'The bastard is using him as bait.' He thought angrily, flicking the safety off his gun and loading it. "Where are you hit?" He asked, wanting to know how fast he'd need to be.

Leon replied from where he was in the open, surprised that he was still alive, but then coming the same conclusion that Jake had come to, he was bait. "Left leg, bleeding badly." He called out, although quietly. His hand griped the side of his thigh in vain attempt at stopping the pain from running up his side. He could feel the pool of blood steadily gathering and soaking his jeans, the cool cement beneath him a small comfort as he lay there, starting to feel dizzy They needed to move, there was no telling how much longer they'd have before the situation went from bad to worse, it was only a matter of time before the sniper radioed in for back up.

"Damn it." Jake muttered, eyes darting around the area, the mind turning and processing the situation. First, he needed to distract the sniper long enough to give him a free window, a few seconds will do it. 'C'mon, C'mon, think!' He mentally cursed himself, the area didn't have much to work with. He scanned around him, taking in every detail, willing something to jump at him. Getting more edgy by the second, he was about to unleash a string of very colourful insults at partly nothing when he caught it. He could have punched himself when his eyes took in a small barrel in front of him, attached to the wall on the next building, a flammable warning printed on the side. 'What do we have here?' He thought with a smirk.

"Jake..."

The pained voice brought him back to the present, reminding him of why that barrel looked so promising. "Close your eyes and cover your head. Don't move." He called back out as an idea sprang to mind. He was playing this on a hunch, it was risky, but at that time it was all he had. The scenario; roof top sniper firing in the dark either needed night vision or a thermal scope, and Jake hoped it was the later. Thermal scopes would work the best, targeting a heat signature such as any living being, or, in this case, anything that generates a heat source He needed a distraction, and that distraction was to combine his heat signature with another more powerful one, taking over and momentarily blinding his friend stationed on the top of the building.

Kneeling down and pressing his back as far as he could to the wall behind him, he licked his dry lips and brought his gun up, counting a beat in his head. He only had a few seconds to get this right, and only once. The way the barrel was built would send most of the explosion to his right, missing both him and Leon. Some debres would come his way, but hopefully not much.

Timing was important, he counted, whether or not Leon had done as instructed, he aimed for the flammable symbol, body tensing, he fired once.

As expected, a sounding boom broke the silence, the ground trembled and fire lit up in front of him, shooting out to the side as debries from the building sparked. Not even missing a beat, Jake stood up and moved around in one smooth motion, taking a step out from his cover and aiming his handgun to where the sniper was stationed. He could feel the heat scorching through his clothes and at his back, the light of the explosion lighting up the whole area, his eyes sighted down his weapon on the man he was looking for. It was a long distance for his weapon, but he stood still and steady, time slowed with him, the light of the fire started fading slowly. He trusted his instincts. He fired.

2 shots blended together at the speed, the sound of the 9mm shell casings pinged onto the cement floor, the only sound that seemed to echo lightly through the now darkening area. Jake watched in pride as a showed figure fell from the building. He'd hit his target. All and all, only 4 seconds had passed.

"Easy does it." He smirked, holstering his gun, not sparing a glance at the mess he'd made, he ran the short distance to where Leon was.

Jake winced when he got to the older man, the injury a plain obvious sight even in the semi-darkness, the dark patch spotted on the man's jeans and pooling beneath him. Jake sat down next to him and slowly eased the agent to lie on his back, who's breathing was uneven as his hand still griped his leg, other than the tense expression marking his face, Leon gave no other sign of distress.

Assessing the wound which was located on the agents left thigh, a few inches above the knee and to the inner side, Jake really did cringe at the sight. "Not good." Although the sight of blood was something he long ago got accustomed to, the amount that was gathering on the floor was alarming. The ex-mercenary knew enough with gun shot wounds and injuries to understand that this one was serious. The bleeding needed to be stopped. Sooner rather than later.

"Not my lucky day.." Leon mumbled, trying to get his breathing under control. Sweat was breaking out on his forehead that had nothing to do with the heat from the explosion. As impressed as he was at how Jake executed the bad situation, turning it more into their favour he knew that it can turn just as bad, just as quickly as it did before if they don't get going.

Jake seemed to have that in mind too, "Do you think you can stand?" He asked, as he took of his scarf and proceeded to use it as a bandage, wrapping it as tight as he could get it around the wound before tying it in a knot, Leon's pained cry was cut short as he bit his lip in attempt to keep silent.

It took a moment before he was able to answer, and Leon's answer was his attempt at sitting up, he let out an annoyed sigh when it didn't go to his plan, and that left him laying back on the cool cement. He felt more tired than he normally did, and his energy seemed to have gone right out of the window.

Jake nodded. "No, then." Glancing around briefly taking note that their surroundings haven't changed, and that's a good thing, Jake turned back to the agent and moved to help him up. Grabbing the older man's left arm and slinging it over his shoulder, whilst his other arm wrapped around the agents waist to support him. "C'mon, hero." Jake said, pulling the man to his feet and supporting his left side to keep the pressure off his leg.

Leon bit back another pained cry at the movement, putting all his weight on his right leg and using Jake to steady himself as they began moving to their vehicle which was parked a few blocks away across the street.

"Why.. do you call me that?" He asked Jake, irritated at that word the ex-mercenary seemed so fond of using, a word he never though fitted his profile.

Jake shrugged well, as much as he could with the weight of the other man hanging on his shoulders. He risked going a little faster, turning their limped walk into a quicker pace, he had a feeling they didn't have much time left before they had some party crashes. He didn't answer Leon's question, instead he skipped it. "Lets move a little faster, I don't like this place."

Leon would have nodded if it weren't for the fact that his head was swimming, he also would have pressed for the answer to his questions but knew he'd have better luck trying to hunt down a spy who can't be found. Jake was stubborn, if not more than he was, which was allot considering the amount of people who have tried and failed at getting an answer out of him.

"How did you.. do that?" Leon asked, one more thing that was still bugging him, and the fact that he tried to remain awake.

Jake tightened his grip on the agent, before looking at him briefly in question. "Do what?"

Leon took in a breath before clarifying his question, "Back there, you blinded the sniper."

Jake tilted his head to one side, "I played a hunch." Was all he said, only now did he understand how risky that move was, which would have gotten them both killed if it didn't work. He knew what the agent was getting at, and if he was in his position, he would have punched the other in the face. Luckily for him, Jake didn't think that the older man wanted to waste any remaining strength on getting him good for a foolish move. Luckily for him, it worked.

This time Leon did shake his head, the movement small but picked up by the ex-mercenary non the less. "Great." He huffed sarcastically. That made him feel a whole lot better.

Jake could have laughed, but he didn't, eyes now catching sight of their vehicle across the street. "Nearly there." He said in relief. The wound on his shoulder was starting to complain due to the weight of the other man, but he brushed that aside, he had more urgent matters to deal with.

Finally reaching the Jeep, Jake unlocked it after fishing the keys out of Leon's jacket pocket, and Jake winced as the small beep sounded through the car lot, seeming allot louder than he originally thought. Moving around to the passenger side and opening the door, he eased the agent into the seat, mindful of his leg and moving it into a position that wouldn't hinder it. Closing the door after making sure Leon was set, Jake quickly moved around to the driver's side and got in.

Leon signed as he finally got comfortable, well, more than the throbbing in his leg that was overloading his senses Jake was starting the car, and he hoped that he wasn't as crazy with driving than he was out in the field, and he wasn't going to bother telling the younger man to take it easy, or to tell him where he lived, Jake made it clear he knew exactly where he lived a few nights ago, which Leon still hasn't been able to pry from him. That stubborn, foolish- wait, hold on...

"No hospital." Leon mumbled as he noted that the spinning surroundings weren't the ones he'd seen on going home.

Jake looked at him for a second, before looking at the road, then back at the agent, his expression later turning to one of annoyance. "What? No, hero. Your going to the hospital."

"We cant risk a hospital." Leon stressed to the younger man, trying to get the point across. "They'll.. be waiting for us." He fixed his vision on the ex-mercenary, who looked right back at him.

Jake was about to argue the point of going to a hospital, the fact that he couldn't treat a wound to that extent, when he realised a minor detail. A detail that the agent is getting at. They are still being tracked, who ever is on their tale will know exactly where their going thanks to his dead sniper friend on the roof top, no doubt that he radioed in that they were injured, and the fact that what they'd walked into just a few minutes ago was a scenario that they were expected appear. So going to the hospital at this point would be making their stalkers job's allot easier.

Jake signed, hands gripping the wheel in frustration and anger. "Shit." He muttered before turning the vehicle around and heading back to the agents home, glancing back over to the agent, he had no idea what was going to happen when they got back, he was no medic, but it was unfortunately the only option at hand that didn't have them going into another trap and then defiantly getting them both killed. "Home it is, then." He said, uneasily. He didn't agree with this, looking at Leon's pale face.

No, he didn't agree at all.

Again, sorry for spelling or any info errors.