Human Target –Embassy Row-Missing Scene-Starts after they find the antidote
"How's he doing?"
Guerrero glanced at Aaron "Looking a lot better, how much further?"
Guerrero braced himself as the van swerved around the curving drive, " how close are we to the West Entrance?" This time a little louder.
"Almost ther…." Winston cut off as he yelled "hang on" and the van decelerated rapidly.
Guerrero gripped the syringe tighter and tried to catch a glimpse out the front window to see what Winston was reacting to. All he caught was a quick flash of Chance slumped against a wall. He popped the door handle as the van skidded to a stop and grabbed his other bag, stumbling to keep his balance as he kneeled in front of the handcuffed couple.
"This is going to hurt, Dude," he warned as he glanced into the dull eyes, then with his thumb on the plunger he jab the needle into Chance's leg. He could feel the whole body tighten in reaction to the needle including the shocked look on his face.
"Who are you?" the agent barked and Guerrero spared a second for an appreciative glance at her.
"No one special" he shot back, "nice dress" he added with a smile that caused her to shudder. Shooting his hand back in his bag he rummaged for the bolt cutters he would need to free the handcuffs.
"Let me see that," Guerrero raised Chance's left hand to get a better angle with the cutters and set him and the agent free. "That did hurt," mumbled Chance to no one in particular.
"Come on" Winston's agitated voice kept repeating "let's go" like a high school coach at a football game.
Stooping down to grab Chance's right arm Winston did a slight double take as he realized how much Chance was allowing him to support his weight. A surge of adrenalin propelled him forward even faster, as the thought of how close they were cutting it snuck into the back of his mind.
Almost tossing Chance into the back of the Van, leaving Guerrero to finish loading him in, Winston shot around the front of the van back to the driver's seat as he could hear Agent Barnes protesting their disappearance.
Guerrero swung Chance's legs up and into the van and seated himself in the cargo area, bracing his leg between Chance and the open door to make sure he was not going to fall out sideways. As he reached up to swing the other door shut he did a mental eye roll at the way Chance gazed at the lady. She was hot in her red dress but really…
"See you" he threw out insincerely at her.
As the van lurched down the rest of the curved drive, Guerrero tried to get a better look at Chance in the dim interior. Aaron had responded fairly quickly to the antidote, and he only hoped with Chance's better physical condition the same would happen for him. However, he also realized that Chance had been expending energy for the last couple of hours and that could hamper his recovery ability. He was shaken out of his thoughts as he heard a change in Chance's breathing, a whistling sound as if it were taking more effort to get enough oxygen.
"Hey, I've got blood on my arm," Winston's remark caused Guerrero's head to come up out of his thoughts suddenly as he realized what it meant. Not his own blood but blood from carrying Chance to the van. He made brief eye contact with Winston in the rear view mirror before turning his attention back to his injured friend.
"Do we need to head to a hospital?" Winston ventured, with almost a hopeful note. Guerrero could only imagine he yearned to have someone official in control of all these medical issues.
Guerrero directed his next comment at Aaron, "hand me that oxygen bottle out of the bag," Aaron fumbled around and handed it up to him bottom first. Guerrero spun the tank release with one hand as he unwound the short tubing and mask that came with it. Chance had not uttered a word since the van door had shut, and Guerrero felt he wasn't even aware of what was going on. As Chance dipped toward the back of the van from a bump, Guerrero slid the mask over his face, then muttered a quiet apology to Chance as he let his body fall forward over his knees, angling for a look at this back. He had the impression of a wet spot on the right side of his jacket back. He needed to see the extent of the wound; if the bullet was still in him then he would have to answer yes to Winston's last question. If not he felt sure they could handle it all back at the room. Yanking up on the tux jacket and shirt he continued to study the area. Feeling around to the front side he could tell that the bullet had exited, confidence returned that it was nothing they couldn't handle. However, shock setting in might be a different story.
"Head back to the room," he directed to the front of the van while easing Chance back to a position that faced him. "Chance…. Chance," lightly slapping his face, he tried to get a reaction, to keep Chance semi conscious.
"You sure?" drifted from the front.
"Yup" he answered as he watched Chance's eyes focus slightly on his face. His lips curled into a ghost of a smile before it drained off as the van hit another bump. Wincing with sympathy for Chance, he would however take the help of the pain if it kept Chance focused.
With any luck they could pass off getting Chance back to the room as a friend with too much to drink, and the tux would help. Hopefully Aaron could navigate back up to the room on his own and he was sure Winston would need to make a run for some medical supplies.
Pulling into the hotel that was serving as their base Winston was now glad they had spent the extra money on something with privacy. It would not be hard to get everyone back in the room without issue and due to the extra security of the place, away from anyone looking for the van. As he clicked the gearshift into park a quick glance confirmed that Guerrero was loading everything into his bag and quietly talking to Chance. He doubted Guerrero shared any common beliefs with himself, but he admitted they were both working toward the same end goals today.
He popped his door open and hustled around to open the side doors, guiding an already leaning Chance into a standing position. He hooked his arm under Chance's right arm, pulling back at the last minute to be mindful of the injury on that side. Still toting a lot of Chance's weight he headed toward the side door entrance that would allow them to take a less trafficked elevator up to their second floor. He would trust that Guerrero would collect what he needed and Aaron. He swiped the badge from his pocket on the secure door reader and threw the door open with a little extra force to keep it propped open so he could maneuver through with his load. As he went through he laid his card on top of the reader outside the door for Guerrero to use on his way in. He rounded the corner to enter the hall and found their low traffic entrance area had turned into a busy one. Rather than wait with the growing crowd in front of the elevators he kept moving up the stairwell, by this time all but carrying Chance even though he was trying to help by shuffling his feet.
Stepping onto the second floor he heard the exterior door click open below. There were very few doors on each floor as these rooms took up a lot of space, so he was left alone as he drew near to their door. He cursed quietly as he realized leaving his door key down for Guerrero now caused him to have to wait for him to arrive to open their room. He thought about searching Chance's pockets for the only other key but decided against it, not only because of the difficulty but also the looks they might get. So as the few minutes seemed to multiply, he finally heard steps coming up the stairway.
"Hurry up"
"yeah yeah", but Guerrero did quicken his pace when he saw them waiting, Aaron bringing up the rear.
As the door clicked shut behind them Guerrero made a bee line to a desk looking for some paper and pen. He began scribbling down everything he thought they would need to treat Chance and Aaron now that they could make it their priority. He could hear talking and scuffling from the bed area as Winston began stripping Chance down and getting him tucked into the bed to warm up. As Aaron stood looking lost, Guerrero gestured for him to open up the bag then nodded toward the oxygen tank, once Aaron had it out he swung his head toward the other two. Aaron took the hint and headed back to hand it off to Winston. Winston was adjusting the mask when Guerrero stuffed the list in his hand. A questioning look appeared on Winston's face but faded away as he read the list.
"Gotcha, you sure your okay," his hands waving to include the whole area and situation. Guerrero took him to question that he would be okay while he was gone. Nodding his head he added "just keep your phone on."
Winston nodded agreement as he headed out the door, throwing over his shoulder, "an extra door key should be in Chance's pocket, if you need it."
Guerrero turned back to Chance and checked his breathing and pulse, he seemed to be resting easily now with the oxygen to help him breath. Turning he addressed the pile of clothes that had been shed, going through the pockets until he found the extra hotel key and transferred it to his possesion.
He made a tour around the apartment and found Aaron sleeping on the couch, a blanket pulled sloppily across his chest. He looked exhausted, yet Guerrero couldn't help but compare him to last time he laid there and he nodded his head in agreement with himself that this was better now.
He stopped and looked around the room, wishing he had added some food to the list he had given Winston. Judging by Winston's bulk perhaps it would occur to him before he got back, he pondered its importance and if it was worth a phone call. He decided not yet.
As he headed back toward the bed he heard the clink of the handcuff and chain still hanging on Chance's wrist as he shifted. His eyes searched for his bag and when he found it, he extracted the tools he needed and headed to work on getting that cuff off. He thought about trying to do what he could for the wound but didn't want to cause any extra bleeding when it would happen all over again when the necessary supplies arrived. No the cuff was his next priority. Checking Chance's breathing again and calculating how much oxygen was left in the tank, he removed the mask and twirled the canister shut.
He sat down and positioned the hand so it was comfortable for Chance but allowed him access to the piece he needed to work on. As he tooled to expose the workings that would spring the release, he pondered the day's events. Stacking up his recent experiences with his past he compared and contrasted. It was strangely similar yet better, he would have to ponder that some more.
He felt someone watching him and looked up to see Chance watching him with a smile on his face. Guerrero changed his expression to a frown and saw Chance's smile widen, as he could tell Chance new what he was thinking. Ignoring the stare he went back trying to concentrate on the task at hand. He lost track of how long he worked in silence.
He heard the door open and his eyes shifted up to confirm it was Winston coming in, he also could smell the waft of food along with the rustle of bags full of supplies. When he looked back Chance's eyes were closed but the hint of a smile still lingered on his face. He grunted in satisfaction as the handcuff popped open. After sliding it from Chance's raw wrist he stood up to help Winston with his load.
Chance cracked his eyes back open as Guerrero slipped the open cuff into his pocket, he knew exactly what Guerrero had been thinking about, he could tell by the unguarded look on his face. He knew because not too long ago he had been there himself.