Title: Empire of the Sun
Rating: R just in case (K+)
Summary: The agents continue on their quest to find a long lost artifact in Machu Picchu.
Pairings: Myka/H.G., Myka/Roberto
Disclaimer 1: Warehouse 13 and characters are not mine, just playing around with them.
Disclaimer 2: I don't know much about military rankings or Peruvian government workings. I made it all up. Hope it's not too obvious.
This chapter has not been beta'd so sorry for any mistakes (I wrote this chapter in one sitting which I usually don't do so, I hope any mistakes aren't too distracting :)).
Feedback is greatly appreciated (especially for this chapter).
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It was silent in the small pick-up truck they were riding in; its occupants lost in their own thoughts as they slowly made their way through Cusco's deserted streets. Helena rested her head against the icy window, adjusting the scarf around her neck.
One of the few things she most certainly did not miss about living in London was the cold; she absolutely loathed the dreary, foggy days and the stuffy winter clothes. She felt Myka shiver beside her and move her frame closer to her own, unconsciously seeking warmth from the body beside her. 'Well, there are some things to be said for cold weather' Helena thought to herself as a ghost of a smile formed on her face as her eyes aimlessly skimmed the darkness outside.
"Are the streets usually this deserted?" Myka pondered out loud as she zipped her jacket all the way up and looked out the window, searching for some sign of life.
"Cusco is usually filled with drunken tourists at this hour, but with the ban on the city and all…" Roberto answered from the co-pilots seat.
"What about the residents?" Pete chimed in from his place next to Myka.
"Scared shitless" Gabriel, the man who had picked them up and was currently driving them to their next destination, provided. "No one knows exactly what's going on, but there is something in the air".
"Yeah." A reluctant Pete agreed. He had been getting bad vibes ever since their arrival that afternoon. "The rifle hasn't acted up though, that has to be a good sign, right?" The agent offered, trying to keep positive as he hugged the bound rifle tighter.
"It is the quiet before the storm." A dreary Helena assured her friend as she lightly nudged Myka with her shoulder and directed her attention to a group of six armed men blocking the street up ahead.
The vehicle slowed to a stop. "Stay here." Roberto ordered, the severity in his voice broaching no objections. The archeologist and the driver both stepped out of the vehicle and walked over to the men.
"This can't be good." Pete voiced his concern as he saw one of the armed men turn to their car and slowly make his way towards it.
"Vamos! Fuera del vehículo." The man ordered.
"He wants us to get out of the car" Helena translated. Pete leaned over Myka to get a better look at the man. He was dressed in generic black clothes, except for the bullet proof vest over his thick sweater. He was holding a rifle across his chest, his gaze impatient and expectant.
"Eh, No gracias" Pete said in his broken English. In reply, the man banged the roof of the truck; making all three agents jump. When he tried opening the locked door without success, he gave the roof one final, warning blow.
"Well, I believe it's in our best interest to do as the man holding the rifle says." Helena calmly stated, though she did not like how this situation was playing out. She could see Gabriel and Roberto arguing with two of the armed men and as Gabriel took a step towards one of them, they grabbed him and Roberto and shoved them against one of the cars blocking the road. She adjusted her Tesla before taking a deep breath and unlocking her door. When she heard the click of the lock, she turned back to her two friends, giving them a quick, encouraging nod. The man did not wait for her to step out though, swinging the door open and grabbing her roughly by the jacket as he dragged her out.
"H.G.!" Pete called out while Myka quickly followed her out of the truck, holding up her badge.
"We're not here to cause any trouble. We're Secret Service." She explained between gritted teeth as she saw the man gruffly frisk Helena. When he felt the Tesla under H.G's jacket he smiled in satisfaction and looked up at the woman who was staring at him impassively. He quickly grabbed the weapon from its holster and pulled it out, eyeing it with curious eyes.
"We need to get to Machu Picchu as soon as possible; it's - it's a matter of International Security" Myka continued to explain, hoping that the man would listen to reason. He turned at the sound of Myka's voice and sidestepped towards her. Taking the badge from her right hand, he glimpsed at it with an almost bored expression before calling out to one of his companions.
"Santiago!" A young man of about twenty came running up, nervously looking at the three agents, his gun at the ready.
Without taking his eyes off of the agent, the older man carefully leaned his rifle against the car, purposefully brushing up against the tall woman who willed herself not to roll her eyes at the gesture.
Myka felt Pete move beside her but Santiago quickly aimed his rifle at him.
"No se mueva!" he cautioned angrily. Pete was about to punch the man regardless of the obvious warning but Myka turned to him and shook her head imperceptibly; they were outnumbered and outgunned; they would have to try to talk their way out of this or wait for an opportunity to escape.
Pete looked on helplessly as Myka's aggressor pointed the Tesla over her head and fired; blue currents of electricity shot out from the weapon, making the agent gasp in fear and lean heavily against the car before turning angry eyes at him. He snorted at the furious stare before aiming the gun directly at her head while he proceeded to frisk her with slow, intentional movements.
"It's called a Tesla, do you like it? It was a gift from a dear, old friend so I'm afraid I won't be able to let you keep it." H.G. stated in perfect Spanish, making the man look up in surprise and take a step back, though the Tesla never strayed from its mark. He didn't like the way she was looking at him; there was a dangerous, almost predatory glint to her eyes but, as she turned ever so subtly towards the woman beside her, he saw the fear in their depths. His ever present smile turned defiant as he slowly unzipped Myka's jacket and removed her gun. He looked over at the younger man and wordlessly instructed him to check Pete for weapons which he found in a matter of seconds.
"Okay, are you happy? You have our guns; now can you tell us what's going on here?" A irritated Pete demanded.
Ignoring him, the guards nodded over to the group who held Roberto and Gabriel captive. There was a man holding an old walkie-talkie and he proceeded to speak into it in what H.G. and Myka could only assume was Quechua, Cusco's native language. He signaled for the men to bring the rest of the group over. Myka felt the man painfully grip her upper arm and forcefully guide her toward the others. She instinctively wrenched her arm free and pushed the man back and knew right away that that had been a mistake. His smile turned into a fuming scowl. He grabbed her by the neck and shoved her angrily against the truck before punching her in the stomach and hitting her on the side of the head with the butt of the gun.
"Puta! Maldita!" he yelled at the crouched form.
"Myka!" H.G and Pete called out in fear. H.G. moved towards the fallen woman but was blocked by Santiago. Helena wasted no time in punching him square in the face and then dropped him to the floor with a smooth front sweep. She grabbed his rifle and Pete followed suit, taking back his gun from the fallen man and knocking him unconscious.
H.G. aimed the rifle at the man standing over Myka while Pete pressed his back against hers and pointed it at the rest of the group.
"He-Helena, stop!" Myka beseeched the frantic looking woman after taking long, shuttering breaths to compose herself. She had bitten her tongue when the gun had connected with her head and the blood running down her throat was making breathing rather difficult. Three other guards stormed towards the agents as they yelled orders and circled Pete and Helena, pointing their own weapons at them.
"Pete…" Myka called out to her partner…wordlessly asking him to surrender. They would not survive an open attack; he was their best bet at defusing the situation. Pete turned to the crouching woman, his jaw set and his trigger finger itching to start shooting when he saw a thin trickle of blood run down her chin. Moments went by in which a silent war was waged between the friends; in the end, as was usually the case, Myka came out the victor. Pete sighed heavily and threw his gun down. "H.G. put the rifle down." The agent instructed the dark haired woman who had not taken her eyes off of the man who had struck Myka.
"H.G.!" he said more forcefully when the woman did not move. Helena blinked and shook her head slightly from side to side, her attention finally focusing on the words being said. She closed her eyes and unconsciously clenched her jaw; with one final glare at the man, she dropped the rifle.
They were immediately surrounded, their arms roughly pulled behind their backs.
Helena ignored it all and sought out Myka's gaze amid the commotion. "I'm okay" Myka mouthed, trying to appease the writer's obvious worry. Before they could be restrained, a car horn was heard nearby. They turned to see an old blue Ford Falcon slowly drive up the road.
When it stopped, the driver's side door opened slowly and an elderly man wearing a brown coat and black pants stepped out. Roberto pushed the guard holding him out of the way and walked up to him. The archeologist was practically foaming at the mouth after having witnessed the events of the last few minutes. He shoved the man against the car and spoke to him in a hushed, threatening voice. The agents had no clue as to what they were saying but, Roberto finally relented his hold on the shorter man with one final push. He walked passed Pete and H.G. and stopped in front of the guard who was still holding a gun to Myka. The man looked behind Roberto's left shoulder and only after getting a wordless assent from the man in the coat did he step back and walk over to the blue Falcon. Roberto crouched down and lightly held Myka's chin between gentle, callused fingers.
"Are you alright?" He asked
"I'm fine Roberto. What the hell is going on? Who is that guy?" Myka asked as she stood with the archeologist's help.
"He's Luis Calderon. He was a Colonel in the Peruvian military for many years, now he works for the National Intelligence Service , although I'm pretty sure he has his own motives for being here." He explained as he steadied the woozy looking woman.
"I apologize for Officer Torres. We've been expecting you for some time now and I'm afraid the wait has made my men a little jumpy. Cusco is not the safest place to be in right now as you well know…what with this mysterious artifact about to be exhumed."
"What? Wait…you know about the artifact?" Myka was sincerely shocked.
"Of course I do; why do you think I'm here? I was sent to keep you from taking it away from us." He said as though he were talking about the weather, though Pete instantly felt a horrible vibe at his words. He discreetly leaned towards Helena, grabbing her wrist in order to get her attention. "Be ready" Was all he dared say to the time traveler. H.G.'s eyes immediately fell from Pete to the rifle on the ground.
"Luis, the agents are here to help. Our government knows they're here…we have every authorization required to continue…and it would be in everyone's best interest if you let us through. Someone wants this artifact badly…we can't let it fall into the wrong hands." The archeologist retorted as diplomatically as possible.
"You are absolutely right my friend, we can't let the artifact fall into the wrong hands. Now, I strongly recommend that you come with me."
"Where are you planning to take us?" Myka asked.
"Oh no dear, not you…just Roberto…I have known him for many years and his father saved my life once upon a time….I'm afraid I'm under strict orders to dispose of the rest of you…I am simply giving Roberto a chance to walk away from all this." He stated absently as he turned and walked towards his car.
"What?! Luis! Are you crazy?! You won't get away with this…you think no one is going to notice three missing Secret Service Agents? " A flabbergasted Roberto yelled out to the retreating form.
"You know very well we have ways of covering these things up… Anyway, once the artifact is found, it won't really matter. I assure you my dear Roberto, you will want to be alive for what awaits us…It is our time in the Sun. Now come, I will explain everything to you and then you will see." Luis exclaimed, his smile open and inviting. It made Roberto's stomach churn.
"You know me Luis…You know I won't leave them. But I promise you, you will be seeing me again." Roberto swore, sealing his fate with his words.
The elderly man shook his head in disappointment "I thought as much…I am sorry you feel this way" He said as he turned once more. "Get rid of them and search for the rifle." He ordered as he stepped into the car and drove off, unwilling to witness Roberto's last moments.
As the car sped away, the group of agents and soldiers were cast in silence and shadow. It was then that Pete really looked at the armed men's faces. Excluding the soldier who had attacked Myka, the rest of them were no more than boys. He felt their fear rivaling his own and decided he would try and talk some sense into them. He opened his mouth to speak but a deafening shot rang out and then Roberto's guttural cry followed, silencing the agent for good. Torres had shot Gabriel in the head and was now aiming his gun at Pete. Helena quickly dove over the still unconscious soldier and grabbed the rifle, hitting the nearest man in the crotch. Pete ducked in the nick of time, barely escaping getting killed himself while Myka pushed Roberto to the ground and turned to open the car door, jumping inside to get Soraya from under the passenger seat where her partner had left it. Pete grabbed his gun and started shooting at Torres who ducked behind a car.
"Everyone, run into the fields!" Roberto shouted as he helped a weak Myka out of the car and guided her off of the road. As they reached a grove, she stopped Roberto and handed him the rifle.
"Myka…don't" He pleaded.
"Stay here…If anything happens, find a way to contact Artie. He'll keep you safe." She instructed.
The agent hastily made her way back to her friends, her vision blurry from the blow she had received. She wasn't sure how much help she would be in this state and without a weapon but, there was no way she would leave Helena and Pete behind. Whatever fate had in store for them, they would face it together. She heard gun shots and picked up her pace.
"Stop!" She heard Pete yell out frantically after a few seconds. Her heart leaped to her throat as she stood perfectly still.
"Helena" She whispered into the darkness. Something had happened to make her partner sound so frightened. Her mind went to all possible scenarios, each and every one of them making her chest clench tighter in fear. She rushed out onto the road, stealthily searching for her friends or any possible attacker. She reached their truck and crouched behind it, peering under it to see if she could make out anyone in the dark.
"Pete! Helena!" She called out. She couldn't wait any longer. She had to know they were alright.
"Myka!" She heard Pete's voice close by and almost cried with relief. She ran out to where she heard his voice to see her two friends making their way to her but, her smile quickly gave way to a horrified gasp when her bleary vision focused on Helena. She was covered in blood.
"Oh my god…Helena" She uttered with worry as she closed the distance between them and carefully placed her hands on the dark haired agent's shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. "What happened? Where are you hurt?" She inquired as she softly ran her fingers over H.G's temple and neck, searching for any wounds.
"It isn't my blood." The writer stated without emotion as she slightly flinched away from the other woman's touch and brushed passed her. A speechless Myka watched the retreating form and as her eyes settled on Helena's right hand, her heart clenched tightly once again though for a whole different reason. Helena had gotten her Tesla back.
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Thanks for taking the time to read!