It had been 2 days since Aramis and D'artagnan had first gone missing and they had finally found something. An address for a warehouse about 5 miles from Paris, owned by the man that had taken them. Athos and Porthos were silent as they drove, having ignored Treville's orders to stay put. They'd been receiving emails from Elijah twice a day and each one grew more and more violent.
After the second video, Treville had ordered them to stop watching them, knowing the knowledge that their friends were being hurt in such a way wasn't helping them. But it still lingered in the back of their minds, especially Athos. He was the one responsible for this.
"We need a plan." Porthos said, pulling into a layby about a half hour from the warehouse. Athos hadn't wanted to stop, wanted to keep going but he also knew Porthos was right. If they went in with no plan none of them would be coming out again.
"I would suggest stealth is our best option." Athos replied, pulling up the satellite images on his laptop. "The problem is finding Aramid and D'artagnan when we get in there." Porthos only shrugged and Athos sighed. The best way in was through the back door, which hopefully wouldn't have any guards on it. If they could get past the guards and find Aramis and D'artagnan they should be fine. But if they couldn't or were held up for too long then the chances of getting back out were extremely unlikely.
"We don't have a choice." Porthos said, guessing what Athos was planning. "The back door's the best entry point and it's not like we have a map to show us where they are." Athos nodded, putting the laptop away and motioned for Porthos to start driving again.
…
Everything hurt. That was the only way D'artagnan could describe it. The last time he'd been taken out of the room, the chair had been gone and a group of men had repeatedly kicked him over and over with steel capped shoes. Now D'artagnan would be surprised if any part of his body wasn't covered in bruises. His breathing was off to and he could only guess one of his ribs was broken, though thankfully hadn't punctured anything. Yet.
He hadn't told Aramis about that though. D'artagnan hadn't wanted to worry her when it was obvious she was in just as much pain. The cut on her head had started bleeding again and D'artagnan was growing more and more concerned about her as she couldn't seem to focus on one thing.
D'artagnan had tried to escape after the first time Aramis was taken away but he'd received a broken collarbone for his troubles and hadn't tried since. As it was he was barely able to stay conscious for longer than an hour. The pain, dehydration and hunger catching up to him.
The door to their make-shift prison banged open and the guards pushed Aramis back inside. This time when she fell to the floor, she didn't get back up again. Disregarding his screaming limbs, D'artagnan hobbled over to her and knelt on the floor, gently shaking Aramis until she groaned and opened her eyes.
Her pupils were seriously dilated and for a second Aramis didn't seem to recognise D'artagnan but then she smiled and pushed herself up from the ground, wincing at the motion. Blood coated the right side of her face and D'artagnan gently lifted a hand to touch it only to have Aramis flinch away. The motion made her groan a little louder and her eyes closed, fighting off a dizzy spell.
"You okay?" He asked concern lacing his tone.
"Just peachy." She replied and D'artagnan couldn't help but smile a little. At least she was alright enough to joke. "I think it's time we broke out of here." Aramis' voice was a little hazy and this time it was D'artagnan who had to be the voice of reason.
"Probably, but first you need to sleep." Aramis didn't even bother trying to move over to the wall, just curled up were she'd fell and was asleep in seconds. A thought ran in D'artagnan's mind that people with head injuries weren't meant to sleep and he should probably have tried to make her stay awake but his pain addled brain just didn't seem to realise this as he dropped himself onto the floor next to her and closed his eyes.
…..
Getting into the warehouse was the easy part. No one was standing guard at the back door and as Porthos and Athos crept through the building, separated into a number of different hallways that led to a number of doors, they didn't meet anyone. "How many men do you think he has?" Porthos whispered and Athos shrugged.
Athos knew splitting up would be easier but he also didn't want to be separated if they ran into trouble. As they passed each door, Athos wondered seriously about how they were going to find Aramis and D'artagnan.
A shout rang out from behind them and Porthos swore loudly as Athos turned and shot the man in the chest. The sound of footsteps appeared and the two chose a door at random, thankful that it was open. "I have an idea." Porthos whispered, stopping Athos from closing the door fully. Athos nodded wondering what Porthos was going to do.
The bigger musketeer kept the door ajar and when the final man ran past it, he opened it and grabbed him. Athos quickly helped Porthos drag the man into the room, holding a hand in place to stop him screamed. "I'm going to remove my hand and you are not going to scream." Athos said, calmly.
When the man didn't scream, Porthos said, "Where is Aramis and D'artagnan?" The man looked at him confused and Porthos repeated. "A young boy and a woman who you kidnapped." His tone was angry and the man flinched away from the bigger man, knocking into Athos as he did so.
"I'll take you to them; just don't kill me, please." Athos and Porthos shared a look before nodding, pushing the man out in front of them.
He led them down another corridor before stopping at a door. Porthos went to open it but shook his head. "It's locked."
"Well, they already know we're here." Athos sighed; knowing that by now the guards would be coming after them. Porthos nodded and broke the lock with the but of his pistol before pushing it inside.
Aramis and D'artagnan were asleep but at the sound of the door opening, both started awake. "Porthos? Athos?" D'artagnan asked, staggering to his feet. Aramis followed, though paused halfway.
"You two alright?" Porthos asked but knew the answer before he asked. D'artagnan had a hand around his ribs and was covered head to toe in bruises of different colours. Aramis hadn't fared much better but the dried blood covering the side of her face was a cause for concern.
Athos allowed D'artagnan to wrap an arm around his shoulders as Porthos wrapped an arm around Aramis' waist. "Can you shoot, Aramis?"
She seemed to consider this for a moment before shrugging and taking the pistol. It wasn't particularly reassuring when Porthos started to move and she almost fell over but there wasn't a lot they could do about the situation. Athos handed D'artagnan a pistol before saying, "Stay close to us."
The man that had taken them here was then knocked out by Porthos and they were quickly off down the corridor. Athos cursed when he realised that neither Aramis nor D'artagnan would be able to keep the pace he wanted when D'artagnan stumbled and hissed. Athos hefted D'artagnan a little closer to him, in order to prevent the younger man from stumbling again.
Glancing over his shoulder, Athos saw that Porthos was keeping up a one-sided conversation as Aramis' glazed eyes drifted shut. This wasn't going to work, Athos realised when he heard footsteps coming from behind them but he also knew they couldn't stop.
Porthos and he shared a look and the bigger man frowned but nodded. "What?" D'artagnan groaned out as Athos started to half drag the younger man down the corridor at a dead run.
"I'm sorry D'artagnan, but we need to get out of here now." Athos apologised as another hiss of pain passed through D'artagnan's clenched teeth and a shot rang out from behind them.
Porthos cursed and repositioned his hold and Aramis to shoot behind them. Her grip on the pistol was barely there but she still managed to fire a shot behind them. It was nowhere near as accurate as usual but at least it hit its' mark. "Come on, 'Mis, you need to stay awake. I can't carry you and fight at the same time." Porthos pleaded as Aramis' eyes drooped a little. When she looked up at him with glazed brown eyes he was seriously concerned, especially seeing as a fresh stream of blood was pouring down from the cut in her head. "Shit, Athos, Aramis isn't going to hold out much longer." Porthos shouted, as Athos turned and made a shot.
D'artagnan was lagging as well, barley staying upright as Athos hauled him through the door that led into daylight. Aramis and D'artagnan grimaced as the sun hit them and in the daylight, Athos could better see their injuries. "Just a little further, Aramis." Porthos was muttering into Aramis' hair as they made their way to the car. Athos was extremely glad they'd parked close by as he unlocked it and positioned D'artagnan in the front seat. Porthos got Aramis into the back seat but before he could climb inside, Athos handed him the car keys. "Get them to a hospital."
"Athos, don't." Porthos yelled, grabbing a hold of Athos' shirt. "You can't." Porthos glared, shoving the older man into the back seat with Aramis. He went to go back out but Aramis grabbed a hold of the back of his shirt as Porthos slammed the door shut.
Hitting the accelerator, Porthos sped out of the yard, ducking a little as a shot hit the window. The glass cracked but before another shot could come and shatter it completely they were gone from the warehouse. "Call Treville." Porthos said, glaring at Athos in the mirror as the older man pulled out his phone.
"Treville's sending a team." Athos replied, not meeting Porthos' gaze in the mirror as he absentmindedly stroked Aramis' hair, which had fallen out of its customary knot.
"Keep her awake." Porthos growled, seeing Aramis gaze droop again. Athos nodded and pulled Aramis closer to lean on him, humming under his breath. "You alright?" Porthos asked, seemingly satisfied Athos was looking after Aramis.
D'artagnan nodded but a hiss erupting from D'artagnan's mouth when they went over a bum made Porthos give him a disapproving gaze. "I think I have a broken rib, or two. And a broken collarbone." D'artagnan grinned a little sheepishly but he was deathly pale and Porthos hoped he wouldn't start coughing up blood anytime soon.
"We'll be at the hospital soon." Porthos promised, hitting the accelerator again. The faster they got there the quicker they could get help for their friends.
….
An hour later Athos and Porthos were sitting in the waiting area of the hospital. Porthos was pacing up and down the hallway as Athos stared blankly at his hands. "What the hell were you thinking?" Porthos finally growled out, startling Athos from his gaze. "If you'd gone in there I would have had to follow you and then what would have happened to Aramis and D'artagnan."
"You would have taken them to the hospital."
"And let you get killed." Porthos clenched his fists, the anger he had been feeling since Aramis and D'artagnan had gone missing finally coming out.
"This was my fault. They were taken because of me." Athos muttered and all of Porthos' anger drained out at his friends' vulnerable tone. "They could have died because of me."
"It wasn't your fault." When Athos didn't listen, he pulled Athos' face t look at him. "Athos, this wasn't your fault. That man was a madman that was why he took Aramis and D'artagnan. Not because of you." Athos went to protest but Porthos shook his head. "You did your job. We all know the risks and no one is blaming you so stop blaming yourself." Athos didn't reply for a log moment but finally he nodded.
Treville walked into the waiting room about an hour later. "The men have been arrested and charged." He said, taking a seat next to Athos and Porthos. "How are they?"
"No word yet." Athos said and Treville looked worriedly at the broken quality to Athos' voice.
A doctor appeared at the door then and Athos, Porthos and Treville stood up. "Are they alright?" Porthos asked instantly.
"They're both severely dehydrated. D'artagnan has suffered 3 broken ribs, a broken collarbone and a dislocated shoulder. Aramis has a large concussion as well as a broken wrist. Both have a number of bruised ribs as well as a number of minor injuries. But they are alive."
"Can we see them?" Athos asked and the doctor nodded, leading them down the hospital corridor.
Aramis and D'artagnan were in the same room and both were sleeping on the white hospital beds. Athos stopped dead at the door as he took his two friends in. D'artagnan was pale on the white hospital bed and an IV drip was attached to his arm. Athos could see the part of the bandages wrapped around the young mans' chest from under the hospital gown. Aramis wasn't much better, with a stark white bandage wrapped around her head and her hand in a cast.
But they were alive and that was what mattered. That they were alive and would get better.