Redemption

Chapter Seventy-One

Bodies lay strewn across the ground like they'd been rag dolls. Some still had their eyes opened which she knew would scar her for life, while other lay motionless, their bodies riddled with holes from a large amount of gunfire. Her breath stopped as she searched for survivors, any survivors, but her search would be futile; they were all dead.

She saw his close crop of brown hair and tears immediately sprang to her eyes as she rushed toward him. His usually warm, chocolate eyes were lifeless as he looked up at her and the dark sky beyond. Her heart crumbled to pieces at the sight, her legs almost buckling underneath her, but she had to remain standing. If she fell to the ground, she knew she would never get up.

Jack Hudson—the man she lovedwith all of her heart and soul—was dead. He'd taken a bullet to his chest, though with or without his vest, he wouldn't have survived. Casings upon casing of armor-piercing ammunition littered the ground, marking this tragedy as a massacre in its own right.

She couldn't look at him anymore; his lifeless eyes making her blood run cold. She averted her gaze, locking it on another gruesome, yet surprisingly touching, scene. Bobby's body leaned over Danni's, a hand clutched at the wound on her chest as he tried to stop to blood-flow. Even if he'd tried until he'd breathed his last breath, help wouldn't have gotten to her in time.

A loud sob escaped her, her shoulders shaking wildly as she took the final blow of this impact. She took a step back, taking the scene in and seeing her friends and family all lying dead before her. With one more sob, she crumbled to the ground, her legs no longer able to support her and she openly wept for those she'd lost.

Her eyes jerked open suddenly when she felt Levi begin to paw at her thigh. Breathing was difficult as she sat up and looked around the room, trying to decipher where she was. Taking deep breaths, she calmed her racing heart, though could still remember every eerie, morbid detail of her nightmare. She could still see the blood staining the asphalt, the multiple pairs of lifeless eyes that had stared back at her, seeing those she cared for most lying dead in the streets.

She shook the thoughts away, until the vivid pictures were only shadows in her mind's eye. She knew where she was now, the conference room. Lucy had insisted she lay down and try to get some sleep and despite her protests, she'd gotten at least a few minutes of peace before that horrid image had entered her mind.

She felt Levi's paw upon her thigh again and watched as her ears went back against his head in a whine before he turned away from her, walked to the table where she'd deposited her things, and then walked back. She understood and despite her still-clouded mind, she got up to read the new message on her blackberry.

Jacks in trouble. Needs your help.

Her heart dropped to her stomach as she read the words and a lump formed in her throat. Jack was in trouble and he needed her. She had to go to him. Quickly, she grabbed Levi's leash and led him from the conference room.

Her hands were violently shaking as she searched her key ring for the right one. The parking garage was quiet (though she wouldn't notice), the lack of movement around her was evident. She tried to focus her gaze ahead of her, but she couldn't help the feeling that she was being watched. Stopping once, she looked around at the numerous parked cars and still saw no movement. Shaking her head and laughing lightly, she continued on until Levi went rigid beside her.

"Levi!" she scolded, her heart jumping to her throat when she saw his bared teeth and his hackles on the back of his neck standing on end. If he was thinking about chasing a squirrel who'd somehow wandered in, he had another thing coming. The normally friendly-feeling garage had a cold chill that engulfed both it and her, making her feel like something was amiss.

Of course, if she could just get to her car, she would be safe. Yet, that meant getting Levi to relax before she was allowed to lead him away. She pulled on his leash, yet he wouldn't relinquish his position, his nose twitching in the air as a foul smell caught his highly-sensitive canine nose. There was someone else there with them; someone who shouldn't have been and he knew it.

"Levi, let's go," she urged with one final tug, the golden giving in to her impatience, but keeping his nose to the ground so he could track the strange scent that had claimed his attention.

Sue looked around the garage after Levi had settled, and saw nothing, but just to be safe, she decided to pick up the pace. Her gaze was once again focused in front of her and it didn't falter until her car was in sight. With a push of a button on the remote that hung from her key ring, she watched the tail-lights flicker, signaling that the doors had been unlocked. She was almost home free.

Chuckling softly as she touched the cool metal of her government-issued car, she felt safer, though couldn't help but frown. Levi wouldn't have growled if there hadn't been a reason. No squirrel or rodent of any size could warrant such attention from him.

As that thought came to her, she felt Levi go rigid again as a large shadow appeared from behind. She never hear Levi's yelp and loud whimper of pain as he was kicked aside, his leash being thrust from her hand. "Levi!" she screamed, turning to see who could have done such a thing to her loyal companion.

A scream emitted from deep within her throat but it was muffled as a large, heavy hand clamped down on her mouth, forcing her back to flatten against the side of the car. Her eyes were wide as she stared over the fingers that covered her lips, her heart was racing just by the evil glint she found in the man's eyes before they crinkled into a malicious grin when a cell phone was held up to her line of sight.

She should have seen it all along; it had been a trap.

Air was difficult to take in, the pain from his bruised ribs made them feel like they were on fire, while the rest of his body was on the verge of mind-numbing pain as it rested upon the cool concrete. Though, he couldn't remember how he got there. The last thing he remembered was Dessa's men grabbing him as soon as he'd promised Danni that he'd protect her.

He felt his blood run cold. Danni—she was still inside. He'd heard what they planned to do with her and he couldn't let that happen. With a groan, he pushed himself from the ground, despite the protest of the muscles in his arms. When his upper body was suspended above the ground, he stopped, taking as many long, deep breaths as his lungs would allow, before pushing back onto his knees.

The pain was excruciating, yet he had to block it out and get to his feet. He had to remember his training and the fact that one agent had surrendered their life for his. Danni wasn't the only one who needed him. Hudson would be outnumbered and he knew the weapons they carried, not to mention the ammunition. Then, there was the back-up plan, of course.

He started when he felt a strong hand upon his arm, assisting him to his feet. He'd been too lost in thought to notice the man was trying to talk to him as well, but he still had to ignore him. His eyes frantically scanned the surrounding buildings for the explosives. The agents were sitting ducks and they didn't even know it.

With as much strength as he could muster, he grabbed hold of his companion's vest, forcing him to look at him. He was surprised when he found himself looking at Leland—he was the last person he'd ever thought would be by his side, though he wouldn't let that thought deter him. "You have to pull the teams back," he urged, breathing heavily from pain. "There's a bomb."

Myles, being a skeptic when it came to hysteria, saw the sincerity in the man's eyes as it mixed with fear; he surely believed it was true. "Are you certain?" He knew he didn't' have to ask that question, because he did believe him, but it was the only thing that would pass across his lips. With an answering nod, Leland got on the COM-link. "D, we have a situation."

Jack's eyes narrowed in anger as the sneer returned to Dessa's lips. Giving them DeMarco wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind and he knew the terrorist knew that. Danni was the one who was supposed to be released. She was a civilian, which also meant that she was great leverage for his possible escape. Her presence benefited one side of standoff, while it was detrimental to the other.

There was some light at the end of the tunnel, though. With DeMarco on the outside, he could fill in the team to what he'd seen and heard. Of course, the amounts of each were probably very slim. He'd been unconscious since Jack had arrived, though Jack had read a lot about his agent status. He was the kind of agent who blended in with his environment, becoming like those around him. He was a chameleon, which explained how he'd come so close to Danni in the first place and weaseled his way into Dessa's ranks.

The files that had been delivered as part of his initiation were pure fabrications with hints of truth to them, but only minor enough so no one would be able to make heads or tails of the information. As far as they knew, everything he'd delivered had been pure fact.

They must have suspected something at one point, though, seeing as though they thought they were throwing him to the wolves, calling him a traitor as he was pushed into the safety of the teams' arms. He also could have been a ploy to get to Jack the entire time. Whatever the answer was, it didn't matter at this point. The focus was on getting the team inside and he was pretty sure he'd achieved a way of allowing it. There was a rear entrance to the building which a single guard had been standing in position at. They would be able to make their way inside without setback, yet whenever they entered the epicenter of the building was where the real terror would be faced. If they'd thought waiting had been torture, they were wrong.

The war was just beginning and only one team was going to end up on top. He hoped to God that it would be them.