A/N: So ummm... I kind of cut this chapter in half hahahah. And... uh... you might hate me for it. But I had to.
Thank you for taking the time out your busy days to read and/or review my story! I appreciate it a lot! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own GMW otherwise Maya would be kicking asses for real.
"I think this is the last of it Lucas." Billy said, snatching up some yellowed documents he found stashed deep in one of the drawers. "Damn. These look ancient."
Lucas didn't respond, ripping open another drawer and digging around haphazardly.
"We already pulled all of the documents and contracts and forms we could find." Billy said, frowning. "What are you looking for?"
And then Lucas straightened, holding up his father's custom black Colt pistol with a smirk. It was still in perfect condition. He checked the chamber. The single bullet was still there. Good.
"Found it."
"Your father's pistol? Nice." Billy grinned, heading over to the window. "I have to admit, Lucas. This is probably the best plan you've ever come up with. I don't think anything has gone wrong yet. Unlike that armadillo for dinner disaster when we were kids…"
Lucas gave him a dry look before turning around and walking towards the door, opening it a crack. The sound of merrymaking and raucous laughter down the corridor filled the room.
"Uh, Lucas? Our escape route is this way."
"Something's wrong." He responded, with narrowed eyes, peeking his head out of the doorway carefully.
"What do you mean something's wrong?" Billy waved around his bundle of papers pointedly, "We're done here. Nothing seems wrong to me."
"I mean something's wrong with Maya…"
Billy gave him a sly look, "You sure this isn't just you pissed off that the mayor is touching your woman?"
"She's not my woman." Lucas growled, shooting Billy an irritated glare, "And I'm talking about the fact that it's been a while since she went back to return that key."
"…Now that you mention it, yeah." Billy said, rubbing the stubble on his chin pensively, "She said she'd be back soon."
"She's not coming." Lucas said, his jaw clenched.
She had gotten into some type of trouble, no doubt. He just knew she did. How long did it take to slip a key back? Unless the mayor had caught her. Or trapped her in some way. He tried not to think about Maya being touched by that fucker of a man.
"How do you know?"
"I have a feeling…"
The stood in their respective positions in silence for a few minutes, Billy staring at Lucas expectantly.
"Well… Your inklings have never really been wrong before." Billy sighed and stuffed his papers in the holster behind his knives, "So do we leave her? That's what we decided. Every man for himself."
"Goddamn…" Lucas growled under his breath in annoyance, "No. Let's go find that idiot."
A mischievous grin appeared on Billy's face, "Whatever you say, Lucas."
He walked out the office door with Lucas, heading through the corridor to get to the main hall. Lucas walked briskly, his glare etched in his face and fists clenched.
"So what are we going to do? You do realize a lot of these men know that I'm a fugitive and an enemy of the mayor." Billy said a small smile on his face, tugging out his two guns and cocking them, "And they'll probably try to get you out of association."
"We'll do what we always do." Lucas replied, a similar smile on his face as he pulled out his own pistol. "Butt in unannounced and start a shootout."
And then they both stepped out of the corridor and into the parlor and shot off a couple rounds into the ceiling. Billy shot the chandelier above their heads and the bulb busted with a loud crash of glass. The lights cut off immediately. There were high pitched screams and alarmed shouts as women ducked for cover and men cowered, protecting themselves. A few of the other men pulled out their own guns, and waved them around, trying to find the source of the disruption of their evening.
Lucas wouldn't lie. The looks of surprise when people saw them never ceased to amuse him. He loved this part.
"Where the hell is Mayor Jed?" Lucas shouted.
"You've got a lot of nerve, boy," One of the mayor's more active advisors said from the side, pointing his pistol at them both, "coming in here and starting some shit."
"Where is the mayor?" Lucas growled, glancing at him impassively.
"Ha!" he barked with laughter. "You think we'll tell you any–"
Without a word, Lucas turned his wrist and shot at the man, hitting his hat and knocking it clean off of his head. The man yelped and ducked his head, dropping his gun and cowering. These men liked to act tough, but Lucas knew, under duress, they were almost completely useless.
"D-don't just stand there!" one of the other men shouted, "Kill them both!"
A barrage of bullets rang through the air. Billy spun around another corner, hiding behind the wall and peeking out to shoot every couple of seconds. Lucas jumped across the floor, rolling to get behind the couch. It was an arguably stupid idea to create such a mess, but he needed the distraction down here. That way, it'd make it harder for the mayor's guard to get to him if they were so preoccupied with retaining control. Cory, who had hidden behind the couch as soon as he heard shots, cautiously peered over the top as bullets whizzed by and men started fighting one another.
"Lucas?!" Cory exclaimed, completely surprised to see him there. "What the hell is going on?"
If Maya was in trouble, Lucas had a feeling her father was most likely compromised as well. And that meant the rest of her family was in danger.
He turned to Cory, "No time to discuss it, Mr. Matthews. You need to get out of here immediately and go protect your family."
"I don't understand."
"Look, sir." Lucas grasped his shoulders, "Maya got into some trouble. I'm trying to save her before she gets herself killed. But the rest of your family will probably be in danger. So get out of here."
His eyes widened, horrified, the breath stolen from his lungs. "Maya's in trouble?"
"I'll save her, sir." Lucas asserted. "But she needs a family to go back to. You need to go."
Cory stared at him for a second, eyes flitting about in worry, but then nodded, slowly at first, then more resolutely.
"How do I get out?"
"I'll clear a path."
Then Lucas stood up and shot the glasses out of some of the men's hands. He used himself as a distraction, dodging the counter shots and attacks until he saw out of the corner of his eye that Cory had gotten safely out of the parlor and was making his way to the door.
Lucas heard a scared squeal nearby and turning, saw one of the more deplorable men on top of one of the smaller girls, pinning her to the ground with his hand. He was clearly trying to tear apart her skirts. With a disgusted growl, Lucas yanked the man off of the girl by the back of his collar and pulled him up so he was glowering down at him. The girl rearranged her skirts and scampered off, running to a safer corner of the room amidst all the violence and wildness.
"Where the fuck is Maya?" Lucas hissed, rattling the man, who was shaking and turning pink in fright.
"I-I don't know any Maya!"
"A short blonde woman wearing a black dress." He growled, eyes narrowed dangerously. "Where did she go?"
"Th-the mayor took her!" he said, raising his hands placatingly, "I swear I had nothing to do with it! Please don't kill me!"
"Where did he take her?"
The man pointed a shaking hand towards the stairs. Lucas dropped him abruptly on the ground, and spun around, racing over to the foot of the stairwell.
"Billy! I'm getting Maya!" Lucas shouted over the noise of bullets.
"Go Lucas! I've got things under control down here!"
Shoving a man out of his way, Lucas fended off his attack and rushed up the stairs, knowing he didn't have much time. Jed's guards were on alert somewhere downstairs and no doubt they had heard the commotion and were coming after them now. He got to the landing, breathing hard and trying to figure out which room they could be in. There were too many different rooms. And it would take too much time to search every single one.
And then he heard it.
A cry of agony so deafening and anguished that his heart stopped for a moment and fear gripped his stomach.
Maya.
Lucas ran down the hall and went to the door from which the noise had come. Without hesitation, he planted his boot right in the center, kicking it brutally open. The door burst open on its hinges, smashing into the opposite wall with a loud bang and cracking the wall.
"Lucas…" Maya said, an unmistakable gasp of relief passing through her lips.
His eyes dropped to the image before him. Maya was battered and bruised and almost unrecognizable from all the blood on her face and hair. There was so much blood on the ground he couldn't even tell where it was coming from or what wounds she had. She looked up at him blearily in slight shock, the crystal blue eyes looking worn and like she was seconds from resigning to her fate and giving up. Her dress was in tatters and hitched up around her waist. Jed was on top of her legs, in the process of removing his pants.
And Lucas saw red.
Mayor Jed stared up at him wide eyed, shocked and looking like he'd seen a ghost.
"L-Lucas–"
With an enraged snarl, Lucas knocked him off of her with a well-placed, harsh kick directly to Jed's chest. Jedediah tumbled off of her with a grunt, his legs twisted in his pants preventing him from getting control of himself. He hit his bed frame and groaned, trying to right himself.
It wasn't enough.
Lucas stormed past Maya and yanked out his father's pistol, aiming at Jed. Jed looked up at him, the bitter, malicious green eyes daring him to shoot. Lucas's eyes narrowed dangerously, his eyes blazing with rage. All he wanted was to shoot the motherfucker and kill him so badly. All he had to do was pop a cap in him and everything would be over. He wouldn't have to live in this nightmare where Jed was allowed to roam free and live his life as he wanted. He wouldn't have to remember walking into his parent's office and seeing them sprawled on the ground. He wouldn't ever have to remember Uncle Jed standing over them with his demented smile and hands dripping with blood. Lucas tightened his finger on the trigger.
"Lucas." Maya groaned from behind him, her voice strained with pain, "Lucas, don't!"
He grit his teeth, hand shaking. All he had to do was pull the trigger.
"Lucas, stick to the plan." She growled again, before she took in a sharp breath, "And shit. Can you get this out of my hand please?"
"Dammit!"
Closing his eyes momentarily and controlling himself, he put the pistol back in his holster and went back to Maya, stooping down to her. She was bleeding like crazy. He had to take care of her immediately.
"What the fuck happened to you?" he snapped, tearing off a strip from the bottom of his shirt. There was a nasty purple bruise under one of her eyes, and Lucas felt his anger increase tenfold. "You said you had this shit under control!"
"I did…" she moaned and winced when he accidentally jostled the knife shoved through her hand. "Until this psychotic piece of shit decided to play 'let's torture the whore'."
Lucas' jaw clenched tightly, and he grasped the handle of the knife, "This is going to hurt."
"Hurt as much as getting stabbed did? I don't think–"
He tore it out of her hand and the floor, and Maya screamed out, letting out an extremely foul word that most women would faint to hear. It would have been amusing, had the situation not been so dire. He tenderly picked up her hand, amidst her protests and violent jerking and wrapped the piece of shirt tightly around it.
"Put pressure on it." he ordered, helping her get to her knees, "We need to go. There are people coming after us."
Maya's breathing was harsh and her eyes were closed tightly. She looked like she was trying so hard not to cry, though several tears slipped out of her eyes as she pressed down on the wound in her shaking hand. Sighing, he wiped them with his thumb, the feeling of relief that passed through his body almost all-encompassing.
"Maya. You're going to be okay." He said softly. He honestly wasn't sure if it was more for his reassurance or hers.
She opened her glassy blue-gray eyes and met his gaze slowly, her expression grateful. Her nose was swollen, and he could see that she was bleeding from her neck, but she still had that dangerous, slightly mischievous spark in her eyes. She wasn't broken. And that was good enough for him.
"Well, well, well…" Mayor Jed said, pulling his pants back up his legs. They both turned to him with glares. "If it isn't little Lucas Carson, all grown up. I thought you were dead."
"The name is Lucas Friar. I gave up that name when you ruined my life."
"You took your mother's maiden name, I see." Jed replied, laughing coldly.
"What?" Maya turned to Lucas in shock, "Lucas Carson? But that would mean…"
Her eyes widened. He was related to Jed. The words her mother had told her suddenly came back to her. About the mayor Jesse and his wife and son. Was Lucas…?
"Nevermind that." Lucas said, pulling Maya to her feet. She quickly pulled her dress down with a blush. "We're leaving."
"You're leaving where?" Jed cackled, "My men are coming any second. You won't be leaving here alive."
"We'll see about that." Lucas ushered Maya out of the door. Before he left, he turned around and pierced Jed with a contemptuous glare. "This isn't over Jed. I'm gonna come back eventually and when I do, I'll kill you."
He ran out after Maya and could hear shouting voices and people stomping up the stairs to come to the mayor's aid.
"Shit. We can't go this way."
Not to mention the whole shoot-out down there. There was no way he and Maya could get out unscathed with her injured so badly.
"C'mon. We're going this way."
"Further into the mansion?" she said incredulously, hobbling after him, her balance off and her running unsteady. "Isn't the goal to get out?"
"There's another set of stairs in the back that lead to the kitchen. We can escape through there." he eyed her warily, noting how with every step she took, she winced or cringed in pain. She was lagging behind and honestly, they needed as much speed as possible to get out. "Maya, do you want me to carry you?"
She eyed him in irritation, curling her lip in disgust.
"I'm not some damsel in distress. I can take care of myself."
"You're clearly in a lot of pain."
She stopped running, and crossed her arms, "And? If you think I'm going to let you carry me for one second, you've got another think coming."
He let out an exasperated breath and turned to face her, narrowing his eyes. Maya couldn't run well in the heeled boots and the tight dress was definitely slowing her down. Why the hell was she being so difficult?
"You're clearly bleeding out and fucked up yet now you choose to be stubborn? Really?"
"Where's Billy?" she ignored his comment, turning up her nose, persistent in her refusal.
"He's downstairs trying to create a diversion." He gestured to the dress, "If you won't let me carry you, then I'm making it easier for you to run."
Before she could object, Lucas crouched and tore a long slit up the front of the skirt part of the dress. Just about enough for her to be able to move her legs freely.
She stared at him open mouthed and appalled. "Do you know how expensive this dress was?! It's not even mine!"
"That's what you're worried about right now." He said, blank look on his face, "A damn dress when we're about to get our asses killed by some crazy men."
She snarled at him, but they continued to run in the direction he indicated. Her gait was noticeably less obstructed. He could hear some people shouting to find them from where they had left Jed. At least they were almost there. They rounded the corner to head to the second stairwell and promptly came to an abrupt stop when they almost collided with another group of Jed's guards. The men jumped them with shouts, trying to stop them from leaving.
"Fuck!" Maya exclaimed, kicking someone away when they tried to grab at her. "What now?!"
Lucas stood somewhere behind her, punching away another member and pushing off another who tried to hold his arms down. There were a lot of them, and it was difficult for him to assess the situation. He couldn't even tell who had weapons out or not. He looked over his shoulder at Maya, at least she was holding her own against these men. They could try to escape past all the men, but that would mean fighting their way through and clearly, that would require more energy than they had to give.
And then he heard the bang of a gunshot and felt a sharp, stinging pain in his arm. He grunted, startled by it and turned to the right. The man who had shot him loaded another bullet and cocked the gun, his eyes dancing wildly in the light of the hall.
"Whores that disobey need to pay!" he howled with laughter.
Lucas' eyes widened, and his face blanched.
"Maya!"
He spun around just as another bang went through the air. In horror, he watched Maya cry out and hit the ground. Without a second thought, Lucas grabbed the guy and decked him hard under the chin, feeling satisfaction when he felt the bones crack. The man fell backwards, crashing into one of the large windows and breaking it. He flailed about, gripping the sill and trying to keep his balance, but Lucas kicked him in the chest. He fell out through the hole with a bellow and tumbled down below.
Lucas turned around to the bent over Maya, unbelievably glad to see Maya grimacing on the ground and moving. She was holding her shin. The man had been a terrible shot—and no doubt drunk—and missed her head by a wide margin.
"What the hell is this?!" she choked, watching a blood spewed from her leg. "Fuck up Maya day?"
He stared at her, a little shocked at how badly she was bleeding everywhere. One of the injured men was shouting for more reinforcements. Things were getting out of control. They had to get the fuck out. And now.
And he had just the idea of where to leave from.
"Maya, give me your hand. I'm carrying you."
"No." She glared up at him stubbornly, "I can walk."
She tried to force herself up, but then toppled to the ground, flinching violently when her leg refused to cooperate.
Fed up with her obstinacy, with an irritated growl, he yanked her up without prelude and tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She squeaked in surprised and blushed wildly, hitting his back with her uninjured hand.
"Put me down you Neanderthal! I can walk fine!"
"Are you serious right now? I'm trying to save us both!"
Maya gasped behind him, "They're coming up the stairs! Get moving!"
And he climbed up onto the sill of the window, looking down onto the brambles and the darkness below with trepidation. They were right above the office. And at least Clutterbucket was nearby for a quick getaway. He couldn't think of any other way for them to get out of this.
"Are you nuts?!" Maya shrieked, "We're on the second story!"
"I think I am." He said.
And he jumped.