Bruised
A/N: I'm really sorry this chapter took so long guys! I was in exams and everything just came up at once and I never found the time to write. I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter Ten – Worth Dying For
Now in the
White flames of burning flags we
Found a world worth dying for, yeah
We've been battered so hard that we don't
Feel anymore
- Worth Dying For by Rise Against
SANGALA, AFRICA
"Jack it's me, you copy?" Chase spoke into the two-way radio with a glance over his shoulder. Michelle had slid to the floor and was tugging the blanket over herself. Turning back to focus on the group of men ahead, Chase saw Tony's knuckles tighten on the steering wheel a little.
"I copy, what's up?"
"Fourth checkpoint is in use. We're getting pulled over."
"Roger that; let us know what happens."
"Good morning," Tony rolled down his window and stared at the soldier through his sunglasses.
"Morning."
The soldier flexed the fingers holding his rifle and glanced at Chase.
"Americans."
"Yeah," Tony nodded gruffly. "What's the problem?"
"Just routine. General Juma likes to know who's moving within his country. What's your business here?"
"Work. Photography," Tony explained helpfully, deciding a sarcastic remark about whose country it really was probably wouldn't do them any good. "We're doing a piece on the damage caused along the southwest coast caused by all the rain you guys had last fall. Observing the wildlife and stuff."
The soldier studied them curiously, eyes shifting to the backseat.
"General Juma does not like Americans, you see. I'm sure you know we've been having problems these last few months. There's an American funded school for boys a ways back. You wouldn't happen to have been there, would you?"
Tony shook his head casually. "Nope. Not a lot of people where we were."
The soldier frowned, still looking suspicious. Chase tensed reflexively as the man stepped closer. His eyes turned towards where Michelle lay hidden.
"What's in the back?"
"Equipment," Tony answered without missing a beat.
The soldier stepped back and moved towards the back door, reaching for the handle.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Tony snarled, throwing open the door open and starting to step out. A rifle immediately landed on him to keep him at bay.
Beneath a pile of blankets and bags on the floor of the backseat Michelle heard Tony's protests and the rifle lock. Her eyes squinted shut and she forced herself to take a deep, soundless breath.
"Open the back," The soldier ordered.
Tony's heart pounded in his throat but he managed to keep his voice neutral.
"Our equipment back there is really delicate. You can't just be - "
"Open the back," The soldier snarled. "Now."
Tony's eyes shifted briefly to Chase as Michelle shifted a little, fingers tightening around her pistol and preparing to make her move. It had to be timed perfectly. Too soon and she would reveal herself when it might not have been necessary, too late and she would be dead or worse. Her breath came a little faster as she heard the door open and felt two people move closer. Her back ached painfully from trying to meld to the shape of the floor but she didn't dare shift. The bag positioned on top of her thigh was moved and her whole body tensed in anticipation. A minute later the bag was dropped back and then whoever it was pulled away. Seconds later, she heard voices again.
"You may continue."
Even without seeing his face she could sense Tony rolling his eyes. Soon enough the door had been closed and she heard Tony climb back into the driver's seat. He started the ignition and grumbled a thanks out the open window before accelerating smoothly away from the checkpoint.
"Stay down, Michelle…" the worry was apparent in his voice now. "I'll tell you when to move."
"'Kay. Is it ok - ?"
"I think so but we can't be too careful…Call Jack and let him know what happened. We got lucky, but they're definitely gonna have problems."
Michelle shivered a little despite the sweltering heat. She didn't like the sound of that.
"Jack, they were asking about the school as well. You're not gonna make it past the checkpoint without something happening, and they had at least two trucks and guys with machine guns. There's no way I'd risk that."
"Copy," Jack responded to Chase's alert and glanced at Rick whose jaw had clenched. They'd both known this was a possibility and had talked it over to exhaustion the night before when everyone else was asleep. If Tony and Chase had problems they had to take the chance on foot. Rick's hands tightened on the steering wheel and he glanced into the rearview mirror where Alex lay across the bench on her back. She looked worried.
"We're going on foot now?" she checked. They both heard Jack exhale and indicate to Rick.
"Pull over. We'll need to hide the car before we go anywhere."
"What about the mines?" the nervousness in Alex's voice was apparent to both men. Rick's brow creased.
"We'll take our time. It'll be fine."
Alex clamped down on her lip, willing herself to believe him.
The streets of the city were busy, but for that Tony was grateful. It made it easier for them to blend in. They still stood out. As dangerous as it would be for Alex, Rick and Jack to be walking through a potential minefield it was almost equally as dangerous to be waiting around the streets of Sangala. They were out of the territory Juma's men were said to cover, but that didn't mean the situation couldn't change for the worse very quickly. Juma's forces were moving; a lot could happen in the time it took the rest of their group to meet up with them.
Not once had either Michelle or Chase even asked about leaving for the airport without the rest of their party, though it was probably the safer option for the three of them. Sitting around an airport might make them more identifiable if anyone on Hammond's end was scanning the security footage to try and get a lead on where Alex was. For that reason they needed to spend as little time in the airport as possible. They felt more exposed as they were, but they were probably safer in the long run. At least they were armed here.
"How long do you think they'll be?"
Tony bit his lip. He didn't know.
"I wanna try and see if I can get a feel for any changes in Juma's patterns. You stay - "
"I'll do that, Tony." Chase declared after a moment. "I've got a British passport. They might be more willing to talk if I don't say I'm American."
Tony lifted an eyebrow.
"You sure?"
"Yeah…" Chase insisted. "I'm not going far. Stay by the car in case we get any word from Jack. Use the satellite phone if you need me."
As Chase disappeared down the street Michelle stepped into the crook of Tony's arm and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. His fingers pressed through her t-shirt and she sighed.
"Any idea what we'll do next?"
"It was Hammond," Tony blurted out suddenly. "Whosent uh…y'know…after us to get Alex and he's the one who orchestrated the escape from Transport. It had to be. They didn't know she'd been captured by the Chinese for like a month and then they just assumed she was dead with the rest of the team. When…" he bit his lip. "When Bill and Rick left so suddenly Hammond must've known something was up and followed the trail I guess. That's why we got ambushed in London. We can't keep running forever like this. That's why Jack and Rick came back. We've gotta do something to stop them or she'll be running like this forever."
"He hasn't talked to Bill yet? Or Karen?"
"No. He was trying to get in contact with them after we landed but he didn't get through. We'll have to try again after we figure out where the hell we're going?"
"Where else is there?"
Tony sighed. He had no idea.
"We'll work it out, alright? We're not there yet. Let's just get everyone to the airport in one piece and we'll worry about what next then."
Michelle looked uncertain but nodded as he squeezed his arm around her shoulders.
"Okay."
The transition from one wobbly rock to the next would've been a stretch for Alex on the best of days. Her legs weren't long enough to get there without jumping and she worried her lip between her teeth as she watched Rick go first with relative ease. Turning back to her and Jack he held out his hands for her to go next. Being the girl in a group of guys wasn't new to her, but she was usually at least as good as the guys she was with. Rick and Jack were a completely different story. It was easy to feel like a hindrance when one of the two of them was constantly checking to make sure you were able to keep up. Without six months of interrogation Alex would've had her work cut out for herself trying to keep up with the pair of them, but now it was a nightmare.
And still, Rick offering her himself to grab onto didn't make her feel like she was the stupid girl who was kidding herself trying to play with the big boys…like she'd felt back at Langley. No, all that really resonated was that he was doing it because obviously (even more obviously after the night before) he cared. He wasn't doing it because he was annoyed and trying to hurry her along, he was doing it because he cared.
His hands tightened around hers as he pulled her up to the next level of the rocks and released her to turn back to Jack, who almost made the jump with little effort.
"Carl said it would level out after the river. Then we just have to worry about the mines. This route was harder though. People are less likely to take it so it's less likely to have a lot of them. We just have to watch our step."
Rick's eyes found Alex's and he brushed his hand against hers as they started to move again, promising her wordlessly that it'd be fine. He'd make it fine.
What triggered it exactly she wasn't sure, but starting to move forward again startled something within her. Talk of booby traps and Juma's men made her realize she might not get another chance and she didn't want this left up in the air any longer than it had to be.
"Jack, I still need to talk to you," she called to his back. Rick shot her a curious look as Jack slowed to a stop and waited for her to catch up.
"You really think now is the best time - ?"
"Carl showed me the picture," she stated crisply, ignoring his comment.
Jack's face remained neutral.
"What picture?"
"Cut the crap, Jack, you know exactly what picture. The one of you and my dad and…in Serbia."
Jack saw Rick watching him with obvious disbelief and his jaw tightened.
"In four months you never thought to mention that?" Alex growled. "Never thought I might want to know something like that?"
"I didn't want to give you more to worry about at the time - "
"Bullshit," her voice was still at a normal pitch but her eyes blazed angrily at him. "What else aren't you telling me?"
"What do you mean?" Jack's expression changed slightly but Alex didn't seem to notice.
"I mean that you left him in Serbia to get tortured? That you left him to turn into whatever…" tears flooded her eyes and she cursed herself for being such a girl.
"I don't know what the hell happened over there, but I know when he left he didn't look at her the way he did when he came back!" her words caught in her throat and she gulped. Jack's face, however, had flooded with relief.
"So…what?" She gesticulated in exasperation. "Was rescuing me some sort of…way of making yourself feel better? Since you screwed over him?"
"It wasn't like that. He wasn't tortured and we didn't abandon him."
Alex made a face. "What else was there?"
Jack suddenly looked away and she stared at him, pressing closer.
"Jack…" she hissed under her breath. "What else could've possibly done that to him…"
"Serbia was a tough mission, Alex. We lost a lot of good men. All I meant was he didn't…we didn't leave him."
"You're lying to me!" she exclaimed angrily.
"I'm sorry I can't tell you what you want to hear."
"You have to tell me! I have to know - "
"It was a long time ago - "
"My mom is dead because of whatever happened to him over there, so if you know something…I deserve to know too!"
Jack's eyes deadened and Alex knew she wasn't getting anymore in that instant.
"I'm sorry. I've told you everything I can. The rest…" he bit his lip. "The rest died with your father."
She didn't believe him, but she let it be. She'd get to the bottom of it sooner or later. Of that she was certain.
They'd reached the edge of the trees and Jack halted them, peering into the clearing by another river. Jack inched forward, surveying the surroundings as Rick's hand pressed against Alex's abdomen and eased her back against him. His eyes darted around them quickly before he dropped his lips to her ear.
"You okay?" His hand brushed across her stomach as she nodded.
"I'm just tired. I can't keep up."
"We're almost there…"
"If something happens - "
"Between Jack and I we're uh…" his lips bumped her shoulder, not in a kiss but just as a means of connection. She shivered slightly, leaning back into him. Goddamnit, she'd missed having him this close. She'd missed having him this close every fucking night since she'd left and it had been leaving that had made her appreciate it. It had been leaving that made her realize that liking to cuddle up with him on the couch didn't make her anything less than what she was, and that maybe it wasn't the end of the world to not have an entire bed to yourself at night; that maybe she kind of loved sharing her space with him. Maybe she kind of always had.
He shifted impossibly closer and breathed against her neck.
"We'll have ya covered, alright?"
Her head angled towards him slightly and she managed a weak smile.
"Yeah, I know," she breathed.
"Everything looks clear. We have to move," Jack called hoarsely, eyes taking in the scene before them. Rick didn't release her right away, but he nodded, urging Alex forward.
Tony sat on the curb behind the truck in the relatively deserted street. The setting sun meant most of the locals had disappeared back to their homes and they were more exposed now. His eyes scanned everything constantly as if afraid what they might encounter.
There was also possibility the second round of assassins was on to them and would be looking for them. He'd had no word from Jack in several hours and for all he knew at least one of them had been blown up somewhere along the road. Tony cringed internally, remembering Jack's parting words. They were to linger around for a little while longer and then they had to move. They had to assume the worst and move on.
The problem was his brother was out there…his friends were out there…he didn't want to leave them unless he knew for sure. But knowing Jack, they would make it back before the deadline, even if they had to carry Alex the entire way.
He hadn't told Michelle about the time constraint. He didn't want to worry her or Chase. That was something they would deal with when the time came.
"There has to be something we can be doing right now," Michelle breathed softly. The sun setting low in the sky gave an almost ethereal glow to her creamy skin and dark curls and he breathed a little easier, like he always did when she was close by. She sat down beside him and leaned into him.
"The satellite phone's still working, right? We could update Bill. Maybe he has more information about what's going on back home…"
"And tell him Alex is off god-knows-where doing god-knows-what and we have no idea if she'll make it back in one piece?"
"Tony, we have no idea what's happening or where we're going to end up. We're going to have to contact them eventually."
"Not now. Bill doesn't need to worry more than he already is right now."
"What about Karen? We could call Karen. She's who we're waiting to hear from, and if anything's changed maybe she's been trying to get a hold of us and can't."
Tony considered this. Michelle was right. They needed to know what the situation was at home and what, if anything, they could do to speed it up. Maybe they had more information on the people after Alex or Palmer's participation.
Pulling the satellite phone out of his pack, Tony dialed the number.
"Jack?"
"No Karen, it's Tony. Can you talk?"
"Yes, it's fine. What happened? Where's Jack?"
Tony sighed heavily, feeling Michelle shift against him.
"Jack's with Rick and Alex. We were trying to exit the country and they had to abandon the road. They're meeting us soon. I wanted to see where you were at - "
"Is that safe?"
"None of this is safe," Tony responded dryly. "But it's probably better if you don't say anything to Bill about this part."
Karen hissed on her end of the phone, but agreed.
"A colleague of mine gave me a lead. An old Homeland Security outpost in San Francisco. He'd been looking to implicate Warrington in something else and had a lead with regards to some old files…records, things of that nature. It might be all the proof we need to get Palmer to - "
"Are you gonna go then?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure that'll work? If he gets wind of anything coming he's gonna amp up security at the very least. Maybe even have everything moved."
"That's a risk I'll have to take."
"Maybe you should bring someone with you."
"Who else can we bring into this Tony? Bill can't leave LA without Hammond getting suspicious, and we don't trust anyone else enough to bring them into this."
Tony clamped down on his lip.
"Let me talk to Jack, alright. We have no idea where our next move is gonna be from here; we'll work something out."
"Update me as soon as you can. I'm taking a commercial flight in as soon as possible. We don't want anyone to start asking questions. I have a briefing with NSA and President Palmer tomorrow morning and then I'm going to fly out whether you've gotten back to me or not."
"I'll talk to Jack. Don't do anything until you hear from us. If something happens to you this is all over."
"I realize that, Tony - "
"Then wait for us to call back."
Karen exhaled on the other end, but he knew she knew he was right. If anything happened to Karen Alex would probably be running for the rest of her life and he was not okay with that.
"Any words on who's contracting the assassins?"
"No," she sighed apologetically. "I'm sorry. We have no idea who's supplying them or where they're finding them or who's giving the order. It could be Hammond or Warrington or someone in between. We have no way of knowing. The best we can do is give you as much surveillance as possible. You're not in the airport waiting are you?"
"Of course not," Tony growled. "We just have no idea where to go next."
Karen hesitated with a small gasp.
"She's to be arrested if she steps on US soil."
"I know."
"It's the last place they'd expect her to be."
Tony's brow creased. "That's really rolling the dice, Karen. The odds of no one spotting her…the CIA and the FBI is monitoring that stuff constantly. If they saw any of our faces it could trigger - "
"Then you'd better make sure you don't get caught. People live in the United States under Witness Protection all the time. Unless you have anyone else abroad you'd like to bring into this…all of your connections have been exhausted. Get her into the country and keep her hidden and it'll be the last place Hammond will expect her to be. He knows she knows what's at stake. He doesn't think she'd risk her family's safety for her own neck."
"But she is…"
"And when the President agrees she'll have a few minutes of paperwork to sign before her record is completely expunged and it'll have been the right call. Trust me on this one Tony. She can blend in better at home then she can in some foreign country. You all have connections. There must be somewhere you can lie low…"
"And some of us can meet you in San Francisco to extract the files."
Karen laughed softly. "I'm not going to say I wouldn't appreciate the backup."
"I'll talk to Jack."
"Thank you. Keep me posted."
As he hung up the phone Tony felt Michelle exhale softly against him. He jostled her slightly, tugging her closer. Angling her head upwards Michelle's lips met his in a soft kiss. He sighed back, stroking her arm.
"Karen wants her back in the States?"
"She thinks it's best. We're all at risk wherever we go."
Michelle bit her lip, starting at bit at the crunch of the ground as someone approached. Relief flooded her face when she saw Chase.
"You talk to Jack?" he inclined his head at Tony.
"No. Not yet."
"We gonna stay out here all night or what?"
Tony tried to keep from tensing, but he knew Michelle felt it when she frowned.
"Are we not - ?"
"Jack said to be outta here by sunset, whether they've caught up or not."
"So we're just gonna leave 'em?" Chase growled angrily. "What the hell is Jack playing at?"
"He knows we can't be out here all night. We'll hold off as long as we can, alright?" he squeezed Michelle reassuringly before releasing her and rising. "You see anyone in town?"
Chase shook his head.
"No, but I asked around a bit. Someone said we weren't the first Americans they'd seen in the last little while."
"What?" Tony's eyes narrowed.
"Yeah…" Chase rubbed the back of his head. "Three guys were in earlier. One of them spoke the language. Asked the same thing I did…"
Tony swore under his breath, stepping out to glance around the car. The street was even more deserted than it had been before his phone call.
"They found us."
"So what do we do?" Michelle was on her feet, at his side. Tony rubbed his cheek, his other hand dipping behind his back and touching his weapon.
"We stick with the plan. We'll give 'em a little longer and then we'll…"
Tony trailed off when three figures moving towards them caught his eye. Even in the darkness, there was no mistaking the shortest for anyone but Alex. Rick moved slightly ahead of her, urging her forward with gentle tugs of his hand and Jack followed, head moving avidly to gauge their surroundings.
They were halfway down the street when Michelle called out a warning and started reaching for a weapon.
"Wha - ?"
"Three-o-clock!" she shouted, pulling out her weapon just as Chase made a mad dash in the direction the rest of their party was coming from. A shot ricocheted off something a few feet to his left and Tony ducked, finally grappling for his own weapon as he identified another shooter directly across from where he and Michelle were still situation. Michelle fired a few rounds into the darkness, but it was hard to see everything and she missed the target. When whoever was on the other side returned fire and they both ducked behind the truck.
"Chase! What's happening!?" Tony yelled.
"I count two, maybe three hostiles between me and them! I can't see anything though."
Another bullet whizzed past Tony and he dropped back behind the truck with Michelle.
"Where's everyone else?"
A yelp from across the way made them both look up.
"What happened!?" Tony called.
"One down!" Rick's voice echoed over the noise. Tony poked his head out a little to lay down some cover, straining to hear his brother's voice.
"How many you count?"
"I got four - "
A bullet hit the side mirror of the vehicle and Tony fell back just as Michelle jumped out from beneath the car and fired a few quick rounds. Tony sensed more than saw another hostile aim directly at her and was moving before he could even realize what was happening.
"Michelle, get down!" He roared, diving on top of her and shoving her out of the line of fire. The searing pain he felt in his side was an afterthought when he realized she was alive and shielded by his body. Beneath him, Michelle's eyes widened with horror as he moved one arm to his side and pulled back his fingers, coated in blood.
"Tony…" her voice was rife with panic and his vision started to blur as she got to her knees. The pain overwhelmed him and he fell back to the ground in a daze.
"Tony…" she gulped hard at the lump in her throat and the burning behind her eyes.
"Rick!" the hoarseness disappeared from her voice and she shouted at full volume.
"What happened!?"
"Tony's hit!"
"Tony's hit!"
Alex stared at Rick in utter disbelief.
"Can you see the shooter!?" she exclaimed, poking her head out from around the vehicle they'd used for cover. She felt her chest tighten as she tried to gauge the distance to the shooter, heart pounding.
"Al, don't!" Rick yanked her back down, proving with that simple phrase how well he knew her. She'd been about to make a play for the shooter, blood bubbling and head spinning with fury. She'd been about to gun down the sonofabitch with everything she had.
"Jack, Tony's hit!" Rick called behind them. He heard Jack's yell of acknowledgement.
"Chase!" Alex straightened up a little. "Are you seeing anything from over there?"
"Not much!"
"Lay down the cover!" She glanced at Rick who had pulled back to her. She waited for him to argue, but instead he nodded. She was tired, but he'd rather have her rely on him to take out the hostiles and she could focus on helping Tony.
"We'll cover you," he assured her. "Stay in position once you're there."
He squeezed her fingers just as she leapt from her cover and sprinted as hard as she could down the road to where Tony and Michelle waited….
"Michelle!" Alex skidded to a halt, tucking her weapon beneath the waistband of her pants and kneeling over Tony. Michelle had her hand pressing against the wound as hard as she could, her skin stark white in contrast to the blood. Her face didn't look much better, even in the growing darkness.
"He…he pushed me out of the way…" she gulped hard. "I didn't know what to do, so I just got him out of the way and put pressure on the bleeding…"
Alex nodded, her hands replacing Michelle's bloodied ones and easing her to the side.
"Tony…" she rubbed his leg, trying to get him to focus on her as Michelle moved to the door of the car.
"C'mon Tony, talk to me…" she ordered as she swiftly pulled up his shirt and checked his body for the entry point. The bleeding was coming from between the fourth and fifth rib and Alex reapplied the pressure as Michelle kept her head down and fumbled for something in the backseat, oblivious to what was going on around them. They'd just have to rely on everyone else to keep the hostiles occupied. .
"C'mon Tony…" Alex demanded of him. "You need to talk to me."
He grunted. "How…bad?"
"Don't worry about that. Just talk to me…"
"Where's…M'chelle?"
Her chest tightened at the catch in his words and she gulped hard.
"Tony…" Michelle's breathy voice slid in beside Alex and shone a flashlight over his body. A small gasp escaped her lips and she brought a hand to her mouth as she took in all the blood. Her eyes welled with tears and sat back on her legs, staring at him for a few painful seconds.
"What do you need me to do?"
"Hold his head or something. Talk to him. Just talk him down. He needs to relax."
Something shattered over their heads and Michelle and Alex both dropped to the ground.
"Rick!" Alex's voice flooded with panic as she spared a quick glance out in front of them.
"Stray bullet! Stay down! I'm covering you!"
Alex just hoped it stayed that way as she went back to work.
"Talk to him, Michelle." She repeated, the purposefulness coming back to her voice. "Keep him conscious. I'm trying to see if we hit anything important."
"Tony…" Michelle leaned forward, smoothing back the sweaty hair on his forehead with the hand not angling the flashlight. "Tony stay with me…" she breathed softly, ignoring how unnaturally pale he looked. It was just like before. Just like that day at the mall. The lump in her throat thickened and she found his hand, squeezing and hoping he would be able to squeeze back.
"Tony talk to me…" she pleaded, brushing her lips against the top of his head. "I need you to talk to me…"
He tried, but his raspy breathing cut him off. Instead he just squeezed her fingers tightly and Michelle just continued to breathe slowly against him, as if doing so would keep him alive.
"Michelle…I…you know I…"
She shushed him quietly with another kiss to his brow, tears threatening to spill over her lids.
"Tell me after, okay sweetheart?"
His gaze grew watery but he nodded as best he could.
"I just…If I don't - "
"Don't talk like that," Alex cringed internally when she heard Michelle's voice catch and a soft sniffle. Her fingers worked furiously as she tried to find the source of the bleeding.
"Just know that - "
"Tony, just shut up; you're making your wife cry."
A chuckle that was more of a cough emanated from him as Michelle managed a small smile and leaned in to kiss him again. Tony's breathing was raspy, but he agreed.
"Okay…"
Alex worked busily for a few minutes, checking for severed arteries, a piece of the bullet, anything that might be lethal if they missed it. Michelle watched anxiously with Tony's head in her lap and the flashlight poised above Alex. Suddenly, Alex pulled back and pressed down hard on the wound, checking the shirt they'd used to apply the pressure. Her brow creased and Michelle's anxiety increased dramatically.
"What's wrong?"
"Wait a sec…"
"Alex - "
"The bleeding's stopping!" Alex blurted out. Michelle pulled back long enough to stare at her.
"What?"
"We didn't hit any major arteries. It's starting to clot. If we keep the pressure on it he'll…he should be fine."
"Really!?" Michelle stared in disbelief. "You're…you're sure?"
Alex inclined her head in mild awe, relief overwhelming her features. Michelle's eyes stung with moisture. She breathed a sigh of relief, dipping forward and kissing him softly on the mouth, fingers in his hair as the flashlight dropped to the ground. Alex panted a little, realizing the firefight had stopped around them and looking up expectantly to see everyone else emerging and looking unscathed. Her forehead dropped delicately against Tony's torso as she exhaled.
"Christ, Tony. Don't be such a drama queen next time. You scared the shit out of us."
He chuckled a weak apology and she reached to squeeze his hand gently. The others approached, and she got to her feet to meet them. Alex snuck a glance behind her in time to see Tony reach a hand up to Michelle's hair and drag her down for another kiss. Michelle pulled back to tilt her forehead against his and stayed like that for a moment, keeping him close.
"I think…" sweaty and breathless, Alex glanced between Rick, Chase and Jack. "I think he's okay. The bleeding was slowing on its own so I think…"
Wiping the moisture gruffly from beneath her eyes she hadn't realized had been there, she sidestepped Jack who was obviously on his way to confirm her assessment.
Her gaze lifted to Rick and she bit her lip.
"We got 'em all?"
He nodded reassuringly. "Yeah. Confirmed dead."
She nodded and shut her eyes tightly. Rick glanced briefly at Chase, (who was clearly trying to look elsewhere), before reaching out a tentative hand to squeeze her arm. He wanted to pull her tightly against him, but decided that was better saved for later.
"It's not your fault, Al."
"Yes it is."
"Everyone made the decision to do this. You didn't make anyone do anything."
"I know, but…"
"Don't…" The hand on her arm cupped her cheek and his shook his head. "It's all fine. It worked out."
She nodded unconvincingly and he broke the contact, dark eyes still locked warmly on hers. Her chest tightened a little at the expression on his face.
"He's good, right?" Rick called over to Jack as Alex spun around. Jack rose from the ground and nodded, getting Tony to his feet with Michelle's help.
"Yeah, he's fine," his focus shifted between Alex and Michelle.
"You guys did good."
Michelle wrapped Tony's arm around her to steady him, pressing her face into his shirt and inhaling deeply before guiding him to the car.