Author's Note:
This is a short chapter but you get to see what happened with Siger, John, and Bastion. Thanks to everyone for all the reviews!
Siger Holmes had been in worse situations than his current one. Although, it still wasn't desirable. He supposed, however, it was his own fault. He had let them catch him. He wasn't impressed with his captors. They were idiots and obviously not the people behind the operation but mindless minions just following orders. He was able to glean quite a bit of intel just being a prisoner tied to a chair. Ropes. Really? They were morons. He had already loosened his bonds hours ago but he was biding his time and waiting for the right moment. Finally, an opportunity presented itself. When the guard doing rounds had their back turn, he leapt from the chair silently and in a single deft move broke the man's neck. He pulled the body away from being detected easily, and making sure to take every weapon he could pillage off the dead body. Now, it was time to play. This was where things got fun. He smirked, and stealthily made his way down an empty corridor.
The body count was on a steady increase at Bastion. Siger Holmes was enjoying himself. He hadn't been out in the field like this for years. Usually, he took up a command post and sent out Blair and the rest of his unit out. However, this time they needed to divide and conqueror. The people who had taken over, were starting to get nervous and with good reason. He was quick and efficient at his work. He hadn't even used a gun yet, opting to simply snap necks or slit throats. That didn't stop him from casually blowing up a few areas for diversions though. He quite enjoyed explosives of any kind and an expert with them. At some point, he intended to blow up the whole base. Preferably with that Russian bastard inside.
The Colonel was setting chargers on structural key areas, so when detonated it would implode the building with maximum efficiency. He had recently found his cell phone off the last guy he had just killed, obviously the leader of the group that had taken over the base. He glared at it as it came to life. It was his eldest son. "This better be important," he hissed.
With narrowed eyes, Siger put his phone away. The well being of Captain Watson wasn't high on his priority list. Even if his youngest son hadn't asked for help, he had already planned on fixing this mess. Another phone had been found on the latest body he had killed and he found a number he believed to be the Russian's and hit send.
It didn't take long for Shevchenko to answer the phone, smirking as he pulled his gaze away from John. "Egor, did you kill that Colonel? We can't have him running around the base like some madman." He kicked a foot out into John's injured shoulder, a muffled and lazy shout escaping the drugged man's mouth. "We've got some man from his team following us. We're going to make a circle but avoid Bastion." He inspected his fingernails with a bored expression.
"Egor can't come to the phone right now. Looks like you will just have to come and finish the job yourself. Although, I doubt you have the stones for that. A man like you is a coward. You are wasting your time on Captain Watson. He doesn't have what you want, but I do. Believe me when I say, I look forward to seeing you soon." Siger hung up the phone without waiting to hear a reply. He sent an encrypted e-mail to Blair and went back to placing charges.
It was a challenge, was it? Any challenge sent his way was seen as a threat. "I want to go to Bastion," Shevchenko stated calmly as he pulled John into a seat by his dog tags. "Daddy Holmes wants a show down then we'll give him one," he muttered, patting John's shoulder with a smirk. It didn't take long for the beat up car to come to a stop in a cloud of dirt in front of the base, Shevchenko moving out of it as he pulled John behind him. The rest of his crew stayed in the car just in case.
The base was quiet and resembled one of those ghost towns in American Wild West movies. Except it was missing the cliché tumble weed rolling by. Siger was hiding and laying in wait. It shouldn't take long for the rest of the team to show up. Then, it would be time for the fireworks.
John leaned heavily against Shevchenko, his eyes low and locked on the ground. "I'm going to kill him if you don't come out now!" He lifted a pistol to John's throat. "Because apparently he doesn't have the information we want. Tell me!" John stumbled slightly with a groan, gripping tightly at the Russian's clothes as his shoulder continued to bleed.
A long silence came after the gun was pointed at John. Just a little more time needed to be bought. He remained in his hidden location, strategically placing himself so his voice echoed off the surrounding buildings and his location wouldn't be easy to ascertain. There was a loud barking laugh before Siger spoke. "You think I care if you kill Captain Watson? He was just a pawn to draw you out from the get go. Do you really think I would entrust something so important to a derelict solider? He never actually knew anything. I thought you would have killed him before now. So, please save me the bullet. Go ahead and do it."
John knew that voice but frowned and struggled slightly against Shevchenko. "What?" He took a deep breath and looked at the Russian who smirked and took the safety off the gun. "No." Because now all he could think about was Sherlock and Amy and he was supposed to care.
Shevchenko shoved the gun roughly into John's bandaged shoulder, smirking at the shout. "Are you sure? Your weakling of a son might kill you." He pointed the gun in the direction was was sure the voice was coming from and fired once.
This man was easily manipulated. No challenge at all. How disappointing. Oh well. Siger shifted closer to his cover as a gunshot zipped along in his general direction. Perfect. He yelled out loud and clear, "Are you familiar with the term 'Vatican cameos' Shevchenko?" He waited three seconds before pressing the detonator in his hand. An explosion rocked just to the left of the other two men. That was the signal to his men, who were finally in place. He left his current position, as chaos and gunfire erupted in the night air.
John shook his head slightly in his drug-induced haze. Vatican cameos. The moment he hit the ground he felt the world around him rock, both of his
hands covering the back of his head. A piece of rubble landed a few inches from him and he curled into a small ball.
Shevchenko winced, firing again blindly before looking around. He had lost Watson and could barely see. When he saw a large figure running through the
area he fired twice before looking down to see where John had went.
As he ran, Siger blew up another building. It was to add even more confusion to the already chaotic scene. He had a long and double folded piece of cloth tied around his head and over his mouth to filter out the smoke swirling around him. He could hear rapid gunfire at the Russian's car, hopefully his men were taking out the hostiles without being taken down themselves. A bullet whizzed by him and the second grazed his right forearm. Having trained in exercises that required him to be exposed to tear gas and the like, the smoke didn't blind or burn as much as it would most people. Seeing that the Russian was looking down, he full body tackled the man to the ground. Shooting this bastard would be too lenient. He was determined to kill the man with his bare hands.
Shevchenko hit the ground with a groan, twisting the best he could under the large body above him as he attempted to take a breath of fresh air. The man above him was heavy and the only thing he could do was lift his gun at random and fire once. When he rotated again he spotted John, struggling to get up as he braced his left arm against the ground and tried to keep his right pressed against his body. "Off," he growled, turning to look at Siger and bending a leg to knee the older man in the stomach.
This wasn't the first time Siger had tackled someone to the ground that would result in a life or death fight. He anticipated the gun being blindly shot at him and attempted to wrestle it out of the other man's hand, his body leaned slightly to one side as it went off. The bullet flew into the air harmlessly. The knee to his stomach hurt but it mostly just pissed The Colonel off. He pressed his full weight on the Russian below him, still struggling to disarm Shevchenko.
Blair and two other soldiers ran up to the scene. "Get Captain Watson to the extraction point. The chopper will be there and waiting! Colonel Holmes and I have unfinished business here." He noticed the hesitation in his men's eyes. "That's an order!" He barked before any protest came. The two frowned, helped John to his feet and supported the army doctor on either side to and helped him walk away. From previous experiences, Joe knew better than to interrupt the Colonel from a fight. It was a matter of the man's honor. Should his superior lose, he would put a bullet in the Russian's head without hesitation.
Shevchenko shouted slightly and moved an elbow to sharply knock Siger in the cheek, struggling to take a breath with the larger man on top of him. Another shout ripped from his chest as he saw John get lifted from the ground, barely moving his legs. "No! He is mine! I need him!" His boots struggled for purchase in the dirt and sand below them, his blue eyes locking with the Colonel's above him. "He knows the plans," he growled. "Give him back or I'll kill you." His free hand moved to his belt and grabbed his small dagger, bringing it up and quickly plunging it into Siger's right side.
John didn't fight the arms around him, not even caring if it was rescue or his captors anymore. He was off the ground, his face covered in blood and sand, his shoulder throbbing to the point of silent tears streaming down his face. "Sherlock," he whispered softly to the man on his right. "He is fine? And Amy?" His voice was weak, the heroin was still leaving his body, and he relied heavily on the two men helping him walk. When he glanced back the most he could see were some flames and dust flying, the form of Blair facing away from him.
It was easy to get the gun away when the Russian began panicking. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to stop the dagger being withdrawn and the blade entering his side. Siger laughed despite the pain. "You still don't get it, do you? There are no plans. There never were any plans. This was all just to get at you." He coughed, pulling the dagger out with a rough tug and threw it the side. The blood was dark, almost black. That wasn't good. Probably got his kidney punctured. "You see, I knew you were part of Moriarty's web and I was ensuring no else from that madman's ring fucked with my family again." He coughed. "Even if I don't kill you, Blair here will. Guess I'll see you in Hell Shevchenko. I've always wanted to die out here on the battle field. It's a good night to die, don't you think?" More coughing, this time blood coming up with it. His body went lax. Although his labored breathing showed he was still alive, though barely.
"You stubborn son of bitch," Blair cursed at his superior. He pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the Russian's head. "Thanks for playing, 'I am an idiot tool.' You lost the game Shevchenko." He smirked, finger on the trigger.
One of the men spoke to John. "Sir, as far as we know they are fine. Back at your flat in London. The Colonel's oldest son is also there, from what we understand. The extraction point isn't much further Sir. There should be medical personnel there to tend to you when we arrive." The men continued to help John along, the whirring of chopper blades in the distance could be heard.
Shevchenko winced and struggled under the heavy body of Siger, his eyes wide as he looked up at Blair. He smirked as a gunshot ran out, praying has sniper had enough common sense to get the man in the knee to merely disable him. "You think we're that dumb?" He whispered, shoving at Siger's shoulder and rolled slightly. "I'm not alone." Blood from Siger's wound rubbed across his hands as he shoved at the barely breathing body.
"Good," John whispered, going slack for a moment. "Good." He managed a weak smile before semi-automatic fire caused his head to shoot up. Black dots flashed in his eyesight and he groaned. "More, there's more," he muttered. Several men ran at John and his helping soldiers with guns raised, firing at random in their direction. "Go, you go. You're healthy."
Siger smirked, reached to his belt and pulled the pin on a grenade. He lost consciousness on the Russian, his body dead weight now. The grenade was trapped between their two bodies.
Blair went down, the bullet embedding in his knee as the bone shattered. His gun went off, but the bullet found nothing but dirt. With his free hand he reached into his pocket and hit a speed dial button on his satellite phone.
A giant explosion went off, due to it being set off in the munitions shed. Things caught fire and there was debris falling everywhere. As the fires spread, it set off a series of chain reaction explosions. Bastion burning to the ground lit up the night sky.
The soldiers carrying John refused to let go of the army doctor. "The Colonel would have our ass Sir. We can't do that."
The soldiers at the chopper heard the gunshots and then the explosions. They jumped into action, using the muzzle flashes to help pinpoint where the gunfire was coming from. They sprinted, and once within range open fire on the hostiles.
For a moment Shevchenko struggled before the grenade shattered, adding to the large explosions going on around them.
John followed the men obediently, deciding not to argue in his state. He climbed sloppily into the helicopter, not caring that the rough floor was tearing at the bare skin of his chest and stomach. Relief. Safety. This meant he was alive and had made it and would get to go home and see Sherlock. He smiled weakly and glanced up at one of the medical Army soldiers approach him. He collapsed the moment he heard the young woman tell him he was safe.