Disclaimer: I don't own Human Target and intend no copyright infringement.
As soon as Guerrero and Ames had disappeared through the reopened hole in the third gate, Winston and Chance distributed the rest of the explosives along the wall that separated the subway station's tunnel stubble from the sluice chamber. Then they quickly retreated as far from the wall as possible – thankfully the chamber was rather large, but there was still the chance that the explosion would blast them into pieces.
The water that Innokentij was still pumping into the room was a critical factor, both regarding their safety and their Michele rescue plan. With a little luck, it would cushion the explosion's impact and swamp the bad guys that were surely waiting on the other side, guns at the ready. It was a gamble, and they were gambling for high stakes.
… … …
Innokentij watched the stream of data that showed him the pressure of the pumps and the rising water level in the sluicechambers with little satisfaction. Simply flushing the intruders out somehow didn't feel like a sufficient countermeasure to such an elaborate break-in plan. Innokentij himself would have had a Plan B in that kind of situation. Christopher Chance, as far as he knew, liked to wing it. Made him even more dangerous. That man was of a caliber that under no circumstances should be taken likely.
"Remove the woman", he ordered his assistant. Coming in through the sluicechambers smelt like inside knowledge – someone must have told Chance and his crew about the HQ's weakest point. They most likely knew where Michele Winston was hidden. Better safe than sorry.
Just then a huge explosion shook Innokentij's office, made the coffee cup on his desk dance and tumble. All monitors froze, then went completely black. Innokentij, however, didn't need the cameras to know what had just happened. He could hear the water rush into the subway station. They must have blown away the wall at the end of the stubble tunnel.
Again not bad, Mr. Chance. Really not bad.
He grabbed his gun and headed towards the small cell near the tunnel entrance where he kept Michele.
But it takes more than a little fireworks to beat me, Tovarishch.
… … …
The explosion threw Chance back so mightily, he hit the chamber's wall badly and momentarily lost consciousness. The icy cold water, however, quickly brought him back to his senses. Where was Winston? It was so goddamn dark and thanks to the blast he had lost his flashlight. Dim light seeping in from the stubble tunnel created pitch black shadows on the water, but no details were visible. All sorts of rubble was floating around, among them one of their shotguns, still wrapped watertight. Good, he might need it. But where was Winston?
"She's going to drown! Chance! She's going to drown!"
Winston was alive! Chance let out a deep sigh of relief. Then he grabbed a second watertight bundle and floated it towards his friend. "Unwrap it", he yelled. "Time for niceties is over!"
Black silhouettes appeared in the hole in the wall. Neither Winston nor Chance hesitated. No time for niceties – they opened fire immediately. The black shadows fell, silently, unspectacularly – as if they really had been only that, shadows, not real people. As quickly as the water allowed, Winston and Chance advanced. Luckily the explosion had not taken out the HQ's electricity. The further they went down the short tunnel, the more they could see.
Apparently a group of five or six heavily armed men had been waiting for them on the other side of the wall. Except for the two they had shot, the explosion had taken out all of them, by either killing them instantly or severely injuring them. Their bodies were floating around amongst the rubble. At least it looked like that. There was no telling if there wasn't another surviving thug hiding in the shadows somewhere. Covering each other's backs as well as they could, they headed towards the small cell where Michele, according to their informant, was kept.
Winston tried to push the image of the empty room they had found at the end of their last rescue operation as far to the back of his mind as possible. This wouldn't happen this time. It just wouldn't.
Chance couldn't help but think that the first thing he'd do when someone ambushed his HQ to free somebody, would be to remove the person. Innokentij probably thought along the same lines – he was no fool. If they had managed to sneak in quietly… but with explosions and shootouts? Their only hope now lay in speed. Maybe they'd manage to reach Michele before Innokentij managed to have her taken away.
"That's it, right?" Breathing heavily, Winston reached for the handle of a heavy, dark green steel door.
"Step aside!", Chance yelled. What was Winston thinking? That Innokentij left something like that unlocked? For all they knew about that bastard, he might have booby trapped the door!
"Michele? It's Chance and Winston! If you hear us, get as far away from the entrance as you can!" It was a huge risk, but there was no other choice – he fired a round at the damn thing, awaiting an explosion that would reduce all of them to dust.
No explosion.
Instead the door simply gave way and revealed a sparsely furnished room with a flooded floor, a sink, a bed – and a very thin but alive Michele, chained to the wall.
"I just knew it was you!", she greeted her ex-husband. "You've never been one for the subtle approach."
Winston quickly went to get the cuffs off her, while Chance checked his gun's chamber… no more bullets left. This could pose a problem. Maybe Winston had…? But it was unlikely.
"Okay Chance, let's go!" Winston grabbed Michele by the waist to help her off the bed.
"Not so fast."
Michele froze. Winston froze. Chance froze. Slowly, very slowly, Winston turned his head.
Dark water swirling around his feet, Innokentij stood in the doorway, gun trained straight at Chance.
Michele let out a terrified scream. Not again! NOT AGAIN!
Chance was looking at Innokentij, but what he actually saw was Winston in the office, drunk and broken.
"Winston, take Michele and run."
Winston recognized Chance's tone. It had been a while since he had last heard it. Back in that horror house of traps, when he had sent Emma Barnes away. When he had been determined to die and thus save her life. It was the same tone of voice, exactly the same. What the hell was Chance was plan… oh no. If he threw himself against Innokentij, acting as a human shield, Winston could grab Michele and run.
No. No way. Chance would get riddled with bullets.
It was no conscious decision, no weighing of options – Winston just knew he couldn't let that happen. Just like he couldn't stop breathing or sleeping or eating.
Chance lunged forwards. Winston lunged forwards.
Innokentij, knowing that he had the upper hand and could take his time, stepped backwards a bit.
What an interesting picture: Two men, tangled into each other, trying to save each other's lives…. The way the two were rolling on the floor, he could take them both out with one bullet.
He aimed.
A thought struck his mind. A rational, economic thought that had nothing to do with saving a bullet.
He slowly nodded, agreeing with himself. Chance and Winston were still busy wrestling with each other. Innokentij raised his gun, aimed at Michele.
"Parting gift", he said and pulled the trigger.
Michele screamed. Winston and Chance immediately froze, turned towards her.
With horrible force a bullet cut through Michele's leg. But only her leg.
When Chance and Winston looked into the direction of the doorway again, Innokentij was gone.