Steve heard Kayla shout his name and wondered why.
Then he felt the pain.
His shoulder burned with a searing fire. He tried to move his left arm, but it did not respond. Steve looked down and saw the blood.
Kayla was beside him now. He tried not to moan in pain when she began tearing his jacket away, but he could not stop the sharp cry that escaped his lips when she pressed down on his shoulder.
Over her shoulder, across the room, Steve saw Lawrence Alamain's body where the dead man had fallen. Steve did not need anyone to tell him that Lawrence was dead. Steve had seen his bullet strike true. In the instant before Lawrence's bullet had slammed into Steve's shoulder, he had watched Lawrence's head snap back, replaced by a shower of crimson.
"You hang on," Kayla said. She was making no attempt to hide her fear. "Don't you dare leave me."
Hovering over her was Bo. "Come on, pal," Bo urged.
Through the pain, Steve had to laugh. "You ain't gettin' rid of me so easily." He grinned. "Stephanie and her baby brother are gonna need their Papa around."
He could hear Kayla crying, even as she tried to stop the bleeding. Behind her, Bo took a deep breath. Steve started to make a joke, but he hissed as fiery pain flared down his arm as she pressed down on the wound. He might have thought it revenge, but her tears were now paired with a relieved smile.
Steve raised his good arm. With his right hand, he touched her cheek and brushed away some of the tears.
"I'm not goin' anywhere, Sweetness," Steve said. "It'll take a hell of a lot more than Lawrence Alamain to take out your ol' one-eyed tomcat."
Kayla's entire body sagged, even as her tears continued to flow.
"Don't you ever scare me like that, Steven Earl Johnson," she said.
I don't ever want to scare you like this, he thought. "I'll do my best, Sweetness." At her glare, he changed his answer. "I promise."
Her response were interrupted by a slurred shout. Steve thought it sounded like someone calling his name.
"Dammit, Steve, don't you bloody give up. You hear me. Don't you dare give up."
Even slurred, the accent was unmistakable.
"Would one of you tell Double-0-Donovan that he's not getting rid of me either?" Steve growled, even as Bo disappeared from view. Then it hit Steve. Shane. The toxin. In his pain, Steve had almost forgotten. He gritted his teeth and looked over Kayla's shoulder again. He could see that Shane lay still next to the opening of the gas chamber. Bo was hovering over him, but seemed unsure of what to do. Steve looked back at Kayla. "Help him," he said.
Kayla looked toward Shane and then seemed to hesitate. Steve could tell she was reluctant to leave him.
"I'll be okay," Steve said. He groaned again at the pressure she was putting on the wound, but managed to say, "Shane needs you. . . ."
Kayla gave a grim nod. "Where did you find the antidote?"
Steve remembered it had been in a drawer, but he did not remember exactly where.
Bo reappeared behind Kayla. "Kay," he said. "I don't know what to do for Shane. . . ."
Steve suddenly remembered something. "I dropped some. . . . There should be some inside that. . . ." He didn't want to say gas chamber. "That big thing by Shane. The vials with the blue label." Prodding her, Steve added, "I'm gonna be okay. You can go. Help Shane."
Bo put a hand on Kayla's shoulder and reached for what she was using to stanch the blood. "I'll do that. He'll be okay." Bo took the cloth from her hand and shoved it even harder against Steve's wound.
"Damn it, Bo!" Steve yelped.
Bo laughed and looked at Kayla. "See? He's going to be fine."
"And in a hell of a lot of pain," Steve muttered as Kayla finally pulled away. Through gasping breaths, he asked Bo, "Shane?"
"I don't know," Bo said honestly. "He's conscious, but he isn't moving much." He glanced back over his shoulder toward Kayla. Steve followed Bo's gaze and saw her picking something off the ground.
"Looks like Kay found that antidote," Bo said. They watched as Kayla tilted Shane's head and emptied the vial down his throat.
Steve called out, "Sweetness?" He tried to say more, but the slight movement from the shout made him hiss.
It was enough. Kayla called back. "I think it's working." Even with the pain, Steve felt relief. No one was going to die today.
Except the bad guy.
As if reading Steve's mind, Bo chose that moment to speak. "Alamain's over there." He was looking at Lawrence's body.
"He's dead," Steve said. "I know. That bastard won't ever hurt anyone ever again."
Bo nodded. "I hope so. Let's just pray Roman and Kim got to that school in time."