Rae: Oh my god, I am SO SORRY, YOU GUYS! I honestly, honestly didn't expect NR to take this fucking long, but it did. I lost inspiration for it for a while, then real life smacked me in the face, then I had a couple university issues to sort out, then I've had to try and find a work placement, then real life smacked me again...
Let's just say it's been an interesting few months. On the bright side, I finally got my Auto Assembly shit sorted.
Enjoy!
"Ah, Doctor Chester, there you are," Orion stood up as the medic came into the briefing room, scowling. "Please, sit."
Ryan tilted his head to one side, then shook it. "I have," he said flatly, "two charges who are insisting on joining the rescue operation. I've tried telling them no, it's too dangerous, but hell if they're listening."
"Really?" Orion raised an eyebrow smoothly, then gestured it was okay for them to enter. And enter they did, to a surprised noise of recognition from Adam.
"Sunny? Sidam? What are you doing here?"
Sunny scowled at the detective, his body language screaming 'it should be obvious'. Sidam nudged his twin and chewed his lip. "Jazz has looked out for us for years, since he started at the academy. We were a couple of no-good, useless punks with nothing to do except terrorize locals, shoplift and vandalize. He brought us in one day when we were caught stealing some Pringles, Twinkies and a crate of beer from a corner store. We were only 14, and Jazz must have only just started at his precinct 'cause he sure as hell wasn't any lieutenant.
"He gave us a second chance, offered to let us go with a warning in exchange for our services," Sidam shrugged. "We became a couple of his street informants, actually doing something worthwhile. He gave us a life. We owe him, big time."
"And that's why we're coming with you," added Sunny. "He'd do the same for us, no matter how dangerous."
"It's not a matter of how dangerous it is," replied Orion smoothly. "It's the law. We cannot let civilians in police business."
"But are they really civilians?" asked Adam before the twins could protest. They backed down and stared at the detective in surprise, as did most of the others in the room. "No, look at it this way. Jazz made them his informants, so he's responsible for them. In a way, by making them such he also drafted them into the civilian police, and he's their supervisory officer."
Ryan growled. "I don't care if they're been drafted into the SAS, they are NOT going."
"But Rai-"
"No buts, Sides," Ryan slapped him upside the head. "Neither of you are going."
Sidam rubbed at his head, looking balefully at his and Sunny's carer, while the blond twin actually growled low and dangerously. However Sidam knew better than to try and argue with the medic, so he didn't say another word; he simply grabbed his brother by the arm and hauled him out of the room much to Sunny's rather vocal and physical protestations.
"Sides, what the fuck? We are going, that's the end of it." As soon as they were out of hearing range Sunny wrenched his arm free and glared at Sidam, who put his head to one side unrepentantly.
"I know. But we both know coming to blows with Rai over this isn't going to get us anywhere, so we're not going with that lot," He paused and a mischievous light entered amaranthine eyes. "So, we do this the sneaky way. We know how to be places we're not supposed to."
"And where, exactly, do you think Jazz is being held? Do you know? It's certainly not the base that he had while we were there," Sunny folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow mockingly, but Sidam could see the interest in his twin's body language.
"We listen in." Sidam dug into his jacket pocket, and then waved a small walkie-talkie at his brother. "I planted a bug on Ryan. We'll hear whatever he hears."
Sunny let a sly smirk curve his lips upwards, relaxing his posture slightly. "I knew I hung out with you for a reason."
"Oh, bro, that hurts!" Sidam grabbed at his heart, feigning a wrenching pain. Sunny shoved him for being an idiot, but not before noting that Sidam had grabbed at his right side instead of his left. Situs inversis was rare, but it did happen. They were true "mirror" twins; Sidam's organs were completely reversed while Sunny's were normal. Something about it gnawed at him, that they would never be truly identical, but it also meant Sidam was a lot safer and more protected than Sunny in their line of work. He was immune to normal pressure point martial arts and he'd survive a shot to the "heart" because no one else knew that his body was inverted.
And for that, Sunny was eternally grateful, though it would take a miracle for him to ever admit that out loud.
-x-
"Well ain't this jus' fan-fuckin'-tastic," muttered Jasper to himself, trying and failing once again for the umpteenth time to get himself out of his cuffs. He growled at the lack of results, and kicked at a wall before sliding down it. "Who th'fuck has a brig in an office buildin' anyway?"
The saboteur sighed, listening as it reverberated around the sound space. It occurred to him then that the ceiling and walls outside the cell sounded like they were made of a metal of some kind, and he had no idea how think the brickwork went and if there was concrete on the other side of it. A cold chill settled through him when he realized that maybe it was blocking the signal from his earring. He could feel the dried blood caking his neck and shoulder from where he'd ripped the jewelry out, the ear itself having stopped bleeding a while ago.
Closing his eyes, though it did nothing against the blackness he was already not-seeing, he prayed. He prayed his signal had gone through, he prayed that Adam would come for him and he prayed he'd get out of this stupid, stupid mess he'd thrown himself into alive.
-x-
"Now, we only have a general area of about ten square blocks in downtown Detroit that we've managed to pin-point Jazz's emergency signal to," started Alex evenly to the force in front of him. "Because it's muffled and inexact, which indicates a dampener of some kind. However, Simon and I have been studying the locator positions of the microchip in Jazz's visor and we believe we've managed to narrow the search field a bit. Whatever Morgan is doing to mess with equipment seems to be working, though we have yet to figure out how he's doing it since cell towers and wi-fi connections seem to be just fine."
Simon took over, snatching up a red board pen and circling a large section of the map projected onto the meeting room whiteboard. "That's the general area of the emergency beacon," he supplied before choosing a blue pen and marking out another, smaller, three-block radius part in the north-east of the previous circle. He shaded it slightly. "And that is the area that Jazz's microchip goes dark. That is where we're searching."
Adam raised a hand as Alex opened his mouth to say something else, and the security officer shot him an irritated look before nodding for the detective to speak. Adam inclined his head slightly before doing so. "Is it all high-rise office buildings around there?"
Simon glanced at the shaded area and considered for a moment. "There are a few shopping malls and entertainment centers in among, but for the most part I believe so. Why?"
"Damn," Adam bit his bottom lip. "From what Jazz could tell me the few times he texted he was stationed in an office building. Tall one, good view of the rest of the city and blinds rarely open."
Alex made a noise. "Actually, that helps a little. At least we have an idea of what we're physically looking for. Problem is, Morgan's facetious company doesn't do "business" in that area, but it owns practically every one of the buildings in the entirety of this part of Detroit. There's no way to tell where he's hiding out, none of our contacts will have heard any whispers. The only one who does just sent out a distress beacon and we've no way to contact him."
Adam flinched slightly at Alex's matter-of-fact tone, heart constricting briefly in his chest. Jazz had to be okay, he just had to. He'd already lost a good partner and invaluable friend, and damned if he was going to lose another.
They were all surprised, then, when Heath Reynolds stood up carefully, head bowed slightly so his hair fell into his eyes and obscured them from view, and said in a soft, unidentifiable tone, "I think I do."
"Heath, what are you thi-" Byron started, taken-aback and with trepidation coloring his voice, but Heath sharply waved him mute.
"What do you mean you think you do?" asked Orion, warning curiosity filtering through. Heath hunched his shoulders slightly and fidgeted.
"I think I know a way we can find exactly where Jasper is," He took a deep breath, the room having turned deathly silent. "I know... I'm a friend of one of Morgan's lieutenants."
"What?" Alex exploded, eyes widening. A finger was suddenly pointed directly at the scout. "No wonder Morgan always seems to be a step ahead of us! You've been telling him everything we've been doing!"
"No!" Heath's head shot up, his own eyes filling with pain, shock and anger. "I would never! I didn't know he was part of Morgan's crew until Jazz came to the precinct and we were suddenly chin-deep in this thing!"
"You expect me to take your word for it?" Alex glared at Heath, who seemed to shrink in on himself. He started as a calming hand placed itself on his shoulder, and he looked around expecting to see Byron offering his comforting silent support, but to his bewilderment he found himself looking at the brunette partner of the very saboteur they were trying to rescue.
"Enough, Redding," he ordered harshly in contrast with the gesture towards Heath. "Hear him out, find Jazz and then we'll deal with this. You would do well to remember your priorities."
Alex looked ready to argue, but Orion nodded too. "I agree, Alex. Stop."
The security officer subsided moodily, dark look still very much etched on his features. Heath inhaled shakily, sending grateful glances to both men before continuing. "I've known him for a couple of years. He's a great, sweet guy who I thought wouldn't hurt a fly. I mean, he's even helped me babysit my cousin more than once." His bottom lip disappeared as he chewed it. "Then one night I was getting ready to leave and I walked past Detective McCallen's office. I saw him looking at some files with a face I recognized instantly plastered across them. I... didn't want to believe it. I couldn't at first. My Thane, a chief player in Morgan Russell's empire? The same one that taught my four-year-old cousin how to play 'Go Fish' and gives her piggy-back rides around the garden?"
Adam squeezed Heath's shoulder lightly to tell him he was going off course, and Heath flushed. Byron put a hand on the scout's forearm. "Anyway, I couldn't decide whether to confront him about it or leave it, because if I confronted him then Jazz's cover would be blown and if I didn't I wasn't sure I could bear the thought of him being the bad guy here. So in the end I texted him, two words that just said 'I know'. He never got back to me and I haven't heard anything since, but if I can get a hold of him..." Heath trailed off uncertainly, eyes darting around the room from person to person. Only Alex seemed to be showing any kind of negativity or hostility towards him, the others appeared to be remaining carefully neutral or calculating. Ryan, for the most part, was ignoring the drama altogether and pressing a few numbers into his phone.
"How do you know he'll help us?" asked Raji, speaking up for the first time.
"Because I know Thane Mitchell," Heath returned quietly. "He will." Orion, Adam and Ryan, looking up from his phone, exchanged looks, wondering what the heck to do.
-x-
Thane jumped when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and Warren gave him an odd look. The assault specialist ignored it, fishing in his cargo pants pockets hurriedly until he found it.
And then almost dropped it when he registered the caller ID.
Heath?
Was Heath really calling him? He stared at it dumbstruck for a few seconds, until Spencer shrieked at him to either answer the damn thing or hang up, because Born To Be Wasted was not a good ringtone for an assault specialist of his caliber to have. Thane flipped his trine mate the bird, and then hesitantly answered it. "...Hello?"
'Thane! Oh thank heavens I got through to you, I was afraid you wouldn't answer.'
That voice. Thane closed his eyes against the relief that washed through him like a tidal wave. "I nearly didn't," he replied softly. "I was terrified when I realized you knew, I didn't think you'd ever want to talk to me again."
'We'll be talking about that later, make no mistake,' said Heath firmly, and Thane nodded though he knew the scout couldn't see it. 'Anyway, that's not why I'm calling. I'm calling about Foxtrot.'
"Foxtrot?" Thane shared a look with the other two occupants of the room. "What about him?"
'He sent off his distress beacon, so I'm guessing you know who he is by now.'
"Jasper Miles, Detroit police recruit. Yeah. Shiv found him out and reported it to Morgan earlier today. He would make an awesome SAS, did you know that?"
Heath made an exasperated noise. 'Not the time, Thane! Where is he? We're pulling him out before Morgan gets his mitts on him, but we need to know exactly where he is. The beacon only shows a general area.'
The assault specialist froze for a moment. That would mean giving away their hideout, giving up Morgan's location for the police to raid it. Would it be worth it?
'...Thane?'
"I'm here. I'm thinking." He pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled noisily. He mulled it over in his head for a little bit longer, and then turned to each of his trine mates. Without him saying a word they realized what it was Thane was being asked to do. Warren nodded without hesitation, and Spencer simply gave him a look that said it was entirely his call. That settled it then. He steeled himself. "We're in the old Kilnsey building, the one that's been scheduled for demolition soon. It was a cover for any work Morgan may have had done to this place."
There was the sound of a few cheers in the background, and when Heath spoke again Thane could hear the smile in his voice. 'Thank you, Thane. I knew you'd come through.'
"You're welcome." Thane hung up before he said something he'd regret and gripped the phone tightly in one hand for several seconds. Then he stood abruptly and turned to his trine mates. "You guys had better go, this place will be swarming with cops soon."
"What about you?" asked Warren, already standing.
"I've got a guest to liberate so Morgan has one less bargaining chip."
"Have you forgotten our promise, Thundercracker?" spoke up Spencer then, arms crossed and looking irritatedly at the younger man. "None of us get left behind."
"Don't use that nickname on me, Spence." Thane gripped the doorway. "No, I haven't. You won't be leaving me behind guys, you'll be protecting me. Keep cover until I get back." With that he vanished out the door, and Spencer let an indignant screech out after him.
"Honestly," he grumbled, moving to Warren and tugging him towards the door as well. "C'mon, let's get our bags and our asses out of here."
-x-
Jazz was beginning to feel a little woozy and tired; the after effects of his earlier adrenaline rush were finally starting to make themselves known. He groaned and let his head fall back against the wall. His arms ached like the pit now; there was no comfortable way he could set them. His shoulders had long since started protesting their treatment, his muscles still retained residual spasms every so often from being tazored and his jaw still smarted from Spencer's uppercut.
That was all ignored in an instant though when he heard footsteps pounding down the corridor to his cell. He shifted to one knee, cowed but still ready to run from or fight whoever was approaching. The footsteps came to an abrupt halt outside his cell, and there were a couple swipes at a reader that didn't register before a voice swore and a slower, third try beeped the keypad ready for code entry.
He recognized that voice... it couldn't be.
"What're yeh doin'?" asked Jazz warily as Thane hurriedly punched in a code and slid the door open.
"What does it look like I'm doing? Rescuing you." The assault specialist stalked in and hauled Jazz up to his feet, jangling a couple keys and pushing one into the cuffs, wrenching them off as soon as their release beep sounded. He then pressed a strip of glass into Jazz's hand, one the saboteur recognized as his visor. He made an inarticulate noise of relief and slotted it into place, then rubbed at his sore wrists and watched the dark-haired man intently, leery.
"Poor choice o' words there, since I only had sound t' go on. Why?"
"Because," growled Thane, "you're in the 27th. So's a friend of mine. If anything happens to you he'll be devastated, and the last thing I want is to see him hurt."
"So yer bein' a turncoat."
"Spence, Warren and I have been talking of getting out of here for months. You've just given us the break we were waiting for. Spencer had originally planned to set you up as our fall-guy, but seeing as you've managed that all by yourself..." Thane trailed off and shrugged, then noticed Jazz's bloodied neck and shoulder, stemming from a ripped ear. "What did you do?"
"Had t' get it out somehow." Jazz didn't elaborate further, and Thane nodded.
"Then let's go," He waited a few seconds for Jazz to properly get his bearings, then tossed him a gun. A Glock 19, Jazz realized. That was his back-up gun.
"How did yeh get this?" He demanded, inspecting it for wear and faults. "I didn't bring it with meh any o' th'times I came here."
"Actually, you did," Thane led him down a maze of corridors, turning far too many times for Jazz to keep track of where they were. "It was in your car when I was asked to turn it inside out. I kept it. I knew Shiv would start asking questions if the gun a cop typically carried was found in Foxtrot's ride."
"...huh," Jazz cocked the gun and aimed it as they walked, then lowered it but never relaxed. "I've never been that sloppy b'fore. I guess I owe yeh a lot more'n I thought."
"Help me get us both out of here so I can have that over-due talk with Heath and we'll call it even." Thane finally stopped in front of the elevator and turned to the saboteur. "Morgan knows we only have two ways out, and they'll both be heavily guarded. This isn't the time for Jasper Miles to be all reserved and careful. Foxtrot is going to have to do the work here."
"Jasper can do it too," Jazz said, locking mahogany with gold.
"No. Foxtrot is tainted and warped with blood, Jasper isn't. I won't be the reason he is."
Jazz only remained in a mind battle with Thane for a short time before he backed down. The assault specialist was right, this was no time for the niceties or subtleties of Jasper.
Unless...
He suddenly reached around Thane and pressed the button to call the elevator down to them. The assault specialist looked surprised, but decided to go with it and leveled his own gun at the door the same time Jazz did. When it reached them and the door opened, two of Morgan's goons just had time to plaster a look of shock on their faces before two bullets made short work of their brains.
"Hold th'door," said Jazz, stepping into the metal box. He moved carefully over the fallen bodies and looked up at the ceiling. A small hatch greeted him and he grinned. "Alright, now we're talkin'." Jazz took a step back, then leapt at one of the side walls and bounced off it to latch himself onto one of the guard rails that ran around the top corners of the elevator. Hooking his toes over one end gave him enough leverage to throw his other leg to the other side of the room, lodging his foot between the ceiling and the guard rail on the other side.
Thane watched the saboteur in bemusement as he was, to all intents and purposes, doing the splits in the roof of an elevator. Honestly, the situations he found himself in. Shaking his head he watched as the dreadlocked man above him meddled around with a square shape inset into the metal ceiling, until a loud click and a noise of triumph threw themselves back down at him. The hatch pushed open, and Jazz untangled himself and hopped nimbly to the floor as though everyone did acrobatic sabotage.
"Up," he said simply, pointing at the hole. "I'll give ya a boost if y'need it."
Thane just gave him a look, then copied Jazz's move earlier, launching himself at the far wall and then jumping back to grab the edges of the hatch. He pulled himself up smoothly and smirked down at the saboteur once he was on his feet.
Jazz just shook his head with a grin and pressed the button for the second floor, where one of their exits was located. The elevator doors hissed shut and Jazz climbed out of the hatch so both he and Thane were on top of the elevator. The shaft was cold, noisy and could make anyone claustrophobic, and the smell of old oil was strong enough that it made Jazz's eyes start to water slightly as his sensitive nose got a full blast of it. He kicked the hatch door shut.
"It won't take 'em long t' realize where we went, but this should buy us some time," said Jazz loudly over creaks, squeaks, rattles and groans. Thane nodded wordlessly, and they waited until the lift started slowing as it reached the second floor. Before it had stopped they both had the cover for the air vents off and Thane was already halfway into it when it did. Jazz quickly followed, bringing the cover back with him and putting it back over the entrance.
"Hurry, go," he hissed at Thane. The assault specialist needed no further encouragement. They didn't get far into the vent before Thane started quietly laughing, and Jazz shushed at him before asking him what he found so funny about scrambling through years of dust, grime and spiders.
"It's just..." Thane paused when they reached a fork in the ventilation, then decided on the left branch. "This feels ridiculously cliché. Do you know how stereotypical we're being right now?"
"If it fuckin' works I don' care," replied Jazz, pushing at Thane to go a bit faster.
"But really, Foxtrot? The vents?"
Jazz made an exasperated noise, but refused to say anything more. He reached up to the holder on his temple as he crawled along and switched his view mode to infrared. Immediately his surroundings went dark save for Thane, who glowed brightly warm against the cold navys and blacks of the vents. He turned his gaze down waiting until he reached a grate in the vent. Once he found one he stopped to peer through. The rooms were warmer, but still seemed quite happy to stay a dark blue. Four heat signitures were moving around below him, and Jazz was betting there were more nearby. He grimaced, then started as an alarm sounded through the building once.
He heard the figures below shuffle around for a minute, before exclaiming, "What do you mean Foxtrot escaped?"
The saboteur chuckled and glanced back up at Thane with a grin, but it quickly vanished as he glimpsed ahead of the blunette in the vent. What had previously been an alternating void of dark colors was now broken by a crosshatch of bright white. He noticed Thane making to keep going. "No, Thane, stay put," Jazz hissed. "Don' move."
The assault specialist froze as Jazz took in something he couldn't see further down the shaft. "What?"
"Lasers o' some kind, gridded. Right in front o' yeh." Jazz's visor faded from its reddened hue back the usual crystal blue, and the saboteur frowned. "This could b' a problem."
"You think?" shot back Thane sarcastically, relaxing his position slightly. "Now what?"
"Shaddap, 'm thinkin'."
"Well think faster," muttered Thane, eyeing the space in front of him where the lasers were waiting.
"Not. Helpin'," Jazz bit out. He flicked through to infrared once more, peering through the grate again. There were only two people he could see now, but that didn't mean more weren't out his line of sight. Grates were limited in that respect. He made a humming noise. "Thane, can yeh turn around?"
A pause and some major rustling movement. "It's tough, but yeah I think so."
"Do it. Yer gonna help meh take this grate off."
Thane let out a frustrated noise. "Fine, but tell me if I'm getting too near the grid."
Jazz's head rose to watch Thane shuffle awkwardly around in what little room he had, eyeing the laser grid carefully until the warm yellows and whites of Thane's face came into view. Jazz flashed him a brief grin. "Don' move back whatever ya do," he warned, and began picking at the grate to get it undone. Thane gave him a sour look in return, but started helping the saboteur.
Five minutes later and the grate came off almost silently, much to both the mens' delight. Jasper leaned out slightly, sweeping the now-empty corridor. "We're in luck," he said, pulling back up. "No one's there."
"You do realize Morgan's got cameras all around this place so he'll know exactly where we are the second we drop down there?" asked Thane dryly, one eyebrow raised at the dreadlocked man opposite him.
"Right, o' course he would. 'Cept I put some insurance on the cameras should I need to escape. Like we are now."
"Dare I ask?"
Jazz simply smirked and disappeared through the grate as he flipped silently to the floor. He looked around, then gestured Thane to do the same. "When I was on security detailin' I set up a killswitch fer th' cameras, tuned t'meh earring alarm." Jazz touched at his ripped ear lightly, dried blood flaking off onto his fingertips. Thane understood immediately; that earring had been Jasper's emergency alarm. Cleared up why he'd wrenched it out, then.
"They've been out for a while, then," Thane mused. "That's not right; Warren, Spence and I should've been informed the minute they went offline. We heard nothing."
Jazz's eyes narrowed at that, but he didn't get a chance to say anything more before he heard the sound of a gun being cocked. "Down!" he shouted right as a shot rang out. Thane hit the floor alongside Jazz, but the saboteur was up and aiming at the lackey who'd fired faster than the man could act. A bullet from Jazz's gun hit the man's head dead center before he had time to react further. Thane saw the briefest of satisfied smiles flash across a dark face, and then it turned to him with a questioning look. Well, where now?
Shaking his head quickly to clear the spike of fear that had gone through him at that look, Thane gestured down the hallway and moved off, Jasper following behind. His visor was back to blue now, but the canting of his head every so often told Thane that Jazz was listening for things and he'd be wise to keep quiet unless necessary.
They made good headway through the compound, which just set Thane more and more on edge. Jazz too, if his continually tensing figure was anything to go by. If this kept up they'd get to the exit and out without any resistance. It didn't bode well with the assault specialist.
And no truer words were thought when Jazz suddenly stopped and stiffened, expression turning savage. "We're surrounded," he whispered curtly, almost silently, whipping out his gun and steadying it at chest level.
"Well shit," Thane's own K100 came out. "You didn't hear them?"
Jazz made a frustrated noise. "No," he ground out. "I didn't." They moved until they stood together, Thane facing back the way they'd come and Jazz aiming at the split T-junction hallway ahead of them. The first man to brave coming round the corner was on Jazz's watch, and the wall behind said goon was immediately painted in blood. "Come out 'n fight meh, yeh bastards! Or are yeh too chicken? Scared o' Foxtrot? Well ya fuckin' should b'!"
"Don't goad them!" growled Thane, but the damage had been done. Their guns were suddenly being put to more use than they'd seen for a while, Jazz throwing in physical brawling to the mix. Several times the bullets meant for the two escapees found other marks, and Morgan's men found themselves taking out their own as much as Thane and Foxtrot were.
It was only after the last man had fallen that Thane cautiously put away his gun and turned back round to Jazz. The saboteur had a strange expression on his face, and he stepped over to the man who had actually managed to graze him with a bullet. He studied the body for a minute, then raised his arm and fired several shots into the man's head, desecrating it completely.
"Jazz, no! Stop!" Thane attempted to move to the saboteur, but aborted abruptly when the gun swung round immediately to focus on him. Thane stood stock still, his gaze meeting Jazz's fluctuatingly unstable one. "Stop this, Jasper. Please."
Jazz let loose a bark of slightly insane laughter. "Y'told meh Foxtrot would have an easier time o' this, Thane. Well guess what? Yeh were right. I had a goal undercover, somethin' t' focus on so I could push this part o' meh back. But now? This is survival, pure 'n simple. Jazz wouldn't get out o' this alive 'cause he ain't willin' t'kill. I am." The gun lowered slightly. "I am."
Thane regained his position a bit at the backing down of Jazz, but then his eyes widened when he glanced behind the saboteur. "Foxtrot, look-" That was all he got out before he saw Shiv knock Jazz out cold with a single blow to the back of the neck and he got his own, the last thing he saw being the operations commander leaning over the still form of Jasper Miles, slipping something between his lips and smug grin in place.
-x-
Adam threw himself into his assigned squad car, Ryan and Simon following quickly behind. He set the lights and siren going, gunned the engine and screeched out after Orion's car leading out the garage. As much as he loved his Datsun it was hardly built to withstand a bullet hail, and Jazz, he thought with a wry smile, would never forgive him if it got dented along the way. Squad car, safer option.
Misgivings about machinery were set aside when his radio squawked and Orion's voice filtered through. 'All units, report in ready.'
Adam made to get the radio as next in formation, but Simon pushed his hand aside. "You're driving," he said simply, and pressed the talk button. "Unit One McCallen, Cooper and Chester reporting ready."
'Unit Two Bleu, Reynolds and Hayes reporting ready.'
'Unit Three Jones,Breaker and Ironhide reporting ready.'
'Unit Four James, Redding and Sullivan reporting ready.'
'Unit lead Arkham received and acknowledged. Let's go.'
"Sullivan?" Simon raised an eyebrow at the radio. "What on earth is Dana doing coming with us, and with Byron and Alex no less? They'll drive each other insane."
"I just wish the Commissioner had told me Ironhide was coming with us. I thought I saw him getting in with Ben, but I didn't notice him at the briefing so I thought I was mistaken," Adam's grip on the steering wheel tightened.
"I called him, told him everything. More hands, easier time of it," commented Ryan coolly, settling back. "He'd never let anything happen to Jazz."
"And you just love bringing civilians into this whole mess, don't you?" shot back Simon. The surgeon glared at him in response, and Adam felt the air start to thicken with tension slightly. He growled.
"Both of you knock it off, this isn't the time," he snapped, blue eyes icy with concentration and worry. "More important things, remember?"
It wasn't often the brunette medic found himself cowed, but he found himself to be ever so slightly just that to the detective driving the both of them through downtown Detroit with reckless, effortless speed. He cast his gaze downwards to his hands, which fidgeted uncomfortably. He stayed like that for a couple minutes, and then noticed something gleam out the corner of his eye, on the inside of his lapel.
He frowned and brushed at it irritably. It came away easily, but Ryan stilled when he realized what it was. "Oh those idiots," whispered Ryan in horror. "They'll get themselves killed!"
"Rai?" Simon gave the surgeon a quizzical look, and Ryan held out the bug wordlessly. The psychiatrist narrowed his gaze at it, sharp look demanding an answer.
"Sides made them. They're simple things, tuned to a walkie-talkie, but it kept him occupied and away from pestering Sunny while he was being arty." He grimaced. "I wondered why they left so willingly."
"You mean-"
"I mean that Sunny and Sidam both know where Jazz is, and they have a huge head-start on us. Those reckless morons are going to end up hurting themselves somehow, I just know it."
"You're concerned," spoke up Adam from the front, eyes never leaving the road. "You care for them."
"Of course I fucking care for them, the brats," said Ryan harshly. "They're my wards, it's natural."
"Perhaps." Adam lapsed into silence, leaving the medic simultaneously fuming and worried in the back seat. He flexed his fingers across the steering wheel, leaving them open for a few seconds before they curled back round to grip the rough leather. Or perhaps you're like me and love them too much to let anything happen to them.
-x-
The scene that greeted the 27th precinct when they arrived in front of the Kilnsey building left much to be desired. There was a two-block radius of plots and buildings around them that had been abandoned, were up for sale or rent or had recently been demolished. The squad cars stopped in a line-up, covering their passengers as they slipped out the doors facing away from the building entrance. A large land plot stood between them and the Kilnsey office block, but that didn't make any of the 27th feel any better.
"Raji, Skylar, Dana, on the roofs. I want as good as you can give me," ordered Orion, pointing at the surrounding buildings. "Ryan you're on stand-by. Stay out of any conflict unless necessary, understood?"
The surgeon made a face and nodded.
"Adam and Ben I want you on point watch. Raymond, you and Anthony cover our asses. Simon, Heath and Byron you're with me. We've got to work out what the heck we're going to do. Sniper team, I want a non-radio signal when you're in position; I have a feeling our radios won't work while we're here."
The three officers nodded and snatched up their gear from their cars before disappearing. Adam watched Dana go, surprised that she was counted among the officers here. Wasn't she just a receptionist?
Byron seemed to notice and grinned, nudging at the detective and catching his attention. "Dana's been a cop for a while. As long as she keeps up her training Orion's okay to accepted her request as being a simple secretary; means we always have at least one trained officer in the building at all times."
"She can do that?" said Adam dubiously, and Byron shrugged.
"I don't question the big guy," he answered.
"Sir!" Ben interrupted them all, and the blond pointed up at one of buildings to their right when Orion turned to him. A green cloth piece fluttered out of one of the building windows, and Orion waved his arm once to acknowledge it. The flag disappeared. "That's one in position."
"The other two shouldn't be long," said Orion. He looked at the Kilnsey building across the way. Morgan must know by now they were here, what was he waiting for? Was he buying time for an escape?
No, unlikely. That would mean he hadn't planned for something like this, and Morgan was far too organized for that. It would also mean he'd have to kill Jazz and there was no way the crime lord would off his only ticket out. That, and Morgan liked to goad the police so he was likely to gloat about it somehow.
His thoughts were interrupted when Ben called out again. "Two more flags, Chief. They're in position."
Orion raised his hand again, signaling he'd seen them, and the flags vanished accordingly. "Now," he said heavily. "We wait."
And wait they did.
But, Adam was startled to find, not for a very long time. A lot of the precinct was getting antsy after twenty minutes of waiting, but they were rewarded with movement exiting the building. Guns were immediately primed and trained on the doors, a couple of shotguns and a rifle in among the semi-autos. To everyone's immense surprise and relief, the person who came out was none other than their missing comrade.
But their joy was short-lived, as Thane Mitchell followed closely behind him, herded out by slick-looking dark-haired man with a malicious smirk. Trailing behind him several more men crowded out and positioned themselves so they were spread out, but still close enough that they created a protective cover. It became clear that Shiv had a hold on both Jazz and Thane, the former of whom appeared subdued and languid and the latter trying fiercely to get away. Thane's lip was split, several small cuts littered his face and a large bruise could be seen forming on his forearm, and Jazz's ear, neck and shoulder were caked in dried blood, but neither seemed too much the worse for wear.
Adam let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"Let them go, Corey!" yelled Orion, grip on his gun tightening. "Release them! Now!" The dark-haired man's smile simply widened, and he stepped aside a bit, dragging Jazz with him.
"Ahhhhh, Commissioner Arkham. Now, why would I do that when they're my ticket out of here?" Another couple of figures stepped out and Samuel took up the brief slack of holding Thane down. Heath made a noise of pain as Morgan Russell kicked the back of Thane's knees subtly, but enough that they buckled and took him down with them.
"I don't make deals with madmen," snarled back the 27th's leader.
Morgan clucked his tongue. "Shame." He gestured to Shiv who flipped the safety off his weapon and held it to Jazz's temple. Adam barely held himself back, but his entire being sang with the need to see Jazz safe and his captor behind bars. "I'd hate for you to have to arrange for their funerals."
"You won't kill them," returned Simon curtly, joining in the 'negotiations'. "You need them to get out of this. Without them you have nothing standing between you and us."
Shiv just pressed the gun more to Jazz's head, prompting an annoyed stirring from the man. Dreads shifted, and an angry, empty golden gaze was suddenly visible. It sent a brief chill down Shiv's spine, but he ignored it.
"Don't tempt me," said Morgan smoothly, keeping his eyes locked on the police in front of him and raising his armed hand behind him. He shot, and one of his men collapsed from a bullet to the side of his head. "I don't necessarily need these two to get out of this. You should be wary of that by now, Commissioner Arkham. How many times have you tried to catch me now?"
He grinned wildly as Orion's lips pressed thin and his lightly lined, tired face suddenly gained ten years. "Although, I really must congratulate you this time." He moved to Jazz and took the young man's chin in his hand, forcing it up and facing the 27th. Shiv moved his gun to point at the saboteur's spine, out of his leader's way. "Sending Foxtrot in to trip me up? I can't believe you managed to tame him, I am really very impressed. I was a little too willing to trust a famous homicidal gang-banger. A mistake I will NOT be making again." He let go of Jazz's head, but it stayed up defiantly. Morgan simply backhanded him for it. "And how the mighty have fallen," he scoffed.
"This is your last warning, Russell! Release them or we will open fire! Jazz knew the sacrifice he was making to go on this mission, he won't go back on that claim now!" Adam couldn't keep silent any longer, and Orion shot him a sharp look.
Adam winced as Shiv took the butt of his gun and smashed it home to the left side of Jazz's head, shattering the visor holder and sending an obvious wave of pain crashing through Jazz. The lieutenant tore at his restraints in an almost feral fashion, bringing himself to his feet, but Shiv merely tightened his grip and pressed his gun further into Jazz's back.
"I've already told you I have other ways of getting out of here, suffice it to say one of which involves blowing this whole block to kingdom come. So unless you want your precious lieutenant or this ungrateful traitor killed and this entire vicinity incinerated, I suggest you stand down," roared Morgan, striking both captives in emphasis. Adam's heart lurched, both at the sight of Jazz still so cowed and the manic instability glittering in his eyes despite the loss of both visor and holder. He hesitated, then lowered his gun. Losing his head now would do them no good.
Heath, on the other hand, seemed to have reached his limit. He was visibly shaking where he stood next to Byron, refusing to lower his weapon. "You BASTARD!" he screamed, losing the professionalism of his grip and aiming with one hand instead of both. "You let them go right now! I will NOT lose Thane to you, not again!"
"Heath, no!" Byron hissed, but the damage had been done. Thane was staring at Heath with wide eyes, trepidation, hope and fear merging into one in his features. Morgan simply raised an eyebrow, before an evil grin twisted his mouth upwards.
"Well, well, well... seems you have an admirer, Mitchell."
"You leave him out of this," Thane spat, twisting violently in his restraints. Samuel adjusted his hold, keeping the assault specialist down. "You even think about touching him and I will kill you."
At that Morgan laughed. "And how, pray tell, are you going to do that? You can't even save yourself, let alone him."
"Just you watch," growled the dark-haired man, eyes darting to Heath with a plea in them not to do something stupid. Heath either didn't see it or ignored it, because he started towards Morgan with fury on his face. Both Byron and Adam grabbed him and physically held him back, and Morgan cackled gleefully.
While most of the attention was on Heath, Thane and Morgan, Jazz's ears perked up at the sound of no more than two people coming up behind them. Well, specifically behind him. Then a couple of war whoops sounded before two of the lackeys around Morgan's group were downed. Sidam didn't falter as he flew towards his next targets, fists flying as he let loose. Sunny went straight for Shiv, and Jazz took advantage of the sudden intrusion and confusion.
He threw his head back into Shiv's, the action unexpected so it caught him off-guard. Sunny didn't didn't give him time to recover, following through on Jazz's move and belting Shiv in the gut with his knee. An upper cut sent Shiv went sprawling backwards, falling over rather spectacularly. Several of the goons surrounding Shiv and Morgan made to lunge for them, knowing the consequences of freeing the psychotic young man, but the saboteur dodged all the attempts and dived out into the veritable chasm between Morgan's stand-off and the police's protective barrier. He dashed across it at top speed, flanked by the twins and hampered by the fact his arms were still clapped behind his back and he couldn't see worth a damn.
He heard screaming for his name, the frantic calling of the one person he knew and trusted more than anyone, and followed it without hesitation. Something changed in Adam's tone as he neared though, a shout that was full of warning, desperation. Two simultaneous yelps sounded from next to him, which registered as the twins, and then the saboteur felt something punch his through his abdomen, winding him almost completely. No pain registered though, so his mind ignored it, putting whatever it was to one side. He stumbled, picked himself up and carried on running.
Then there was another punch, this time to the back of his chest; something was bound and determined to see him fall over. Which he did. There was still no pain that he could feel though, which began to strike him as odd. Even if he could brush it off getting hit by debris of some kind, surely it would send something to his brain to let him know he was hurt.
But there was nothing.
He slowly became aware the he couldn't really feel his limbs either; they were running on automatic. A sure sign he was pumped up on pure adrenaline and he'd probably regret all this later.
Shoving all of that to the back of his mind he got up unsteadily with help from Sidam and Sunny and finally managed to get behind the car next to Adam, who stared at him in abject horror. Then he snapped out of it, let go of Heath and began frantically calling for Ryan while simultaneously grabbing Jazz out of the twins' grip and gently laying him on the ground on one side.
The first time Adam pressed on his abdomen there was a rush of sensation, as though a dam had broken and completely overflowed. And most of it was pain. A scream ripped itself involuntarily from his throat the second time. He shakily put a hand to his stomach briefly, over Adam's, and when it was pulled away his fingers felt warm and sticky.
He realized at that moment exactly what those punches were.
"I got shot," he gurgled weakly as Ryan arrived all bustling business and sharp barking orders. "Twice..." He coughed violently, expelling a mouthful of the precious red liquid as the medic swore loudly. "I'm losin' m'touch, mehthinks."
"Shhh, Jazz, don't talk, Please, don't talk." Adam was now behind him, moving his head a little to cradle it in his lap and taking his hand and squeezing it reassuringly.
Jazz squeezed back, but feebly tried to push Ryan away with his body. "No time fer that, Rai. Morgan's still got Thane..."
"Thane can wait; I'm sure he's got himself out of worse, and he didn't just get himself shot. You're my priority right now," snapped back the medic, taking out the same diamond-tipped drill he used to put Jazz's visual aid tech into his head. He pressed it to the cuffs and turned it on. The drill made short work of the cuffs, and once they were off Jazz stretched out his arms, grateful that he could now. Ryan placed a gauze pad over one of the bullet wounds, the one in his upper back that was bleeding much more profusely, and started wrapping the bandage round and round a torso slightly slick with sweat and blood. Once done he put a hand firmly on Jazz's shoulder to keep him down for the next gauze.
However, in Jazz's mindset that wasn't a good move, and with another sudden burst of energy and adrenaline he flew out of Adam's lap and grabbed the brunette surgeon around the throat. "No time," he hissed, tightening briefly before releasing him. The twins relaxed their stance slightly; attacking Ryan had garnered an automatic protective reaction from the two of them, but Jazz wouldn't intentionally hurt the medic.
"Jazz!" Adam stared at his partner as he got to his feet shakily, golden eyes staring dangerously in Morgan's direction where the crime lord was yelling at his second for letting such an important hostage go and not taking more care to secure him.
Thank what god there was for his previous habit of building immunity to poison. Whatever Shiv had slipped him to keep him down had worn off quickly enough it hadn't kept him incapacitated nearly as long as they'd anticipated.
"Not now, Adam. Where's m'spare visor?"
"You can't use it, Shiv destroyed your holder," growled Ryan. "Now get back here this instant before I sedate you."
"Only one side," argued Jazz, swinging round. The manic look haunting dead eyes still hadn't faded, and Adam knew this was more Foxtrot than it was Jazz now. He was about to pipe up when Sunny stepped around the brunette detective and snapped something into place in the holder on Jazz's left side. The lieutenant blinked as it lit up feebly, then stared at the blond twin.
"Don't give me that look," he grouched, crossing his arms over his chest. "I just didn't want to listen to your whinging any more."
"I-"
"Shut up, Jazz." Sunny turned on his heel and stalked off, leaving his twin and three slightly confused men behind.
Jazz shrugged it off and threw open the door of the car they were all huddled behind. Reaching under the back seats and a few seconds of fumbling granted him the spare rifle most squad cars in the 27th harbored, illegal or not. He checked it for ammo, then pulled out.
He was stopped by a hand on his arm. "Jazz please," Adam said quietly, expression unreadable. "Think about this; we need to get you stitched up and to a hospital. You're going to bleed out otherwise; the gauze is already overflowing." It was true; red rivulets were now making tracks down his back and hips, growing larger by the minute. "We'll think of a way to save Thane."
"No." Jazz didn't pull out of Adam's grip, and his eyes softened briefly. "I swore I'd take Morgan down, and that's exactly what 'm gonna do."
"You told me you'd bring him to justice."
Jazz gave his partner a long, calculating look, then reached over and pressed a brief kiss to Adam's lips. "This is justice," he whispered against them.
Pulling away he didn't see the hurt expression on Adam's face, and he popped his head above the squad car bonnet, taking in the scene. Both Morgan and Shiv were looking thunderous and victorious at the same time, and the reason was immediately apparent.
Warren Skype and Spencer White were now being held down by two people each, guns leveled to the backs of their heads. Thane was apparently in the middle of berating them ("What the hell kind of rescue was that? I told you to get the fuck out of here!"), Morgan was screaming at them to 'shut the fuck up already', White was screeching back just as loudly as Morgan that they didn't leave trine mates behind or had Thane already forgotten that and Shiv was silently trying to goad Orion and Heath into reacting.
When had they got there?
Jazz eyed them for a minute, then ducked back below the squad car. They must have tried to do the same thing the twins had, take advantage of a distraction and confusion.
Except theirs had apparently failed. Great, just great. This was all he fucking needed. He hissed in pain as his movements prompted protesting from his wounds, and he felt more than saw the aborted movement Adam made to go to him. A flash of something rang through him, but it dismissed it just as quickly as it came and popped himself over the bonnet of the squad car once more.
"Sunny, Sides, b' ready on mah call," he said quietly, ignoring the flickering that was just starting at the edge of his vision. "Yeh too, Prowler; we need t'b'ready t'go in."
Adam made a pained noise, a protesting "But-", and then grudgingly acquiesced with a brief hand on the saboteur's shoulder. He heard the detective leave warily, keeping cover behind the cars and moving towards Orion.
There was nothing to do now but wait until Adam got back with the okay, and watch for any more unexpected developments. He knew force snipers were probably situated around the area, but he also knew they wouldn't fire with hostages in their line of shot. Until they were out the way, the snipers were useless. Jasper clucked his teeth in annoyance.
When Adam finally returned and gave the whispered okay, Jazz tensed and leveled his rifle properly. Perfect. Now, all he could do was pray this madness would work, hope to hell nobody he cared about would be injured, and have faith his psyche would make this out somewhat intact. He instinctively shut his left eye, even though he couldn't see out of it anyway, and his remaining eye automatically focused on his target. He breathed in and out, in, out, in, out. On his last exhalation he didn't breathe back in again, steadying his arm and body.
He squeezed the trigger and fired.
Rae: MWAHAHAHAHA I leave you on a cliff-hanger! Yes I'm just that evil. And before anyone asks, Jazz's wounds aren't through-and-throughs and no, the twins didn't get shot. They were surprised by the gunfire, is all.
Reviews a happy Rae-Rae make!
Well, if any of you have actually stuck around. If you have, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for putting up with me. x