A/N: as usual, I would like to thank those of you who are still following this story and apologise for not updating for ages. I've been really busy at work lately, plus there is a bit of a revolution going on in my country right now, so I've had a lot to pay attention to. Anyway, here's a new chapter! Hope you guys enjoy it.

Still don't own them.

Chapter 13

"Now what?" Danny whispered, as he and Benjamin stood leaning against a wall, listening to every sound around them. The previous Danny would have thought this to be really exciting. However, the present-day Danny knew more about reality. He knew very well that they were hugely outnumbered, and now he wasn't even sure about his role, as the person he was supposed to be protecting proved to be much tougher than he had thought. He still had no idea just how tough he was and what to expect from him. The sight of that dead man was still vivid in his mind. He had never seen someone being killed before. Benjamin, however, didn't seem to be shaken by that at all, which was disturbing, to say the least. Danny turned his head to see that the other man's features were coming back to life, his breathing becoming deeper and more visible.

Benji knew that he had to get reasonable. He knew about his silent rage periods and, luckily, was able to control them for the most part, no matter how rare they were. Now he needed to calm down, because the part of him that was pushing him to just walking in and taking down everything in his path to saving his brother wasn't going to bring him to any good outcome. He wondered if they had been noticed – someone inside had most likely heard the gunshot. It took him about thirty seconds to process Daniel's question and approximately as long to find his voice.

"I think we should try to stay quiet till the guys arrive," he replied not without a hint of regret, lowering himself into a crouching position and checking his watch nervously. The guys were running late…

Danny sighed, sliding down beside Dunn. He was a bit relieved that the blond man wasn't rushing into action, clearly knowing that would be suicide, too.

"Do you think they know we're here?" he asked cautiously after a few seconds of silence.

Benji shrugged.

"If they do, we'll find out soon," he uttered joylessly. There was another silent moment before he decided to try and break the tension. "So, um… Danny. When you and Nick took down those… murderers in Sandford… Is it true that he rode into the town on a horse?"

Danny's head shot up when he heard the short version of his name being called. The voice sounded so much like his best friend's that it made him jump a bit. His eyes lit up slightly at the memory.

"Oh yes, it's true," he replied giddily, forgetting their circumstances for a moment. "Rode in on a white horse with lots of guns".

"It's just hard to believe," Benji closed his eyes, as if recalling something. "He didn't like guns at the time… ever since quitting the armed response unit".

"Yeah, I think it was after he'd shot that crackhead," Danny suggested before having one more flashback of the other man's fatal shot. "Uh, Benjamin?"

"Call me Benji," the blond man offered with a soft smile.

"Um, okay…" Danny felt uncomfortable calling him that when asking the question he was going to ask. "That man… that man you shot there… was it the first person you ever killed?"

Benji's lips became a thin line. He didn't know what to say or how to say it. His first thought was to make up something, but he dismissed it – he didn't want to lie to Danny Butterman. He wanted to at least tell Danny that he wasn't a murderer, that he only killed when there was no choice, but that sounded like a weak excuse even in his own mind. He raised his head to look the police officer in the eye and took a breath before speaking, when his phone buzzed in his pocket. His movements were still a bit distracted when he took it and pressed the answer button.

"Benji!" Brandt sounded quite agitated. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"We're at the location," Benji felt both relieved about the phone call and worried that his friends were still farther away than he wanted them to be. "Where are you?"

"We just got out of a traffic jam," Brandt explained. "You hold on there, we're looking for the shortest way to get to you…" the sound then got quieter as Brandt evidently put the phone to the side, but Benji could still hear "Ethan, wait! Are you sure this is safe?"

The call cut off there. Benji let out an exasperated sigh. He really hoped Ethan wouldn't do anything to get them in trouble. He's had enough of getting Ethan out of prison. Although, maybe, if Ethan ended up in prison this time, Benji wouldn't try to let him out and would just visit him, preferably heavily disguised. If only to see the look on his face. Benji smirked to himself, pocketing the phone. Ethan would most likely still have that infuriatingly calm expression anyway. A voice beside him brought him back to reality.

"You're not really under their protection," Danny sounded more confident than when he had asked him about not being an IT expert a few minutes before, "are you?"

"What made you think so?" Benji asked, trying to stay as calm as possible, forcing his mind not to think about what was happening to his brother at that very moment.

"They don't seem to think you need to be protected," Danny shrugged. Benji looked at him more attentively. The guy could seem naïve to some, but, just as Nick had said, he was smarter than people thought. He was probably smarter than even he thought. Benji was about to tell this to the other man, but was cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps getting closer.