What Laurel hoped was less than an hour after, but she wasn't entirely sure as she spent the whole time knocked out, she was dragged into a clearing near the middle of Fyers' camp and into the middle of a ring of soldiers. Her hands were tied behind her back and she was tossed to the ground at the feet of Fyers' and Yao Fei. She glared up at them both defiantly. All Laurel could feel was anger pulsing through her veins. At Fyers for realizing she was there. At Yao Fei for betraying her. At herself for going back for a man that clearly didn't want saving.
"Simply to satisfy my own curiosity, why aren't you already dead? I saw Yao Fei choke you to death," Fyers questioned with a head tilt. Laurel's upper lip curled in the beginnings of a snarl.
"I guess he's not as good at killing as he led you to believe," she snarked.
"Still you returned for him. Either you're a fool, or you think yourself a hero."
"I'm not a hero," Laurel countered, long fingers working at undoing the knot holding her arms behind her back.
"No, of course not," the man agreed. "It's not possible to be a hero when there's nobody worth saving." Laurel looked over at Yao Fei.
"Are we fighting again? Is that what this is?"
"Oh no, miss Lance," Fyers chuckled, amusement dancing in his cold eyes. "I'm sorry, you are mistaken. This is not a match. This is an execution."
"I'm sorry," Yao Fei muttered softly to her, but Laurel only glared up at the man. The last thing she wanted was his apologies. She heard someone approach her from behind, and she turned her head, meeting the half orange, half black mask of Billy Wintergreen. Her muscles stiffened, fear starting to take a hold.
She didn't want this man anywhere near her again. Her shoulders shook lightly as he stalked around her slowly, studying her. "It's Wintergreen, right?" She tried, hoping to grab his attention a bit. "Billy Wintergreen?" Laurel didn't even get the full words out before a punch to the jaw almost knocked her on her ass, but she kept going. "I know all about you. I know you worked for the Australian Government. That you used to fight for your country. That you used to stand for something."
A sharp jab to her jaw sent her staggering back, almost falling to her knees. Wintergreen stalked around her again, and Laurel tensed up when she heard the sound of his sword unsheathing. This was it, she thought. Wintergreen was going to murder her, and she'd never get off of this goddamned island. She'd never get to see her family again. She'd never get to see iSlade/i again. She heard the 'whoosh' of the blade arching down towards her, but she never felt the blade pierce her skin. Instead, the ropes bounding her hands together behind her back loosened and she pitching forward and caught herself on her hands and knees.
Laurel tried to push herself back up, but a heavy boot planted itself into her side harshly and sent her back to the ground with an audible thud. A hit to the temple with the handle of the sword followed, and Laurel could feel something warm and wet start spreading down her face and knew instantly that was bleeding. Laurel pushed herself to her feet, stumbling just a bit, and looked Wintergreen in the eyes. She made sure all the fear she was feeling stayed internal, not letting any show on her face.
"What are you waiting for?" She hissed. "Kill me! That's what your paid to do, isn't it? Do it!" She shouted, taking a step forward in a challenge. Laurel knew there was no way she was taking out a trained mercenary in combat, and knew that taunting him was probably not a good idea, but she wasn't just going to sit there quietly like a good little girl. She would fight until the bitter end.
As Wintergreen stepped forward, matching her challenge, an explosion went off behind her causing Laurel to flinch in surprise, and Wintergreen took a step back away from her. More explosions occurred around her, and Fyers pulled out his radio.
"How many are there?" He shouted into it, quickly running away with Yao Fei while other soldiers ran to hide, too. Some of them triggered explosions, killing them. Laurel looked around quickly, and ducked behind one of the trucks in the camp until she could see who was causing the explosions, but she had a pretty good idea at who it was.
And there he was.
Slade walked out from behind one of the other trucks, taking even strides towards Wintergreen, who was seemingly waiting for the other explosions mercenary.
"Slade," the masked man greeted, causing Slade to remove one of his katanas. "Come back to die?" Slade charged him, their swords clashing together as they started fighting. Slade was easily holding his own against the masked man, and Laurel watched intently, waiting for any opening to help Slade take Wintergreen down. Slade got a hit in after a moment, and the two backed away from each other.
"Was it so easy to betray me, Billy?" Slade questioned, causing Wintergreen to attack him first this time, managing to kick Slade to the ground. Laurel stood up quickly, muscles tensing in preparation to go help if she could. Slade struck out, punching Wintergreen multiple times before grabbing his head, and leaning close. "You know, Billy," he rasped, Laurel barely able to hear him from her position. She watched as Slade grabbed Wintergreen's sword and held the tip close to the man's masked face. "You always had a good kick." With precision that Laurel always knew Slade possessed but never saw, Slade shoved the sword straight through Wintergreen's eye, letting his body fall to the ground in a heap.
The Laurel from before Lian Yu would have been disgusted, might have even gotten nauseous. The Laurel now didn't. She didn't really feel much of anything besides gratitude for Slade that her rapist was dead.
Slade turned towards her, his dark eyes meeting her hazel-green, when a shot rang out. It hit Slade in the arm causing him to drop to the ground. Laurel ran towards her downed friend, seeing that it was Fyers who shot him – he had been watching the showdown between the two mercenaries from behind the shelter of a truck like Laurel herself did. Laurel slung Slade's arm over her shoulders, hoisting him up and grabbing a discarded gun lying near them as she stood.
Laurel aimed towards Fyers who ducked just in time as one of her bullets imbedded into the truck right where his head was. She let out a few more shots, just enough to get her and Slade away and keep Fyers behind cover so he wouldn't shoot at them again. When they were at the edge of the clearing, one of Fyers' soldiers appeared, aiming a gun at Laurel's face.
Taking a deep breath, Laurel dropped Slade's arm from around her and grabbed the gun in front of her. She twisted the barrel away from her body and towards the ground, lifted her booted foot and stomping on the man's knee. She heard the pop as the soldier's knee dislocated, as he dropped to the ground. She got the gun out of his grasp, swinging the butt of the fun towards the man's face, connecting it to the side of head. With a sickening crack, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground. She aimed the gun at the knocked out man's forehead, but was distracted by hearing a plane soar overhead. Laurel and Slade both looked up, and Slade out a sigh.
"There goes our ride." Laurel frowned over at him, lowering her arm.
"You were supposed to be on that," she griped, tucking the gun into the back of her pants and hooking his arm over her shoulders again. "You could've gone home."
"I wasn't going to leave you, Laurel." She turned her head to face him, their eyes meeting. Laurel felt the charge between them, knowing that something was probably going to spill over soon.
And she couldn't wait.
A little while later found them back at the fuselage as Laurel was extracting the bullet from Slade's arm. Her head had been taken care of as Slade would not let her work on his arm until she was looked at it, and even though it throbbed painfully, she was ignoring it and only concentrating on Slade's arm. His was bound to the chair he was sitting on it because he was afraid that he might react badly to the pain and hurt her. Laurel had rolled her eyes, but had done what he said. He grunted a bit as she got the last bit out, placing it in a spare bowl off the side.
"I'm worried about infection," she said, studying the wound.
"It'll be fine," he grunted as she moved back. "Untie me, please." Laurel did as she was asked, taking a step away from him as he rolled his shoulders and looked over the wound himself. "You did a good job," he praised.
"It still should be disinfected," she sighed. "Or at least wrapped." He nodded and allowed her to wrap a clean cloth around his bicep. At every brush of her fingertips against his toned muscles reactivated that charge simmering under her skin. "What's our next step?" She questioned softly.
"My firework display might have set Fyers back enough for his employer to call off the whole thing." At Laurel's confusion, he explained further. "Fyers is a mercenary. Someone hired him to be here." He paused a moment. "Our next step is to not die on this island."
"How are we going to do that without the plane?" Slade studied her for a heartbeat, dark eyes trailing over Laurel's face.
"With how far you've come, I think we have a chance to survive this," he rasped, voice sounding more graveled than usual. Laurel was quiet for a heartbeat.
"Should we- should we talk about what happened before we separated?" She questioned, putting the ball in his court. A dark eyebrow raised at her question.
"You mean the kiss you surprised me with?" He chuckled. "Is that what you're referring to?" Laurel felt her cheeks heat up a bit, but didn't let her gaze stray from his as she moved closer to him. She reached forward, stroking her thumb against his lightly bearded face.
"Laurel," he sighed, leaning into her hand a bit. "You don't want this. I'm an old man with a lot of bodies piled up behind me. You deserve better." Laurel shook her head, moving forward more to swing a leg over his, straddling his lap. His large hands gripped her hips, keeping her balanced.
"I want this," she whispered, leaning her face closer to his and moving her hand from his face, sliding behind his head to grasp at the short strands of hair near the base of his skull. "I want you, Slade Wilson." One of his slid up the expansion of her back until it reached her hair, tangling in her dark locks. He leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers in a bruising kiss. Laurel followed his example, pressing her body against his as much as she could.
His grip on her hair tightened as she ground down, feeling him already half-hard below her. She grinned into his kiss, letting her free hand travel down to the waistband of his pants. He pulled back just a bit, meeting her eyes again.
"Are you sure?" Slade questioned lowly, and Laurel felt warmth blossom in her chest. She could feel him hardening more under her as time passed, yet he still wanted to make sure she was comfortable with them having sex.
"I know you aren't him, Slade," she said back, giving him another kiss. "I'll be fine," she promised. He searched her gaze for any hint of wanting to back out before he surged forward again, attaching his lips to her neck, nipping and sucking at her pulse point. Laurel moaned out in surprise, fingers working at the buttons of his pants. As soon as she got them open, his hands slid under her, lifting Laurel as he stood up.
Laurel's legs wrapped around his waist as he walked over to his makeshift bed, lowering her gently on the padding. His lips found her neck again, as one hand held him above her and the other reached for one of her breast, massaging gently but firmly. Her hands tugged his top out of the waistband of his pants, pushing him back enough to slip his top off of his torso. She had seen Slade without a shirt before, but the way he looked that night, eyes blown wide with lust, chest heaving. She slid her hands down his chest, over the light dusting of hair covering it, until she reached his waist and tugged him down more firmly into her.
He was at full hardness by that point and she could feel him pressing into her inner thigh. He slid the long-sleeved black shirt she had stolen so long ago from that dead soldier off of her torso, leaving her in the red bra she had been stuck with since the yacht sinking. His lips trailed down her neck to her chest, and she leaned forward, reaching back to unhook the clasp and tossed her bra somewhere away from them. Laurel stayed in a reclined position as one of Slade's hands went to one breast, tweaking a nipple as his mouth found the other. His mouth was hot and wet and another moan escaped Laurel's lips as her head tipped back.
Slade's mouth continued the trek downwards as his other hand moved towards the center of her chest, pushing her gently back onto her back. She complied, letting the man do as he wished with her. He unbuttoned her jeans, sliding her pants down, leaving her in the matching red underwear she had worn as a surprise for Oliver. Thankfully, she had washed them in the river earlier that morning, so at least they wouldn't ismell/i months old. Her boots were slid off and then her pants followed.
Laurel was only in her underwear as Slade stood over her, drinking her in. She leaned up on one elbow, raising an eyebrow. "Are you getting in me anytime soon, or not?" She snarked. Slade let out a grunt, pushing her legs apart as he kneeled in between them. He pressed the heel of his hand to her mound with a firm pressure right against her clit. Stars burst from behind Laurel's eyes as she gasped. "Slade," she begged. "Please!" She heard his pants drop to the ground and a finger slid under the band over her underwear and slid them down the long expansion of her legs.
"Patience, love," he rasped, kneeling back down so his face was leveled with her. He sucked her clit into his mouth and entered a finger into her opening. His callouses rubbed against her inner walls and she felt herself clench around it as she moaned again. He added another finger, stretching her. She glanced down, watching as his dick bounced against his stomach. He wasn't particularly long, definitely longer than Max Fuller, but not longer than Oliver. He had more girth, though, than anyone she'd ever slept with. No wonder he wanted to stretch me, she thought, watching him stroke himself a few times before spitting in his palm and stroking again.
"Are you ready?" He asked, lining himself up with her entrance. She wrapped a leg around him, moving him forward so his tip grazed her.
"Yes," she moaned out. "Please, Slade." He pushed into her slowly, and Laurel's head tilted back again as another moan ripped out of her throat. She could feel her walls stretching to accommodate his girth and he groaned into her neck, peppering it with light kisses as he bottomed out. He moved slowly in shallow thrusts for a minute before he pulled all of the way out, and then pushing into her in one swift motion.
"Fuck, Laurel," Slade groaned. She lifted her hips to meet his thrusts, and could feel herself getting close. She grabbed onto his shoulder, pushing him to the side until he got the hint and rolled them so Laurel was straddling his hips above him. She lifted her hips enough to let him slide back into her and she let out a breathy sigh at the new feeling. She felt fuller this way and he seemed to hit a spot in her that hadn't been touched before. She rolled her hips, getting a good rhythm as one of hands gripped her hip to help her keep rhythm and the other grasped one of her breast. "You're beautiful," he gasped out. "Easily the most beautiful person I've ever seen." She learned down, pressing her lips to his, his tongue slipping into her mouth in a soft caress.
"I don't want this to end, Slade," she whispered, feeling herself getting close again. He bit her bottom lip gently as he reached between them, rolling her swollen clit between his fingers. That sent Laurel over the edge, and she came with a loud cry, feeling herself clench around him in spasms. He let out a shout, and she felt his come start to fill her, and drip down between them.
Laurel took deep breaths, calming herself down as Slade traced one of the scars on her stomach from Wintergreen's torture session as he got his own breathing under control. "That was amazing," she said, lifting herself off of his softening member and then collapsing next to him.
"You've definitely ruined me for anyone else," he agreed. "We probably shouldn't do it again, though." Laurel frowned, looking over at the dark haired Australian.
"If you didn't plan on sleeping with me again, why do it this time?" She challenged. "I want to be with you, and I know you want to be with me, too, even if it's only for a short time. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow on this island; Hell, we aren't even guaranteed tonight! Shouldn't we both be happy with whatever time with have left?"
"The last time I got together with someone I was working with, we ended in a nasty divorce."
"I'm not Adeline, Slade," she reminded him. "I'm not an agent, I'm not a soldier. I'm just a woman who was working her way through law school. Maybe we're exactly what the other needs."
Laurel thought that Slade was going to kick her out of his bed and back into her own, but he let her stay. She woke up the next morning, still naked, with Slade spooning her from behind, his burly arm wrapped around her waist tightly. She almost drifted back off to sleep until she noticed the heat pouring off of her partner and the way he was lightly shivering. Oh, no.
She rolled towards him, placing the back of her hand to his forehead, hissing lowly at the heat. Slade startled awake at the contact, jerking his head away from her as hazy dark eyes scanned the fuselage.
"Laurel?" He grunted out, holding her tighter towards his body.
"Honey, you have a fever," she said, not noticing the slip in the pet name until it was too late. Thankfully, Slade was too out of it to notice. Or too out of it to care. She unwrapped the cloth from around his wound a bit and peeked under it. The wound was bright red and inflamed. "It's infected," she sighed. She tried to think through her limited knowledge of medicine, before a thought occurred to her; Yao Fei's herbs. "I'm going to go get you some medicine." Laurel pushed gently on Slade's chest until he was lying back down on his makeshift bed.
"Oh? Is there a convenience store on the island I've never noticed before?" He questioned bitingly. Laurel ignored him, dressing quickly. She grabbed a large knife, tucking it into her right boot and then grabbed the handgun she had picked up the day before and stuck in the back of her cargo pants. "Laurel? Where are you going?"
"Yao Fei had some healing herbs back in his cave," she explained, finding a long string and tying her up in a low ponytail and out of her face. Slade's eyebrows furrowed together, concerned.
"You won't survive an hour out there," he said anxiously. Laurel leaned towards him and pressed her lips against his scalding forehead.
"I'll be back, I promise." Without waiting for answer, Laurel ducked out of the fuselage, heading towards the cave that she had woken up in after Yao Fei shot her in the shoulder with that arrow. It seemed like a lifetime ago that it happened. Everything before the island seemed like someone else's life and was no longer her own. She was pretty sure the previous Dinah Laurel Lance was a stranger with her face.
She made it back to the cave with no difficulty. Her problem arose when she entered the cave and there was a man kneeling on the ground, face swollen and bloody. He had clearly been attacked and had his hands tied behind his back. It was all very reminiscent of her own time in Fyers' camp.
"Oh, thank God!" The man cried, eyes lighting up with hope as Laurel used a flashlight to scour the cave for anyone else besides the man. "Please, help me!"
"Who are you?" Laurel demanded, shining the light on the man's face again.
"I'm an exchange student," the man explained. "I was shipwrecked on the island. I was the only survivor, and some soldiers beat me up!" Laurel's eyes narrowed in on the man, skeptical.
"Convenient," she started, moving past him to grab the herbs that Yao Fei left for Slade. "You have almost the same story as what happened to me." She moved back towards the mouth of the cave before pausing and turning back to him. "I don't believe you, and I can't take the chance of letting you go."
Laurel exited the cave, hearing the man's pleas and cries getting softer the further out she was. A part of her felt like she should have let the man go, giving him the benefit of the doubt. The larger part of her, though, knew that the man must have been one of the Fyers' soldiers. A voice in the back her head that sounded a lot like Slade whispered that she should've killed him, just in case, but she couldn't.
Not yet, anyway.
About forty minute later, Slade was sitting up, drinking the herbs and water Laurel had just mixed together for him. He made a face. "It taste likes shit, but it does the trick." He dark eyes flicked up to hers. "Thank you, Laurel." A small smile graced her lips, as she took a sip of her plain water. "Did something happen?" He questioned with a head tilt. "You seem off." Laurel shook her head.
"No, nothing happened. Everything went fine."
A few days later found Laurel doing some pullups on a bar. She was quite proud of herself. Before she found herself there, she could maybe do ten pullups before quitting, but now she was going on thirty and only felt a little winded. She'd take it as a win. She dropped to the ground, groaning a bit at the strain in her biceps, rubbing her left one lightly.
"You're doing quite well at those," Slade commented from his position on the ground, finishing up with some pushups.
"I can think of other ways to work up a sweat," she teased, pleased when he raised a dark eyebrow at her with a little smirk. They hadn't had sex again since that night before his infection set in, and Laurel wanted him so badly again that it almost was something so refreshing about the gruff man that she couldn't help but be attracted to. She hated to admit it, but she could easily see herself falling in love with him.
Laurel looked over at the radio that just sat off in the corner, seemingly dead. She tilted her head at it, wondering if she could tinker with it and see where it led her. "It's broken," Slade commented, standing up. He had clearly noticed what she was looking at. "I've tried to fix it."
"Oliver used to help his dad with plane maintenance," she commented, making her way over to the discarded equipment. "He taught me a few things. I can take a look at it since it's not like I can make it work any less, right?"
"Have at it, love." That was new, she thought, ignoring the term of endearment for now. She'd slipped up a few more times and had called him 'honey' the past few days and never said anything, so she could let his pet name slide, too. "Just make sure you still work on your fighting technique with me. We need to make sure you can hold your own fully against Fyers' men."
Laurel worked on the radio in her spare time for days, working out with Slade for the most part, sparing, and then fiddling with the radio. She hated to admit it, but Oliver had been a good teacher. She recognized some of the wiring, and knew what to do. She was, of course, winging the rest of it.
One day, Laurel was still working with the radio as Slade walked in with a boar on a pole over his back, clearly dinner for the night. Laurel didn't pay him much attention, connecting two wires together. "You should take a break," Slade commented. Laurel just hummed in acknowledgment, but didn't say anything. She was too focused on the task in front of her. A heartbeat later, static crackled throughout the fuselage, making Laurel lean back in shock.
"Holy shit," she cursed.
"You did it," Slade said, moving behind her, sounding just as surprised as she felt. They heard a radio band, and he reached forward, trying to reach someone. He fiddled with some dials, and then sighed in frustration. "We can't call out." Laurel leaned back into the man's solid frame with a groan. So much for that. A familiar voice cut across the line in a clear British accent and she leaned forward again. Fyers. "We found the mercenaries' frequency." They both listened intently as Fyers said that something called 'Scylla' would be on its way to him in a few hours.
"You think he's talking to his employer?" Laurel questioned.
"Most likely," he agreed. "But, what's Scylla?"
"Scylla and Charybdis were monsters from The Odyssey," she explained. "Which makes since after that code from the tower." Slade looked at her for a moment before smiling sharply.
"Let's go see this so called 'monster'."
Laurel couldn't agree more.
As they were trekking their way through the trees, Laurel could feel Slade glance at her. "Whatever it is you want to ask, just ask," she sighed.
"What kind of monster was this Scylla in the book? You also mentioned another one; Char-something." Laurel let out a soft laugh, surprised at the question.
"When Odysseus was passing through the strait, he basically has to choose between two monsters; Charybdis, which was a giant whirlpool that would have sunk his ship and all of his crew would have died. The other, Scylla, was a sea monster that would have taken six of his men, as it had six heads. He was faced with losing his whole crew with Charybdis, or only losing six with Scylla," she explained. Surprisingly enough, Oliver enjoyed the book more than Laurel did, but she was now so glad she read it as many times as she did. Slade was silent for a moment.
"If Scylla was supposed to be the lesser of two evils, do you think this Scylla is, too?"
"I don't know, but I certainly hope not."
"Yeah, I was right; this needs to be as bad as it gets," Laurel groaned lowly after Slade handed her a pair of binoculars. They were on the outskirts of Fyers' camp, staying hidden, looking at the machine that he had dubbed 'Scylla'.
"It's a missile launcher," Slade said. "Russian made, I'd guess. Could probably shoot down a commercial airliner, or-"
"Or?" Laurel urged, noticing his hesitation.
"Start a war." She felt her blood run cold, and from the dark look spreading through his already dark eyes, Slade was feeling the same. This was something too dangerous to be in the hands of Fyers and his men.
"Innocent people are going to die if we let him go through with whatever he's planning," Slade took back the binoculars, peering through them once more.
"They're carrying crates of explosives," he muttered, and Laurel tensed up once more. What was he planning? "I have an idea." She turned towards him and saw the Australian was staring at her. Oh, God.
"What's the idea?"
"You still have that balaclava?" Laurel nodded slowly, not following where he was going with his question. "Put it on."
"Put it – oh."
A few minutes later, a disguised Laurel tossed Slade on the ground in front of the small group of soldiers as if he was restrained. Thankfully for her, the outfit she stole from the soldier all those months ago still didn't flaunt her figure, so she looked masculine; like a random soldier finding the Australian that Fyers had been looking for. The group moved forward towards them, one even going as far as cracking his knuckles at the chance of getting his hands on Slade, before the man stood up, brandishing pistols. He shot down most of them, while one made his way past him towards her. Laurel slipped a knife out of one her pocket and threw it at him. It was something she'd been practicing for a while, and was getting rather good at.
The knife imbedded in his chest, sending him stumbling to his knees with a gasp. Slade took the opportunity to aim one of his guns at the man's head and pull. the trigger. The man crumpled to the ground like a puppet with it's strings cut, just like Robert Queen.
Laurel exhaled sharply, tugging the balaclava off of her head roughly. Now wasn't the time. There was no room for a PTSD flashback in Purgatory.
During her musing, Slade had started to put the explosives around the missile, and Laurel picked one up to help, but a thought suddenly hit her. She climbed up on to the missile launcher, reaching into the machinery. "Laurel, what are you doing?" Slade questioned. Instead of answering, she plucked something from the launcher and jumped down next to him, holding up the circuit board as an answer.
"Can't do much without this," she grinned. "And it's a little less flashy." Slade grinned back, reaching forward to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her into a searing kiss.
"God, you're amazing."
That night, Laurel and Slade hid in some bushes near where the launcher was situated and they watched as Fyers studied the launcher to see what was wrong with it. Slade handed her a radio, a working one that he swiped earlier, and Laurel took a deep breath before pressing the button the side of the mic.
"Hi, Fyers," she said cooly. She watched as someone got his attention as he stormed his way int one of the tents set up before his voice cut through the air.
"Miss Lance," the man greeted back and Laurel could hear the undercurrent of anger.
"Missing something?" She questioned innocently, biting her bottom lip to keep from laughing.
"Oh, miss Lance, you will regret this, mark my words. I will make sure that what my men do to you next will make what happened all those months ago look like child's play," the man threatened. Laurel felt her spine start to stiffen at the threat, but Slade put one of his large hands against her back, the warmth from his palm seeping into her skin. It calmed her and gave her a renewed strength. She knew that as long as Slade Wilson was alive, no one would touch her like that again without her consent.
"That's nice," she sighed. "We'd like to make a deal, Fyers."
"What kind of a deal would you and mister Wilson like to make?" Fyers scoffed.
"Will will give you the circuit board back," Laurel started, "but we want a way off of this island. A safe way off of this island." There was silence on the other end for a long moment, testing Laurel's patience. "Stop stalling, Fyers. You want the circuit board, you get us a boat," she snapped.
"You are so hot right now," Slade muttered into her ear after she let go of the button the side so only she could hear him. Laurel let out a breathy laugh, turning her head to press her lips against his.
"If this all goes well, you can show me how hot you think I am on a real bed," she flirted.
"And when would you like to have this exchange, miss Lance?"
Laurel recited some coordinates that Slade had given her, telling him to meet them at the location in the morning, and waited for Fyers' agreement before they shut the radio off and retreated back to the plane. That night, the two were curled up on Slade's bed, Laurel's head resting on Slade's bare chest while he had an arm wrapped around her, fingers stroking the skin of her back gently.
She was hopeful that this would be it; that they would be getting off of this island soon, but they didn't seem to have the best luck. She still hoped, though, and prayed to a God that she wasn't sure if she believed in any longer, to get them off of Lian Yu safely.
"You're thinking too loudly," he rasped out lowly, startling her a bit.
"Sorry," she apologized with a sigh, reaching up with her right hand to trace patterns into his chest with a fingertip.
"We're going to be fine, Laurel, no matter what happens," he promised. "I'll make sure of it."
"I don't trust him."
"I don't either," he agreed. "So, we'll both need to be focused and prepared tomorrow. Which means we need to get some sleep," he finished a bit more softly. Laurel looked up at him, and her hazel-green eyes met his dark brown. She leaned forward, capturing his lips with hers gently.
"You're right."
"Usually am."
"Shut up, Wilson."
The next morning, Laurel and Slade were side by side, waiting to meet with Fyers. They had hid the circuit board in a place where she hoped Fyers nor his mercenaries would find it. He appeared out of the treeline, Yao Fei and a small group of mercenaries with him.
"We warrant more than just Yao Fei," Slade mused in her ear. "He must find us threatening." Laurel's lips curled upwards into a smirk, agreeing. The amount of soldiers Fyers brought was a bit overkill in her opinion.
"Where's our boat, Fyers?" Laurel questioned, with a head tilt, right hand creeping back to grasp the handle of the handgun tucked into the back of the waistband of her pants.
"Where's my circuit board?"
"Safe," she answered. "We want to see our boat, first."
"Don't worry," Slade added. "Her morality and integrity seem to be her strong suit." The smile that crawled across Fyers' face made Laurel's blood run cold as she gripped her gun tighter.
"That's good to hear," the man said before turning his head to a seemingly empty clearing in the forest. "Bring her in." A woman was dragged in; she had pale skin, beautifully shaped almond eyes that reminded Laurel a lot of Yao Fei's, dark hair that was tied up in a very messy bun and that looked like it hadn't been washed in a while. She was thin in a way that spoke of near starvation, like how Laurel was before she stumbled upon Slade. What had Fyers' and his men been doing to her? Yao Fei's eyes got wide at the sight of her and it all clicked in Laurel's head; ishe/i was the reason Yao Fei never came with her or left Fyers. iIt all made sense/i.
They forced the woman on her knees and Laurel took an aborted step towards her, wanting to help, but realizing that was nothing she could at that moment. Fyers aimed his gun at the woman's head, while Yao Fei shouted at him.
"No! Please! Shado!"
One of the soldiers hit him in the head with the butt of his rifle and knocked him down. "I will kill her if you do not hand over that circuit board," Fyers threatened, keeping his gun trained on the back of Shado's head. His cold gaze swung between Laurel and Slade, a mocking smile crawling across his face. "I know both of you would hate to have this young woman's death on your conscience." Slade raised his arm, gun aimed at Fyers.
"Let the girl go," he commanded in a dark tone that Laurel had only heard a couple of times before. Fyers didn't even blink at the threat, lowering his arm and taking a step back. away from Shado.
"Execute her," he ordered, and Laurel watched as the mounting horror on Yao Fei's face grew ten times stronger.
"No!" He shouted loudly, and Shado used the distraction to her advantage, grabbing the gun out of the hands of one of the soldiers and hitting another in his side. While the second one faltered, she punched the first one in the chest, hard, forcing them both to go almost to their knees. Her legs wrapped around the neck of one, throwing him into the second, knocking them both out with in a few seconds.
Laurel and Slade shared a surprised look before they both moved. Slade shot two soldiers while Laurel rushed another, slamming her palm into his throat and then headbutting him hard. Once he was disoriented, she shoved him headfirst into the tree behind him, knocking him unconscious.
Yao Fei had grabbed a soldier with his legs around the neck, and from the shade of red the man was turning, he must have been squeezing hard. Shado was doing the same with Fyers, throwing him to the ground. Laurel could definitely see the resemblance between the two as they took down their enemies in practically the same move. She turned to see how Slade was doing, and saw that he looked rather impressed by Shado.
Laurel didn't like that.
Laurel was stubborn, she was thick-headed, she could be petty, and she was, sometimes, a jealous person. Especially, with people she really liked. Slade was one of those people, and she did not like the way the man she had feelings for staring at this woman like that. At all.
She sent punch after punch at Fyers' face with enough force to already leave deeply red marks along his sharp cheekbones, leaving him in a daze as she stood up and approached Laurel and Slade. Unfortunately for them, more of Fyers' men showed up, opening fire on them. Laurel and Shado each took a side to help Yao Fei up as his hands were still bound behind his back and Slade covered them as they headed for the tree line.
Laurel took the lead, leaving Yao Fei with Shado until she heard him cry out. She turned, seeing him fall to the ground with a bullet wound in his thigh. "No!" She cried, doubling back to help him back up with Shado's help.
"No, go!" He urged, shoving at them both.
"No, baba!" She cried, trying to usher him forward.
"Laurel, please," he begged, his English sounding better than the last time she heard him speak. "Take her and go!" She met his dark, pleading eyes and exhaled sharply before reaching out and grabbing the top of Shado's arm.
"Fuck! Come on, we'll come back for him," she promised, dragging her along.
"Baba!" She cried one last time, allowing Laurel to lead her into better coverage where the trees were thicker. Slade was right on their trail, the three escaping the mercenaries.
When they finally stopped, Laurel placed a hand on her side, bending over and trying to breathe through a stitch. As soon as her heartbeat started slowing down, a thought struck her. "Fuck," she cursed, spinning to stare at Slade with wide eyes. "The circuit board!" He took off, barely sparing the two woman a glance to see if they were following as they made their way to the stump it was left at.
It was gone.
"Goddamnit," Laurel sighed, dropping down to the ground and hanging her head in defeat.
"He probably had his men combing the island while meeting with us," Slade growled, pacing in front of her. Shado was standing off to the side, sharp eyes studying the pair before her.
"We need a plan," the woman spoke up making both of them look at her.
"What do you suggest?" Slade questioned in his usual gruff tone. Shado just smiled.
Later on that day, they had made their way back to the fuselage. Slade and Shado were sparing, and seemed to be evenly matched as Shado knocked Slade to the ground and he held a knife to her hip. "Impressive," Slade commented without his usual roughness, and Laurel felt the creeping jealousy come back. Thankfully for her, her eyes already had green in them. Slade didn't treat her like that when she first stumbled her way into his life. He was kinder than he could have been, sure, but he was still rough with her. He wasn't like that with Shado. Was it because she was Yao Fei's daughter? Was it because she was more of a warrior than Laurel was? Could hold her own against Fyers' men better than she could? "You really are You Fei's child."
Laurel tuned back in to see Shado studying her as she took a drink. "How are your fighting skills?" The woman questioned in her soft voice, and as Laurel opened her mouth to answer, Slade beat her to it.
"Not bad, but could be better." Her eyes cut to his in a glare.
"I can make you better," Shado offered, holding out a hand for Laurel to take to help her up from her seated position. Laurel pushed down the jealousy towards the Chinese woman, knowing it wasn't her fault that Slade was obviously attracted to her, and allowed her to help her up.
"Let's do it."
Shado was doing a handstand, her legs folded in a lotus position in front of Laurel, while she was doing some basic stretching. "How did you end up on the island?" Laurel questioned as Shado lowered herself into a relaxed position mirroring Laurel's.
"My father was exiled on Lian Yu by the Chinese military because they used him as a scapegoat for a massacre that Fyers claimed he was responsible for; it was actually the Chinese military that was at fault. Fyers intends to use him as a scapegoat again for whatever his plan his for that missile launcher," she explained. "I had been searching for him for years, but a few months ago, someone entered my apartment and claimed to have information on him and where he was. They knocked me out and brought me here." She paused for a moment, dark eyes loosing focus and glazing over. "I'm afraid what this island might have turned him in to."
"Yao Fei is still a good man," Laurel assured, smiling softly when Shado's gaze slid to hers. "He saved my life more times than he should have. I owe him everything." Shado's lips tilted upwards in the hint of a smile.
"I'm glad to hear it. Thank you, Laurel."
They got back to stretching before Shado taught her some more hand-to-hand combat. It was much different than training with Slade. With him, he taught her about efficiency and quick take down measures. Shado, on the other hand, taught Laurel how to be one with her body, training herself to be as fluid as water and to use that speed against any enemy that came at her.
After a few hours, they noticed Slade make his way out into the forest, probably to go grab dinner, but the two woman didn't pay the man any mind. Laurel hated to say it, but if Slade did decide that he didn't want to pursue whatever it was they had and focus on Shado, she couldn't blame him. If Laurel liked women, she might flirt with her, too.
"You two make a nice couple, by the way," Shado commented, ducking one of Laurel's punches. She faltered, surprised, leaving her open for a swift kick in the left side that sent her to the ground with a grunt.
"What?" She coughed, dragging herself back to her feet.
"You and Slade. You are together, right?" Shado questioned, dropping her attack stance. Laurel dropped her own, shoulders slumping.
"I don't know what we are," she sighed.
"Well, I've seen the way he looks at you," the other woman smiled. "Don't be too discouraged." If anyone else had said something like that to her, Laurel wouldn't be sure how to feel, but it was coming from the woman she thought was competition for Slade's affection. She was wrong, and it was a relief. "Why don't you rest for a little bit," Shado continued. "I want to practice." Laurel nodded, dropping down on one of the stumps and watching as Shado grabbed Yao Fei's bow and a quiver of arrows, she took aim at a tree, hitting the center every single time. She was an amazing archer; just like Yao Fei.
The trees rustled, and Shado's arrow that was aimed at a tree turned sharply towards the noise, ready to be let loose at a moments notice. Slade appeared, holding three rabbits. "I brought dinner."
They trained for a few more days, Shado practicing her archery, Laurel working with them both on hand-to-hand, and then practicing herself on knife throwing marksmanship. It was something that she was getting very good at, even Slade had to admit it.
All three of them took a small break in the fuselage, Laurel sitting close to Slade to see how he would react. She wasn't sure if he still wanted to be with her now that Shado was with them. They were sleeping in separate makeshift beds again, and Laurel hated it, but she wondered if he was waiting on iher/i to be the instigator in their affection. So, she wanted to try. Her thoughts were clearly on the right page because one of his heavy arms draped over her shoulders, pulling her close as he pressed a kiss to the side of her head. She leaned into his embrace, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.
"Aren't you two cute," Shado's voice cut through her calm making Laurel's eyes open as she glared at the woman who was slowly but surely worming her way into Laurel's heart.
"Shut up, Shado," Slade snapped without any heat before Laurel felt him freeze beneath her. And then she heard it.
Footsteps.
As the three stood up, Yao Fei appeared, Shado gasping in joy as she leaped up to hug him. "Baba!" Laurel felt relief in every part of her body to see the man alive, and then doubt trickled down her spine. How was there? How did he get away? She and Slade shared a brief look, both conveying the same hesitance at Yao Fei's appearance and apprehension at the sudden arrival. The same doubt.
Shado backed away when Yao Fei made no move to return her embrace, just staring at her, at them all with sad eyes. "How did you escape?" Slade finally questioned.
"I didn't," Yao Fei answered and alarm bells went off in Laurel's head as soldiers entered and surrounded them before any of them could grab a weapon to defend themselves. Yao Fei had betrayed them. Laurel heard Slade let out a growl and saw him lunge at the man when the same thought must have gone through his mind, but one of the soldiers hit him in the face with the butt of his rifle, knocking Slade out.
"Slade!" Laurel cried, trying to get to him, but two soldiers grabbed each of her arms, restraining her.
"Your time on the island is at an end," Yao Fei said, the sad look never leaving his dark eyes.
The three of them were led back to Fyers' camp, the missile launcher completely operational. They were dragged into the command tent, and one of the first people Laurel recognized was the man from the cave a few months previous when Slade was hurt. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Shipwrecked student, huh?" She questioned dryly as the man glared at her. Probably for not saving him when she had the chance.
Slade was glaring at Yao Fei while Shado was staring at him, looking as if she was close to tears but not quite. "Fyers was willing to burn down the entire forest hunting for you all," Yao Fei explained in his soft one that Laurel realized Shado inherited. "What I did was for your own good."
"I am more than willing to repay you for your mercy," Slade growled, eyes never straying from Yao Fei's form. Shado seemed to flinch minutely from the Australian's words, but Laurel was pretty sure she was the only one to notice. Fyers entered moments later, smiling brightly as he looked over at the three of them.
"What's your plan, Fyers?" Laurel questioned right before she heard the radio on the table come to life.
"This is Ferris Air flight 637, come in, over." Why did they have the frequency set to a commercial airliner?
"Ferris Air 367, I'm going to need to you to adjust your flight patterns due to incoming turbulence, over," one of Fyers' men said into the in the radio, spouting off coordinates after.
"Why do you want that plane to fly over Lian Yu?" Laurel questioned, eyes widening in fear when she started to put the pieces together.
"I knew you were the smartest in the bunch, miss Lance," Fyers mocked.
"You want to blow up that plane," she realized.
"By grounding China's air travel, I will be able to cripple China's economy," Fyers explained.
"You want to destabilize the economy," Slade said.
"My employer does," Fyers corrected. "Yao Fei here, will be our scapegoat and take the blame for the act."
"I won't do it," Yao Fei disagreed, much to Fyers' disappointment. The man sighed, before he punched Laurel in the face hard enough to bring her to her knees with her ears ringing. He pulled out a gun moments later, shooting Slade in the leg, who collapsed right beside Laurel, and then shooting Shado in the shoulder, all within seconds of each other.
"I will kill all those you care about if you do not," Fyers threatened. Laurel raised her head, watching the events unfold, hoping to get an opening where she could do something.
"Fine," Yao Fei consented.
"Put on your former uniform," Fyers ordered Yao Fei at the same time as Slade struggled to escape the grasp of the soldier that was still holding him up. Fyers' attention was drawn to him for a moment, and Yao Fei used to the distraction to slip Laurel a knife. She quickly hid it in her hands as the archer moved towards Shado to help her up.
At the same time, Fyers pulled out a satellite phone, dialing a number. When it must have connected, all he said was, "the plan is beginning."
About twenty minutes later, the three of them were on the ground, Laurel's jaw aching from Fyers' surprisingly hard punch, and Yao Fei was stood in front of a gray sheet in his old uniform.
"My name is Yao Fei Gulong," he said into the camera that was pointed at him, speaking once Fyers gave him the signal. "I am responsible for taking down Ferris Air flight 367 as retribution for how China had treated me." As Yao Fei was speaking, Laurel turned her back into Slade, making it look as if she was seeking comfort from him, but she was actually using his bulk to hide the fact she was cutting through the ropes binding her wrists behind her back. "Shooting down this plane was a sign of my revenge on China." Fyers stopped recording, and Laurel held her breath as everything seemed to go in slow motion.
Fyers pulled out his gun, aimed at Yao Fei, and shot him in the head. Blood splattered the gray sheet behind him with brain matter as he collapsed to the ground, dead. Laurel froze, feeling like she couldn't breathe for a moment as she listened to Slade swear and Shado scream.
"The plane is within reach," the man who spoke the pilot earlier said. Laurel finally got the knife fully through the ropes as she stood up quickly, throwing her full body weight into tacking Fyers to the ground and throwing the man in the chair that was locking the missile launcher onto the plane, the coordinator, off of his chair. Slade rushed another, pausing long enough for Laurel to cut his restraints before he went right back into the fray. She cut Shado's, who kicked one of the soldier's in the back.
Slade ran at Fyers with a roar, the two fighting while Laurel faced off with coordinator. Laurel was distracted by Fyers throwing Slade to the ground long enough for the coordinator to wrap his hands around her throat. She choked, gripping onto his wrists tightly for leverage as she kicked out at him, trying anything to get air back into her lungs. "Fire the missile!" She heard Fyers shout before he ran out of the tent as Shado and Slade fought off more mercenaries. Laurel realized she needed to get out there, and she managed to aim a swift kick against the man's knee cap, dislocating it. His leg buckled and he lost his grip long enough for her twist his arm and dislocate his shoulder before Shado appeared out of nowhere, snapping his neck. Laurel sucked in a deep breath, coughing a bit at the burn she felt before running out after Fyers and seeing the missile being launched in the air.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," she spat, trying to make her way to the launcher, but having to duck behind cover as some more soldiers opened fire on her. Shado made her way behind them, tossing one to the ground like it was nothing, while Slade made his way out of the tent with an AK-47 rifle, shooting at more mercenaries.
"Go stop it if you can," he ordered. "I'll cover you!" Laurel nodded, jumping on the launcher with Shado, who opened the panel.
"Do you know how to reprogram a missile?" Laurel questioned, looking at all of the buttons and the motherboard. Shado smiled dimly at her.
"I do." Of course, she did. She started hitting some buttons while Laurel covered her back. One of the soldiers that Shado had knocked back before was trying to sneak up on her, but Laurel wouldn't let him. She planted her booted foot right into the center of his chest as hard as she could, feeling his ribs crack beneath her heel as he tumbled back. "How are you doing?" She shouted back at her without turning her head.
"Good!" She shouted back before another soldier tried sneaking up on Shado's other side. She turned away from the launcher for a heartbeat punching the man in the throat and taking his gun, shooting him in the gut and then shooting the driver of the truck the launcher was seated on. Laurel didn't even notice the man was there, and that could've ended badly for them if Shado didn't see him.
The man slumped forward on the controls, sending the truck rolling forward. Laurel almost lost her balance, but found her footing quickly, as she fended off more soldiers from bothering Shado and Slade was shooting down any stragglers that Laurel couldn't get. She blocked and ducked and weaved and kicked, fighting and protecting, not even giving anything else a thought besides keeping herself and Shado alive.
"It's done, move!" Shado shouted, grabbing Laurel by the arm and throwing her off of the launcher. She landed hard on the ground, rolling to her feet and looked up briefly to see the missile diverting its course from the plane towards them.
"Oh, shit," she gasped, running towards cover as the missile flew towards the camp, resulting a large explosion, sending mercenaries flying back or being consumed by the resulting inferno.
It was nearing nighttime when Laurel finally managed to dig her way out of the debris that was covering her, on the hunt for Slade and Shado. She called for them, hoping to hear them call back. She was limping, blood pouring from a wound on her inner thigh that would probably scar, and she was pretty sure from the sticky way the right side of her face felt, it was probably smeared in blood from a head wound. She probably looked terrible. She found a crate that looked familiar, opening it to see Yao Fei's recurve bow sitting in it and had to fight back memories from almost a year before. Fuck, she had been on Lian Yu for a year.
"Laurel!" She turned, seeing Slade limp out from behind some ammunition crates and she rushed towards him as quickly as she could, wrapping her arms around his neck and drawing him into a searing kiss. "Are you alright?" He rasped out, one of his hands traveling up her back and down one of her sides as if checking for wounds.
"I'll live," she whispered out, eyes closing as their foreheads pressed together briefly before pulling apart. "Have you see Shado?"
"She's right here," that grating British voice that Laurel was starting to seriously hate to hear said from their right. She turned to see Fyers holding Shado at gunpoint, an arm wrapped around her throat and using her body as a shield.
"You're done," Slade growled, and Laurel glanced over at the crate holding the bow in it and her eye caught something. Yao Fei wasn't only an expert archer, but was an excellent marksman, something Laurel was trying to become. Her eyes lit up when she saw tucked in the corner of the crate was a pair of throwing knives; of kunai. She reached in, grabbing them while Fyers was distracted talking to Slade and keeping it down by her her thigh, just feeling the weight in her hand, and breathing.
"I am amazed that a castaway, a solo ASIS agent, and a pre-med student stopped a two-year long operation," he laughed, and Laurel noticed a crazed look in his gray eyes. "Let me call in a rescue ship, and I can get you home, miss Lance," he offered. "My only stipulation is that mister Wilson and miss Gulong do not go along for the ride." Laurel's eyes narrowed.
"You want me to sacrifice them for my safe return home?" She questioned, trying her hardest to keep any emotion out of her voice. She and Shado locked eyes, and the other woman mimicked taking a deep breath. Laurel followed suit, breathing deeply before cocking her arm back with the kunai and letting it fly forward.
It struck Fyers right in the throat. His grip on Shado waned and she escaped his grip easily as she stood over him, watching as she choked on his own blood and died. "That was far too quick," Shado observed, making her way over to them. "He deserved a slower death."
"I only had from the neck up to aim for, Shado," Laurel griped. "He was using your body as a cover for the rest of it." Shado tilted her head in concession before reaching forward and pulling the brunette into a hug.
"Thank you," was all she said as Laurel returned the embrace just as tightly as Fyers' camp still burned around them.