The Archer

by Abigail Roux

did.”

  “Why?” Carl asked curiously as he settled himself back into his warm little

  cocoon.

  Thiago looked at them both apologetically. “Was sort of a… a rash decision

  on my part. I was just so fucking angry with him. Wanted him to suffer. I know it probably wasn’t the smartest course of action, but….”

  “I’m sure you had good reason, Zed. It’ll work out.”

  Brandt and Thiago sat staring at Carl for several moments, and then Thiago

  glanced quickly at Brandt before sitting forward and asking, “Can I ask you a

  question?”

  “Sure,” Carl responded sleepily.

  “I understand Beignet and Dixie. There’re reasons. I understand Gizmo and

  Trigger, ’cause those are kind of obvious. But Wally and Zed? Where the fuck did

  you get those?”

  Brandt sat forward and watched Carl curiously. He and Remy had been

  wondering that earlier. Maybe he would get an answer.

  “I dunno,” Carl said lazily as his eyes drifted back open. “He kinda looks

  like a Wally, doesn’t he?”

  Thiago and Brandt looked at each other.

  “What’s a Wally?” Thiago asked in confusion.

  “Australian who likes to blow shit up,” Carl answered.

  “True that,” Brandt agreed happily.

  “And a Zed?” Thiago asked. “Isn’t that what the Brits call the last letter of

  the alphabet?”

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  Brandt nodded affirmatively. “So do Aussies and Kiwis.”

  “Zed,” Carl answered in a far off, dazed voice, “is Djed. Was an Egyptian

  symbol.”

  “Oh,” Thiago answered after a moment of confused silence.

  “It was a pillar,” Carl murmured. “Stood for stability.

  Brandt and Thiago were both silent.

  “You’re a fucking pillar, mate,” Carl murmured as he drifted off.

  XX.

  REMY stood at the door, listening intently. He was pretty sure that everyone was

  occupied. It was now or never.

  “C’mon, Boss. Time for you to go,” Remy said quietly.

  Gray was by his side in an instant and staring at him angrily. “I’m not

  leaving without you,” he said determinedly. “That bastard will kill you, Remy. Just because you love him, doesn’t mean it’s mutual.”

  “I know,” Remy said softly. “But I can’t leave Thiago here alone.”

  “Remy! For Christ’s sake, listen to reason! They will kill us,” Gray said to

  him slowly. “Thiago’s fine. No one suspects a fucking thing and he knows what he’s doing. He’s made it this far, hasn’t he?”

  “So did I, Boss,” Remy said calmly. “Everyone slips up. And Thiago’s the

  fucking mastermind, you know? He’ll need help.”

  “You really do love him, don’t you?” Gray asked resignedly.

  “Thiago?” Remy asked in shock.

  “Shawn,” Gray corrected with an exasperated sigh.

  “Yes,” Remy answered instantly. “If he’s going to kill me, then… then he’ll

  do it. But I love him. I don’t want to be without him.”

  “Remy, there are other people in this world who love you and aren’t looking

  to kill you,” Gray said softly.

  “Gray….”

  “I’m not just talking about me. Thiago’ll kill me if anything happens to you.

  And that big crazy bloke was ready to defend you, too. They all love you. Don’t

  throw your life away like this.”

  Remy couldn’t think of anything to say in response, and he gaped at Gray for

  several seconds, searching for words.

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  “I don’t… okay,” was all he could come up with in the end.

  Gray sighed wearily and cupped Remy’s face with his hands. “We’ll follow

  them, then, if that will make you feel better,” he said finally. “We’ll watch from afar and make certain Thi gets through it.”

  “All of them,” Remy corrected.

  “What?”

  “Make certain all of them get through it.”

  Gray smiled slightly and nodded. “Your loyalty knows no bounds, does it?”

  he asked sadly.

  “I suppose not,” Remy murmured. “Now’s our only chance if we’re going,”

  he whispered with a heavy heart. “Let’s do it.”

  XXI.

  THIAGO awoke in his own bed with Brandt’s body wrapped firmly around him.

  They’d left Carl to sleep alone so as not to further injure him with Brandt’s nocturnal flailing, and Thiago had taken the punishment instead. He had to admit, though,

  waking up holding someone was a very nice feeling. Brandt murmured something

  that sounded disturbingly like ‘bam’ and nuzzled closer, and Thiago smiled slightly.

  Then it hit him like an anvil falling from the ceiling. Remy and Gray would

  be gone by now. Suddenly, Thiago was inexplicably lonely, even knowing he still had four companions with him. The loss of one was an incredible blow. Thiago was just disentangling himself from Brandt’s grasp when the door was kicked open and Shawn stormed into the room like an angel of death intent upon taking Thiago with him.

  “What–”

  “They’re gone!” Shawn roared as he took hold of Thiago and pulled him the

  rest of the way out of the bed.

  “What? Who? Remy?” Thiago stuttered, so surprised by Shawn’s entrance

  that his shock sounded completely natural.

  “No, the fucking tapestries!” Shawn spat sarcastically. “Yes, Remy! They’ve

  fucking escaped!”

  “But… but, how did… what….”

  “Come with me,” Shawn growled as he dragged Thiago out of the room.

  Brandt was up and following, if not entirely aware yet, and Nikolaus danced back and forth in the hallway like he was afraid to stand still lest Shawn catch him. “We have to find them,” Shawn said as he pushed Thiago into the room where Remy and Gray

  had been held. There was no hint of recent inhabitancy. Everything was neat and

  orderly, and every trace of the two men was gone. Their clothing, their bindings…

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  even the bed was made.

  “Jesus,” Thiago breathed. “It’s like they were never here,” he murmured as

  he looked around the room. Brandt and Nikolaus followed Shawn in, and when

  Thiago turned around he was surprised to see Carl standing in the doorway with one hand on his sore ribs and the other holding a very large gun. “You should be in bed,”

  Thiago chastised automatically.

  “Heard shouting. Thought maybe I had the chance to shoot something,” Carl

  responded succinctly.

  Thiago raised his eyebrows questioningly, but said nothing.

  “C’mon, Thi,” Shawn said urgently. “I need your help.”

  “What do you plan to do?” Thiago asked warily as he followed Shawn out of

  the room and down the hallway toward the living room. He knew they’d never be able to track Remy and Gray, even if Thiago didn’t plan on sabotaging the efforts.

  “I’ve got to find him,” Shawn said quickly as he went to the dining table and

  gathered various weapons and began strapping them to his person. Thiago stood

  slightly behind him and fought back an onslaught of doubt. What if they hadn’t had enough time to get far enough away? Shawn might be able to find them. Thiago

  hadn’t counted on Shawn being set on revenge like this. He’d assumed that Shawn

  would just let them go and vow to catch them later. This was not good.

  Shawn was
still speaking, talking about Remy’s habits of going to ground

  near the coast as he walked toward the kitchen to retrieve his knife. Thiago’s head snapped around when Shawn cut off in mid-sentence. Thiago saw him standing

  frozen in the entryway of the kitchen and his heart sank. He hurried to stand behind Shawn and see what he was looking at, and the sight made his breath catch.

  “Didn’t see that coming,” Carl murmured into Thiago’s ear as he came up

  behind him. Thiago would have responded, but he couldn’t seem to find his tongue.

  This was bad. This was very bad.

  XXII.

  “REMY?” Nikolaus whispered into the stunned silence that followed Shawn’s

  discovery.

  Carl swayed on his feet and gripped the closest thing to him to steady

  himself, which just happened to be Thiago. Thiago held Carl upright, and they both glanced at Shawn warily.

  The man stood like a stone statue. His jaw was set, as if he was gritting his

  teeth, and his eyes were flat and dangerous as they fixed on Remy. Thiago’s body was tense beneath Carl’s hands, but then Carl supposed he was a bit tense as well.

  Remy was either very brave or very suicidal. Carl couldn’t decide which.

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  Maybe he was both.

  Remy sat at the kitchen table, idly stirring a cup of coffee. He wasn’t exactly

  on edge, but he certainly wasn’t relaxed, either. He casually leaned back in the chair, his hand on the spoon moving it in slow circles, but he was keeping both feet firmly planted on the ground as if prepared for a sudden movement, and his free hand was clenched into a fist in his lap. He stared unblinkingly back at Shawn, his face

  completely devoid of expression.

  Carl shivered uncontrollably, whether from his recent exertion and loss of

  blood, or from the overwhelming emotion of the scene, he wasn’t sure. The younger man had had the chance to run and yet there he sat, calmly awaiting his doom at

  Shawn’s betrayed hands.

  “I would have made breakfast, but I didn’t figure any of you would eat it,

  considering…,” Remy said softly with a small gesture to the tray of leftover pastries.

  A low growling started from some unidentifiable source, and Carl looked

  around in alarm when he realized it was coming from Shawn. Carl knew Remy

  needed protection; one of them needed to restrain Shawn before he did something

  they would all regret, but Carl’s body wasn’t functioning properly and he felt himself sinking slowly back into the oblivion of blood loss. Thiago held him close and they slowly slid to the floor together, unable to do anything but watch in horror as Shawn pounced forward like a panther attacking a bunny.

  ‘Poor Dixie,’ Carl thought disjointedly as the loss of blood finally

  overwhelmed his brain.

  XXIII.

  SHAWN was aware of the commotion behind him but he didn’t care what it was

  about. His world consisted solely of Remy sitting in front of him and the

  overwhelming ache in his own chest. He never wanted to feel like this again. He had to be rid of the ache once and for all.

  Remy stood hastily and put his hands out in front of him as Shawn quickly

  crossed the room. The mug of coffee toppled over and the steaming liquid splashed across the table as Remy backed up and nudged his chair with the back of his leg.

  “Shawn, please,” Remy said softly. “Let me explain before you–”

  Shawn didn’t let him finish. He grabbed Remy by his upper arms and pulled

  him toward him, crushing their mouths together and holding Remy to him as if he

  might be ripped away at any moment.

  Remy was rigid and tense in his arms, but as soon as he realized Shawn

  wasn’t trying to do him any physical damage, he wrapped his arms around Shawn’s

  torso and returned the kiss hungrily. Shawn’s world completely imploded as he felt Remy in his arms once more. God, he’d missed this feeling.

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  “I thought you’d left,” Shawn panted in between the short, heated kisses they

  shared. “I thought you’d gone for good,” he whispered as he took Remy’s face in his hands and drank in the features he’d dreamed of the whole night before.

  Remy dug his fingers into Shawn’s back and pressed their bodies even

  closer, and he shook his head wordlessly as Shawn buried his face in Remy’s neck

  and breathed in his scent. They stood there in the middle of the kitchen for several long minutes, clinging to one another desperately and completely disregarding the small amount of panic Carl’s collapse caused the others.

  “I couldn’t,” Remy gasped as he ran his hand up Shawn’s back and into

  Shawn’s hair. “I couldn’t leave you. Any of you. I couldn’t just… I love you,

  Shawn,” Remy whispered desperately, and Shawn’s throat constricted painfully.

  “Please don’t be angry anymore. I couldn’t bear it if–”

  Shawn squeezed Remy tight, cutting off his words. He raised his head and

  looked into Remy’s liquid brown eyes. He was an utter prick. A complete and total bastard and he didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve to be loved like this. Especially not after all he had done, and all that he still had to do.

  “God help you, Remy,” he breathed finally. “Your loyalty is gonna get you

  killed,” he whispered with a sad smile as he backed out of Remy’s arms.

  Remy swallowed with difficulty and a single tear trailed down his face as he

  broke their eye contact and looked down. Shawn reached into the waistband of his

  jeans and withdrew the knife he’d stuffed there earlier. Remy’s eyes followed the movement. He looked back up at Shawn as the blade flashed in the yellow light of the kitchen.

  Shawn saw it then; the look that had haunted his dreams. Loving and

  pleading and resigned. Desperate. Forgiving.

  Forgiving of the fact that Shawn was about to run him through with his own

  knife.

  It was the forgiveness that forced the tears to finally flow, tears that Shawn

  had been holding back for too long. Shawn didn’t bother to wipe them away as he

  flipped the knife in his hand and handed it to Remy, handle first.

  “I believe this is yours,” Shawn said with difficulty.

  Remy stared at the knife for several breathless seconds before his eyes

  slowly rose to meet Shawn’s once more.

  “I don’t….” He trailed off and shook his head. “I don’t understand, Shawn.”

  “Take it, lad,” Shawn urged as several tears made wet trails down the sides

  of his face. “You’re with me ’til the end now. I won’t have you face it unarmed,” he added with a little smile.

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  XXIV.

  NIKOLAUS found himself unable to fully express how relieved he was.

  Remy was there with them, unharmed and sort of forgiven. Shawn was no

  longer sulking or mean. Carl was awake again and unsuccessfully trying to fend off Brandt’s repeated attempts to pour orange juice down his throat. Thiago was quiet and contemplative, but then Thiago was always quiet and contemplative, and as long as he didn’t mind Nikolaus cuddling up next to him in the oversized chair, Nikolaus didn’t care what he was contemplating.

  Shawn and Remy sat together on the sofa, not exactly touching one another,

  but close enough that a jerk of the leg or a twitch of the arm would create contact.

  Remy kept sneaking worried looks at Shawn as the six of them discussed this new

  turn of events, and when Shawn saw him, the man would run his hands through
>
  Remy’s hair reassuringly. Nikolaus was so focused on watching them that he almost couldn’t concentrate on the conversation.

  “So tell us, Dixie, how long have you been conspiring with Asshole,

  exactly?” Carl asked in a weak, irritated voice as he swatted Brandt’s hand away from his forehead.

  “Well,” Remy shifted uncomfortably and his eyes darted back and forth

  between the four of them. “Conspiring is a bit….”

  “Remy,” Shawn said softly, and Remy immediately snapped to attention.

  “No more skipping around.”

  “Right,” Remy said immediately, looking down at his hands as he clasped

  them together and let them hang between his knees. “Six months, give or take.”

  Nikolaus gaped, as much at the information that Remy had been a subversive

  element the whole time as the fact that five little words from Shawn would make him admit it. Apparently, Remy was desperate to make amends, and he was trying hard to come clean with them. Nikolaus appreciated the effort, though he didn’t know how

  any of them would be able to completely trust the man now. In all honesty, Nikolaus was still smarting from the betrayal. He was pretty sure they all were.

  “Six months,” Brandt repeated flatly. Remy swallowed heavily and looked

  back at Brandt unerringly. “Did you blow up the cabin?”

  “No,” Remy said immediately. He sat forward, looking as if he were about to

  defend himself, but Shawn gripped his arm and Remy turned to look at him.

  “Why are you working for him?” Shawn asked sadly.

  Remy looked at him guiltily. “That’s complicated,” he said with difficulty,

  unable to meet Shawn’s piercing green eyes.

  “We agreed, Remy,” Shawn said sternly. “No more lies. No more half-truths.

  There had to be a reason, I know you too well to think otherwise. Now what was it?”

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  “Gray came to me. Told me that if I didn’t help him that…,” Remy licked his

  lips and his eyes flicked to the side before he turned to face Shawn completely.

  “That–”

  “Who is Gray working for, Remy?” Thiago asked suddenly, and Nikolaus