The Archer

by Abigail Roux

  was glad the older man had taken pity on Remy. Nikolaus was squirming, and he

  hadn’t even done anything wrong yet.

  Remy turned to look at Thiago and didn’t even blink before speaking.

  “I never really knew,” Remy said almost defiantly. “When he came to me I

  had never heard of any of the names he dropped, or of the Archer. I just knew that he was threatening me and that I had no choice but to comply.”

  “Is Gray working for the Archer?” Shawn asked as he glared at Thiago.

  “I honestly never found out before it all went to shit,” Remy said flatly.

  “Though, I think it’s probably safe to assume that he is, considering everything that’s come to light recently.”

  “Gray giving us the key to the message, for instance?” Nikolaus asked

  uncomfortably.

  Remy nodded and turned to look at Shawn. “Whether he was telling me the

  truth or not, I don’t know, but I couldn’t take the chance,” he said quietly. “He told me you were in danger and–”

  “Why didn’t you come to me?” Shawn asked almost desperately.

  “You were on a mission, Shawn. You were out of reach.”

  Shawn sat quietly, letting that sink in. Nikolaus was surprised to see Shawn

  break the eye contact guiltily before speaking. “What was the threat?” he asked softly.

  It looked as if Shawn felt badly for grilling Remy on the whole matter, but they all knew it had to be done.

  “I… I don’t know,” Remy said resignedly.

  Even Nikolaus could tell Remy didn’t want to answer the question. Whether

  he was telling the truth was questionable, but Shawn simply nodded and ran his

  fingertips lightly down the side of Remy’s face.

  “All right, then,” Shawn said softly before turning to address the rest of

  them. “Starting right now… Brandt! Pay attention, for fuck’s sake! He doesn’t need any more juice! Christ, Remy, will you do something with him?” Shawn shouted in

  agitation as he got up to rescue Carl.

  Brandt stood up protectively in front of Carl, who was reclining on the sofa

  and looking in desperate need of rescue, and Nikolaus sensed a fight coming as

  Shawn squared his shoulders and growled at Brandt.

  “Wally!” Remy called as he dug in his pocket. “C’mere, podna,” he said as he brought out a green Bic lighter and flicked it open.

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  Brandt’s eyes lit up and his entire posture relaxed as the flame flickered in

  Remy’s hand.

  “There’s a good nutter,” Remy said in satisfaction as Brandt glared at Shawn

  in passing and flopped down beside Remy. He pulled Remy to him and tried

  unsuccessfully to simultaneously smother him and take the lighter.

  “God. What was I saying?” Shawn asked irritably as he slid to the floor in

  front of Carl’s sofa and sighed heavily.

  “Uhh…,” Nikolaus and Thiago answered simultaneously as they watched

  Remy struggle away from Brandt’s grasp. Brandt was now thoroughly molesting the

  younger man; Remy looked like a wet kitten trying to climb out of the toilet, and if they expected any more answers out of him, they would need to rescue him as well.

  “Hey, Niko,” Thiago whispered.

  A dreadful feeling began to rise in Nikolaus’s chest, and he suddenly knew

  how the bait in a trap must feel.

  “No,” he protested desperately as he sank further into the chair cushion.

  “Remy can handle him.”

  Thiago snickered, and they watched Brandt wrap his arms around Remy, pull

  him into a bear hug, and snatch the lighter. After getting his hands on it, he

  immediately settled down, and Remy looked at Thiago and Nikolaus and rolled his

  eyes as he was stuffed under Brandt’s arm like a teddy bear and held captive there.

  “You were saying from now on, something something,” Remy supplied in a

  muffled voice as he continued to unsuccessfully try to free himself.

  “Right,” Shawn said grimly. “I don’t care where our allegiances were

  before.” His eyes held firmly with Remy’s as he spoke. “From now on, we are loyal only to one another,” he said slowly.

  The words hit chords in Nikolaus’s body that he hadn’t known existed. The

  hair on his arms raised, and he shivered slightly as Thiago nodded beside him.

  “Does everyone understand?” Shawn asked softly.

  There were murmured affirmatives and nods, and Remy’s eyes reflected the

  lights in the room liquidly as he looked at Shawn gratefully. Nikolaus felt like crying for him, he looked so relieved.

  “So what’s the plan?” Carl asked as he struggled to sit up.

  Shawn got to his feet and helped the man to sit, and he sat next to him on the

  sofa and allowed Carl to lean back against him. Nikolaus watched in interest as

  Shawn’s fingers absently twirled around Carl’s hair, and he slid his gaze to Remy.

  The younger man watched Shawn intently, but Nikolaus could see nothing in his

  demeanor but affection and an eagerness to obey. Hopefully, this would mark the end of all the relationship strife they’d suffered. There were no more pairs or trios. They

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  were six now. Just the Six.

  “Remy?” Thiago asked as he shifted slightly against Nikolaus’s body. Remy

  peered out from under Brandt’s enveloping arms and raised his eyebrows inquiringly.

  “What was your and Gray’s plan?”

  “Well, I was sort of just acting under orders,” Remy apologetically. “I only

  knew the basics, but the only reason I didn’t fight it was because he was after the same thing we were.”

  “What do you mean?” Nikolaus asked.

  “He was going to help us get to the Oliver woman.”

  “What?” Thiago and Shawn both practically shouted. Remy flinched and

  Brandt cradled him protectively. Nikolaus watched in amusement as Remy flailed

  uselessly and was literally pulled into Brandt’s lap. Finally, he gave up and simply lay there with his chest against Brandt’s thighs as Brandt rocked him like a baby and glared at Shawn and Thiago. Nikolaus smirked at Brandt and tried to pay attention to what was being said.

  “I told you! That’s why I went along with his… his drugging plan,” Remy

  said miserably as he rested his cheek against Brandt’s forearm. “I couldn’t just come out and tell you that I had a way to get to her, but I knew we had to do it. We’re weaponless, after all.”

  “So the fuss you made about my getting into drag?” Shawn asked wryly.

  “I knew it would cause a fight,” Remy admitted in the same miserable tone.

  “The more activity… you know….”

  “The faster the drugs would hit us,” Shawn said knowingly as he nodded

  slightly.

  “How’d you get them into us?” Brandt asked with interest. “Aside from, you

  know, shooting me.”

  “They were in the breakfast pastries I brought in. The muffins, mostly.”

  “Is that why I couldn’t eat your fucking scones?” Nikolaus asked irritably.

  Remy nodded and hid his face against the crook of Brandt’s elbow.

  “But I didn’t eat any of it,” Thiago said in confusion.

  “I may have slipped you and Shawn some in your drinks. I figured with that

  nasty tea you drink, you’d never notice. And Shawn’s… sorry, podna, I may have overloaded yours a bit.”

  “You little fuck,” Shawn said with a smile.

  “Sorry, Beignet. Consider it my shot in the ass back at you,” R
emy said with

  a cheeky salute and a smirk he tried unsuccessfully to hide.

  “Sneaky little bastard,” Brandt grumbled. Remy struggled to turn and looked

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  up over his shoulder at the big man.

  “I’m really sorry I shot you, man,” he said sincerely.

  “S’okay, Dixie,” Brandt said affectionately as he ruffled Remy’s curls.

  “You’re a good enough shag that it made up for it. We’re even.”

  “Right,” Remy muttered in a slightly befuddled voice. “If that’s the case,

  then do you think you can you let me go, now? Since we’re even and all?”

  “Why would I do that?” Brandt asked with a grin.

  “Brandt, watch his back,” Shawn cautioned seriously. “He’s got problems

  with it.”

  “What sort of problems?” Nikolaus asked curiously.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Remy said with a careless sweep of his hand as he was

  gently placed onto the cushion beside Brandt and cuddled in a manner most unseemly for a man of Brandt’s size and temperament. “So, what’s the plan?”

  “I think it’s pretty obvious,” Thiago said quietly, drawing everyone’s

  attention to him. “We have to find Gray.”

  “How?” Carl asked.

  “Remy?” Thiago prompted.

  Remy looked at them all carefully. “When he thought I was leaving with

  him, he said that we would follow all of you, to watch over you.”

  “Watch over us?” Nikolaus repeated disbelievingly.

  “Gray’s not all that bad a guy,” Remy said defensively. Shawn made a ‘pfft’

  noise and Remy glared at him. Remy sighed heavily before disentangling himself

  from Brandt’s grasp and standing up.

  “So? Are we going after Gray or… my God, Wally! Is that a grenade?”

  Remy asked in a near panic as he pointed at the oversized chair on which Nikolaus and Thiago were sitting.

  Nikolaus and Thiago moved almost instantly, scampering away from the

  chair and taking cover discreetly behind the two sofas.

  “No worries, Dixie, it’s not live,” Brandt said as he stretched his hands over

  his head and relaxed back onto the sofa.

  “Holy hell!” Shawn exclaimed, and he was up and dragging Carl off the sofa

  and toward the hall before the rest of them could register his obvious terror.

  “Shawn? What?” Thiago asked in distress.

  “That’s what he said in Albuquerque!” Shawn shouted before he slammed

  the bedroom door behind him and Carl.

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  “Bugger,” Brandt breathed. “That one came from a bad batch,” he told them

  all defensively. “The pin had been out of it for nearly a week and then one day–

  BAM!” he yelled theatrically.

  “Fucking hell, Wally!” Remy cried as he scrambled over Brandt’s body and

  over the back of the sofa. He crouched on the floor and shouted, “What batch did this grenade come from? Is the pin out of it, too?”

  “Hmm? Oh… uhh, well it was one of the ones I had here as a backup so…

  those were… hold on, I know this one… H17 no 19… no wait…,” Brandt murmured

  as he looked up, accessing his memory and thinking hard.

  Thiago grabbed Nikolaus’s shirtfront and slowly dragged him down until

  they, too, were cowering behind the sofa.

  “Hmm… H17. Yeah, it was the batch before the duds.”

  “They’re not duds if they go off, you wanker!” Shawn yelled from the hall.

  “Remy! Thiago! Get your asses over here. Brandt! Clean up that fucking bomb!”

  “It’s not a bomb, you ignorant fuck! It’s a grenade!”

  “If it explodes, it’s a bomb in my world. Get it the fuck out of here!” Shawn

  yelled as Nikolaus and Thiago crawled toward him. “You said he took care of it,”

  Shawn hissed at Nikolaus as they reached the relative safety of the hallway.

  “I thought he did! Apparently to Brandt, stuffing it under the furniture is

  taking care of it!” Nikolaus snapped quietly.

  “C’mon, Wally,” Remy coaxed from behind the sofa. “C’mon, mate, it’s a

  fuck of a lot safer over here, yeah?”

  “Well, do you want me to hide, or do you want me to get rid of it?” Brandt

  asked irritably as he leaned over the back of the sofa and looked down at Remy

  curiously.

  “I’d really prefer you get rid of it,” Remy answered matter-of-factly as he

  looked up at Brandt from his spot on the floor. He didn’t seem at all ashamed of

  hiding behind the sofa, but then again, Nikolaus and the others were hiding in the hallway, so Nikolaus couldn’t really judge the man.

  “Help me, then,” Brandt said as he scruffed Remy by the back of his collar

  and pulled him back over the sofa.

  Nikolaus and the others watched from the hallway, and Nikolaus could

  practically feel Shawn vibrating next to him as Brandt dragged Remy back over the sofa to help retrieve the stray grenade.

  “Fucking hell! I just got him back. I can’t sit here and watch him be blown to

  smithereens now,” Shawn growled finally and he started crawling forward. Thiago’s hand shot out and gripped him by his arm.

  “Shawn, we can’t afford to lose all three of you,” Thiago said regretfully.

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  Shawn’s jaw clenched but he nodded. Nikolaus was slightly surprised to realize that Carl crouched behind him.

  “Get back in there, Trigger,” Shawn hissed.

  “Fuck you, Beignet. It’s a fucking scratch. If Wally’s gonna get blown up, I

  at least want to be there to nurse him back to health,” Carl said with a certain sadistic pleasure that made Nikolaus do a double take. Carl looked scary now. And slightly mad.

  ‘God, please don’t let the madness be catching,’ Nikolaus prayed. They’d

  already lost Remy to it.

  They could no longer see Remy and Brandt, and Nikolaus huffed slightly.

  “Why do you call him ‘Wally?’” he asked Carl in a whisper.

  “He told us that he looks like a Wally,” Thiago answered absently, his gruff

  whisper ghosting across Nikolaus’s ear and sending shivers down his spine.

  “I did not,” Carl protested in the same whisper the others were using, as if a

  voice any louder would set off the bomb. Grenade. Whateverthefuck.

  “You did so,” Thiago said as he turned to look at Carl.

  “When?”

  “Apparently, when you were delirious,” Thiago said with a shrug. “So why

  do you call him ‘Wally’ then?”

  “Cause he’s Australian.”

  “What?” the three of them echoed, the grenade/bomb forgotten as they all

  turned to look at Carl. Yep. The madness was definitely catching.

  “You know, Australia? Wally? All of ’em really. What the fuck is wrong

  with you three?” Carl asked irritably.

  “So why do you call me ‘Zed’ again?” Thiago asked curiously.

  Carl shrugged and grinned. “You kinda look like one,” he said with a cheeky

  grin and wink.

  “You son of a–”

  “Wally!” Remy’s panicked voice cried out just before the explosion

  interrupted their trivialities.

  XXV.

  BRANDT coughed and sputtered and waved his hands through the cloud of smoke,

  and his eyes landed on Remy as the younger man rolled back and forth on the ground.

  Brandt pounced on him and beat
him until the flames went out.

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  Brandt straddled him and held him down to keep him from panicking as his

  jacket smoldered, leaning over to look into Remy’s wide, frightened eyes.

  “Fah-yuh,” Remy muttered as he blinked up at him.

  “You’re awfully sexy when you’re flaming, you know that?” Brandt told

  him with a smile.

  Remy’s eyes widened further and he began to shake. “I was on fucking fire,

  you… bracque!” Remy cried in an irritated squeak as he tried to squirm out from under Brandt’s grasp.

  “Mmm,” Brandt responded thoughtfully, and he licked his lips as he looked

  over Remy’s body for injuries. “Not hurt then, are you?” he asked finally. Remy’s tongue had just barely touched the back of his teeth to form the word ‘no’ when

  Brandt bent down and kissed him hungrily. Remy made a surprised noise into

  Brandt’s mouth, and Brandt pressed into him, still able to feel the heat from the flames he had just put out.

  “Jesus, somebody get a fucking water hose,” Thiago mumbled as the rest of

  them came up to investigate the small blast. Remy wrapped his arms around Brandt’s neck and deepened the kiss before gripping Brandt’s shaggy curls and yanking his

  head back. Remy glared up at him, and Brandt grinned widely.

  “You did that on purpose,” Remy growled angrily.

  “Yeah,” Brandt said happily. “Well, you said to get rid of it.”

  “I didn’t mean to set fire to the fucking thing! What if it had gone off? It

  could have killed us all! Not to mention the fact that I was holding it in my fucking hands, you wank!” Remy shouted as he shook Brandt’s head by his hair.

  “But you’re not on fire anymore,” Brandt pointed out reasonably. “And

  you’re not permanently damaged, so–”

  “I think I pissed myself,” Remy admitted with a slight smile. “That was

  pretty fucking awesome, though. Will you show me how you did that?” he asked

  eagerly, and he and Brandt grinned at one another.

  “Yeah. Later. I definitely need to fuck something now,” Brandt said as

  Thiago and Nikolaus both rolled their eyes and walked away. Brandt looked at

  Shawn, who scowled down at both of them. “Perhaps we can discuss this later,”