The Archer
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“Come here, Gizmo,” Carl said happily, laughter still in his voice as he
beckoned to Nikolaus. Nikolaus practically strutted over to him and plopped down
next to him, and Thiago went to help Brandt to his feet.
“You got royally smacked down,” Thiago offered observantly.
“Gizmo’s a quick little bastard, isn’t he?” Brandt huffed as he got to his feet.
“Oh hey, the lovebirds are back,” he observed happily as his eyes landed on Shawn and Remy. “We brought you food,” he added evilly.
“Uhh, thanks,” Remy muttered with a wary glance at the table. Thiago
watched Remy give Shawn a little shove and whisper, “You try it first.”
Shawn simply shook his head and remained firmly planted in his spot.
“Shall we get to it, then?” Carl asked as he put his arm around Nikolaus and
petted him affectionately. “It’s not drugged, Beignet, no worries.”
Shawn’s eyes remained fixed on the food as he nodded and rubbed his chin
thoughtfully.
“Right. Remy, can you contact Gray?” Thiago asked before any of the others
could start in on the questioning. Thiago could tell that Remy was walking that fine
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line between being honest with his answers and protecting Thiago, and Thiago
intended to give him as much help as he could.
“I could try,” Remy said with a shrug. “It would have to wait ’til morning,
though.”
“Why?” Shawn asked as he snuck up to the table, as if the food had to be
caught off guard in order to be eaten.
Thiago and Brandt both smothered their snickers, and Remy smiled fondly at
the other man.
“Cause he only checks the drop once a day. If– wait,” Remy murmured to
himself as he began to pace. Thiago noticed that his accent had returned in full force, and when he spoke, he did it so quickly that it was hard to understand him. “If he be worried about me, which he no doubt is, he’ll be checking it for sure!” Remy told them excitedly. The last words came out sounding like fo show. “We can snag him then!”
“When does he check it?” Carl asked.
“Noon,” Remy said flatly as he looked at his watch. “We’d never have time
to set it up today. It’s almost eleven. And I’ll need to find it first.”
“Can you find it? Where is it?” Shawn asked as he circled the table
stealthily.
“I can find it,” Remy said assuredly.
Several hours later, Thiago sat alone on the couch. He and Brandt had been
left behind while the others went about their various tasks. They decided that it was a good idea to leave a Class One in each pairing whenever they needed to split up from now on, and since Thiago didn’t know the area, he’d remained behind. Brandt insisted upon staying behind with Thiago in order to gather the equipment he had spread
throughout the flat. Shawn and Carl had gone in search of the nearest sporting goods store for ammunition, and Remy and Nikolaus were trying to find Gray’s drop spot
from Remy’s store of memory.
Thiago was close to nodding off as Brandt did something frightening and
probably flammable to a roll of copper wire, and he shook his head sleepily and
watched Brandt with vague interest. It worried Thiago that Brandt had neither tried to blow something up, nor tried to fuck him at all during the two hours they’d been
alone together, and Thiago’s alarm bells were clanging away.
“You all right, Brandt?” Thiago finally asked tentatively. Brandt’s hands
continued to twist the copper wire into spirals around his index finger even as he looked up and fixed Thiago with a clear, piercing gaze. Thiago went so far as to blink in surprise when Brandt cocked his head thoughtfully. What was wrong with him? He looked normal.
“What do you think of this business?” Brandt asked as he twirled his finger
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in the air, sending the roll of copper wire flying off the coffee table and onto the floor.
They both watched it roll until it came to a stop at the base of the couch on which Thiago sat. Thiago blinked at it, then looked back up at Brandt.
“What do you mean? What business?”
“The whole ‘loyal only to each other’ business. What do you think of it?”
“I think it’s exactly what we need, considering,” Thiago said immediately.
Thankfully, Thiago didn’t have the same issues with the truth that Remy seemed to have. He didn’t mind lying to someone’s face. Brandt nodded and started pulling the copper roll back to him.
“What about Dixie?” he asked thoughtfully.
“What about him?” Thiago asked uneasily.
“You think he’s telling us the truth?”
Thiago stared Brandt down, trying to decipher any hidden meanings from the
conversation. Brandt’s behavior was way off, but Thiago found it hard to fault
someone for acting calm and normal.
“I think he is, sí,” Thiago finally answered. “I don’t think we have to worry about Remy’s loyalty.”
“Hmm,” Brandt said noncommittally.
Thiago leaned forward to look at him more closely. “What?”
“I think… I think you and Shawn don’t have to worry about his loyalty. And
I have no doubt he’d die for any one of us, but– ”
“But?” Thiago coaxed, both intrigued by this sudden wave of coherent
thought from Brandt and dreading where it might lead.
“But. I think if someone presents him with a better option, and by better, I
mean one he thinks we can take and all six of us live through it, then he’ll take it.
He’ll take it, whether we all agree to it or not. Just like the miffins,” Brandt added bitterly as he gestured to his chest.
Thiago assumed that was where the dart had hit him. “Brandt?”
“Hmm?”
“What’s a miffin?”
“Trippy muffin,” Brandt explained as he finally got his wire rolled back up.
“I see,” Thiago said with a slight smile. “So, you don’t trust him?”
“No, I do. We’re on the same side, you see,” Brandt said absently. Thiago
perked up and leaned forward even further. Which side did Brandt mean, exactly?
Because, technically speaking, Remy was playing for both teams in this. “I mean, if Remy’s loyal to the Six, then that’s enough for me. I guess. We’re our own side
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now.”
“Right,” Thiago said slowly as he sank back into the couch in relief.
“Do you know what ‘Wally’ means?” Brandt asked quietly after a short
silence.
“Hmm? You mean it isn’t an Australian who likes to blow shit up?” Thiago
asked in amusement.
“If someone calls you a Wally it means you’re….” Brandt trailed off and
flipped his hand through the air again, sending the roll flying off once more. He and Thiago stared after it as it rolled. “I’m not stupid though, Zed,” Brandt said seriously as he looked back at Thiago. “Crazy, yes, but not stupid.”
“Brandt, I’m not following what you’re -”
“What will you do?” Brandt asked intently.
“What?” Thiago asked in confusion. He’d completely lost the conversation,
which seemed to happen to him a lot since he’d made Brandt’s acquaintance.
“The Six. There are three sides now, Zed. The Organization. The Archer.
And the Six. And Carl was right, you’re the pillar. So, I’ll follow your lead in this. Do you go with the Six, or do you stay with your pre
vious loyalties?”
Thiago’s mind raced to come up with a decent answer. That Brandt was
looking to him for leadership was both surprising and flattering. Thiago would have thought Brandt’s devotion would have gone with Shawn, no matter what.
“I think it’s pretty clear that our previous loyalties are now trying to kill us,”
Thiago finally said with a little smile. Brandt cocked his head at Thiago and looked at him thoughtfully. After a full minute of silent observation, Thiago felt the need to squirm, but he resisted.
“Previous loyalties, yeah,” Brandt mumbled as the loco returned in full
force.
Thiago watched him worriedly, wondering what he’d been on about. There
was really no telling what was going on in Brandt's head, especially now that the curtain of madness had apparently dropped again.
“You just remember that, Zed,” Brandt said softly as he stood up and turned
away to retrieve his roll. “I’ll follow your lead.”
XXVIII.
CARL was feeling pretty all right for a man who had just recently been shot. Of
course, he wasn’t actually required to do anything strenuous at the moment, and he also suspected that maybe he’d been slipped some painkillers
He had been careful to stay away from Remy and any offers of food or drink,
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but it was a bit more difficult to keep away from Brandt. Or Thiago. Or Shawn. Or Nikolaus, for that manner. Fuckers.
They were all preparing to go out on the attack, strapping on weapons and
dressing in black combat gear. Well, except for Remy and Brandt, who would be on
the ground. In public. With people. Did they really want to set Brandt and Remy loose on the public? With only two snipers– who weren’t likely to shoot either of them
anyway– present to save the plaza from some sort of exploding muffin attack?
Exploding muffins sounded like a real buzz kill… yep. Definitely drugged.
“You okay there, Trigger?” Remy inquired gently as he came up to kneel in
front of the sofa. He put a hand on Carl’s knee and patted it comfortingly.
“You little bastard,” Carl said distantly.
“Wasn’t me, podna,” Remy said sympathetically.
“He did provide the goods, though,” Thiago whispered conspiratorially as he
whisked by with an armload of electronics for Nikolaus.
“Bastard,” Carl muttered again as his mind floated between happy and pissed
off and just plain gone.
“It’s just hydrocodone,” Remy said reassuringly. “Vicodin. It won’t hurt
you, just make you forget you got your ass shot.”
“Who do I get to kill when I wake up?” Carl asked groggily.
“Thiago,” Remy said happily before standing up and running his hand
through Carl’s hair affectionately. “Niko’ll be here with you in case you need
anything.”
“I should be going,” Carl murmured unhappily as his world began to fade.
Bastards. If anything happened to one of them… because he wasn’t there to
back them up… bastards.
XXIX.
SHAWN tapped at his earpiece and looked at Nikolaus questioningly.
“Coming in loud and clear,” Nikolaus assured him.
“Shawn,” Remy said in a low voice as he came up to stand beside Shawn.
Shawn hummed inquiringly as he fiddled with his comm unit, but he didn’t
look up. He knew what Remy wanted and he would just as soon avoid the discussion, thank you very much.
“Shawn,” Remy repeated more insistently, and he grabbed Shawn’s arm and
squeezed it.
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Shawn looked up in surprise, and Remy stared back at him with black, flat
eyes. Shawn froze. The cold-blooded killer was back, but Shawn didn’t know exactly why. Maybe he hadn’t guessed right about Remy’s subject of choice after all.
“Let me be point on this,” Remy said. It was more of an order rather than a
request.
“No,” Shawn said immediately, even as he watched the dangerous flash of
Remy’s eyes. He’d rarely seen Remy looking like this over so trivial a manner, but he certainly wasn’t frightened easily, and so he held his ground.
“I have to be point on this, Shawn,” Remy insisted as he stepped closer and
got right in Shawn’s face.
“I said no, Remy,” Shawn growled dangerously.
“Why? Because you don’t trust me?” Remy asked angrily.
“Why do you have to do it, hmm?” Shawn asked in the same angry growl.
“Thiago and I both are just as capable as you are. What needs to be said between you and Gray that we can’t hear, eh?”
“Fuck you, Shawn. He’s dangerous.”
“If he’s so fucking dangerous then why do you have to be down there?”
“It has to be me ’cause he’s better than any one of us, and if he sees you
coming at him, he’ll kill you,” Remy said through gritted teeth.
Shawn stared at Remy and tried to think about what the younger man was
saying from an unbiased point of view. It wasn’t easy, considering how desperate
Shawn was to keep Remy out of the line of fire. To keep him safe.
“He left me here, Shawn. He didn’t want to. He thought– no. He knew you
were going to kill me. He was so convinced that he would never see me alive again that he started… if he sees you come waltzing up there at his drop, he’ll immediately think I was tortured for the location and then killed. He won’t think twice before he retaliates. He’ll lose his head and he’ll attack you.”
“So you’re protecting him?” Shawn asked thoughtfully.
What Remy said made sense. Shawn just didn’t want Remy out in the open.
Vulnerable. Targetable.
“I’m protecting you, you wowarou!” Remy yelled and he shoved Shawn in anger.
All the activity in the flat seemed to cease immediately. Remy rarely lost
control when planning a mission, and Shawn was floored by the outburst. “I’m not
even sure I know what that word means,” he informed Remy uncertainly.
“Listen to what I’m saying, Shawn! He will kill you,” Remy ground out
angrily as he poked his finger into Shawn’s chest with each word.
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“Okay,” Shawn conceded softly as he took Remy’s face in his hands.
Remy immediately calmed, and his brown eyes were once again soft and
gentle.
“You’re on point,” Shawn assured him. “But if anything happens to you, I
swear to God, I’ll kill the bastard myself.”
“Nothing will happen,” Remy said gently, and he gripped Shawn’s elbows as
Shawn cupped his face.
Shawn wasn’t aware of what the others were doing at that point. He didn’t
care. He stared at Remy worriedly as a sinking feeling started in his stomach.
“Promise me,” he requested softly.
Remy frowned and nodded slightly. “Promise.”
“I hope you’ve thought this through,” Nikolaus murmured from behind
Remy, and Shawn looked over Remy’s shoulder at him. “Suddenly this plan isn’t
sounding so brilliant.”
“I’d rather be lucky than good, right, Shawn?” Remy replied with a smile
and a wink.
Shawn smiled back at him and nodded. As the familiar words wafted over
him, he resisted the urge to kiss the other man. Shawn thought somehow that it would end up feeling like a kiss goodbye.
XXX.
settling into the little command station he’d set up at the dining table. There was a monitor, several speakers, and a microphone Nikolaus couldn’t use. It was shit for a command station, really. It was more of an observation post.
He and Remy placed cameras around the plaza on their earlier outing, and
Nikolaus would be able to watch most of the action from where he was. He could also hear the chatter of the other four men through the earpieces as they made their way to the rendezvous, but they hadn’t been able to acquire the equipment necessary for
Nikolaus to communicate with them. Normally this would have troubled Nikolaus,
not being able to give aid if something went awry, but he had complete faith in the ability of these men. Even without Carl there to help protect them, Nikolaus wasn’t very worried about anyone’s safety. Except for maybe Gray’s. Yeah, but Nikolaus
wouldn’t mind all too much if that bastard got his ass shot.
Carl shifted and moaned from his spot on the sofa. Nikolaus turned to look at
him for several long seconds. Carl hadn’t developed a fever, which was a good thing all around, and the furrow the bullet had created along his ribcage was healing nicely.
Drugging him had been more of a preventative measure than anything else. And,
Nikolaus suspected that Remy and Thiago just liked to do that sort of thing. They’d
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slipped the little pills to the assassin with something like unholy glee.
Carl shifted again and groaned, his face contorted into a frown, and his fists
clenched convulsively. Knowing Carl, he was probably just fucked off about being
drugged against his will. Again. Hell, knowing Carl, he was probably trying to
strangle someone in his sleep. He had a right to be angry, though. Lord knew Brandt was pissed off about it.
“Well, I don’t see why you had to drug him,” Brandt was even then
grumbling through Nikolaus’s speakers. Carl moaned again as if in answer, and