The Archer

by Abigail Roux

  uneventful minutes.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Brandt said flatly.

  “Think about it, podna, we’re all in this shit, here,” Remy said heatedly.

  “We’re all on the same side, dammit!”

  “The hell we are!” Brandt yelled angrily. “We’ve spent the last five years

  fighting and dying against your lot, and don’t you dare to think you can tell me we’re the same!”

  Shawn had raised his head again to look at Brandt, tilting his good ear

  toward Brandt as he shouted.

  “You may have been fighting us, but we weren’t fighting you,” Remy said

  calmly.

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  Brandt lunged forward and stood, turning around to face Remy angrily. He

  was quite shocked to find the younger man sitting cross-legged on the bunk, his back to the wall and his hands on his knees in an unthreatening manner. Nikolaus sat in the corner, holding his knees to his chest and looking as if he simply wanted to sleep.

  “Bugger!” Brandt shouted in frustration.

  “Sorry, podna, it was killing my shoulder. Can we untie Shawn, too? Or

  were you a little gentler with him than Boss was with me and Niko?”

  “Get back in your sheets!” Brandt shouted as he pointed at the bundle beside

  Remy’s knee.

  Remy shook his head regretfully. “Can’t. That was one fuck of a knot he had

  me in.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Brandt sighed as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I can’t let you

  run, Dixie. I just can’t.”

  “I’m not asking you to let me run. If I were going to run, I would have

  simply jumped down, snapped your neck, untied Shawn, and been gone an hour ago.”

  “I call bullshit,” Brandt said with a little smile. “You couldn’t jump off that

  bunk; you’d catch your foot in the sheets, splat against the wall, and knock yourself unconscious.”

  Nikolaus snorted and covered his mouth, and a slow smile spread over

  Remy's lips.

  “Shut up,” Remy finally responded with a grin.

  XLIX

  “ARE you two done arguing?” Nikolaus asked testily as Remy and Brandt smiled at

  one another. They looked at him blankly, as if they had both forgotten he was there.

  “Can someone please explain what the hell is going on?” he asked in frustration.

  “Untie Beignet first,” Remy requested as he looked back at Brandt. “Please?

  His arm must be killing him,” Remy added as Brandt looked at him doubtfully.

  “Come on, Wally, don’t make me knock myself unconscious,” he added with a sly

  grin. Brandt snorted and looked at him warily for several long seconds. “Wally, it’s still me. It’s still all of us,” Remy coaxed as he gestured toward Nikolaus. “We swore our loyalty.”

  Remy heard Nikolaus sniff and risked a glance at him. The man had buried

  his face in his arms and was shaking his head miserably from side to side. Brandt and Remy shared a puzzled look, but Brandt finally held out his hand to aid Remy in

  getting down. Remy smiled at him gratefully before slithering down to the floor and crawling onto the bottom bunk with Shawn

  Shawn looked at him in mild amusement as Remy worked at the sheets, and

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  when he got the last knot undone, Remy ran his fingers through Shawn’s hair and sat back on the man’s thighs, hunching over as his head hit the bottom of the top bunk.

  “You can talk your way out of anything, can’t you?” Shawn said in a low,

  even voice. Remy didn’t know if it was meant as a compliment or an insult, but he smiled weakly and nodded, anyway.

  “Can you hear me?” Remy asked in a deliberately low voice.

  “No,” Shawn responded in the same tone.

  “You can read my lips?” Remy asked hopefully.

  Shawn frowned and shook his head, tilting it to the side in an attempt to

  better hear Remy’s words.

  Remy leaned forward and put his mouth to Shawn’s ear. “Can you read my

  lips?” he asked.

  “Yes, but just when I think I know what you’re going to say,” Shawn

  answered, his breath ghosting over Remy’s ear and making him shiver. “Just the

  predictable things, I mean.”

  “Is it getting better or worse?” Remy asked.

  “The same, I think,” Shawn said in the same flat voice he had been using. “It

  pops a bit when I open my mouth wide, like at high altitudes, but that’s it. The

  ringing’s still there. It hasn’t gotten any worse, but it’s not improving, either.”

  “What about your other ear?” Remy asked as he turned his head slightly and

  let his lips brush across Shawn’s earlobe.

  Shawn closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath, and Remy’s world

  began to shrink until he and Shawn were the only people left in it.

  “I think it’s having sympathy ringing,” Shawn finally whispered as he turned

  his head to brush his cheek against Remy’s.

  Remy lingered there, enjoying the feel of Shawn’s body beneath him until

  Brandt cleared his throat impatiently and brought him crashing back down to the

  present. He sat back and rubbed his eyes, wondering how in the hell they would get through the mess he knew was coming, especially with Shawn not being able to really follow what was going to be said.

  “Nothing for it but to wait it out,” he said slowly in a loud voice.

  Shawn nodded in acknowledgement.

  The door swung open as Remy opened his mouth to speak to Brandt, and

  Thiago stopped dead in his tracks as he looked at them all.

  “Jesus fucking Christ, Brandt!” he finally yelled, and Carl shoved at him

  from behind to crowd them all into the tiny compartment once more and close the

  door behind him.

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  “Where’s Gray?” Remy asked immediately.

  “I told you to watch him!” Thiago shouted as he pointed at Remy. “He’s like

  Gumby, for Christ’s sake! You have to fucking staple him to the wall!”

  “Who the fuck is Gumby?” Carl asked absently as he locked the door and

  looked at Remy and Shawn with interest.

  “Where’s Gray?” Remy demanded again as Shawn took hold of his shoulder

  and shook him to get him to move off his body.

  “I was watching him!” Brandt yelled. “Sort of,” he added in a smaller voice.

  “And how do you not know who Gumby is?” he added as he looked over Thiago’s

  shoulder at Carl.

  “Shut up!” Shawn yelled angrily as he pushed Remy off him and stood.

  Remy fell back and banged his head on the wall, and he simply flopped into

  the corner, watching Shawn fume at the others in the tiny space. They all stared at Shawn in slight shock, and he reached out and grabbed Thiago by the shirt collar and pulled him close. “If I can hear you then the whole bloody train can,” he snarled.

  “Now, where is Gray?” he demanded slowly.

  “He– wait, he’s not back?” Thiago asked as panic began to seep into his

  angry blue eyes.

  “Shit,” Remy breathed as he sat back up and rubbed his head gingerly. Gray

  was missing. That wasn’t good by any stretch of the imagination.

  “Did he run, do you think?” Carl asked calmly.

  “He wouldn’t do that,” Thiago said heatedly as he pushed Shawn away and

  stepped toward the door.

  Remy leaned forward to stand but Shawn placed a hand on his shoulder and


  forced him to stay seated.

  “Are you okay?” he asked as he looked at the back of Remy’s head.

  Brandt and Carl were trying to get out of Thiago’s way, jostling Shawn and

  causing his hands to clench around the back of Remy’s neck as he almost lost his balance. Remy winced, but nodded anyway and looked up into Shawn’s eyes as

  Thiago unlocked the door and yanked it open.

  Gray stood in the aisle, his hand reaching for the knob that was no longer

  there and his blue eyes registering only mild surprise. Thiago reached out and grabbed him, pulling him close and hugging him as if he’d just been reunited with his favorite teddy bear. Carl rolled his eyes and pulled them both back into the compartment, then closed the door again.

  “I got held up with this old couple,” Gray huffed in explanation for his

  tardiness as Thiago squeezed the life out of him. “They needed help with their– ow–

  luggage,” Gray wheezed. “Why are they up?” he asked as Thiago released him and

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  petted him in a manner quite unbecoming a trained killer.

  “Brandt let them go,” Thiago growled as he checked Gray over for injuries,

  ignoring the swatting Gray did in protest of the treatment.

  “I did no such thing,” Brandt said indignantly.

  “When we left, they were tied. When we got back, they weren’t. That means

  you let them go.”

  “They let themselves go!”

  “Then you let them escape. Same fucking difference!”

  “Stop!” Carl yelled finally. His eyes flashed dangerously and Brandt

  discreetly shoved at Shawn and sent him headlong onto the lower bunk and into

  Remy’s lap. Brandt followed the movement by slinking sideways and squeezing into

  the bunk with them, and he settled in beside Shawn to look up at Carl obediently.

  Remy couldn’t help but stare at the man, dumbfounded. When had Carl

  taken control of the group? From his pointed, concise questions in the Mustang, to being the only one willing to wade into the chaos and try to stop it by being the voice of reason, Carl was making a pretty effective point to revolve around.

  Remy and Shawn shared a look and looked up at Carl in mimicry of Brandt’s

  obedient attitude. At least someone was trying to remain in control. Carl rubbed his eyes as if they hurt, and Thiago and Gray watched him warily as they tried to stand together in the small space in front of the door.

  “We have a lot of shit to go over, and very little time in which to do it,” Carl

  said quietly. “First; what did you two find, no one tailing us?”

  “No,” Thiago responded succinctly.

  “It’s all clear,” Gray affirmed.

  “Good,” Carl said with a little nod. “What issue shall we address first, then?”

  he asked with a little grin.

  “Issue?” Remy repeated disbelievingly. “How about, we address why all of a

  sudden you seem to know a lot more than the rest of us? How about–”

  “Why don’t we address just what exactly you two do, huh?” Brandt

  interrupted angrily.

  “Stop! If this is going to happen it has to be done in something resembling

  an orderly fashion,” Carl growled as the train lurched and they all tensed to keep upright.

  “Isn’t there supposed to be an announcement or something when they do

  that?” Thiago grumbled as he and Gray stumbled to the side.

  “There was,” Gray said as he wrapped his arms around Thiago and held him

  until the rocking motion stopped. Remy watched them with interest, wondering why

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  he’d never guessed at the extent of the connection they shared. He’d suspected Gray was smitten with the Archer, who happened to be Thiago, but he hadn't known the

  feeling was mutual.

  “First thing, I want to know why we tied Niko up,” Carl said, pointing at

  Nikolaus in the top bunk. Remy was struck by the fact that he had momentarily

  forgotten about Nikolaus being up there.

  “He’s a plant,” Gray spat angrily. “Been informing on you all along.”

  “What?” Remy cried.

  Shawn gripped his arm and tugged at him. Remy turned to see the frustration

  and concern in Shawn’s eyes, and he immediately calmed. He realized Shawn was

  taking his cues from Remy’s reactions, and he vowed to remain calm through this.

  “Sorry,” he said softly as he scooted back and placed his arm around

  Shawn’s shoulders. He positioned himself so Shawn’s ear was at his mouth. He

  would have to act almost as a translator, whispering in Shawn’s ear what was being said as the others spoke.

  This was no way for Shawn to be when their lives depended on their survival

  skills.

  L.

  “NIKOLAUS’S been working for someone else all along,” Gray continued as Thiago

  tried to calm him with a hand on his back. “I think now’s a good time to tell us about your little meeting this morning, Niko,” he growled, looking up at the man who’d

  remained essentially silent since he’d confessed in the car.

  “I told you,” Nikolaus said quietly.

  Thiago watched as Remy whispered in Shawn’s ear, and Shawn nodded in

  response. He supposed that since Carl and Brandt accused the two of them of

  something, something as yet unknown to Thiago, they shouldn’t be allowed to

  whisper. Thiago just didn’t see them as a threat.

  “Why did you change your mind so suddenly?” Thiago asked Nikolaus. “All

  this time, even after swearing loyalty, you’ve been in contact with them. Why turn today?”

  “He said… my contact was talking about seeing you all executed. He said

  they’d hang you as an example and–”

  “Hang?” Carl broke in questioningly.

  “Did he say hang?” Shawn asked in confusion.

  “They don’t hang people anymore, Gizmo,” Carl said doubtfully.

  “I’m just telling you what the man said, all right?” Nikolaus said in a tired

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  voice.

  “Who was this?” Remy asked worriedly.

  “Nikolaus’s MI6 contact,” Thiago answered.

  “MI6 certainly doesn’t hang people anymore,” Remy said slowly. He looked

  at Shawn and they shared a concerned look. “But we know who does,” he added

  slowly.

  Silence fell in the cramped cabin, and finally Thiago breathed deeply and

  said, “Maybe we should start with you two then.”

  “We’re going to need like, uh… a diagram or something,” Remy said with a

  resigned nod.

  LI.

  ALL Carl had been able to find for Remy to write on was a napkin, but Remy was

  making do. He was using Shawn’s back as a hard surface to write on, since the man couldn’t really follow the conversation anyway, and they all hovered over the two of them as Shawn sat on the edge of the bunk with his head hanging between his knees.

  Carl recognized that it took a lot of trust on Shawn’s part to allow Remy to

  defend the two of them by himself, and he wondered if Remy knew how much Shawn

  was counting on him.

  “Okay,” Remy sighed finally. “We have the standard intelligence agencies

  from all over the world over here,” Remy said as he pointed his pen to the left side of the napkin. “CIA, KGB, MI6, GSS, ASIO, BND, Mossad, SAVAK, Al Amn Al-Khas, AVB,” Remy said, rattling off the names of intelligence agencies.

  “We know the agencies, just get on with it!
” Brandt said testily.

  Remy gave him a glare but continued.

  “They all feed into O.R.G. This, too, we all know, and the Organization acts

  as a sort of an Interpol of spies, handling and coordinating anything that’s too big for one or two groups to go at alone. What is not common knowledge, however, is that

  the Organization has two sides to it,” Remy said as he drew two lines from the

  symbol he had made to represent the Organization, making his diagram look sort of spider-like.

  “What do you mean, two sides?” Nikolaus asked as he hung over the edge of

  the top bunk and looked down at them all.

  “The legit side, and the black side,” Remy answered as he wrote the words

  and circled them. “We call it the Underground, for lack of a better term.”

  “So you two really are the bad guys,” Thiago said in disbelief.

  “I resent the term bad guy,” Remy responded angrily.

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  “My neck is starting to hurt, people,” Shawn said in a muffled voice. “I

  know you’re arguing. I can smell it. Stop it and get on with it.”

  There was a brief silence before Gray snorted in amusement and actually

  reached down and patted the back of Shawn’s head, earning a sloppy upside down

  smack for his trouble.

  “Too bad he’s such a bastard,” Gray whispered to Thiago. “I quite like him.”

  Thiago rolled his eyes and motioned for Remy to continue.

  “Think of it like this,” Remy said as he drew a circle. “You have your legit

  agency, let’s say MI6 or the CIA. They handle everything that’s out there in the open, so to speak. But then you have your higher branches; say, the NSA, black ops that handle both the legit and the not so legitimate jobs. Follow?” he asked of everyone.

  Everyone nodded. “That’s what we are. We know about you, but you don’t know

  about us. And if ever your kind were to find out about our kind, well, we’re supposed to handle it. But basically, we’re you,” Remy said as he pointed at all of them.

  “Simply without a conscience or committee oversight.”

  Carl stared at him incredulously. Talk about drawing it out in purple crayon.