by Jack Parker
Emery was railing against it but his arms were restrained. He thrashed. There was nothing he could do.
"Nein, nein, nein, Emery, Emery, shh, das bin ich, mein liebling, ich bin hier," a groggy but alarmed voice was saying in his ear.
Emery dizzily realized that Kurt was the one restraining him from behind on the bed, there was no rope, there was no Sheridan, but his heart wouldn't stop pounding, his breath still short and his body shaking all over. "Fuck," he sputtered. He grabbed one of Kurt's arms around him and went from jerking against the embrace to burying himself back into it. Kurt raised a hand to stroke fingers firmly up the back of Emery's hair as he kissed the nape of his neck.
"I've got you. You're safe. Shh, shh…"
Emery didn't have it in him to respond. He could still feel his heart in his throat as he stared into the darkness of the far wall, cowering in his lover's arms like a frightened child convinced that monsters awaited him in the shadows. He couldn't recall the last time he'd had such a vivid, visceral dream.
After a few minutes Kurt's touches calmed him significantly, pulling him back to reality and slowing his heart rate down to normal. Usually Emery could be coaxed back to sleep once he'd been assured of a dream's falsehood, but this time he could not. He could only lie awake with wide eyes and rub his hand along Kurt's forearm gratefully until the older man began to drop off again and he was left alone to process his shaken thoughts. He could still hear his mother's crying. The gunshot echoing in his ears. He could still feel Victor's blood, wet on his hands, and see Sheridan's smirking face. It made it impossible to close his eyes again. A while later he gave up thoughts of sleep and carefully pulled himself from Kurt's arms. He rubbed his face gruffly once more to wipe the dream from his eyes before blindly tugging on an ill-fitting t-shirt that ended up being Kurt's and his shed boxer shorts. Then he crept out into the kitchen for a glass of water.
He was not alone when he exited the bedroom. Georgie sat at the dining table in total darkness, moving her hands about while Fidget crawled along from one to the other. She met his eyes as he approached the table and lowered the spider. "Couldn't sleep?" she asked softly.
Emery shook his head.
"Can't say I blame you." She looked down at Fidget and back up at him. "Sorry. The night shift is just a bit lonely is all, and she was up anyway."
Emery made a dismissive gesture. "It's fine." He studied her for a long moment. She looked tired. She must have relieved Victor not long ago, but didn't seem terribly refreshed from however much sleep it was she'd gotten before that point. He could see by the perfect whiteness of the bandaging that her injured shoulder had been redressed. "How are you holding up, Georgie?"
"Still alive. That's about as much as one can ask in these times, hm?"
Emery pulled out a chair and began to sit.
"Are you sure you're allowed to do that?" she asked with a bit of sarcasm. "Your man's banned me from being alone with you."
Emery blinked at her before continuing to sit. "He told you that?"
Georgie smiled thinly. "He's a bit of a stick in the mud, isn't he?"
Emery huffed. "He can be overprotective. Don't let him get to you—he's a good man. Really, he is."
"Your word is good enough for me," she relented. "But I don't think he and I will end up friends. It doesn't hurt my feelings any, though I am sorry if my being here is causing you trouble."
Emery shook his head. "It's not. Georgie, we'd be dead a dozen times over without you."
"You've done your share of saving my skin as well," she replied.
"Perhaps, but you don't have to be here. You don't have to help us. Don't think I don't know that."
She looked up at him for a long moment before leaning her head down onto her hand. "It's not as if I'm here out of some pure selfless drive to do good. Where else should I go? There isn't a single place where the Dutchman couldn't find me, so it's certainly in my best interest to aid the party who wants him dead."
"Certainly we need one another. But that isn't why you're here."
She didn't look at him. "Then why am I here, Emery?"
"For the same reason we are. You tired of running away, and you want to set things right." He leaned forward. "I know I was upset when I found out how you came to be here, but…given the way that things turned out, how can I fault you? It would be hypocritical besides. We're all liars and killers and thieves, Georgie. You're not any worse than the rest of us."
She wore an unreadable face while she studied him from her chair. "How did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"How did you become the man you are? How did you never lose the kindheartedness you had as a child? Even after everything?"
Emery shook his head and looked down at the table with a smirk. "Sheer stubbornness, actually."
Georgie sat up, pulling her hands into her lap and looking down at Fidget sitting idly on the table's surface. The spider's body was just an amorphous shape splotching the wood grain in the dark. "Well I can't say I'm not glad to be here. For the first time in my life I can be sure that I'm on the right side of things. Even if it all goes to pot, at least I'll have that."
"It won't," Emery assured. "Nothing is hopeless. And our odds are good. We've got all of Hennessey's forces plus Ludkov's lingering crew on our side."
Georgie frowned. "I'm not sure we do."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that Aleksei's remaining men may be stupid, but they're not insane. They've surely considered that working under a man with a sealed fate is a lost cause. Several of those who weren't killed off when the Dutchman first attacked him got the message and fled. As near as I can tell he's down to about five men remaining loyal to him, not including the ones laid up."
That was a bit daunting. He'd anticipated sixteen additional bodies, not just five. The Dutchman undoubtedly had wits and resources on his side, so their only real advantage was higher numbers. If they couldn't manage to hang onto that…
Georgie must've caught his skeptical face. "However Hennessey still has a great deal of thugs, and their loyalty is bound by a sense of unity. The Dutchman's men are loyal because they're paid to be, or afraid not to be, whereas Hennessey's men are spurred on by pure, stupid indignation. Most of them would've gone to war over a mild insult, but they've already been attacked. We've got wrath in our corner if nothing else."
Emery rubbed his jaw. "How do you reckon Ludkov feels about his men abandoning him? Surely that's got to sting."
"It's rare that he takes something personally and there isn't much he can do about it even if he wanted to. I'm sure it's no picnic realizing that the brigade he's spent more than a decade building is a fair weather franchise, but it can't be too shocking a thing to learn when you've opted to hire out expendable dolts."
Emery thought about that for a moment, unsure about his opinion on Aleksei Ludkov. He could appreciate the man's immediate value and had to admit things would have been difficult without him, but he didn't care much for the deliberate withholding of certain information. "Can we trust him? Truly, I mean?"
Georgie looked a tad taken back, but nodded quickly. "Of course. You don't know him as well as I do, I realize, but the Ludkov you're seeing is as benevolent as he gets. Perhaps he wasn't fully honest with you about every facet of his organization, but he's only got as much reason to trust you as you do him."
"Sorry," Emery said, looking down. "I don't mean to make accusations. I can see that there's something sort of familial between you and him."
Georgie drew in a breath and looked up in thought before nodding again. "I suppose he might be the closest thing to a family member I've got anymore. I must admit he shows me more lenience than most. He's the only person who's ever seen past my size and my gender—even my age. …To him I'm worth something."
Emery looked on at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry you never felt that way before."
"When I began working for the Dutchman," she said slowly, eyes down. "It made me realize just how much
of a buffer I'd actually had between myself and death under Aleksei. Suddenly mistakes could cost me my life. My coworkers made the Bratva boys look like saints. I think I knew from the start I'd made the wrong choice, but I suppose no one ever chooses the wisest option when fear is their motive. I saw Aleksei surrounding himself with fools as his trust in his own people faded. Instead of staying by his side to help the man who had raised me up from nothing and made me a survivor, I turned on him the first opportunity I had. He's not the one you ought to be asking if you can trust."
"You won't turn on me," Emery said with certainty. "If you even had the capacity you would've just shot me back in Montreal and saved yourself a world of trouble. And if you hadn't been a part of the Dutchman's organization at that time, someone else would have done just that. I can't say I'm sorry you made the choices that you did. Regardless of their reasons. Georgie…" Emery paused for a long moment before moving a little closer. "…I was afraid once too, you know. I lived in constant fear. Fear that things would never get better. That my life was over before it began. That everyone I loved was gone and the only person I would ever have again was my overbearing stepfather who'd been molesting me since I was fifteen."
Georgie's eyes shot up, blinking repeatedly in the dark.
Emery swallowed awkwardly. "He…made my life miserable. He was possessive. Obsessive. Sick. It was so suffocating that when I was kidnapped by Sheridan and Kurt and Victor, it was freedom. Freedom was being taken by armed thugs, because even if they might've hurt me, they couldn't do any worse than what had already been done. So I befriended them instead. Cooperated. Tried to make things easy. And it nearly got me killed. All because I was afraid of Hunter."
Georgie was shaking her head. "Emery…I never knew. I'm so sorry."
Emery made a dismissive hand gesture. "My point is: fear made me do a lot of stupid things. But it all worked out perfectly. Falling in love quite literally saved my life. And I don't mean just because it bought me Kurt's protection, or because it secured my freedom from Hunter's clutches. It saved every tarnished, threadbare bit of my worldview that had all but disappeared before I met him. Sometimes the ends justify the means, you see. Yours and mine."
For a moment she was quiet. Then she smiled softly. "You love him very much."
Emery looked down as he felt a tap on the back of his hand to see Fidget's foot touching his skin. He scooped the spider up carefully and put it against his heart. "I can't believe I ever thought the world was a dark and horrible place when all the while it housed someone like Kurt. I don't even know if love is enough to describe how I feel about the man. Everything was so small before him. Now, everything feels infinite. …I just hope we get a chance to make that last." Emery thought about the day to come with nerves beginning to surface again before forcing them back down with a clearing of his throat. "But there you have it. Sap and all. I'm well aware he comes across as a surly mess, but I'm sure that what you don't understand about Kurt is what I don't understand about Ludkov. Like you said…your word's good enough for me."
Georgie reached a hand across the table to lay over his, and he gripped it back. "Thank you, Emery. Aleksei won't let you down. He's not the sort."
"Neither will Kurt let you down," Emery promised. "But I've got to wonder…what will come of Aleksei Ludkov once this is over? Where will he go?"
Georgie withdrew her hand and considered that question thoroughly. "I imagine that he'd theoretically have to run. Beletski will have him hunted down if he stays in London."
"Why theoretically?"
"Because he won't. Run, that is." Georgie sighed and sat back. "Aleksei's biggest weakness is his penchant for what he perceives as justice. He'll go after Beletski himself, and it won't end well for him. He knows that. But principle is truly all he has left in this world."
"So then he'll plan a suicide mission."
"I'll do my best to stop him, but I don't see it going any other way. Then again, who knows? Aleksei has been shot. He's been stabbed. Tortured. Betrayed and lied to and fooled, but in the end he's remained incredibly resilient. …I suppose when a man endures the death of his only child, what can't he survive?"
Emery suddenly felt a pull of guilt in his gut. There was still much he didn't know about Ludkov. Perhaps he was a misfit on all counts, but perhaps that's what made him an ideal candidate for this multifarious team of theirs. It wouldn't do to forgive some and not others. He nodded to himself and cradled Fidget closer, letting loose a dramatic sigh. "Mobs. Killers. Vendettas. It all pales in comparison to my true biggest fear."
Georgie studied him. "And what's that?"
Emery leered at her. "What sort of favor Victor's going to call in when this is all over."
She chuckled and smoothed her bangs back from her face. "Don't tell him I said this, but Victor Scott is a perfectly lovely man. He's also an uppity twat. I'm sure all he'll really want in return for his service is the right to complain about this event for the rest of his life."
He couldn't help but laugh, leaning back. "Oh, you do know Victor, don't you?"
"He's uncomplicated."
"But lovely. You're right about that. I think he's the best friend I ever had. …In my adulthood, that is."
Georgie nodded. "Do you think you'll keep in contact with him after this?"
Emery frowned. He hadn't really thought about that. He didn't really want to either, but after this, Victor would undoubtedly be gone. Emery would see to it he got some money and then it was off to Mexico to live out his dream, most likely. "Yes," Emery said anyway. "I'll make sure of it. I don't…think he really has anyone else."
"Really? He doesn't strike me as the lone wolf sort."
"He's not. Not by choice, anyway. Before, when I lived in Montreal I mean…I was so very grateful to have a family again. That's what Kurt gave me. He's just one person, and he's more than enough, but…I'd say there's plenty of room for Victor." He grasped gently at the spider that was suddenly trying to make its way up to his neck. "Yes, you too, Fidget, I didn't forget."
"Your family is who you choose," Georgie agreed. "You ought to go try and get some sleep. It's not your shift and there's quite a day ahead of us."
Emery nodded, setting the tarantula back into its enclosure and shutting it up as he stood. "Yeah, I'll give it a try. Will you be alright on your own?"
Georgie shooed him with a hand, looking more alert than before. "I always have been," she stated with an air of pride.
"Okay. Goodnight, Ms. Faraday."
"Sweet dreams, Mr. Fletcher."
Emery gave her a smile before turning off towards the bedroom. Once there he crept back onto the bed and snuggled up against Kurt, who clumsily snatched for him and sighed deeply in his sleep. Emery took his face and pressed a kiss against his lips. "We'll all be alright," he said, more to himself.
"Bitte verlass' mich nicht…"
Emery pulled Kurt's head against his neck. "I'm right here."
"Always," Kurt murmured.
"Immer und ewig, Kurt," he replied, closing his eyes. "Ich Liebe Dich für immer und ewig."
Chapter 28
Victor wasn't super stoked to meet the entirety of Hennessey's armed, tweaking pals at the very same warehouse compound all five of them played a role in severely fucking up a week ago, but business was business. Hennessey clearly never caught on that they had something to do with it anyway and big surprise there. To say that this guy had a one track mind was understating it. Even now, with Kurt attempting to showcase his diagram of the Dutchman's fortress, Hennessey stood glaring off with total tunnel vision, and at the end of that tunnel was Casey Sheridan. Good. Fuck that fucker for being alive. As much as Victor hated Aaron Hennessey, he was definitely the lesser of two evils here.
This whole scene was getting on his nerves, though. Victor had understood Kurt perfectly the first time he explained things. The Dutchman was holed up at a commandeered pharmaceuticals lab in one of England's apparently many half-abandoned shitholes out in the boonies somew
here—they would slip in and overrun the facility at peak hours. Easy enough to understand. Too bad Hennessey had a thousand irrelevant, bullshit interjections that prevented him from fully grasping the layout being explained to him. Kurt was a boss at masking his frustration, but Victor was still a little surprised he didn't reach out and smack the guy in the mouth to shut him the fuck up. He shook his head and lifted up his shirt to examine the fading bruise on his side from falling down that hill. It was nearly gone. He touched the edge gingerly with two fingers and barely felt the pain. He glanced up briefly and noted that Georgie's eyes were fixated on his bared abdomen and the vanishing wound. She caught his gaze and she casually looked away.
Victor snorted, looking back down and continuing to prod his bruise. "It's rude to stare," he remarked with conceited sarcasm.
Georgie raised an eyebrow at him and glanced at his side again. "I absolutely wasn't."
Victor dropped his shirt and crossed his arms, feigning offense. "I mean yeah, I have killer abs, but my eyes are up here." He pointed helpfully.
Georgie's stare was appropriately dull. "This coming from the man who just a few nights ago took the time out to notice my…what was it? My 'cute little British ass', I think it was."
Victor slowly winced. Damn it. That did sound like something his stupid drunk brain would blab. "Uhhhhhhh—"
"Priorities, Vic," Georgie reminded, nodding towards Hennessey. Then she slipped off to go over to Ludkov, who was wisely hanging back. Victor grumbled derisively at himself and turned to look at Emery, who was gnawing on a thumb nervously as he stood behind Kurt. Couldn't blame the guy for being on edge. These had great potential to be their final hours after all, even if that was par for the course considering. Even still, Emery waltzing around looking that goddamn antsy wasn't going to do them any favors with Hennessey's goons and Victor thought about making a snide comment to that effect, but he found that he didn't really want to. Not after last night.