by Jack Parker
His reply was a hoarse whisper. "…Ya zdes'…"
"Wake up! Wake up!" Emery continued to yell, but it was having no effect. "Oh no, no, don't…Please wake up!"
Ludkov was past response. His breathing was shallow now and with each fall of his chest the subsequent rise was weaker. Emery could only watch with a crushing sense of failure as it began to gradually taper off. His frame began to seize slightly from the diminishing oxygen, his skin was turning paler by the minute, and moments later, Aleksei Ludkov feebly drew his last breath. It poured from his lungs in a long, wavering sigh, never again to be regained, and his body submitted to total, eerie stillness.
"Ludkov?" Emery probed, but he knew he would not be answered. His lip quivered and he felt the tears well up before clenching his eyes shut and jerking his head away roughly. Ludkov was gone… In that moment he felt fear again. What if he was wrong? What if they could be saved and he was making the rashest decision yet again? He swallowed his tears and looked back up at the lights above his head. He didn't think he'd ever wished so badly that Kurt was there beside him than he did in that moment. Not least because he was beginning to fully accept that this might be the end of him.
It was several minutes later before the Dutchman and his men reentered the room. Emery felt anesthetized as he watched two men approach Ludkov's table and briefly examine him before one nodded to their leader succinctly. He could feel the towering villain lean over his table to his right. It blocked the light above him but he didn't look up. His eyes remained instead on Ludkov's motionless features.
"Euthanasia is a kind option, Mr. Eaton," the Dutchman said softly. "But I'm afraid that for practicality's sake, it will not be the method I choose to dispatch the rest of your company should you force my hand." A long, gaunt finger suddenly pressed under the side of his chin and drew his head towards the speaker almost gently. "So what is it to be?"
Emery stared into the ghostly pale eyes above his own, his thin figure silhouetted in the bright light behind him like a looming shadow, and slowly shook his head. "I'll give you nothing."
The Dutchman studied him for a long moment as though searching out sincerity. When it appeared he'd found it, he looked up to his men and offered a somber nod.
Emery's eyes darted back and forth between the men coming over to cage him at either side. He looked down at his arm as one began to forcibly roll up his sleeve and he quickly felt like ice was forming in his veins. A moment later a tourniquet was fastened there. Then a syringe came into view. Emery remained still, frozen as he saw the needle dip down. It paused when the Dutchman held up a hand.
"Half of that, or his death will be instantaneous. He's still got one more purpose to serve. And he's a much smaller man besides…let's not be wasteful."
The man obeyed. Emery flinched as the needle bit into his skin and he knew that it was too late. His time had come. His last rational thought was to dismiss his cowardly longing for company in this moment. More than anything now he hoped that Kurt was unable to return. That he would stay away. Stay safe. Then the plunger was pressed down and his world became a blur.
* * *
It took Kurt only ten minutes to come back up on the facility courtesy of his borrowed vehicle and a myriad of side roads. The car handled poorly, but it only needed to get him a little bit further. He could just see the laboratory's rooftop in the distance.
"We're getting too close," Georgie noted beside him. "Take a right here and park along the street or they'll spot us before we get there."
"Stealth is an unaffordable consideration."
"Well if they see us coming, how do you suppose we'll be getting in?"
"Leave that to me."
Kurt hung a sharp left and sped down the road there, keenly avoiding collision with an oncoming taxi cab that veered violently off its course to miss them. He could see the train yard now but bypassed it altogether in favor of the main road leading up to the compound's front gate. Hennessey's men littered the property and it was clear that Thompson's men had begun to ease out from their stronghold. Groups of them were pecking off enemies left and right, but seemed to be struggling for dominance. Kurt saw that a large regiment of Thompson's shooters were gathered near the front gate to ward off the largest group of Hennessey's crew and prevent them from escaping. He glanced at Georgie and floored the gas pedal. "Get down."
Georgie had just a moment to turn pale before she did as he was told. Kurt followed suit, ducking down just before shots fractured the windshield above him in a great burst. He covered his head with his arms and braced himself as the car tore towards their enemies. He was jarred forward on impact. It was easy to gauge from the number of bodies that thudded against the bonnet that few of them had moved in time. As soon as the firing stopped for a moment Kurt sat up and slammed the brakes, jerking the wheel to send the car sliding to a halt with its broadside temporarily blocking the nearby pack of Hennessey's men from further attack. Kurt swiftly leapt from the vehicle and Georgie scrambled out after him on the driver's side. They both ducked down behind the care as firing resumed.
"There's a utility door on the west side. It's our best shot at getting in," Georgie reminded. Another bombardment of gunshots riddled the other side of the car. "If we can make it there."
Kurt was attempting to peer around the backend of the car when Hennessey's gunmen rushed up on them. They were led by the Irishman McDermott, who fired off a few shots through the blasted out car windows before ducking down with them. "Where in the blazes have you been?" he demanded gruffly, eyes flicking between them. "Are where're yer mates?"
"In trouble," Georgie answered.
They all winced as a shot struck the driver's side mirror with a sharp crack just above their heads. "Well they're in good bleedin' company."
"Where is Emery?" Kurt demanded, turning a severe look on the shorter man.
McDermott narrowed one eye. "Eaton?"
"Did he come this way?" Georgie asked.
McDermott looked up as his men returned fire around the stationary vehicle and bent up to lend a few shots of his own before settling back down and meeting Kurt's stare. "Ain't seen him. How'd he get loose?"
Kurt looked back to the building and ignored the question. "What's your situation?"
He half expected a sarcastic remark out of that, but suddenly the man was all business. "We're flanked east and on the south side here. They're pushin' out and we're pushin' 'em back—we're keepin' 'em in at the back and they're keepin' us in at the front. It's a stalemate, but they're gettin' antsy alright. I don't think they expected us to last."
Kurt studied the front entrance in the reflection of the broken side mirror above. "Two of our allies have been apprehended. Emery is of the mind an immediate rescue is in order and he must be stopped. If he falls into the Dutchman's hands, it will spell disaster for us all."
McDermott considered this for a moment. "If a man's got no brains it's only fittin' he's got the plums to make it up."
"You've convinced the enemy that you mean to keep your distance and they've responded accordingly. Now change course and charge them. Storm the facility at once."
"And what bloody good's that gonna do?"
"I trained with these men. They were instructed to handle your lot with the assumption that you were stupid, predictable, and stubborn. You'll lose men but it will earn you the element of surprise. Confuse your actions and you'll confuse theirs—a moment's hesitation is all we need."
"For what?"
"To find and kill their leader," Kurt replied, eyes flitting up.
McDermott eyed him for a moment before looking to Georgie. "What are you two gonna be doin' in the meantime?"
"Faraday and I are bound for the west entrance. Provide cover fire," Kurt ordered.
"Aye," McDermott agreed. He made a gesture to the men behind him, then the men beside him, and suddenly they all drew up at once, opening fire to pin back the closest group of shooters and create a short-lived pathway. Kurt instantly took the opportu
nity and ran for the side of the building as fast as he could. Georgie was hot on his trail. He caught himself against the wall and scurried back into the shadows of some supply trucks with her in tow. It seemed that they hadn't been pursued, distracted as they were by McDermott's aggressive assault. He could see a few of Hennessey's men struck and fallen but McDermott himself was no longer in view.
"How well do you know this place?" Georgie asked in a whisper beside him as they made their way quickly to the west door.
"Well enough."
A few dozen feet and they were upon the entrance. Kurt pushed but the door did not give way. This door was not typically locked, but he should have foreseen this. He stood back, aiming his gun at the lock. Georgie's hand shot out and pulled his firing arm back down.
"Are you insane? You'll draw them all to us, and you have no idea who's waiting on the other side."
Kurt shirked her off. "There's no alternative."
"Yes there is."
"Then what is it?"
"The barest modicum of patience," Georgie replied, holding out her hand. "Now give me your knife and watch my back."
Kurt gave her a look of bristled distrust, but he did as she asked. He slapped the handle of his knife into her palm and turned back to watch the area, gun raised.
Georgie pressed herself up against the door to listen before drawing back and beginning to manipulate the lock mechanism with the blade. He could see the shadows of bodies flitting by and hear gunfire drawing closer, but after only a moment's time he heard the latch pop and she was carefully peering in. "All clear for the moment. Let's hurry."
Kurt let her slip inside before he backed into the door as well, shutting it once they were in the hall. "Up the stairs. The third floor," Kurt instructed. He didn't know where Victor and Ludkov were being kept, but he did know where Thompson spent the majority of his time. He rarely left his office except when he was explicitly needed. Footsteps sounded down the hallway coming towards them and they leapt up the stairs out of view as quickly as they could.
As soon as they approached the second flight of stairs, however, men on the way down spotted them.
Kurt reeled back behind the railing and returned fire, striking one in the stomach. The other dove, but Georgie managed to leap out in time and plant a bullet in his neck. Both men toppled down the stairs while Kurt and Georgie stepped back to avoid them. Kurt snatched the gun from the still-struggling man's hands and shot him again in the head. The other, jugular shorn open, was already in his death throes. He tucked the second gun into his waistband and they both hurried up the stairs again.
He looked left then right at the top, then set his gaze left once more down the long hallway that lead to the office. He beckoned Georgie and they slid along the wall with guns ready. Kurt scanned his environment carefully. He could hear men moving about and pulled up a mental map of the facility to pinpoint their locations. Most of them were in unlit offices, still at the windows firing down on Hennessey's battling squadron. Hopefully McDermott, who seemed to be the de facto leader of the remaining forces, would indeed swarm the building as Kurt instructed. Even after Thompson was dead it would be their only chance in escaping with the others intact.
"Four o'clock," Georgie cried suddenly and Kurt turned fast, shooting a man emerging from a doorway. Shots fired from behind and Georgie returned it before they were both forced to run. His destination was two corridors down he knew he must make it there at all a costs. He was just about to reach a turn when he heard Georgie yelp and collapse.
Kurt skidded back, eyes on their pursuers, but there were too many. One took a shot at him and he had to duck around a corner to avoid being hit, leaving her in the middle of the hallway. She met his eyes and motioned for him to keep going. Kurt clenched his jaw and looked out at the men regrouping at the end of the hall, aiming out at her as she tried to find her feet. There wasn't time for this. He didn't need her anyway and Emery and Victor's lives may well have hung in the balance. He turned his head down the hallway into the distance where his destination lay… Then he stood up and fired on the men approaching her with both guns. For another instant they were pushed back and he lunged. He easily snatched her small body up with one arm, fired a few more shots, and jerked them both back around the corner.
He could see there was blood trickling from her ankle as he set her down. She grabbed for it and smeared blood onto her hand, but her face was more indignant than pained. She caught his looking and shook her head. "Only a graze."
Kurt leaned back out slightly to try and see where his attackers stood, but worryingly some of them were gone. Likely they were rerouting to another hallway to cut them off. "Go. Quickly."
Again they ran. Kurt knew where the gunmen would reappear. He tore around a bend that was directly out of his way and held up both guns just as he could see them turn the corner. His first shot killed, his other wounded, and Georgie was there to pick up the slack in a heartbeat and kill the second dead. He pulled back out into the hall and jerked his head in the right direction. Thompson's office was just a few feet down the next row of doors. Kurt slunk carefully towards the door in question. The light was on inside so he knew that it was occupied. They stopped a short distance from the door while Kurt backed up, readying himself to kick the door in.
Before he had the chance, however, the door began to open. Kurt sprang back to hide behind the door, holding his gun up, but instantly jerked it back down when he noted with utter disbelief that it was not Thompson. Instead it was Victor.
Victor was creeping out slowly to try and see if the coast was clear. As soon as he looked Kurt's way he started, stumbling back a bit and blinking at him wide-eyed. "Shit! Kurt? Georgie—wh—what the fuck are you doing here?"
"Rescuing you, you twit," George replied.
Victor's head whipped around nervously. "Fuck, I know this kinda takes the piss outta my act of valor back there, but am I ever goddamn glad to see you guys."
Kurt looked him up and down. Victor didn't seem to be injured. In his hand was what appeared to be a syringe filled with heroin. Kurt had too many questions for this scenario so his brain instantly leapt on the only one that mattered and forced it from his lips. "Where's Emery?"
Victor's grim expression felt like a hand around his throat. "The fucking Dutchman's got him. He got snagged getting me out. That crazy asshole, why the hell did you let him come back?"
"Where is he?" Kurt demanded again.
"The med bay. We need some kind of plan fast."
"What on earth were you doing in there?" Georgie asked, indicating Victor's syringe.
Victor looked down at it, shaking his head. "Shit, I don't know, I guess I just thought if I could—"
"Stop there!" a voice cried.
They all looked up to see a man with a gun on them down the hall. Kurt aimed, but not fast enough. Another group of men was jogging towards them from the other side. They were suddenly trapped at both ends. Kurt bit into his tongue hard to keep from doing something drastic.
"Drop your weapons. All of you. Now," one of them said.
Kurt kept his face straight and reluctantly did so, guns clattering to the tile. Georgie's followed suit. The men began to ease closer and Kurt regrettably recognized all of them. They each looked back at him with murder and he shifted his eyes between theirs sternly. He was about to raise his hands when he suddenly felt Victor's fingers graze his own. An instant later something was being pushed into his hand and he realized with confusion that Victor was discreetly tucking the syringe into his palm, his action hidden from both sides in the minimal space between their bodies. Kurt unquestioningly wrapped his fingers around it and pushed it up into his own shirtsleeve with a flick of the wrist.
"Hands up," said the gunman at the forefront.
They all obeyed. Men came forward fast and began to pat them down. Kurt kept his gaze cool as he was frisked, but none of them thought to check his sleeve. They pilfered his knife from Georgie and tossed it aside before he felt a hand on
his neck shoving him forward gruffly, the voice of the man funneling into his ear through clenched teeth. "Welcome back, Gabler."
Kurt kept his eyes facing front and began to march as he was directed.
Chapter 30
Kurt remained still as a man roughly bound his hands behind his back with rope. Fortunately he had managed to work the syringe far enough up his sleeve that it was not detected while this occurred. He didn't know what it was intended for or why Victor had passed it to him, but it was better to have than nothing at all. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Victor and Georgie's hands being similarly restrained. He set his gaze forward, calm and alert. His emotions were properly checked and stamped down for later use. Keeping a level head was the only chance he had to make it through this intact and find his partner.
They were all lead back down to the second floor where a spacious laboratory awaited them. It was an empty room of all smooth concrete, looking as though everything had been removed in the process of some repurposing. To what end Kurt couldn't be certain, but it was gray, cold, and had the atmosphere of a tomb. The three of them were led into the center while two gunmen circled them threateningly.
"Get on your knees," the closest one commanded.
Kurt glared back at him boldly.
The man pointed his gun at Kurt's knee. "You can get there yourself or I can help you. Your choice."
Kurt glanced at his teammates before relenting and slowly lowering himself to a kneeling position. Beside him Victor did the same, followed by Georgie to their left so that they were all in a neat row. Once they were down their two jailers shuffled back. One remained a few feet to Kurt's right while the other faced across from them. It was beginning to feel quite keenly like an execution.
"It's been a pleasure working with you gents," Georgie said quietly, echoing this sentiment.
Victor leaned towards her to catch her gaze. "Easy, Faraday. It's not over 'til it's over."
"Shut up," the man standing in front of Victor demanded. "I don't want to hear any talking."