The masked agents carry Amiran through the empty parking structure, keenly aware of the echo of their footsteps. Amiran walks slowly and heavily; he looks beyond exhausted. When Amiran’s hand brushes against his captor’s leg, she knees him hard in the back. Nate and Reese struggle with their desire to rush to his aid. The agents and their offerings stand a few feet apart from one another, waiting for the other side to make their piece.
“So are we just going to stand here and look pretty, or are we going to get this over with?” Nate asks. “I hate to rush you. I know your boss is a busy man.”
The shorter operative keeps a firm grip on Amiran while she eyes Leon from behind her visor. “The Doctor expressed a strong desire for this fighter,” she says.
“The Doctor? You gotta be kidding. Does he make you call him that?” Leon says. When Nate scornfully shoves his brother, he emits a muffled sound of dejection from beneath the sack that covers his head.
The taller operative walks toward Leon. “It’s a little odd that you happened to catch one of the best tournament fighters, over two thousand miles from his hometown, right when we nabbed the one who beat him out of a championship. Wanna tell us what that’s about?”
“Isn’t that the first rule of these kinds of ordeals? No questions asked?” Reese says.
“Just making sure we’re not being cheated.” The taller figure kneels down in front of Leon, tilting his head up before removing the sack. Something sits between his teeth-- a taser. By the time Leon winks, throws it in the air and catches it, it’s too late for the agent to react. Leon drills the taser square into his chest.
The other agent grabs Amiran and holds her pistol against his head. Overcome with fear, his gaze falls on Leon, the only other visible face in the room. Leon is normally quick on his feet, as is evident by his taser stunt, but all he draws is blanks. Nate and Reese both drop their pistols, raising their hands in surrender and trying to come up with a way to win this. I was looking, and Leon still managed to get himself into trouble, Nate thinks.
But as skill (and luck) would have it, Amiran turns this hand over, revealing a pocket knife. “You should really sheath your weapons better, Agent,” he mutters. He swipes the knife along her thigh-- only enough to free himself-- and her outcry echoes across the building. This buys the team enough time to grab their weapons from the ground and get Amiran out of the building.
The fight is 2 on 1, but you’d think it was the other way around with how skilled this operative is. Nate tries to catch her between his batons, but she slips out with ease. Soon enough, the other operative is back on his feet. His strategy seems based on power more than precision. He tackles Nate to the ground and manages to remove one of his batons, while the other is trapped under his body. He slowly wriggles it out from beneath his chest, careful not to shock himself in the process.
“You guys think you’re funny, huh?” the operative says. “What are you doing with the kid, anyway? Take off that helmet of yours, I’d love to know.”
“You’ll have to pull it off my corpse,” Nate spits out, driving his baton into the man’s side. Two shocks in a row from a taser leave him grounded-- for now, at least.
Leon continues to throw down with the other operative. She moves like a tournament fighter, which is to be expected, considering who she’s working for. Something about her combat is familiar to Leon, but he’s too busy fighting for his life to ponder it. Nate tries to strike while she’s distracted, but it seems every move he’s confident in is a lapse in his judgment. Her eyes are hidden behind her helmet, but her stare feels piercing. She shoves Nate hard enough that he stumbles over a ledge. He grabs onto the wire railing, narrowly avoiding a twenty foot drop.
Shooting round after round toward the assailants, Reese has been keeping her distance. “Reese, you have to get out of here,” Nate yells. His energy has begun to dwindle. He’d rather take the rest of the blows than lose another teammate.
“No! I’m not letting anyone take you guys!”
“Take my batons, get back to Zion and get out of here! That’s an order!” Reese stops dead in her tracks. It’s been a long time since Nate called the shots for their team, but whenever he did, Reese had faith in his judgment. She can’t break that-- not here. Not now. She makes a run for it.
From the car, Zion and Amiran listen to the fight. The more muffled the communications get from Nate’s earpiece, the more anxious he grows. He sees Reese sprinting towards the car just as Nate speaks up.
“Zion! Take Amiran and get out.”
Zion stutters. “Nate, We’re not gonna--”
“Go, now!”
Reese takes off her helmet and nods, sliding into the passenger seat. They’ll be okay, her gaze says.
Nate is upright for only a few moments before a shot hits him straight in the back of the head. It’s only a shock round, so the bullet merely knocks him unconscious; but his brother is left to defend himself with no help. When he notices Nate is down, Leon uses up the rest of his energy in a fit of frustration and fear. He’s not used to fights with real-life consequences. The operative backs him into a corner and aims her pistol directly at his head, but takes a few moments before her finger even comes near the trigger.
Leon relaxes a little at her hesitation. He speaks up softly. “You don’t have to--”
She pulls the trigger. The shot reverberates throughout the parking structure.
Comments (0)
See all