FIC: In the Arms of the Wicked, 31/36 (Ian/OMC, David, Colby, Don, OCs, PG-13)
Title: "My Word"
Series: In the Arms of the Wicked, Part 31/36
Characters: Ian/OMC, David, Colby, Don, OCs.
Rating: PG-13.
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: None.
Summary: Ian keeps his word, no matter what.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything (characters, situations, etcetera) except my OCs.
Beta: The fantastic twins_m0m and the great lillyg.
Previous chapters: Click here.
Previous chapter
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31: My word
Agents came in holding their guns tight in what seemed to Ian to be a hallucination. Even if he knew that the drink he’d had couldn’t have done this, and even if he knew that everyone would be safe soon, he couldn’t stop wishing he’d recover his strength so he could take the lead or at least help the backup team.
Watching the desk burned along with the Leader’s dead body, Sergio dropped the gun he had in his hand. He walked backwards until his back hit the cupboard, and then slid over its crystal doors onto the floor. He stared at the fire and the man he’d shot. Ian could see the shadow of regret pass through his eyes.
The bodyguards tried to shoot Colby, but David knocked them down with three accurate bullets. Once she was free from her captors, Lillian ran to Ian and Farrow. She knelt beside the archeologist and cupped his face. “God, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. Are you?”
“Yes.” She looked at who once they’d considered to be their friends and seeing Sergio's blank expression, she took a breath. “Crazy.”
“Son of a bitch,” Farrow muttered, but he earned a slap from Lillian. “What the hell was that for?”
“That’s what you deserve for being an idiot and not getting the damn message I risked my life to send you.”
Shaking his head, a little smile appeared on Farrow’s lips. He pulled her closer to his body for a short hug before Colby grabbed her arm and suggested she should better go. Instead of following Colby immediately, she first helped Farrow get up, then they walked out together.
“Ian, can you walk?” the archeologist said, looking back before he went through the threshold.
The sniper raised an eyebrow at him. “Just go.” With that, he got Farrow and Lillian out of the scene. He needed to catch his breath, to get up, to be the strong man he’d always been. Some substance in a drink wasn’t going to beat him, especially when danger was already gone.
Several agents were surrounding Sergio, so he couldn't cause more trouble. One of them had kicked Sergio's gun far away from him. Another picked it up to collect it as evidence.
“Get up,” David demanded. When Sergio didn’t move, one of the agents keeping an eye on him grabbed his arm and pulled him up. With that, the butler started walking awkwardly; his face was still red and he looked like life had been sucked out of him.
Ian could see tears rolling down his face as he passed by. He could easily figure out what Sergio felt - shame, regret, the loss of an opportunity to make good money, for whatever reasons he had.
“C’mon, I’ll give you a hand,” Colby said, interrupting Ian’s train of thought and kneeling beside him.
“Thanks.” Soon, Ian had an arm around Colby’s shoulder and they were both walking downstairs with David following.
When they got to the golden hall, he could see the Phoenix FBI team either collecting evidence or interrogating some of the cult members. As they talked to the cult members, they instructed each to remove their mask. He couldn’t recognize any of the newly revealed faces as he didn’t belong to that elitist circle. However, as Ian and Colby walked outside, Ian noticed that the members were not answering the agents' questions. In fact, they weren't saying a word. They probably trusted their exclusive lawyers to have a couple of legal gadgets to use in their defense.
Outside of the mansion, Colby’s cell phone started vibrating. Ian told him to leave him on the street so he could pick up the call. Colby released Ian, nodded, then stepped aside to answer the call. The sniper sat down on the curb, felt cold concrete through his clothes and took a deep breath. He needed to rest, he needed to gain some energy again…
“You, bastard!” he heard Lillian say. When he turned to where her voice had come from, he noticed that she was walking towards the FBI car Sergio had been forced to get into. She opened the car door and threw herself inside, much to Ian’s surprise. She was definitely a hot-blooded woman.
“Hey!” David said when he saw her, and he grabbed her arm to pull her out of the car. It wasn’t easy; Lillian was in good shape and apparently, she had some moves. With her elbow, she jabbed David’s stomach. “Ma’am, this is not worth it!”
She completely ignored him, and kept yelling at Sergio, who was trying to cover himself. “We gave you our trust, we protected you, offered you a job, food, a place to live! This is how you pay us?” She started slapping the butler’s body, but David finally pulled her out, grabbing her by her waist. That didn’t stop her from yelling once she was outside the car. “You used the extra keys to bury Louis in Chris’ property! Then you gave the cult enough data to help them blow up his plane and murder Richard! You killed one of our friends with a bomb! If I could, I’d…!” She made several attempts to get back into the car, but David held her tight.
“No, Lillian, wait… Wait! This is not going to bring Louis nor Richard nor that bodyguard back!” David yelled.
“If I could get my hands on you, you’d see what I’m capable of!” Suddenly, the will to fight left her. She blushed and cried as would any victim of a tragedy.
Without any warning, someone moved toward Ian. When he looked up, he saw Farrow stumbling and trying to sit down by his side. Not when I’m trying to rest. He closed his eyes, wishing the archeologist went away, but it was too late.
“I’m so sorry for her, you know,” Farrow muttered. “Lillian really got along with Richard. I think there was something going on there, but after all that’s happened, I hope not.”
They watched David put a hand on her shoulder, trying to make her calm down. Overwhelmed, Ian took his eyes off them and looked up. Only a bit of more smoke was coming out of the room where they’d been. “I don’t think it matters what kind of relationship there was between her and Richard. Even if he was only a good friend, it’ll still be hard for her to recover from his death.”
“Yeah…” Farrow whispered. “I never thought I'd be here like this. I never saw any of it coming… Why couldn’t I? I feel like an idiot.”
Feel like one? Skeptical, Ian couldn't resist glancing at him. They stared at each other for a second, and Farrow seemed to get the point.
“Fine, I am an idiot. You’re right about that.” The archeologist took a deep breath. “You know a lot about the unexpected, don’t you? I mean, your mother’s death wasn’t an accident.”
Not wanting to remember Marah nor Cameron right now, the sniper didn’t answer. He just looked away and tried to focus on the coldness of the street again. He didn’t need any bad thoughts right now.
Farrow stated, “You and me… We’d make a good team.”
Ian didn’t feel like fighting with him anymore. “Well, I won’t keep you from living out that fantasy,” he responded.
Farrow smiled sadly. “Thanks, that sounds very nice.” Ian just sent him a glare. “Okay, I can be your slave and shut up for a while if you want me to.”
“Drop it,” the sniper warned him. The other man looked up to the sky.
Luckily for Ian, Colby came over to them and said, “Hey, Don wants to talk to you.” He gave Ian his cell phone and walked away.
“Don,” Ian said.
“Ian! Colby tells me you’re okay. Is that right?”
“Yeah… I’m a bit dizzy from something Sergio put in my drink, but that’s all…” The sniper didn’t want to mention the whipping session he’d been through. No one else had to know about it. “I just need to rest.”
“That’s really great news… Did you know that Sergio did all this to help his family?”
“No. I guess selling antiques in the black market was more entertaining than working for the money.”
On the other side of the line, Don laughed. “We decoded the message Farrow sent to the owner of the house where the last antiques were found. It made it evident that he worked for the cult at some point, but according to Colby, that’s not the entire story.”
“Yeah, he’s mostly clean. The whole explanation will be in my report.”
“He’s okay, too, isn’t he?”
Raising an eyebrow, Ian glanced at the archeologist. “He’ll be fine.”
“Will I see you around?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ll stay in Arizona for a while until I’m completely recovered.”
“Okay… Take care, Ian. Bye.”
“Bye.” After Ian ended the call, he noticed that Farrow was watching him.
“Thank you,” the archeologist said.
Aha… An idea hit the sniper’s brain when his muscles started feeling stronger. “Hey, do you think you’d be able to help me get up?”
Farrow’s eyes widened. “Sure, I can try…” Stumbling, he managed to get on his feet, and he offered Ian his hand. “Do you feel at least a bit better?”
“Yeah,” Ian assured him, and that was true. As soon as Farrow helped him get up, Ian punched him right in the jaw, surprising him greatly.
Sighing, the archeologist almost fell, but he managed to stay still and face Ian as he covered his mouth with one hand. His bottom lip was bleeding a bit. “What the…!”
“I told you that I’d hit you if lied to me, and I always keep my word.”
Shaking his head, Farrow’s tongue stuck out a bit to lick the blood from his lip. “I guess you do… I did deserve it anyway, I suppose.”
With a smile on his face, Ian looked beyond Farrow, at the crowded scene. Interested citizens, firemen, EMTs and FBI agents were doing their job well. But Ian saw someone else at the scene he wasn't expecting.
“What’s he doing here?” he muttered to himself. He couldn’t be here. Cameron was under Protective Custody, he couldn’t have come all the way from L.A….
“Who?” Farrow said, following Ian’s gaze.
Ian looked at him and then back at the spot he’d thought he'd seen Cameron, but he didn’t see him anymore. The EAD’s image seemed to have faded, or maybe he'd never been there in the first place.
Beside Ian, Farrow ran one hand over his hair and snapped with a teasing tone of voice, “So, what do partners like us do after a mission like this?”
Ian just took a deep breath. This is not worth it…
Series: In the Arms of the Wicked, Part 31/36
Characters: Ian/OMC, David, Colby, Don, OCs.
Rating: PG-13.
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: None.
Summary: Ian keeps his word, no matter what.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything (characters, situations, etcetera) except my OCs.
Beta: The fantastic twins_m0m and the great lillyg.
Previous chapters: Click here.
Previous chapter
Next chapter
31: My word
Agents came in holding their guns tight in what seemed to Ian to be a hallucination. Even if he knew that the drink he’d had couldn’t have done this, and even if he knew that everyone would be safe soon, he couldn’t stop wishing he’d recover his strength so he could take the lead or at least help the backup team.
Watching the desk burned along with the Leader’s dead body, Sergio dropped the gun he had in his hand. He walked backwards until his back hit the cupboard, and then slid over its crystal doors onto the floor. He stared at the fire and the man he’d shot. Ian could see the shadow of regret pass through his eyes.
The bodyguards tried to shoot Colby, but David knocked them down with three accurate bullets. Once she was free from her captors, Lillian ran to Ian and Farrow. She knelt beside the archeologist and cupped his face. “God, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. Are you?”
“Yes.” She looked at who once they’d considered to be their friends and seeing Sergio's blank expression, she took a breath. “Crazy.”
“Son of a bitch,” Farrow muttered, but he earned a slap from Lillian. “What the hell was that for?”
“That’s what you deserve for being an idiot and not getting the damn message I risked my life to send you.”
Shaking his head, a little smile appeared on Farrow’s lips. He pulled her closer to his body for a short hug before Colby grabbed her arm and suggested she should better go. Instead of following Colby immediately, she first helped Farrow get up, then they walked out together.
“Ian, can you walk?” the archeologist said, looking back before he went through the threshold.
The sniper raised an eyebrow at him. “Just go.” With that, he got Farrow and Lillian out of the scene. He needed to catch his breath, to get up, to be the strong man he’d always been. Some substance in a drink wasn’t going to beat him, especially when danger was already gone.
Several agents were surrounding Sergio, so he couldn't cause more trouble. One of them had kicked Sergio's gun far away from him. Another picked it up to collect it as evidence.
“Get up,” David demanded. When Sergio didn’t move, one of the agents keeping an eye on him grabbed his arm and pulled him up. With that, the butler started walking awkwardly; his face was still red and he looked like life had been sucked out of him.
Ian could see tears rolling down his face as he passed by. He could easily figure out what Sergio felt - shame, regret, the loss of an opportunity to make good money, for whatever reasons he had.
“C’mon, I’ll give you a hand,” Colby said, interrupting Ian’s train of thought and kneeling beside him.
“Thanks.” Soon, Ian had an arm around Colby’s shoulder and they were both walking downstairs with David following.
When they got to the golden hall, he could see the Phoenix FBI team either collecting evidence or interrogating some of the cult members. As they talked to the cult members, they instructed each to remove their mask. He couldn’t recognize any of the newly revealed faces as he didn’t belong to that elitist circle. However, as Ian and Colby walked outside, Ian noticed that the members were not answering the agents' questions. In fact, they weren't saying a word. They probably trusted their exclusive lawyers to have a couple of legal gadgets to use in their defense.
Outside of the mansion, Colby’s cell phone started vibrating. Ian told him to leave him on the street so he could pick up the call. Colby released Ian, nodded, then stepped aside to answer the call. The sniper sat down on the curb, felt cold concrete through his clothes and took a deep breath. He needed to rest, he needed to gain some energy again…
“You, bastard!” he heard Lillian say. When he turned to where her voice had come from, he noticed that she was walking towards the FBI car Sergio had been forced to get into. She opened the car door and threw herself inside, much to Ian’s surprise. She was definitely a hot-blooded woman.
“Hey!” David said when he saw her, and he grabbed her arm to pull her out of the car. It wasn’t easy; Lillian was in good shape and apparently, she had some moves. With her elbow, she jabbed David’s stomach. “Ma’am, this is not worth it!”
She completely ignored him, and kept yelling at Sergio, who was trying to cover himself. “We gave you our trust, we protected you, offered you a job, food, a place to live! This is how you pay us?” She started slapping the butler’s body, but David finally pulled her out, grabbing her by her waist. That didn’t stop her from yelling once she was outside the car. “You used the extra keys to bury Louis in Chris’ property! Then you gave the cult enough data to help them blow up his plane and murder Richard! You killed one of our friends with a bomb! If I could, I’d…!” She made several attempts to get back into the car, but David held her tight.
“No, Lillian, wait… Wait! This is not going to bring Louis nor Richard nor that bodyguard back!” David yelled.
“If I could get my hands on you, you’d see what I’m capable of!” Suddenly, the will to fight left her. She blushed and cried as would any victim of a tragedy.
Without any warning, someone moved toward Ian. When he looked up, he saw Farrow stumbling and trying to sit down by his side. Not when I’m trying to rest. He closed his eyes, wishing the archeologist went away, but it was too late.
“I’m so sorry for her, you know,” Farrow muttered. “Lillian really got along with Richard. I think there was something going on there, but after all that’s happened, I hope not.”
They watched David put a hand on her shoulder, trying to make her calm down. Overwhelmed, Ian took his eyes off them and looked up. Only a bit of more smoke was coming out of the room where they’d been. “I don’t think it matters what kind of relationship there was between her and Richard. Even if he was only a good friend, it’ll still be hard for her to recover from his death.”
“Yeah…” Farrow whispered. “I never thought I'd be here like this. I never saw any of it coming… Why couldn’t I? I feel like an idiot.”
Feel like one? Skeptical, Ian couldn't resist glancing at him. They stared at each other for a second, and Farrow seemed to get the point.
“Fine, I am an idiot. You’re right about that.” The archeologist took a deep breath. “You know a lot about the unexpected, don’t you? I mean, your mother’s death wasn’t an accident.”
Not wanting to remember Marah nor Cameron right now, the sniper didn’t answer. He just looked away and tried to focus on the coldness of the street again. He didn’t need any bad thoughts right now.
Farrow stated, “You and me… We’d make a good team.”
Ian didn’t feel like fighting with him anymore. “Well, I won’t keep you from living out that fantasy,” he responded.
Farrow smiled sadly. “Thanks, that sounds very nice.” Ian just sent him a glare. “Okay, I can be your slave and shut up for a while if you want me to.”
“Drop it,” the sniper warned him. The other man looked up to the sky.
Luckily for Ian, Colby came over to them and said, “Hey, Don wants to talk to you.” He gave Ian his cell phone and walked away.
“Don,” Ian said.
“Ian! Colby tells me you’re okay. Is that right?”
“Yeah… I’m a bit dizzy from something Sergio put in my drink, but that’s all…” The sniper didn’t want to mention the whipping session he’d been through. No one else had to know about it. “I just need to rest.”
“That’s really great news… Did you know that Sergio did all this to help his family?”
“No. I guess selling antiques in the black market was more entertaining than working for the money.”
On the other side of the line, Don laughed. “We decoded the message Farrow sent to the owner of the house where the last antiques were found. It made it evident that he worked for the cult at some point, but according to Colby, that’s not the entire story.”
“Yeah, he’s mostly clean. The whole explanation will be in my report.”
“He’s okay, too, isn’t he?”
Raising an eyebrow, Ian glanced at the archeologist. “He’ll be fine.”
“Will I see you around?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ll stay in Arizona for a while until I’m completely recovered.”
“Okay… Take care, Ian. Bye.”
“Bye.” After Ian ended the call, he noticed that Farrow was watching him.
“Thank you,” the archeologist said.
Aha… An idea hit the sniper’s brain when his muscles started feeling stronger. “Hey, do you think you’d be able to help me get up?”
Farrow’s eyes widened. “Sure, I can try…” Stumbling, he managed to get on his feet, and he offered Ian his hand. “Do you feel at least a bit better?”
“Yeah,” Ian assured him, and that was true. As soon as Farrow helped him get up, Ian punched him right in the jaw, surprising him greatly.
Sighing, the archeologist almost fell, but he managed to stay still and face Ian as he covered his mouth with one hand. His bottom lip was bleeding a bit. “What the…!”
“I told you that I’d hit you if lied to me, and I always keep my word.”
Shaking his head, Farrow’s tongue stuck out a bit to lick the blood from his lip. “I guess you do… I did deserve it anyway, I suppose.”
With a smile on his face, Ian looked beyond Farrow, at the crowded scene. Interested citizens, firemen, EMTs and FBI agents were doing their job well. But Ian saw someone else at the scene he wasn't expecting.
“What’s he doing here?” he muttered to himself. He couldn’t be here. Cameron was under Protective Custody, he couldn’t have come all the way from L.A….
“Who?” Farrow said, following Ian’s gaze.
Ian looked at him and then back at the spot he’d thought he'd seen Cameron, but he didn’t see him anymore. The EAD’s image seemed to have faded, or maybe he'd never been there in the first place.
Beside Ian, Farrow ran one hand over his hair and snapped with a teasing tone of voice, “So, what do partners like us do after a mission like this?”
Ian just took a deep breath. This is not worth it…