Declassified file for lazy-neutrino
Author: Madam Uniqua
Recipient: lazy-neutrino
Title: Outcome
Characters/Pairing(s): No pairings, Alex, Wolf, Yassen, OMC
Summary: Wolf and Alex are a mission. They are racing against two companies. Scorpia and another anonymous crime organization. Someone has to win. And it's not going to be MI6.
Rating: T
Disclaimer: All Alex Rider characters herein are the property of Anthony Horowitz and the Penguin Group. No copyright infringement is intended.
Warning(s): Language
Word Count: ~3,900
Author's Notes: Here's to lazy_neutrino. I had actually wanted it to be angsty but it decided to take its own course. XD. Thanks to C-D. for beta reading.
Outcome
Alex's eyes followed the helicopter sluggishly cruising through the sky. Wolf had slowed the speed of the car until it was almost stopped; he too was now watching the copter from the driver's seat window.
"The warehouse," Alex said.
The building which Alex was referring to was a fairly large storage warehouse a little farther up on the other side of the street and in great need of renovation. Wolf parked the car where it was and they both exited. They simultaneously glanced up at the helicopter; the warehouse was surely its destination.
"Think he's in there?" Alex murmured as they crossed the street quickly.
Wolf shrugged. "As likely as not."
The metal doors to the warehouse had been carelessly flung open and the inside was horrible. The floor was covered an inch thick with muddy water and fungus was growing on the peeling paint of the eaten out walls. The heavy smell of mouldy wood hung everywhere. A rusted staircase on the other side of the room was the only other entrance.
Alex glanced down out his Nike's. "Remind me why I didn't wear boots."
Wolf was already trekking through the water, not taking particular care to control the splashes he was making with his increasing pace. He felt it back though when Alex ran by him trying to get out of the water as fast as possible.
Although rusted, the staircase and floor it led to proved to be in much better shape that the ground floor and the outside of the building. The cream-coloured tiles were covered in a film of dust and cobwebs had replaced as much of the roof as possible, but streaks through the dust films on the wall and trails of footprints showed that someone had been around - though none too recently.
Alex made to go down the hall where there was a left turn and another staircase in better shape than this floor but Wolf put out a hand to stop him.
Alex glanced up at him. Short as he was, the soldier stood just over a half foot taller than him; what he lacked in height he made up for in astonishing authoritative-ness.
"We have to get to the top of the building before-"Alex started, but trailed off when Wolf put a finger to his lips.
After standing still for a full minute and hearing nothing Alex gave Wolf a raised eyebrow. "We're wasting time."
"I heard someone," Wolf replied assertively.
A couple beats.
Alex started forward putting down his feet as lightly as possible, Wolf followed. At the bottom of the staircase they paused again.
This time they both heard it. A man's voice softly protesting to a command in Russian.
"He's already here," Wolf muttered.
"We can't let him deliver any of the crates," Alex said.
They began to climb the stairs cautiously with Alex in the back. They both paused at the sound of more protesting followed by the shuffle of feet. They were close. Wolf and Alex exchanged glances.
"Заботиться о нем.(1)" The Russian words meant nothing to either of them, but the voice did.
"That's him," Alex whispered, cutting of the t's and s's to avoid being heard. Footsteps told them that their man was going farther away from them. After the footsteps disappeared up the staircase and away they finished ascending the stairs.
"Are you sure that was Gregorovich?" Wolf inquired.
Alex nodded. "It had to be. But what is he doing? He came here for the crates. Came down - and went right back up?" Alex's words changed to a questioning expression at Wolf stare. Following the gaze he saw too what Wolf was looking at.
At the top of the next metal staircase the lower body of a man lay unmoving dressed in casual jeans. The rest of his body was hidden by the wall.
"Это не поступать таким образом. (2)" The command was whispered in annoyance. At it another man came into sight just as Alex and Wolf backed into the hidden area of the first staircase.
Their backs were both pressed against the wall and Wolf had produced a dart, perhaps from his belt, ready for an ambush.
The man came around the corner dragging the body unsuspectingly muttering about how unfair life was. The first and last thing on his mind after he'd been slammed with a dart and quietly dragged down the stairs in a head lock was one sad sentence: "Yassen's going to kill me."
Wolf dropped the man in water and allowed the body he'd been dragging to fall in too. They had no idea whether or not Yassen had heard, but hoped he hadn't. Wolf turned and began to ascend the stairs before he realized that Alex wasn't with him.
He was crouched at the body of the unconscious man.
"Cub?"
"Wait, I'm sure he must have something on him that can help us," Alex answered. Wolf stopped and crossed him arms.
"Cub, we don't have time," he said impatiently.
"Then move on," Alex retorted.
Wolf sighed inwardly. Why the hell couldn't the kid just go with what authority says. Just a fourteen-year-old midget, hardly into his teen years.
Wolf turned and moved on like Alex suggested, but slowly as he was reluctant to split up. They both knew that Gregorovich was very stealthy and therefore dangerous. He glanced over his shoulder at Alex who was now straightening up. He caught Wolf's glance and shook his head meaning, or as Wolf thought it meant, he hadn't found anything. To Alex it meant It's always nice to have something hidden up your sleeve.
They began to move, quicker than before, climbing both staircases quietly but quickly. A couple of doors, some ajar and some closed, presumably storage closets and other rooms. It didn't matter - none of them contained what they were looking for. They stopped at top of the second staircase where voices were around the corner.
"Yeah, well, that's what he said, so get moving." English-speaking and an American accent.
"Are you sure? Leaving now doesn't make no sense." And bad grammar.
"Yeah, now move!" The first voice again, irritated.
Both voices then left the hall. Wolf followed dangerously close to them and Alex followed him. Or would have been following him had he not felt a gun pressed to his neck. Then a slim arm slipped around his stomach and guided him backwards ever so quietly.
Alex waited for Wolf to turn back to the stairs and notice he wasn't there, but he never did. He couldn't, actually, being so close behind the American men.
Down the staircase and into the first hallway, Yassen arranged the gun so that it was next to his temple and turned him around.
"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly.
"I'm here for the same reason you're here," Alex answered. "The crates."
"Then you know where they are?" Yassen asked with a hint of surprise.
"No," Alex said slowly. "That's why I'm here, obviously."
Yassen raised an eyebrow at him. "Where is Reynolds?"
"Reynolds?" Alex asked, genuinely clueless.
"He has the crates."
Alex was silent, gears in his head whirring like racecar wheels. "Then if you don't have the crates, and Reynolds isn't here, why am I here? Why are you here?" After speaking, Alex looked up at Yassen to see his ice blue eyes looking over his head.
Alex tried to turn but couldn't since the gun was still pressed to his temple. But he could deduce that Wolf was behind him, probably a few paces off at the bottom of the staircase.
"Do I have to tell you that he is at my mercy?" The words were directed at Wolf.
Nothing but a low growl in response.
"We're on the same side aren't we?" Alex joked.
"What?" Wolf asked.
"He doesn't have the cra-" Alex stopped when Yassen's hand flew over his mouth and Wolf stiffened before quickly slipping into an ajar door to his right. Yassen then pulled him into the closest escape from the hallway. Unfortunately, it was a storage closet with hardly any extra space.
Alex was pressed so close to Yassen's chest that he could feel his heartbeat, calm and steady, the only movement in the dark enclosed space. He was sure his was much faster. Being so close to the assassin almost freaked him out, or at least made him feel indifferent. The same man had been threatening to kill him moments ago.
Footsteps in the hallway advanced. As they did Yassen shifted himself so that he was closer to the sliding door. He was stooped with Alex kneeling between his legs.
Outside the closet a dart gun fired followed by a commotion. Alex guessed Wolf had just slipped out. He estimated that there was only one man left if Wolf shot one down and the other had taken off after him.
Yassen slid the door open and fired a single shot, then stood and exited the closet. Alex was almost ready to move on when he saw that the man wasn't dead.
"Where is Reynolds?" Yassen demanded.
The man's foot was bleeding terribly where Yassen had shot him, and he was willing to give in. "Bottom floor," he gasped.
Yassen waited and so did Alex. Though he wanted to go after Wolf, he equally wanted to hear what the man had to say.
“Cellar - there’s a concealed lift on the top floor that only takes you there." Sweat was on his brow. "Spare me, please."
"How do I get into it?" Yassen ignored him.
"It's voice-automated, but you have to speak in Hindi. 'In my name, in my lord's.'"
Yassen swore colorfully in Russian. "Is there any other way to get into it?"
"No."
Alex started for the staircase as Yassen shot the man. "I think my companion knows Hindi, he's part Indian." Yassen followed him, not even bothering to move the body.
What the man hadn't told them was that Reynolds could still operate it himself, too.
Wolf was on the top floor on his way back down after ridding himself of the men to find Alex when he saw them both climbing the last staircase.
"There's a lift-"
"I know," Wolf said. Alex glanced at him. "I have my own methods too," he added glancing at Yassen but then went to the end of room, which was actually the whole floor.
"मेरा नाम है, मेरे प्रभु में," Wolf announced loudly.
The sound of more of Reynolds’ men advancing created an undetectable anxiety to get into the lift.
A section of the wall next to the ladder that led to roof slid away to reveal an open lift with no controls inside of it. Wolf looked around it skeptically before stepping inside. It was rather small, too, as though it were only meant to transport very few people.
Yassen and Alex began to follow when the doors suddenly began to close. Alex took a Swiss Army knife out of his pocket - what he had taken from the man Yassen had killed - and slipped it between the doors before they shut completely. Yassen pulled it apart enough to wedge himself through and then the doors thudded shut, sending the knife spinning through the air.
Alex watched helplessly as the wall concealing the lift slid back into place. He was used to this happening on his missions. Nothing ever went right. He then set about finding a place to hide, but the room was empty and becoming much more lighted as the clouds parted the rainy sky, allowing the clouded skylight to become of use. So he headed to the only available place.
***
"Why the @#$% did you leave him out there alone?" Wolf demanded with reasonable calm. A shrug was the older man's meagre response.
Wolf glanced up and down the blond man feeling a considerable amount of hatred for the world-renowned assassin. Wolf was sure Yassen was hated by a lot of people, but he didn't care. His steel blue eyes were seemingly empty because of how simply unreadable his expression was, and yet they still had a lot to them.
The lift suddenly came to a stop and then lurched to the side with such ferocity that both men had to grab onto the side rails. It continued at the same speed before coming to yet another abrupt stop, then continuing downward. They were silent for the rest of the ride until the doors opened to reveal Reynolds, a very handsome man with short sienna coloured hair whose eyes were currently hidden by dark sunglasses. He was speaking into a communication device and was alone in the rather small room. There was no sign of the crates. The only other thing in the room were a few forklifts and empty boxes.
Wolf beat Yassen to shooting him, stunning him with a blow of his taser; Reynolds crumpled just as he was turning. They started forward, luckily for Yassen as a bullet sped past his neck to create an almost identical mark to the scar he already had on the other side. Only then did they become aware of the second man in the room. Of course - there was an assistant.
***
Listening to the men's conversation from atop the roof definitely was not the best way to eavesdrop, Alex thought. Not that he'd actually gone up there to eavesdrop so much as he'd went up there to not be seen. He continually glanced over his shoulder at the lone helicopter. He was sure it was Yassen's and not Reynolds’ and was just as convinced that someone was sneaking up on him since, if someone were, he wouldn't be able to hear them over the wind and traffic.
Alex glanced over his shoulder at the copter again, pondering whether it would be better to climb back down the ladder or to face the enemy on the roof. On the rooftop there were two ways of escape, and it would probably only be one man. He concluded not to go back down just as a man exited the helicopter.
***
Since there was no reason to leave him alive, Wolf left Yassen to deal with the assistant as he went to Reynolds himself. The man was still responsive, even supporting himself sitting up on the floor.
"There's no way out. Where are the crates?" Wolf said menacingly.
Reynolds removed his sunglasses and loosely studied Wolf. "Your threats are of no use. Even if I die my company still gets the money. His won't," he said, narrowing his eyes. Wolf glanced at Yassen still engaged in a gunfight. He was surprised he hadn't won yet.
"I don't care if Scorpia doesn't get their money. All I want is for the crates not to be delivered."
The French-Canadian operative donned his sunglasses and got to his feet. "Well, you're too late."
"Really?" Wolf halted him expertly with the draw of his gun. "How much is this guy paying you? What if I paid you more?"
Reynolds briefly glanced at him behind the sunglasses in his careless way. "You couldn't."
"My company can."
"You wouldn't."
"My company would."
***
Reynolds smiled slowly at him.
"Is it a deal?"
"No," Reynolds answered promptly, though still as if he wanted rethink it. Wolf suddenly looked to the other men whom they had been ignoring. Yassen was nowhere in sight and the assistant was looking for him.
Wolf knew that once his gun was on the assistant it would become an all-out firefight because Reynolds would be free to shoot. After a moment, Wolf feigned turning his gun on the assistant before shooting Reynolds in the leg and stamping the gun out of his hand.
Wolf then ran forward to avoid becoming a target, Reynolds’ blood splattering on his leg. The assistant brushed past him running in the opposite direction, heading for Reynolds. Now Wolf turned ready to shoot, but he knew that he didn't have to. One last shot rang out, as Yassen straightened up from behind a forklift.
***
Alex stood as the man approached him. The guy was talking into his cell phone, his eyes turned away.
Alex could make out a few words over wind. "You say he needs him? You…breaking." Then he hung up and ran for Alex. Surprised, Alex instantly ran for the fire escape hoping with all his might that he wouldn’t be attacked from that side as well. Then he saw more men climbing off of the ladder. No luck - this mission really wasn't going his way. He was surrounded by six men with only one escape that he could think of. He took off his watch, a last resort bomb from Smithers, set the time to midnight, and slid the glass out. Then he threw it on to the skylight.
The men must have realized what he was doing, but not fast enough. One standing right next to the skylight tried to jump away from the glass but fell through instead. Alex used his body for the ride down. Luckily the floor wasn't that far. After he landed he glanced over at the elevator hoping that maybe Wolf or Yassen would be back. No luck.
Instead he ran for the staircase but had to stop when the men from the roof started firing at him. He was sure they were warning shots but they were all around him. He stood still, defeated, waiting for the man he rode down on to reach him.
"It's over," the man said quietly.
Alex looked up at him. "Yeah, but at least something nice came of it."
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Your colleagues have a rich video for YouTube. Your seat is burnt out."
The man suddenly became self-conscious and stiffened angrily. Then he grabbed Alex's arm. "Get down here and get him into the helicopter!"
Alex watched most of them begin to climb down the ladder and tried to make for the staircase. The man kept a tight hold on his arm, then suddenly pulled him close.
"If you behave, I'll be nice," he snickered. Alex struggled to get out of his arms as he held him tightly. He looked back to the lift, willing someone to come back
***
Wolf defeatedly stared at the bloody hole in Reynolds’ head. At least the assistant is dead, too, he thought.
He turned to Yassen. "I guess Scorpia not's going to get their money. You'll never know where the crates are."
Yassen shrugged. "My job was to kill him."
Wolf then ran for the lift, Yassen following. There were controls, but only outside the lift. Wolf pressed up and hoped the trip would be faster this time around.
Meanwhile, Alex struggled feistily kicking with all might, not caring where they landed. If he could just fight for a little longer they might come back. The men were still progressing a lot more than he was. They came to the ladder. There was no way they were going to get him up there while he was conscious, and they all knew it.
One man hit Alex in the back of his head with his gun, hoping to stun him. It did, but only for a moment before he continued struggling. Suddenly, they dropped him onto the floor flat on his back, the man whom he’d taunted sitting atop him and letting punches fly.
***
Wolf was bouncing a little with anticipation for the lift doors to open when he heard a half scream-half moan from Alex outside the door. He was on his toes, waiting, waiting, waiting… They seemed to not to want open. Wolf drew his Swiss Army knife and tried to pry them open but the knife soon broke.
"WTF?" He tried repeating what had revealed the lift the first time, but it still wouldn't open.
Yassen started to help with his own knife, then decided to try to shoot it open. "Step back." He shot it three times, but the doors still stood perfectly in place. They exchanged glances.
Alex curled away from the man until he got off of him. Then he picked him up and practically dragged him up the ladder. If Ale had tried to get away he would have probably pulled his arm out of socket. There was an explosion at the wall that concealed the lift; Alex looked up hopefully but dropped his head when the rest of men took aim on it.
***
The doors simply refused to open. Wolf leaned back against the wall after trying to blast them open. They were both silent for a while, and then the door suddenly began to open-and stopped at about 4 inches. They waited, hoping. It opened more, very sluggishly.
It took years for it open enough for either man to get out. Finally Yassen could begin to squeeze through but then he suddenly rushed back in and pressed himself against one wall. Wolf realized what was happening and followed suit. When the doors finally opened completely no one was in sight. Now they were all behind a wall that they were pressed against.
"Alex is already out. It doesn't matter where we shoot," Yassen told him.
Wolf nodded, then he and Yassen stepped out in sync, pulling off three shots as they did. Only one man was still standing. One of Yassen's bullet hit two men, the last man ran for staircase yelling, "I didn't even want to!" Yassen shot him anyway.
Wolf was already up the ladder only to see the copter high in the sky.
How it took off so fast, he didn't know. Was Alex still alive? He didn't know. Maybe he never would.
***
"What took you so long?” the pilot yelled. Alex was sitting in his seat holding his sprained wrist to his chest silently.
"Had to get to kid," the man who had brought Alex yelled back.
"Why!?”
"You said Reynolds said he needed him."
"Reynolds is dead and I said he didn't need him, so let him be! Incompetent @#$%&!"
"I went through all that for nothing?"
Alex listened in silent shock.
"What's in the crates anyway?" the man asked the pilot.
"Don't know. Jean never told me."
Alex noticed three crates in a corner. The man went over and opened them. Two full minutes passed.
"Well?!" Pilot yelled.
The man hand raised a lollipop. "Candy?"
The End
-
(1) "Take care of it"
(2) "Don't come this way"
Recipient: lazy-neutrino
Title: Outcome
Characters/Pairing(s): No pairings, Alex, Wolf, Yassen, OMC
Summary: Wolf and Alex are a mission. They are racing against two companies. Scorpia and another anonymous crime organization. Someone has to win. And it's not going to be MI6.
Rating: T
Disclaimer: All Alex Rider characters herein are the property of Anthony Horowitz and the Penguin Group. No copyright infringement is intended.
Warning(s): Language
Word Count: ~3,900
Author's Notes: Here's to lazy_neutrino. I had actually wanted it to be angsty but it decided to take its own course. XD. Thanks to C-D. for beta reading.
Outcome
Alex's eyes followed the helicopter sluggishly cruising through the sky. Wolf had slowed the speed of the car until it was almost stopped; he too was now watching the copter from the driver's seat window.
"The warehouse," Alex said.
The building which Alex was referring to was a fairly large storage warehouse a little farther up on the other side of the street and in great need of renovation. Wolf parked the car where it was and they both exited. They simultaneously glanced up at the helicopter; the warehouse was surely its destination.
"Think he's in there?" Alex murmured as they crossed the street quickly.
Wolf shrugged. "As likely as not."
The metal doors to the warehouse had been carelessly flung open and the inside was horrible. The floor was covered an inch thick with muddy water and fungus was growing on the peeling paint of the eaten out walls. The heavy smell of mouldy wood hung everywhere. A rusted staircase on the other side of the room was the only other entrance.
Alex glanced down out his Nike's. "Remind me why I didn't wear boots."
Wolf was already trekking through the water, not taking particular care to control the splashes he was making with his increasing pace. He felt it back though when Alex ran by him trying to get out of the water as fast as possible.
Although rusted, the staircase and floor it led to proved to be in much better shape that the ground floor and the outside of the building. The cream-coloured tiles were covered in a film of dust and cobwebs had replaced as much of the roof as possible, but streaks through the dust films on the wall and trails of footprints showed that someone had been around - though none too recently.
Alex made to go down the hall where there was a left turn and another staircase in better shape than this floor but Wolf put out a hand to stop him.
Alex glanced up at him. Short as he was, the soldier stood just over a half foot taller than him; what he lacked in height he made up for in astonishing authoritative-ness.
"We have to get to the top of the building before-"Alex started, but trailed off when Wolf put a finger to his lips.
After standing still for a full minute and hearing nothing Alex gave Wolf a raised eyebrow. "We're wasting time."
"I heard someone," Wolf replied assertively.
A couple beats.
Alex started forward putting down his feet as lightly as possible, Wolf followed. At the bottom of the staircase they paused again.
This time they both heard it. A man's voice softly protesting to a command in Russian.
"He's already here," Wolf muttered.
"We can't let him deliver any of the crates," Alex said.
They began to climb the stairs cautiously with Alex in the back. They both paused at the sound of more protesting followed by the shuffle of feet. They were close. Wolf and Alex exchanged glances.
"Заботиться о нем.(1)" The Russian words meant nothing to either of them, but the voice did.
"That's him," Alex whispered, cutting of the t's and s's to avoid being heard. Footsteps told them that their man was going farther away from them. After the footsteps disappeared up the staircase and away they finished ascending the stairs.
"Are you sure that was Gregorovich?" Wolf inquired.
Alex nodded. "It had to be. But what is he doing? He came here for the crates. Came down - and went right back up?" Alex's words changed to a questioning expression at Wolf stare. Following the gaze he saw too what Wolf was looking at.
At the top of the next metal staircase the lower body of a man lay unmoving dressed in casual jeans. The rest of his body was hidden by the wall.
"Это не поступать таким образом. (2)" The command was whispered in annoyance. At it another man came into sight just as Alex and Wolf backed into the hidden area of the first staircase.
Their backs were both pressed against the wall and Wolf had produced a dart, perhaps from his belt, ready for an ambush.
The man came around the corner dragging the body unsuspectingly muttering about how unfair life was. The first and last thing on his mind after he'd been slammed with a dart and quietly dragged down the stairs in a head lock was one sad sentence: "Yassen's going to kill me."
Wolf dropped the man in water and allowed the body he'd been dragging to fall in too. They had no idea whether or not Yassen had heard, but hoped he hadn't. Wolf turned and began to ascend the stairs before he realized that Alex wasn't with him.
He was crouched at the body of the unconscious man.
"Cub?"
"Wait, I'm sure he must have something on him that can help us," Alex answered. Wolf stopped and crossed him arms.
"Cub, we don't have time," he said impatiently.
"Then move on," Alex retorted.
Wolf sighed inwardly. Why the hell couldn't the kid just go with what authority says. Just a fourteen-year-old midget, hardly into his teen years.
Wolf turned and moved on like Alex suggested, but slowly as he was reluctant to split up. They both knew that Gregorovich was very stealthy and therefore dangerous. He glanced over his shoulder at Alex who was now straightening up. He caught Wolf's glance and shook his head meaning, or as Wolf thought it meant, he hadn't found anything. To Alex it meant It's always nice to have something hidden up your sleeve.
They began to move, quicker than before, climbing both staircases quietly but quickly. A couple of doors, some ajar and some closed, presumably storage closets and other rooms. It didn't matter - none of them contained what they were looking for. They stopped at top of the second staircase where voices were around the corner.
"Yeah, well, that's what he said, so get moving." English-speaking and an American accent.
"Are you sure? Leaving now doesn't make no sense." And bad grammar.
"Yeah, now move!" The first voice again, irritated.
Both voices then left the hall. Wolf followed dangerously close to them and Alex followed him. Or would have been following him had he not felt a gun pressed to his neck. Then a slim arm slipped around his stomach and guided him backwards ever so quietly.
Alex waited for Wolf to turn back to the stairs and notice he wasn't there, but he never did. He couldn't, actually, being so close behind the American men.
Down the staircase and into the first hallway, Yassen arranged the gun so that it was next to his temple and turned him around.
"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly.
"I'm here for the same reason you're here," Alex answered. "The crates."
"Then you know where they are?" Yassen asked with a hint of surprise.
"No," Alex said slowly. "That's why I'm here, obviously."
Yassen raised an eyebrow at him. "Where is Reynolds?"
"Reynolds?" Alex asked, genuinely clueless.
"He has the crates."
Alex was silent, gears in his head whirring like racecar wheels. "Then if you don't have the crates, and Reynolds isn't here, why am I here? Why are you here?" After speaking, Alex looked up at Yassen to see his ice blue eyes looking over his head.
Alex tried to turn but couldn't since the gun was still pressed to his temple. But he could deduce that Wolf was behind him, probably a few paces off at the bottom of the staircase.
"Do I have to tell you that he is at my mercy?" The words were directed at Wolf.
Nothing but a low growl in response.
"We're on the same side aren't we?" Alex joked.
"What?" Wolf asked.
"He doesn't have the cra-" Alex stopped when Yassen's hand flew over his mouth and Wolf stiffened before quickly slipping into an ajar door to his right. Yassen then pulled him into the closest escape from the hallway. Unfortunately, it was a storage closet with hardly any extra space.
Alex was pressed so close to Yassen's chest that he could feel his heartbeat, calm and steady, the only movement in the dark enclosed space. He was sure his was much faster. Being so close to the assassin almost freaked him out, or at least made him feel indifferent. The same man had been threatening to kill him moments ago.
Footsteps in the hallway advanced. As they did Yassen shifted himself so that he was closer to the sliding door. He was stooped with Alex kneeling between his legs.
Outside the closet a dart gun fired followed by a commotion. Alex guessed Wolf had just slipped out. He estimated that there was only one man left if Wolf shot one down and the other had taken off after him.
Yassen slid the door open and fired a single shot, then stood and exited the closet. Alex was almost ready to move on when he saw that the man wasn't dead.
"Where is Reynolds?" Yassen demanded.
The man's foot was bleeding terribly where Yassen had shot him, and he was willing to give in. "Bottom floor," he gasped.
Yassen waited and so did Alex. Though he wanted to go after Wolf, he equally wanted to hear what the man had to say.
“Cellar - there’s a concealed lift on the top floor that only takes you there." Sweat was on his brow. "Spare me, please."
"How do I get into it?" Yassen ignored him.
"It's voice-automated, but you have to speak in Hindi. 'In my name, in my lord's.'"
Yassen swore colorfully in Russian. "Is there any other way to get into it?"
"No."
Alex started for the staircase as Yassen shot the man. "I think my companion knows Hindi, he's part Indian." Yassen followed him, not even bothering to move the body.
What the man hadn't told them was that Reynolds could still operate it himself, too.
Wolf was on the top floor on his way back down after ridding himself of the men to find Alex when he saw them both climbing the last staircase.
"There's a lift-"
"I know," Wolf said. Alex glanced at him. "I have my own methods too," he added glancing at Yassen but then went to the end of room, which was actually the whole floor.
"मेरा नाम है, मेरे प्रभु में," Wolf announced loudly.
The sound of more of Reynolds’ men advancing created an undetectable anxiety to get into the lift.
A section of the wall next to the ladder that led to roof slid away to reveal an open lift with no controls inside of it. Wolf looked around it skeptically before stepping inside. It was rather small, too, as though it were only meant to transport very few people.
Yassen and Alex began to follow when the doors suddenly began to close. Alex took a Swiss Army knife out of his pocket - what he had taken from the man Yassen had killed - and slipped it between the doors before they shut completely. Yassen pulled it apart enough to wedge himself through and then the doors thudded shut, sending the knife spinning through the air.
Alex watched helplessly as the wall concealing the lift slid back into place. He was used to this happening on his missions. Nothing ever went right. He then set about finding a place to hide, but the room was empty and becoming much more lighted as the clouds parted the rainy sky, allowing the clouded skylight to become of use. So he headed to the only available place.
***
"Why the @#$% did you leave him out there alone?" Wolf demanded with reasonable calm. A shrug was the older man's meagre response.
Wolf glanced up and down the blond man feeling a considerable amount of hatred for the world-renowned assassin. Wolf was sure Yassen was hated by a lot of people, but he didn't care. His steel blue eyes were seemingly empty because of how simply unreadable his expression was, and yet they still had a lot to them.
The lift suddenly came to a stop and then lurched to the side with such ferocity that both men had to grab onto the side rails. It continued at the same speed before coming to yet another abrupt stop, then continuing downward. They were silent for the rest of the ride until the doors opened to reveal Reynolds, a very handsome man with short sienna coloured hair whose eyes were currently hidden by dark sunglasses. He was speaking into a communication device and was alone in the rather small room. There was no sign of the crates. The only other thing in the room were a few forklifts and empty boxes.
Wolf beat Yassen to shooting him, stunning him with a blow of his taser; Reynolds crumpled just as he was turning. They started forward, luckily for Yassen as a bullet sped past his neck to create an almost identical mark to the scar he already had on the other side. Only then did they become aware of the second man in the room. Of course - there was an assistant.
***
Listening to the men's conversation from atop the roof definitely was not the best way to eavesdrop, Alex thought. Not that he'd actually gone up there to eavesdrop so much as he'd went up there to not be seen. He continually glanced over his shoulder at the lone helicopter. He was sure it was Yassen's and not Reynolds’ and was just as convinced that someone was sneaking up on him since, if someone were, he wouldn't be able to hear them over the wind and traffic.
Alex glanced over his shoulder at the copter again, pondering whether it would be better to climb back down the ladder or to face the enemy on the roof. On the rooftop there were two ways of escape, and it would probably only be one man. He concluded not to go back down just as a man exited the helicopter.
***
Since there was no reason to leave him alive, Wolf left Yassen to deal with the assistant as he went to Reynolds himself. The man was still responsive, even supporting himself sitting up on the floor.
"There's no way out. Where are the crates?" Wolf said menacingly.
Reynolds removed his sunglasses and loosely studied Wolf. "Your threats are of no use. Even if I die my company still gets the money. His won't," he said, narrowing his eyes. Wolf glanced at Yassen still engaged in a gunfight. He was surprised he hadn't won yet.
"I don't care if Scorpia doesn't get their money. All I want is for the crates not to be delivered."
The French-Canadian operative donned his sunglasses and got to his feet. "Well, you're too late."
"Really?" Wolf halted him expertly with the draw of his gun. "How much is this guy paying you? What if I paid you more?"
Reynolds briefly glanced at him behind the sunglasses in his careless way. "You couldn't."
"My company can."
"You wouldn't."
"My company would."
***
Reynolds smiled slowly at him.
"Is it a deal?"
"No," Reynolds answered promptly, though still as if he wanted rethink it. Wolf suddenly looked to the other men whom they had been ignoring. Yassen was nowhere in sight and the assistant was looking for him.
Wolf knew that once his gun was on the assistant it would become an all-out firefight because Reynolds would be free to shoot. After a moment, Wolf feigned turning his gun on the assistant before shooting Reynolds in the leg and stamping the gun out of his hand.
Wolf then ran forward to avoid becoming a target, Reynolds’ blood splattering on his leg. The assistant brushed past him running in the opposite direction, heading for Reynolds. Now Wolf turned ready to shoot, but he knew that he didn't have to. One last shot rang out, as Yassen straightened up from behind a forklift.
***
Alex stood as the man approached him. The guy was talking into his cell phone, his eyes turned away.
Alex could make out a few words over wind. "You say he needs him? You…breaking." Then he hung up and ran for Alex. Surprised, Alex instantly ran for the fire escape hoping with all his might that he wouldn’t be attacked from that side as well. Then he saw more men climbing off of the ladder. No luck - this mission really wasn't going his way. He was surrounded by six men with only one escape that he could think of. He took off his watch, a last resort bomb from Smithers, set the time to midnight, and slid the glass out. Then he threw it on to the skylight.
The men must have realized what he was doing, but not fast enough. One standing right next to the skylight tried to jump away from the glass but fell through instead. Alex used his body for the ride down. Luckily the floor wasn't that far. After he landed he glanced over at the elevator hoping that maybe Wolf or Yassen would be back. No luck.
Instead he ran for the staircase but had to stop when the men from the roof started firing at him. He was sure they were warning shots but they were all around him. He stood still, defeated, waiting for the man he rode down on to reach him.
"It's over," the man said quietly.
Alex looked up at him. "Yeah, but at least something nice came of it."
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Your colleagues have a rich video for YouTube. Your seat is burnt out."
The man suddenly became self-conscious and stiffened angrily. Then he grabbed Alex's arm. "Get down here and get him into the helicopter!"
Alex watched most of them begin to climb down the ladder and tried to make for the staircase. The man kept a tight hold on his arm, then suddenly pulled him close.
"If you behave, I'll be nice," he snickered. Alex struggled to get out of his arms as he held him tightly. He looked back to the lift, willing someone to come back
***
Wolf defeatedly stared at the bloody hole in Reynolds’ head. At least the assistant is dead, too, he thought.
He turned to Yassen. "I guess Scorpia not's going to get their money. You'll never know where the crates are."
Yassen shrugged. "My job was to kill him."
Wolf then ran for the lift, Yassen following. There were controls, but only outside the lift. Wolf pressed up and hoped the trip would be faster this time around.
Meanwhile, Alex struggled feistily kicking with all might, not caring where they landed. If he could just fight for a little longer they might come back. The men were still progressing a lot more than he was. They came to the ladder. There was no way they were going to get him up there while he was conscious, and they all knew it.
One man hit Alex in the back of his head with his gun, hoping to stun him. It did, but only for a moment before he continued struggling. Suddenly, they dropped him onto the floor flat on his back, the man whom he’d taunted sitting atop him and letting punches fly.
***
Wolf was bouncing a little with anticipation for the lift doors to open when he heard a half scream-half moan from Alex outside the door. He was on his toes, waiting, waiting, waiting… They seemed to not to want open. Wolf drew his Swiss Army knife and tried to pry them open but the knife soon broke.
"WTF?" He tried repeating what had revealed the lift the first time, but it still wouldn't open.
Yassen started to help with his own knife, then decided to try to shoot it open. "Step back." He shot it three times, but the doors still stood perfectly in place. They exchanged glances.
Alex curled away from the man until he got off of him. Then he picked him up and practically dragged him up the ladder. If Ale had tried to get away he would have probably pulled his arm out of socket. There was an explosion at the wall that concealed the lift; Alex looked up hopefully but dropped his head when the rest of men took aim on it.
***
The doors simply refused to open. Wolf leaned back against the wall after trying to blast them open. They were both silent for a while, and then the door suddenly began to open-and stopped at about 4 inches. They waited, hoping. It opened more, very sluggishly.
It took years for it open enough for either man to get out. Finally Yassen could begin to squeeze through but then he suddenly rushed back in and pressed himself against one wall. Wolf realized what was happening and followed suit. When the doors finally opened completely no one was in sight. Now they were all behind a wall that they were pressed against.
"Alex is already out. It doesn't matter where we shoot," Yassen told him.
Wolf nodded, then he and Yassen stepped out in sync, pulling off three shots as they did. Only one man was still standing. One of Yassen's bullet hit two men, the last man ran for staircase yelling, "I didn't even want to!" Yassen shot him anyway.
Wolf was already up the ladder only to see the copter high in the sky.
How it took off so fast, he didn't know. Was Alex still alive? He didn't know. Maybe he never would.
***
"What took you so long?” the pilot yelled. Alex was sitting in his seat holding his sprained wrist to his chest silently.
"Had to get to kid," the man who had brought Alex yelled back.
"Why!?”
"You said Reynolds said he needed him."
"Reynolds is dead and I said he didn't need him, so let him be! Incompetent @#$%&!"
"I went through all that for nothing?"
Alex listened in silent shock.
"What's in the crates anyway?" the man asked the pilot.
"Don't know. Jean never told me."
Alex noticed three crates in a corner. The man went over and opened them. Two full minutes passed.
"Well?!" Pilot yelled.
The man hand raised a lollipop. "Candy?"
The End
-
(1) "Take care of it"
(2) "Don't come this way"