Author's Note: This fits with chapter fifty one of Witness.
Diary of a Protected Witness Part 41
End of the Line
I can't remember much of the conversation Heero and I had in that jouncing, careening cart. I was too panicked by the way the blood was soaking his shirt and color was draining from his face.
I know I asked him why the fuck he'd taken a bullet for me, and when he gave me a chiding reply of "told you I'd do anything for you," I hugged him so tight he nearly passed out from the pain.
"Shit. Sorry," I told him, my hands shaking like leaves as I tried to press a wadded up piece of shirt against the wound to stop the bleeding.
"I'm not gonna die," he said firmly.
Then he scared me even worse by getting a faraway look in his eyes, and sort of zoning out on me. I slapped his face, to try to keep him conscious, and got thoroughly chewed out for it.
"I was thinking! Next time just--say my name or something!"
I almost laughed out loud at that, feeling a rush of relief, and hoping that if he was ornery enough to scold me, it meant he was going to be okay after all.
"Think so," he agreed. "Probably. If you quit smacking me around."
So instead of "smacking him around," I pulled him carefully against me and kissed the living shit out of him. "Don't even think about dying, Yuy. I can't live without you."
"Yeah--same here." Then he looked past me and said, "Showtime." He pulled me down beside him. "Stay low."
Sadly, I'd sort of forgotten that at the end of that wild ride, there'd be bad guys waiting for us. But when the cart sailed over a series of neck-snapping bumps and jerked to a stop, I knew we were fucked.
"Ride's over. Toss your weapons out and put your hands behind your heads."
I dunno what got into me then, except I was royally pissed that Heero was hurt and these goons were about to kill us both. We'd come so far, it just mad me spitting mad that it would end this way.
"Fuck you!" I glared past the gun the man was holding, right into his eyes. "He's hurt. He can't raise his hands!"
Instead of pulling the trigger, the man looked over at Heero. "Detective Yuy, I presume?"
Heero looked at the three men holding weapons on us, and tossed his gun aside.
And the fact that we were both still breathing made me wonder if that bullshit about taking me alive might've been true after all, so I threw my gun after 'Ro's.
But then I stepped between him and the leader of our captors. "I'll tell you right now, asshole--you kill him and you'll have to kill me too."
I was running a pathetically weak bluff. If Khushrenada hadn't really ordered them to bring me to him alive, I was about to precede Heero into the afterlife by at least a second or two.
"Well--didn't take you long to replace Merquise, did it?"
Oh fuck. I'd just more or less admitted that Heero and I were lovers. I'd essentially handed complete leverage to our captors.
Fuck!
I backpedaled pretty damn fast after that, putting on the nonchalant act and pointing out that Heero was fuckably gorgeous, and who wouldn't fuck a cop who looked like that? I dunno if they bought it, but talking about sex seemed to draw their attention back to me, which was a good thing.
I saw the gleam in their leader's eyes, as he gave me the once over. "Talk about a waste--"
Then he was snapping out orders for his goons to tie us up, and heading off to fetch the car.
I figured it was all over for us about then. If Chang didn't know we'd been apprehended, or wasn't able to come to our rescue, we had almost no chance of escape; Heero was wounded, and I was about to be trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey.
"What 'n Hell's this?"
I came out of my unhappy musings to realize one of the guys had pulled the little ball bomb from my pocket when he frisked me. His buddy was already wrapping rope around my wrists behind my back, and I shrugged. "One of those balls that makes stupid noises when you throw it for your dog. Want me to show you how it works?"
Yeah, I'd show 'em all right. I'd blow their asses to kingdom come, if they let me have a hand free and put that fucking bomb into it.
"Naw--I c'n figure it out."
Damn. He probably could, too. He'd push the little button, and in about twenty seconds, we'd all be sushi.
I darted a worried look at Heero, who seemed to fully understand our peril, and nodded towards the track we'd just left. If we were able to get down there, we might be able to survive the blast.
The idiot with the ball pushed the tiny button and grinned. "See? Easy."
I began a mental countdown, even as his buddy started scolding him and trying to take the bomb away. "We ain't got time for this shit."
Well, wasn't that the God's honest truth?
Heero suddenly let out a groan, distracting both men, and when they taunted him about pain, he assured them it didn't hurt as much as what was coming next.
"Huh?"
"He means 'fire in the hole'!" I clarified, throwing myself into the pit where the cart had stopped.
It fuckin' hurt like a bitch, landing face-first without my hands to break the fall. But that was nothing compared to the deafening roar of the explosion and the debris that rained down.
When the smoke began to clear, I scrambled to my knees, coughing and tugging at the ropes binding my arms behind my back.
"Duo?"
"Here."
Suddenly Heero was at my side, helping me up and reaching to untie me. But the sound of running feet prevented it.
"No time. Let's get out of here."
I'll tell ya...running with your hands tied behind your back is fuckin' hard. Trying to help support a wounded man at the same time, is fuckin' impossible.
Heero and I stumbled and staggered our way across the walkway and between some booths, coming out where there was a loud, colorful carousel still in full swing. He steered me towards it, and shoved me on ahead of him.
"Find something to hide behind, and if they spot us, we'll jump off on the other side!"
It might've worked, too, if my braid hadn't snagged on a carousel horse.
And not only did it snag--it managed to become hopelessly wrapped, even as three suited figures burst from between some booths and closed on our position.
I loved that braid--really I did--but in that instant, I hated it like I've never hated anything before. It was about to cost me my life, and my lover's life--all for the sake of vanity.
"Go!" I hissed at 'Ro.
"No. I won't leave you," he said calmly, trying to free my wayward hair.
"They'll kill you!" And my braid was so not worth his life!
He suddenly snapped off the horse's leg and shoved me towards the far side of the platform. Damn, the guy was strong!
"Run, Maxwell! And don't look back."
I know I should've obeyed him. But it felt like if I let him out of my sight, I might never see him alive again. I didn't want to be apart from him, if it was about to end that way.
"You are useless with your hands tied! Get under cover, and let me pick off that asshole!"
I finally did as he asked, slipping between prancing carousel figures and hopping off the far side of the spinning ride.
I almost made it, too. I was actually at the doorway, when a guy stepped out to intercept me, a gun leveled squarely at my face. I skidded to a stop, eyeing the gun and the man, and gauging the distance.
"I won't miss," he said coldly, shaking his head.
My shoulders slumped in defeat, even as he triumphantly stepped in and grabbed a handful of my braid, wrapping it around a fist and then bringing the gun up to my temple.
At the same time, the lights and music abruptly stopped, and the ride began to coast to a halt.
"Might as well come out, Yuy. I've got Maxwell."
"Sure you do," Heero called back skeptically.
"He does," I affirmed, sighing wearily.
Heero came staggering from between the wooden animals, looking much the worse for wear. It was obvious he'd lost plenty of blood, and was getting weaker by the minute. If I could get him to Catherine, I knew she had enough medical background to patch him up. But the odds of that happening were growing longer by the second.
By the time Heero had tossed his gun aside, and was working his way towards us, we heard the sound of gunshots in the distance. I just hoped it wasn't the sound of our two friends meeting a worse end than we already had.
"Sounds like maybe you lost your backup," Heero said coolly. "Could be it's just you and us."
At least my lover could run a bluff as well as I did. But the bastard holding onto me wasn't buying it just yet.
"Then it's a good thing I've got the gun," he countered, pulling me back against him and sliding an arm into a chokehold while he kept the gun at my temple. "Let's head for the main gate; our ride's waiting."
As he tried to propel me towards the exit, I resisted, trying to look at him out of the corner of my eye. "C'mon, man. Can't we make a deal?"
There had to be something I could offer him to at least get Heero out of the line of fire. I mean, if Khushrenada really wanted me alive, I wasn't in immediate danger. But Heero was.
"You've got nothing I want."
But I'd seen the way he looked at me back in the House of Horrors--the gleam of lust in his eyes. I knew damned well what he wanted.
"I c'n make it worth your while to let me go."
I knew I was gonna need to soak in a vat of industrial strength soap to feel clean again if I let the guy put his hands on me; but really, all I had to offer him was my body. And I'd seduced tougher holdouts than this guy in my time...including a hot, blue-eyed cop who fought me all the way.
"Not gonna bet a million bucks."
A million bucks?! Khushrenada was offering a freakin' million bucks for me? What the fuck?
"That's how much he wants you."
Then the guy rubbed his cheek against my hair, and I knew I still had a chance to barter, even if it was only for Heero's life.
"You want me to show you a good time--I need some incentive."
I laid it on pretty thick, talking about how men like Merquise and Khushrenada got all the best of everything, including ass. I promised him the best fuck of his life, and I felt more like a whore than I had when I played the part in that seedy hotel.
"If you treat me right, I might not kill the cop," he finally conceded.
"I need more than that; let the cop go."
"No!" Heero yelped, realizing what I was up to.
"Yuy, shut up!" I warned. "It's over. Y'got that? Over! He's takin' me to Khushrenada, and there's nothing gonna stop that. Just--walk away from this."
Or stagger away. I didn't much care, as long as it put Heero out of the line of fire for the moment. I wanted him to go find Chang and Catherine and get himself patched up before he lost too much blood.
I didn't know or care what would happen to me while he did that. If it turned out that the idiot with the gun to my head decided to drop his guard long enough to fuck me, maybe I could get away. Maybe not. But the point was that Heero would, and nothing else mattered!
I really wished he'd just go with the flow, but 'Ro put up a good fight. He reminded me that Khushrenada wasn't likely to leave me alive once I was in his grasp, and I argued right back that it wasn't like I had much of a choice at this point.
Our stupid babbling pretty much clued in my captor that we were, indeed, lovers--and he decided to make Heero stay and watch while he took his pound of flesh.
That almost made me give up the charade, thinking of having Heero watch me debase myself for his freedom. He'd fuckin' hate me for it; that much was for sure.
"I said let him go, asshole--not make him watch!"
"You're in no position to make demands."
No, I wasn't. And even as the guy pawed at the zipper of my jeans, and I fought down my gag reflex, I got him to agree to leave Heero behind--alive. That was all I wanted.
Of course, my stubborn lover nearly blew it yet again, when he started towards us to prevent what was going to happen to me. When my captor's gun swung in his direction, I darted a glare at Heero, and pulled out all the stops in my seduction game.
"C'mon, fucknuts--forget about him and concentrate on me."
"Tell me," Sleazy FBI Dude said, tucking the gun muzzle up under my chin. "Can those pretty lips of yours do anything but swear?"
"You'd be fuckin' amazed at what they can do."
And while the bastard was fixated on the way I ran my tongue over my lips, I caught sight of Heero looking past us towards the other side of the pavilion.
God--did I dare hope he saw Chang or Catherine coming to our rescue?
Desperate to keep my quarry from noticing Heero's startled expression, I swallowed the urge to puke, and kissed the fucker right on the lips.
It was--vile.
I've kissed a lotta guys in my time...a whole lot. I kissed girls, too, back when I was trying to decide what my preferences really were. But I think I'd have traded that moment with the rogue FBI agent to go back to the alley where two cops raped me. It was every bit as sickening--just as much of a violation.
And to make it that much worse, I had to act like I liked it. I had to keep the man's attention totally on me, and pray that the flicker of hope I'd seen in Heero's eyes had been real, and not just a figment of my imagination.
"Not bad, sugar," I purred, looking up from under half-lidded eyes so the man wouldn't see how very much I hated him. "But you've gotta move that gun if you want me to go down on you. And you know you want it."
I swear, if I'd had to follow through on that deal, I'd have choked to death on my own vomit. But fortunately, as the guy put his gun away and shoved me to my knees, a shot rang out, and he toppled over backwards, dead before he hit the ground.
"Chang!" I looked up as Wufei ran to my side, wanting nothing more than to throw myself into his arms and cry on his shoulder again. I have never been so happy to see anyone in my life! "Jesus--am I glad to see you--! Heero's been shot!"
And then Catherine was there as well, helping Heero to his feet while Wufei untied me. And almost before I'd shaken the ropes free, Heero was pulling me into his arms. "Goddamn fucker--touching you! Don't ever ask me to sit by and watch something like that again!"
I couldn't help but laugh. "Can't promise that, love. If it'd save your life--" I'd do anything for you.
Hey, turnabout was fair play. If he'd take a bullet for me, how could I not be willing to face any trial for him? I'd die for him. I'd kill for him, too. I'd do fuckin' anything for that man!
TBC...
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