Anastasia

18 just in time

"Out?" the man sobered. "You don't get out. You know this. The only way out is death," he pushed Annya forward as if to use her to prove his point. "And I know you don't want that."

"Let her go, Artyomov. I won't ask again." Alex demanded, starting to sound more like himself.

"Good. I'm tired of this conversation anyway." the man said, aggressively pulling Annya's limp body with him as she stumbled, hardly able to even stand.

"I'd say it's a fair trade. You get power, I get your-" Suddenly, the man dropped and Alex ran to catch Annya before she made contact with the ground, frantically saying something in Russian as tears flowed down his face and landed on hers. Sean wasn't able to keep himself from running to them.

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE!" Sean asked, landing beside Annya, taking her out of Alex's arms and into his. Alex was about to attack, but Alistar held out a hand to hold him back while Sean lifted up her shirt to examine her injuries.

"Who do you think you are to speak to me like that?" Alex seethed, his tears never stopping or slowing down.

"Someone who didn't bargain with my sister's life for power. How many times has that man touched her? Who else did you let have her?!" Sean snapped, his own eyes filling with tears as he used his shirt to try to slow her bleeding.

"No one touched her! She was just shot and Artyomov stuck his finger in her wound. Ithink he pushed the bullet in deeper." as he talked, Alex's anger was dissipating into guilt and grief.

"Did he shoot her?" Sean asked, looking up at the man who was trying to hold it together as he shook his head.

"It was a warning shot. She's had worse. She could have walked out." Alex couldn't take his eyes off his sister.

"But you didn't want her to walk out! You wanted her to go back to wherever she was waiting to get killed!" he yelled, before Alistar's impatience broke him out of his shock. He never thought he would ever see Annya like this. They have been on many missions together, and she had never been so close to death.

"Okay, you know what? Sean, take Annya. We're going to the hospital. She might not last long if we keep this up. Alex, I suggest you find a good hiding place because it won't be long until all this get's out." Alistar ordered. "How does America sound?"

"How dare you talk to your boss like that!" Alex boomed, walking up to Alistar, who held up a gun to keep Alex from coming any closer.

"My boss is dying. You've just broken our most sacred code, and for that, you forfeit your position as a member of the Russian clan. The only reason you're still alive is because it's not my place to decide your fate." Alistare seethed before walking out with Sean and Annya behind him.

The car ride was quiet as Alistar would occasionally look in the rear view mirror at Annya while Sean kept her head on his lap as he played with her hair, caressed her face and moved his shirt around, to try to simulate the effects of a fresh bandage.

They had rushed Annya into the hospital and with what sounded like deadly threats by Alestar, Annya was rushed into the operating room while he did paperwork and Sean was pacing nervously.

"She's going to be okay. We brought her in just in time." Alistar told Sean without taking his eyes off the paper with a bored tone in his voice.

"How do you know? No one told us anything." Sean mumbled, unable to pull himself out of his thoughts completely.

"I went to med school." the man responded, casually, making Saen stop his pacing. "Her injury isn't severe. She was just losing a lot of blood, but no real damage was done. The procedure should take another few hours, she rests for another few, and we can go in and see her"