All good things

Chapter 19

He hung up and sat on the bed, staring out the window, still. He wondered if he'd get to see his mother and Becky again. Or his friends. He loved them all so much. But there was one person, whom he also loved, so much, and who needed him, more than anyone right now. When Mark knocked on the door, Simon stood up and nodded. "Let's go." he said, closing his bedroom door behind him.

***

It all happened very fast. When Simon and Mark were in position, it seemed like it would all happen quietly. They certainly didn't expect to hear and see a considerably big explosion half-way from the hotel to the Embassy. The convoy of cars scattered, and Simon could see through the thicket of smoke, that there were masked man heading towards the car the French Ambassador was supposed to be in. Now, Simon was thinking that he could identify Jace fairly quickly and make his way to him, but what actually happened was - Mark screamed something that he didn't hear, he spotted Luke shouting at his men to 'move forward', he noticed guns pointed at him when he dived behind a van that had crashed and was now laying on its side; the 'bad guys' as Simon liked to call them all looked so fucking alike. They were covered in black clothing and masks, the only thing by which he could set them apart was their build and height. The smoke around them didn't do much good to his vision, but he managed to see how Mark was running towards the woman being dragged from the car. She was wearing a very formal attire, as expected, but that didn't stop the blonde from kicking out and screaming, when the guys held her arms behind her back. Simon saw her bit one of them and the guy screamed. When he hit her, Simon rose up and ran towards them. 

Mark was already there, shooting at them and Simon crouched behind another car, peering out. It was chaos - a lot of shooting and shouting, but Simon searched for Luke, to make sure he was okay. He looked fine, on the other side of the street, hiding behind a corner while shooting at Jonathan's men. Suddenly, someone was there with Simon and he reacted quicker than he thought he could. The guy who had been meaning to knock him out, probably, now lay on the sidewalk, with a knife in his chest. Simon panted. Looking around, he finally spotted the person he was looking for.

Jace was standing next to a black van, holding a rifle. Simon knew it was him, because firstly, he wasn't doing any shooting. Secondly, he was standing at the van with an open door, as if waiting for something - probably for the 'bad guys' to drag Lydia Branwell into the car. Thirdly, he wasn't alone. Jonathan wasn't wearing a mask, and he was smiling at that was happening. He hadn't even bothered to cover up, probably because he knew he'd get out of there. Simon rose up and made his way to them in a circle, effectively shielding himself from all the flying bullets. He glanced at Mark, who at the very moment, knocked one of the guys holding the Ambassador on the ground. Simon raised his gun and aimed - shooting the other one right between his eyes. Mark turned his head and, upon seeing Simon, nodded to him with a smile. Simon nodded back and continued to sneak up on the van. He had his back to it now, very well aware that he was so close to getting Jace out of there. Just go around the van and...

He heard a scream and saw that Lydia had been shot in the shoulder, at the same time he heard Jonathan scream something like 'no, stop!' and then he saw Jonathan raising his gun. Simon hopped over the hood and landed right on top of Jonathan, dragging him down with him. He heard Jace shout something and he reached for the knife in his boot, taking it out and stabbed Jonathan with it. He wasn't sure where he hit him, but the man instantly loosened his hold on Simon, yelling. Simon got up and from the corner of his eye saw Jonathan's guys advancing. He grabbed Jace, making the blonde look at him in horror. "Simon, what are you..." he started but Simon stopped him, dragging him behind the van again. "I have no time to explain, but I need you to do excactly what I tell you to." he stated and for a second, but only a second, Jace had a doubtful look on his face. But then he nodded. Simon managed a smile and then peeked out from the van. He saw Luke's guys taking a hold of Lydia, sheltering her and he knew it was now or never. While Jonathan's guys were occupied with Luke's team, he shot up, his hold on Jace's arm strong and firm, and ran towards an empty alleyway across the street.