Since Captain and Nico were sure they didn't need our help with the list Thomas Auburn had asked for, Reid and I decided to head back to the hospital and continue our mission to keep the place safe.
"I'll go grab some spare clothes," I told Reid when we were ready to return.
"What's wrong with my clothes?" he asked with a grin.
I only chuckled at his remark and climbed up the stairs. He followed me quietly all the way to our room and stopped to wait for me by the door when I headed to my desk.
It wasn't only the clothes I needed. Since we'd stayed the past few nights at the hospital, I couldn't take my medication yesterday, so I had to make sure I wouldn't forget it now. It was fine if I missed a day or two, but I had to start keeping a few pills with me at all times in case we got more missions like these and didn't return home for days.
"Crap, you didn't have your medication with you, either..." Reid mumbled.
"It's fine. One day doesn't do anything," I said reassuringly.
I heard him making his way to me, so I quickly took my pills and shoved the bottles into my bag. I wasn't comfortable with the idea of letting him see my medication... But it didn't have much to do about the medication.
It was because of the Lace... I didn't want to have any kind of conversations that could lead to someone asking me about it. I still couldn't even think about it without feeling bad. And scared. Like I was suddenly suffocating...
"I'll just grab some spare clothes and we're good to go," I told Reid, and walked away from him just when he stopped behind me.
"Ri...?" he said slowly.
It took me a second to realize Ri was a nickname he'd given me, and he wasn't looking for rye or something.
"Yeah?" I asked and glanced at him shortly.
"You all right?" he asked softly and took a few steps after me.
"Of course. It's fine. I can miss a day. It's totally fine," I said while grabbing a few T-shirts and sweatpants from my closet.
"For a moment there, I..." he mumbled, and when I turned back to him, he watched me carefully. "It felt like something is wrong."
I shrugged and gave him a crooked smile. "I'm good. I mean... It's been really shitty few days. I still feel bad for that Thomas kid..."
"Right," he said, and looked away with a nod. "Me too."
I glanced at him, then sighed. "Maybe his mate still is alive."
"Well I didn't see anyone, but they did have time to escape before we arrived."
"Right?" I said, feeling my hopes getting up a little.
"But that's still only two chances out of seventeen."
"Right..." I mumbled, that hope vanishing again.
"Sorry," Reid said with a small chuckle. "I'm sure his mate is alive."
"Yeah..."
Once I had all the spare clothes I'd need, we headed downstairs. Captain and Nico were in the tech room, already working on the list of attackers. They hadn't gotten too far yet, but at least two of the people were already identified. We told them our goodbyes and wished luck with the rest of the list, then left them alone.
Reid and I stayed silent until we were standing outside in the sunny yard. He gestured for me to follow him, but before I did, I glanced over my shoulder.
"I think they just wanted to be left alone," I told Reid.
"Yeah, we definitely could've helped with the list," he agreed as we headed down to the gates. "They just wanted some privacy."
"They have a lot to talk about," I said, but he let out an amused snort. "What?"
"It's not talking they'll be doing tonight."
"You think so?"
"I know so."
I chuckled and shook my head. "I suppose it's none of our business."
"I'm honestly still surprised Captain stopped acting like there's nothing going on between them so easily," Reid admitted.
"I'd call that progress," I said. "Maybe soon, he'll finally accepts Nico as his mate."
"He'd better."
I smiled at him. "I'm sure he will."
We passed by the gates and continued our way down to the garage. I glanced at Reid when I realized something... And there was definitely something in his eyes. He took a swift look at me, and when our eyes met, he had to hide his smirk. Oh, I knew why he was getting a little excited...
It was time to meet the car.
And I was ready. I was so ready. I wasn't going to make a fool out of myself, no sir. I'd searched up the model he had, so I knew what it looked like. I was dead serious about impressing him, since that car seemed to mean a lot to him.
We reached the garage doors. There were two sets of tall and wide doors with ramps going down to them, but Reid led me to a smaller door behind them. He pressed his tag on the keypad next to it and pushed the door open once it unlocked.
And because the doors were the only thing above the ground, I'd never realized just how huge the garage was. And it was huge. There were probably two hundred parking spaces, and almost all of them were occupied.
"That's a lot of cars," I noted.
Reid laughed lightly and started leading me down between the rows. I quickly figured out that each row belonged to a different team, and that Reid was leading me to the one marked Zero-Seven. Once we walked down that row, I kept my eye out for his car. I was determined to make my partner happy with me... And I spotted the car! It was big, black, and old, just like in the pictures I'd seen! It was partly hidden behind a larger car, but I knew that was it!
"Oh wow! That's such a gorgeous car! So amazing! And it looks really fast and strong, too," I exclaimed maybe a little too loudly.
Reid turned around. He took a slow look at the car next to us, then at me.
"That's... Ryan's car," he said blankly.
My eyes focused on something behind him. There, a few spaces down, was another big, black, old car. I slowly looked back at the one next to me. It had a logo of a horse on the front. I didn't remember seeing any horses when I looked through the pictures of Challengers.
"Oh, I – I – I – what I mean is that – like, uh – like, it's a nice car – but I – you know, so..." I stammered in a slight panic, trying to come up with a way to save the situation, and finally, my brain decided to save the situation. "But hey! Look at that car over there! Now that's an awesome car!" I said, putting everything I had into acting excited as I pointed at the other black car and marched my way to it. "This is the best car ever! I bet it's the strongest and fastest too!"
Reid was laughing by the time I finally snapped my mouth shut and joined me next to the car.
"Yes, that is my car," he said, and rested his arm around my shoulders when he turned to admire the vehicle.
"It looks really cool," I told him with a grin. "Way better than Ryan's car."
"Sure," he said with a chuckle, grabbed my small bag, and went to put it in the trunk.
"I mean it," I said, taking a better look at the car.
It was one of those old muscle cars I'd seen in movies. I had to admit it looked good with its large front, low profile, a narrow indentation below the hood where the lights located at the front, and a backside that was a little higher off the ground than the rest of the car. And obviously, it matched the black leather and polished iron theme this team loved so much.
"You know... This car suits you," I told Reid as he made his way to the driver's seat.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Yeah. I think it looks like you," I said, and went to sit next to him in the car.
Yup, black leather everywhere...
I did take a good look around just to show Reid I was really interested in his car, but there wasn't a lot going on. The dashboard was a simple steel plate with a few knobs and four large, round meters embedded in it, and the steering wheel was just a wide but thin ring. The front seats were pretty nice, but the back seats were much smaller and didn't look too comfortable to sit on. That was about it. There really wasn't much else to see inside the car. It was actually quite underwhelming after seeing how much effort the manufacturer had put into how it looked from the outside.
"It's a really nice car," I told Reid when he looked at me.
He wiggled his eyebrows and put the key in the ignition. I held my smile up when he turned on the engine, and the car roared to life.
It was loud. It was so loud, in fact, that my omega got startled awake by the sudden sound. And I almost flinched too. But since Reid seemed so proud of how loud it was, I smiled wider.
"Now that's a good car," I told him. "Wow..."
"I know, right?" he said with a proud smirk.
I nodded several times and turned to look away from him.
Alphas...
Thankfully, the car quieted down a little once its engine was warm enough, and Reid started driving. And I did get a little used to it.
"Funny... It sounds kind of like you when you're growling," I told Reid, and let out a genuine chuckle. "This really is your car."
I thought he would comment on that, but he gave me a careful glance.
"I uh... Been meaning to ask... Does it bother you? When my alpha growls?" he asked slowly.
"No," I said. "It's just chatty, right?"
"Yeah. It doesn't mean any harm," he said a bit shyly. "It just... It just wants to talk. It doesn't know how to talk, so it just... growls..."
"Well I think it's adorable," I told him.
He wrinkled his nose at me.
"Come on. It's adorable as fuck," I said with a grin.
"You and Captain are both weird..." he mumbled.
I laughed at his words, then peered at him. He was smiling now, too. Seeing him smile like that meant a lot to me. It felt especially great if I looked back at that moment when we first met. I still hadn't forgotten how angry he'd been for having to take me in his life. I could hardly believe this was the same man. But Captain had been right. Reid needed a partner. I could see that now. I hadn't even done much to change his mind about me.
I guess all that anger had been just pain in disguise...
I looked away to hide my sigh. I suppose I just had to learn to love this noisy old car, huh?
Once we got back to the hospital, and I went to put my bag into the truck, we were immediately pulled into a short briefing. It was short because nothing had changed since we left this morning. Mercer was still in a coma, but he hadn't had any complications. Keita was in charge again, and he'd already talked with Captain about what happened with Auburn, so there wasn't anything new we could tell him, either.
He did put us back to work, since we were the only pair that hadn't been on duty ever since the first night, and there were pairs that could use the rest of the day off. I didn't mind. Especially since we were ordered to guard Mercer himself right behind his hospital room. It wasn't an exciting task because all we did was make sure only Mercer's doctors and nurses went into his room. We had a short list of medical staff who were allowed to enter, and no one else dared to come even close to the door while Reid and I stood next to it with our rifles.
There were also two civilians who had permission to enter the room. Francis Andrews, and Richard Campbell.
But that was not what the alpha kid was called now.
The door opened late that evening, and Mr. Andrews stood behind it, his back turned to us.
"Rene? Do you want anything?" he asked the young alpha, who was lying in Mercer's bed, curled up against the mafia leader.
My heart broke at the kid's dead expression and his red eyes that I could see all the way to where I stood. He shook his head a little, sniffed, and hugged Mercer. I looked away when Mr. Andrews stepped out of the room.
Rene, huh...?
The second in command stopped to stare at us, and it was clear he'd been crying too. Suddenly, he was filled with anger, but he closed the door quietly behind him. He then cleared his throat, straightened his suit, then stepped to Reid.
"Where is Captain Hale?" he asked quietly, his voice suffocating from held-back anger.
Reid only stared at him behind his mask without saying a word. He had his Gambit expression on, which should've scared everyone enough to stay the hell away from us, but this mafioso didn't give a shit, and only grew angrier.
"Right, you fucking mute bastards..." he muttered, and glanced at me. "What is this? Bring your kid to work day?"
Reid let out a small, threatening growl, and took half a step closer to the mafioso. But this was Francis Andrews, so he only turned to glare at him with an even more intimidating look on his face.
"Sorry. I'm feeling a little edgy today," he said sarcastically, and took half a step closer to Reid in return. "Fine. But when you see your dear captain, tell him that I've called our boys home. All of them. And if you can't find those bastards who did this to Michael, we will. And you don't want that because we will tear this city apart to find them. Got it?"
Reid straightened his posture, but said nothing.
"Good dog," Mr. Andrews said, and walked away.
Reid waited until the mafioso vanished behind a corner before he turned to me. I let out a small sigh. He raised his eyebrow at me and sighed as well.
Yeah... This wasn't good at all.
*****
We didn't get to forward Francis' message to Captain until the next morning when he asked Reid and me to come back to the base. When we asked why, he gave us only a few words.
"I have the list."
We arrived at the base an hour later and found Captain and Nico waiting for us at the facility where they were keeping Thomas. Before we headed in, Reid and I stopped Captain.
"Mr. Andrews wanted us to give you a message," Reid told him quietly. "The whole mafia is on their way here, and he said they'll find those who attacked Mercer if we can't. They'll tear the whole city apart if they have to."
Captain gritted his teeth together, then lifted his finger at him. "When you see him, you tell him..."
He paused, his finger still up, and frowned a little.
"Hmm," he uttered, turned his back to us, and walked to the entrance.
"Yes, I'm sure Mr. Andrews appreciates your input," I muttered, and Reid chuckled quietly when we followed him.
"So... What should we tell Mr. Andrews?" Reid asked Captain when he stopped by the main entrance.
"I'll talk to him," Captain said. "I'd rather talk to Michael, but... I may have an idea... Michael's mafia is large, and he has his eyes and ears in places we can only dream of getting to."
"So...?" Reid muttered.
Captain turned to him. "Maybe it's not such a bad idea to let them find these bastards who attacked Michael."
We all fell silent for a short second as we considered his words. That... That actually was an idea, for sure...
"I mean... His hive is large..." Reid murmured quietly.
"His men can get to places we really can't," Nico agreed.
"They also have the means to fight True Order," I added.
Captain nodded, then sighed. "Well, I'll talk to Michael... Or Francis, if it comes to that, but let's focus on the matter in hand," he said, and turned to Nico. "Got the pictures?"
"Right here," Nico said, and gave him a big pile of papers.
"What's this?" Reid asked when Captain ushered us through the door.
"This is the list Thomas asked. Well, the best I could do about it," Captain said.
"We asked the morgue to send us pictures of the deceased attackers," Nico told us while one of the guards hurried to greet us and show us the way to Thomas. "And we found something very interesting, too."
"Interesting?" Reid and I asked at the same time.
"A small little clip from a nearby surveillance camera from that night," Nico said.
"It does seem like two of the attackers escaped just before our arrival," Captain told us.
I got excited, but only a second later, I remembered that fifteen of those attackers died. The odds were not in our favor. In Thomas's favor. But there still was a small chance...
"Do you think he'll still give us information if it turns out his mate is dead?" I asked quietly.
"If he wants revenge, yes," Captain muttered.
I nodded. That hate and rage in Thomas's eyes...
Oh, he wanted revenge.
We arrived at the same interrogation space we'd met the young alpha the previous day, and Reid and I entered the spectating room. Thomas was already waiting for us, and when he heard the door opening, he snapped his head up. His attitude was completely different now. He was definitely nervous, but also very eager to get the information he desperately needed.
"You have the list?" he asked long before Captain could even have a seat.
"I don't have an actual list or names, but I have pictures of everyone who took part in that attack," Captain told him as he made himself comfortable behind the table. "I must warn you, some of these images are gruesome. Many of your comrades died horrible, painful deaths."
The kid lifted his chin and gritted his teeth together, his anger and pain returning. "I'm fine. I've seen a lot of shit."
Captain nodded and finally gave him the pile of pictures. "These are the deceased ones. I didn't bother taking pictures of the two you were arrested with."
Thomas stared at the pile for a moment, gathering his courage. Then he let out a silent breath, bracing himself for the news he was scared of, and pulled them closer. I stepped closer to the window to watch when he took the first picture and put it on the table after giving it only a short glance. His expression didn't change when he slowly went through the pictures. Well, not until he reached the bad ones. He flinched away, then forced himself to take a closer look.
He was in great pain... It was clear he still hadn't found the one he so desperately wanted to find...
He put the picture away and kept going through the rest of them, trying to be brave. And then he was holding the last picture in his hands. He stared at it for a long time, like he was unable to breathe.
I thought that was it... His mate... But then... The rest of the pictures were laid out on the table, and he turned back to them, his expression changing... He pulled some of them closer and studied them again, but the deepening frown on his face told me he hadn't actually found what he was looking for.
Finally, he looked up.
"What about the two who aren't accounted for?" he asked.
Captain pulled his phone from his pocket, clicked open a video, and put it on the table in front of the younger alpha.
"They are now accounted for," Captain said while the kid watched the short clip. "Two of them escaped right before me and my men arrived."
Thomas took the phone in his shaky hands and replayed the clip. He spent quite a while staring at the screen.
I smiled at the tears that were burning in his eyes. The pain was gone. All those angry emotions he'd had were gone, replaced by something much softer.
His mate was alive.
"That fucking coward..." Thomas finally whispered, and let out a short laugh.
"Can you identify the two shown on the video?" Captain asked.
"Why would I give you their names?" Thomas asked.
"Because if you give us valuable information, I can help you and your friends in return," Captain said. "I can help you make a deal with the prosecutor, and there's a chance I can offer something even better."
Thomas still stared at the screen, but finally gave the phone back and leaned against his seat to wipe his cheeks dry. "I'll think about it."
"Fair enough," Captain said, and leaned closer to him. "Now... Your turn."
Thomas lifted his head up again. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything," Captain said. "Start with the name of your organization."
Thomas let out a snort and almost smiled at him. "All right."
Captain raised his eyebrow at him. Thomas shifted a little in his seat and crossed his arms before he spoke.
"It's Jomica."
Psst! I have posted a new Shaded Harem smutty AU one shot for my Ream subscribers!
Dear Friend [Captain Hale (bottom) x Michael Mercer (top) in thirties]
Our favorite Mafia Daddy makes our favorite Captain Daddy pass out in exhaustion in 9,000 words, which is the length of 3 normal chapters ;)
And in case you missed it, I have a free smutty fic with Riley and Reid up on my Ream as well :3 Link to my Ream in my profile!
You can find links to both these fics also in the comments right here >>>