You all seem to be complaining about my cliffhangers. Really, the last two chapters didn't even really end with cliffhangers. Those were just endings
This chapter however . . . Well, you'll all be complaining again.
Enjoy.
Thirteen's POV
His back's against the wall, his hand holding my dagger is pinned in place my by my free hand, and the gold dagger is pressed into his neck, drawing a thin line of blood.
"Go ahead," He taunts, his eyes blazing into mine. "Do it."
I press the dagger harder into his neck and he lets out a hiss of pain, but the determination in his eyes never fades. The determination that I won't kill him.
My hand is holding the dagger steady, my stance and grip preventing him from moving without slitting his own throat, so I chance a look around.
Jason's still on the ground, but he's moved so that he's sitting up with his back against the wall. Devin's holding his side and a line of blood soaking through the front of his shirt from the gash across his chest. Sam's still in the same place I left him, eyes closed, and Zack stands in front of him.
It's Zack who catches my attention, and not because of his wounds or the way he's holding onto his arm, but because he's the only one looking away.
His jaw is clenched, his breathing is shaky, his entire body tense, and he's avoiding looking over at me and Garrett.
I turn my attention back to Garrett and my mind's made up. I remove the knife from his throat and take a step back.
He smiles smugly and opens his mouth to say something but I don't give him the chance before I'm swinging the handle of the dagger into the side of his head. Not hard enough to kill him, but hard enough to knock him out.
He falls to the floor and doesn't move. I stand over him, breathing heavily and covered in blood. I grimace at the wound in my leg and wipe my bloody hands on my pants.
"Toss me a pair of cuffs," I say and Zack tosses me a pair he had in his pockets. I grab Garrett's wrists and twist them behind his back, cuffing them tightly. I search him and remove the rest of his weapons, tossing them away.
"How bad are you hurt Devin?" I ask.
"Not bad enough that I can't function," He replies. "What do you need me to do?"
"You and Chase are going to take Garrett as soon as I get that door open," I tell him. "Zack, you're helping Jason out of here. The other team and I will be taking Sam just as soon as I get that door open."
"How are you going to get the door open?" Devin asks.
"I don't have time to try and override the computers to lift the lockdown. So you're all moving into the hallway and I'm blowing the damn door down," I reply. I motion for Zack to give me the black duffle bag he's still carrying around.
"That's not the smartest idea," Jason says.
I shake my head. "I know. But we're out of time."
I barely get the words out before there's a deafening sound of something large and metal being thrown into concrete. A series of clangs and loud bangs sound off as the huge metal door crashes to the floor.
Lily walks across the door and into the room. The worry in her face turns to surprise when she takes us all in. "Well, you all have clearly been having more fun than I have," She says.
I give her a flat look. "I seriously doubt that," I tell her. "I can still hear the battle going on outside."
"It's slowing down." An explosion sounds in the distance. "For the most part," She adds.
"How'd you get the door down?" Devin asks her.
"I didn't," She replies. "Didn't want to chance explosives and end up killing one of you. This was another team." She suddenly smiles widely. "They brought all kinds of fun toys. Blowtorch included."
She looks between everyone and then to Sam. She shakes her head. "They'll have to bring a stretcher in so he's moved as little as possible. I'll let them know, in the meantime the rest of you should get going. Zero's got some helicopters waiting in a clearing a short distance away. Chase is there now, he and another team are guarding the helicopters so they don't get blown up. And Zero's made it clear the helicopters are leaving in fifteen minutes. With or without us."
"You call Zero," I tell Lily. "and tell him that those helicopters aren't leaving until Sam's on board. I don't give a damn how long it takes."
Lily nods. "I already told him that, but I'm not as threatening as you. I'll call him back and tell him you threatened to gouge out one of his eyes or better yet-"
"Let's leave it at that," Devin interjects. "I'd rather not hear whatever else you're going to come up with."
"I think if you were someone else, you'd have a different opinion," Lily says. "But alright, I'll stop." She pulls her phone out of her pocket and dials, stepping outside.
A couple other agents come in. I motion to Garrett. "Get him out of here. Don't unlock the cuffs, chain him down in the helicopter, and don't take any chances around him," I tell them. I turn to Zack and Devin, "Help Jason out of here and to the helicopter. I'll stay here with Sam until the other agents get here with the stretcher."
Zack nods and moves over to Jason, throwing his arm over his shoulder. Devin hesitates.
"What?" I ask him.
He shakes his head. "Someone else should stay here with Sam. You're hurt, and Garrett stabbed you with your dagger. You need the antidote."
I wave off his concern. "The wound isn't that deep. The poison will take up to a week to kill me. I'll be fine, I have the antidote elsewhere."
He doesn't look convinced but he doesn't say anything else and grabs Jason's other arm, helping Zack to take Jason to the helicopter.
There's a flash as Lily snaps a picture. She smiles widely at the three of them. "This is probably the only time you're all ever going to be getting along."
Devin scowls at her, Jason shakes his head, and Zack opts for ignoring her and continuing on out the door.
Lily turns to me. "The stretcher's on its way along with the other agents. And Zero's agreed to hold the helicopters for a few extra minutes. I'm sure if you were the one to call him he'd actually keep the helicopters here however long you wish."
I turn to Sam and kneel next to him. "I don't have time to call Zero, but I'm sure he's aware what I'll do if those helicopters aren't still there when we get Sam out of here." I look back at her. "Go ahead and get to the helicopters. I'll wait here for the other agents."
Lily shakes her head. "I'm not going to leave you here to wait for the other agents, but I am going to wait outside and make sure the path is clear for the other agents. We don't need them getting shot before they get here with the stretcher. After is free game." I roll my eyes as she turns and leaves the room.
My attention goes back to Sam. I grimace as I take in the wounds all over him. I reach my hand out and brush my fingers over a deep gash in his shoulder. His eyes open and he looks up at me, trying to hide the pain in his eyes.
"We're getting you out of here," I tell him quietly.
He nods and starts to close his eyes again. His eyes suddenly widen and the next thing I know he's pulled me into him and rolled us over, just as a bullet pierces the spot I previously was.
I see the person move out of the corner or my eyes and I move immediately between him and Sam. And realize in horror that it's another guy decked out in black, with the same stupid helmet and vest.
He brings the gun around and I grab his wrist, forcing his aim of the gun away. Bullets embed into the wall next to us and his hand reaches out and his fingers dig into my shoulder. I hiss in pain as his fingers dig into the wound from the gold dagger, and I bring my knee up into his stomach.
He flinches, but that's about it. He swings us around and backs me into the wall, my head slamming hard against it, his grip on the gun never loosening.
I open my mouth to shout for Lily, and the hand digging into my shoulder is suddenly around my neck, squeezing tightly.
I have one hand holding firmly on to his wrist, keeping the gun from being pointed in mine or Sam's direction, and my other hand is digging into his as I try to remove his grip from my neck.
I kick at him and claw at his hand, but nothing seems to faze him at all. I can't breathe, my lungs feel like they're on fire, and black dots are beginning to cloud my vision.
"Daggers!" I hear Sam shout, and I turn just in time to see him throw the gold dagger my way. I stop trying to loosen his grip on my neck and catch the dagger instead. I push the button on top and can feel the whirl as the blade begins to spin, and then I drive it right into his helmet.
He screams and staggers back, the gun falling from his grasp and his hands flying to the now shattered and bloodied visor. He rips his helmet off in one swift motion and it is yet again another unknown face.
Of course, the entire side of his face is bloody and he's now missing an eye. Well, Lily's threat of me gouging out someone's eye was true, but it wasn't Zero's.
"You bitch," He growls out before charging at me.
I'm body slammed back into the wall, the dagger being ripped from my grasp. His fist swings back but before he can hit me, a spiked heeled boot is kicked into his side from behind.
He staggers back, his hand flying to his side and Lily's not giving him any time to recover before she's throwing a fist into his face and grabbing him by the vest, repeatedly bringing her knee up into his stomach. She shoves him back and he falls to the floor. She stands in front of me, eyes blazing down at him.
"Come on," She says in a taunting tone. "I haven't hit anybody in the last twenty minutes, and I'm feeling mean as a snake. Bring it on."
I move so I'm out of the way and in front of Sam.
The guy gets to his feet and charges at her like a bull, she dodges at the last minute and he crashes into the wall behind her. He recovers quickly and charges her again, swinging and kicking out in an effort to get a hit in. She dodges and blocks him.
One thing about Lily, she was never able to put as much power behind her kicks and punches as the rest of us, but she was always damn fast. Speed was on her side and she was small enough to dodge effortlessly.
She ducks under his arm when he goes to try and hit her, and she brings her leg up and into his back. She then swings her leg out again and knocks his feet out from under him. He grabs hold of her ankle and pulls her down.
He tries to move over her, and she plants her feet into his chest and kicks him back forcefully before jumping to her feet. He gets to his feet quicker than she does though, and then I'm watching as he practically throws her into the wall.
She lets out a groan her hands grasp at her head. He starts coming towards her and I move to intercept him.
"Screw this," I hear her mutter a moment before a gunshot goes off and he's dropping to the ground, dead. A bullet in his forehead.
I run quickly over to her and kneel down next to her. She clutches at her head with one hand, the other hand still holding her gun. She groans. "He's dead right?" She asks me.
"Yeah," I reply as I move her hand to try and get a better look at her head. "He's dead, you don't usually miss what you aim at."
"I'm seeing double," Is all she says. "I couldn't tell if I actually got him." She groans again and closes her eyes. "I think I'm just going to take a nap if that's ok with you."
"It's not," I tell her. "You probably have a concussion. Do not go to sleep."
"Bossy," She mutters. Her eyes still closed. "I just saved your life, the least you could do is let me have my nap."
"You can have your nap later," I tell her. "Stay awake."
"No promises," She says I can already hear her slipping off.
I get to my feet and pick up the gold dagger, sliding it into my boot.
I hear the sound of a gun loading and I freeze, turning to look over at Sam, who's been pulled to his feet and being held at gunpoint by yet another soldier in black. Only this one's a girl and she's already removed her helmet, revealing a face I don't recognize.
Her gun is pressed into the side of Sam's head, and she's got her arm wrapped around his throat.
"Get on your knees," She says, her voice cold and deadly.
I slowly lower to my knees, keeping an eye on the door, hoping the other agents arrive right now.
"Daggers, get . . ." Her grip on Sam's neck tightens and he flinches. "Leave," He tells me.
I look back at Lily and her eyes are closed, her breathing even. Unconscious.
"I kill her next," The girl says I turn back to look at her, my glare murderous. "The daggers. Both of them, slide them over. Now. And I'll be kind enough to postpone his death."
"Don't," Sam says. "Not for . . . me."
"Whatever happens next is on you," She tells me as she aims the gun my way, keeping her hold on Sam. "Your choice."
I don't have any more knives other than the daggers, and there's no way I can throw them faster than she can pull the trigger and end Sam's life, or mine.
I reach my hand to my side and pull the silver dagger out of its sheath and slide it across the floor toward her. I then reach back to my boot, and my hand touches something on the floor next to my foot.
A gun. The gun the first guy dropped after I drove the gold dagger through his eye. My fingers firmly close around the handle, and I close my eyes as a hundred different images fill my vision and the memory of voices cloud my mind.
"The dagger," I hear her say. "Now." She repeats.
"J.D. stop!"
Gunshots.
"J.D. please!"
Pain. Blood.
"You're taking too long," I hear her say and her arm around Sam's neck tightens, the gun going firmly into the side of his head, her finger twitching on the trigger.
I feel my arm raising. Not enough time. I feel myself freezing up. I see her face blurring into someone else's. Someone familiar. Sam's eyes closing. But I can't move.
Sam.
Gunshot.
Blood.
Falling.
No!
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