When the shit hit the fan it was actually something of an anticlimax. Part of Lee had hoped that this time the bad guy would be clever. That for once the idea of killing the good guys was replaced by a speedy retreat from the country and a swift change in identity. Both he and Adam had their backs to the wall and Adam was connected to a guy called Dale who was observing with another Sanctuary operative, a woman called Michaela. Adam exchanged banter—he and this Dale were clearly friends. Of course there was talking to Michaela as well but Lee, damn his head, was focusing only on the spike of jealousy that appeared when Adam threw out lines like "you know what I'm like" or "I owe you dinner".
They were just killing time, chatting, shooting the breeze. Nothing that Adam and Lee hadn't done when they were in place waiting on the finale of some case. Even so, Lee allowed the jealousy to grow a little until he decided Dale was someone that needed watching.
"Okay. We have it." Adam interrupted Lee's speculation and largely ridiculous thoughts. Turning to Lee, Adam nodded. "Showtime. Five minutes out on foot. Tall guy. Brunet."
Adam stood, using the wall as support, and then held out his hand to Lee.
"Could be either," Lee noted. He took Adam's hand as help to stand.
"Who do you hope it will be?" Adam asked curiously.
Lee huffed a laugh; he didn't hope Sean Hanson, who was a colleague, was the archetypal bad guy. Then, neither did he want Simon Hatfield who, despite not being a friend, seemed like a genuine guy to be on the wrong side of the fence.
"Stupid question. I don't want it to be either," he snapped. Adam was trying to lighten the situation but at this moment in time Lee was on edge and nothing was going to work.
Adam pulled his Sig from the holster and held it loosely at his side. Lee preferred his Glock, which was FBI issue, and he mirrored Adam's stance. Whoever was here was facing two agents with purpose.
Adam continued conversationally. "I think Jake would like it to be the liaison to Sanctuary, which would solve a lot of problems."
"Shut up, Brooke," Lee murmured. They moved back into the shadows of the cabin and waited. The person approaching wasn't exactly doing so with any amount of stealth. Almost like they wanted to be caught. Lee's heart sank when the guy finally stepped into the clearing in front of them and he realized who it was.
Sean Hanson. The Sanctuary liaison. Fuck.
Sean was coming toward the cabin with his Glock held high and out in front of him. Adam nodded to indicate this was Lee's bag and Lee stepped out.
"Drop the weapon, Hanson," he ordered sharply. Sean stiffened in response and, for a second, they were face to face with guns drawn. The face-off lasted only a few seconds and when Adam moved out to stand next to Lee it was game over. Sean released his steel grip on his weapon and allowed it to hang loose from one finger.
"Drop the gun," Lee repeated.
With a shrug Sean did as he was instructed; the Glock landed with a satisfying thud on the dirt.
"On your knees," Adam instructed, "hands behind your neck." He moved to kick the gun away and then holstered his own weapon. He pulled ties from his pocket and maneuvered first one wrist and then the other until Sean was on his knees on the hard ground with his hands firmly together at the base of his spine.
Lee was cautious. It made no sense for Sean to show up here with no stealth and no back up. "Are you alone?" he asked brusquely.
Sean looked up at him and there were emotions flickering in his expression that didn't make any sense. Fear. Sadness. Resignation.
That was it. To all intents he simply kneeled there and looked resigned. Certainly not angry or piss-your-pants-scared at being caught. He'd seen Sean with a lot of emotions before when they shared a house. This resigned, almost blank expression, was a new one. The reaction tugged at Lee. Cautiously he stepped back from the face-to-face and caught Adam's gaze. Sean was facing one hell of a load of shit with added jail time and he was kneeling there impassively—like none of that mattered? Something wasn't right here. The niggle in his head and the thoughts that weren't quite lining up made him wary.
"Dale?" He tried to connect to their boundary guardians. Nothing. "You got Dale?" he asked Adam quickly and tapped his own ear piece.
Adam frowned but the gun on Sean was completely level and didn't waver.
"Dale?" Adam's voice was firm and quick as he attempted to contact their backup. "Michaela?"
Sean bowed his head and sighed visibly. It looked like every fiber of him was suddenly relaxed and Lee spun on his heel to face the forest where he knew Dale and Michaela were supposed to be.
"Something's not right," Lee said urgently. Deciding on the spot, Lee ran from the clearing and was up into the edge of the tree line with his gun held high and his focus one hundred percent on what the hell was going on. He jumped logs and other remains of fallen trees, skirted bushes and hoped to hell he was heading in the right direction. Something had happened to comms and the tension inside him built to near breaking point.
Dale and Michaela weren't far ahead, and Lee's breathing was ragged from the speed he was sprinting up the hill, away from the cabin. In under a minute he was there and the scene before him was assessed and filed in seconds. Dale and Michaela were on their knees with two guns trained on them. If he had stopped to negotiate he had nothing. Whoever had weapons pointed at the Sanctuary operatives would have all the bargaining power.
Both guys looked his way but only briefly. There was enough time for Dale to lunge at the nearest gun wielding perp and dragging him down to the ground. Michaela moved but Lee was there first. With a cry he launched himself at gunman two, the arc of his own weapon wide as he angled his trajectory. He saw the startled, furious expression on guy two's face as they collided. The guy had brought his own gun around and fired it randomly. Lee felt the burn of fire as the bullet sliced through the top layers of skin in his arm up close and the smell of discharged weapon assaulted his nostrils. Cold, calm, rational moves followed and, without even using his weapon, he disarmed the guy. Michaela lunged for her weapon and held it to cover Lee as he scrambled to stand.
"What the hell?" Lee said quickly.
"Two man team here," Dale reported quickly. The ex-SEAL appeared calm but there was fire in his eyes. "Something took comms out and pulled any chances of aerial observation with it."
Lee digested the words. He knew Sanctuary had hands on some pretty cool counter-offensive kit. For two operatives to be caught like this with no backup was unexpected and a smack in the face. The debriefing on this was going to hurt. He felt sorry for the guy. This was his domain.
"You got it covered here?" Lee looked around at the local vicinity and the two men who were unarmed and kneeling just as eerily quiet as Sean. Dale nodded and Lee turned and sprinted back down the hill. He knew Adam would be okay but he wasn't prepared to just saunter down to where his partner stood. What if this was something more than just three guys with guns? His arm burned like a bitch and his chest was tight. The pain in his arm didn't matter since adrenaline was racing through his body, but the thought that he should be fitter than this passed quickly in his head.
To his relief Adam was okay. He'd pulled Sean to one side and was covering the opening with his gun drawn and intense focus on his face. "We're clear," Lee announced as he stalked over to Adam.
"What the fuck, Lee?" Adam asked and then grabbed him by his unhurt arm. "You're bleeding. I heard shots."
Lee dismissed the concern with a shrug. The burn was freaking painful, but it was nothing new, both he and Adam had been winged by gunfire in the past. At least he wasn't bleeding out or anything halfway as dramatic. His chest felt tight and breathing was hard but, hell, he'd just sprinted up and then down a hillside, not to mention he'd disarmed a bad guy.
"Just skin is all," Lee confirmed quickly and panted through a sharp, insistent pain building in his chest and shoulder. "Two more up there, your guys are okay, and we've lost comms with Sanctuary entirely."
"Our guy here is quiet," Adam said. Frowning at Lee's arm, he then pulled out his cell and waved it around for a signal. Finally it appeared, he connected, and he was talking to Manny almost instantly. Lee didn't listen to the conversation; he just kept his wits about him and moved to stand next to Sean.
"Aren't you gonna ask me why, Lee?" Sean said softly.
Lee looked at the man whom he'd drunk beer with, watched bad films with, eaten pizza with. Something wasn't right. Sean had been the first person to give his condolences when Adam had left the Bureau. To offer his support. Sean was a good guy whom Lee had trusted. He leaned against a wooden support and inhaled mountain air, ignoring the burn in his lungs.
"Were you coerced?" Lee managed to ask. God, he hoped Sean had been made to betray the Bureau. Lee was hoping this was somehow the answer. He felt light-headed and cricked his neck to release some of the pressure at the base of his skull. The pain in his arm was getting worse. Fucking bad guys.
"No." Shit. Sean hadn't even hesitated before saying that.
"Then tell me. Was it some greater reason, purpose or other bullshit?" Lee was forcing the words out but his tongue felt heavy in his mouth. Was he slurring?
Sean frowned and then smiled. He shrugged. "Money pays the way," he said.
Lee clearly didn't keep the disgust from showing on his face and Sean's expression hardened. He continued, "You can't tell me you never thought about turning a blind eye to some of what we see?"
Lee couldn't even bring himself to answer that one. Instead he turned his back on Sean and crossed to Adam who was finished talking to Manny.
"Manny doesn't have a reason for the blackout but comms are back now and we're clear here," Adam reported. "Manny's pissed and trying to figure out what the fuck happened."
Dale and Michaela arrived in the clearing with the two other guys in front of them stumbling forward with their hands raised. "Retrieval is coming in with cops. I'm taking Lee to the base hospital."
"I don't need a hospital," Lee responded quickly. He looked down at his hand which was curiously red and wet. Then followed up the sleeve of his soft gray jacket which was a similar color. There seemed to be one hell of a lot of blood for a grazing bullet. Dizziness poked at him and he swallowed. Just swallowing sent fire from his throat to his chest. He looked down at his front. There was blood there too. "Shit."
"Yes, shit." Adam moved to his side and gripped hard.
Lee attempted to shake him off but his movement was sluggish and the adrenaline in his body was dropping fast.
"What the hell did you do?" Adam shouted.
"Think it's…"
"Let me see." Dale's voice. Firm, confident, kick-ass Dale was prodding him and pulling away material. "It's not his arm, Adam."
Dale's words were mixing in with Adam saying something, but he couldn't feel anything but pain radiating from his limbs. His shoulder. His chest.
"He wasn't wearing a vest. We didn't have them in the car. We should have stopped." Adam wasn't talking properly. His tone was off.
I'm fine, Lee tried to say. But hell, he was tired and nothing was coming out of his mouth.
"We can handle this. I'll wrap it tight… take his weapon."
What's wrong?