"Report, Agent?" North speaks through the comm unit, sounding hurried and impatient. He's been suspiciously quiet since he ordered me to go after Leo and Rohan.
I press two fingers to my ear and respond with a flat, "All good. On the roof. Can you tell if it's safe to take the fire escape down and reconvene?"
There's a pause, and then North's answer comes through as a brisk, "Wait for my signal, Agent Roth. There are some vans coming in behind us. Might be more hostiles flooding the field."
Peeking out over the roof again, I can see what North means. A line of three nondescript black vans are driving in through the front gate of the facility. It's more than likely one of the OI guards sent off a distress signal, and this is OI's response, enough reinforcements to hopefully beat back the insurgency of the FISA agents.
"Got it, boss," I reply absently, looking over my shoulder at Leo and Rohan, who have moved towards the fire escape, ready in case we need to make a quick run for it. I wave at them, cutting my hand across my throat in a stopping motion. Leo frowns but complies, leaving Rohan to lean against the fire escape so he can come over to me.
Leo stuffs his gun into his back waistband and kneels beside me, settling in so our biceps press together. It feels reassuring to have him so close again.
"What's up?" he asks, brows still creased in inquiry.
I nod down at the scene below. "OI has sent in a second wave of pricks to reclaim their shit and kill us all."
Leo's eyes widen slightly, and he leans forward a bit to see what I'm talking about.
On the ground, two of the black vans have come to a stop and opened their doors, the expected flood of OI agents spilling out like wasps from a hive. Their guns are already locked and loaded, and I catch sight of Damon almost taking a bullet to the head. From Leo's gasp beside me, he saw the same thing. But Damon manages to dodge the hit via supernatural senses or some fuckery, and he turns around to return the bullet with one of his own, this one landing a direct hit.
In all the commotion now going on between the newly arrived OI bastards and the remaining FISA agents, it takes me a second to realise I've lost one of the vans. The third black van continued past the others and stopped right outside the entrance of the blown-apart facility. FISA took out most of the front of the building with small explosive devices, but it's still penetrable on foot, and the stairs inside remain intact enough to scale as I did.
Since I was distracted by Damon almost biting a bullet, I didn't see who was in the third van. Whoever they are has already vacated it and run inside the building, which is worrisome, as it means the third team is looking to sweep the facility and could very well make their way up to the roof sometime soon.
"You need to move to the fire escape," I tell Leo, already standing and pulling him with me by the arm. "If they come up here, we're fucked. Rohan won't be able to run."
Leo takes a second to consider it before nodding in assent, a frustrated look on his face. But he knows as well as I do, given what we've got to work with, there is no good option here. Whatever we do, it'll be a risk. "Alright, come on, then." He jerks his head at where Rohan is still waiting by the fire escape.
I curse inwardly, realising Leo has misunderstood.
"No. You and Rohan need to go down, wait somewhere, halfway if you can get away with it without being spotted by anyone on the ground. I'll deal with the OI agents and then come after you."
Leo immediately tries to negate that idea, cutting his hand through the air and scowling fiercely at me. "Fuck that. I won't leave you up here to fight who knows how many OI agents on your own."
"Got no choice." I start shoving him towards the fire escape. "Rohan needs you to get him and that drive away from immediate danger. I can hold off a load of OI agents."
"If you come with us they'll never know we were up here," Leo reasons.
I shake my head. "Nah, if they're doing a full sweep, bet your arse they'll check just to make sure. We can't risk getting caught on the fire escape, and there’s too many OI agents running around for us to just slip away."
Leo looks torn. He knows I'm right, but it goes against every one of his natural instincts to protect his own life and leave me behind to possibly get killed. I can tell he's going to keep arguing with me, so I pull my trump card and pray it works like I need it to.
"You're forgetting the mission again," I tell him, flicking a glance over at Rohan, who has been watching the exchange between us with raised eyebrows, waiting with surprising patience for the verdict, not voicing an opinion of his own. I would have thought he'd jump at the chance to get away and abandon me to OI's wrath.
Leo's eyes follow mine to Rohan, and he winces, possibly from the truth in my statement or the memory of our last fight about this very thing.
A desolate expression overtakes his face as he turns back to me, saying gruffly, "I want the record to show, I don't like this."
I wince in sympathy, knowing I'd feel exactly the same if it were the other way around. It was bad enough sending Leo into this facility today without backup or any form of protection. I don't like to even think about leaving him behind to face certain danger from people who would try their best to kill or capture him.
Leo must see some of my own conflicted emotions because he sighs regretfully and raises both hands to take hold of my face, seeking to offer comfort like he always does. He pulls me forward and presses a hard kiss to my mouth, firm and reassuring in its surety. It isn't agoodbyekiss; he pulls away too quickly, doesn't savour the moment enough. It's aget the job done and come find mekiss, an assumption we'll be able to continue this later when we're alone and able to take our time with each other.
When Leo ends the kiss, he keeps hold of my face and looks deeply into my eyes, like he's trying to convey something more profound than what human language will allow. He presses his forehead to mine briefly before stepping away entirely and letting go of me, fingers and fingernails dragging along my jaw as his hands drop to his sides.
"Alright, Jesus fucking Christ," Rohan finally pipes up, giving us both a look of supreme exasperation. "He's staying behind to beat down some OI lackeys, not shipping off to Normandy in 1944. Let's go." He makes a grab for Leo, tugging him onto the fire escape, and throws me a dry look. "See you in, like, ten minutes, Roth, yeah?"
Leo allows himself to be led away down the fire escape by Rohan, their footsteps clattering against the metal. He turns his head to look back at me one final time before he disappears down the stairs with our joint charge in tow.
I move to place myself behind the fire-exit door, ready for anyone who comes crashing through it. Seeing as they can't know for sure anyone is up here, I'll be able to take out at least the first few agents with the use of surprise alone.
