A Bullet Never Lies(Closed for Courage)

[heartofcourage]

Irene was terrified as the men came forward and pulled her hands behind her back, handcuffing her as they did the same to Beau. She didn’t speak as they frisked her, the man pausing as he ran his hands over the hard bump of her belly. As the hood was pulled over her head, an order was given to be careful with her. It was strange to hear, especially considering that they were trying to murder her a few months ago.

In the back of the SUV, almost couldn’t stop the racing of her heart. She relaxed slightly when Beau’s fingers found hers and she gripped her husband’s hand in a death grip. He would know her fear, her anxiety, the panic that was slowly rising. The unknown had always scared her and she didn’t want to go back to being the person that she was before.

“I need my hands free.” She finally said, her panic at a fever pitch. “Please, someone let my hands go!” She cried out in the interior of the car, knowing that they were all listening.

 

[raiguy]

Beau heard the click as a seatbelt was released. He heard the jingle of keys, before the click of handcuffs were released. He rubbed his wrists. "Don't remove the bag, but feel around and free your wife's hands," a voice said.

He grimaced inside the bag. They had made the connection. It made sense as to why they were still together though. He took the keys and felt around until he found his wife. He could feel the anxiety welling up, so quickly released her hands once he found them.

He knew she wouldn't take the bag off, so pulled her to his chest, trying to reassure her. He didn't quite know what was going to happen, but knew that he would make sure his wife and child were unharmed.

 

[heartofcourage]

Irene was panting inside of her hood, her wrists working against the handcuffs as she heard movement and then a voice telling Beau to free her hands. She waited as patiently as she could while he felt for her hands, the keys sliding into the cuffs and releasing her.

She gasped for air as she pulled her hands back around to her front, her hands cradling her belly as she felt Beau pulling her against his chest. She trembled, her mind working at the speed of light to try and figure a way out of this situation.

She was clinging to Beau, her body turning until her belly was pressed against his side. The contact made her calm down, her heart still hammering but her anxiety starting to melt away. She wanted to ask him what they were going to do, but she knew that it was best to keep quiet.

 

[raiguy]

Beau thought about the predicament they were in. There were at least three other people in the car aside from them, and all of them had guns. He tried to think harder, to figure out a way for them to get out of this, but knew that they were well and truly caught. The only thing that he could think of now was to tell Irene about his deadfall switch.

"Sweetie, you know how I check the computer at least once a day, or you check it if I can't? Well, if if it isn't checked two days in a row, lets just say that the agencies around the world will forever be ruined by the intel that will be sent to every major crime organization in the world, as well as the world press," he whispered quietly, so that only his wife could hear.

He had been compiling it since he started to get tired of the life, and started wanting to look for other things to do. Now, it was damning evidence against every agency in the world, and would be enough to bring them all to the ground. He just hoped it was a big enough chip to bargain with.

 

[heartofcourage]

Irene listened to his whispered statement and nodded in understanding against his chest. She knew that he had plans in place if something like this happened and she had thought he was just being paranoid. Now that they were under armed guard, hooded and in the back of an SUV, she knew that he’d been right all along. She wrapped her arms around his waist tighter, her heart still racing.

She didn’t speak after begging for her hands to be unlocked. Her mind was churning with all the training she’d gone through for the agency. She could take out a few of the men when the car stopped but she had no idea how many of them there were. She didn’t want to do anything that would harm the baby.

When the car bumped to a stop, she squeezed him tighter, praying to God that they weren’t pull from the car and shot. When the doors up front opened and closed, she felt that panic start to rise again. “I’m fighting them, Beau. It’s our only chance.” She murmured just as the side door was jerked open.

 

[raiguy]

Beau held tightly to Irene, stopping her from doing anything. "Don't. The amount of guards that are here would kill you and the baby. Since there is quantity, we know that they lack quality. That means that we are going to see the people who run the agency. That is our only chance. Take a swing at the guards, and three die," he said quietly and calmly.

"Get out of the vehicle. Slowly. Try anything, and the heads will just have to be told you were resisting when we tried to capture you. The resulting struggle ended in your deaths," a cold voice said. Beau grunted, keeping his arms around Irene, restricting her, trying to keep her safe.

"Bags off," the voice commanded. All at once light assailed Beau. He blinked rapidly, trying to adjust. Finally, the brightness abated and he shuddered. There was a reason that the agencies all used The Gates of Hell. It was an old castle, that for all intents and purposes appeared to be broken down and more of an attraction from England to any passerby along the way. What was underneath the castle was the big issue.

There were cells, torture rooms, and meeting rooms. He knew that the agency would skip the torture, as they had spent far too much time training both himself and Irene to be impervious to the pain. Instead, they were going to come face to face with some of the most powerful men in the world.

 

[heartofcourage]

Irene didn’t know what to do. She needed to trust that Beau was right and that everything would turn out for them. As the voice sounded, demanding that they get out of the vehicle, she sucked in a sharp breath and followed Beau’s lead. She was still clinging to him as they slowly stepped from the SUV and stood on the hard blacktop of an unknown location.

When her bag was pulled off, she turned her head against Beau’s chest, blinking against the sudden light that assailed her. She didn’t want to look but as she turned her head, she saw The Gates of Hell. They could torture them within the walls. They might even kill them. She had to hope that they were actually going to be taken to the heads of the agency.

Glancing around at the men around them, she noticed that they were heavily armed. There was no way possible she could fight her way out of the situation even with the training that she’d been given. Oh, she wished she could just close her eyes and be transported back to their home in Colorado. She wanted to be working on a nursery, putting together a crib, and sitting down in her rocking chair.

 

[raiguy]

Beau grimaced as they were lead inside. Security was pretty tight here, and he knew that there was no way they were getting out unless their ace in the hole worked. He sucked in a breath slowly before putting his head up and walking after the guard. If he was going to die, he was going to die like a man died.

Beau found out that he knew his way around these halls. It was almost a symmetrical layout to the basement of the Fortress that his agency used. He smiled to himself and gave Irene a reassuring squeeze. He now knew where there were escape hatches, among other things.

"Sweetheart, I need to know the truth. If I asked, would you be able to run, follow me blindly, and not lose your nerves," he asked quietly, his lips barely moving as he waited for an answer with baited breath. The next question could possibly allow his plans to swim, or cause them to sink.

 

[heartofcourage]

Irene listened to his question and thought about it for a long moment. Could she do what he asked? Of course she could, she thought to herself. She was Irene St. James. She’d murdered countless men for this agency. She would do whatever she needed to do to protect her child and her husband. They were the only important things in her life right now.

She nodded, not saying anything as they were lead through the halls of the building. She was terrified out of her mind, her belly felt tight and her body ached, but she would do whatever Beau said that she needed to do.

 

[raiguy]

Beau was thinking about the escape routes that were built in in case of a breach of security, or something else that went wrong. He figured that they probably had a 20% chance of that working, and wasn't too hyped about trying to stretch that 20%. He decided then that there would have to be a better way.

"Okay. We need to figure out how to turn the situation to our favor. Right now, we have about a 20% chance of being able to escape, but that would just mean that we would still be hunted. We can use our bargaining chip, or we can figure out another way to get out of this," he said.

He knew his wife was very good with plans, as well as breaking down situations. He hoped she could see a better route to take than what he could see, or at least put them in a position where they had a little more leverage to get the agencies to leave them alone forever.

 

[heartofcourage]

“I think we need to see what they have to say.” Irene said as Beau asked her if she could figure a way out of this. “Even if we have to buy our freedom…let’s just see where this leads.”

She was silent for a moment as they were lead into a brightly lit hallway, their armed guard still flanking them with their guns drawn. “Whatever happens, Beau…I just want you to remember that I love you.” She murmured for his ears alone.

“Hold!” Came an order from the lead man, his face drawing tight as he got information through his earpiece.

“Separate them.” Came his second order and Irene let out a gasp as a strong hand curled around her arm and yanked her away from Beau. “Mr. Lawry, it seems that they want to speak with you…alone. Miss St. James will be escorted to another room in the facility for observation.”

 

[raiguy]

Beau nodded, knowing that Irene was right. He wished that there was something he could do, but it didn't seem like they had too many options right now. He was starting to hate ever getting involved with a company that had tried to kill him and his wife.

When the command to stop came, Beau knew something wasn't right. He inhaled shapely when they said that they were to be separated. He acted quickly. "She stays with me, or you get nothing. It makes little difference if we are alone or together for the bosses," he said to the man.

He received a stinging backhand for his remark. He was ready for it. "Fine. Then you can kill me, and when your agency starts to fall, don't be surprised when you are killed for your stupidity," he said, his voice cold and lifeless as his eyes showed the truth of his words.

"Fine. You both go in," the man said, obviously shaken by what Beau said.

"Either way, you're a dead man," Beau said, a sinister smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He was very well known to have done a few grudge killings in his early career. It was one of the reasons he had never been crossed.

"Well, love. Are you ready?" He asked quietly as the doors opened to a dark room in front of them.

 

[heartofcourage]

Irene jerked her arm away from the men that were holding her as Beau demanded that they stay together. After the man had relented, she threw herself back into his arms, her eyes clenched shut against the panic that wanted to rise again. She didn’t like the way that Beau spoke in such a cold way, his smile sinister. This wasn’t the man that she knew and loved. This was the killer that had made a lot of money taking the lives of other men.

As the door before them opened, Irene looked up towards her husband, trying to gather the strength that she needed. “I’m ready.” She said softly as she followed him into the darkened room.

 

[raiguy]

Beau grimaced at the room. It was set up as an interrogation room, and he knew that that was what they were supposed to expect. He still didn't want to go in front of these men and women with Irene pregnant, but knew that there wasn't much he could do. Instead he squeezed his wife's hand.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Lawry. Congratulations should be in order. However, we think that there are a few things that we need to discuss at this time. So please, make yourselves comfortable," the head man said. Beau grunted and sat down, guiding Irene down next to him.

He kept his arm around her, reassuring her, and making sure that she knew that he would be there. He leaned over and whispered, "Remember our bargaining chip, and we should be okay, or at least make it out and be left alone."

 

[heartofcourage]

Sitting down in front of the men and women, Irene felt a certain kind of anger. She hated that she’d been pulled into this situation, pregnant and unready, but she was even more angry that Beau had been pulled into it along with her.

“You burned our contracts and put a bounty on our heads. What more could you possibly want from us?” Irene asked those assembled, her eyes narrowing and her jaw tightening in anger.

Her hands caressed her belly. She had an ace in the hole if the situation turned too tense. She would fake a problem, allow them to give her the attention and give Beau time to do what he needed to do.

 

[raiguy]

"We wanted to apologize for the burn. Apparently, a source we used decided to play us false and wanted to pit our two agencies against each other. That source said you two were together, collecting bounties from each of our agencies for the same targets. We looked into it, using this sources info. When we burned you, it looked to be true. Unfortunately, the source got what he wanted, and we fought each other. We finally realized what happened when you two vanished, and then brought you here to fix it," the man said.

"So wait. You destroyed our lives just to tell us this," Beau said, getting more angry as things came to light.

"No. We didn't do any of this. Apparently the source was able to get an agent of ours to destroy your café, before the agent was liquidated. We are sorry for that, and will take the appropriate measures to restore it," a woman said.

Beau just grunted and then finally had enough. "What do you want from us?" he asked.

 

[heartofcourage]

Irene didn’t really understand what she was hearing. They were…apologizing? They wanted to make their lives right again? That didn’t make any sense. This company didn’t make life for their agents easy and the fact that they were offering was completely out of character. Beau’s voice was harsh when he spoke, his patience wearing thin.

“We need you for a mission of utmost importance.” Irene nearly fainted, shaking her head no the instant that the words had been said.

“Absolutely not.” Irene said, her fingers clenching her belly tightly.

“We do not mean you, Mrs, Lawry. In your condition you are of no use to us.” The woman said, turning her eyes back to Beau.

 

[raiguy]

"Well, my wife comes with me, and since she's in no condition, that means I'm in no condition. Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's the end of it. You all got yourselves into this mess, so you clean it up," Beau said, his voice scathingly angry.

"We thought it might come to this," the woman said. She snapped, and guards came in. They moved towards Beau, before he turned to them and looked them dead in the eyes, one at a time. They stopped moving and he turned.

"If you take one more hostile act towards my wife, my unborn child, or myself, I will be forced to end you. You dragged us around just so that we could clean up your fuck-up. Well, guess what. That's not going to happen. You started this shitstorm, so you fix it," he said, ending the discussion.

The woman seemed taken aback. "You are in no position to argue," the third man said. He sneered at them, knowing they couldn't get out of the mission.

"Oh, I think we are. You see, I created a failsafe that would bring you all down if anything happened to me, my wife, or my family. Now, you can either let us go and leave us alone for the rest of time, or we can all be ruined. That's your call," Beau said, letting it be known that he would make sure they were all ruined if anything happened.

 

[heartofcourage]

Irene gasp as the room was suddenly filled with armed guards and Beau stood his ground, telling them about their failsafe. She was pulled behind him, guarded by his body as everyone in the room thought about what he’d just said. She wrapped her fingers into Beau’s shirt, holding it tightly as she waited to see what the judgment would be.

She hoped that they agreed to the terms and conditions that Beau would set forth. She wanted to get out of there, to go home and continue on with the little lives that they had created.

"Mr. Lawry, think about what you are saying." The woman said, cocking her head to the side as she listened to his threat. "We are asking you for one last task and then we will allow you both to leave. You wife will be taken care of during that time."

 

[raiguy]

Beau shook his head. "No. You think I want you all around her? She was safe and fine until you all destroyed our lives. Then you needed your asses saved, and called us. That fact alone makes me want to kill all of you, and you all know I can do it. It's not that she would be taken care of, but you'd use her to make sure that you all were safe from me. Find someone else to do your dirty work. We are done. and if you think I'm joking, prepare to lose everything, your lives included, within the next 96 hours," he said.

He stood by his wife, knowing that the zipties that were binding his hands wouldn't stop his explosive anger if it came down to it. He would kill everyone in this room, even if it meant his death, to keep his wife and child safe.

"Beau, clearly you are misunderstanding this woman. We don't need you to do anything other than use your vast computer skills to locate this man. He fell off the grid, and even our best people haven't been able to pick him up. The woman would like you to go after this man, but I don't. We need to clean up our own mess, but we can't find him. If you find him for us, we will leave you and your family alone forever. We have it drawn up, and will even add in a clause that says that if something is even remotely linked back to us that hurts your family, we will have to turn ourselves over to the police," Beau's former employer said.

Beau looked at the man. He smelled a double-cross, but it suddenly became clear that there was nothing they could do. Their deaths would end the agency runs, but if they could live in peace, he would take that.

"Fine. My wife stays with me, and I have anything I want brought to me. That includes the guns that your men took from me. Any attempts to go back on our deal, and I will make sure the failsafe activates," Beau said, his hand coming to rest softly on Irene's shoulder, wanting to give her the strength he felt that they might now be able to survive and live their own lives peacefully and away from this life.

 

[heartofcourage]

Irene cringed as Beau spoke. She wanted to stop him, to tell him that he was about to get them killed. He was so incredibly stubborn and she knew that he was angry beyond belief, but he needed to keep his head level and to think through what he was saying.

“You’re offering us safety?” Irene asked, listening to the deal that was being set forth if Beau agreed to their conditions.

It seemed that everyone in the room, save her husband, were ignoring her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her the strength that she needed to get through the next few moments. The group of their former employers looked between one another before a careful, quiet conversation ensued. It took only mere moments before they turned back to the two of them.

“I believe we can agree to that, Mr. Lawry. Accommodations will be made while you search for this rouge. A contract for the mission and for afterwards will be drawn up. For now, we will take you and your wife to a classified location and get you settled in.”

 

[raiguy]

Beau looked down at his wife and smiled slightly. He realized, looking back, that he was being extremely stupid about it all, but he hated the idea of his family coming into danger. It made his skin crawl, and his reactions to it were often dangerous.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. I know I was overreacting, but I couldn't stand to think of you in danger," he said softly, looking at his wife, wondering what they were going to do now that they were being moved to a secure location.

He knew that he would be able to find this man, but wasn't sure how long it would take. It sometimes took months for him to find very well hidden targets. He just wasn't sure what exactly was needed to be done, or how soon they could be free of this hellish nightmare.

 

[heartofcourage]

Taking from the interrogation room, they were loaded back into another van with blacked out windows. Still clinging to Beau, she wasn’t about to let him go until they got to where they were going. Irene wasn’t about to be separated from her husband. She was quiet still, her eyes taking in everything about them in case something bad was going to happen again.

The vehicle pulled up in front of a nice hotel, the doors opening and men escorting her and Beau through the lobby and up towards a suite of rooms. “We will have everything you require delivered this evening, Mr. Lawry.” The man that had been in the lead said, handing Beau the room key and allowing them to retreat inside.

Once the door to the room shut behind them, Irene turned to her husband and launched herself into his arms, holding him crushingly tight to her body. She had almost lost him and the thought that they were still alive was a blessing.

 

[raiguy]

Beau nodded curtly as the men left, before Irene wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back fiercely, happy that they were alive and that he would get whatever he wanted. They would also have contracts drawn up to protect them, not that it always worked, but it was better than nothing.

"Okay sweetheart, I know you want to stay out of this, but I could really use your help creating a web when I get going," he said, not wanting to get his wife too involved, but knowing that the faster he found this worm, the faster they could go home.

He looked at the computers, before groaning. There would need to be an upgrade, and that would take at least 4 hours, so he knocked on the door and handed the man a list of supplies after writing it all down for the man to get.

 

[heartofcourage]

“I’ll help you in any way I can.” She promised as Beau got to looking at the computers that were placed in the room.

Irene could hear the disappointment in his voice as he groaned and wrote down a list of supplies that they would need. Taking a look at some of the computer components, she knew that they had their work cut out for them. With a sigh, she took a seat at one and got to work giving it the updates that it needed. It was hard, tedious work and she found herself growing grumpy the most she worked.

“Why did they have to give us these pieces of shit?” She asked, leaning back in the chair, rubbing her belly and shaking her head. “They couldn’t give us something a little more up to date?”

Turning her head, she saw the way that Beau watched her like a hawk and she gave him a little smile. “I’m alright, Beau. I promise.”