THE ASSASSIN - AU/CC/Adult - Epilogue - 11/6/16

[sarammlover]

GEEEEZ! Poor Maria. How is she seriously still sane and alive? And Bane too.....I can't even believe the two of them aren't dead yet. Amazing chapter. I think Bane needs some serious back up and now!

[begonia9508]

Wow! Not going to get better, the way I see it!

Thanks EVE

[Eva]

What a mess! Does it mean that the transmitter in Michael is still 'on'? Or did they just searched in the area wherein it went off? And will Michael be in time to get Maria? God, so many questions!

Luckily we have some positive news too: what Alex & Isabel did, was pretty dangerous and interesting at the same time! I can only hope that they can use the information.

[Alien_Friend]

Oh man that was so scary! I'm so glad that Michael was able to take Lobo down I just hope he is able to get to Maria in time before she gets hurt anymore than she already is.

It's a good thing that Alex is on the good side. Lol I can't wait to read what happens next with everything and how they use the information he acquired to their advantage.

Terrific part.

Eagerly awaiting more.

[Double Trouble]

Earth2Mama: Lol, expect him to do that for a while!

Roswelllostcause: He’s getting there but he won’t admit it.

keepsmiling7: Thanks!

It won’t be too much longer before they make an appearance.

sarammlover: Must be that inner core of strength that she’s pulling from because with what she’s been through, most people would probably be a basket case. He could use some backup but there isn’t any in sight.

begonia9508: Not soon anyway, lol.

Eva: That’s a good question. At this time we don’t know if they were successful in disrupting the signal in his tracker or not. He’s on his way to get to Maria now... we’ll see what’s in store for Ronin today.

You can bet something will be done with that information...

Alien_Friend: He’s hot on her trail now.

Yeah, lol, Alex would be dangerous on the other side, wouldn’t he?

Thanks!





Part 20

Maria tried to ignore the urge to fight the man who held her tightly pressed against his body. She remembered Michael’s words and closed her eyes. Don’t fight him; it’ll only spur him on. Don’t fight him.

“You’re brave,” Ronin mused, “but it won’t help you.” He shoved her away from him harshly, enjoying the sight of her crashing against a tree. The soft creamy skin of her cheek split when it came into contact with the hard, cold trunk.

She bit her bottom lip and tried to hold back the tears that immediately welled up in response to the pain. She wanted to touch her cheek, wanted to find out how badly she was hurt, but she kept running Michael’s words over and over in her head. This guy wanted to see weakness, it was what motivated him, and it took everything she had to not give in to his wishes.

Ronin tipped his head to one side while he studied her. Fear was clearly written all over her face, her hands were shaking and her body trembled. “You think he’s already dead?”

She stubbornly refused to answer, averting her gaze and praying Michael wasn’t dead.

“You know, I think he’s done enough babysitting. Let the man do what he was born to do. He’s killed people, ya know?” He crouched down next to her, lifting her chin harshly. “A lot of people.”

Movement behind him caught his attention and he quickly shifted, bringing her up and in front of him in case it was Bane and Lobo was dead.

“Gotta hide behind a woman, Ronin? Too chicken shit to take me on one on one?”

Relief flooded through her veins when she saw Bane. And he was still in one piece.

“I’ve kinda taken a liking to her,” the other assassin shrugged one shoulder and grinned smugly. “A little bit small for my taste though,” his hand gripped one of her breasts tightly.

His back teeth ground together and he forced his eyes to remain locked on the assassin. “Word is there’s nothin’ expressly female about your type,” he baited him.

“Tsk,” Ronin snorted, not letting Bane get to him. “How’d you like to see her die, huh?” His hand came up to cradle her neck. “I’ve never seen you care for anyone, so this will be an extra pleasure for me.”

“Your brain’s obviously been affected by the high altitude, you stupid motherfucker. I’m in this for answers, not to get laid or pinned down by some chick. You screw with my chance to get answers and I’ll lay you out just like I did Lobo.”

“Sorry, but that’s bullshit.” The assassin tugged on Maria’s injured side. “You like this one.”

“Have you ever seen me with a woman that looks like her? I like ‘em tall an’ leggy with big tits, a small waist, and hips I can hold onto. This girl come anywhere near resembling any of that?” He snorted. “I told you, answers.” He shook his head, inwardly repulsed by his own words. From the corner of his eye he could see Maria’s crestfallen expression and he knew the words that might not register as far as Ronin was concerned had crushed her.

“Did you hear that, Blondie?” The deep chuckle next to her ear disgusted her. “I’d fuck you. Wanna come with me?”

She wanted to die. Right now she didn’t care for anything beyond that.

Bane watched and waited, barely controlling the urge to move, to kill Ronin where he stood. If he moved he risked the man hurting her and she’d been through enough. His blood boiled in his veins when the man lowered his head to press his nose against her neck and he could see how much the move unnerved her. He caught her eye and made a subtle motion with his hand, hoping she would understand and let her body go completely limp. He had no idea if she’d trust him enough to do as he asked, but he had to risk it.

Maria looked at the man she had been with the last few days, not sure what she saw. WHO she saw. He wanted her to relax in an attempt to get to the man holding her against him and she did as he said although she didn’t expect anything from him at that moment. Closing her eyes, she let go of any tension, relaxed every muscle in her body.

“What the -”

Before Ronin could do more than express his surprise he heard the air shift, felt the shocking jar of an impact with his chest. He frowned and looked down, staring at the handle of the combat knife protruding from his body.

Maria sank to the ground, curling up into a little ball and not caring about the snow all around her. Snow that was turning red from blood and she had no clue where it was coming from.

“You motherfucker,” the assassin glanced at Bane with a smirk, trying to pull the knife out, but his body collapsed against the tree behind him.

“Say it again, Ronin,” Bane snarled as he leaned over him, wrapping his hand around the hilt and twisting the blade viciously. “You enjoy pain so much I only wish I had time to give you more of it.”

Blood ran from the man’s mouth now and he coughed and spit it out, grazing his opponent’s cheek. “See you in hell, Bane.”

“Save me a place.” He pulled the blade free and backhanded the assassin as hard as he could, sending him to the ground. He needed to get rid of the bodies but first he had to get Maria back to the cabin and make sure she was alright. He made quick work of cleaning the blade and sheathing it before removing Ronin’s weapons and shoving them in his pack before hooking it over his shoulder. “Maria, c’mon, get up,” he urged as he crouched down beside her and reached for her arm.

Her body jerked when his hand came into contact with her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she didn’t want to see, hear or feel anything anymore. It was just too much.

“Look, I know this’s been a helluva day for you and you’ve been through more than anyone should have to go through, but you’re gonna have to get up before you freeze to death out here.” He cursed the pain in his side and took a slow breath as he tried to rein in his temper. “My injuries aren’t gonna allow me to carry you back.”

Coughing and spitting out some blood, she brushed his hand on her arm off and placed one foot on the ground to get up. Her body hurt and was sore in all the same places as before, but the tight hold and multiple slaps the assassin had given her were now showing their effects badly as the adrenalin began to fade.

His patience was wearing thin but he tried to control the urge to snap at her. He could see the effects of the ordeal taking its toll on her but he had to keep her moving before the adrenaline completely left her system and she crashed. He hadn’t been lying when he told her he couldn’t carry her back. The shape he was in, he’d only do more damage to his already injured body if he even attempted it. He was going to have to come back out after her body crashed and she passed out because he couldn’t leave the bodies exposed for very long. “C’mon,” he reached for her arm again and pulled her to her feet, “we’ve got a stop to make before we head back to the cabin.”

“Let me go,” she tried to shake him off weakly; wiping her cheek from the wet snow but what she found on her hand was blood. Oh right, the crash into the tree trunk, she had almost forgotten about it.

“You fall on your face you’re not gonna get your feet under you again. This isn’t exactly my idea of a good time either. Now get your ass up and start puttin’ one foot in front of the other.”

“I’m up,” she said when she straightened, ignoring the pain in her side and back. “Move it, I’ll follow.”

He hid a smirk when nothing more than sheer will and determination had her up and moving. As long as he could keep her pissed off at him he had a chance of keeping her upright until they got back to the cabin. He trudged through the deep snow, making his way back over to Lobo. He could see how close the man was to being dead but he needed information before the lights went out.

A deep, but weak chuckle left the big man’s mouth when his blurry vision set on Bane and the blonde woman behind him. “Ronin’s cruelty blinded him. He would’ve been better at his job if he’d had the focus.”

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re goin’ on about and don’t really give a shit. Did they send a secondary team in behind you?” Bane demanded as he dropped to one knee in the snow next to Lobo.

Lobo lifted his hand and placed a small communications device in the other man’s hand. “‘s far as the Circle’s concerned you’re both dead an’ me an’ Ronin took care of your bodies before we ended up in a fight, where I killed him.”

He frowned and stared down at the device, his eyes narrowing as he lifted his gaze to the man that would’ve killed him if he’d had the opportunity. His hand suddenly shot out and wrapped around Lobo’s throat. “You’re lyin’.”

He coughed and locked his bloodshot eyes on the man towering over him. “Botswana – 2013,” he grated out and nodded slightly when Bane frowned at him, obviously trying to decipher what he was referring to. “There was a second assassin under heavy fire. You returned from you own mission and had orders to get back to the Circle. But you didn’t, right? You knew one of us was still out there.”

No, he had stayed to even the odds, giving the other assassin the opportunity to complete his mission and get out alive. He nodded after a moment, an unspoken conversation passing between them. “You were on our location pretty fast. How’d you get up here?”

“Mile east,” he rasped, pointing in the direction behind him, “there’s a snowmobile. There’s an abandoned military base under the Circle’s ownership about 20 miles east of here. You wanna stay away from there.”

“They got a presence there?”

“The pilot who brought us in.”

“He’s the only one at the base?” Bane studied him, searching for the smallest movement that might indicate he was lying.

Lobo nodded. “Not for long. They’ll want our body’s outta the way before the next snowstorm rolls in.”

It would buy them some time but The Circle would want their bodies recovered as well. They didn’t like leaving anything to chance. He tipped his head back to look up at the sky, gauging how much time he had before the storm moved in. If headquarters had already been notified of the situation the pilot would’ve already been radioed and given orders to retrieve the first two bodies.

“What’re you waitin’ for, Bane? Get the hell outta here while the way’s clear.”

He was mentally calculating time, distance and weather conditions. The chopper pilot would have to wait for the extraction team. The trees were too dense to provide a clearing large enough for him to land, which meant he’d have to bring in a team, drop them, and then wait nearby while they retrieved the bodies. “A mile east?” He nodded without waiting for an answer and turned his head to look at Maria. “We’re movin’ out.”

Her eyes wandered to the man on the ground. What was going to happen to him?

“He’s already dead,” Bane said, his tone dispassionate. “Let’s go before more company shows up.”

She wanted to refuse, but this man had tried to kill them. He didn’t deserve her mercy even though he seemed helpful now. With a last glance at him, she turned and started to walk in the direction that had been indicated – east, she assumed.

“What you just saw, forget about it,” he advised. “Does no good to get stuck on it. You put it away and move on.”

Yeah, it was just so easy, she thought but kept her mouth shut. He didn’t care about her at all. He wanted answers and since she had given him a few she was alive. He wasn’t a man who killed innocents. He also wasn’t a man who cared about anyone other than himself.

Silence hung heavily in the air as they pushed forward. His mind was constantly working, going over everything and sorting out the pertinent information. He would get her back to the cabin, tend to her wounds, and then head back out to leave the snowmobile and cover their tracks. Lobo had reported their deaths and it made sense he would’ve also reported that they had taken care of the bodies. It was standard operating procedure in a situation where they had to get in and out with only a small window of opportunity. They would come back for the bodies later when they weren’t working against whatever opposition they were faced with. In this case the opposition was the weather and with the assassins who had reportedly killed them both being dead, they would have no idea where to start looking when the storm blew over and they were cleared to return with a search and extract team.

They reached the snowmobiles and he checked the sky again. The snow was coming down harder and before long it was going to be difficult to see very far ahead. He might have to settle for leaving her at the cabin and returning. As heavily as the snow was falling it was possible it might cover their tracks before the team could be sent in, but there would be no explanation for the missing snowmobile and he couldn’t risk coming back after the storm and running into them.

“Get on, we’re runnin’ outta time.”

She did as he said, climbing on behind him. When she was seated and had their backpacks secured, one to her back, the other between them at her front, she slapped his shoulder to let him know she was ready, grinding her teeth together to prepare for the pain that would come with the hard ride.

The return trip to the cabin took very little time and in less than 15 minutes he was braking to a stop at the front door. He reached back to help her off, ignoring her attempts to brush his hand away. He dismounted and motioned for her to stay outside, her back to the wall, while he stepped inside and did a quick sweep of the place.

“Alright,” he said when he reached outside to pull her into the cabin that wasn’t any warmer than outside its walls. The difference was the wind wasn’t blowing inside. “Get a fire started and stay close to it. I’ve gotta get the snowmobile back to where Lobo had it parked before the snow’s too heavy for me to see to get back here.”

Maria didn’t answer, she just went to get the fire started like he had suggested and after a moment where she felt his stare on her back, he left like he had said.

Her body hurt everywhere while she moved around, but the numb feeling in her chest was bigger than the aches. She was just ... operating right now, ignoring the blood all over her body and clothes, the throbbing feeling at the side of her face and every sore place on her body.

Once again the distance flew by as Bane returned to the snowmobile’s original location, dismounting and quickly wiping it down just to be safe. He backtracked, carefully stepping in the footprints they’d made before so if the snow didn’t completely cover them there would be no evidence that anyone had come back to the vehicle.

Lobo was dead when he reached him and he made quick work of moving the body closer to Ronin and then pulled the combat knife he’d taken after killing Ronin, bloodying it from Lobo’s wounds and putting it in the other assassin’s hand. He took the same precautions with Lobo, leaving a discarded gun with his fingerprints on it close at hand. It made sense he would’ve dropped it while trying to stop himself from bleeding out.

When that was finished he began the arduous task of trekking back to the cabin, covering his tracks as well as he could and counting on the snowfall to handle the rest. It was falling so thickly now that his vision was compromised, allowing him to see only a few feet in front of him. He forced his feet to keep moving, pushing himself forward and focusing on getting back to the cabin and completing his mission.

Relief washed through him when he finally saw it looming ahead of him. Tendrils of smoke rose from the chimney and his stomach growled in anticipation of a hot meal. He shook his head. MREs weren’t high on his list of decent food, but it’d do to keep them alive and right now that was the most important thing. He shoved the door open with his shoulder, rolling his eyes when it wasn’t locked.

Maria was aware of him entering the cabin, but she didn’t turn or even acknowledge she had heard him. Right after she had gotten done with the fire, she had sat down in front of it with her knees pulled to her body and her arms wrapped around her legs. She hadn’t moved since then.

“No coffee?” he asked, hoping to jolt her out of the state she was in.

She didn’t have to offer a reply. If he wanted coffee, then he could make it. She didn’t feel like moving.

Okay, he was getting the silent treatment. Fine, he’d gotten worse from women. Besides, didn’t he prefer her silence over her running off at the mouth like she had a tendency to do? He was quiet as he grabbed the pot and walked outside to fill it with snow, carrying it back in and hooking it over the open fire. “You need to get outta those clothes.” Besides having blood on them they were wet from being out in the snow.

Why? So he could get an eyeful? Oh, right, she wasn’t his type with her tiny boobs and short legs. That’s what he had told the man holding her against him. A shiver ran down her spine when she remembered his sleazy hands on her body. The place where he had grabbed her breast violently still hurt and was probably bruised but she hadn’t bothered to look.

“Hey,” he nudged her with his knee, “you don’t get warm an’ dry you’re gonna catch pneumonia. Now get outta those clothes before I do it for you.”

He was right, she knew it, yet she felt like just sitting. Slowly, she brought her hands to the bottom of her shirt and opened the front, then slid it down her shoulders and grabbed the blanket to cover herself up with it.

Bane rolled his eyes at her actions but left it alone for the moment. While he waited for the rapidly melting snow in the pot to warm up he grabbed the packs and sorted through them, pulling out all of the medical supplies he could find. He placed everything on a small towel on the hearth and grabbed a small bucket from the kitchen area before moving back to the fireplace and taking some of the warmed water from the pot. There was still plenty for them to have a meal and coffee so he sat down with his back to the fire and set the bucket next to him. “Lemme have a look at the damage,” he said as he reached out, intending to tilt her chin up.

She ducked away. “No.”

“Look,” he snapped, “do you want that cut to get infected?”

Her eyes locked on the small piece of fabric in his hand and she reached out to snatch it from him. “I’ll do it myself.” Getting up, she walked over to the dirty mirror hanging on one of the walls and she dropped the blanket slowly with her back to him, trying to clean her face.

There was blood in her hair too and it was almost impossible to get it out, so she just rubbed the wet fabric over it a few times, feeling the tears spring to her eyes when it only worsened her appearance. She was a mess – she knew it, but she had to keep it together.

“You’re not in any shape to do it yourself,” he muttered, the words lacking the annoyance he could feel inside of him.

Stubbornly, she brushed her hair out of her face and glanced at herself in the mirror. What had happened to her life? Everything was out of control and it was only a matter of time before it all shattered around of her.

Dropping her gaze, she looked down her upper body, detecting more blood on her side. She had no clue where it came from since the wound on her cheek wasn’t deep enough to explain it. On top of that, there was a red bruise right on her cleavage. Three streaks next to each other – yeah, it was the handprint of that bastard who had taken her.

He didn’t know what the hell to do with her. She constantly refused his help and she had no idea how rare it was for him to offer it. He carefully grabbed her upper arm and gave it a gentle tug.

Maria didn’t move. She didn’t fight him this time either. All she did was stay rooted to the spot with a trembling in her body.

He hesitated for a moment when the fight suddenly went out of her. There were tremors running through her body that were impossible to miss. The cold, the shock, both were part of the reason for the shaking. He didn’t understand how the female mind worked. They were confusing at best and irritating at worst. She had been groped by Ronin, an experience he was sure would be traumatizing for any woman, and possibly worse for her since she was... He cleared his throat and shook his head to clear it when the anger he’d felt at the burly assassin’s assault on her resurfaced. “Come back over to the fire,” he said, his movements awkward as he tried to cover her with the blanket.

The desire to protest wasn’t in her any longer. She let him guide her over, not caring any longer that he was going to see her in her bra. He wasn’t attracted to her. He was only making sure she didn’t get worse and become an even bigger burden for him.

He urged her to sit down on the mattress and dropped the cloth in the bucket before reaching out and lifting her chin up. The gash on her cheek was bad but it wasn’t deep enough to require stitches. The skin around it was already beginning to bruise and he knew it was gonna get ugly before it even thought about getting any better.

He reached for the cloth, wringing it out and cleaning the wound, making sure it was completely free of debris before he began to coat it with antiseptic and place a bandage over it. “Shift to the side, lemme take a look and see if you’re cut anywhere else.”

He was gentle, almost like he really cared about her. Almost as if there was really someone inside who gave a damn about what happened to her. Slowly, she moved as he had instructed.

He took her wrist in his hand and held her arm out away from her body, reaching out to run the palm of his other hand over her side. He was relieved to discover no broken skin. “Looks like bruising, possibly more thanks to that asshole, but no bleeding wounds.” He lowered her arm and let his fingertips toy with the blanket where she held it against her body, giving her the power to control whether or not he was able to see the rest of the damage she’d sustained at Ronin’s hands.

She averted her gaze to his body instead of his face when she gave in to his silent question.

He accepted her capitulation and peeled the blanket away, his gaze dropping to her chest and wincing when he saw the bruising that was in the unmistakable shape of a man’s hand. “If he wasn’t already dead I’d kill him,” he murmured as the rough pads of his fingers traced over the angry marks. “I should see if there’re any icicles hangin’ off the roof, break ‘em up so you can use ‘em on the bruising. It’ll reduce the swelling and help them begin healing.”

The thought of putting ice on her body while she was so damn cold was unwelcome but she nodded anyway. Numbly, she sat in her spot when he made a move to get up. She had never thought it would be a situation like this where she’d reveal her body to a man for the first time. Tears were rolling down her cheeks at the brutality and ridiculousness of her situation, but her hands stayed at her sides, making no move to brush them away so he couldn’t see her weakness.

Truth was, she was weak. And she didn’t know how much longer she could handle all of this.

“You’re doin’ fine,” he said as he got to his feet. He pulled the blanket around her and hurried outside to look for the icicles. When he had a couple that were good sized he carried them inside and laid them on the counter, grabbing another cloth and wrapping them inside before breaking them into smaller pieces. “I know this sucks, but when the swelling in the tissue goes down you’ll feel a lot better.” He dropped back to the hearth and shifted the makeshift icepack from one hand to the other. “He shouldn’t have touched you like that.”

No, he shouldn’t have. It was humiliating. But that man hadn’t thought twice about it. She reached out and took the wrapped ice from him, placing it on her side where she hurt the most. “Thanks,” she rasped with a shiver in her voice, “you should have a look at yourself.”

There was a little bit of blood on his side. It wasn’t much but the wound she’d sewn shut was probably the reason for it.

He shrugged it off. “I’ll live. Just too much activity.” And a well-aimed hit right at his side, he thought. “No man worth his salt treats a woman like that.” He wasn’t a saint, but he’d never put his hands on a woman the way Ronin had.

“Could you please stop talking about it,” she begged hoarsely. It was hard enough to hold it together without his words. She didn’t want them. Why out of all the situations they’d been in together did he choose now to be nice?

He frowned. “See? This’s why I don’t bother talkin’ to people.” He turned around and grabbed the pack, pawing through it in search of food. He hated talking to people. Make an effort and was it appreciated? Fuck, no!

“Look, I appreciate your concern, but there’s no need to make more out of this than it is. I’m sore, but I’ll be okay. I won’t hold you up.”

His head snapped to the side. “If I thought you were gonna hold me up I’d leave your ass here.” He was tired of trying to be nice. He was tired of his body aching and being on the run. He was tired of dealing with a woman he couldn’t figure out. He was... he was just fuckin’ tired.

“Then why are you bein’ nice?” she snapped.

“Fuck if I know!” He got up again, this time going in search of the few dishes they had for meals and then returning to his position by the fire.

She shifted, wincing when she felt a pain in the back of her thigh that she hadn’t noticed before. “I wonder why you don’t just leave me behind. I’m not gonna be able to give you anymore answers, I’m obviously baggage because I can’t defend myself, and it’s not like you’re getting anything outta this arrangement.”

“Yeah, well, keep wonderin’,” he muttered and started mixing the meals. “You want me to leave you?”

Did she? No! But she wanted to be with someone who cared.

After a few minutes of stirring the meal with no enthusiasm he slammed the plate down on the hearth and his gaze jerked up to meet her startled one. “What the hell do you want from me?”

Her heart hammered in her chest out of shock, but it soon changed into something else when she saw his pissed off face. He had saved her life! No matter if he thought that she wasn’t attractive, he had risked his own life for her. “I don’t know,” she croaked, turning away from him.

He just shook his head, confused by her behavior. “You don’t know,” he muttered. “Of course you don’t know. When do women ever know anything?” This was why he didn’t get involved with women to that degree. They drove sane men insane, drove normal everyday guys into the bottle. “When you do know – if hell hasn’t frozen over just yet – do me a favor and let me in on the big secret.”

She couldn’t hold back the sobs anymore and she curled up into a small ball, hiding her face in her bent arms while she broke down.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, woman!” What the hell was he supposed to do with a woman having a breakdown? Assassins take shots at her, no crying. He tells her to her face he’s been sent to kill her, no crying. She gets arrested and nearly killed again, no crying. She ends up hurt and holed up in a cabin taking care of his injured ass, no crying. Ronin mauls her, no crying. He yells at her and what the fuck does she do? She starts crying!

Just leave me alone, she thought, her throat so tight it was hard to breathe.

[Roswelllostcause]

Nice part! Weather they like it or not it seerms that Michael and Maria are slowly growing closer.

[Earth2Mama]

I don't think Michael realizes that the shock of what's happened has finally worn off and now it's hitting Maria, truly what she's been through. Then again, he's a man... of course he doesn't get it!

I am glad though that those assassins are dead... especially the man handler! I'd kill him dead again as well. Speaking of...

I think Michael is starting to feel more for Mari than just her being "the girl with the possible answers".

[begonia9508]

Great scary part! Hope I won't dream about it...

EVE

[Eva]

Maria was so beyond brave those last couple of days. It's very normal that she's loosing it now. The last straw was just just a straw too much. But I can believe that Michael doesn't understand a thing about it. He only thinks in black and white, while Maria harbours the whole rainbow in her.

[keepsmiling7]

I agree with Eve.......scary part!