Shelby Quinn

"What in the fuck-?" Cassidy's Cockney growl vibrates through my earpiece as I stand, transfixed by the blazing carnage that unfolds over the compound grounds.. The blades of a helicopter whip up a frenzied cloud of dust and debris as they whir overhead in a deafening crescendo.. The bird circles above with a spotlight aimed downward to illuminate the fray below.. Paratroopers pour from its cabin, repelling down on long black ropes, decked in government labelled tactical gear, helmets with dark reflective visors and bulletproof vests..

"Snake Eater, fall back! Repeat, fall back!" Killian's rough command hits my ear, but his voice seems a million miles away and it as though my feet are glued in the mud.. I couldn't obey the order, even if I wanted to..

I can't leave him..

Logan is trapped in there, likely reliving the very same nightmare that had hardened him against the world, and me since the moment we first met.. My heart plummets to the pit of my stomach when I think of the suffering he now endures, all because I had dragged him into this mess..

A dizzy sickness descends over me as the flash of explosives and ringing gunfire remind me that I lost my entire unit to an ambush much like this one.. Now seeing the vicious blitzkrieg strike that is occuring before my eyes, I am unable to look away and paralysed with terror at the prospect that it could happen all over again..

I can't lose him.. I won't survive it..

Across the expansive concrete parking lot, masked mercenary figures file from the facility doors.. They take up strategic defence positions among the trucks and discarded chemical barrels, moving low and fast.. Shooters appear on the roofs of the various outposts, quickly rendered blind by the deployment of smoke grenades and tear gas..

"Shelly! Get the hell outta there!" Bellows a far away voice, too distant to be recognised over the swell of gunfire and battle-cries.. Caught between following orders or following my heart, I glance over my shoulder to see Lincoln barreling through the tall grass towards me.. His worried espresso eyes burn with a fierce protective gleam, pleading etched upon his handsome face.. "Shelly! Please!"

But there isn't time to wait for him, and I certainly won't be talked down from the ledge of my temporary insanity..

I have to go in..

Tossing Slater an apologetic grimace, I spin in my boots and take off running, heading right towards the fire-fight.. My blood pumps and my chest catches fire as my focus narrows down to one single pinpoint..

Rescue Logan..

"NO!" Linc howls, but he is too late to stop me..

In under a minute I make it to the boundary of the compound.. Slinging my rifle over my shoulder, I scale the chain-link fence with ease, marking the seven foot jump down to land in a tuck and roll on the other side..

"Goddamnit, Quinn!" Killian snarls through my com-device, his reprimand sharp and surly.. "This isn't the time to be a fucking hero! Get out of there!"

Ugh, shut up!

Reaching up to silence my commanding officer, I flick the relay out of my ear and continue on running.. Kicking up dust, I slide in behind a pile of discarded pallets butted up against the side of the closest outpost.. There, I crouch down low, carefully peering around the chemical barrels at the chaos..

"FAN OUT! FIND HIM!" A lead agent shouts with a jarring Australian accent.. His thick, ebony black hair bristles in the smokey breeze and he stands tall with a powerful build, oozing a familiar authority.. Dressed in dark navy, marked in large yellow lettering, he holds his pistol at the ready in an effort to gain control of the situation, but it is already so far out of hand.. "I WANT THE TARGET ALIVE!"

I'd recognise FBI Agent Jake Harrison anywhere, since there was a time not so long ago when he held the director's seat at Specter, but here in the middle of this cluster-fuck is the very last place I'd have expected to find him..

My gaze skips around the conflict zone, attempting to map out the best pathway through the chaos in order to make it to the heavily guarded entrance.. But everywhere I look, bodies continue dropping as the FBI agents advance though the compound..

Suddenly, a scuffle breaks out across the way as an emergency exit is flung open and more alarm bells ring out..

-RINGGGGGGGGGG-

Others on the lot are immediately drawn to the sound and the remaining agents turn their weapons on the two men that emerge.. A mass of wirey sliver hair slumps against the strong shoulder of the man who supports him and stomach roils at the sight.. My father staggers, with the aide of Logan's arm hooked through the crook of his elbow, struggling to stay upright and wheezing for breath.. A plume of smoke billows out of the door behind them as the cough and gasp for air..

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Agent Harrison demands, striding towards the disoriented pair with his glock braced before him in a two handed grip..

Hendrix throws up his hands, cowering as the FBI team push their way forward with their aim clear..

"STEP AWAY FROM DOCTOR QUINN!" The FBI agents scream at Logan as if he were my fathers captor.. They vilify him before he makes it barely two steps outside.. "GET DOWN! GET DOWN!"

The Hackers expression darkens in confused frustration.. "Are you fucking kidding me?! I'm the one who sent you the--"

"GET DOWN ON THE FUCKIN' GROUND!" Jake orders with a determined bark..

"Goddamn- greedy motherfuckers-" The stress and exhaustion wears on Logan's face as he folds his hands behind his head and drops to his knees on the asphalt.. He barely hits the ground before the FBI descend on them.. Two agents snatching up my father while another two pin the man I love face first into the ground..

"PACKAGE IS SECURED! MOVE OUT!" Upon receiving their lead agent's command, the others begin to retreat, leaving behind a bloodbath and bodies strewn across the asphalt.. They drag my father one way and brutalise the love of my life the other and I am ripped in half by the force of an impossible choice..

Do I chase after Hendrix?
Isn't that what I had been doing all this time?

But that somehow suddenly seems so much less important now, and I can't leave Logan to face the Fed's alone..

"Hey!" I screech, my feet carrying me instinctively towards where the agents wrestle with Logan on the tarmac.. "Hey! You can't do that! STOP!"

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" One of the FBI drones snarls at me, whipping around with his puny pistol.. "DROP THE WEAPON!"

"Like fuck I will!" I snap, gripping my rifle even tighter.. They will have to pry it from my cold dead hands.. "You've got the wrong guy dumbass! Logan is innocent!"

"STAND BACK MAM'!" The drone orders once again as he lines up his shot, it is only when Jake lifts his hand to deter the others do they lower their sights and instead shoot me dirty looks.. "DO NOT ENGAGE HER! SHE'S ONE OF SANTIAGO'S MERCS! WE'LL DEAL WITH HER NEXT!"

Next?
What does that even mean and what the hell are the FBI doing here?

As I blink in baffled confusion, it becomes apparent to me there are unknown forces at play and somewhere along the way I had overlooked the external factors that would contribute to this shit show..

"Shelby! Shelby, don't let them take me!" My father sobs, his features weathered and afraid.. It isn't lost on me how terribly thin he looks, it is as though the last few months had aged him by years..

"Wait! Stop!" I shout over the growing thunder of the chopper.. "Where are you taking him?"

"That's classified, Quinn.. You got questions? I suggest you take it up with your boss.." Harrison scolds me with a glare before waving towards Logan in disdain.. "Boys, clean up the riff-raff, make it quick!"

Before my mouth can open, two clean cracks ring out, the gunshots splitting through the air as if to slow time itself.. The agents scatter, running in different directions making it impossible to discern where the source of the shots had originated..

-BANG-BANG-

Logan's features contort in agony and he lets out a primal growl of anguish.. Like a drill stripping a screw, the tortured sound rips from his gasping chest and the gutteral sound is a dagger to my heart.. "ARGGH!"

A crimson bloom seeps its way through his grey sweatshirt, growing at an alarming speed and within seconds he is drenched in claret as he collapses in a heap..

"Nooo!" I scream, hurtling myself forward at full speed until I reach his side..I fall to my knees, devastation stealing the oxygen from my lungs.. My hands, slick and slippery, fumble over the gushing wounds to apply pressure to his chest and abdomen.. Frantic, I suck in a few deep breaths and try to focus on anything except my fears of losing him.. "Hey-Hey! I've got you, Logan! Baby? Look at me!"

His eyelids flutter and for the briefest second he seems to see me.. "Butterfly? S'that you?" With a weak splutter, blood drips from the corner of his mouth, signalling a significant internal injury.. One that I am incapable of treating..

"It's me- I'm here, Lone Star.. You just gotta stay awake.. Stay with me.." Clutching him close, I cling desperately to the rasping sounds of his laboured breath.. Because that is only way I can be sure he is still alive..

"The devils- They got me-" A deathly wheeze rattles around his chest and his voice is weak and breathless.. "Guess I-uh-- got what I deserve.."

"No, Logan - please!" I will, almost angry with him for talking this way.. "Don't you leave me here like this!"

"I know- I didn't deserve you-" With a trembling hand he reaches up to stroke a weary trail over my cheek, his touch icy.. "But I love you, Shelby.. Don't- forget-"

"No, no no! Baby? Don't close your eyes! Wake up!" I shake him desperately, but his heavy lids droop and soon he is non-responsive.. "Stay with me, Logan!" Tears stream down my face and time seems to sway as I fight to swallow the lump of dread in my throat.. "Oh god-"

This can't be happening!
I can't lose him!

The thudding of heavy boots catches up with me, but I am unable to register it before Cassidy slides in beside me as if he were hitting home base, his jeans skidding against the asphalt.. "He hit?"

"It's bad, Duke! The Fed's fucking shot him!" I cry, still clutching at Logan's limp body.. "He's lost too much blood! We gotta get him out of here!"

Cassidy shrugs off his medical pack, shifting into an eerily calm state, that same militant one that I have long since left behind.. "I'll glue the blighter up.. You go get the truck-"

"I can't leave him-" I start to protest..

"Shelby, you hear me now-" Duke grabs hold of my shoulders, forcing me to face him.. "This ain't like last time.. You hafta' believe ain't none of us gonna leave you behind.. Not your boy either.. He's one of us now, whether he likes it or not.."

I can see the sincerity blazing from his emerald eyes, the purest truth from a dear friend.. To whom I have little choice but to give my blind faith.. Caught between desperate hope and my tearing heart, I grimace and nod, drawing on every ounce of strength in me to pull myself back together.. "He can't die, Duke.. He isn't supposed to be here.."

"Trust me, Treacle Tart-" Cassidy gives me an encouraging shove.. "I got this- go!"

Leaning down I place a soft kiss on Logan's cool cheek, just in case it is my last chance.. The breath of a whisper remains on my tongue as I wipe away my final tears.. "I love you too.."

Tearing myself reluctantly from Logan's side, I dart back across the parking lot and climb the fence.. I stumble in the swamp, picking up speed as I race back towards the road where the trucks are parked..

I am so single minded in my haste, that I fail to notice the tripwire that snags my left foot to take me down.. I land hard, sprawled on my stomach to knock the breath from my body as I hiss in pain.. "Ugh, fuck!"

A sinister laugh emanates from the tall grass as a shadowy figure slinks forward, reviling in my suffering.. "V'ell v'ell, if it iz'nt my favourite little devushka.."

My blood curdles and runs icy at the low, taunting voice from my nightmares.. I would know that cruel Strysaki slant anywhere.. It still plays in my head to drive my insomnia most nights, tormenting me, torturing me.. But I never thought I'd actually hear it again..

I scramble to my feet, whipping around to see the cold vacant eyes of a stone cold psychopath.. The lower half of his face is obstructed by a camo-print gater mask.. But his dead, black-eyed stare is unforgettable.. They are the same evil eyes that stared into mine as pieces of my flesh were cut from my body..

They are the eyes of the Devil..

"You?" I breathe in disbelief, every reaction I thought I'd have is completely lost and instead I just stand there, frozen and numb..
I had imagined this moment a million different ways, but there is nothing that could have prepared me to face it..

"Did you mizz me, Sergeant Quinn?" The Moskal taunts in that same viciously patronising tone.. "Mmm-- I think about you, all 'ze time.."

"Back the fuck up! I swear to god, I'll blow your fucking brains out!" Jerking up the barrel of my rifle, my rival does the same and our aims cross, locking us in a standoff..

"Tsk, tsk, tsk.." He scolds with the click of his cruel tongue.. "I see you are still so vury feisty.. Did I teach you nothing Malishka? Or you did forget about me?"

"I didn't forget.." I growl through gritted teeth, hatred and revenge seething hot in my system.. "I remember everything you did.. And I'm going to make sure you pay for it, you sick fuck!"

"Look around you, little girl.." He cackles, a manic and maniacal bleat that curdles my blood.. "It iz not me who pays.. It iz you.."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Shifting in the sludge, I take a retreating shuffle backwards, but the Moskal matches me, moving a step closer..

"You came to rescue the man you love, da?" Reaching up to pull down his mask, The Moskal exposed his snaggle-toothed sneer to me.. "Ah, how sad for you he iz dead.. Do not v'worry my love, soon, you will join him.."