Evenfall (127 page)

There were usually plenty of officers hanging around the area and he knew there would be even more now with the word out to stop any Caucasian foreigners who even vaguely met the description of the bomber. He looked over at Archer to see if he seemed ready to turn or knew where they were headed but he seemed more intent on checking for any suspicious activity than he did getting them off that street.

"Take a right here," he said suddenly but Archer ignored him. They passed the street Boyd would have preferred they turned onto and were quickly headed toward the next. He looked around them, thinking quickly of the best route to keep them clear of any place they probably shouldn't go past just so they didn't push their luck.

There were a few routes in which one had to take a specific street because the surrounding streets were blocked off with construction or were built in a manner that forced them down certain side streets. The next road would work but the one after that wouldn't and at that point they would be going right under the radar of the authorities.

"Turn right here, then," he said urgently as they approached the intersection. When it seemed like Archer wasn't going to listen, the worry over Sin mixed with the frustration of being ignored, causing Boyd to snap. "Archer, fucking turn right! I've been here for eight fucking months and you people won't listen to anything. You're going to take us past the fucking Police Department and I guarantee you they'll notice us. So just
listen
and--"

Archer calmly turned right at the street Boyd had indicated, though he didn't even so much as glance over. For all the world, it was as if he had intended to turn all along and hadn't even heard a word he'd said.

Boyd dropped his head back against the seat and squeezed his eyes shut, so frustrated that he couldn't even think for a moment. He couldn't wait until he was back at the Agency just so he could get away from this team. It wasn't like he'd never been ignored before in his life but it was grating on his nerves that they kept doing it in such a tense, nerve-wracking situation, and that they kept pulling him away from Sin like he'd fuck him up more just by being in the vicinity.

After a moment he asked tensely, entirely expecting them to ignore him, "Do you people even know how you're getting out of Monterrey?"

"Who hired this child?" Harriet asked calmly, not looking up from Kassian's work.

"Connors," Archer said.

"Ah."

At first the comment served to escalate his annoyance, anger and frustration, but somehow the connection to Connors caused him to stop and think about the situation; as if by bringing up Connors' name they were saying he was as bad as him, a concept which irked him. He was silent as he took a moment to try to calm himself.

He didn't think the last two weeks were really helping his ability to deal with everything that was happening at the moment, but Kassian had warned him that he wasn't part of the team so it shouldn't be too surprising that they were acting like this. He was usually better about reining in the snappy comments and being more respectful.

He obviously wasn't getting anywhere with the way he'd been acting so he made a conscious effort to try to ignore any extraneous emotions or information and just concentrate on the steps and the things he could affect. It was hard not to get too frustrated or upset. To not let the worry and fear take over and make his tone sharpen and his actions grow hastier. His fear that Sin would not live after all was causing him to be illogical and was taking away the calm he needed in order to be an asset to the crew rather than a detriment.

He took a moment to draw in a breath and let it out slowly. Judging by Archer's seeming lack of direction, he really didn't think they had any particular idea as to how they were going to escape Monterrey, but he needed to be certain.

He slid his eyes open then twisted so he could look into the back and tried again, more calmly this time. "Senior Agent Trovosky, do you have a plan for how to leave the city?"

Kassian didn't even look up until he'd completed sewing the wound closed. "I have no idea why you would assume that we came here with no knowledge of how to get out. We were able to get in legally and therefore, there was no need to plan an 'escape' since we also have documentation for you. Your condescending sense of self-importance will get you nowhere with me and I suggest you stick to your current attitude if you want your opinions and suggestions to be taken into consideration. If you want Agent Archer to turn in a specific direction, do not presume to bark orders at him. Remember, everyone in this vehicle is technically your superior. Just because they gave you a rank doesn't mean it matters when you take tenure into consideration." As usual he did not say it in a particularly angry or cruel tone and he held eye contact with Boyd as he wiped his hands on his dark-colored shirt. "Now that being said, we do have a problem."

Boyd's expression didn't flicker and he waited a moment to be certain it was alright for him to say anything. He'd noticed what had been left out of Kassian's explanation. "Even with documentation for me, you don't have any for Sin, nor an explanation for his condition."

"Precisely." Kassian scowled and looked out the window. "I will be perfectly honest and tell you now that we were told specifically not to search for Vega because they seemed quite sure that he was deceased, with good reason. But I will explain to them that we were following a lead on an alternate location for the enemy's base. However it is because of that reason that they gave us no documentation for him and that is the only way to leave the city at this point, even the country, without making trouble for everyone involved. I also highly doubt that our superiors will look kindly on us instigating a fire fight with the Mexican authorities if Vega only ends up dying or if it turns out that he is a vegetable. The only possible scenarios in this situation are to somehow obtain forged documents, which I highly doubt will happen in the span of time needed to get him medical assistance, to leave him here to die, or for us to sneak out of the city without having to go through officials."

He finally glanced over at Boyd again and this time he raised both eyebrows. "Since, as you said, you've been here for nearly a year I assume that you have more knowledge on our chances in two out of three of those options."

Boyd nodded. Truthfully, there really was just one option for him since there was no way he or Kassian would leave Sin to die. "I agree that there isn't enough time to create fake documentation," he said seriously. "The quickest person I know would take several hours and he's forty-five minutes in the opposite direction we're headed. However, there are secret passageways in and out of the city. They're all under the jurisdiction of the various smuggling and black market groups, which is problematic because they're extremely territorial and a few of them are more likely to shoot first and possibly not even ask questions later. But not all of them consistently monitor their passageways and even if we do run into them, with the majority of the groups I believe we have a good chance of success provided we don't anger them. I don't know which route was planned for once we're out of the city, but I could navigate us to a passageway that would be closest to your preplanned destination."

For once no one had any sarcastic comments for him and Kassian replied directly. "Getting out of Mexico won't be the problem. Once we're out of Monterrey I can arrange for a helicopter to pick Vega up somewhere out in the desert. As long as it flies below radar, there should be no issues getting back into the States. However, the helicopter with the highest success rate for remaining unnoticed is not designed to hold seven people, especially not including one who is stretched out on a gurney. Vega will be airlifted accompanied by Harriet and Archer, who is my second in command, and the rest of us will follow the original route and head to Laredo."

As much as Boyd would have preferred to be on the helicopter with Sin, he wasn't about to argue the point after he was finally being taken seriously. And for all that he wanted to go with, he had to admit that as far as planning a mission went, it made most sense for those two to go. It was going to be hell taking the longer route back, wondering the whole time if Sin was alright because he wouldn't even be able to see him by then, but at least he had the clearance to be able to go straight to the medical wing when he returned to the Agency. In the meantime, he would help Sin most by getting them out of Monterrey as soon as possible.

"Understood," he said, considering the information and already thinking of the quickest routes out of the city. "If we're headed to Laredo, I'm assuming we'll ultimately be taking Federal Highway 85 but prior to that we'll need to head toward a secluded location? So we'll probably need to exit somewhere in the Northeast section of the city?"

Kassian shrugged. "It depends on the coordinates I get for where they'll be making the pickup." He shifted slightly and pulled out his cell phone to call whoever his contact was. "I'll have the information in a second."

When Kassian shifted, he gave Boyd a full view of Sin again. It was inevitable that his gaze dropped to him, running the length of his body as he cataloged every wound, every bruise, painting a mental picture of what had happened during those two weeks that they didn't see each other. Although he had been having a difficult, stressful time, he'd never once seriously thought that Sin would be any worse off. Now it seemed like such a petty, trivial thing to have been so jealous of the idea of Sin staying at Jessica's. That would have been nothing compared to this; the pallor of his skin, the obvious signs of torture, and Kassian's comments earlier that he hadn't wanted to contemplate.

Brain damage. A coma. Sin may never wake up.

He felt incredibly sick and wanted to slide his eyes closed, to turn away and rest his head against the seat and try not to dwell on how much that idea terrified him, of how helpless and hopeless it made him feel. But he refused to look away from Sin. No matter how much he may think it hurt to think about what Sin went through, Sin actually experienced it.

He was the one who would have to deal with the consequences of Boyd's bad decision. He was the one who had to pay for that stupid mistake. If Boyd had just fucking gone back to help him, Sin would probably be perfectly healthy and fine right now. But he had not.

And Sin may never be the same. The thought made his heart pound, which only intensified as Harriet shifted and gave him a better view of the nasty wounds behind Sin knees. So much blood, pain, and for what? Sin hadn't given them any information they wanted, they'd just tortured him and left him to die. He was so unimportant to them that they just abandoned him to bleed out in obscurity.

Although Boyd had been annoyed by the way the others were treating him, he had to admit that he didn't know what he would have done if Kassian's team hadn't arrived. If three days from now he'd waited around at the meeting place and finally, after probably another day of waiting, found Sin by using the GPS.

If he'd walked into that room alone and if Sin really had been dead.

It was a nauseating, overwhelming thought. He had grown accustomed to having Sin around. To knowing that even if they pissed each other off he could still return to him and even if they were sarcastic or quiet, Sin was still there. He was still alive.

But there was the possibility he would still die, even with Harriet and Kassian working to save him, even with the helicopter coming, even with the advanced medical wing of the Agency.

It may simply be too little, too late.

And if that happened... He honestly didn't know what he would do. Part of him automatically tried to think of contingency plans, to consider the future, the different ways this could go. But each time he started down a path where Sin would be dead, it was like he was passing into a blizzard; fuzzing white everywhere, no distinction and nowhere to go.

His thoughts just stopped, frozen.

If Sin died like this... if he was hurt that much and if it was Boyd's fault... If Sin would never smile or laugh or say something sarcastic again, if he'd never be there to tug him closer to kiss him, touch him, fuck him... If his green eyes would never darken in desire or stare at him so intently it was like he could see through his body to his soul... If he'd never talk about his past quietly again, if he'd never run his fingers along Boyd's scars and tell him the one thing he had regretted more than anything else in his life, Lou's death, wasn't actually his fault...

He'd already lost one person who meant more to him than anything. He didn't know what he would do, what he
could
do, if Sin was suddenly gone too. Sin had to be there. He
had
to make it. If he didn't, Boyd was lost.

The sound of Kassian clearing his throat caused him to snap out of his reverie and he opened his eyes to find Kassian staring at him with a peculiar look on his face. But he didn't say a word. Instead he slipped the phone back into his pocket and adopted the serious expression he always seemed to wear. "The pickup will be between 85D and 54 in the desert, forty miles Northeast of Monterrey. The meeting time is at approximately 0330 hours and that gives us," he paused and looked at his watch, "sixty-five minutes."

Boyd nodded, putting the alarming thoughts out of his mind as he concentrated on remembering the closest exit points in that direction and who controlled them. He looked out the front window briefly, searching out the street names as they passed and placing them in context in his mind with the rest of the city, then turned back to Kassian.