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006 it's like pulling teeth, you know that?
Natalie roughly grabbed Maleea's arm when she parked the car, her grip on the girl's forearm was sure to leave a bruise. She could feel something off about the blonde and knew something was not right. The brunette allowed herself to be led into the warehouse, reluctance evident on her face, the only reason she hadn't dealt with the blonde yet was purely because they also still had Evan. Looking up she noticed a man in a suit, sticking out like a sore thumb, he was bruised. "Dad!" Evan exclaimed, getting a running start at his father. "Evan." The man let out standing, only to be hit in the back of the head by one of the henchman, Evan being pulled back.
Evan and Maleea were thrown onto chairs as the young blonde boy and his father spoke, one of the two coming to the realisation that he was betrayed by the woman he loved. The brunette girl and blonde boy had their hands tugged behind them and duct taped together, to hold them in place. Maleea's eyes began flitting around the room, surveying every entrance and exit point, the amount of weapons she could see and any way possible to get untied. The man from before had begun speaking to Evan and began lightly smacking him on the face, the blonde wriggling around in his seat. "Leave him alone!" Maleea defended, spitting in the man's direction. In a few strides the man was standing in front of her, he gripped onto her face, squeezing so hard she imagined he would break her jaw. But she firmed it, not allowing her tough façade to drop. When he let go and walked away she let out a very quiet whisper of pain.
Maleea wriggled her wrists a little, casting her eyes down, she saw some nails wedged in the cracks in the concrete. "What are they making him do?" The blonde questioned, receiving no answer from the brunette, he continued. "As soon as he's done. Do you think they'll let us go?" He asked her opinion. Not a chance. But she would never say that to the young boy. "Hey." The man from before stalked over, sticking his finger in Evan's face. "I told you to be quiet." His Serbian accent thick as he spoke. "Hey, leave him alone." Maleea demanded lowly. "Huh?" The man questioned, making his way over to the brunette. "Leave him alone, scumbag." She voiced, louder this time.
Winding his arm back, the man threw it out, smacking Maleea in the face, the force, throwing her to the floor, taking it as the perfect opportunity - and the only reason she allowed herself to be in that situation, she grabbed a nail from the group sitting in the concrete, holding it in her hand as she was lifted back onto her chair. Natalie pulled her head back by her hair once placing her in the chair. "You're dead. It's just a matter of time." She whispered to the brunette. She looked at Evan, assessing the boy, making sure he was still okay, he mouthed a 'sorry' at her, the girl turning her hand to show him the nails in her possession.
Roland was now taped to a chair next to his son. Two men appeared at the entrance of the warehouse, duffel bags in hand, Maleea focussed on trying to cut herself free, was also trying to keep her attention on the exchange happening also. They opened the duffel bags to reveal stacks of cash. "Looks like it's all here." The man who had taken a particular interest in the brunette this afternoon, spoke. "You're gonna like this, here." He continued, leading the men to the laptop.
-
Steve, Danny, Chin Ho and Kono had arrived at the warehouse, surveying the exterior of the building so they could clear it of hostiles, then work on getting the location of Roland, Evan and Maleea. They turned a corner, to find a door, with a small window. "Hey," Danny asked as they had their backs to the wall behind them. "How are we taking the building?" The blonde man asked his partner. "What do you think?" The brunette quizzed. "I think if we can get our eyes on our people, we go in hot. Is that what you would do?" Danny suggested his plan, then confirmed with Steve. "Yes, that's what I would do. See? This, it's a partnership." He nodded at the blonde, agreeing with the plan.
"It's like pulling teeth, you know that?" Danny remarked, a small smile on Steve's face. "Come on." He nodded his head in the direction of the door. The four moving around the corner. Back inside the warehouse, Maleea had managed to break free of her duct tape. Maleea was starting to wonder if they'd get out of this alive, still with no communication or indication of help from her team. And as much as she knew she could take on a lot, this entire day has ended with her having been beaten, there is no way she'd be able to take on everyone in this warehouse. The group of four made it to the window, Steve peaking in seeing the three tied in chairs, his heart broke when he saw Maleea for the first time since early that morning. She had visible bruising on her face, he could see by her expression that she was nervous, and it hurt him to see her like that. Maleea's gaze was moving around the warehouse trying to figure out her next move, her eyes catching the shadow of a head, moving away from the window quickly, convinced she knew who it was, her nerves calmed drastically. Steve. Even just thinking of him being here to help, calmed the woman.
Moments later, she saw him on the landing directly across from her view, raised in the air. Relief immediately rushing over her. He nodded down at her, making sure he had her attention, as he began signalling with his hand to relay the plan to her. She let a soft nod out as Steve went into action. "Hey, both of you. Hey, listen to me." Maleea got the attention of the father - son duo. "Get ready to hit the ground." She ordered. "When?" Roland questioned, a small but serious smile overtaking her face. "Trust me, you'll know when. Just do it." She commanded. Natalie began walking over to Maleea, this sprung Steve into action, the blonde's gun pointed at the brunette woman execution style. Steve grabbed one of the henchmen throwing him over the balcony.
Which caused Natalie to avert her attention for long enough that Maleea could move and grab the blonde from behind. A gunfight began between the task force and the bad guys. Maleea and Natalie struggled, a stray bullet piercing a gas tank, lighting it on fire. Steve saw this. "Everybody out, now! Now, now, now!" He shouted with urgency, making his way over to Maleea and lifting her off of Natalie, so she was stood on her feet. Chin and Kono helped Roland and Evan, Danny not far behind, Steve pulling the brunette woman with him by her waist as they all ran from the warehouse. Just making it out the door as the building exploded, everyone was thrown to the concrete due to the impact of the explosion.
Maleea began coughing, along with everyone else, Steve jumping to his feet to arrest the man that orchestrated it all. "Hands up. Hands up." Danny demanded as he also went over with Steve to arrest the man. Maleea watched on as Roland and Evan embraced, relief washing over her, unbeknownst to her, Steve was walking in her direction, lifting her off the ground by her hips, his hands firmly planted on either side of her. "You okay?" He whispered in her ear from behind her. She nodded. "Yeah." She let out shakily. "You're crying." He spun her around to face him, wiping a stray tear off her face. "Hey, what's wrong?" He questioned, softly grasping her jaw, only for the girl to flinch in pain, Steve winced at the thought of what these people had put the girl through today. A sadness overtook his features as he pulled her in for a hug. "Come here." He whispered, planting a soft kiss on her head. "Let's go home."
