Hang Your Halo

Thirty

Storm's a-comin'
I can feel it in my bones but I ain't runnin'
I been runnin' way too long
I'm sick and so damn tired
But you can't put out this fire
I'm gonna burn this whole world down

Burn It Down x Warren Zeiders

Beckham

A little bit before the ball is set to drop, my bladder is at max capacity so I run to the bathroom real quick. I'm making my way back to Jake when a text from Mav comes through.

Uncy Mav:
911
Intelligence just notified me that they have new evidence clearly linking Karrie and Todd Jones to the HOC. There is a meet due to happen any minute now, if it hasn't happened already. Keep your heads on a swivel and stay together, I have a very bad feeling about this

I fucking knew it! That awful sn-

I'm cutoff mid thought when a hand covers my face and makes me drop my phone. "What the fu-"

I don't even get to finish that sentence before my world goes black.

Jake

Beckham's phone is face up, the message thread clearly showcasing our newfound intel.  I immediately know this is not good.   I hear two pairs of feet rush towards me and my guard goes up without a second thought.  I pop my back up against the wall around the corner and quickly draw my gun.  Rooster and Phoenix skid to a halt and promptly put their hands up in surrender.

"It's just us, Hangman!  We saw you bolt this way when the text came through, what's wrong?  Where's Halo?" Phoenix can see the clear distress on my face and attempts to soothe me. My strength falters and I choke down the sob that wants to break free. 

"Beckham is gone.  I found her phone right here, the screen is cracked.  They got her."

Thankfully, Rooster has his head on straight and jumps in with the beginnings of a plan.  Beck and I are usually the tacticians and choreograph our strikes and exfils, so I take over once I put myself into mission mode.  Thankfully, each of our vehicles have been strategically loaded down with hidden weapons and gear should a situation exactly like this one arise.  The three of us bolt out to the parking lot, shed our formalwear, and arm ourselves to the teeth.  Rooster called Maverick while Phoenix was changing into something easier to run in with more pockets than her dress.  Mav promises to have himself and the rest of the team in the air within the next hour.  He's also notified local authorities and has patched them into our in ear comms, with them ready to provide any assistance they can. 

"Wait a minute!  Nix, did she have on her new bracelet tonight?" I ask, a sliver of hope filling my chest.

"Yeah, why?"

"I know how to find her.  Long story short, I had a tracker put in her bracelet since she's notorious for losing bracelets.  I have an app on my phone that can locate the bracelet, and as long as she still has it on, it'll lead us right to her!"  I begin to formulate my plan.

"Alright, this is what we're gonna do.  Phoenix, you work on clearing the hotel of guests.  If this turns into a firefight, I don't want anyone else hurt.  Roost, you cover the main entrance and keep an eye out for anyone who doesn't seem to be shitfaced drunk.  That means they're probably in with the Harbingers and need to be detained.  I'll find Beckham and get her to safety as quick as possible.  Keep comms live and update regularly, I'll do the same." I command, easily slipping into my leadership role.

"Jake, what if they're waiting for you and it's an ambush?"

"They have my girl, Bradley.  I'll set the whole fuckin' world on fire if I have to so I can have her back safe and in my arms.  Let's roll." 

Evil be gone, Hangman's comin'.

Beckham

Struggling to crack my eyelids open because they're made of lead at the moment, I slowly regain consciousness.  I feel cool metal against the skin on the back of my arms and the telltale pinch of zip ties at my wrists.  Rookies.  I'll be able to break out of them if I can keep the eyes I feel boring holes into my skull off of me for long enough. 

"Well good morning, Sleeping Beauty!  I expected you to wake up a solid 20 minutes ago, guess you're not the badass everyone thinks you are," Karrie's annoyingly high pitched and nasally voice chirps from across the room. 

"Just when I think you can't get worse, you open your mouth and change my mind," I snark back at her and this causes her to laugh.  "Jesus fuck, your laugh is even worse than your voice!"  This causes her to backhand me across the face and her ring splits my lip.  I move to retaliate, instantly remembering I'm ziptied to a fucking chair.  I roll my eyes in annoyance, which seems to give the crazy bitch a green light to start on her super villain monologue. 

"You all thought you were so sneaky, moving into the neighborhood and making friends with everyone.  Too bad for you, we're smarter.  You do remember my husband is a tech guru, right?  We have the system rigged to immediately reroute any time our names are searched, and it worked so well until today!  You see, Todd set it up to where everything was timed perfectly with the Cole's schedules.  While we never directly linked anything to them, we made them look suspicious enough to hold the focus while we continued under the radar.  Todd worked tirelessly to keep our tracks covered, but apparently he slacked off yesterday and something slipped through the cracks and your idiotic techies picked it up, broke the code, and linked it all to us.  Which is why you're here now.  I knew you'd be the perfect bargaining chip, you're the glue that holds your team together.  And your fine ass man?  Whew, he's gonna storm in with guns blazing to get you back and leave your teammates in a lurch.  I can see it now, 'local gala up in flames, multiple casualties including 4 undercover agents who are now linked to international weapons trafficking ring'. Man, that is gonna be one attention grabbing headline!"

The dumb bitch is so caught up in talking about how much smarter she is, that she takes her eyes off of me for just the right amount of time I need.  With the perfect angle and pressure, I snap my wrists free before she turns back to face me. 

"I have to know, what was the result of the pregnancy test you bought earlier?  It would be such a shame for a baby with your man's genetics to be caught in the crossfire."  Her fake pout does me in, and I quickly lunge at her.  The element of surprise works to my advantage, and I climb on top of her and land an elbow to her face, rendering her unconscious.  I hear footsteps coming down the hallway on the other side of the door and my eyes dart around the hotel room they kept me in, looking for anything I could use as a weapon.  I see a candlestick that looks both expensive and sturdy and tuck myself against the wall closest to the door, ready to brawl.  The door beeps and the lock flips, allowing the intruder inside the room.  The barrel of a rifle comes into view and I grab the end, pointing it to the floor and pull my arm back, ready to deliver a hefty blow to someone's melon. 

"Hold up, it's me!"

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We've reached the end of Hang Your Halo my loves!  Keep an eye out for the sequel, Cowboys & Angels.  I'll be releasing it soon!  HUGE thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and an even bigger thank you to those who have showed it so much love.  Y'all are the best 💕

Xoxo and see you soon 💋