Bring The Heat

25. Malcolm's Gambit

BM stood, tapping his foot as he listened to music, alone, late in the evening in a subway station. It was almost entirely empty, just how he needed it to be. He kept note of the four civilians in the station - a homeless man sleeping on a bench, a young businesswoman waiting for her late night train, and a man with his toddler-age daughter. He had to be on his game tonight... anyone of them could easily become collateral damage.

Rebound leaned against a pillar a little further down, his back turned to him, tossing up his ball and catching it broodingly. The businesswoman nearby seemed on edge because of him, but maybe she was better off being hyperaware. He was focused - he had to get this right... he wanted to prove himself to BM after his previous losses. He wanted to earn his stay at the compound. He needed to.

The sound of an approaching train echoed down the tunnel towards the platform. Rebound caught his ball, and held it, alongside his breath. BM had said if anything was gonna happen, it'd be as he was boarding.

Rebound felt a sweat break out on his forehead as the glare of the train's lights grew. His feelings were hid behind his sunglasses and stoic expression, but as the train whizzed past and screeched to a halt, he felt pushed back by the force of the air, and winced at the sound. Maybe he wasn't as ready as he was telling himself he was...

Back in the main area of the platform, BM watched unflinchingly and removed his earbuds as the train screeched to a halt in front of him. It stopped with a hiss of air, but BM could distinguish another, much quieter sound coming from somewhere else. When the doors slid open, he watched his back through the reflection in the windows.

Five men used the cover of the hiss to silently sneak down the stairs behind him.

As he raised a foot to step forward, a gunshot rang out, and a bullet smacked into the back of his head.

Rebound heard the sound echo around the platform. He noticed the businesswoman recoil from the sudden noise, and begin to run away, and gingerly took a deep breath before he turned around the pillar to ready a shot with his rubber ball.

In a split second, BM observed the compartment that had opened in front of him. It had people in it, at each end. He spun around at lightning speed, and observed the father grabbing his daughter and ducking behind a map sign, the businesswoman running away, Rebound beginning to react, and the homeless man being startled awake.

He grabbed the wrist of the attacker holding the gun, and flung their arm up, not to the side, as they took another shot, which whizzed over his head, before he dislocated their arm in a way that was painful, but did no permanent damage. As the pistol fell from their grasp, they cried out, but were quickly spared the pain by a rubber ball smacking into the back of their head, knocking them out. BM spun them around quickly to take a look... and it was just as he had hoped!

On the base of their skull, about an inch below a small scar, was a small black rectangle under the skin, now broken. This was clearly the explosive implant that all of Twig's men had, and if breaking it didn't activate it, that meant they could all be saved. If only he had known this during the first attack, he could've... there was no time for thinking like that.

Powerfully, BM shoved the unconscious attacker into the rest of the group, sending them all stumbling back. 2 of the remaining 4 fell over. The two that were still standing drew their pistols quickly, but not quick enough. BM delivered a quick, exact kick to one of the men's hands, knocking the gun from his grasp, and grabbed the arm of the other one, pulling the pistol firmly towards his chest. He took a shot, and, like the back of his head, it hurt, but he was near bulletproof, and it was better off hitting him than anyone else.

He spun towards the first man, and delivered a precise elbow to the back of his head. He heard a crack, but didn't have to look back to know that it was the device, and not bone, as the man fell unconscious to the ground.

BM spun further, still holding the other man's arm, until their back was facing Rebound, who threw his ball into the back of his head, disabling the explosive device.

In this moment, with all the able attackers down, and the other two still recovering, BM took a moment to give a nod of affirmation to Rebound. It was an important thing for Rebound to understand, especially recently, that he was an exceptional and valuable help, and that there would always be a place for him by BM's side. Rebound seemed to notice, and BM could detect from the slight grin he had how much it had meant. But BM should've stayed aware that every single moment on the battlefield was vital, as if he hadn't allowed himself to be distracted like this, he would've noticed something tremendously important.

The man was not unconscious.

As BM let the man fall to the ground, dazed, he quickly reassessed the situation. The businesswoman had jumped onto the train, and was far enough to be safe. The people on the nearby compartments seemed to have all moved further along the train. The man and his daughter were still ducked behind the map sign, now audibly calling the emergency services, but they should be safe if he didn't let any shots go in that direction. The homeless man was just now getting up, confused and startled. The two remaining men were rising to their feet, drawing their pistols.

Quickly and expertly, BM grabbed their heads and slammed them together gently. Well, gently in terms of his strength, but it was strong enough to knock them both out, and disable both explosives.

BM exhaled, and rose to his feet, rubbing the back of his head, still aching from the first shot. He looked over to Rebound.

"Thanks for the cover!" he called out. Rebound smiled and nodded from across the platform, his heart still beating heavily. He was so, so glad he hadn't messed this one up. He took a moment to appreciate it, and just stood there, watching BM as he went to check on the father and daughter behind the sign. Just past BM, the homeless man was beginning to run away. Everything had gone well... finally.

As he admired the view of his success, he suddenly noticed an unwanted presence in the scene. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

The man from earlier had risen from his feet, and dashed over to aim down the platform at BM, who was too taken up consoling the little girl with her father to notice. Rebound didn't know why he did it. BM could've taken the shot and been fine. It would've been fine. But still... inaction... he had too much to prove.

Rebound threw his ball towards the man. His throw was too much of a knee jerk reaction to be accurate, so it hit the man's back instead his head. Rebound made it bounce up towards his head, but he took too much time. The man was jolted just before he took the shot, and the bullet whizzed past BM... Rebound clasped his hands over his mouth in horror.

BM snapped his head over towards the origin of the shot, seeing the gunman fall forward as Rebound's ball bounced off of the back of his head. Then he looked at where the bullet had gone.

Down the platform, the running homeless man fell to the ground.

BM gasped in shock. The father rushed out of the station, holding his daughter. Rebound felt the blood seemingly drain from every part of his body as his soul recoiled at what he had done. No... it couldn't be real. It couldn't be real. He had made it. Everything was fine. Everything was fine, it couldn't be real.

But the homeless man wasn't getting back up.

Tears welled up in Rebound's eyes as he breathed quickly, strongly, shakily. He felt numb... and so, so sick. His hands shook uncontrollably in front of his face, and his heart was thumping in his ears.

BM quickly rushed over to the where homeless man lay. Rebound watched as he examined the body. He was dead, wasn't he? It couldn't be real.

BM seemed to tend to the man for a minute, a minute that felt like a lifetime, and jogged briskly over to Rebound, whose ears were ringing violently. People were beginning to poke their heads out of the train, all seeing what he had just done.

BM reached Rebound, and sighed.

"He got hit in the leg. Emergency services have been called, and he'll be good until they arrive. Now come on, we need to take one of these men and-"

BM was interrupted by Rebound falling weakly into him. He was shaking violently and hyperventilating as he clutched his arms. After processing the situation, BM pulled Rebound into a tight hug, holding him and stroking his hair as he sobbed.

They could take in one of the men for interrogation in a minute. But this came first.