Jewel Heist Under Siege

Chapter Eight Escaping the Vault

"Hey, stay with me, Marco. Just hang in there. Okay? I'm gonna find a way out of here, alright?" I said getting him to his feet "Anna... I--" Marco said "Hey, don't try to speak, alright, just grab onto me, get your balance. I've got you." I said grabbing his waist 'I had stopped at the doorway, catching my breath, Marco clinging to me as if I were his lifeline, the only thing keeping him going. I put my arm over his shoulders and he grasped my waist...' "Hey, open the vault!! We're stuck in here!!" I yelled "Anna, I--" Marco said coughing up blood "Oh, God. Open the vault!" I yelled pounding on the vault door with my hand "Anna..." Marco said "Stay with me. Gomez, Montoya!" I yelled "Gomez, listen, you hear that?" Montoya asked "The vault in the back, let's go." Gomez said "I hear someone. Marco, you need to stay awake. Someone's coming." I said bumping him gently 'The door slowly began to open, bright lights shone in our faces, Gomez and Montoya had opened the vault...' "Anna, Marco. Are you two alright?" Gomez asked "He's fading, we need to get him to Mackenzie's office, Montoya, keep the pressure on his wound. He's bleeding out. I take it Jared stabbed Marco when he came looking for me, then Jared locked him in a room back there, I took his gun, and made him take me to where he was, then I shot him, and I found Marco nearing unconsciousness." I said "Montoya.." Marco said "Stay down, soldier. You'll be alright." Montoya said "I guess you were also in the military, then?" I asked "The three of us were in the same squadron." Gomez said "Guys, Marco is bleeding out. We should head to Mackenzie's office now.." I said "She's right, Gomez, move out." Montoya said "Anna.." Marco said "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." I said, taking hold of his hand 'I had lead Gomez and Montoya to Mr. Mackenzie's office, we had laid him down on Mackenzie's desk, Gomez applying pressure to his stab wound, I had taken a damp folded towel, placing it on Marco's forehead, cooling his body temperature down..' "Okay, Marco, this may sting a little, keep all your focus on Anna." Montoya said "Anna, I--" Marco said "Don't speak, just squeeze my hand as hard as you can if you feel any pain.." I said, kissing the top of his forehead. "Anna, give him some of the scotch. He'll probably need it." Gomez said "Here, lift your head up.. That's it. Get as much down as you can." I said, lifting his head up to the neck of the bottle "Good, usually once he has a bit of scotch, he'll black out for a couple hours, just enough time for me to stitch his wound closed." Montoya said "It's okay. You can shut your eyes, I'll still be right here when you wake up.." I said, running my fingers through his dark locks 'And with that, Marco had begun to slip in and out of unconsciousness, I watch as he finally manages to pass out... I place my hand within his, stroking his thick dark hair, as Montoya had started cleaning and stitching the wound, Gomez wrapped the bloody wound in tight bandages, he then wakes up an hour later...' "Anna, where is she?" Marco asked "I'm right here, Marco." I said, taking hold of his hand "Mi ángel dulce hermoso." Marco said "Gomez, Montoya, you mind?" I said "Of course." Montoya said "Take all the time you need..." Gomez said "What the hell happened?" Marco groaned "You were stabbed, Montoya stitched you up." I said, placing my hand on his chest "There was no way in hell I would have left you, Anna. I care about you too much to let you go." Marco said "I can't have a life like this, no matter how much I think I want you in it. Jared was right, I need a more stable life." I said "Anna, you don't mean that. Tell me you don't mean it." Marco said "I wish I didn't." I said "Anna, quédate." Marco said reaching for my hand "I'm sorry. I can't do this, Marco." I said, gently pulling away "Anna, mi ángel.. Hijo de puta.." Marco said snarling under his breath 'I had looked around the corner at Marco as he walked away, I had slid down in the dimly lit corner of the store, tears had ran down my face, I wiped them away, burying my face in my knees..' "Anna, what's wrong? Marco's upset about you turning him away. You're the only woman other than Bela that he's ever cared about." Montoya said "I'm Bela's twin, Montoya. We have the same face.." I said "I thought she was actually starting to care for me, Gomez. I was so stupid to think that she could actually care about someone like me.." Marco said "Marco.. I've thought about what you were saying, and I'm sorry." I said "Anna, I haven't changed my mind about wanting to be with you." Marco said "We should probably get Jared's body out of the vault, before his flesh starts to decompose." I said "Montoya, Gomez, watch the door." Marco said as I followed him into the vault to where I had shot Jared. "Where the hell is Jared?" Marco asked "He's gone?" I asked "I thought you shot him." Marco said "I shot him. You saw him lifeless on the ground." I said "Then where did he go?" Marco asked "I didn't see him go anywhere when I found you bleeding out in here." I said "Anna, just calm down. We'll find him, okay?" Marco said 'We had traveled deeper into the vault, I had stayed close to Marco, when we turned around and saw Jared standing behind us, we were trapped with nowhere to go...'

~End of Chapter Eight~