Million Reasons

Chapter Sixty Five: Through the Fire

The hard concrete floor felt glacial underneath Roman as he lay on his stomach, his right cheek pressed against the smooth arctic surface. His azure eyes were closed, his breathing even as he exhaled deeply against the dizziness that was assaulting him right now. The discomfort was a necessity, the lesser of two evils Maggie had said when she had walked away, leaving him alone and vulnerable in this empty warehouse room. He didn't know how long he had been lying there, he'd lost track of time after the first beat down, the one that had rendered him with this bastard of a head ache. He wondered briefly if anyone had realised that they were missing yet, he doubted it otherwise they wouldn't be in the mess they were in right now.

Roman sucked in a breath, the muscles in his rib cage clenching as he heard those heavy footstep ascend the concrete stairs slowly. Orion was being cautious, Roman would have done the same thing if he was in the other man's position. He couldn't anticipate that his sneakers would creak as he walked, the left one more than the right because of his gait.

There were ten steps leading to the floor that Roman was on, Maggie had counted them as she had hurled him up them by the scruff of his collar. The number stuck in Roman's brain as he counted each step that Orion took. The vertigo was back, causing his head to spin, the world slipping away from him as he braced his body against the floor even harder. He couldn't afford for this to happen right now, he had to focus on staying alive.

It took him a second to register the silence, his pulse rushed in his ears as he realised that Orion must be at the top of the stairwell. He could imagine the other man swaggering there, the gun gripped in his hand as he pointed it directly at Roman, lining up the shot.

His azure eyes flickered open as Maggie darted out from the alcove in the stairwell, the one that had been shrouded in darkness due to defective lighting. Her lithe body collided with Orion, she jammed the palm of her right hand underneath his wrists forcing the gun upwards as she hit Orion with a jab in the ribs that Antonio would have been proud of. She followed up with a second punch, landing it right where Orion's kidney would be, causing the other man to stumble backwards a couple of steps.

Roman could see the fall coming and he was powerless to stop it. He called out Maggie's name as the fingers on her right hand wrapped around the grip of the weapon, her left fist already slamming into Orion's abdomen forcing him over the lip of the concrete stairs. He flailed as he went over, his hand grasping Maggie's flack jacket in an attempt to balance himself. The momentum was too much, he hurled Maggie off her feet, taking her with him as he toppled over the edge.

The slap of flesh on concrete was sickening, it echoed through the air as the two of them went down. Roman forced himself onto all fours, the violent spinning in his head getting worse as he scrambled to his feet. He sagged against the right wall as he struggled to keep his own balance, dread pooling in the pit of his stomach with every slow step he took towards the edge of the platform.

There were two bodies lying at the bottom of the concrete stairs, both completely immobile. Orion was sprawled out on his back, his eyes closed, Roman focused on the rise and fall of his chest for a mere moment before turning his attention to his partner. She was lying on her stomach, those cobalt blue eyes of hers were shut as she lay limp at the foot of the stairs. He couldn't see if she was breathing, her flack jacket covered her entire torso, shielding her chest from his view. He moved towards her impulsively, his knees trembling as he struggled to hold himself up.

"Maggie." he called her name, managing to get his uncooperative limbs down onto the next step as sweat ran down his brow.

Maggie's fingers twitched, her right palm stretching out experimentally as she exhaled deeply. Sean leaned against the concrete wall with a sigh of relief for a moment before progressing towards his injured partner.

His boot collided with the gun, kicking it slightly as he slowly lowered himself down to collect it. In this situation it paid to be in control and having the gun meant that they were in charge if Orion awoke, especially with Maggie incapacitated. Although he doubted that would be for very long. She groaned out loud, as her body began to shift. She was starting to come around and it made the weight on Roman's chest lift just a little.

"Hold on." he muttered to Maggie as he reached for the gun with his left hand, his right still clutching onto the banister for balance. His fingertips grazed the grip of the Glock as Orion bolted upright, his eyes wild and roving. His palm enclosed on the gun as Orion's gaze landed upon it. Roman's arm swung up, his hand shaking with the weight of the weapon as Orion leaped at him. Their bodies collided, knocking the air right out of Roman's lungs and throwing his arm up before he could even get a shot off.

The ringing in his ears was back and this time it was even louder. He cried out in agony as his spine bounced against the concrete steps beneath him. Orion had him pinned but Roman refused to relinquish his hold on the weapon in his grasp. His hand was shaking as Orion gripped his left wrist forcing the weapon back towards him. Roman ground his teeth, using all of his strength to push back against the force of Orion's weight. He felt the cool barrel of the gun scrap across his clean shaven chin as he bucked and battled. If Orion got his finger on the trigger he was dead.

His adrenaline was beginning to wane as he fought like a man possessed, tossing his head from side to side until the gun was firmly jammed against his Adam's apple, constricting his breathing. He kept his azure eyes open, adamant that he would stare death in the face.

The war cry that bellowed in his ears scared the living hell out of him, it was a shrill holler that seemed to echo in the space around them. Something hot and wet splattered across his battered features as Orion's body was torn away from him. Roman gripped the gun as tightly as he could before dragging himself up into a sitting position, his lower back resting against the sturdy steps. Orion let out a violent rasp, his hand clutching at the clear plastic picnic knife sticking out of his left side of his neck. His gangly form collapsed against Maggie trapping her against between him and the wall, she responded by shoving him by the shoulders, propelling him backwards until his knees buckled and he crashed to the floor.

A blood pool began to grow almost immediately as his lifeless eyes starred up at the ceiling, his lips apart locked in some form of grotesque scream. Maggie sunk down onto the step below Roman, her back pressed to the cool wall as she took long deep breathes in order to steady her nerves. Roman tipped his head back against the wall behind him, the Glock still clenched tightly in his grasp as he slumped next to her, exhaling with relief.

His right arm came to rest around Maggie's shoulders, drawing her trembling form against his warm body until the two of them were huddled like tiny children trying to draw comfort from one another. Her messy head came to rest in the crease of his arm, her eyes closed as the quivering began to reside. It was a moment of unity, one that made their bond stronger.

"You were right." Maggie muttered, drawing reassurance from Roman's presence as she sat there tucked against him. "I should have called for back up."

"Nah, you ran on instinct." Roman told her flatly, his azure eyes closed against the intense sensation of vertigo that was assaulting him right now. "That's what patrolmen do."

There was a moment of silence between the two of them before he cracked one eye open, his voice pointed as he spoke.

"You should've gone out that window when I told you."

Maggie snorted in response to his words before gingerly breaking away from him. Roman watched as she braced herself against the wall, wincing before pushed herself onto unsteady feet. She was as banged up as he was minus the head injury.

"You are my partner." She reminded him before poking Orion's twisted leg with the tip of her boot. "There wasn't a chance in hell that I was going to leave you with this psycho."

Seemly satisfied that Orion was not going to get up for a second time she turned her full attention to her partner, her hand outstretched towards him.

"Let's get out of here."