Romancing the Pain - Part 24
Title: Romancing the Pain
Rating: MA-15 (lots of violence and swearing)
Pairing: Pepa/Silvia
Summary: Post episode 104 as well as my last fic, Come Back to Me. It’s basically its sequel; the events that occur after Silvia was released from the hospital.
A/N: Yes, it’s late. Lo siento. I’m really busy. Nearing the end of semester and all. Uni’s a bitch. *pouts* Anyhoo, special shout out to sportysmurf who gave me a few ideas for this chapter. Thanks. Well hope you enjoy this chapter; don’t throw anything too hard at me ok?
ROMANCING THE PAIN - Part 24
Driven by pure instinct, Silvia ducked and dove for the safety of a pillar situated to her right, landing behind the structure with a thump. She scowled mightily as she fell awkwardly onto her side, jarring her shoulder. Muscles and bones alike quivered against the shockwaves of suddenly hitting solid surface with all the grace of being bowled over by an overly enthusiastic bicyclist. Silvia gritted her teeth as she stumbled to her feet; the pain that ran up her right arm and radiated across the expanse of her collarbone most likely meant that she had sprained her shoulder.
The redhead refused to think about the pain; she couldn’t afford to when there were things at stake. Silvia swore she had heard Pepa’s voice and had distinctly heard it from within the darkness of the other tunnel entrance. She wanted nothing more than to see if her hopes melded with reality but first things first; back pressed firmly against the pillar, Silvia cocked her gun and cautiously peeked out. A rain of bullets zipped her way, nicking and grazing the side of the pillar as Silvia hastily ducked back behind it.
“Mierda!” Silvia bit out. Her body was almost convulsing under the overdose of adrenaline pumping heatedly through her veins. She tapped into its source and steeled her nerves. Mentally counting to three, the redhead swung back out immediately after the ceasefire from the attacker and squeezed off a series of shots in the direction of the tunnel she emerged from. Her attack was quickly retaliated and Silvia dropped to the ground as bullets whizzed through the air above her. She rolled to the side in reaction to feeling a bullet ruffle her red curls and fired off another round until her gun clicked, signaling an empty clip.
Silvia was immensely relieved that the attacked had not taken advantage of her currently vulnerable position of being splayed out on the floor. She looked up, wondering why before smiling a grim smile of satisfaction. Her bullets had hit home; they penetrated the chest and stomach of her attacker, causing his body to jerk backwards from the impact. Eyes widened in shock and surprise, the man dropped his gun and instinctively cupped the wound that appeared on his stomach; blood seeped out from between his fingertips, dripping silently onto the floor. He teetered on the spot, eyes locked onto Silvia’s before he crumbled onto the ground, dead before he hit the floor. Blood immediately began oozing from his numerous bullet wounds, yawning out onto the floor in a sticky dark stained red mess.
Silvia placed both hands onto the floor as she got to her knees. She cried out as her left arm jerked under the pressure of her weight and threatened to buckle. Silvia suddenly realized that there was a searing pain screaming out from her left shoulder. She glanced down, in time to see her shirt sporting a red stain that was rapidly blossoming before her eyes underneath her Kevlar vest.
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Curtis was spewing out a litany of profanity as he engaged in hand-to-hand combat with a mafia member. Both having long exhausted their ammunition, they resorted to some good old-fashioned fighting. Unfortunately, for Curtis, his opponent was built like a Mac truck and noticeably dwarfed him with his 6.2ft height. Curtis suppressed a groan as he failed to duck his attacker’s meaty fist; it collided with his jaw and the curly-haired inspector felt his head snap back and smack the wall of the narrow tunnel.
“Coño!” Curtis spat out, blinking rapidly against the kaleidoscope of stars that suddenly appeared and twinkled before his eyes. He barely managed to duck as another fist swung his way. Curtis bolted sideways and was about to retaliate with his own right hook when his attacker suddenly went rigid in time with the sound of a gun firing. A dark stain erupted in the middle of his shirt and his eyes drifted down to it in surprise before he dropped to the floor. Behind the fallen man stood Rita, the gun held in front of her still smoking from the barrel.
“Curtis, estás bien?” Rita asked worriedly as she tentatively made her way over to the curly-haired man.
Curtis worked his jaw, groaning at the pain that radiated from the man’s punch. He nodded at Rita. “Good timing, guapa. Gracias.” He kicked the dead body for good measure before reaching down to pick up his empty gun. He holstered it with a look of disgust. “I’m out,” he growled in displeasure.
Rita nodded and reached behind her, pulling out a Glock 17. She tossed it at Curtis who raised an eyebrow. “After we got separated, some culo jumped me. I kicked him in the balls before knocking him out. I’m guessing he won’t miss that.” She jutted her chin at the gun Curtis was holding, her lips pulled back into a grin.
Curtis laughed and slung an arm across her shoulder. “Bien. C’mon, let’s go find our comrades.”
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The thundercloud that hung over Paco’s head darkened with each step that seemed to fail to eat up the length of the tunnel he was traipsing through. It did not help improve his mood when his head throbbed from the gash on his temple that Silvia had unintentionally bestowed upon him. Silvia. Paco growled; he was furious at the redhead for running off. His mind was just beginning to string together a long list of what he was going to tell Silvia when Don Lorenzo’s voice sounded in his ear, almost making Paco jump out of his skin.
“Base to Leader 1. Come in, Leader 1.”
“Que?” Paco snapped, his normally cheery disposition having all but disappeared under the current circumstances.
“Paco?” Don Lorenzo’s disembodied voice crackled through the earpiece. “What’s your status?”
Paco sighed as he adjusted his Kevlar vest. “Units 1 and 2 are all scattered in the tunnel systems,” he admitted grudgingly. “We were ambushed at the main hall and ducked into the tunnels for safety when we thought the mafia tossed a grenade into the main hall.” The stout man took a deep breath. “It turned out to be a smoke bomb.” The last part was grumbled out reluctantly as his entire body went taut with anticipation. He knew Don’t Lorenzo was going to explode and he waited for the inevitable.
“QUE?!” Don Lorenzo bellowed into the microphone, causing Paco to wince as his eardrum jerked painfully in response. “You mean to tell me my men are all over that godforsaken place?! Joder!” Paco could almost hear Don Lorenzo grinding his teeth in frustration. “Mi hija?” The commissioner finally asked, his voice revealing the barest hint of unveiled panic.
Paco blew out an agitated and guilty breath. “No lo sé,” he replied softly. He heard Don Lorenzo’s sharp intake of breath. “I’ll find her,” the inspector vowed.
There was silence on the other end; long enough for Paco’s over imaginative brain to descend into worry. However, Don Lorenzo’s voice finally crackled out of his earpiece. “Find them both, Paco,” the commissioner ordered. “Then get yourself and everybody else the hell out of there.”
“Claro que si,” Paco replied dutifully. “Over and out.”
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Silvia gritted her teeth in pain and frustration as she tied a ripped piece of her shirt over the bullet wound, which luckily was a clean shot. The bullet had gone right through and embedded itself into the wall behind her. Tightening the knot, she winced slightly as the material bit into the broken skin, immediately lapping up the gushing torrent of blood. The redhead struggled to her feet. “This getting shot thing is getting old,” she muttered to herself. Holstering her empty gun, she made her way cautiously to her fallen attacker. She entered the dimness of the tunnel, eyes warily scanning the yawning darkness.
Finding no immediate threat, she knelt down next to the dead man. She quickly patted him down, relieving him of his gun, a pocketknife, and two spare magazine clips. Shoving the knife and ammunition into her pocket, Silvia stood back up. The redhead stumbled slightly, the loss of blood and pain rendering her momentarily dizzy. She shook her head to clear the fog that was attempting to seep into her brain. No. She had to concentrate. She checked the gun, making sure it was still loaded then proceeded to make her to the other tunnel entrance.
Each step Silvia took seemed to make her muscles in her body taut with tension. Something did not feel right but she could have sworn she heard Pepa’s voice. She cocked the gun, holding it out in front of her despite the insistent screeching from her sprained shoulder. The redhead halted by the side of the tunnel entrance. She mentally counted to three then swung inwards into the dark tunnel...and promptly gasped.