Who You Gonna Call?

[logan]

With his feet up on the consol in front of him, Logan stared at the surveillance screen as if looking for life’s answers in its fuzzy images. So far, so good, he thought with a little frown. Ever since Russ had returned like the prodigal moron he was, he’d been expecting some kind of firework show; maybe a few demons or some unwanted guests appearing on the front doorstep. He had the cabin fixed up for nothing less of a nuclear disaster- supernatural or no- but those crafty fuckers always seemed to know how to weasel themselves into any building. He’d even gone and armed some of his nastier weapons, in the off chance that Helena’s ‘father’ had branched out to schmo’s like Strong Dude, who’d kidnapped Russ’ other girlfriend.

And yet, all was quiet on the western front. He should have been feeling relieved at the lack of movement…but in all reality, all he could think of was that poor girl. If no one was coming after them, it must mean that it or they were waiting for HER to come to THEM.

Logan grumbled and shifted in his chair, attempting to soothe muscles sore from being bunched all night. Like hell he’d lose yet another friend, because of someone else’s stupidity. Like hell.

With a soft beep, the computer next to his feet began to roll off various codes, finally finishing its search. He’d always hated technology, instead favoring the smooth feel of something physically harmful, but had come to terms with its usefulness. Over time, he’d taught himself how to use many of his own governments’ computer programs; one of which, being the GPS search. Straightening, he rolled over to the computer and started punching keys.

Every phone- except for his, of course- was hooked up to some kind of GPS. Even most burn-phones had some kind of tracking; whether it be an actual chip, or simply calls made to other people while in said person’s hands. He also had fingerprints from the base, currently being run through the government databases, and even a few ear prints added to the mix. After lifting some off of Russ when the kid wasn’t looking- dinner served dual purposes, in his house- he was all set to run his searches. Now, it was only a matter of time.

…Or seconds. With a happy croon, Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of London erupted, sending the hunter shooting forward.

He cursed when his knees hit the top of the consol and squinted down at the fuzzy cell phone screen. Someone was trying to call? His mind immediately whirled to the frazzled Russ from the living room, saying something about ‘him calling’ about his friend. Carefully, as if handling an explosive, Logan picked up the cell, squinted down at it, then flipped it open.

Trace started. Damn, this was almost too easy…

”Russell Salem,” A deep voice growled through the waves, making the hunter’s hackles raise. ”I almost didn’t think you’d have the balls to do what I asked. How are you and Helena doing? Back at your little hideout?”

Logan watched his computer whir and muted the beeping as he leaned back in his chair. ”Yeah, as a matter of fact, they are,” He smirked at the surprised intake of breath from the other end. ”Oh, this ain’t Russ, by the way; this is his friend. Why don’t you tell me who the fuck you are and save me the leg work? See…you’re fuckin’ with a friend of mine. I don’t like that.”

A growl sounded and the muscles in his neck bunched up in anticipation. ”Put Russell on the phone, jack ass. I have something he wants.”

The soft sounds of heavy breathing and high pitched whimpering sounded, as though someone was making noise through a gag. The hunter gritted his teeth and slowly stood. He was no hostage negotiator, but if this guy was dumb enough to team up with a demon, he as dumb enough to commit murder. As the fucker started growling threats, Logan made his way upstairs, taking two at a time.

He didn’t bother to knock, praying to God that the two in the bedroom wouldn’t be rocking any mattresses and sighed in relief when he saw Helena sleeping on the far side of the bed. Holding the phone to his chest, he went over to where Russ was lying and shook him awake, jerking his head toward the door.

Without looking back, he went into the hall and waited, hoping to God that the kid had enough brains to hurry himself along, before the schmuck on the other line got too antsy.

[/blockquote]

[russ]

Those lazily sensual eyes fixated on Russ, as that deeply seductive voice drifted up to him from ruby lips. Her intensity was intoxicating and turned his body languid, numbing him like a spider would its prey before feasting upon its living flesh. He knew she was a predator, and still her words rattled him to the very core and made him guilty of his sex. Without even knowing who she was, Daniela had plagued his dreams, drifting in and out as she pleased, with no regard as to what or whom he should be thinking about. No matter where he ran, she found him, a figment of his own mind and manifestation of some deeply imbued sense of responsibility for a woman’s heart he never thought he would be able to win, much less break. She promised him that he would feel, but the only thing to overtake him was fear and an unsettling understanding that she could offer him only the end. To take him out of this world before he had a chance to make a difference, to become significant in someone’s life. Significant to the woman who let him lay night after night beside her, despite his stupidity and the dreams of another who tried to seduce him back into the fear of commitment he was dangerously willing to abandon for the purpose Helena instilled in him.

Shaken from the aggressively sexual approach of a woman diminutive in comparative size, but superior in strength, Russ blinked a wide-eyed gaze up at Logan until recognition settled into his startlingly blue eyes. Abandoning hope for a quick response, Russ had surrendered to the bed he now shared with Helena, but only with the understanding that the relentless hunter never settled in Logan. Taking a calming breath as Logan walked out of the room, Russ shifted to pull on his jeans and grabbing a shirt off the edge of the bed to slip on. He knew expediency was a factor, so he did not bother buttoning up the front, as he stood and twisted only long enough for brush the dark strands from Helena’s face and kiss her on the cheek before heading for the door. What might have seemed a sweet gesture was mostly to calm his jarring nerves. Spotting the phone in Logan’s hand, Russ’s serious brow furrowed, and he fought the urge to run away shaking his head in defiance of dealing with this. But he had seen this grizzly asshole twice already. He was sure it would not be the end of it for him, just because he refused to chat to the guy on the phone.

Taking the cell and flashing a glance at Logan, secretly longing for a look of encouragement from the gruff hunter, a sign of faith that Russ was not going to melt into a puddle of yellow goo the second he heard Gabe’s voice, he wet his lips and pushed the device to his ear. His deep voice served him, for Russ did not feel near as brave and resolute as he sounded. [white] “This is Russ, tell me what to do.”[/white] He refrained from informing him that he was an asshole and describing the things he would like Logan to do to him. It would hardly be conducive to Cassidy’s safety, especially considering the faint background noises were enough to make Russ sick with knowing, no matter the silent prayer that it was some other poor soul adding to the ominous atmosphere of the call.

[logan]

Damn, but he would never understand women. Glancing back through the bedroom door, he eyed Helena’s sleeping form before pulling it softly closed. It was almost as if the doctor was willing to overlook anything her lover did, and it friggin’ confused him. Stick a pair of breasts and long hair on him- oh good Lord, he just threw up a bit in his mouth- and he’d have kicked Russ’ ASS for leaving and potentially compromising the safe house. But he wasn’t a woman, thank God, and Helena just didn’t seem to have a distrustful bone in her little body.

It was going to get her killed one day, and possibly drag him right along with her. Was it wrong to feel the need to kick the two of them out of his house? GAH, young people nowadays…

When Russ glanced at him, Logan crossed his arms over his chest and gave him a little nod. Traitor or no, forgiveness or no…he had to hand it to the kid; he was taking all this like a man. Sure, he’d practically pissed his pants down in the living room the other day, but for a former civvy, he wasn’t doing too bad. Now, if only he hadn’t pissed him off…

From the other end of the phone line, a dark chuckle sounded. ”That’s much better,” It said on a growl. ”Next time, keep your friend off the phone, hmm? If he keeps pissing me off, I’m gonna start taking body parts off your little friend. Now, as for what I want you to do…well, you should already know by now, Russell. I want the doctor and I wanted her yesterday. Bring her to me, and I’ll let this beautiful little girl go. Make me come looking for you and I’ll kill her. Now, I suppose you’ll have to go discuss all of this with Ms. Nicodeau. I’ll call back with the meeting place.”

And without waiting for an answer, the phone went dead.

Logan was grinding his teeth when the other man’s ultimatum was finished, and shook his head with a martyred sigh. God, it was never friggin’ easy when it came to these people. Silently, he gave Russ a clap on the shoulder and headed for the stairs, motioning over his shoulder for the kid to follow him. Helena might not have woken up when Russ left the room, but he didn’t want to chance her hearing what he had to say next. The girl had a martyr complex almost as big as her forgiving one.

Once downstairs, he headed straight for his little command center and squinted at the scrolling letters on his main computer screen. Only then did a wide smile cross onto his lips, and he turned back to the other man with a violent gleam in his eyes.

”Well, one good thing came out of all this; that schmuck won’t have to come looking for us. We know where he is. How good are you at hunting assholes, Russ?”

[/blockquote]

[russ]

Bravery was relative to having a choice. If Russ had the choice, he would gladly stay on the sidelines with the cute cheering squad and wait for celebratory victory. It was precisely because he felt a sense of responsibility that he wanted to run away from all this. He did not want anyone to depend on him, and he had walked right into that position. It would be so much easier just to abandon such duties, but he knew Logan would not let him do that. At least, not without rearranging his face. If that was his fate, it really made little difference whether Logan or Gabe was the artist.

Of course, once he was met with that familiar growl, he wondered if it wouldn’t just be better to be at the end of Logan’s gun again. At the very least he might not torture him before dying, as Gabe suggested he would do Cassidy if he did not play middleman. So much for getting out of this. That was one more individual not letting him off the hook. Ironically enough, it was the person who should be pissed at him who was not. The one person who had the right to tell him to shape up and face responsibility. Though he imagined, if Cassidy was still in her right mind, she was thinking he damn well better get her out of this… so that she could torture him for putting her through it. And Russ always fancied he did right by the fairer sex. How quickly one could fall from their grace.

Russ followed Logan with a frown, his mind racing in vain. He knew whatever they did would be Logan’s decision. He was the one who knew what he was doing and Russ was just worrying himself for no reason. Even if he would, it was not as though he really had a choice in trading the good doctor for his friend. He might not know Logan too well, but he knew better than to think the hunter would allow that. At the very least he did not seem quite so mad anymore. Or maybe that pat had been a pity pat of farewell. Been nice knowing you kid, have fun dying. Maybe Logan would give him one of those guns he liked showing off and branding in his face, at the very least.

Without having any idea what Logan was so pleased about, Russ’s linear brows lowered even further over his eyes in uncertain appraisal. But the sinister edge briefly made Russ distrustful. After all, if Logan was willing to suspect him of being a traitor in Helena’s life… why couldn’t it be the other way around? That thought did not drift away; it was slapped away. He had been hanging around this paranoid bastard for too long! Shaking his head mildly, not really embarrassed at all by the truth, [white]“Crap, eh? My ‘skills’ extend to what you’ve shown me.”[/white] Taking a deep breath, he glanced back to the door, [white]“Shall we?”[/white] If that gleam was untrustworthy, after all, it was going to make little difference if he was here, or there with him. But a glimmer of his blind optimism reared its head, and Russ was surprised that he was at least free of that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as they advanced back through the cabin.

Russ was not sure how he felt about physically restraining Helena before they left, but he did understand the necessity. She was not exactly pleased about the arrangement, and he did not want her doing something stupid anymore than the old grump did. Glancing to Logan as they advanced, the cell phone on hand for that call to direct them to that which they already knew, Russ grimaced. [white] “Wouldn’t happen to have any last minute words of wisdom, eh?”[/white] Russ asked as though he was just making a joke, but he was dead serious. He was not ready for this. But that made little difference. Apparently it was ready for him.

[logan]

Glancing over at Russ’ face, Logan had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. He was just so damn used to talking to guys like himself; the ones who packed a go-bag in their truck, because they were always up for a good fight. This kid was normal; the kind of dude who went to a bar to have fun and pick up a girl, not because he just followed a vampire who’d just slaughtered a family. Gah, he had to keep reminding himself of that fact.

Russ was, in all respect, a good guy…and he was a pansy. Obviously; he didn’t even look excited to go and face the man who’d kidnapped his friend! If their roles were reversed, if one of his friends had been taken by some douchebag with a Deep Voice complex, he’d have donned on his camo and went to TOWN, man! But this kid…good Lord, what was happening to society today? They were birthing…guys who looked like they were about to vomit all over their shoes.

Great. This was exactly what he wanted to bring into a fight with him; Russ, the Pansy Boy. They were both gonna die…

”Just remember what I taught you and don’t get killed,” He grumbled as he went through the door. The sounds of yelling upstairs marked Helena’s dislike of their plan, and he sighed, knowing that retribution for restraining her would be something to fear. The doctor might have a heart of gold, but she was definitely scary when mad.

She did know how to use a scalpel in a very creative way, after all.

Logan led him toward his truck, parked near the side of the cabin. Big, black and durable, it was one of his favorite toys; equipped with a bulletproof outer layer and some really neat Green Hornet gadgets rigged along the sides and wheels. The rig had saved his ass more than once, and with the knowledge that he was transporting his friend’s lover to whatever FUBAR-fest awaited them in Kansas, he knew he’d need the big guns.

He was taking quite the risk; going after this ‘Gabe’ character without backup…and dammit, he hoped that they all appreciated that fact. He wasn’t exactly Mr. Warm Fuzzies and hated to stick his neck out for anyone. The mere fact that he hadn’t ignored Russ and Helena when they showed up at the cabin, instead taking an active interest in their situation, was something to be remembered.

Hell, he was going to remember it for the rest of his goddamn days! If he EVER needed a free exam, or…help with whatever the younger man was good at, he’d better fuckin’ better get an ‘okay, Logan; right away, Logan.’ That’s all he could say.

The next couple hours were spent in silence; he preferred to listen to music and clear his mind, instead of hashing on the keyed up nervousness buzzing through his chest. He’d done his research on the location of the call; some deadbeat bar in the slums of Kansas, of all places, owned by a guy who supposedly was wanted in eleven states. Finally, when they were just about ready to enter the schmuck’s city, the Hunter turned down his classic rock and glanced at Russ. Please, God, say he wasn’t getting ready to puke in his truck.

”Alright, so basically I tracked the number your little ‘friend’ used to call you and did some research. The guy’s name is Gabe McFearson and he’s a criminal from back east. They say that he’s a monster, in more ways than one…and from the way you described his attacking Helena’s car, he’s probably one in the literal sense. So what I propose is that skip all the foreplay and bust into the bar. He won’t see it coming, and maybe if I can make enough noise, you can slip upstairs and look for your girlfriend.”

[/blockquote]

[russ]

Long open plains stretched for miles on either side of the highway, leaving Russ only with his thoughts and nerves to entertain him. Needless-to-say, he was bored out of his mind with sitting in silence. Russ was a talker, and with perhaps anyone but Logan the drive from Mississippi to Kansas would provide a perfect opportunity to become very close in a short period of time. Considering his apprehension for the man and his sanity, Russ was content not saying a word. He did not mind understanding Logan, but the possible influence of befriending him was just too much of a risk. He was already concerned enough for Helena’s psychological health. But Logan was not afforded the same stark beauty that encouraged a gentle fellow to overlook reason for instability.

Glancing once or twice was Logan, curiosity still got the best of him, as he wondered about the man’s past. He supposed if he was comatose and unable to snarl and growl he had decent bone structure and might be attractive to someone. He wasn’t a terribly unfortunate guy, and in his prime could quite possibly have had his share of love affairs. Now those women, Russ would like to chat with, to know the type of person it took to break past that grizzly exteriour and meet the humanity full face within. His craziness aside, Logan did have it after all, there was no doubt about that. It was the fine line between he and this Gabe creature. Though Russ doubted Logan would appreciate him sharing such an observation, if even to make a positive point.

Maybe it was a point worth making, when dread settled upon him for pulling outside the cantina. Leaning forward and staring at the bar with worried eyes and a distinct frown, any shred of any optimistic views would be like a beacon of hope at this point. This certainly looked like the kind of place a McFearson would spend his spare time to inflict his cruelty upon an innocent young party. If he was miles away and with no tie to this Gabe, he would probably laugh; instead, he listened quietly to Logan’s directions. That was, until he was done. Looking at him sharply with a furrowed brow and pursued lips, [white]“She’s not my girlfriend.”[/white] This was not the first time that he got the sensation that Logan didn’t take him seriously, now degrading whatever it was that he had with Helena. True enough, he did not give Logan much reason to think otherwise, but he still didn’t like it just the same. [white]“And I don’t care what he is.”[/white] Another one of those ‘brave’ statements, but in truth Russell simply did not want to know. There was no way he was going to be able to run into that place and do his part if he knew it was a werewolf within, if not more. True enough, he was still plenty frightened of Gabe, but giving his abilities a name would enhance that.

Looking very much as though he would rather not do any of this, because he would not, Russ gripped the handle of the door and looked again at Logan. [white] “And getting out? How do you plan that, eh?”[/white] He sincerely hoped that Logan was not the suicidal, rush-in type who did not go in with concern about getting out again. If he did, it worked for him thus far, and Russ certainly had a measure of luck on his side so far… but usually that was only when he did not know how much danger he was really in. Now he knew all too well.

[logan]

Well, he definitely had to hand it to the kid; he had some balls.

When Logan had initially asked his ‘let’s go in and kick some ass’ question, he’d obviously been dreaming about having his cabin to himself, or channeling one of his dumber hunter acquaintances. Yeah, like he, King of the Paranoid, would allow himself to waltz into a bar with guns blazing without scoping out the building until he was blue in the face. He was probably channeling Ben, or even the father Winchester…hot headed morons…

He was half happy and half irritated to notice that Russ had called him on it, but the fact that something in his week long ‘training’ had stuck made him bite back a smile. All in all, he did like the guy, despite his little disappearing act that could have blown all chances at keeping Helena safe. The thought made him twitch slightly, as he pictured what the doctor was probably doing to that headboard right about now.

Grumbling under his breath, the hunter glanced sideways at him. ”Yeah, yeah, so the ‘bust a move’ crap isn’t the smartest. But if your…friend,” He emphasized the title; the only indication that he’d acknowledged the earlier distinction Russ was likely to get. ”is really in there with McFearson himself…she doesn’t have a lot of time. Understand? So, new plan. I’m going to go and have a look around; see if I can’t get the lay of the land. Then we’ll camp out a few blocks down, wait for closing time and do some B&E. Alright?”

Now THAT seemed like a more Logan type plan. Grabbing a handgun from his duffel in the back seat, he placed it carefully on the dash between them and zipped his jacket closed to hide the gun at his side. He didn’t really wait for an answer from Russ; didn’t think the kid would have a problem with him sticking his neck out while he waited for that dreaded phone call in the safety of the truck.

His eyes went everywhere as he slid out of the driver’s seat; instinct, thanks to his time spent in the military. Then, with one last glance at Russ, he turned to jog across the street and toward the bar. He hoped that his companion would stay where he was, lest Gabe or one of his cronies recognize him…but doubted that he’d be that careless. Their first priority was to ascertain where a werewolf would hide a pretty blond girl.

If it were him? It’d be the basement…which was always fun to break out of. Yeehaw.

And back inside the Cantina’s office, the man himself sat down at his desk. With a wide smile on his face, the werewolf picked up his phone and dialed the aforementioned number.
”Russell Salem,” He almost crooned, a few seconds later. ”It’s time for us to meet face to face.”

[/blockquote]

[russ]

Of course, trusting Russ Salem did not think for a minute Logan would send him in somewhere without a thoroughly thought out plan… he’d get killed for sure! And if Logan wanted that done, well, he would have done it back at the cabin, right? There was no sense lugging him to hell and gone just to make the idiot commit suicide. A terrible waste of the aging hunter’s time. Hopefully.

While Russ would much rather be picturing what Helena could be doing against that headboard too, he still stared warily at the cantina. It was in such decay and disrepair that it was quite fitting in the midst of gloomy warehouses that Russ knew were empty of human inhabitants at the moment. No one to run to, no one to save the day. Save for two. And one of them was feeling very sick to his stomach.

Was this really how it worked? Someone finally forced this shit down your throat, another gave a quick how-to, and then you set to work? It seemed pretty fucked up, but then any confrontation seemed pretty fucked up to the escapist. Now he wished he had spent more time paying attention to his grandfather’s stories. Bittersweet omens for what he was going to be forced into. Now that he was submerged in it, he wondered how the hell he had really managed to turn a blind eye for so long. At least he was talented at something.

And that was certainly not hiding his true feelings. Staring wide-eyed at Logan as he explained what he was going to do and then grabbed a gun, Russ could not believe his ears. And yet his throat would not allow him to exclaim you’re leaving me here?! Just as well… Cassidy really was supposed to be first priority. Fuck it to all be if he understood why he was here at all. To learn a lesson? Nearly pissing his pants back when Logan had that double barrel shifting for gold up his nose had been a pretty good lesson in his book.

Taking a shaky breath when Logan disappeared, he felt colder now that he was alone. Turning up the collar of his shirt and crossing his arms over his chest, a crisp sniff cut through the eerie silence and he tried to keep his eyes off of the cantina. His mind raced. What if Logan didn’t come back? How long was he supposed to wait until he did something? Was he expected to go in there without a clue as to what he would find in there, or could he just drive away and pretend like none of this never happened? Well, it would be nice if he could do that, but he could think of one person who would probably look upon him pretty disapprovingly if he did that. Helena had been pretty cool about the whole age difference thing, but he still did not want her underlying maturity to come bearing down upon him when he did something wrong. Why did he have to get mixed up in all this? Why couldn’t he have just stayed at the damned cabin? Why did she have to come with so much luggage?

Russ was not allowed to get any further that this in his thoughts. Jumping a mile high and nearly hitting his head on the roof of the truck, Russ whipped up the phone without thinking and answered hastily,[white] “Hello? Hello?!”[/white] Although he knew the voice to come, should expect no other, Gabe’s words silenced him for a prolonged moment. Glancing to the cantina, he lowered his linear brows, possibly looking more serious than he usually did. He was in there. Probably. So close, and yet so far. They actually had the upper hand in this, and it gave him hope. [white]"Yeah, right. When? High noon?" [/white] The werewolf probably would not enjoy old movie references, nor the sardonic bite to his tone. [white] “Wait, let me get a pen. I don’t want to go to the wrong place. I assume I bring my girl and you bring yours, even trade? And you’ll leave me alone? I’m done, all this has got nothing to do with me.”[/white] He was not sure why he actually started looking around for a pen. He should have been looking for the nearest gun Logan probably had prepared to launch out at the press of a button. Probably would have one shoot out of his ass if he could figure out how to manage it.

[maddog]

There were just some times in any werewolf’s life that made him happy to be alive. There was the call of the moon, the taste of blood in his mouth, the sounds of screams renting the air…and, of course, hearing fear in unaware pretty boys like little Russell Salem. He almost felt sorry for the kid; for the fact that his ignorant little bubble had been burst in such a way. For a moment, Gabe let himself think back on the moment when he was first introduced to the supernatural. He’d been knowledgeable of the dark side of the world for most of his life; one would think that it was not such a big leap from murder and mayhem, to murder and mayhem via magic.

And yet, when the bookie he’d been sent to shake down had morphed into an animal and bit into his arm? He’d felt fear like he’d never felt it before. Was that what Russell was feeling? Fear? Confusion? Anger? Would he return back to the doctor after all was said and done and tell her that he couldn’t take it anymore? Would he leave her, and head back to his quiet, human little life?

A smile pulled at the mobster’s lips as he thought of it. Yeah, that’s what the kid would do; he’d go run back to his little life and beg the blonde human he’d lost to take him back. How…expected.

He took his time answering Russ’ smart ass reply, smiling despite himself. Even though he was so obviously in a dire situation, he had the balls to go and make a quip at the guy holding all the cards. If he wasn’t standing in the way of some very well laid plans…Gabe would have liked him. Maybe even offered him a job.

”Come to Kansas City. I’ll be waiting for you in a bar called the Crossroads Cantina. You don’t have to bring the good doctor…just the codes to the safe house that she’s staying in. In return, you’ll get your little friend in one piece. If you show up with that old fuck you’ve been playing with, or any cops, I’ll kill her and then I’ll kill you. I hope to see you soon, Mr. Salem,”

Without waiting for an answer, Gabe hung up the phone and looked down at the body lying on the floor in front of him. She wasn’t moving, barely even breathing…but she was alive. He could smell the need to cling to her worthless life and it made his mouth water. How he wanted to take it away from her and hear her beg…how he wanted to strip all that innocent hope and convince her that her friends were never going to come for her, that her body would never be found. He loved the sight of desperation in their eyes, before he cut them to pieces.


((Yo, yo! So I tried to catch you on MSN but you no answerrrrr. So I put this up; figured that you could have Russ come into the bar after another hour of waiting for Logan, hoping that he'd come busting in to save the day. Or he could go look for Lo, or...some other cool idea along those lines. XD ))

[/blockquote]

[russ]

What Gabe told him to do made very little difference. Sure, he actually had what the guy wanted, but he wasn’t going to give those over any more than he would have Helena. Especially when she was laying there served up on a silver platter for when he got there. At least, he hoped so. The last thing he wanted at the end of all this was to be confronted with a doctor’s wrath. No, she’d definitely need looots of time to cool off before he and Logan got back. And if they were lucky, maybe Logan would be so kind as to be the one releasing her. Yeah, Russ might have been all too eager to be the one screwing her, but the fact remained that they still had not known each other long enough to start having a blow up fight like that.

Throwing the phone across the cab when Gabe hung up on him, Russ let out a worried gasp for the electronic. That was, until he remembered that it was Gabe’s leash on him, and he picked the phone up to chuck it through the cab. He was not sure what he hit, but suddenly half the seat lunched up from under him and Russ was faced with his choice of three guns and ammunition. Without much of a clue, he went for the riffle and shining silver bullets. The latter he at least knew from Logan. Who would be really nice to see right about now. How long did it take to find the layout of the building anyway?

Obviously too long, because armed and stupid, Russ opened the door and ducked out, as though the very pressure of his foot would trigger an alarm and he would be under fire from unseen threats. He could hear the noise from within the cantina better now, but he was not approaching with the intent to join the dastardly festivities. He was planning to find the ‘old fuck’ he had already shown up with, and… well, pretty much tag along and feel safer with him around. He had nothing in particular that he planned to tell him or anything. It was not like Gabe revealed something vital that they did not already know. Though it did make him uncomfortable to know for sure that Logan was right about the location.

Walking down the side of the building, his eyes were skimming for the man, but fell on a dimly light rectangular window at street level. Concealed in darkness, Russ crouched and peered into the basement. It was quieter in there, but he could just make out that beast salivating over his friend. Bastard. He pleaded that he was being honest about her still being alive. She definitely wasn’t looking too good. Nor were the chances of getting in with seemingly one door in and out. It looked like that cantankerous crowd was going to be alerted at some point tonight. But they were not what worried him most. Gabe’s very air suggested that he was the ring leader, and he was not expecting him for ages. How much more of an advantage was he looking for?

Drawing in a breath, he aimed the tip of the riffle through the cracked window and paused for what felt like several seconds. A part of him told him this was a bad idea, to find Logan. But how many shots was he going to get like this? And at that, at any moment Gabe could turn around. No, it had to be done now. Trying to let out his breath as he squeezed the trigger instead of pulling it, the loud bang startled Russ onto his ass, his jeans soaking up moisture from ground before he scrambled to his feet and took off running down the alleyway and around the back of the building. Fuck. Well that was a brilliant idea. Maybe Gabe had enough enemies that he would not suspect him at all. That did not seem too far fetched… dear Lord, he hoped he wouldn’t run into any such individuals there to do just that…