A/ N: That's for listening to Logan's OST. Fuck ! That made me think of Phoenix and Max. Max belongs to my friend, Phoenix belongs to me.
xxx
« Let me see. » -Max ordered but Phoenix shook her head, ashamed.-
A few weeks after they decided to leave Boston and chase after Cesare Marconi, Max and Phoenix finally got a credible lead as to where the crime lord was hiding. So much was at stake, between the end of the new drug's traffic to the rescue of reporter Kara Morgan and neither Max or Phoenix wanted to screw it up. For Max, it was a personal affair since Cesare was connected to the people who killed his family. He needed answers and Cesare was the best shot at learning the truth Max had. Phoenix wanted to find the crimelord to make amends for the life of crime she led. She was a victim of the Blue Eagle Organization. A child who was kidnapped and trained to become an assassin with nothing but violence and death. Saving lives became her obsession, her only raison d'être as she wanted to wash the red she had on her hands.
If Big Tony was known to be paranoid and very cautious, Cesare was every bit as cautious as his former boss. It was difficult to track him down but fortunately, the drug was easier to find. Chicago was the next stop. Their indicator led them to Martin Greene, one of Cesare's most trusted men would supervise the drug traffic in Chicago. Questioning him would eventually help Max and Phoenix know where Cesare was hiding. Martin Greene was a middle-aged brunet with brown eyes. He was fit, tall -taller than Max- and always wearing tailored midnight suits with sunglasses -even at night- to contrast with his sweatpants wearing goons. His routine was quite simple and a week after they learned of his existence, Max and Phoenix devised a plan. He was the most vulnerable on Wednesdays because of around 11 pm, he went to the gym he rented for the night so there would be no witnesses save for his goons. Because he was very careful, the man always had 6 bodyguards with him
« No. » She groaned, shrugging her arm so he wouldn't touch her. Max furrowed his brows and grabbed her arm, making her slap him in the face. Phoenix hated when she was being touched without her consent, even more, when she actually refused to be touched. He knew it but that didn't prevent Max from holding her arm because she needed to have her arm fixed. He took it but didn't flinch. « I said no. » She wasn't furious or upset as she usually should have been. Max noticed how empty her gaze was and how she tried to avoid looking at him.
« You're bleeding, it has to be taken care of. » -His tone was dry, leaving no doubt that he didn't want her to resist him. She glanced up at his face and shook her head-. « I am not asking you. » -He said as he took her to the bed and made her sit on it. He grabbed his bag and sorted out the first aid kit he always carried around with him.-
That mission was supposed to be easy peasy. They would rough him up until he gave her the information they were looking for and then they would waste him. He was a ruthless man, one who didn't hesitate to kill the teenagers who worked for him. He was deeply involved in the drug traffic and had expressed several times his will to expand the empire of his friend. Max and she showed up at that parking that night. She pulled her infamous black and white guns with silver phoenix engraved on it. Max pulled his Desert Eagle. Automatically, the bodyguards pulled their own guns and started to shoot at the pair. Very quickly -and because both Max and Phoenix were excellent marksmen- All the bodyguards were down. Max then proceeded to threaten and punch Martin's face to get the information he needed. Martin proved to be hardcore. He refused to give the information despite Max punching him out. Phoenix decided to search the car, in hopes of finding the information on papers or anything left behind. That was when she noticed the little boy who was hiding in the car. That was something they didn't plan. She didn't even know that Martin had a family. The boy was roughly 6 years old. Way too young to be aware of what was happening but old enough to remember the scene. He was shaking and covered his ears with both of his hands when his gaze crossed Phoenix who froze.
She didn't notice that one goon who wasn't dead yet. He slowly took his gun and pointed it at her chest. He was aiming at her head but the combination of him being exhausted due to blood loss and his boss yelling no because he could have killed his son, made him lower his arm and aim at her belly instead. He pulled the trigger, the bullet tore her vest and pierced her skin, making her gasp for air. The kid screamed and curled up inside the car. Phoenix didn't move, she looked at her shirt that was quickly getting soaked with blood and heard another gunshot, this time it was Max killing off the goon. Martin refused to snitch on his boss and the kid called 911. She could tell because he was yelling « Police please help daddy. » And while she should have searched the car, the woman simply couldn't. She was unable to make a move because of that kid, which was something Max didn't notice up until he heard the sirens of the police cars. He reluctantly left an injured Martin on the floor and grabbed Phoenix by the arm. She followed him, blankly staring at him until they reached their car. Phoenix zipped her vest up and put her hands into her pockets. This way it would distract Max who wouldn't realize she was bleeding out and sat on the car while Max drove them to their motel room. Tonight was a failure. They didn't get the information they were looking for. Martin Greene wasn't dead and there was a chance that he either would go to prison or walk a free man and tell Cesare about Max and Phoenix tracking him down. Max was pissed off and was about to yell at Phoenix as they entered the motel room when he noticed she'd been bleeding all the way to their safe place.
« …........... » -She didn't say anything as he pulled her top up to look at her wound.It was a nasty wound, the bullet didn't go through her skin so Max knew he would have to remove it with forceps. To help him work faster, Phoenix pulled her shirt off and looked at her belly. Max wasn't bothered by the sight and under different circumstances, he would have been appreciative, but she was still bleeding and if he didn't work fast, she might pass out or just die. She didn't flinch when he grabbed the bullet with the forceps and gritted her teeth as he pulled it out of her back. She shut her eyes tight and clenched her fists to control the pain she was experiencing.Max looked up at her face, his eyes cold as ice as he was trying to figure her out. She snarled and looked away from him.-
« Why didn't you tell me you got shot? » He inquired, pulling the bullet and extracting it from the bullet wound. She bit her bottom lip and looked away from him. Why didn't she? She was distracted by the kid. The sight of him shocked her so much that she lost her edge and could have died. The implication of what could have happened was slowly getting into her head. « You could have died back there. »
« You think I don't know? » She finally said, her hazel eyes stared at him. Her chest was heaving up and down at a fast pace due to the adrenaline still pumping through her veins.
« What happened? » He asked again, quickly cleaning her wound before he grabbed the needle holder and started to stitch her up. « Phoenix ?! »
« I can hear you just fine. » She said, snarling at the sharp pain from the wound. Her blood was still dripping onto her belly and her lap but he controlled the blood flood and she knew that the stitches would stop it. « The kid. We didn't anticipate the kid. I didn't even know he had a kid. »
« We'll have to plan again. Everything's changed now that he's alive and in prison. He might die before he talks or Cesare might know we're getting closer to him. Either way, we're screwed. » He grunted and closed the wound before he cut the thread.
« Are you saying it's my fault? What should have I done? Kill Martin in front of his kid? Kill his kid? » She sneered and stood up. He watched as she stumbled and stood up to help her.
« I didn't say that. »
« You thought it! You are angry, I can tell. You are angry and rightfully so. Cesare will know we're after him and we got very close to know where he's hiding. We lost our lead. They would be more careful. » She grunted and shook her head. « There was a kid in that damn car and I didn't expect it. I froze! That's what happened! I froze Max! » She ran her hand over her blood-soaked belly and considered taking a shower to at least clean herself up.
« I know. It isn't like you to freeze. I don't give a damn about the plan. I give a damn about your life. You could have died! I don't want you to die. » He growled at her, making her straighten up and look from left to right. What was that? She was baring her back at him, lips trembling as she realized that indeed, he was being worried about her. She felt tears fill her eyes and wiped them off of her face.
« I....did despicable things in my life Max. I have blood on my hands. I have killed indiscriminately, men, women, old, young and infants even. That was the only life I knew, when my masters pointed a target at me and gave me orders, I did it without questioning myself. They... »She choked up. « I remember when I was this young boy's age. How terrified of holding a gun I was, how terrified of these evil people I was. They made me kill my first target when I was 4. Seeing this little boy....reminded me of what it was to be afraid. It reminded me of the children I have killed. I couldn't move because of my shame and guilt...I don't want to be this person anymore, I am working hard to make amends for my old sins. » She covered her face with both her hands and tried her most damn not to cry but it was too late. Max's eyes grew wide as it was the first time she actually confided in him. He had clues here and there about her past but never did he imagine it went that far. His glacier gaze turned even colder as he was considering what she went through, the torture she refused to talk about, the way she was forced to become the infamous White Phoenix and her mental breakdown. She was good, deep down because if she wasn't, she wouldn't feel remorse and wouldn't want to turn a new leaf and make amends the way she did. She was good and her tears proved it. She was good and nearly died in front of him.
« Phoenix... » He said, walking closer to her. She shook her head, wiped the tears with the back of her arm and turned around to face him. Max never saw her be this vulnerable in front of him, but she was clearly distraught by what happened. He wasn't a man of words, so he didn't know what to say to make her feel better. He cupped her cheeks, both of them with both his hands and stroked them with his thumbs. « It's okay. It's okay. You're okay. » He pulled her into a hug and ran his fingers through her black curls. Phoenix was tense but she slowly brought her arms around his waist and allowed herself to cry. « I got you. I got you. » He repeated. So many thoughts crossed his mind at this moment, There was so much to say but so little time and he didn't know how to express it anyway. He didn't even want to express it. The thought of her dying had him upset because they formed some sort of bond. After months fighting side by side and tracking their common enemy, he grew close to the woman, to the point of allowing her where she shouldn't be. His mind. He cared for her in ways he didn't want to but here he was, infatuated and knee-deep into that thing called « feelings ». She should have died, she would have, but she didn't so he decided to focus on her tonight rather than his emotions.
-TBC-
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