Don't Stand By Me (COMPLETE) - Chapter 38: Chapter 38

KIARA
August 6th: 22:34
Everytime I tried to come up with a plan, someone did something fucking stupid. At least Brent had managed to remember our signal, a plan we had muttered to each other in the backseat of Richard's car before they told us to shut up. Once the gun had gone off, everyone had been stunned into relative silence, frozen in motion. In the resulting chaos I had gotten the chance to slide my free hand into Richard's oddly slimy pocket and pull out the phone, hiding it in the back of my jeans discreetly.
"Daddy?"
My gaze flew to Pearl, who had collapsed on the floor with two men draped over her back, her gun now over ten feet away by the edge of the cliff in the opposite direction. She was once again bawling, screaming for her father who was -
Oh.
Marcus Montgomery lay sprawled across the ground, blood flowing from a large wound in his throat. His eyes were wide open and his jaw was slanted. I resisted the urge to gag at the sight.
"Daddy! Daddy, no!"
"You fucking bitch!" Richard bellowed, "What the fuck did you do? I ought to kill you right now! All of you little bastards! Stop fucking crying!"
I looked as one of the men slowly drew his gun, pressing it to the back of Pearl's head, cocking it lightly.
"She knows where the shipment is going!" I blurted, looking at Richard desperately.
"Why should I believe that?"
"You don't think she has access to her fathers phone? Be real here."
Richard looked pensive, glancing between myself and Pearl sobbing on the ground. He growled, pinching the bridge of his forehead, "Fine. Take her to the base of the cliff and watch her. I'll deal with her later."
"Yes sir." The man with the gun muttered, lowering it and grabbing Pearl by the arm, jerking her upright.
"No!" She flailed, trying to get away, "Don't fucking touch me! Don't hurt them!"
We watched in silence as she was carted down the cliff, her sobs still discernible in the distance. Brent's jaw tightened and he gave me a tense look.
"Richard, your fight is not with them." I tried to reason, "I'm the one who killed your son. You have the phone, you have me, that should be enough."
"It should be. But it's not. I don't leave any witnesses."
"God you're a pain in the ass." I snarked, rolling my eyes and ignoring the pointed looks everyone was trying to send me, "Like a broken record, I swear."
"Jokes won't save your life. If anything it'll make me kill you faster."
Everyone was numbered one to one, with the man Brent had wrestled the gun from unconscious on the ground. It was a Mexican standoff. One that I intended to win through one of my favourite tactics - psychological fuckery. I considered the man next to Violet with a brief glance, wondering if this was the Fitz I had heard so much about. The fact that there was no backup filled me with a sense of dread as I realised my plan A wasn't happening. And I had really been hoping plan B wouldn't be necessary. I tried not to look at Cassie, knowing it would throw me off because as I stared deep into Brent's eyes, I knew one thing for certain.
I wasn't getting out of this alive.
With that realisation settling in my stomach like a boulder, I took a deep breath, allowing the knowledge to wash over me. I wasn't going to survive the night and that was okay. Because in doing so I could at least save everyone else.
"I have a few things to say."
Richard groaned, "No. All you have done is speak, all fucking day."
"If you want me to stop you can shoot me!" I snapped, "I..." I took a shaky breath, looking around at my friends who were watching me with varying expressions, "Dixon. When you get out of this, you make an honest man of him." I smiled, "God knows someone has to."
Dixon furrowed his brow but nodded.
"Vi...you and that friend of yours better shack up in New York City in some fancy penthouse. I think after all of this it's the least you deserve. Your future is so bright. You're going to do amazing things." I cleared my throat, "Never forget how proud I am of you."
"Ki, what are you-"
"El." My voice cracked slightly, "You're my brother. The only family I ever really had. The only person who never abandoned me. Name your firstborn after me, I deserve that much. Me and you against the world, right?"
"Kiara-"
"I swear to fucking god." Richard muttered, pressing the gun deeper into my side, making me wince, "If you don't stop this right now."
"I'm almost finished." I assured him shakily, "Cassie." I finally met her eyes.
Her face was flushed, her eyes overflowing with tears she refused to succumb to. She had a ghost of her usual smile on her face, as if she was trying to comfort me. I ached to hold her, to kiss her one last time before this all went to shit.
"Do you remember what we talked about? Yesterday morning?"
She nodded, hands surprisingly steady on the gun she was pointing but keeping her gaze trained on me.
"I was lying."
Her eyes widened, "You were?"
I rolled away from her fingers trying to poke into my sides, giggling lightly. My giggles turned into a squeal as she managed to grab my hands and pin them above my head, rolling on top of me with ease.
"Gotcha!" She grinned, sealing her victory with a kiss.
I stared up at her, once again feeling those words on my lips, desperate to be spoken. But I was afraid. She gave me a curious look, nudging my forehead with hers gently.
"What's going on in there?" She teased but her eyes were analysing me carefully.
"I think..." I bit my lip, "You would be so easy to love. I could see myself doing that...someday."
She blushed, shaking her head and not meeting my gaze, "You are something else, Kiara."
I urged myself to keep my voice steady as her eyes widened, "It's not someday. It's now. It's been every moment since I met you."
Her gaze held mine, her chest rapidly rising and falling as she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, "Tesoro, I-"
"Jesus Christ, enough!" Richard boomed, shaking me roughly, "This isn't a family reunion!"
"I just have one more. I promise. Then you can do whatever you like." I looked to Brent, whose hand shook slightly, the only indication that he was as affected by this as me, "Brent?"
This was our last chance. I prayed he knew where I was going with this. He nodded, his eyes meeting mine, hardened and full of anger.
I took a deep breath, "Go fuck yourself."
And I reached into my waistband, grabbing the phone and tossing it to him with ease.
He caught it with one hand, holding my gaze as Richard began to yell. Time slowed to a stop as we stared into each other's eyes, and I gave him an almost imperceptible nod. He took a deep breath and changed the angle of his gun, pointing it towards me and firing. The bullet hurt a hell of a lot more than I thought it would, the pain spreading through my leg causing my weight to instantly drop, dragging a baffled Richard with me. His arms loosened from around me but in the madness, I felt his fire and I howled in pain, the sound echoing through the canyon.
I had gone from zero bullets to two in myself in the space of ten seconds. While the one in my leg had been unbearable, the one in my side was tearing me apart. I resisted the urge to curl up in a ball and sob, instead using my good leg to kick at Richard, who grunted, fumbling for his gun that had slipped from his grasp.
I used my last ounce of adrenaline to scurry away, dragging my body and crawling across the ground towards Pearl's discarded gun trying to ignore the agony shooting through me. The wound in my side was getting bigger, I could feel it tearing with every inch I moved, but I couldn't stop. I could hear the sounds of a scuffle ahead of me and I prayed they managed to get the upper hand over the goons.
"Looking for this?" Richard taunted, coming into my eyeline.
He put his foot in front of Pearl's gun, kicking it backwards and sending it flying off the cliff. He pointed his own gun at me, smirking.
"You're scrappy. I admire that. You almost got me beat. But you didn't. Better luck next time. Now you get to die for your troubles."
I looked up at him with as much strength as I could muster, glaring at him, "You won't win."
"I'd like to think I already have." Richard grinned, cocking the gun, "Goodbye, Kiara."
I closed my eyes, unable to look him in the eye as he killed me. I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cower at his feet. Until a loud grunt and a thud sounded and I was surprisingly...not dead? I opened my eyes to see Brent on top of Richard, both of them covered in blood and pointing guns into each other's faces. Brent rolled them towards the cliff's edge and I gasped, trying to pull myself towards them but the pain had gotten unbearable. My vision was growing spotty.
"Hey, Kiara!" Brent yelled over the commotion.
I looked at him as he gave me somewhat of a sad smile and a nod, his eyes shining as he pressed Richard firmly into the ground. Richard reached for his gun, pointing it at Brent's forehead. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out.
"Every man for himself."
Their bodies disappeared over the edge of the cliff in an instant and I finally found my voice.
"No!" I wailed, trying to drag myself forward, screaming for help, "Brent! Brent!"
I felt arms roll me over to my back but I kept my eyes screwed shut, thrashing and screaming for Brent, refusing to be calmed down.
"Kiara, stop! You're going to aggravate your wound!"
"What the fuck was that? Are you insane?"
"Kiara, look at me!"
"Kiara?"
My mind was spinning, all the voices yelling at me feeling disconnected. I shook my head, turning to the side and vomiting up the contents of my stomach, sobbing at the burning sensation spreading through my entire body once more. My whole body trembled, the pain subsiding and giving way to blinding agony as my body fought to stay alive.
"Guys! A little help here?"
My eyes flew open to see Brent's hand waving helplessly over the side of the cliff, his other one gripping the edge tightly, his forehead barely visible. I screamed, trying to drag myself towards him, the relief overwhelming me, only to be stopped by an arm around my waist, holding me tightly as Fitz and Elvis ran forward to drag him up.
"Kiara."
I couldn't turn my head anymore, everything hurt too much.
"Hi, Cass." I smiled dopily, finally settling down as my head spun, "I missed you."
"I missed you too." She said shakily, holding me tightly and trying not to jostle the wound in my side.
"I'm dying, Cassie." I croaked, blinking rapidly to stop the tears.
"No you're not. Backup is here, you just need to stay awake until they get you to the hospital, okay? You're going to be just fine. You aren't going to die, I promise. Just keep your eyes open, keep them open." Cassie babbled.
"It'll be nice to see my mom again." I murmured as Cassie grew hysterical above me.
"Please Tesoro, just stay with me!"
"Will you tell me about the stars?" I smiled, gazing up as much as I could, "There's Orion's Belt!"
Cassie's body shook with silent sobs and I ached to comfort her, but I couldn't move any of my limbs anymore, "You see the square, with the little legs, kind of like a squid?" She pointed upwards and I hummed affirmatively, my eyelids heavy, "That's Pegasus."
"Like the unicorn?"
"Like the unicorn." I felt her hand stroke my hair lightly.
"I love you, Cassie...caramia" I murmured, eyes sliding closed as I felt a cool air wash over me, making me shiver.
"Kiara, don't you dare close your eyes right now, the FBI are here. Kiara!"
I smiled as my eyes drifted close, hearing the blare of sirens in the background as I let the darkness wash over me. The next sounds I could hear were Cassie's sobs as we were yanked apart, my body being laid flat until there was nothing left.