#his perfect headshots without collateral damage

[tarysande]

I don’t know how the game mechanics determine which of your squad gets to comment on things during a mission, but I had Garrus and Kasumi on Thane’s recruitment mission and I’m not gonna lie, by the time we finally met Thane, I’m pretty sure Garrus was the inaugural member of the Thane Krios Fan Club (Sniper Division: Headshots 5EVA 💙💘). The sniper-crush is real, folks. Like Shepard WISHES Garrus were that effusive about her. It’s almost enough to give a girl a complex.

[marjansmarwani]

Trouble Will Come

Chapter 3/4 (Chapter 4 is up now!)

Word Count: 3027

[Read on Ao3]

[Chapter 1]    [Chapter 2]  

Ever since TK had been caught up in Austin’s latest serial bomber’s attack, Carlos has thrown himself into looking for the mysterious bomber. He had watched his boyfriend almost die at the hands of this maniac, and he needed to do everything he could to make sure that never happened again. It makes him feel better, helps to counteract the helplessness he felt in that moment.

What he didn’t expect was to actually find him, and to be trapped with him and a bomb in another abandoned factory. Now he just wants to make it out alive, because he is pretty sure TK will find a way to kill him if he doesn’t.

Chapter Summary: A look back inside to see how Carlos and his new friend with the bomb are doing.

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To say today wasn’t going well would be an understatement. 

“Do I at least get to know the name of the guy who’s about to kill me with a bomb?”  Carlos asked from his position on the floor. He had been directed to sit and stay where the man could see him as he worked; one hand clutching the gun, the other working methodically with the wires on the explosives in the duffel. 

He kept running through scenarios in his head; testing out different approaches, considering different outcomes. So far he kept running into the same problem: in most of the scenarios, the odds of him getting shot were too high for his liking. He just didn’t know enough about this man or the situation to make any rash decisions. For all Carlos knew this guy was the “shoot first ask questions later” type and Carlos would really love to not get shot today. He had plans later, thank you very much.  

The man glared, “you wouldn’t have to die if you hadn’t poked your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

Well, if action was out; that just left talk. Fortunately, Carlos was good at talk. 

Carlos held up his hands placatingly, “Unfortunately it happened, and we’re here now and there’s nothing I can do about that. But  since we’re stuck here, maybe we could chat; and that would be a lot easier if I knew your name.”

The man paused in his tinkering. He considered for a long, silent moment before he looked back to Carlos. “It’s Jared,” he said before returning his attention to the mechanics before him.

Carlos added a tick to the ‘pro’ column in his head: he had given him a name; that meant there was a possibility to build a connection. And a connection might just mean he could find a way out of this that did not end in a body bag.

“Do you want to tell me why these buildings need to be destroyed Jared?” he asked slowly. 

He was met with silence, so he tried again. “I can see you have a mission, but I’ll be honest with you Jared, none of us can quite figure out what it is. And - I could be wrong - but I thought that the point of most bombings was to deliver a message. Unfortunately, none of us have been able to figure out what yours is yet.” 

More silence. 

Carlos tried again, voice tighter with frustration, “What good is a mission if it’s private, Jared?”

The silence that met his question was louder this time. Carlos realized with a start that Jared had stopped tinkering. He seemed to be considering something. The silence stretched for several more long moments before Jared finally spoke, his raspy voice matter of fact as he said, “They need to pay.” 

Carlos blinked. That wasn’t at all what he had expected. As far as he knew, these buildings were abandoned. No used them, and if they had owners, they certainly weren’t worrying too much about upkeep. 

“Who needs to pay Jared?”

“Them, the company - Gall Corp.” 

Now Carlos frowned. That name did sound vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t remember anything specific about it. “Why do they need to pay Jared?” he asked in a measured voice. 

“Because they destroyed my life!” 

Gone was his calm demeanor; the man in front of Carlos was now filled with rage. The hand holding the screwdriver was shaking; the hand holding the gun even more so. Carlos backpedaled, looking for something to say to placate him. 

“I’m sure they did, I’m sorry,” he replied evenly, all the while watching Jared nervously. His words seemed to have the desired effect; his hands stopped shaking and he calmed ever so slightly. 

“They did,” he insisted. “They threw me out of my job, left me with nothing. Do you know what it’s like to have nothing?” 

“I don’t,” he answered honestly.

Jared nodded grimly, “if you did then maybe you’d understand.” 

Truly, Carlos mused, there was only one thing in his life that he could truly not live without, and that thing had almost been taken from him by the very many standing in front of him. Though Carlos had to admit, the nervous twitchy man before him was nothing like the villain he had been concocting in his head. 

As Jared returned his attention to the duffel, Carlos finally asked the question that had been on his mind ever since the dust had settled at the last bomb, “Did you want to hurt people with your last bomb?”

Jared looked up sharply, “Why do you ask that?” 

Carlos met his gaze, studying him to gauge his reaction; “because two firefighters almost died in that explosion. They were there because someone had called in for a welfare check on some suspected squatters. No one knows for sure, but a lot of people think that maybe that was done on purpose.”

Jared blinked at him. He was quiet for a long moment before he finally shrugged, “I’m sorry those firefighters got hurt. That wasn’t my intention. I didn’t plan for anyone to be there.” 

“So you didn’t make the call?”

Jared shook his head, “No,” he insisted adamantly, “they could have gotten in the way. Everything must be perfect; they need to be destroyed.” 

Carlos studied him, “So why are you doing it again? The same thing could have happened today, or the next time. If you don’t want to hurt people, why are you still setting up bombs?” 

“I need to destroy them; they need to pay.” 

The statement was said matter of factly, Jared barely even glancing up from his work. A chill ran down Carlos’s spine. Maybe Jared wasn’t actively looking to hurt anyone, but he was not concerned by any collateral damage in the slightest. He did seem to care who got hurt, as long as he accomplished his goal. 

Which did not bode well for Carlos at the moment. 

If he wanted to get out of this alive, he was going to need to act fast. He couldn’t let this play out. He glanced at Jared, who was still working diligently on his package. What he needed was a distraction. He needed something to shift Jared’s focus just enough that he could--- 

The sound of Carlos’s phone ringing cut through the tense silence. They both startled, Jared pulling his focus from his bomb back to Carlos. 

“What is that?” he asked tensely. 

Carlos spoke slowly, making sure to keep his voice even, “That’s my phone. I’m sure there are people outside here now, and I’m sure that they want to talk to you. Will you talk to them?” 

Jared looked startled, “I don’t want to talk to anyone,” he said, “I just want to finish and go home.” 

“I can’t make any promises, but maybe if you talk to them we can work something out.” 

Jared put down his tools and stepped away from the duffel bag, walking over to Carlos. He held out his hand and Carlos placed his ringing phone in it, the screen flashing an unknown number. Jared took it, studying it as if weighing his options. Carlos let him silently consider; feeling a rush of adrenaline when he noticed that the hand holding the gun had gone lax in his concentration. 

He was distracted and the gun wasn’t pointed at Carlos’s face - if he was going to act, now was the time. 

He lunged forward, springing up from his position on the floor without a second thought. He acted on instinct; going to tackle Jared, aiming to bring him down. Unfortunately, the other man reacted far more quickly than Carlos had anticipated. There was a deafening bang and a sudden pain that spread like fire. 

He crumbled to the ground, clutching his throbbing left arm to his chest. He had been shot; Jared had just shot him in the arm. That solitary thought and the while hot pain were all Carlos could focus on. He was dimly aware of angry words being shouted, of a steel-toed boot kicking his ribs, forcing him to turn onto his back. The ache of the kick barely registered - every fiber of his being and every nerve in his body was centered on this white-hot pain. 

Jared was still shouting, but now he was standing above Carlos; glaring down at him with fury in his eyes. Once he was sure Carlos was watching his lifted the ringing phone to show him, before throwing it to the ground and smashing it with the same boot that had assaulted his side a moment before. 

Carlos closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to focus; losing his head was not going to help anything. He had already read Jared wrong once - he wouldn’t be so lucky again. He needed to pay attention; he couldn’t afford to be anything less than his best. It was the only way he might survive this (though, given recent developments, his optimism for such an outcome had significantly dwindled). 

He opened his eyes and focused back on Jared; his angry words finally piercing the haze, “You made me do this - if you had done what you were told this wouldn’t have happened!” 

Carlos cleared his throat before he spoke,  willing his voice to sound stronger than he felt, “You can’t blame me for trying though, right?”

Jared did not look impressed. “Just stay here and don’t fucking move. I’ve already shot you once, don’t make me do it again - the next time, it’ll be a headshot.” 

Carlos nodded and Jared scowled at him one last time before turning on his heel and going back to the duffel of explosives.

Carlos took the opportunity to close his eyes again and will his heart into a more steady rhythm. He had sorely underestimated this guy. Carlos had thought he was skittish, easily startled, and overpowered. He had underestimated him and he had paid the price. He pulled himself up into a sitting position, leaning heavily on the pole behind him for support. He gently removed his arm from its protective embrace against his chest and peered at it. 

It didn’t look good, to put it plainly. 

Carlos counted himself lucky that the bullet had missed the artery.  The fact that it was not an arterial bleed meant he might have hours, not minutes. Still; it was gushing blood at an alarming rate. He managed to rip a section off his uniform shirt to wind tightly around the wound in the best impersonation of a pressure bandage he could muster. Even with the tightly wound covering and his hand pressed firmly on top, blood still seeped out and ran down his arm. 

He flicked his gaze from the wound to Jared; who had returned back to his duffel. Yes, he had underestimated him. He hadn’t expected him to actually go through with shooting him. But Carlos was certain he had not read him wrong during their initial conversation. He wanted these buildings gone and he was willing to do anything to do it, but he didn’t want to kill anyone if he didn’t have to. That had to be his way out. If he could appeal to that...well, maybe he would live to see the outside of this place again. 

“You haven’t killed anyone yet Jared,” Carlos said as evenly as he could with his voice tight from pain. “But that changes today if you keep me here. If you don’t diffuse that bomb and let me walk out of here, my death will be on your conscious. Either from that bomb or from blood loss, because I’m going to be honest with you Jared; if I don’t get help for this bullet wound soon, I am not going to make it. Do you want my death on your conscious Jared? Can you look me in the eyes and tell me you want me to die?” 

Jared was quiet as he looked at the bomb, running his hands over the wires. Carlos could see his resolve wavering. He changed tactics. 

“We can find another way to destroy these buildings Jared; a way that doesn’t put so much at risk. That’s all you want right, for these buildings to be gone? Let me help you find another way.” 

The only sound in the room was the sound of their breaths and the light dripping of Carlos’s blood onto the cement below him. The makeshift bandage was completely saturated now; the blood was slowly beginning to form a puddle on the floor. He had meant what he said to Jared - this wound was not good. He had spent too many years with a paramedic for a friend to not know what fatal bloodloss looked like. He wasn’t there yet, but it was only a matter of time. 

And time isn’t something he had a lot of right now. 

“Okay,” Jared finally said. 

Carlos whipped his head up to look back at Jared, who had lowered the gun. “Okay,” he repeated, “as long as those buildings are gone, I’ll leave with you. I don’t care how it happens, I just want them gone.” 

Carlos sucked in a deep breath, hardly willing to believe his luck. “That’s great Jared,” he said evenly, “can you diffuse the bomb so I know for sure no one else will get hurt? Then we can go.” 

Jared nodded and bent over the duffel. A few moments later he straightened up. “I’m ready,” was all he said. He walked over to Carlos and handed him the gun, “Let’s go.” 

Carlos stared at him for a long moment before he shook himself. He could not believe that had actually worked, but now was not the time to dwell on that. Now was the time to get the fuck out here and that is exactly what Carlos intended to do. 

He pulled himself off the floor, groaning as he did so. He swayed as he made it to his feet; the sudden change in elevation coupled with the blood loss nearly toppling him back down. He flung out an arm to the nearby pole and steadied himself. He took measured breaths, willing his equilibrium to return. Finally, his vision stopped swimming and he straightened up. He picked up the gun Jared had dropped and checked the safety before slipping it into his belt. Then he raised his eyes to the man in question, hovering by the doorway uncertainly. 

“I’m assuming it’s a given that you’re under arrest and will be formally taken into custody as soon as we get out of here.”

Jared nodded meekly and Carlos tried to pull himself up straighter. “Ater you then,” he said drily, gesturing towards the doorway, 

Jared exited into the main hallway and Carlos followed close behind. Every step jostled his wound and sent a new wave a throbbing pain down his arm and into his body, but he gritted his teeth and kept moving forward. When they neared the doorway he gestured for Jared to stop.

“There will be police right outside that door, and they don’t know what’s going on. I need you to stay next to me, and we’re going to exit at the same time with our hands up so they know we’re unarmed, okay?” 

Jared nodded meekly and Carlos gave him a small, tight smile. Then he raised his good arm up and Jared followed suit. Then they both crossed through the doorway into the commotion. Carlos squinted as his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight after hours in a dim room, but even through his obscured gaze, he could see every eye turn to them. It was quiet for a beat before chaos broke out anew. 

There was a barricade separating where he had been from reality; on the other side was a mass of people and lights and uniforms, and his friends. He could see Michelle, her face already furrowed as she pulled together medical supplies no doubt preparing herself to take care of his wound and give him a lecture about scaring her.  He could see Mya and Owen standing side by side, wearing matching expressions of worry. 

Mya placed a hand on Owen’s shoulder before moving forward with the small group of officers moving to intercept them. Their gazes met and he gave her a small smile that was returned with a scowl that let him know he was in for a talk about not scaring your partner half to death; though even from here he could see the worry and fear in every bit of her body language. 

He allowed himself to relax. They were outside, his friends were here; he had made it. 

He put down his arm and quickened his pace. He was ready to get out of here - he wouldn’t even fight Michelle on the ambulance this time. The pain from his arm was making his head fuzzy and he wanted to go home. He wanted to see his friends; he wanted to hold TK with his one working arm. 

He wanted to be the one to tell him they had got the guy; he wanted to let him know that whatever he had gone through today would be worth it if it meant that TK’s would-be murderer was facing justice. He wanted to be able to bask in the fact that they were both safe and alive.

Instead, several things happened at once. 

Carlos heard a thundering boom from behind him and saw Mya’s eyes widen a split second later. He turned to look; to see what had happened, but he never got the chance. A wall of heat hit him at the same moment as an unknown force knocked him from his feet. He crashed the ground, instinctively throwing his good arm over his head in instinct. He felt a sharp pain as his wounded arm was pinned under his body and countless smaller pains over the rest of his body. There was a ringing in his ears, and the feeling of being pelted by he knew not what. 

Then there was darkness, and he knew no more. 

[Read on Ao3 - and maybe leave a comment if you’d like]