« The Renegade »

t w o

"Alpha, are you in position?"

"Read with Romeo and Dare, ma'am" Jayla's voice was soft and reserved over the radio, discreet, gun in hand.

The assailant had been threatening violence, having escaped police custody prior to being accused of murder 4 years ago.

The setup consisted of Jayla and two older male agents, Cowan and Austin and their backup, and police to arrive shortly.

"Do not move unless told to do s-" Austin's cry was audible beyond the radio, a single bullet piercing the delicate skin just above her hip. She howled in agony, her two Agent's diving to stop the bleeding. The assailant progressed toward them hastily, forcing the attention from the Agent's who were instructed firmly to remain hidden.

Jayla, however, was not the finest at listening. In her fury to protect Austin, she darted out from behind the shed, barking orders at him. He simply responded in firing wildly, before throwing the empty gun at Jayla and bolting.

"DON'T YOU DARE SHRIKE" Cowan barked as Jayla took off running after the assailant, ascending into the dense bush. She could hear his ferocious yelling, knew the consequences would be severe, and Austin wouldn't be there to save her.

Jayla couldn't stop however, she would protect her team no matter the cost. This assailant was going to prison, especially after his assault on Austin.

The darkness had begun to loom over the bushland and Jayla had lost sight of him, however could still here him moving around in front of her. The more she concentrated however, the more she realised there was more footsteps surrounding her. At this realisation, she armed the fully loaded gun, ready to fire. She heard the overhead helicopter, spotted its light as it frantically searched for signs of life.

Part of her had begun to panic, as the footsteps around her were becoming far more prominent, until finally a clearing where she could see the assailant standing by himself at the edge of a river. She held her gun up, a safe distance away. "Put your hands behind your head buddy, it's game over."

"For you, yes, indeed it is!" The laugh he let out chilled her blood stone cold, he rivalled that of the Joker. The footsteps behind her were now two people, a man and a woman, on her as she demanded the halt. They began to haul her toward the river, she dropped her gun under the surface as she struggled, feet desperately seeking slippery rock to stable herself. She would scream for help, that's what they sought. She fought roughly, kicking and punching, until they reached a section of the river were only the man could stand, Jayla essentially drowning if she hadn't bobbed up a few times. He took his belt off and wrapped it around her, letting go of her arm so that only the belt protected her entire body from being ripped away by the violent water. Gunshot echoed from the shoreline, the team had finally located them.

She coughed heavily, turning her head to see a dark grey car tear up the road on the opposite side of the river. She desperately kept afloat until he snapped the belt up, wrapping it so it was holding her by her throat. Unable to breathe, she grabbed the belt with both hands and pulled it away with little effect, until another gunshot echoed and he fell into the water, unresponsive, letting the belt and Jayla go. Her attempt to gasp for air caused her to go under, scrambling in deep, pitch black water to get back to the surface.

An obvious heavy splash, as if a rock was evident. She couldn't see anything, she couldn't tell which direction to swim. The plants brushed against her, she was running out of air hastily.

The arms grasped her firmly, suddenly dragging her desperately from the bottom to the surface, slumping her over a large rock. She could head a violent cough and heavy gasping, realising it was herself. The panting cough beside her was speaking, she couldn't hear the words however.

"-Baby? Sweetheart? Can you hear me?? Are you alright??" His voice cut through the silence. Dylan had heard the commotion over his radio, making it just in time to save his little girl.

He dragged her to the rocks, hauling her up onto the riverside and engulfing her with his arms, breathing shakily from the strain.

Just as he did when she was a toddler, he carried her to the car, laying her across the back seat and draping a blanket from his car boot over her, soft speaking to her. Words were exchanged over the radio, Cowan not at all happy to be co-operating with the fugitive Dylan Shrike, however he did save an Agent's life. His back tires skidded upon his take off, the angry muttering of Cowan still heard over his radio. "Sweetheart? Can you tell me how much water you think you swallowed?" The response that came being a weak cough, he quickly spoke "alright pup, let's get you to a hospital."

"N-No" She whined. She despised hospitals, trying to plead with her Father but it falling on deaf ears. She awoke when they were waiting in the emergency department, her head resting on his shoulder and his head back on his chair, exhaustion consuming him. A period of time later, they had awoken him and he followed them into the hospital room as they poked and prodded at his little girl. The overprotectiveness within him was burning, but he withheld his desire to push them away and hold her in his arms, protecting her from the world.

When they started opening her button shirt to look at her and feeling down her severely bruised ribs, he almost lost it completely. Her eyes pleaded with him to save her, causing him to stand up and do the buttons back up the second they had left. "Don't worry honey, I'm here" He comforted her, smiling. His smile only grew when he felt her relax heavily, holding his hand tightly. "What're these bruises from J?"

She noticeably tensed at the question. "I-I'm sure many a-are from t-today."

"This many?" He pressed, tilting his head, "are you sure? These aren't created from swimming."

"I'm sure." His eyes saddened, he knew when she was lying to him. He decided against pressing the matter, she'd had enough for one day, and so had he. Holding her hand, he used his soaking coat as a blanket, welcoming well earned rest, especially when the nurse removed his coat and provided a warm wooly blanket, a small smile of thanks on his features as his eyelids dropped heavily.