A Fight For Life | Alex Mason

Helpless: Ending three

"He's in Duga." Bell hesitated.
I examined her carefully. My gut told me she was lying. Despite every sign pointing to the truth I knew better. Everyone looked to me expectantly.
"She's lying." I said confidently.
Adler's face twisted with anger. We didn't have time for lies.
"Damnit, Bell! Where is he." He demanded.
Her frown transformed into a demented smile. She let out a hellish laugh.
"You strip me of my identity and my morals and expect me to help you? Americans." She scoffed.
"Fucking Bitch!" Woods shouted.
Adler reached for his pistol but Bell was quick. Instead of pointing it to Adler, like I'd expected, she pressed the barrel to her own head. Everyone took a step back.
   "Bell, please. It doesn't have to be like this." I pleaded.
    She looked to me. Her face softened briefly before becoming ice cold once again.
   "It's a shame. You were my favorite." She hissed before pulling the trigger.
"Shit!" Adler exclaimed.
   I shrieked in surprise and forced my eyes closed. Although I couldn't see it, I felt her blood spatter across my skin.
I'd grown used to death and gore in my career but this was different. Although she turned on us in the end, I'd grown close to Bell and seeing her take her life like that was horrifying.
Mason rushed toward me and pulled me into his arms. He was shielding me from what was in front of me. I was guided into the bunk house and away from Bell.
"Get that shit cleaned up." Adler barked before storming off to update Washington.
   Mason sat me down onto one of the bunks but didn't let me go.
  "Don't open your eyes no matter what. Do you understand?" He asked, gentle yet firm.
  "Yes." I whispered.
  He let me go slowly and began removing my jacket. He checked my shirt over to make sure there wasn't any blood and wiped off my face.
   "You can open your eyes."
   My eyes fluttered open. He was knelt in front of me with his hand resting on my leg. His eyes searched mine as I looked back at him.
  "Are you okay?" He asked gently.
Hot tears stung my eyes. I fought hard to keep the tears from falling. The truth was that wasn't I wasn't okay.
"I just want to know why." I replied softly.
He was clearly upset that it had hurt me so much. He'd seen so much worse in his lifetime and I'm sure it didn't bother him nearly as much as it did me.
"Fawn! Mason! Come out here." Park called to us.
Mason carefully walked me out into the main room. The room where Bell had been was now shut up tight and the blinds were drawn.
Everyone was gathered around waiting for us. Adler had assumedly gotten our orders from DC. Park's face has a greenish hue to it and Woods was quieter than normal. It was clearly bothering us all.
"The CIA is trying to get a location on Perseus. Until then we are to stay put, no matter what." Adler explained.
"The nukes are supposed to go off in a matter of hours and we're standing on top of one right now." Mason argued.
I hadn't even though of that. We were sitting ducks.
"I know." Adler replied.
He walked away without another word. I think we all knew what was coming.
I looked to Mason. He looked numb to the situation. His face was pale and his eyes were pained and hollow.
"Come on." He signaled to me.
I followed him back to the bunkhouse. The room was dark without the light on. The small window inside let in the moonlight but the room was mostly shadows.
He sat up on one of the small beds, leaning against the pillow and headboard. I sat in between his legs and leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around me tightly for comfort.
"Mason?" I whispered to him.
"Yes?"
"If we don't find Perseus, I'm glad I'm here with you."
He paused for a moment.
"Me too."
Woods and Park both quietly entered the room. They sat on their own beds around us in the dark. We all sat quietly for a moment.
"You know, I always thought I'd be a teacher." Park said softly.
I turned slightly so I could see both Park and Woods.
"Before I lost my dad, I wanted to be a veterinarian." I smiled weakly.
"I always swore I'd become an engineer some day." Mason added.
"I wanted to be a marine." Woods said nonchalantly.
We all let out a soft chuckle. Whether or not he meant to Woods always made us smile.
"I'd kind of hoped the two of you would go off and live a happy life after this." Park smiled at Mason and I.
Normally I'd deny it completely to avoid an awkward situation but if we were going to die anyway I didn't care.
"Me too if I'm being honest." I replied softly.
"You could've finally made me an uncle." Woods continued.
Mason pressed a soft kiss against my cheek. My heart ached knowing we'd probably never see the day. Even if it was naive, it was a much better thought than reality.
Adler suddenly poked his head into the room. He looked pained by what he was about to tell us.
"They didn't find him. The codes will go out any minute." He said regretfully.
He didn't stay. The four of us sat in silence as we accepted our fate.
"Thank you guys, for everything." I began. "I was terrified when I found out I was coming here but you guys made me feel welcome. You're the best friends I've ever known and I'm glad that you're the people I get to spend my last moments with."
Tears began falling across Park's cheeks, making me cry as well.
"I've never had a connection like this with a team. We've simply gone through so much together." She continued.
We really had. We'd lost people along the way as well as just the sheer trauma of our jobs. The people around me were the most important to me and I wasn't afraid to say it.
There was a sudden shaking below us. This was it.
"I love you." I whispered to Mason.
"I love you too."
The shaking turned to rumbling and we heard the loud boom. Mason and I squeezed each other tight, and in an instant it was all gone.
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This is the last ending for this story! Thank you all so much for your love and support on this story. I love hearing any and all feedback and I appreciate how active you all are. The sequel is up right now!