Choices || Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Chapter Two

It didn't take long for Briggs to neutralize the men in the room. There were four of them stationed around the periphery and in the span of a few seconds, they were all laid out on the floor, unmoving. Briggs was having to dodge and roll all the while to avoid their return fire. He had not gotten a shot off on his true target, however. As soon as Briggs had entered the room, Sadiq had grabbed Sam around his neck, dragging him to his feet and using him as a shield. Too weak to fight back, Sam could only hobble awkwardly in Sadiq's grasp, the karambit still protruding from his leg.

The firefight came to a stalemate as Briggs hid behind a concrete pillar.

"By my estimate, you only have one shot left," Briggs called out. Sadiq's pistol had a very distinctive sound when fired and Briggs could hear it over din of the ancillary gunfire. He had been counting Sadiq's shots, waiting for this moment.

Briggs pulled out of cover, gun pointed at Sadiq's head, though it was mostly hidden behind Sam's. Sadiq mirrored his actions, pointing his pistol at Briggs.

Sam was in bad shape. Briggs could see that well enough. His eyes were distant and unfocused, lids half closed. His breathing was labored and a large trail of blood was streaming down his leg. If Sadiq didn't have hold of him, he probably would have collapsed.

"One is all I need..." Sadiq turned his gun to Sam's head, but didn't fire.

Briggs still didn't have a shot or he would have taken it. There weren't many options remaining. He couldn't just demand that Sadiq let Sam go because that would only confirm that Sam was important and Sadiq would kill him for sure. He couldn't wait out the situation either. Sam didn't have that long. So he called Sadiq's bluff.

"Go ahead. And as soon as he's dead, you'll join him."

Silence.

Then Sadiq added, "...but I'm not going to kill him. No, he's much more useful to me alive. At least for now. You have two options here—save him, or come after me. I'd choose quickly though. By the looks of him, I'd say you have about five minutes."

In Briggs' ear, Grim chimed in. "Sam's vitals are plummeting. Briggs, you need to do something!"

Before Briggs could act, Sadiq continued. "You were wrong by the way." At that, he pulled the trigger. The gun clicked, but didn't fire. He was out of bullets. Immediately after, he threw Sam forward into Briggs and ran through the door behind him.

Briggs only managed to fire a few rounds before he had to catch Sam who was falling face-first towards the concrete floor. Though he was only half-conscious, Sam was clearly still aware of the situation.

"Go get... get Sadiq," he mumbled.

"Sorry, Sam." Briggs had no intention of chasing Sadiq. They would just have to go after him another day. Right now he had to get Sam to the medics. As soon as possible. He cut the rope binding Sam's hands so that he could lay flat on his back.

"That's... an order." The words came out weaker than the first.

"I'm getting you out of here."

Briggs didn't have any medical supplies with him, but he couldn't just leave the knife in Sam's leg. Seeing one of the dead soldiers nearby, Briggs tore a large strip of cloth from the man's shirt. Without wasting any time, he swiftly pulled the knife from Sam's leg, trying not to cause any more damage in doing so. The action tore a grunt of pain from Sam. Upon inspection, Briggs realized the knife was actually Sam's. He grimaced at the thought that it had been used against its owner, but pocketed it nonetheless. Using zipties, Briggs secured the cloth over the wound, satisfied that it would stanch the bleeding enough to extract Sam.