Black Thunder (Markson AU)

Chapter 12: Wait for It

"We did it! Jackson, we did it!"

Mark's words of joy brought relief to Jackson's ears. Wow, he thought to himself, holding a hand to his chest, I can't believe we actually made it through! He raised his hand in a high five, but to his surprise Mark ignored it and enveloped his partner in a tight hug. Jackson felt himself begin to smile- partly from Mark, partly from relief, as he embraced the other even tighter.

Jackson was the first to pull away, and he noticed that Mark's eyes were glittering with excitement. "Can you believe it?" he gushed. He couldn't hide the surprise in his voice. Their little celebration was interrupted by a knock from the door to their left. Kihyun and his metal cart came strolling in, and it was apparent that the worker was happy for their victory, also.

"Congratulations for completing the first half of the Trial!" Kihyun chimed happily, traces of relief on his face. "I wasn't able to watch, but it must have been good. Stage Three is next." The worker rolled his cart out in front of the two agents. "I have some more stuff for you to put on. Some of them will be used in Stage Three, and the others will be used in Stage Four."

Laid out on his little cart were various tools and contraptions that would prove very useful, such as:

A gun. Kihyun held out one pistol in each hand, the shiny black surface gleaming in the fluorescent lights of the room. Jackson gladly accepted it, a smile growing on his face as he felt the familiar grooves of the weapon.

A pocketknife. A no-brainer, really. Kihyun instructed them to slip it into one of the pockets of their pants, one that they could access easily. Mark dropped it as soon as he got it. Jackson sighed.

A lighter. Jackson raised an eyebrow at this, and while Mark wasn't looking, told Kihyun under his breath, "I don't remember a lighter in our Trial." To this, Kihyun shrugged and told him that the toolset for Stage Three had changed a couple years ago. Jackson frowned, knowing that the course would be different from what he'd remembered it to be and knowing that his advantage was invalid.

Rope. Kihyun handed Jackson a coil of rope, and Jackson expertly tucked it away in his clothing.

A small screwdriver, just in case they needed to do any construction or destruction.

Batteries. Mark cocked up an eyebrow at this, but Kihyun discreetly held up a finger to his lips to tell him to be quiet.

Lastly, when Kihyun began to roll his cart away as he wished the two good luck, he walked behind them and slid a small box into their pockets. Mark and Jackson exchanged identical confused glances. Tentatively, Jackson felt around his back pocket for the mysterious little box that Kihyun had given them. He found it and pulled the box out.

It was an extra box of bullets. Quickly his eyes darted up and around to check and see if there were any cameras monitoring the waiting room. To his relief, there seemed to be none.

Kihyun suddenly stopped when he got to the doorframe. "Be careful," he told them, raising his gaze to look into the duo's eyes.

"We know," Mark replied. Jackson swatted his arm.

Kihyun let out an amused chuckle. "I mean it. Wait here until the cylinder turns green, okay? Good luck."

Jackson nodded at him, and Kihyun met his eyes for a second. The orange-brown haired man stared into Jackson's eyes for a moment, as if sending him a message to keep both Mark and himself safe. Jackson turned the side of his mouth up in a smile to reassure him.

Out of the corner of Mark's eyes, the glass cylinder began to glow green. "Jackson, it's time."

"Got it." Jackson cleared his throat and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His fingers brushed over the handgun that was tucked in his belt, uneasiness filling his throat. Oh no. What was Stage Three again? I forgot. But wait. Kihyun told me that they'd changed the toolset. Why did he give each of us an extra box of bullets? Is he trying to help us? How did my first partner know what to do for this phase? I don't know.