Fingerprints

Nineteen

"I can't believe they're giving us medals for crashing a bus." Newt murmured into his partners ear as they stood formally on stage, waiting for their names to be called. They were stood in a large town hall, the mayor, and council sat in the first couple of isles, reporters and the civilians they saved on the bus in the next. Tyler wasn't there. Thomas scoffed next to them.

"It was pretty badass though."

"I can't believe I let you crash a bus. I'm meant to be the responsible one." He muttered. Brenda snorted quietly next to them.

"Is there anyone important here anyway?" She asked quietly over the presenter, who was droning on about their brave actions.

"Mayor, few members of the council. Uhh..Tyrone Brown, Rosie Marks, Ava Paige, George Tire." Minho listed off. Brenda shot him a look.

"How do you know all that?" She breathed.

"Hang on Ava Paige?" The blond blinked.

"Yeah. She runs a huge company in the city. I think they sell medicine or something. Why?" Minho asked, turning to his friend.

"You think that could have anything to do with Paige I-"

"GET DOWN" Thomas yelled, pulling the blond to the ground. Brenda, Minho and Jorge threw themselves to the floor. The shot fired over their heads, and the hall erupted in chaos. Newt opened his eyes to see Thomas above him. Newt passed for a second to wonder how Thomas had known there would be a shooter, but that was something he could wonder later. Right now they had to find cover. Jorge crawled toward the edges of the stage, staying low on the ground. Brenda and Minho followed, pulling their guns from their holsters. Newt found a grip on his and rolled toward the other edge of the stage, shots still being fired all around them. Thomas followed his lead, the two of them making it to the wing. Newt pushed his back against it, taking a moment to catch his breath.

"Wheres the shooter?" He breathed. Thomas puled out his gun.

"In the vents."

"In the what?"

"Vents. I saw the gun, didn't see the person."

"Shit." Newt cursed under his breath and yelled across the stage, as chaos ensued. "MINHO"

"WHAT"

"THEYRE IN THE VENTS. YOU GET THE SHOOTER"

"WELL WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO?"

'I'M GETTING A TRACKER ON PAIGE"

"SERIOUSLY? THAT'S NOT OUR PRIORITY RIGHT NOW."

"IT'S MINE"

"JESUS, YOU NEED TO STOP BEING AROUND THOMAS SO MUCH, YOU'VE NEVER BEEN THIS RECKLESS" Minho shot him a grin, before turning his back on him to talk to Brenda and Jorge. Newt grinned fondly at his best friend and turned back to Thomas.

"He's right you know." The american scoffed.

"Yeah well, almost dying on a bus with the most annoying person ever changes you." He shot a playful glare at the man and began to make his way down to the isles. Thomas followed, covering for the man when he could as Newt tried to scout out where the woman had got too. Then he spotted her.

Ava Paige was a stern woman. She had lighter hair that was stiff and formal, and always wore white. She held herself formally, and had eyes and a mouth that looked like they once showed compassion and cared about someone, but now only portrayed a businesswoman like hold. She was stood on the edge of the room by the wall, not making any move to run toward the door like everyone else was. Newt signalled to his partner and Thomas nodded, covering for the blond as he crawled toward the woman, using the seats as cover. One particular shot sounded about two centimetres over his head, sparking on the chair.

"Tommy do your bloody job right!" He glowered at the man.

"Shut up I'm trying my best" Thomas pouted sulkily back at him and kept shooting at the vents. Newt grabbed the small tracker out of his pocket and made it to the wall.

"Are you alright ma'am?" He asked, putting the tracker hand on her arm, slipping the small device into the pocket of her coat. She smiled softly and nodded.

"Yes, thank you. I wanted to make sure everyone got out safe before I made a move to leave. I was worried it would become one of those, uh, bottle neck situations." She explained. Newt nodded.

"Well you made a good decision. We'll get you out of here as soon as we can, just sit tight." he advised. She nodded and sent him a tight smile.

"Newt!" Thomas called, the blond glancing across to where the man was knelt, covering from the onslaught of shots sent his way. "Im out!"

"I got you!" The brit knelt down behind a column, firing at the vent as Thomas slowly made his way across to where the two were. Newt kept firing, cursing Minho and Brenda under his breath and mentally urging them to be quicker. Thomas had almost made it across when he cried out in pain and fell to the floor. "Are you fucking serious Tommy!?" He glared. Nothing was going right. "Mrs Paige?" he called.

"Yes?"

"Do you know how to fire a gun?" That was a risky move. If she really was part of Paige Inc, chances were Newt was the one who was going to end up shot. But Thomas was in pain and Newt had to help him.

"I think so bu-"

"Great, can you cover for me whilst I go help my idiot of a friend?" It was more of an order than an ask, as he handed her his gun and began to crawl toward the brunette. She looked at the gun, before slowly cocking it an aiming it at the vent. The blond made it to his friend, pale and having for breath, managing, with all his energy, to drag the man back behind the cover of the pillar. Newt took his gun back and grinned gratefully at the woman before turning back to Thomas.

He was semi conscious, and had been shot in the stomach, groaning slightly as he clutched it.

"Shit shit shit shit Tommy you shucking idiot." he groaned, pulling up the shirt to reveal blood everywhere. "You work in medicine right?" He asked the woman. She nodded. "Ok cool, tell me if I'm doing anything wrong." The blond pulled up his sleeves, overthinking what he had been trained to do.

Step 1: Put pressure on it. Newt put his hands over his stomach, pushing down with his body weight. But the blood kept coming, and, not being able to think of anything else to do apart from put his entire body weight on it, he straddled Thomas. The brunette groaned in pain as the pressure was applied, trying to shove the blond off, but Newt wasn't having it.

"Stop complaining Tommy and shucking deal with it. It's either I put pressure on it or you die so shut your trap." The blood eventually stopped pouring from the wound, and Newt pulled off his shirt.

Step 2: Bandage it."Rip it into strips." Ava advised, watching from over his shoulder. Newt nodded and ripped up his shirt. He never liked it anyway. He tugged on the fabric until it ripped, and the wrapped it around his partners middle. He tied it tightly, trying his best as the blood sipped on his hands and Thomas's body. Once he was happy with it, he glanced up at the man. Thomas's eyes were fluttering and rolling, and he was as white as a ghost.

Step 3: Make sure they stay conscious. Newt smacked his face, holding his head between his two palms and slapping him lightly.

"Hey Tommy, come on, stay with me now. Stay with me." he said loudly. Thomas met his gaze with heavy lidded eyes. "Hi, morning sunshine." Newt grinned.

"Ew, this isn't what I imagined heaven like. I thought I could get rid of you." The brunette croaked.

"Oh shut your trap before I actually kill you." Somewhere in the back of his mind, the blond heard no more shooting, and heard feet coming toward them. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard Brenda curse, and Minho crack a joke about finding Newt shirtless, on top of Thomas. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard the sirens, and saw the paramedics coming their way. But not really. All he could see was Thomas's hazel eyes, as he stared, Thomas stared back. Completely alone in their world, so many words exchanged in-between just stares.