Peter Pan The Killer

Chapter 22: Peter Takes a Hit

Gwen bit down hard. If James thought he had the upper hand, he was wrong. He yelped and let go of the hand pressed over her mouth. Without hesitation, she elbowed him square in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. Turning around, she grabbed a fishing rod and swung it at him. He barely missed and tripped over a rod.

"How did you get special ops on us?" Gwen asked, as threatening as she could whilst pointing a somewhat intimidating fishing rod.

James scowled at her, "Your friend took up arms the other day. Quite the terrorist. It wasn't too difficult with the evidence I had in hand."

It made sense. So far Gwen, Peter and Belle had close encounters with James, but none included weaponry or knocking down James' men. It was more of a chase, if anything. Not till Crocker showed. He was all guns and ammo. They shouldn't have taken down James' men back in Marne-la-Vallée. He had all the reason to convince the ops they were bad business.

She knew James noticed the panic in her eyes as he smirked triumphantly. "No running now, Gwen. I can call off the open fire if you surrender."

Gwen's nails dug into her palms, she shook with anger. James eyed her and a semblance of pity graced his features.

"Gwen... You know I don't want to do this to you. You have a whole future ahead of you. You're smarter than this. Please... If you stop now, I can still help you-"

"What about Pauline?" Gwen interrupted. "You guys seem to get nowhere in finding her. I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm going to rescue her and I'll prove to you that Gregory Skul is the bad guy," she hissed.

James shook his head, exasperated. "Gwen, that kind of childish behavior is getting you nowhere. You know my team and I are doing whatever it takes to find Pauline. You don't have to get involved. In fact, you were doing just fine, till he returned."

"Face it, your justice is a ruse. You're blinded by your infatuation with Peter," He said.

Gwen sucked a breath. "How dare you?" But it came out weaker than she expected. Why did she feel he was almost right? She shook her head.

She knew what she wanted to do. Save Pauline. Save Peter. Her goals would not waver.

"Last chance, Gwen. Surrender."

She unclenched her fists and took one step towards James. Right then, the door slammed open.

"Peter!" Gwen exclaimed, just a second before he kicked James to the ground and grabbed her wrist.

They were out in a flash. She noticed Crocker was already on the boat, lifting the anchor. Still more armed ops were onto them. Peter tugged her behind barrels, as they rushed towards the jetty. Shots rung out in the salty air. Gwen breathed heavily, she winced at the tight grip Peter had on her hand. He was on high alert, scanning for openings.

Gwen felt a wave of deja vu. It was just like three months ago. Running away, Peter doing all he could to get her to safety. She was a burden yet again. The scar on her thigh throbbed. There were too many guns this time. Would they escape unscathed?

Crocker was helping, diverting the attention of some men as he shot a few of them down. It was highly impressive considering how far he was. She could hear the boat's engine grumbling, Belle had started it. Just a little more and they would make it. Yet suddenly the stretch to the dock felt so long.

They ducked and ran, ducked and ran. Peter's eyes never losing focus, his grip only tightening.

"Will we make it?" Gwen's voice trembled.

Peter furrowed his brows, his lips set into a thin line. "I'm not letting you get hurt. Not again. I promise."

There was firm resolve in his eyes. She had never seen him look such before. The pure strength and determination made him seem like a different person. Gwen's heart throbbed. A sweet ache filled her body despite the situation. In that moment, she had surrendered her trust to him. She trusted him like her life depended on it.

But there it was. His twisted way of answering her question. He did it the last time too. As if he were throwing his safety to grant hers.

Their shoes thudded on the wooden boards of the jetty. A couple of bullets whizzed past them. Crocker had retracted the ladder and held out his hand instead for a quicker boarding and exit. Adrenaline surged her forward, she stretched out her hand.

Everything after that happened too fast. Her hand landed into Crocker's powerful grip as she jumped off the platform, Peter held her other, giving her support. But the instant she was suspended between the platform and the boat, she heard three shots.

They were coming for her. For sure they were. Yet it never came. Through some miraculous feat, Peter leapt off the platform and grabbed her torso, twisting their bodies mid air.

They smacked hard onto the deck.

The only pain she felt was a mild concussion. She was still in his arms when she opened her eyes. She felt the motion of the boat pulling them further away from the jetty, leaving James and the armed men behind.

Then she felt wet sticky fluid soak her shirt. The metallic scent of blood.

Her breath caught in her throat as she scrambled out of Peter's arms. It was not her blood.

With a groan, Peter rolled to his back, his shirt soaked crimson. Underneath the unforgiving sun, she saw three ghastly holes on his abdomen.

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A/N: Another chapter this month! As an apology for being late for the few before this.

Also, since Halloween is coming... Anyone interested in a Halloween Special? A short spin off story just like the Valentine's special? Let me know in the comments, I'm happy to hear any ideas too!