Shadow Men – 59 – Anders and Grant

Grant had wanted to create a distraction, just not quite that way, but it worked. A shot rang out and Jackson fell forward to land on top of him. With a shudder, despite the pain he was in, Grant managed to push the man off of him just in time to see the Colonel fire his own gun. Anders, however, had taken advantage of the moment and was now down on one knee. He rolled to the left, kicking out at the Colonel's legs. His foot landed hard on the Colonel's bad knee.

A roar of rage and pain, which made Grant's previous scream seem like a whimper, left the Colonel's lips when his knee collapsed under him. Anders was on his feet seconds later, just as Steele stepped into view.

"Where the hell were you?" Anders growled. He kept his gun trained on the Colonel and kicked the man's gun halfway across the clearing.

"Taking care of the other two who came with the bastard," Steele spat out. "He thinks rather a lot of himself, or very little of us, to come with so little backup." He moved to stand beside Anders. At that moment the clouds thinned again. The moonlight seemed to spotlight the look of pure hatred in Steele's eyes. "Your doing?" he asked Anders as his booted foot landed on the Colonel's knee.

Above the resulting scream Grant heard Anders say, "Indeed. Wish I'd hit him in a more vital spot."

"I think we can remedy that," Steele replied, ice in his voice. He was suddenly holding a knife in his free hand. "Keep him covered."

Grant closed his eyes, almost savoring his pain as it took his mind from what he was certain Steele was doing. Not that he blamed him. If someone had done to Martin what the Colonel had done to Rafe… He pushed the thought of Martin away almost angrily. He had to. It was time to let go, if he could. A low moan broke through his thoughts then he felt the man beside him move.

"Anders," Grant called out in panic.

"What?" Anders called back. Seconds later, he was by Grant's side. "Guess he didn't get the message he was supposed to be dead," he muttered and took care of the problem. Then he knelt beside Grant. "You look like hell. Is any of that blood yours?"

"Probably." Grant touched his wrist.

"Damn." Then Anders grinned for an instant. "Our little boy just got his first battle scar."

"Fuck you," Grant grumbled. "Aren't you supposed to be doing something useful, like…keeping an eye on the Colonel while Steele…?" Grant shuddered.

"He's got it covered now," Anders replied tightly.

Steele strode over to join them. "More than covered, he's dead. The bastard had no staying power."

"Feel any better now?" Anders asked quietly.

Steele shook his head. "I thought I would, but…no."

Grant looked up at him, saying firmly, "Because you're a decent man."

"Yeah, well…" Steele took a deep breath, "Let's get rid of the trash and get out of here."

Anders took out his cell, placed a call, and told whoever answered a 'clean-up' crew was needed and where. "Taken care of," he said after ending the call. He helped Grant to stand, holding him tightly when his legs threatened to give out, and then the three men walked away without a backward glance.