Roth & Korrigan

Escapade 5: Stressful Situation

It hurt. His nerves were screaming, crying, tearing at his attention. And with grim determination, Roth smiled. This was his element.

With two men down, four still surrounded him. All had knives, and determined looks upon their concealed visages. He could assume they used the Philippine sword art of Kali, judging from their stances, their swords, their outfits. Identical to their pursuers, the all black armor was light, close-fitting, durable material- meant for stealth; built on the presupposition that every encounter's result would be a success. Their faces were covered with the exception of their eyes- He was essentially dealing with ninjas.

Thinking quickly, Roth managed to swipe the matching knives off of the unconscious enemies behind him. Taking off the heavy shield he assessed that his knowledge of Kali was not as extensive as what would've been preferred for this particular venture, but- with a quick prayer for a miraculous turnout- it would have to make do.

Instead of waiting to be forced into defense, Roth went on the offense, which subsequently took his enemies off guard- he struck the closest on his left, guarding his injured arm to avenge it with his right. By the time he managed to disable the opposed- his utensils clattering down as James gave a foot to his gut- the others had recovered and now were set upon him.

Simultaneously dodging and blocking advances from the sides, the impromptu warrior sliced at the knees of a third, only to be blocked ferociously. Quick timing lent him an opening to bash the end of his stolen knife against a poorly armed head- at any later second, Roth would've been missing his good arm.

He could feel the blood dribbling down the other- and briefly wondered; would he have enough in him to deal with the other two? Not to mention the primary pursuers now three-quarters down the stairway. The fact that he could even feel the injury so instantly meant it probably wasn't deep, yet-

The sound of a gunshot rang out. The groan of an adversary behind him prompted Roth to swing a hook kick across his face. A quick glance downward, and he was rewarded with the sight of a bullet wound in the side. A rush of air preceded a girlish scream, and Roth turned around to find Duchess tearing into the last foe.

"Come on!" Korrigan clipped past him with pistol in hand, most undoubtedly filched from the unconscious by the stairway. He followed her to an open door, at which point Korrigan took the opportunity to swing around and aim a shot the ninjas on the stairs- right in the shoulder. The escaping party didn't bother to stick around as the injured pursuer sank knees at the bottom of his course.

"Ack! Owowowoowwoow." He blubbered as his fellow kneeled down beside him. She was about to say something when a static crackling caught her attention.

"Hello?" She asked into a cell phone, ".....No, they're gone....a dog...my men are injured! ....No fatalities, seems like pretty boy didn't have any intention to kill. They still going to need time to recover- Albert may need a rabies shot...yes, I understand, sir." A quick clik! and the conversation ended

"What'd the boss say?" The injured groaned as his superior pressed at his shoulder to stop the bleeding.

     "That medical help is on the way. And that we may have to prepare for phase one a little quicker than I would've wanted."

***

The rest of the mansion was quiet, and disturbingly uneventful. Handing the gun to James, Korrigan made a quick raid through a small bathroom on the first floor, thankfully finding a treasured medical kit, supplied with the things she frantically searched for.

“Give me your arm.” Even as he put the acquired weapons in the adjacent sink, James’ left arm was snatched from his possession into Laurel’s diligent hands, trailing blood down his sleeve and across his vest- it complimented the lip stain still on the dark grey article. Rolling the sleeve back, both were rewarded with the sight of a thin slit, welling up with red, just before reaching his elbow. The cut was, thankfully, away from any major veins- Laurel let go of a breath she wasn’t aware she was holding.

“Do you suppose it might need stitching?”

“No, it’s pretty-“ Korrigan stopped, halting her assessment to look up and find a smile playing on his lips. With a firm scowl, she tore open the bandage packaging and began to clean his arm. “You have terrible timing for humor.”

“Isn’t humor the best sort of remedy?” A whine elicited from Duchess, who stood guard vigilantly at the bathroom door. James himself tensed up at the stinging contact, yet never lost his amused smile.

“Not when we’re running for our lives.” She finished wrapping the injury in gauze and bandages and tossed the kit back under the sink, where it had been found. Taking back the gun, a careful peek about the doorway showed an all clear. “Let’s go.”

“Hold on a moment.” Roth tugged at her, pointing to a door clearly marked, GARAGE. His smile grew even wider.

There we are, a post that took me more than a week to try and choreograph(This is mostly due to finals and such). I wanted to make it a bit longer than the usual 550 words, give or take a few ten. It's probably going to get even longer in the future. Sorry for the wait everybody. In the art section, you can check out a slight redesign of Laurel( 'cus originally, her face was too long.) Please tell me what you thought of  this section!                                                                                            

                                                 -Writing Wolf