Part 8

Blaine's heart stopped, and he had to fight the buzz in his mind and the shake in his hands because Smythe was speaking again and he had Kurt.

"Oh, changed your mind about wanting him back, then? No interest in my new friend?-Sebastian is gloating and Blaine thinks he can hear muffled yelling in the background-"He led me right to you, you know. Couldn't find your safe house until he walked there all of the time. But I have it now. And him. You should be proud. He cooperated so well today, getting into the car like a well trained bitch."

"Where did you take him, Smythe?" Blaine forced himself to take even breaths. He hadto stay calm. "Your quarrel is with us, not him. Let him go."

"Nah. I think I'll keep him. He seems enjoyable, although my ears may bleed from his voice. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with a quick snip of his vocal cords." His voice turned sickly sweet, turning Blaine's stomach. "What do you think about that, Kurtsie?"

The plea was out of his mouth before he realized it. "Let him go, Sebastian."

"I don't think I will. However, since you trained gay face so well I did not even muss up my new shirt, I will give you a chance to earn him back.

Familiar territory. You can do this. You can do this for Kurt.The more he reminded himself, the less sure he felt. "I am listening."

"A car is going to pull up. Get in and drink the glass given to you. Do not call anyone. Just you, Blainey. Then we will settle our debts."

"And Kurt?"

"Adorable how you think you have a say. Get in the car or I will send his finger back with your ring on it.

He breathed deep, a surreal calm settling across his shoulders, a thick blanket of nothing. "Okay."

Sebastian sounded almost gleeful. "So glad you see it my way."

Silence ran through his head, the eerie calm of training and experience fully settled into him. the call to Cooper was made quickly, Blaine's fingers dialing from memory.

"Hello?" Cooper's voice nearly took a jackhammer to his internal peace. His breathing ragged as he gathered himself again.

"Sebastian has Kurt and I-"

"And you will not go after him."

"I am going in Sebastian's car and doing whatever I need to so he gets out."

Cooper obviously pulled the phone away from his mouth to shout a long string of curses. Blaine could imagine him running his free hand through his hair as he leaned against his desk.

"I'm not waiting for an extraction team. There isn't any time and it's my fault he got involved."

"You have duties owed to more than just your lover. There will be others, and as the second in command of the Family, I am ordering you to not get in that car and to wait for backup."

Blaine swallowed hard, collapsing onto a chair, rubbing at his face. "I...I'm sorry, Cooper. I'm sorry. I can't. I have to get him back." His blood ran cold with grim determination, fueling what was was always going to have been his decision, praying his words wouldn't be the goodbye they sounded like in his head. "I..." He cleared his throat around the tightness in it. "I love you, Coop. But I love him too. And I have to do this." He ended the call before Cooper could respond, the dull buzzing back between his ears.

Numb, Blaine stood again, crossing to where Kurt's coat was hanging on a hook, and buried his nose in the collar, where the spiciness of Kurt's cologne mingled with that scent that was all Kurt. No matter what happened, he would always remember that scent, as familiar now as Kurt's arms around him. He blinked back a few tears, forcing himself away and back to his task.

He rolled his shoulders a few times, squaring them before leaving the apartment. Everything felt...surreal, his mind in a free fall, letting the door to the entryway slam shut behind himself. As if it had been timed, a sleek black town car pulled up as he hit the bottom of the steps, nondescript and classy, just as Smythe presented himself. A man stepped out of the back seat as Blaine approached, Blaine sitting the open seat as the door was shut behind him. Wordlessly, Blaine accepted the glass being handed to him, chugging it without protest. Training taught him to pick out when a drink was off, and this one was. The car stayed motionless as Blaine felt the drugs hit. Going against everything he felt and had been taught, Blaine let go, allowing the fog to ascend unchallenged over his mind. A few breaths later and darkness swallowed him.

Sounds. So many sounds. High and low and a horrible smell in his nose, making Blaine snuffle. The sounds and light were annoying. The dark was nicer.

A too-familiar voice shouted, high and panicked enough to cut through the fog before being muffled, the sound of a hit against cloth-covered skin and a softer, more far away groan reaching his ears. He heard the slap before he felt it, a skin-on-skin crack before pain blossomed across his cheek, rocking the chair he was...bound to. Fuck. He shook his head, hoping to clear it, biting back his groan when it failed.

"Glad to have you back in the land of the living, Anderson." Blaine raised his head, blinking quickly until he could focus on Smythe standing in front of him. "Though," Smythe went on, almost as an aside, "how long you stay here is entirely dependent upon you."

He dropped his head and closed his eyes, keeping his voice as blasé as possible. "Shall we get down to business, Smythe, or are you just going to talk my ear off?"

Blaine raised his head to look at Sebastian in time to see him nod to someone behind Blaine. Another sound of a punch, another groan so familiar and so wrong echoed through Blaine's ears. He was going to be sick. He started to turn his head, but cool fingers gripped his chin tightly and forced his head up to look at Sebastian, who had crowded into his space. Keeping him talking would be the key. The longer they talked the more time Cooper had t find them. "Okay, Sebastian. What is it you want that will let everyone walk out of here"-basement, judging by the dampness and lack of windows, cracks in the paint showing age and disuse-"alive and happy."

"See, now, that won't be possible. I want you or your toy in a body bag next to the one holding your brother."

Keep breathing, keep him talking. Just keep him talking. "What did we do to provoke this? Do you really think your boss will appreciate the start of another war?"

"Hunter? He won't be a problem for much longer." The hairs on the back of Blaine's neck stood on end at Sebastian's smile.

"You're going to lead a coup."

The smile got wider, eyes manic. "Past tense, Blainey boy."

That was not good.

Sebastian wasn't done talking, continuing oblivious to Blaine's momentary distraction. "And after that we shall see if we can teach an old dog some new tricks. Your traditions are so dull."

"What does that have to do with us?"

Sebastian held eye contact, the predatory gleam in his eye chilling. The hands at Blaine's chin dropped to Sebastian's cuffs, unbuttoning them and deftly rolling his sleeves up. The fingers were back, bruisingly tight, neck protesting as it was forced back. "Your meddling cost me a Picasso. Fake or not, we had a buyer for it." The fingers at his chin were gone and Blaine's head was snapped to the side with the force of the slap, a sharp stinging across his cheek, a cut from Sebastian's ring. "So, Blainey, it seem you owe me ten million. Santana?" Sebastian addressed someone behind Blaine. "Could you bring our other guest of honor forward?"

The hand on his chin forced his head still, keeping him from watching the shuffling next to him. A chair scraped into place, close enough for him to touch if he could have reached out. More shuffling, and Blaine could envision Kurt being forced forward, being tied into his chair like Blaine was. He forced the guilt from him. He would deal with the guilt as soon as they were not in danger. First he had to get them out of danger.

Santana Lopez entered his line of vision, obviously having finished securing Kurt. The fingers on his jaw released and Sebastian stepped back, eyes moving between Blaine and Kurt, that smile that curdled Blaine's blood still on his face.

Moving slowly, so he could stop and spare them both more injury if he was not allowed to look, Blaine turned his head and had to bite back tears. Kurt's back was straight, his breath labored. A bruise was already blooming purple and blue across the sharp line of his cheekbones, chin down against his chest. Blaine couldn't help the "Kurt" that came out of his mouth. Slowly, as if it hurt him to move, Kurt turned his head to look at Blaine. Another bruise marred his eye, and there was a cut bled lightly from the corner of his mouth, a trail of red running down his chin, staining the cloth pulled tight between his lips.

Blaine blinked back tears at the sadness in Kurt's eyes. He would do anything he could to get Kurt out of this alive.

Sebastian clapped his hands, forcing Blaine to break eye contact with Kurt to look at him, standing between them and rubbing his hands together excitedly. "Now that we have had our touching reunion, we'll get down to business. What do you think, Blaine?"

There was a commotion outside the door, shouts and the sounds of fighting. Someone burst in the door, slamming it behind him, skidding to a stop before Sebastian, whispering hurriedly into his ear. Blaine watched him step back, fingers twisting together nervously as he waited for Sebastian's answer. Santana stepped forward when Sebastian crooked his fingers towards her. They spoke in hushed tones, the shouts coming gradually louder and closer.

Santana nodded stepping backward again, staying closer this time.

"Sorry to have to cut this short, boys. But someone's brother decided to crash the party." Sebastian slid his hand into his jacket, hefting the gun and clicking the safety off. "So, Blaine. Since your brother crashed the party, you don't get to make the decision."

He spun the magazine, popping it back into place.

Blaine couldn't breathe.

The gun leveled at Kurt.

Everything froze, and then happened at once.

Blaine threw himself sideways, knocking Kurt sideways. The sound of a gunshot and pain exploded simultaneously. Blaine's shoulder was on fire before he hit the ground, head hitting Kurt's chair before landing on the ground, something in the arm he landed on snapping with a sickening crunch he felt.

Light and dark flashed, sounds faded to a roar.

Blaine fought through the pain, nearly blacking out as he forced himself upright, pulling himself up against Kurt's chair, one shoulder bleeding, the other arm hanging limply at his side, vision swimming. He couldn't track the movement around him.

Kurt was up and moving, too quickly for Blaine to focus on.

.

.

.

His brother, flanked by Puck and Mike, were in the room.

.

.

.

.

Blaine hurt, each breath a struggle.

.

.

.

.

He couldn't see Sebastian.

.

.

.

.

.

Kurt was standing. His brother was there.

.

.

.

.

.

He sighed.

.

.

.

.

Blaine closed his eyes and let himself fall into the darkness.