Bounty Duty

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action/ General
Summary: Stephanie needs to get Ramirez in three weeks but it's not going to be easy, luckily she has the best man on the job...even if he is touchy about hospitals
Disclaimer: Kane belongs to EA games and Stephanie, Ramirez and Joe Morelli belong to Janet Evanovich

Monday morning had came around again. The weekend flying by  like it usually does not giving the working people a chance to relax and unwind, forget the hassle they had for five days and chill out. But this was reality and reality does not allow you to take your finger off the pulse for one second, you're constantly on the go no matter what you say.
It was six am when Stephanie's alarm went off, the dark winter morning making its gloomy presence to hazy eyes. Steph rolled over and hit the alarm but strangely the noise would not stop being emitted around her room.
“Stupid thing” Groaned Stephanie
She reached to the plug and pulled it out the socket, still the noise was being emitted, Steph frowned, half awake confusion not being the many things she enjoyed encountering but this was weird, never before has she woken up to her alarm playing her favorite song and it continuing to do so after the plug was pulled. Stephanie scratched her head wondering what was going on, she looked around the room wondering what it may have been.
“What the hell?” muttered Stephanie
She placed her hand under the pillow where her phone was placed, the thing vibrating against her hand which had startled Stephanie to the point that she may have thrown it against the wall in sheer terror. Stephanie groaned and flipped the phone open, not even bothering to check the caller I.D
“Okay Jack ass it's Six in the morning, you better have a hell of a damn good reason to be ringing a girl like me from her beauty sleep” Growled Stephanie
“Morning Steph, slept well then?” Came a voice
A soft chuckle was heard over the phone, Steph rolled her eyes, a smile creeping across her lips as she realised who it was.
“Hey I got your message at four this morning whats up?”
“Kane your men aren't going to be no good for this case I'm hunting down right now, I'm gonna need someone with a lot of experience to help me out on this one”
“Then why don't you get ranger onto it?”
“Rangers a Jerk who jerks me around. I'm gonna need someone I can trust. Think your up for it?”
There was a long pause, followed by what sounded like a car lock going off in the distance.
“Kane?”
“Yeah I'm still here.....sorry I dropped my keys on the floor”
“Avoid the question why don't you, Look you want to help me out or not?” Asked Stephanie, nerves entering her tone of voice.
Kane was her last chance to help her out on this one, Ranger kept jerking her around so she had lost all trust in him, the others poked some fun at her and the only person left who held some respect for her was Kane, even if he did lose concentration some times when full attention was needed.
Kane sighed before giving his answer.
“Alright, anything for you but keep my men, they may be a huge help.....if you don't I'm not interested”
“You drive a hard bargain at times Kane.....but since I'm needing you badly it's a deal”
A smirk came from Kane's end.
“Oh you need me badly huh? Does it get lonely in that apartment of yours and you're in dyer need of someone to help keep you warm?” Kane joked
“Its six in the morning Kane.......I'm not in the mood for playing your flirty games”
“Is flirty even a word?”
“It is now!”
“Well I'm the messiah-”
“I could not give a fuck if you were the messiah or God.......its six am and I'm not in the mood. You got it?”
“My aren't we like....uber bitchy in the mornings?”
“You're pushing it Kane!”
“You need a man to calm you down...get you in the right mood for the day you know? Someone who's got a charm about them-”
“KANE FOR GODS SAKE!”
Steph slammed her phone down, Crinkling her nose in disgust and awaking Rex, her hamster which stared at her briefly before dropping off back to sleep. Steph sighed a little, maybe Kane was right, maybe she did need a man to calm her down in the mornings and get her day off right. But for now she was happy to make due with Rex. Besides Rex at least wouldn't argue back with her or get in tangles with the bitch known as Joyce.


Stephanie parked up her Buick 53 in the parking lot of the office. It was eerily quiet, dark with one street lamp giving off a orangey glow and foggy not to mention a tad icy on the ground. Steph blew into her hands as she stepped out of her car, she was the only one in that morning which meant she had to open up, alone. Something she hated doing, since you never know what moron could come running out to snatch your purse or just give you a friendly stab in the back; good job she brought her smith and western, just in case it did happen.
Her phone started going off, letting the whole criminal neighbourhood  know where she was and what she had on her. She checked the caller I.D this time, It was Kane again.
“What now!?”Growled Steph, still not impressed by Kane playing his usual chat up games with her at six in the morning.
“How would you like to know I can see you...wearing your funny hat and scarf, long Jacket, jeans, black sneakers...DC's I see and err....thermal gloves.”
Steph looks up to the sky smiling to herself.
“Yeah I know you can  see me Kane....you have like sixteen satellites up there. You're not impressing me.”
“Hey who said I was trying to impress you?”
“Me....now stop playing games and get your Nod backside down here for seven so I can run a few things over with you.”
“So long as your car is not involved I'll be there”
A grin grew across Steph's face, the idea of running over Kane seemed like a good one at this moment in time but she knew he'd be jammy and bounce off the car window and roll off the back, onto his feet and managing to pull off his trademark predatory grin.
“Okay I wont run you over...and if you can see me you'll know I have one hand up in submission.”
“Just one?”
“Don't you push it....or I will run you over.”
Kane laughed down the phone and hung up on Steph. Steph shook her head, a smile perched upon her lips. She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out the keys to the office. Vinny was away on holiday for three weeks in Barbados or somewhere like that, which meant Steph was in full control of the business for now, struggling but keeping up with the demands and making due with what she had at her disposal. She approached the door, put the key in the lock and turned it, kicking the door slightly because in the cold it had a bad habit to jamming, she entered the building, closed the door and froze slightly. She sniffed the air and could smell coffee, freshly made coffee.
“Okay......you got five seconds to get out of here before I flick on the switch and shoot you.” Growled Steph
No response, Steph slowly pulled out her gun, her free hand slowly reaching up to the light switch as she counted down from five to one. She quickly switched on the light to see Kane at the desk, his feet up on the table and sipping on the coffee he just made, Black peeked thermal hat pulled over his deep brown eyes, Long black jacket draped over the chair, hands decked out in black and red half cut gloves. He gives Steph a wolfish grin, his eyes filled with mischief.
“HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GET IN?” screamed Steph.
“Well....I could tell you.....but I'd have to kill you.” Joked Kane
“Don't you start with that bullcrap. Tell me or get out!”
Kane held his hands up in submission, placing the coffee down on the table.
“Alright, alright....I picked the lock to the door.....okay! Happy now?”
“I could have shot you dead...how does that sound?”
“Been there done that, wasn't that impressive.”
Steph sighed, she took her jacket off and threw it at Kane, he in turn looked at her gone out before placing it on the coat hook behind him. Steph looked at him with a smile on her face as she pulled her gloves off, placing them on the table next to Kane's car keys.
“I hope you put the heating on in this place.....its freezing outside.”
“Hey...I'm two steps ahead of you. Heatings on and theirs enough coffee left in the pot for you; I may have broken in but I'm not inconsiderate to the owners”
Kane gave back a cheeky grin, a grin that could make you want to hate him but deep down inside it made you love him more and he knew Steph was one of these women that would fall for it. He removed his long black jacket and placed it on the back of the chair, letting Steph know that's where he was going to park himself for the day, in the chair that the owner of the place would sit in. Steph rolled her eyes at this sudden statement of ownership by Kane, she strolled over to the chair and sat down, swinging herself round to face Kane who at this point was looking stunned.
“Don't worry I'll keep your Jacket warm for you”Teased Steph
“Nice call but just where the hell am I going to sit?”
“You can either sit on the desk with me or sit on the floor, If I were you I'd choose the desk, the floor hasn't been vacuumed in two years and god knows what is lurking in them carpets.”
Kane gave Steph a look, the look you'd get when a kid is in trouble but still wants to question the authoritative figure and push their luck. He raised the peek slightly from over his eyes and unrolled the sleeves from his black hooded top, keeping the chill off his arms, Steph in turn rammed her hands in her pockets as she turned the computer on using her foot. She turned and looked at Kane, removing her blue thermal hat, brown curly hair going all over the place. A smirk was beginning to make its way onto Kane's face, a witty comment soon to follow.
“What did you do? Wake up and shoved a hat on your head in the hope your hair would sort itself out?”Smirked Kane
“At least I have hair.”
“Ooh Low blow”
“Also may explain why you act even stupider in the winter, cold gets to your brain a lot easier don't it Kane?”
“Okay thats enough of the Stephanie sized insults. Whats say I get you a coffee to warm you up a little”
“I am warm”
“Yeah but your heart isn't, It's not Kane friendly right now.”
“Okay fine make me a coffee but when you get back we are discussing my little problem”
“If it's pre-menstrual tension I'm not going there”
Kane could act like a Jerk at times but he meant well and sometimes Steph knew it was refreshing to have him around in the mornings to brighten the place up even if he was some junked up psycho hell bent on making peoples lives a misery but in Steph's eyes he was a lovable psycho, one that could just melt you with sickly cuteness.
Kane shuffled back into the office holding a mug of coffee for Steph, he walks over to the table and places it down as Steph goes through a few files on the computer, her face transfixed on the screen, concentrating as she reads the files, where the vigilante hangs out, hot spots to hit, crimes committed, the usual stuff a bounty hunter looks at when they take up a case but this one was more personal to Steph, Kane could see that by the hard look she gave on one file. The image haunting, the guy extremely dark skin, tall and heavily built, dark pupils drilling back at you, not the kind of guy you would want to bump into on a dark night.
“Who's that handsome fellow?” Asked Kane
He calmly took a sip of his coffee, watching Steph curl up her lip and look at Kane Slightly.
“Ramirez, A boxing champ from Trenton, someone who finds it humorous to Rape women for kicks and murder people on the sly.” Growled Stephanie
“I'm saying you came in close contact with him”
“He nearly raped me Kane. The guy terrifies me. If it wasn't for Morelli....I'd have been another hapless victim of his”
Kane growled at Morelli's name, an Ex cop that went nasty. He had a relationship with Steph but in Kane's eyes it wasn't a relationship, just Morelli using Steph to do the deed and to have a pretty thing on his arm. He wanted to say something to Steph that would sting but she gave him one of her hard looks.
“I wasn't going to say anything”
“Lier.....it was brewing in that head of yours,a comment aimed to hurt Morelli as well as me.”
Kane grumbled and took another sip from his coffee, sitting himself down on the table edge, he hated Morelli with a passion and it doesn't matter how he saved Steph's life, Kane still saw him as the scumbag that broke Steph's heart time and time again.
“Okay...look Ramirez is our next hit, he's got a five million bond on his head....which is roughly five hundred thousand big ones coming my way if we catch him and bring him in before Vinny gets back.”
“And if we don't?”
“We have to pay up the five million.”
Kane whistled and took a sip from his coffee, five million was a lot of money to cough up, something Steph could not afford and nor could Vinny but Kane could if Steph was desperate.
“Hey.....Don't worry we will get him in, I have my ways”
“I know Kane but you don't get this guy. He has solicitors to worm him out of trouble, make out the victim tells lies and he gets away scot free, out there to rape another victim. Not only that but he's hard to catch, he has at least twenty men surrounding him at one time, not only have you got him to take down but you got them to get rid of first........It won't be easy and I could be coming to you for five million.”
Steph slumped slightly, it was a huge task she was facing, one that meant risking taking a few one nighters of observation, a few brushes with death and taking silly risks, things Steph was all too familiar with. She sighed at the challenge ahead of her, everything about it was getting to her slowly, the hardest part was being able to get him in and tracking him down. Ramirez had so many holes to dive into it would be virtually impossible.
“Someone's got the weight of the world on their shoulders.”
Steph snapped back round to reality, feeling Kane's presence behind her. She looked up to see him looking at her with some concern in his eyes. Warm affectionate eyes that showed no hint of him being a killer.
“You could say that” Sighed Steph
“Well allow me to work my magic”
“I don't like how you just put that”
“Just trust me”
Kane gently places his hands on her shoulders and starts to rub them in an attempt to relax Steph. She was reluctant to give in but ended up finding herself smiling and drifting off into her own little world, relaxed and slightly more calm.
“It's gonna be easy, I'll get my men to scope out where he's hiding, get him tagged and bang he's ours. How does that sound?”
“......mmmhhmm.......I don't care right now........Just do want you want.”
Kane smirked and carried on relaxing Steph. She had drifted off into her own world, giving him chance to catch a glimpse of Ramirez's profile. Twelve counts of sexual assault, five counts of abduction, seven counts of bodily assault and at least ten counts of attempted murder and one of suspected murder. This guy was a menace  and all of his victims were women, vulnerable women who could not fight back through sheer terror. It made Kane's blood boil, if Ramirez was on the battlefield pleading for his life there would be one thing Kane would do. Bullet between the eyes.
“Kane...........as much as I'm enjoying this........we gotta make a move.”
“Damn. You've ruined my fun.”

Kane had told Steph to wait in the parking lot while he fetched his car, he politely told her if he wanted to be driven round in a tank he would have brought his own.. Annoying his point may have been, he did have a valid point, the Buick was built like a tank, sounded like a tank and could have passed as a tank in drag, even if Steph did love it to bits. A throaty roar came from round the back of the office, Steph's ears picked up, she turned her head to the entrance of the parking lot and saw a Black Toyota Celica come screaming in, its paintwork glistening in the orangey glow of the street lamp, its brake lights ablaze, Tyres squealing as it was hand braked round to face Steph, the headlamps piercing the fog and the engine purring softly as it was stuck in to neutral. The drivers door opened and out hopped Kane, grinning like an Idiot.
“So......Still wanna take the Buick?”
Steph smiled impressed, she had to admit it did look quite sexy, the way it was curved to look aerodynamic with everything else slotting in around it and making the car look mean but at the same time good looking..
“New toy then?”
“What this? I've had it a few months now, it's my runaround car. Fantastic for chasing down those vigilantes in fast cars.”
“Okay you made your point, lets just get in and go hey?”
Kane nodded as he slipped back into the drivers side, Steph walking round to the passenger side and slipping into the sporty leather seats, slightly cold from the morning chill but otherwise reasonably comfortable. Steph looked over at Kane and handed him a map.
“So where to Miss Plum?”
“Stark street Gym, let's hit the obvious first shall we.”
“Alright, you give me directions and I'll get you there.”
“Fair enough and in what way would you like me to deliver the directions?”
“Err....give me a nice angry sexy voice and you got a deal”
He chuckled to himself as Steph elbowed him in the chest, a smirk etched on her face as he rolled the car out of the parking lot, engine happily purring in the low gear. Steph looked at the gear stick, it had Six on the floor which usually meant it had a lot of power and torque behind it, which also meant she was gonna be in for one hell of a fast ride to the Stark street gym and knowing Kane that's exactly what he was planning to do although his earlier statement of 'it's just a runaround car' made her wonder just how many cars he had tucked away. Kane had the nose of the car at the edge of the parking lot exit, he looked both ways to check the road was clear, usually at seven in the morning there were a few cars going by but this morning it was a clear road, which gave Kane an excuse to shoot out of the parking lot with the back wheels squealing, Steph back in her chair, stuck in g-force mode.
“Hey thats nothing, you should see what this thing really can do.” Chuckled Kane
“So long as it gets us to Stark Gym in one piece I don't care Kane.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes Really!”
Kane had a devious smile perched on his lips, a plan was forming as he stopped the car in the road, revving the engine now and again.
“Which turning have I got to take to make my way to Stark street?” Asked Kane
“Fifth exit on the left”
Kane looked up and counted the exits, getting an Idea for distance and speed, how fast he could go in the distance given. A mischievous look entered his eyes once more and Steph was bracing herself in the seat.
“Plenty of room”
He slammed his foot on the accelerator, the car lurching forward and the engine going from a soft purr to a throaty roar, begging to have the gears changed which Kane was doing so swiftly. First, second, third, fourth a few seconds in fifth and then quickly shifting up to sixth. The car screamed past the first three exits with ease, the needle hitting way past one hundred and twelve kilometers per hour. The fourth exit blurred past the window, Kane took his foot off the accelerator, placed his hand on the handbrake and waited just for the right moment till he pulled it on, Steering the car round to the left, the engine growling, the tyres squealing and Steph clinging to her seat. A cloud of smoke cased around the outside of the car, virtually hiding it. Kane looked over at Steph, she looked as though she had just seen death get run over by the car she was sitting in which in turn was amusing to Kane.
“Don't you dare laugh!”
“Hey I'm not laughing.”
“Your eyes are!”
“And?”
Steph Hated it when Kane done that, there was no comeback to the “and?” question. Some people could deliver it badly leaving themselves open for an attack back but not Kane, Kane had perfected that over and over again and Steph hated it.
“Okay lets get out of here before we have the cops on our tail.” Gasped Steph
Kane agreed, driving a bit more calmly then what Steph had witnessed which was Kane turning into a full out speed junky, hooked on gasoline and the smell of burning rubber on the tarmac. Aggressive driving was not one of Steph's past times, or something she found arousing in a man but strangely what she had just witnessed made her ever so slightly attracted to Kane, just ever so slightly. She shook her head a little to remove the thought from her mind.
“Hey....You alright?”
“Yeah just getting my fringe out of my eyes.”
“Your fringe is not in your eyes.....in fact you don't have any fringe showing at all”
“...........Will you keep your eyes on the road?”
“If you would have noticed....we are at a light telling me to stop and-”
“Kane.......just.......shut up!”
Kane just sighed and done as he was told, knowing full well Steph didn't do mornings and now wasn't the time for his wise cracking. Still Steph was too busy trying to get the thought out of her mind, hoping it was a moment of morning madness but the thought would not leave her mind and nor would the chorus of promiscuous girl, something that went along with the thought for no real reason.

It took just ten minutes to get to the Stark Street gym, Kane had parked the car at least one block away from the gym, just to be safe. He beeped the car alarm on and caught up with Steph who was at least twenty paces or so in front of him. Steph had glanced up at him briefly then quickly glanced down at the file she had in her hand. Ramirez's photo staring back at her with them cold black eyes, piercing her soul with the evil that flowed in his veins. Steph shuddered and quickly opened the file as she was walking, reading the info given to her in her head. Ramirez had been missing for a few weeks, not turned up for training at the gym and had a title fight on the horizon, something Ramirez would re-schedule for later when the heat had come off him slightly, which would give Steph the chance to pounce onto him unexpectedly. Thing was Steph didn't have that sort of time to play with, she had three weeks to bring this guy before the judges and she had to get him fast.
“Kane you know you said you had your ways of getting Ramirez in?”
“Yeah?”
“What does your 'ways' entail?”
“Err.....let me see, bugging devices, putting trackers on things, sending spies into the thick of it, such as the groups he hangs around with, scaring the guy into the open. Loads of ways, why do you ask?”
“Ramirez has been missing for two weeks now, no one has seen or heard from him since and I'm worried he's left the state or-”
“He's left the country, Yeah I know but if you want my opinion on this I have a gut feeling he's still nearby but he's gone deep underground, way,way, way underground”
“Wish I had the same optimism as you.”
“It's just instinct, it comes with time and practice.”
“You better be right”
Kane snatched the file from Stephanie and went over Ramirez's stats. Six feet and four inches tall, heavily built, Shaved head and extremely dark complexion. He was a regular at the gym, had his own apartment and was quite pally with the leader of a notorious gang that hanged around Trenton, hence the increase in the amount of women being sexually assaulted. Kane looked over at Steph and passed her back the file, a plan forming inside his head, probably a plan that involved taking a few risks but Steph wasn't going to ask so long as it got her man and her money not forgetting getting Vinny off her back.
They arrived at the gym, the parking lot was empty. No one around. Steph looked about for any open windows or doors but the whole place was locked down until someone with the key arrived. It was dingy looking, the paint work peeling off the walls, looked run down and uncared for, not a building that would win attractive building of the year award. Kane walked over to the door and studied the lock, then walked around the building scoping for an alarm system. Surprisingly no alarm was fitted onto the building, not surprising when you see the amount of thick set men that work out in there. Kane came back to Steph with a grin permanently affixed to his face, he flicked his hood up, pulled the peak of his hat down over his eyes and stood before the door.
“You got any gloves on you?” Asked Kane
“Only the ones I'm wearing.”
“Swap you.”
“Oh no..You are not going to do a B&E on that place, if they find out it's you, you are as good as dead Kane!”
“And if they come after me they will have a million Nod troops on their ass, all carrying machine guns and all are a bit trigger happy. Trust me if I get caught by these thugs, I'm not going to loose any sleep over it. Now what bits of information will be a huge help to you?”
“Err.....okay any contact details, important dates, CCTV footage...anything that can help out in some way.”
Kane nodded and peeled off his gloves, he passed them to Stephanie and got her gloves in return, black full fingered gloves that not only kept your hands warm but also kept them dry, perfect for the weather they were encountering now. Kane crouched down by the door handle, pulled out a hairpin and started working on the lock.
“What time does this joint open?” Quizzed Kane
Steph walked over to the door ad looked at the opening times for Monday, it  read nine am to ten pm at night, so someone would show up forty minutes before opening.
“Nine but someone will be here at twenty past eight, you got roughly an hour to get in there and take what you need for me.”
“That's plenty of time”
The door clicked, Kane stood up and pushed the door open, presented with a dark stair corridor and camera sitting just at the top of the stair, they may not have an alarm but they had cameras to watch who comes in and who comes out. Best way to handle intruders their own way rather then the laws way.
“I'd wait Kane”
“Miss plum you underestimate me”
“No...I just know once you are on tape you'll have every gang land member after you. Don't risk it.”
“I love a challenge”
“KANE NO!”
Kane wasn't listening, he ventured into the dark stair corridor, his right hand hidden behind his jacket, a trick up his sleeve for dealing with the camera at the top of the stairs. Probably a gun or a pair of pliers, Steph was hoping it was the pair of pliers but it being Kane it was more likely going to be a gun. A loud bang was heard, the red light on the camera fizzed out and sparks flew. Steph's suspicions were confirmed, Kane was carrying a gun on him.
Steph watched him completely disappear from sight, she heard a door open upstairs which meant Kane was venturing into the gym and if she heard more gunfire then she knew there was more cameras around and Kane was dealing with them the only way he knew how. Violently.
Fifty minutes flew by. Still no sign of Kane. Steph was outside shivering from the cold and keeping an eye on the time, Kane had roughly ten minutes to get out and since there was no sign of movement Steph grew concerned, fearing Kane had bumped into someone and been knocked out, that someone could be Ramirez or one of his heavies.
“Come on Kane where are you?”
Five minutes had edged by, still no sign of Kane and still no sign of life, Steph was panicking, she pulled out her phone and flicked through her contacts list to Kane's name, contemplating whether to ring him or not. A thud was heard from upstairs followed by a mouthful of abuse aimed at a door frame. Kane. He thumped down the stairs and handed Steph his jacket that he had managed to turn into a sack of some description.
“What the hell?”
“I got everything you could possibly use, Videos, Contact books, a calender, someone's mobile phone, a diary of events, Money takings for the year  and some other goodies”
A sunny smile appeared on Steph's face, all feelings of being cold and miserable suddenly disappeared and feelings of optimism had ventured into her soul. Five hundred thousand could soon be hers with Kane's help. Kane handed back her gloves in return for his, shivering slightly from the cold, Steph looked up at him and smiled slightly.
“Here take my jacket while we walk to the car.” Said Steph.
“Nah.............Its okay, I can handle ten minutes of this cold, besides the car has a heater”
“Kane..........drop the hard man act and just admit your cold”
“I-I'm not cold”
“You are.......its fucking obvious.”
Kane looked at her gone out, then looked at where she was staring with a grin on her face. His hooded top was wide open, his t-shirt clinging to him and him being cold was clear to see.
“..............Why the hell are you even looking at my chest?”
“Kane your six foot one and I'm five foot seven your chest is-”
“Okay get the picture......now can we just get to the car before I freeze my ass off”
Steph smiled and slowly made her way but Kane had froze, he heard something in the distance that made him realise they were no longer alone in the gym lot.
“You okay?”
Kane turned his head slightly and noticed a skinny coffee skinned man standing next to his car with a gun raised and aimed at Kane, Kane quickly turned to Steph who was oblivious to what he had just seen.
“.....Steph.........”
“Yeah?”
“RUN NOW!”
A gun shot went off, Steph froze to the spot as Kane drew his gun, facing the man that popped off a round, he quickly glanced over his shoulder to see Steph heading off towards the car, his jacket of goodies held tightly in her hand. Steph may have been a bounty hunter but she detested being caught up in a gun fight between two slightly psychotic men, especially if its over something stupid like territory or the colour of another's skin. These were the two possible outcomes of the gunfight Kane was held up in and Steph was making a quick exit from, whatever it was, she wasn't hanging around to find out. Kane however growled and shot off a warning shot that did not go down to well with the other guy, as quickly as Kane fired off a warning shot and started backing away, another round rung out, the noise echoing round the block. Steph stopped and noticed Kane was on the floor in agony. The guy managed to shoot him in the leg, disabling Kane and leaving him open for another attack, probably one that would finish him off but it didn't phase Kane, he quickly rolled over onto his front and looked over to Steph who was leant up against a wall out of view from the other guy, who Steph figured out to be the guy opening the gym.
“STEPH.............DISTRACT HIM!”
“HOW!? IM NOT RISKING GETTING MY HEAD SHOT OFF!”
“OH WELL I'M SORRY FOR ASKING......I THOUGHT YOU WAS A FUCKING BOUNTY HUNTER......BUT NO....YOUR FUCKING USELESS.”
“YOU TAKE THAT BACK KANE!”
“ONLY IF YOU SHOW ME YOUR NOT CHICKEN TO PICK UP YOUR GUN....AND GIVE ME FUCKING COVER FIRE WHILE I GET UP!”
Another round was popped off, Kane ducked slightly as Steph pinned herself to the wall of the building she was standing against.
“STEPH!”
“WHAT!?”
“COVER FIRE OR YOU CAN KISS GOODBYE TO THAT FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND YOU NEED.........YOUR FUCKING CHOICE!”
Reluctantly Steph drew her gun and started popping off rounds, the guy dived behind his car as the bullets pinged off the bodywork, giving time for Kane to pick himself up and limp over to Steph, firing off a few rounds as he made sure the guy stayed firmly behind his own car. Kane winced as he limped on, guiding Steph down an alley way, out of sight from anyone who may come after them but close to where he parked his car. Kane stopped and leaned up against a graffiti soaked wall, agony etched on his face as his leg started to give him gyp.
“First day on the job.........and I get fucking shot...........good start hey....................FUCK!”
Steph looked at him slightly concerned, she could see he was going pale as the shock started to kick in and possibly a bit of blood loss too; he was slumped against the wall as the blood trickled out of the wound and soaked his jeans, he looked over at Steph from beneath the peak of his hat, he was slightly concious but he looked dazed.
“Hey............you got a knife on ya?”
“Only a small pocket knife I carry just in case-”
“That'll do, ain't squeamish are ya?”
“No why?”
Kane limped over and put his hand out, Steph handed him her small pocket knife. Kane flicked it out and looked down at his wound, the bullet was still in there, he could feel it and he needed to get it out fast. He propped his leg up on a set of trash cans and looked at the wound in his thigh, just above the knee. A wince came onto his face as he thought of the task ahead, patrol cars were whizzing by in the background so it had to be done fast.
“This.................Is gonna fucking hurt.”
“The why don't you let a doctor take care of it?”
“Huh..........no chance.”
Kane stuck the knife into the wound, Steph quickly turned away as Kane dug about and flicked out the bullet, collapsing on the floor in sheer agony. He looked at the bullet on the floor and growled.
“Pick that up...........If we leave that lying about they'll hunt us down.”
“You mean you.”
“I DONT FUCKING CARE JUST DO IT”
Steph nodded and done so, placing the bullet in her jeans pocket before going over to help Kane up onto his feet.
“You better drive my car nicely”
“Fuck the car Kane.......We gotta get you to a hospital.”
Kane growled and pushed Steph off him, Steph looked at him slightly bewildered as he limped on ahead of her.
“WHAT'S YOUR FUCKING PROBLEM?”
“I AINT GOT A PROBLEM!”
“YOU SO CLEARLY-”
“LOOK......If you wanna get back to the office and sort this fucking shit out then fine..we go back to the office and sort the shit out.......but if you wanna drive me to the hospital and get me fixed up..........forget it......you can find your own way back.”
Kane had suddenly turned cold and menacing....a side that probably Nod saw on a regular basis, this guy shouting at them like a bear with a sore head or in this case a sore leg. Steph put the sudden change down to him being in pain, but she wasn't liking it and she certainly did not like how he suddenly changed at the mere suggestion of hospital. Steph sighed and went after him, carrying the Ramirez evidence over her shoulder, she looked at him slightly, enough to get his attention. He glanced over at her and sighed.
“Sorry for snapping at you........”
“Hey.........don't worry about it.........when we are in pain we do stupid things, so.........you know if you want to swear at me right now........then go ahead.”
“Its not got anything to do with me being in pain...........I just refuse to go to hospitals............I'll explain later but I meant what I said when told you to find your own way home if you even thought about it.”
Steph nodded in agreement to the rules and watched as Kane limped on, wincing with every step he took, she hated the sudden change in mood, it wasn't like Kane to just snap into his Military mode and she certainly wasn't used to it. A smile came onto her face as she thought of a way of cheering him up slightly, mentally she was gonna hate it but deep down inside she would enjoy it.
“.........So........when we get back to the office.......are we gonna play doctors and nurses?”
A smile started to make its way onto Kane's lip as Steph quietly chuckled to herself.
“Hey........I thought it was supposed to be me doing all the flirty comments...not you.”
“Ah come on.....how else was I supposed to get my Kane back?”
Steph suddenly froze at the comment that suddenly slipped out of her lips before her brain could stop it.
“Your Kane?”
“.......Err......Yeah you know..............the Kane I know.........I mean come on I'm not a Nod soldier so I don't know what the Nod Kane is like and I'm not used to it.”
“Uh-huh........whatever, lets just get this back to the office before that rather annoyed man comes after us and pops a round in my ass and I don't want that”
“Oh I dunno........you'd make an attractive coat hanger Kane.”
Steph started to laugh at the mere thought of Kane being the hunters living, breathing coat hook for a few weeks, Kane however just rolled his eyes grinning.
“Okay Miss Plum.......when we get back to that office we switch back. You can be the serious one while I carry on being the flirty one.”
“Make me.......cause I kinda enjoy taking up your role for now.”
“Steph if I made you give in......I swear to god you wouldn't be able to handle me.”
“Wanna put your money where your mouth is Kane?”
“Ooh Feisty...”
“I learn from the best.”
Steph started to chuckle to herself as she watched Kane think of a way back but he couldn't, she put it down to him being in pain and it restricting his wittiness but it didn't matter she got him smiling again and that's what counted, that and the stuff he managed to collect for her before the shooting. Kane made it look easy to just break in and get what he wanted, five hundred thousand look set to be on its way in no time at all but deep down inside Steph knew this case would be difficult to wrap up, she knew it was gonna take longer then a week or two to wrap it all up and seal it but she had the right person to help her out on the job even if he was a little touchy on the hospital subject.