Title: An Accelerating Pulse
Author: Shades of Hades
Date: January, 2007
Warnings: Slash, some Angst.
A/N: Sittin' in Starbucks at school, trying to write this. It's an odd kinda storie style that I haven't had much practice at. I should really stop trying to write action-y stories, because I'm really not good that them, but I enjoy writing them a lot and I enjoy reading them.

Chapter One: Dirty Dealings

The year was 1928. The jazz was hot, prohibition was in full swing and I was shaking like a leaf. It was my first business transaction with these people and I was currently questioning my sanity as I spied their guns. In nervousness I realize that they were not even trying to hide them.
These were dangerous men, rumored to be cronies to the Italian Mafia boss himself and I didn't doubt these rumors for a second as I looked them up and down. All three of them were plump men, obviously well-fed on their dishonest money.
The fat man nearest me gave me a greedy crooked grin and I tried my hardest not to sneer at his ugly face as my stomach turned with worry.
We were not equipped to deal with these sorts of men, or really anyone more dangerous than a girl scout, but somehow my partner had talked me into this situation. We had one gun between us which was currently on my partner's person, and both of us were rather inexperienced shooters. I had never shot at all and he had only shot his brother once by accident. Not a good combination.
He smiled at me despite the odds, but I refused to remove my eyes from the men in front of me.
My partner's name was Charlie. He was a tall, handsome man in his early twenties with strawberry-blond hair that had been cropped just above his eyes. Not that anyone could tell as it was currently slicked back with Dapper Dan. He liked to look neat, especially during times like these; he told me we needed to project professionalism. Not that it would help us through this situation if something were to go wrong. And I was sure it would.
He could charm his way into any lady's bed, but I was quite sure these men would not be impressed with such an act themselves. Not that I didn't appreciate his smoothness. It normally lined our pockets quite well, part of the reason we were still pulling off this same shit despite not knowing what the hell we were doing half the time.
His green eyes sparkled as he talked to the men, eyes darting to me every so often. I knew he could tell what I was thinking, but he only smiled at me in response. One of those wide smiles that had always made girls weak in the knees and always made me envious of his looks.
My eyes narrowed and frown deepened. Charlie only smiled wider. He always knew what his smile did to me and never tried to hide the fact that he enjoyed it immensely. Smug bastard.
“So, gentlemen, I do believe we have a deal here.” Charlie held out his hand, but his smile dropped when the other man's didn't meet his.
There was a deep laugh from the man in front of him and Charlie looked on in confusion.
My stomach dropped at the sound and I thought I was going to be sick.
“You have a lot to learn, kid.” The man clamped his cigar between his teeth and chuckled to himself as he looked over our goods.
I admit, they were meager, but we had worked hard to get them. We were far from the best dealers in town, but you could hardly blame us for trying to make a profit in these hard times.
“Made this yourself, didn't ya?” The man smiled at Charlie and I as he picked up a bottle.
Charlie gave him a smile back. “Of course not, it's an import.”
“You don't have to lie to me, kid,” the man told Charlie with a sneer. “You meant to come in here and insult me by showing me home-made booze, claiming to be importers. Honestly, kid,” the man put his cigar back between his teeth, “you've got some real guts.” He gave a sharp laugh, smoke escaping from his mouth as he did. I saw Charlie cringe.
Another man grabbed him by the shirt, dragging him up to the fat man's face. “Do you know who you're messing with here, kid?” the man spat out the question at him.
Charlie laughed in the man's face. “No deal then?”
My stomach was in knots and my mouth was going dry. Charlie had the gun, our only salvation in this situation, and he was currently being drug across the room by two of Chicago's most notorious men.
To say my reaction was impulsive was an understatement. I lost myself in worry, and my feet and hands seem to move themselves across the room and towards Charlie.
I had heard the stories about what happens in these kinds of situations and I was in no hurry to find out if they were true or not.
I didn't have to worry however as Charlie breaks the grasp.
“Look you if don't want to deal with us, then just let us leave.” Charlie was pushing the hair that had fallen from it's slicked back position out of his eyes, still trying to hang onto that smoothness.
No chance in Hell, Charlie, I thought as the man smiled at him.
“I don't think so, kid.” The boss of the group said.
Charlie's hand was hovering over the waist of his pants were I remember he had shoved our gun earlier.
“Get the other guy over here.”
The other man that had yet to make his move grabbed my arm like a child's and pushed me towards the other two.
I could only stand frozen as I was pushed against the wall.
If there was no deal, then there was no reason to leave a witness.
I squeezed my eyes tight, not willing to watch what was undoubtedly was about to happen to Charlie and I.
“It was good knowing ya,” I told Charlie as I cringed.
I couldn't see him, but I knew his expression would be very similar to mine.
At least that's what I thought until I heard the shots.
There were two of them in quick secession, and I cracked my right eye opened as the sound echoed through the warehouse.
Two of the fat men lay on the floor, blood pooling beneath their bodies and I could only assume that they were down for the count.
My vision turned to my partner, and my eyes widen. Charlie was panting, eyes smiling, hand still holding the smoking gun, the other man's gun pressed hard into his cheek, his arm cutting off Charlie's breath.
The man stared at him with cold eyes, cigar still firmly clamped between his teeth. “Maybe we could come to a compromise?” Charlie asked him as best he could with the barrel of a gun pressed against his face, and an arm pressed into his throat.
The man laughed in his face, spit spraying between his clenched teeth as he did.
Charlie grinned and there was a hollow sound as the gun fell to the floor at our feet.
“You've got some real guts, kid. You'd go far in this business.”
The man's gripped loosened on the gun a little, and I realized then, why Charlie had dropped the gun.
Before he knew what was coming, I had swooped down and grabbed the gun, already cocking it and facing the man.
His finger tightened on the trigger.
“Just what are you trying to prove?” He laughed harder. “Don't you care about your friend here?” He raised a thick eyebrow at me. “If you pull that trigger I pull this one.”
Fingers tightened on the triggers, both of us wondering who would shoot first.
“Even if you shoot him, you still die,” I told him evenly between grit teeth, silently apologizing to Charlie for putting him in such a situation.
“You wanna bet kid?”
And then I squeezed my finger over the trigger.
Charlie coughed. “Fuck, I thought you'd never do it!” There was relief thick in his voice as he stared at me, eyes watering with joy, hands resting against his stomach.
He coughed again.
“Charlie?” I asked, my stomach knotting up again as I saw blood seep between his fingers.
“It's nothing, come on, let's get outta here,” he told me with a smile, and I tried to return it, but my muscles didn't seem to want to corporate.
“What happened?” I asked, panic rising in my voice.
He smiled at me, blood staining his teeth red. “It's not a big deal, I'm just lucky he missed.”
My arm snaked around his waist, supporting him as his knees gave out and his head fell forward.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized the sound of sirens were drawing nearer.
My body went numb and my fingers seem to loosen on their own accord, the gun falling to the floor.
“Charlie!” I nearly yelled as he closed his eyes, lips still grinning at me, despite the fact that he could no longer hold himself up.
The blood was getting worse and worse, soaking through his shirt, seeping through his fingers and flowing over his alrady stained hands.
“Charlie...” Tears prickled my eyes as I placed my hands on his, pressing hard against the wound to stop the blood flow. “You can't leave me,” I told him quietly, tears flowing freely down my face as I pressed my cheek against his. “I can't do this without you...”
He laughed, a garbled sound as blood caught in his throat. “Sounds like... a confession of love...” He winced and coughed, still trying to smile through the pain.
I wiped the tears off my cheek, staining my own face with Charlie's blood.
Pulling him closer to me, I silently prayed to any God that would listen.
He lean against me hard, pressing his lips to mine in a silent goodbye.
Smiling at me, he left me dumbfounded and licking his blood from my lips, mind completely going numb as his head fell against my shoulder, out cold.

To Be Continued...