Fire and Ice (Guardians) (29 page)

"Make sure she stays awake," Rick ordered even if he wasn't sure Lizveta could hear him at this point but she appeared to understand.

Rick walked around the demolished laboratory looking for something with which to hoist them up. He made himself walk over the grouping of dead bodies to see if there was a way to use the basement stairs, but the explosion caused the wall and ceiling to cave-in and block the passageway.

Great job, Maia
, Rick thought in derision.

Rick saw the flashing lights first before he could make out the sounds of the siren. He heard someone shouting but could not understand what they were saying.
 

"Here! We're down here!" Rick shouted.

A fireman peered down the open floor.

Rick pointed to his ears. "Explosion messed up my hearing. I won't be able to understand verbal instructions."

The fireman nodded and disappeared to return with a couple more first responders. They were assessing the stability of the structure. Some of them were shocked at the bloody mess by the door.

While they figured out how to get them out of the basement, they lowered some food, water and blankets to the survivors below. They also lowered a notepad so Rick could write down some contact information that may be useful, like the DEA's Joe Kennedy and what caused the explosion. Rick was tempted to write: Maia Pierce.

After what felt like forever, ropes were lowered and rescue workers started to rappel down. They had to call in people with the experience to deal with such rescue. Two people carrying a stretcher approached them.

"What happened?" the lead person asked.

"She got thrown by the explosion. She was hunkered down over there and ended up over here. I couldn't keep her conscious. Her name is Maia," Rick said.

The paramedic nodded grimly.

"Maia," the man said as he tapped her cheek lightly. "Maia, wake up."

Her eyes blinked and she croaked, "What...where am I?"

He waved the beam of a flashlight on her eyes. Her pupils remained dilated and she was unresponsive.

"Shit, she's got severe concussion and is in shock. We need to get her to the trauma unit ASAP."

The AGS chopper descended a short distance from the grouping of emergency vehicles parked in front of a massive colonial-style home. A gaping hole was visible in the side of the house. The implication of an explosion and someone in critical condition kept replaying itself in Jack's mind. He kept consoling himself that if Rick was okay, then Maia should be too. Hadn't she just survived a boat explosion? Christ, wasn't that just a little over a week ago? At the rate he worried about her, it was surprising he had not had a heart attack by now.

Jack spied Rick Grayson among the numerous police officers, firemen and EMTs at the scene. The minute the helicopter touched down, Jack jumped off and headed straight for the DEA agent.

"Rick!" Jack yelled. Grayson turned and broke into a smile.
 

"Jack! Can't believe how glad I am to see your ugly face."

"You OK, man?"

"Banged up and a bit deaf but otherwise ..."

"Is Maia with you?"

Rick's face sobered which sent a twinge of fear racing through Jack's nerves.

"They're stabilizing her. They should hoist her up any moment."

"What?" Jack had trouble comprehending what Rick meant.

"Come on," Rick said as he walked over to the crater over the first floor. A police officer moved to stop them but Rick explained that they were part of the team involved in the operation.

"Jesus Christ, what happened here?" Jack said as he took in the rubble and the smattering of bodies and body parts. And then his heart stilled as he spotted Maia in a neck brace getting hoisted up in a stretcher. "Maia!"

Turning to Rick, "What the hell happened?"

"Short story?" Rick sighed. "We were running out of ammo, Reznikov and his men were bearing down on us, Maia decided an illeoic gas tank explosion was the best option."

Jack was speechless. Though he wanted to throttle his woman for coming up with such insane idea, he couldn't disagree that it wasn't an effective plan given the circumstances.

"Why am I not surprised?" Viktor muttered behind them.

"The blast threw her against the wall. Believe me, we were arguing about who was going to take the shot, but she insisted it be her. Said I was the most qualified to dig her out."

"Hmm, it would be a shame to have her survive the explosion only to be murdered by her boyfriend," Derek added as he watched Jack's jaw clenched in response to the news of Maia's disregard for her safety.
 

"And Reznikov?" Viktor asked.

"Somewhere between the wall and the floor, I presume," Rick said showing no regret about the Russian's brutal demise. Turning to the three men he said solemnly, "No doubt, Maia is one crazy chick and we've had our differences on how to handle things. But no question, she saved my life."

Rick suddenly gripped the crown of his head. "I need to have myself checked out. I have this blasted headache and my hearing is not a hundred percent. I'll probably see you guys around at the hospital."

Maia's stretcher reached the first floor and Jack rushed to meet it. A paramedic cautioned him on what to expect. "She has some cognitive difficulties."

But Jack didn't seem to hear him. His focus was on Maia. "Hey, babe. You are going to be fine." He walked with the stretcher towards the waiting medical chopper.

Her blue eyes were glazed in pain, her face had some bruising and a frown creased her forehead. "What?"

"Maia, babe, everything is going to be all right, I'm right here."

"Sorry...who...who... are you?"

Jack stopped short in dismay as they loaded the stretcher on the chopper and slammed the double doors shut in his stunned face.

Derek and Viktor caught up with him. He turned to them and said slowly, "She doesn't know who I am."

"Damn," Derek said.

***

She first became aware of voices. Hushed murmurs and whispers talking about memories, head injuries and ... explosions? How she wanted to tell them to go away but her body wouldn't move and her eyes were so heavy. When the jumble of voices receded there was that one deep baritone voice she found appealing and comforting, her anchor in the blackness. He was begging her to open her eyes, for her to come back to him.

She tried to climb out of the chasm of darkness that seemed to have engulfed her, but she couldn't. She could only wander in oblivion, a dark tunnel of nothingness.

Maia's eyes fluttered open. Her eyes caught sight of a woman in light blue scrubs arranging the covers by her feet. Off to the corner, a big man was slouched uncomfortably in a chair. He was sleeping but his face looked weary, covered in more than a days worth of stubble. She must have made a sound because the woman jerked her head up and moved quickly to reach for something behind the bed.

A person in a white coat appeared, the big man on the couch also got up and hovered anxiously behind the doctor.

"Maia," the doctor said as he waved a beam of light on her eyes which annoyed the heck out of her. She tried to move her head but the doctor held it steady. "Maia, can you hear me?"

What do you think? Maia wanted to rant but couldn't bring herself to speak. The doctor shifted to the other eye and continued speaking to her. The voice started to fade as she promptly fell back to sleep.

When next she opened her eyes, the dark-haired beautiful stranger was peering down at her. His face still looked gaunt but a smile lit up his face. His hand was stroking her hair gently. She stiffened at his touch. He frowned and took his hand away.

"You probably don't remember me," he said ruefully.

"What happened?"

"You were in an incident, an explosion. You got banged up pretty badly."

"An explosion?"

He nodded. Maia peered up at him suspiciously but he started to look familiar, dearly familiar actually, as pieces of her memory started unlocking themselves in her brain. She flinched, the flashcards in her head were getting too much for her to bear.

"Maia?" He sounded worried. "Is there anyone you want me to call?"

A name immediately popped in her mind.

"Viktor."

The man's face fell but he nodded. He moved to kiss her on the forehead but Maia shrank away. His eyes suddenly filled with anguish, his jaw tightening as if controlling a strong emotion.

"I'll go get him," he mumbled hoarsely.

But as he turned away, Maia suddenly remembered him along with a wave of the tender feelings that came with the memory.

"Wait!" she said urgently.

He turned around, an unspoken question furrowing his brows.

"Jack?" Maia whispered tremulously.

A huge smile broke across his face as he rushed back to her bedside.

"God, Maia," he said brokenly as he gingerly hugged her and buried his face in her hair. "Thank God. I was afraid... I missed you."

"How long was I out?"

"Almost 24 hours."

"Oh...I'm tired, I don't think I can keep my eyes open." Maia slumped as the mental exercise of memory recovery took its toll on her.

"That's okay, babe. I'll be right here when you wake up," Jack promised.

As Maia slept, Jack was overcome with huge relief. He even said a little prayer of thanks. When she asked for Viktor, he felt a burn of resentment. He knew the amnesia wasn't her fault but he couldn't help how he reacted. When she pulled away when he tried to kiss her forehead, it hurt. Real deep. Just when he felt like throwing himself in front of a bus, she called him back and said his name. Man, was that sweet. It took all his restraint not to kiss her senseless.

Bending down and giving a sleeping Maia a light kiss, Jack made his way to the hospital cafeteria. Derek had texted him that he and Viktor had just returned from the DEA offices and were grabbing something to eat. Jack didn't know why they wanted to eat hospital food but he guessed they were eager to get back quickly.

When he slid into a chair beside the two men, Derek paused in mid-bite and said, "You look like a happy man."

"She woke up and finally remembered me," Jack said and then looked at Viktor. "She asked for you."

Viktor looked pleased and Jack felt an odd sense of jealousy. He shook this off as Derek quipped, "I wonder if she remembers me yet."

"I'm just glad they didn't have to drill a hole in her head to relieve the subdural hematoma," Jack said. "I don't think I could live through the last 24 hours, not to mention the last 48 hours again."

"Jack, my advice to you is to get used to it," Viktor said. "As you can tell by now, Maia is fearless. She has absolutely no problem taking big risks to get the job done."

Jack glowered at Viktor while Derek laughed and said, "You're one to talk, Viktor. How many times have I heard you say,
God damn it Maia
."

Viktor chuckled, but Jack was not amused.
 

 
"I'm gonna have a serious conversation with her about these stupid risks she takes once she gets better." He got up as he regarded the two men. "I'm going back to her room, see you guys in a bit."

Viktor followed Jack's imposing figure stride out the cafeteria. "I think our dear Maia is going to have her hands full taming that one."

Derek snickered. "Oh I don't know, the odds are evenly stacked. We should start a betting pool."

***

"You are fortunate that the swelling in your brain is receding and the clot was small enough so we did not have to relieve the pressure by drilling a hole through your skull," Doctor Anderson explained. "You should expect some dizziness, nausea, blurred vision and memory problems. But these should go away as the swelling disappears. I expect you to take it easy young lady." The doctor looked at Maia sternly. "From your medical records it looks like you were in a boating accident a week ago. I have no idea what you do for a living and I probably don't want to know, but if you continue at this rate, another bump on the head and you may not survive the year."

Jack, who was holding Maia's hand as the doctor lectured her on her lifestyle, said, "Don't worry doc, I'll make sure she treats herself like crystal for the next few weeks." He gave Viktor a pointed look. "Preferably until the end of the year."

Viktor snorted. "Good luck with that."

"It would help if you quit dragging her into the line of fire," Jack replied acidly.

Viktor raised an eyebrow. "She's got a pretty high threshold for pain. She can hack it."

Doctor Anderson quickly weighed in. "Regardless of Miss Pierce's pain threshold, a brain injury of this gravity should not be taken lightly. I recommend at least three weeks of rest." Looking at Maia, he continued, "I'm keeping you for another 48 hours to monitor that blood clot in your brain. I'll see you for a follow-up a week from then." He turned his attention to Jack. "If she experiences any blackout within that time, take her to the ER immediately, understood?"

"Yes, doctor," Maia said grudgingly while Jack nodded.

Doctor Anderson inclined his head and excused himself from the room.

"So, Maia, tell me what happened after Reznikov abducted you?" Viktor asked without preamble.

Jack detonated and stormed over to Viktor and got in his face. "Fuck off! She has a fucking head injury, you prick!"

"Guys ..." Derek started tentatively.

"Viktor, stop baiting Jack," Maia said wearily, rubbing her forehead.
 

Viktor smirked at a fuming Jack and walked over to Maia, kissing her on the forehead, "OK, Katerina."

Jack noticed the slip but did not say anything. He then realized Viktor Baran did not make slips: he had said Maia's real name deliberately, either to irritate him by reminding him of their history or to figure out if Jack knew about Katerina Luski.

Probably both, as Viktor raised a brow as if saying:
I've found out all I need to know
.

Prick
. Jack thought.

"I do have one question though," Viktor said to Maia.

"Shoot."

"The DEA wants something they say you had taken from the lab." Viktor shrugged. "Of course I could tell them because of your amnesia you have no idea what they're talking about."