There were times when Talon was very, very grateful for his less than respectful youth. Hauling ass through the airport parking garage while supporting a half-conscious Darryl stumbling along beside him with at least two shooters searching the dark concrete corners for them would make this one of those times. He spotted the unlocked back door on the old Volkswagen just as Darryl's knees buckled, and he swore softly under his breath when he barely managed to hold them both up.

"Ah, shit, Darryl. Just hold on." He propped his lover against the back of the car next to the Rabbit, holding Darryl up with one arm and shoving his gun into the front of his own pants to open the door. He reached around and unlocked the front door, swearing again when the blood on his fingers made it hard to get a grip on the little knob. They were on the passenger's side of the car, and he opened the door before turning to Darryl. "Stay with me, Hero. Almost-"

Darryl's hands caught at Talon's jacket, his grip surprisingly firm despite the blood loss. His words were slurred, barely a mumble, but there was still bite in his tone. "Shut up. Your arm, it's-"

"Fine," Talon interrupted, and pulled Darryl toward him, turning and settling the other man into the empty seat in one smooth movement. "Unlike your stomach, which has been getting my jacket all bloody for the past five minutes now." He leaned across his lover and popped up the lock on the driver's side, then shut the passenger door and walked around the car.

Once in the car, he dug around in the glove box and found exactly what he was looking for - a metal bar, in this case with a small pointed hammer head on one end. Usually used for breaking open windows in the event of a crash in water, but it would serve him well enough. He wedged the hammer into the steering column and pried back the plastic, yanking out wires until he spotted the red ones he needed. He pulled them loose from the ignition and fished around for a few seconds more, digging the starter wire out of the mess and picking at it for a few seconds until bare metal was exposed. He touched the three wires together and gave the gas pedal a gentle tap.

The engine sputtered, then turned over and Talon had to bite back a sigh of relief. He dropped the wires and sat up, pulling the door shut and throwing the car into reverse, then easing it out of the parking spot. He glanced to the side. Darryl was watching him, eyes barely open and face ashen, but the corner of his mouth was turned up just a tad.

"You...looked like you'd done...at only yesterday...and every day til...now..."

"Yeah, some things are like riding a bike. You never forget them. Get your head down." Talon drove slowly, hoping the men hunting for them wouldn't realize their quarry was escaping, mixing in with the steady stream of traffic entering and leaving the parking facility. Trying to pretend the way Darryl's voice was fading in and out didn't have him scared shitless.

Darryl grunted softly and shifted, then folded himself forward, ducking out of sight. He didn't make a sound, but Talon was watching and saw the tightness around the corners of his mouth.

"You need a hospital, Darryl." The car made it into the light of the afternoon sun without any shouts or gunshots from inside the garage, and Talon drove toward the automated end of the ticket line. Machines didn't ask questions about blood-covered drivers or their equally messy passengers.

"We need a hos...pital. There's a hole...your arm...case you hadn't noticed..."

Talon didn't answer, instead finding the parking receipt on the dashboard and feeding it into the little slot on the automatic booth. He gave the machine cash when it flashed the total in glowing red digits on the display and pulled out onto the freeway ramp, not waiting for his change. The next person in line would get a nice surprise.

"You can sit up now, Hero."

"Fuck...you..." But Darryl unfolded himself slowly, wincing visibly now, an arm coming down to press against the blood-soaked front of his shirt. Talon reached over and buckled him in one-handed, merging onto the freeway as he did so, and then they were free of the airport and the danger there.

Fifteen minutes into the drive Darryl lost consciousness completely. Talon was about to pull the car off to the side of the road and try to bandage him up himself when he saw the international healthcare symbol, two snakes twining around a winged staff, flash by on a sign announcing an upcoming exit. He managed to cross the lanes just in time to get off, and followed the signs after that. Ten minutes later, he pulled them into the loading zone of the Emergency facility.

Talon got out, went around to the passenger side and opened the door, unbuckled his lover. Darryl's eyes flicked open as he got his hands under Darryl's arms and lifted him out.

"Oh...it's red...hadn't...noticed that..."

Talon could only blink stupidly at him, and by the time he'd figured out that Darryl was talking about the color of the peeling paint on the damned car they were surrounded by nurses and orderlies, and Darryl was being taken from his arms and loaded onto a stretcher. Someone was shining a light in his eyes while someone else cut the sleeve off his coat to get at his arm. He was pushed gently but firmly down into a wheelchair, and he was peripherally aware of people talking over his head as he watched his lover being wheeled away.

Talon snorted softly. "Idiot. Next time you decide to take a bullet for me I'm going to kick your ass."

None of the hospital staff heard him, but he distinctly saw Darryl's head turn, and caught a flicker of pale lavender eyes before everything went dark.