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"El Topo!" Jean screamed through the current of whirring above his head.
"El Topo!"
Le Chevre scanned the densely packed area below him, miles upon miles beyond, for an entry tunnel El Topo could've dug. He spotted a darker area, but it could be a trick of the fog from way up here.
Had he not been so stiff with fear, Le Chevre may have felt embarrassed calling for help. But his sore hands were slipping from sharp steel landing skids decorating the underside of the helicopter.
At this point, there would be no graceful landing if any at all. And Le Chevre couldn't see the tower.
Mon Dieu! He couldn't see the tower!
The clouds were either low enough to cover it, or he was just that high. Le Chevre began to panic, and rightfully so before a familiar red hat appeared in the opposite side of the window. He looked up to meet Black Sheep staring wide-eyed at him flailing behind the chopper.
Carmen looked speechless even as she turned away from the window and darted towards the cockpit. Despite being by himself and to his own devices, Le Chevre didn't feel particularly lonely. It could have been the noisy aircraft or the threat of a painful death that kept him company.
Soon Jean felt his hand slide, and it burned like a brand. He called out as he slipped from the bars, convinced he would perish from the great height. The acrobats at his job before VILE would've laughed at the irony.
Carmen came back, sliding open the heavy doors to the aircraft. She shot her hand out and grabbed him by his wrist, catching him mid-air.
"What are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed!" She shouted above the rotor whirring in their ears. Le Chevre slung an arm around the long pole of the skids, tightening his grip and shoving her away. She gripped the door for support, brows knit together and tone firm.
"You will die if you don't come inside, we can't go back!"
"Like hell you can't! I'm not going with you to be tied up and sent to ACME on a silver platter!"
Le Chevre felt the machine being lowered, or saw it rather, as the tops of tall buildings and the bright lights of the city flickered into view. Le Chevre broke eye contact for mere seconds to look down at the spiking structures, before looking back to Carmen. She had seemed to realize his plan even before he fully realized it himself. The city of Guangzhou, China, had tall structures peeking even into the clouds above. A finance center with large sloping roofs and thick bars-perfect for climbing caught his eye.
Carmen was ready to speak, ready to take matters into her own hands. But Le Chevre was not. She couldn't help him. He could not betray VILE, and he could not leave El Topo. His chaffed hands uncurled from their grip on the steel, and he let go.
"Adieu, Carmen Sandiego,"
And with that, Le Chevre planted his feet to the belly of the whirring beast and pushed off, flying towards the impending building like a bird, before crashing into it like a goat.
The pain was immediate, along with the piercing shattering of the glass near his shoulder. It spilled into the building like running water and Le Chevre scooted away from the new sharp-toothed opening. There was a broken voice crackling over an intercom that only made him cringe. He cracked an eye open and watched the crimson blur of Carmen descend beyond his view. Soon the cracking began to teeter into a clear, fervent panic.
"Jean? Jean! Dios Mio, " Antonio sounded horrified, the echo of what must have been his voice from 10 feet underground ringing in Jean's ears, accompanied by unhesitating clawing and digging. Jean groaned aloud.
"¿Mi amor?" El Topo spoke softly. "Mon chéri,” Le Chevre whispered back.
“Oh thank you, thank you, Dios Mio," Antonio sighed deeply, shaky on the other end. The rapid scraping stopped while he panted.
His entire left leg throbbed, bringing stinging tears to his eyes. Le Chevre heaved himself upward before crying out in pain, collapsing back onto the concrete while he dry-heaved from the pain. His lungs were seared with the force of his breath, and he almost didn't hear Antonio on the other line.
“How did you get across the city? Mi amor, please, tell me how to get to you,”
“Did you get the relic? Le Chevre could hardly breathe. There was a pause on the other line.
“That's hardly my priority, Le Chevre-,” He groaned again, turning over to lift himself from his stomach like a seal and elevate his leg. The blood flooded backward and Jean began to grow dizzy.
“I cannot let us fail another mission; this would have been in vain,”
“You are hurt?” Antonio asked. “Yes,”
The line cut off and there was a second of regret from Jean, he should have asked if El Topo was okay as well. Barely a minute passed until he returned.
“This is a private line, Jean, I need you to tell me you're ok,” Le Chevre blushed and leaned his head back with a sigh.
“I'm ok,”
“Good.” Antonio went back to digging before it paused once more.
“Yes, I got the relic.” Antonio murmured after some time. He heard Le Chevre collapse on the other end.
“How high up did you climb? I'm on the intercity rail, I'll be there as fast as possible.”
“I fell, Ma moitié,” yet again, silence.
“You fell? From where?”
“From a helicopter, Carmen Sandiego escaped and I caught a ride.”
“¿Eres estúpido? A helicopter? She could have thrown you off! You could have died!” Le Chevre chuckled.
“That's what she said. As in, Carmen,” He laughed again. “She actually told me that.”
“I'll take her down; I swear,” Antonio cursed to himself, above the rumbling of the train.
Antonio spoke softly to Le Chevre throughout the ride, keeping Le Chevre awake and aware. 15 minutes later, the shine of his silver tunneling gloves was seen against the concrete support. The pale hair of El Topo popped up from his opposite side. He was heaving air through his lungs, shaky and spilling profanities about the height like a faucet. He paused when he looked up from behind the railing at the limp figure of Le Chevre. El Topo was quick to scamper to him, gathering the thinner man in his broad arms. He saw Le Chevre bite down on his lip, cringing against his chest. It was then El Topo took notice of his leg.
His stomach flipped.
It was a closed fracture, as no sign of a bone was visible, and the chance of infection was slim to none. But there was a clear fracture, a bend in the leg that made El Topo seethe. La Chevre's body was lighter than his own, but the acrobat was still toned and almost 6 feet in height.
There was no way they could climb down from here.
There were dark spots along with his lilac bodysuit, and El Topo was quick to brush away the glass clinging to it. He took Le Chevre's hand in his and kissed the bruising fingers. La Chevre looked into the bowed and brown eyes of El Topo, letting his fall closed after he heard the familiar clatter of helicopter blades as the Cleaners came to peel them apart.
As La Chevre had come to find out, the mission was successful in the eyes of all but El Topo. They landed safely in VILE headquarters, and El Topo was tasked with taking care of his 'casualty'.
To El Topo, the word was like sandpaper on an already open wound. He succeeded, sure, but at what cost? Carmen escaped and his boyfriend looked half-dead. Coach Brunt said it's “mighty wild the bugger stayed awake,” or whatever that means.
In the cold rec room, El Topo covered Le Chevre in blankets and pillows collected from three different dorms into a pile beside Le Chevre. A promise of a quick rest once he was tended to.
Le Chevre, admittedly, looked soft like this. Dark skin bound and veiled in bandages and thick gauze. His lips were softer every time they weakly met El Topo's in his drug-laden state.
“Tu as de beaux yeux,” he whispered.
“Hm?”
“Fais-moi l’amour.”
El Topo chuckled, rubbing shapes into his arms and hands while he rambled. His lids grew heavy, and El Topo had the pleasure of watching the stringent and stern La Chevre VILE thought they knew fall asleep in his arms. He had been quick to kiss him before he too conked out.
“Je ne peux pas vivre sans toi.”
El Topo awoke to Le Chevre still babbling. It was quite normal until El Topo went to reach up and cradle his face, only to find that La Chevre was crying.
“Jean? Jean, querido,” He wrapped Jean in an impossibly tight hug, careful of his many bruises and scrapes.
Warm lips crashed into his, and El Topo accepted eagerly.
“Are you in pain, Jean?” he asked when they parted. La Chevre shook his head.
"Thank you for rescuing me, mon amour," El Topo shook his head, eyebrows pinched.
"Of course, of course,"
It was a long morning of sweet words and chaste kisses. VILE offered them both time off, delivered unfortunate news to Le Chevre about his injury, and then left them alone.
"Two months." Le Chevre looked hurt. El Topo brought the taller man into his chest again, letting him exhale.
"We'll get through it,"
"Yeah,"