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Siberia in winter was cold. Damn cold to be precise.
Jeremy had been aware of this before but there was a difference between reading that the average temperature of Siberia in January was -13 degrees Fahrenheit and actually experiencing it.
The snow hadn’t stopped falling once and only seemed to increase they moment they stopped the car. Even Ryan seemed to hesitate a moment before opening the car door.
He silently nodded at Jeremy who just reached into the back of the car and got their bags out. For once he agreed with Ryan. It was too fucking cold to waste any energy on talking.
His breath came out in big clouds as he followed Ryan who was already climbing the small hill they had stopped in front of. The wind was blowing harshly and Jeremy wished for more clothes, even though he was already wearing several layers of them underneath his thick winter coat.
Ryan was in the process of observing the compound at the foot of the hill when Jeremy reached him, having pulled out binoculars from somewhere though Jeremy really wasn't sure where from exactly.
He dropped one of the bags next to Ryan's head, slightly grumpy that he had been turned into a delivery boy.
Ryan didn't flinch.
“Anything yet?” Jeremy asked, breaking the silence of the last few hours.
Ryan made a vague noise and Jeremy was ready to roll his eyes and call Ryan out on the silent number he was pulling, when he noticed the small smile that had appeared on his face.
It was enough to almost hide the cold amusement underneath it. But Jeremy had been partnered with Ryan for far too long now to not recognize it when Ryan was thinking of something particularly mean-spirited.
A shudder ran down Jeremy's spine, not entirely due to the cold.
“Five guards. Two of them close to a petroleum tank. Slather's supposed to arrive in two hours. Likely going to stop for identification close to the tank.”
It took Jeremy a moment to connect the dots, but he almost groaned when he finally did.
“They wanted us to be discreet. Get in, shot him, get out. Blowing up a petroleum tank is the opposite of discreet.”
He didn't sound very convincing, not even to his own ears. He could already imagine the explosion, the fire and the black smoke.
“Well, that will maybe teach them to send us on missions like this,” Ryan said.
“Or maybe it will get us into even more trouble and next time they are just going to send us directly to Antarctica.”
“What with the snow storm, it is our only option unless they want Slather to make it to North Korea.”
Ryan looked at Jeremy, an expression of pure innocence on his face that Jeremy didn't buy for a second.
“I could take that shot,” Jeremy said, still somewhat reluctantly.
“I don't doubt that.”
There was something about the unshaken belief Ryan had in his skills with a rifle that always made Jeremy want to both duck in slight embarrassment and preen under the praise.
“But,” Ryan continued. “Think about the fire.”
His smile turned slightly manic. But well, Jeremy thought. He was also already thinking about the fire.
“I get to trigger the explosives.”
And Ryan’s smile widened to an unhinged grin.
“Deal.”
The next two hours were spent waiting, the two of them alternating between twenty minutes spend in the car and twenty minutes outside, observing the compound while lying flat on his stomach. Jeremy hated this part of wet work, and he hated it even more when it was too damn cold for both of them to stay outside and at least chat during the long waiting time.
It didn’t help that he had to stand up every five minutes to make sure he didn’t freeze to the ground or was buried underneath the ever increasing snowfall.
Finally though after a time that felt like an eternity but Jeremy was well aware was only one hour and ten minutes, something was finally happening.
He reached for his radio, eyes not moving away from the car that was driving towards the compound.
“Got something. Coming from South. Could be him.”
It very likely was him. Nobody else but an internationally wanted arms dealer would decide that Siberia in the middle of January would make for a good vacation destination.
“Roger. Getting in position,” came Ryan’s crackling voice over the radio.
Jeremy meanwhile had pulled out his sniper rifle. He had prepared it in the car, had checked it again every time he had gone back into the cold. He checked it once more now and then stared through the scope at the approaching car.
If things went south, he’d have to take the shot. And things tended to go south rather quickly with the two of them involved.
He forced himself to keep looking at the car and not to try and search for Ryan, who would be tracking down the hill and sneak up to the petroleum tank. There was no sound coming from the radio and he couldn’t call him anyway.
He didn’t like it. There was always something unsettling when they were separated during missions like this. Even though Jeremy knew very well that Ryan could more than handle himself. Hell, he had very vivid memories of just how well Ryan could handle himself that he tended to mostly recall when it was late at night and he was alone.
Still, this was a compound likely filled with a bunch of weapons and whole bunch more people who wouldn’t hesitate a second to use them. And Ryan was down there, all on his own.
Below him the car was quickly approaching the compound and Jeremy forced his tensed body to relax.
The radio finally came to life.
“Explosives in place. I’m out of the blast radius.”
Even through the distortion of the radio Jeremy could hear Ryan’s excitement.
“Blow him to hell,” he said.
Jeremy smiled, the tension of the last few hours suddenly forgotten.
“Roger that,” he said.
He waited until the car arrived at the compound and stopped as one of the guards made his way over to it.
Through the scope he could now finally identify the driver. It was Slather. He had seen his face often enough in the last few months. There was nobody else in the car beside him, fucker was too paranoid to allow something like that. It was a wonder they had managed to track him down here in the first place.
It served Jeremy well. His hand fumbled for the detonator, eyes tracking the car that had left the guards behind and was now driving towards the petroleum tank.
The moment it passed, Jeremy pushed the button.
It happened instantly. One moment there was the car and the tank, then there was a huge fireball, engulfing everything around it.
The car was swallowed by flames, another smaller explosion triggering when the car’s gas tank exploded too. Black smoke was rising from the burning car and a grim smile appeared on Jeremy’s face.
It wasn’t a nice death. But Slather didn’t deserve one, not when Jeremy knew what he had been using the money from the weapon sales for.
The sound of the explosion died down and for a moment there was only the howling of the harsh winter wind.
Then the screaming and the yelling started and Jeremy stumbled to his feet. He almost fell down, the cold having seeped into his legs in the last minutes of him lying unmoving on the cold ground.
It proved a mistake. One of the guards looked up at his direction and yelled something.
It was too far away for Jeremy to understand but suddenly there were bullets flying towards him and the meaning of what had been said became very obvious.
He ran or rather stumbled down the hill towards their car.
Ryan wasn’t there.
He cursed loudly, casting a wild look around. Nothing. He fumbled for the radio.
“Ryan,” he hissed. “Where the hell are you?”
There was no answer for one painfully long moment.
“Small complication,” Ryan then finally answered. There was the sound of gun fire.
“Big complication,” Ryan corrected. “Pick me up at the compound!”
More gun fire and Ryan’s voice was gone. Jeremy cursed again, even louder this time and ripped the door of the car open.
It thankfully turned on at the first try and Jeremy started driving as fast as the snow chains and the icy road would allow him.
Bullets came flying the moment he reached the road to the compound. Jeremy slowed down a bit, considering the option of driving one-handed while shooting out of the window. But the road was too damn icy for this, he needed both hands on the wheel.
Then he saw Ryan running towards him, followed by a bunch of guards. Jeremy stepped on the gas and drove towards him, all while reaching for the handle of the passenger door.
He came to a stop in front of Ryan and quickly opened the door. A bullet flew past him, hitting the glass of the window next to Jeremy. Without looking Ryan fired over his shoulder.
“Get in!” Jeremy yelled. The moment Ryan had one foot inside the car, he accelerated again, driving towards the guards that were still shooting at them.
“Wrong way!” Ryan yelled.
He was holding the open car door still with one hand, while shooting with the other hand. How exactly he was not falling out of the car was a mystery to Jeremy.
“We’re not turning around, have you seen the ice on the road!” Jeremy yelled back.
A bullet pierced the windshield, a crack appearing in the glass. Jeremy only stepped on the gas harder, aiming straight at the group of guards shooting at them.
It was a game of chicken and Jeremy hoped that the guards wouldn’t be stupid enough to try and win it.
He was almost close enough to the first man of the group that he could see his face clearly. Jeremy kept driving towards him, eyes fixed on him as the man kept trying to shoot at them, thankfully missing.
There were only a few feet left between them now and Jeremy was already bracing himself for the impact.
But then the man obviously decided that some things weren’t worth dying for and jumped out of the way. The rest of the group had been smart enough to move away early on and Jeremy zoomed by them, as they opened fire.
“Fuck,” Ryan yelled from his right and then he was shooting again.
Jeremy didn’t look over, just trying his best to keep the car straight on the road as they were driving away from the compound and the guards.
“They’re coming after us?” he asked, voice tense.
“They can try. I slashed their tires before I planted the explosives.”
It startled a laugh out of Jeremy.
“Fuck, you’re good,” he said, genuine respect in his voice.
“You’re not that bad either, Lil’ J.”
The use of the nickname signaled to Jeremy that they were out of the woods and he felt himself relax a bit.
“Mind telling me how exactly we’re going to get back to civilization?” He nodded vaguely to the direction of the GPS system.
Ryan turned it on, staring at it for a long moment.
“Well, good news and bad news,” he then said. “Good news, we’re going to get back. Bad news, it’s going to take us about five hours longer if we don’t want to get shot at again.”
Jeremy groaned loudly.
“It’s going to be the middle of the night!”
Ryan shrugged and settled into his seat.
“Good thing I’m not the one driving then,” he said.
Jeremy just rolled his eyes and focused on the road. He was in for a long drive and it didn’t look like the weather would get any better.
He was proven right.
With every passing minute, the snow was coming down stronger and stronger, covering the road in front of them underneath it.
The car was starting to slide, even with the snow chains and Jeremy had to slow down. He really wasn’t in the mood to try and push their car out of a ditch at -20 degrees Fahrenheit, especially with the quickly approaching night. They were south of the Arctic Circle but the days were still short and the sun was already starting to set even though it was barely afternoon.
Jeremy hoped they’d make it before the snow storm turned into an outright blizzard.
His hope was slowly vanishing with every passing hour as the wind howled outside the car and the snow storm around them got heavier. The wipers were working at maximum capacity but they were reaching the point where Jeremy could barely see the wipers, let alone the road in front of them.
If there was even any road left at all. For all Jeremy know they could currently be driving on a frozen river. It wouldn’t make much of a difference in term of slipperiness compared to their current situation.
The snow storm meanwhile was showing its ambition to become a full blown blizzard.
Jeremy stopped the car. Ryan was sleeping in his seat, looking peaceful for once in his life.
“Wake up, dumbass,” Jeremy said loudly. Ryan startled awake, looking wildly around for a moment before he recognized Jeremy. Jeremy tactfully ignored the knife that had appeared in Ryan’s hand.
“We got a problem,” he said instead.
Ryan took a look outside. Or at least at the outside that was still visible.
“Ah,” he said. “Well…”
“We can’t stay in the car all night,” Jeremy said. “Unless you want to walk to Yakutsk tomorrow.”
“Ah,” Ryan said again. “I’ll get the tent.”
“Great, camping in a blizzard,” Jeremy grumbled. “The next time you want to blow up somebody instead of just letting me shot him, let’s not.”
“If I remember correctly, you were the one to blow him up.”
“Details. I get the sleeping bags.”
They were prepared at least. They always were prepared though being prepared didn’t do much good if you didn’t also stick to the plan that you had prepared for. But at the very least they now weren’t caught in the middle of a blizzard without any equipment.
Jeremy took a deep breath to prepare himself and then opened the car door. The wind hit him immediately and with it the temperature difference. The car hadn’t even been all that warm, certainly not warm enough to take off his winter coat or his gloves but compared to this it had been a sauna.
He pulled his scarf up to cover his face and marched to the trunk of the car, pulling out the sleeping bags and the tents.
Silently he handed it over to Ryan who quickly got to work. He didn’t look like the cold was bothering him at all, the bastard. Jeremy watched his gloved hands swiftly put the tent together, anchoring it in the ground so it wouldn’t fly away. He felt both slightly envious and awed as he watched Ryan’s deft hands.
He had seen Ryan choke out people almost twice his size with those hands, had them seen covered in blood or wrapped around guns. He had liked those hands then and he liked them now, as they once more proved that Ryan was capable of more than just killing.
“You coming?”
He almost flushed when he realized that he had been so occupied with staring at Ryan’s hands that he hadn’t noticed that Ryan was finished.
The tent, specifically built to resist extreme temperatures was standing upright, right next to the car, giving them at least a little bit respite from the wind.
They’d need it, Jeremy thought grimly. It had taken Ryan less than five minutes to build the tent but even during that time Jeremy seemed to have lost all feeling in his hands.
He had to keep his teeth from chattering as he quickly climbed into the tent after Ryan.
The tent was cramped, barely fitting two people and even Jeremy wasn’t able to stand inside of it. It didn’t matter. As long as they were able to wait out the blizzard inside of it, it was fine.
Jeremy forced himself to pull off his jacket before quickly climbing into his sleeping back. He zipped up the sleeping bag before pulling the jacket over himself.
“You going to take the first watch?” he then asked, turning towards Ryan.
“I doubt anybody is going to find us here but sure,” Ryan said.
“Okay, wake me in a few hours then,” Jeremy said with a yawn, feeling his eyes drop. Just a few hours, Jeremy thought. Just a few hours and the snow storm would subside and they could keep going. He closed his eyes.
Somebody was roughly shaking his shoulder.
Jeremy opened his eyes but it felt weird, more difficult than it should.
“What?” he slurred. Speaking was hard, he thought. He suddenly realized that his body was shaking violently. It was cold. He was cold. Everything was cold.
“You are shivering,” Ryan said next to him, his hand still on his shoulder. “It took me a bit to get you to wake up.”
Jeremy had to think about this for a long moment before he managed to grasp the meaning behind those words.
“Hypo-, Hypo…” he then began, not quite able to make his mouth produce the word his brain had provided.
“Hypothermia, yeah. A mild one at least.” Ryan was unzipping his sleeping bag and Jeremy was watching him, not quite understanding what was going on.
“Whatcha doing?” he asked, when Ryan reached out to pull down the zipper of Jeremy’s sleeping bag.
“You need to get warm,” Ryan said, his voice allowing no argument even though Jeremy wasn’t sure he’d be able to get into a fight anyway.
He zipped their sleeping bags together. And then he reached out and pulled Jeremy close to him, embracing him so Jeremy’s head was buried against his chest.
For a moment Jeremy couldn’t breathe. He himself tense up at the contact, wondering if he was still dreaming.
But Ryan was soft and warm and right there and he never had dreams that realistic.
He could feel Ryan’s breath against his neck, a regular exhaust of hot and slightly damp air. And Ryan’s hand around him, spread across his shoulders, two large points of warmth.
His body relaxed almost on its own.
Above him Ryan let out an amused snort. A soft shudder ran down Jeremy’s spine.
“Better?” Ryan’s voice was quiet, more a whisper than anything else.
Jeremy was still feeling cold but at least his body had stopped shaking so violently.
“Better.” His own voice sounded rough. Another soft laugh from Ryan.
“It’s cause you’re so small,” he said. “You lose heath quicker.”
Jeremy would have hit him if moving right now wouldn’t have been a cruel and inhuman punishment.
“Asshole,” he mumbled instead. Ryan didn’t answer, just kept holding him as he used his own body heat to warm up Jeremy.
Ryan was a good partner, he thought. Not a hint of hesitation in situations like this. Other people, especially other guys, wouldn’t have done this so quickly.
Professional to the core, he thought and tried to swallow down the lump in his throat. Just being a good partner. Nothing more.
Then Ryan’s hand on his back slowly started moving. It was a miniscule movement, almost not noticeable. But it was there. And it definitely felt like Ryan was stroking his back.
Jeremy considered looking up at Ryan, trying to see what this was all about.
But it would have meant moving his face currently neatly nestled against Ryan’s chest which was just not an acceptable option.
Instead he slowly moved his hand that was pressed between them up, fingers curling slightly into Ryan’s shirt.
Ryan could just move away, Jeremy reasoned. He could move slightly away and that would be it then. Then Jeremy had misunderstood the hand and he’d burrow that small spark of hope that maybe, just maybe, there were on the same page after all.
He could just move away.
He didn’t.
Instead the movement on his shoulders increased, turned into something that was unmistakable stroking.
Jeremy let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. His hand creeped up, his arm wrapping itself around Ryan’s back, pulling him even closer.
Ryan came willingly.
Ryan felt like a furnace, radiating heath but it wasn’t just the warmth that made Jeremy relax. Ryan’s hand was still stroking his shoulder, a soft and soothing movement and he wanted to sink into it, into the feeling of Ryan’s hands on him.
So strong and big and they could break a man easily but they weren’t doing any breaking now.
He could feel Ryan’s body against his own, closely pressed together, even through several layers of protective gear and thermal underwear.
He could stay like this forever. Hell, he could happily die like this. Heaven couldn’t possibly be half as good as this. Warm and soft and with Ryan so close.
Jeremy suddenly realized that they were cuddling.
“Okay?” he mumbled against Ryan’s chest. He wasn’t even sure what exactly he was asking.
Another soft laugh.
“Okay.”
They had a five hour drive ahead of them. A five hour drive in the middle of the night, should the blizzard die down before morning.
They could talk then. About this. About them.
Right now Jeremy just closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of warmth and Ryan.