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Six months, one week, and nineteen hours.
That was how long it had been since Cole Cassidy disappeared off the face of the earth.
Six months, one week, and nineteen hours.
That was how long it had taken Hanzo Shimada to find him again.
The talon compound was small, nestled inconspicuously in the Swiss Alps where nobody would have even the slightest suspicion that something was amiss.
Seven guards. That was all that stood between him and the prize he was so desperate to recover.
He released the first arrow from its notch, watching intently as the projectile soared swiftly through the air before coming to a resonating stop within the agent’s chest. It was a quick kill, not one designed to cause suffering, but one that’s only purpose was to remove an obstacle from his path. The man fell to the ground without a sound, a thin line of blood trickling down his chin as his eyes stared vacantly into the distance.
Six.
He took out the next two with a scatter arrow, their body’s hitting the frozen floor in much the same fashion as their predecessor, not a whisper leaving their mouths as their lips sealed forever.
Four.
Then came the sniper. He took out the rifleman with a skillful blade to the throat, blood painting the wall of the tower that she had made her nest within as her body tumbled to the snowy ground below.
Three.
The final trio were more difficult, their souls departing the vessels which held them in a haze of dragon fire as blue light lit up the once pristine bunker.
Zero.
He could not afford to dwell on the lives that had been taken, instead choosing to move forward, driven by an intense desire to find his partner still alive and breathing.
Finally, he came to the holding cells, each one seeming more empty than the last until he stumbled across the person he was searching for.
His clothes were filthy, and his face was hidden behind mats of rusty hair, but beneath all of the grime and blood was the same old Cole Cassidy he had fallen in love with all those years ago.
“Looks like we finally meet again, cowboy”
The simple words had the other man jumping to his feet, unbelieving eyes studying his face as he stared on in disbelief. After a few moments the imprisoned man seemed content that he wasn’t starting at a ghost, moving forwards to grasp the bars between them.
“You here to break me out or are you just gonna stand there?”
He felt his mouth twist into a familiar smile, slipping the key he had picked off the guards into the lock. The southern man barely gave him a second before he barreled into his arms, rough hands moving to cup the back of his neck as he leaned forwards towards him.
The kiss was rough, yet filled with a thousand unspoken words and confessions, each more desperate than the last. When they finally parted, he found himself humming against his lovers’ lips, breathing in the deep smell of cigar smoke that always seemed to follow him around.
Yep, same old Cole Cassidy.