Page 50 of The Wolf and the Monarch

As soon as Sawyer had untied Benji, he got to work on the handcuffs. He had no idea what the hell was actually going on up there but that fire was truly a blessing in disguise. Sawyer hadn’t expected Milo to get fed up so quickly. But that was probably his doing. Milo likely didn’t like what Sawyer was doing and wanted to put an end to it. Benji (Andi to him) had become a liability to his company at that point and he needed a way to get Sawyer back into line. Killing him was the quickest and easiest way of doing that.

He made quick work of releasing Benji fully from the chair and he moved as fast as his battered body would allow him towards the closet where he threw Benji’s boots. They didn’t have much time for anything else, unfortunately. He knew that was going to upset the other but if they wanted to escape, they had to take it when it was presented to them. He rushed back over and dropped the boots in front of Benji. He got to work lacing them up.

Sawyer’s thumb rubbed into his good palm while he waited, coughing softly from the smoke that was slowly filling the basement. It wasn’t too bad yet, however. It would be soon though. “I need to get my money…” He said almost out of nowhere, chewing on his bottom lip. “We’re going to need it.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Benji’s words were a bit slurred from the swollen cheek and general onslaught his mouth had just endured.

He looked over towards him, “We don’t have a choice, Benji…”

“I know,” he muttered, “At least let me get it. I’m moving quicker than you are currently.”

Sawyer sighed. While that wasn’t an inaccurate assessment, it would be far harder to tell him how to get to his room and where to find the money then it would be for him to just go and get it. “I can do it.”

“Sawyer–”

“I can do it. It’ll be easier if I do it.”

Benji fell silent from there and just focused on lacing up his boots, which was taking far longer than both of them wanted. But that was just how steel toe boots worked.

Sawyer was about to start heading upstairs so he could get a headstart on what he needed when he saw someone approaching the door of the basement. He immediately stopped in his tracks and backed up a few steps back towards Benji. He couldn’t see their face, just their shoes as they began to come down the stairs.

“Sawyer?” They asked, “You down here, boyo?”

A sigh of relief immediately fell from him. “Cole, yeah. I’m here.”

The man walked down the majority of the stairs and hung himself against the wall as he looked the two men over. “Figured as much. You two coming?”

“We’re trying,” Sawyer looked back to Benji, who was now standing and approaching him. “This is Cole, Benji.”

His gaze narrowed at the use of his real name and he looked towards the older man. He gave him a nod. “Nice to meet you.”

“Be nicer if you weren’t locked in this shitty basement, huh?” Cole asked rhetorically and slipped a backpack off his back, tossing it over to Sawyer. “Packed you a bag. Put some clothes in there and your money.”

Sawyer’s eyes widened. “What?!”

“You weren’t hiding that money as good as you thought, boyo. In your underwear drawer? Really?” Cole chuckled and shook his head. “Now, c’mon. Did what I could with that fire but the rest is up to us.”

As gingerly as he could, he slipped the backpack on while he walked up the stairs behind Cole and Benji followed behind him. “You started it?!”

“Had to do something. Heard Milo talking about killing your friend when I passed by his office today. Figured I couldn’t let that happen,” he shrugged. “They should really check that faulty wiring in the med bay though…” He winked.

Sawyer had never been so happy about someone committing arson before. Cole really was the best person to go to with his proposal. He couldn’t help but smile when he thought about how lucky he was to have Cole around for most of his life. Without him, things at the bunker would have been far more depressing, there was no doubt about that.

The three men breached the top floor of the bunker and the first thing that Sawyer noticed was overwhelming heat. The entire back of the place was engulfed in flames. He wouldn’t have been able to get to his room anyway. Cole had at least thought ahead about that. Sawyer covered his mouth and nose with his arm while they moved. His body felt like it was vibrating with how many emotions were coursing through his body. Excitement, fear, anxiety… They were all at war with one another and he was sure they would be until he was in the car and far, far away from that bunker.

There were several people still running out of the burning bunker and Cole took the opportunity to slot themselves in the middle of them so that maybe they wouldn’t be noticed as much. Outside, people were just standing around, watching the place burn. It was a really bizarre thing to witness. No one was moving towards their cars to leave. They just…stayed. The first thing Benji did was throw his hood up, which was smart, but Sawyer wasn’t sure how much it would help. They were going to stick out like a sore thumb moving towards the parking lot but what else were they going to do?

“Stay here,” Cole spoke under his breath, “I’ll get my car and bring it around. Don’t go looking anyone in the eye. I’ll be back in a couple minutes.”

There wasn’t any time to argue. Cole was gone and the two were left standing there in the cold. But at least they had the heat of the bunker fire to keep them warm for the time being. Sawyer pulled the backpack off with a soft groan and clutched it to his chest. He didn’t want anyone to ask how he managed to pack anything. Benji noticed what he was doing and he stood strategically so that the backpack would be hidden from anyone who would look their way while keeping his face hidden.

The emotions that Sawyer had been feeling suddenly all shifted to anxiety and fear. He was so fucking scared. He was still shaking and it was hard to stop it. Benji reached a hand out and softly placed it against his. “It’s going to be okay,” he said quietly, “We’re almost there.”

Sawyer had zero idea how Benji was keeping so calm. He had probably experienced similar things before, he supposed. He didn’t know how he could do it. The anxiety would put him in an early grave if he did what Benji did for a living. Perhaps that was why Milo always said he was pathetic…

“I can’t believe this is happening,” he sighed, shaking his head, “There’s so many people… There’s no way this is going to work.”

“We have to believe it will,” Benji stated simply, “This is our only shot. It’s now or never.”