The shot rang out, but not before the shriek of metal colliding sharply against metal. The kidnapper yelped. The gun flew out of his hand and clattered in a corner as the bullet went wide. Cardin, clinging on to consciousness, watched through a thickening black haze as the man curled his arm back to himself in defence just before a dark figure descended upon him. Ferocious silver flashed, and the man gave a shout of pain before sweeping a wide, weighty hook with his non-bleeding arm to force the dark attacker back. 

Smoothly changing his grip on the dagger, Keary darted forward again. Just as he came within range, the man took another swing, forcing him to dodge to avoid the punch. 

In a blink, the dark-haired boy pivoted, aiming a swift kick at the man’s head. The man blocked with both arms, but Keary was not one to bank on a single move. Barely giving his opponent any time to recover, he followed up with a succession of rapid attacks, one of which met their mark, catching the man on the side of his head. 

The man stumbled, but Keary was already advancing once more to slice through the skin of the man’s other forearm. The man cried out again, but rallied himself to jab fiercely at Keary. 

Western boxing? With keen eyes, Keary observed his opponent's form as he ducked low, going for the man's legs. He won't be needing these then. 

His precise slashes drew blood from the man's thighs and the softer, vulnerable flesh behind the knees, but he dallied too close and for a tad too long. A huge force crashed down into his torso, slamming him to the ground. A less seasoned fighter would have been winded, but barely a beat later, Keary had managed to roll quickly away and regain his footing in a crouch, pausing to survey the damage he'd inflicted. 

It was obviously taking the man some effort to remain on his feet, but he was still far from the end of his strength. He stood, arms up in a guarded stance, preparing for the next attack. "What do you want?" he snarled. 

Gripping the blade, Keary sneered, "That's a lot of nerve from the person who broke into my house. What do you want with Cardin?" 

The man growled, “You don’t know what you’re getting into, kid. This is none of your business.” 

“It is now. I can’t let you kill him, I’m afraid. We have some unfinished business. What is it you want?” 

Grinning nastily, the man spat, “Spilling secrets is not an option for people in my trade.” 

Keary shrugged. He had been pulling his attacks, wanting to subdue the man instead of killing him in the hopes that he would be able to provide some answers to Cardin’s mystery. However, it looked like he would have to dial things up a notch, as an encouragement to be more amenable. Brandishing the knife, he shot towards him once again. 

But the man still had some tricks up his sleeve. Side-stepping at the last instant, he caught Keary's knife arm as it flew at him, yanking him forward and off-balance. They both landed heavily on the ground, and in a flash, the man was on top of him, wrestling the dagger away. The blade flashed through the air towards his face; Keary twisted his head aside just in time, the edge of the knife grazing his cheek and stabbing the floor right beside him. His arm shot up, elbow forcing the man’s wrist toward the ground such that his grasp on the knife slipped and loosened. Knocking the weapon out of his opponent’s hand, Keary then jerked his head forward, straight into the man’s face. 

For the second time that day, the man received the impact directly on his already-broken nose, which crunched and started gushing crimson again. In the moment that he recoiled, screaming blood and fury, Keary reversed their positions, slipping out from under him and clamping him face-down in a vice-like submission hold. Leaning in, he repeated, “What did you want with him?” 

The man grunted, red-faced. Blood streamed from his nose and tears leaked from his eyes. His arms were outstretched, straining to reach the knife. Maintaining the lock, Keary grabbed the dagger, then stabbed it without hesitation through the man’s wrist. As the man howled, Keary swiftly unwound a wire from around his wrist and looped it tightly around the man’s neck. The man choked. 

“Come on. You were having fun torturing him just awhile ago, weren’t you? What were you after?” 

The man continued to struggle, but Keary simply leaned forward to add pressure to the back of his head with a knee, his other foot on the ground to keep him in balance as the man thrashed underneath him. 

“Quickly now, before you’re unable to speak.” 

So focused on keeping the tightness of the metal cord just right around the man’s neck without fully garrotting him, Keary didn’t notice his opponent’s free hand inching towards the knife impaling the wrist until it was too late.

In a final desperate attempt, the strangled man extracted the knife and swung it in a wild backward arc, trying to slash at the dark-haired boy sitting on top of him. Keary, seeing the glint of the blade in his periphery, threw his weight to the side to avoid the strike. The wire noose tightened and cut deep, and a red fountain exploded. The man gurgled, spasming, then went limp. 

He was dead. 

Breathing heavily, Keary released the wire and shoved the hefty body off him, then sighed in disgust and frustration as he wiped the blood off his face with the sleeve of his coat. 

Fuck. That was our only lead. 

But there were more urgent matters to attend to. Hastily retrieving the knife, he raced to where Cardin still sat. He quickly cut the bindings, and caught the boy against himself as the blonde slumped forward. 

“Cardin? Hey, can you hear me?” 

Heavy blue eyes struggled to open at the warm touch on his face, unfocused. “Keary…?” 

Keary knelt and cupped the pale face in his hands, silver gaze anxious. “Hey. It’s me. Where does it hurt?” 

“I… Everything’s spinning… It’s so cold…” Cardin shivered. 

Immediately, Keary tore off his coat and wrapped it around the trembling boy. 

"Do you think you can move?" 

Only when the boy gave a small nod did Keary move to carefully scoop him into his arms, then rose. 

“You’re safe now. Let’s get you home, okay?” 

Cardin gave a soft murmur, sliding a hand around Keary’s neck. The dark-haired boy tightened his arms around the light body, holding him close. He cast one last look at the corpse lying in the pooling blood before making for the warehouse exit. 

……