I felt my body freeze in fear at the sound of the gunfire, my breaths turning more and more ragged as the scene around me blurred.

Not now! Not.. not... now...

I tried to shake myself out of my daze, when a bullet suddenly whistled past my ear, effectively pulling me out of the trance.

I dove for cover behind a dumpster, bullets clanging as they burrowed into the metal, saying a silent prayer of thanks at the fact that the two idiots shooting at us had somehow missed me while I was incapacitated.

I really have to figure out how to stop doing that, it's really a problem, I think to myself as I instinctively reach for the gun sling at my waist again, groaning when my hand only touches the fabric of my slacks.

"Goddamnit," I whisper in frustration, the finality of my situation folding over me like a dampened blanket. No guns, no weapons... nothing to defend myself with? I sure as hell can't punch or kick my way out of this when the enemy is using automatic weapons.

Why the fuck am I so stupid? I think to myself, fear gripping my heart. And now I'm going to die because I left my goddamn GUN in the car, I mean for fucks sake!

More bullets clang against the metal of the dumpster and shatter the concrete floor on both my left and right.

I jerk out of my stupor of fear when I hear the quick slap of shoes on the concrete nearing me, and I quickly raise my fists, preparing to strike whenever they came closer. When I felt a swish of movement at my side, I swung out in the dark, my fist connecting with the flesh of something.

"Merde!" A familiar heavy french accent spits. " Ça me fait chier! I'm on your side woman!"

I relax a little when I realize it's the Frenchman from earlier, and not one of the thugs trying to shoot us down.

"And how the hell am I supposed to know that?" I snarl, sucking in a breath when the cold pulse of metal presses into the skin of my palm.

"That's how, and I swear to God you better not shoot me with that gun, or I will come back to haunt you in the afterlife. You do know how to use it right?" Beau growls, as he cocks his own gun.

"Fuck yeah I do!" I snap, energized with the fact that I now have something I can defend myself with. I pop my head around the edge of the dumpster to see the woman and the man standing in their separate windows shooting at us, plus two new men at the end of the alleyway.

The alley is dark, but the moon gives just enough light to illuminate enough of the attacker's body so I can aim and shoot.

I hoist up the pistol and cock it, before rapidly slamming back the trigger. A ripple of bangs echo through the alleyway as both the lady and the man in the windows' bodies crash to the floor.

"Sacrebleu! She can shoot!" Beau cries out excitedly beside me, raising his own gun to fire.

The two of us let out a spray of bullets towards the two attackers standing at the end of the alleyway, their bodies jerking left and right until they finally fall. A new group of men rush in to take their place, but Beau and I make quick work of them, dropping bodies left and right.

In our excitement, we turn toward each other and clasp hands in celebration, before I remind myself that I still don't know who this man is, nor why he was following me to begin with.

I quickly jerk my hand away just as Beau gives me a large grin. "The two of us make quite the pair! Say, where did you learn to shoot like that?"

"I-" a quiet click above interrupts me, and I gasp when I look up to see a sniper dressed in black pointing the barrel of his rifle at Beau. I glance between the two, a wave of dread crashing over me when I see that Beau has morphed into him.

"Harper!" he cries out as the sniper grins and pulls back the trigger, sending a loud crack! echoing through the alleyway.

Without even thinking I launch myself over Beau just as the bullet pierces through my skin, stars sparkling into my vision.

"Fils de pute!" Beau yells fearfully, moving his arms around me to whip up his pistol and shot the sniper before he can shoot again. The sniper cries out as the bullet slams into his forehead, releasing his rifle and sending it falling to the concrete.

"Good... shot." I croak, when I drag my eyelids open to see that his face has disappeared, and Beau is giving me a distressed look.

Beau reaches up and presses a hand to my cheek just as the corners of my vision slowly darkens.

"Oh chérie," Beau whispers frantically as my head languidly drops against his chest in exhaustion.

"What have you done?"

***

"Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod!" A familiar voice huffs hysterically nearby before a sob pushes past their lips.

"Amber, I'm sure she'll be fine... just try to relax." Another familiar voice soothes, though just as sorrowfully.

My eyes open slowly, the white lights above blinding me at first before my eyes adjust and I see Gus holding Amber against his chest.

"Will you two calm down? It was just a gunshot through the shoulder, I'm positive she'll survive." the french lit of voice drones annoyedly. My eyes dart to the source of the sound before landing on the man from before, a smirk on his lips.

"Besides, it seems she has already awoken."

A horrified gasp parts my lips as I take in his disheveled sand curls and dark black eye from when I punched him... last night?

Unaware of my horrified expression, Amber whirls towards me, stifling a gasp as she rushes to my side and draws me into a tight huge. I groan when her shoulder rubs against the wound in mine, but wrap my hands around her.

"I'm so glad you're okay Harp, I... I don't know what I would do without you." she sobs, tightening her grip on me as stars blink into my vision.

"Ames-" I gasp in pain. "You're hurting me!"

Amber rockets backward, red hair wild and messy as tears trailing down her cheeks. "Sorry, I just-" she quickly wipes her tears away as her expression turns into fury.

"What the hell were you thinking?! Going into a dark alleyway alone? And no weapons! Did you lose your sense of logic overnight?" she snaps, crossing her arms. "I mean God! What the hell has gotten into you?"

"Amber, dear, calm down... she just woke up," Gus says as he takes a step forward and sets his hands on her arms, giving them a comforting rub.

I confusedly squint at their casual embrace as Beau gets up from his seat and walks towards me, shooting a wary glance at Amber. "Remind me never to cross the wrong path with you."

Beau then glances at me, the purple flesh around his right eye so bright I can't help but look away, which is when I noticed my peculiar surroundings. A white room that resembled that of a hospital, but not quite.

"Where the hell are we?" I wonder out loud, accidentally glancing back to Beau.

He gives me a prideful smirk. "You're in the medical wing of the Raven Sector, Miss Medley."

My eyes bulge at his words, as I process what exactly they mean. "The Raven Sector? Then that means you're-" I can't help but cringe as I connect the dots, realizing just who he is.

He takes advantage of my silence and sweeps into a mocking bow, his grin growing wider as I gawk at the words he says next. "Beauregard Allard, at your service."

"Oh shit," I mutter horrifiedly to myself, as my face uncontrollably grows hotter from the shame that overpowers me, as I remember reading his name in the case file on the plane. I called the man I'm supposed to be working with a prick... and I gave him a black eye?! What will Burris do when he hears about this?

I suck in a breath, accidentally moving my injured shoulder when I try to lift a hand to my lips.

Beau chuckles when he sees my horror, giving me a derisive wink. "Yup, you called your fellow I.S.A.I.A agent and mission partner a prick, and punched me in the eye."

Amber stiffens at his words, giving me an infuriated glare.

"You did what? You were the one who punched him?!" she cries furiously.

I cringe again and quickly look away as more shame creeps up my gut, my face growing redder. You really screwed up this time Harper.

"Alright, alright, no need to mortify her," Beau says, taking a step forward into my line of eyesight, a glint of something foreign in his moss-colored eyes. "She did save my life, and I will forever be grateful."

I can't help but feel paralyzed as the appreciation in his gaze intensifies. Somehow he conveys the words I owe you a life debt as his eyes bore into mine, casting some kind of odd spell over my body. I squirm uncomfortably under his gaze, and he finally breaks the tension by looking up at Amber and Gus.

"Why don't you two grab some breakfast from the cafeteria below? I just want to ask Harper a few questions from the attack last night, and make sure her wound has been properly treated."

My fear heightens at the thought of being alone in a room with my supposed-to-be-partner after I had punched him in the face and called him a prick. "Oh I'm sure they're not hungry... right Ames?" I croak, but to my panic, Amber agrees with Beau.

"Alright, that sounds nice." She looks at me and ignores my pleading look. "I'm sure he'll take good care of you Harp," she says, giving me a sweet smile.

I scowl in rage, WHY YOU FUC-

"Of course I will, you don't need to worry about anything Miss Talle." Beau says, returning her sweet smile.

My breathing intensifies as the pair walks out together, leaving me with a man I had just made my enemy a few hours. I quickly sit up, causing a bolt of pain to shoot down my arm, but I ignore it and attempt to stand.

"You know, I'm actually feeling much better- it doesn't even feel like I got shot, wow the Raven Sector must have extremely advanced medical tech! Guess I'll be on my way-"

Beau chuckles and puts a warm hand on my shoulder to gently push me back into sitting on the medical cot.

"Now now, we both know that's a lie." he attempts to soothly say, but it ends up terrifying me even more. He lifts his other hand to lift up the sleeve of my hospital gown, and I suck in a horrified breath, imaging him digging his fingers into the wound to torture me after what I did to him.

"Please," I whisper fearfully, closing my eyes and readying myself for the pain.

I hear a sigh, and then the pressure of the hand on my shoulder lifts. "Zut! For crying out loud, I'm not going to hurt you! I know you may think that I'm a prick, but I assure you that I would never harm a defenseless woman!"

I open my eyes and let out a breath of relief, eyeing Beau who has now crossed his arms. "Though I have to say, all of your bite has seemed to magically left your body. Not so tough now, are you?"

I give him a dirty look and cross my own arms. "You would be too if you woke up from being shot, in a foreign place, with the man who you had just insulted and punched in the eye! Insensitive canaille!"

Beau just rolls his eyes and uncrosses his arms, reaching out with a scarred hand to grab a cotton swab on the desk next to him. "And the wolf is back, and ever so vulgar, you're using french cuss words now too!" he exclaims, holding the cotton swab up. "Now are you going to let me examine your bullet wound or not?"

I scowl and snatch the swab out of his hand. "I can do it myself, thank you very much."

Beau scowls back and plops down into a chair as I slowly lift the sleeve of my medical gown up and peel back the bandage wrapped around my shoulder. I wince as the cloth separates from the tenderness of my wound, revealing a bright red hole where the bullet had burrowed into my flesh.

"Luckily you were shot at such a distance that the bullet barely went into your skin, so you should be healed after a few days of rest."

Rest? Ha, like I'll have time for that.

"Got any antisceptic in here?" I inquire, leveling Beau with a glare.

He silently gets up and walks across the room, his brown leather jacket wrinkling with the movement as he opens up a cabinet and takes out a bottle of saline, scrutinizing the label.

Satisfied, he walks back to me and hands me the bottle, before returning back to his seat.

"Why did you jump in front of that bullet?" he asks aloud, rubbing his chin as he watches me pour some saline onto the cotton swab and press it to my wound. "You didn't even know I was an I.S.A.I.A agent at the time, explaining as to why you were shocked, and humiliated I might add, when I told you my name."

I try to ignore him by shoving the cloth deeper into my wound, gritting my teeth against the sting that set my wound ablaze with pain, before pulling the bandage back over the scarlet hole.

"And I find it hard to believe that you would naturally sacrifice yourself for another, which leaves me left to wonder why you truly saved me," Beau says, tapping his fingertips against his chin when I meet his gaze.

I give him a deadly glower, desperately trying to keep the memories of my nightmares at bay, and the moment where Beau's face morphed into his. "Is it really that hard to believe that I was doing what my job trained me to do? I practically sacrifice myself on a daily basis trying to keep people safe!"

Beau narrows his eyes as he scrutinizes me, just as he did with the saline bottle, trying to tell the truth from the lies. I can't help but lean away from him, hoping that he's not so observant he can see through those lies.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it, for now..." he relents, and I allow myself to take in a subtle relieved breath.

"However, I meant what I said about being in your debt," he says as he picks up the saline bottle from the desk beside my bed, getting up to return it to the cabinet in the back. "And I do intend to pay it back as quickly as possible, as I do not like them hanging over my head," he glances back at me and tilts his head to the side. "I'm sure you would agree, no?"

"Yes, but how exactly would you pay it back?" I ask, rolling my fingers across the white sheets of the medical cot, before giving him a sardonic grin. "It isn't very often that I need saving."

Beau raises a disbelieving eyebrow, "Really? So you call me running through a rain of bullets to press a gun into your hand not saving you?"

I shake my head, "It's not the same, you didn't leap in front of me to take a bullet that was barreling towards my heart...  when I did for you."

Beau lets out an irritated sigh, "I still don't believe that you just leaped in front of me out of the goodness of your heart-"

We both look down when my stomach interrupts him with an angry rumble. Shit, I forgot I haven't eaten since before getting on the flight.

Beau laughs and holds out a hand to help me up. "We can discuss this later, what do you say we take a walk down to the cafeteria to meet with your amis?"

** A bit of a longer chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it! I'm so glad I finally got to introduce Beau, he's my favorite character xD Don't forget to vote and leave a comment or two!**