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@electrc
They say when the pressure is on, when matters of life and death are not only staring but screaming you in the face that everything slows down.
That’s bullshit. Things speed up. You have microseconds to make choices, to make calls that will either save your life and that of your squad or it could kill you and them. There is no time to think, only react. Whatever excuse Rude had - that his glasses were knocked off - shot off by a grazing bullet, that the light blinded him so that all he saw was flashes of white.. it’s on him he didn’t react before hand, to prevent what happened next. He hears bullets, and they’re right on top of him and--
“Reno!”
Reno’s been hit. He knows a shadow is over him and as quickly as it jumped in the way to protect him, he went down. No time to think. Just react. And reaction was grabbing Reno and throwing them both over cover with what must have been brief inhumane strength for them both to make it. His hands dig in his left breast pocket, grabbing his spare pair of glasses and shoving them on his face. Now he can see. And he sees the left side of Reno’s shoulder bleeding out. They need to go. Now.
“Man down. Requesting back-up.” He speaks, pressing his earpiece. He’s fast at work then, cutting Reno’s jacket and shirt uniform open. If you can call any of this luck, it looks like the bullet went straight through.
“That was my bullet. You idiot.”
Reno smirks through gritted teeth. Rude’s unsure if it’s because he’s agreeing he’s an idiot who would’ve made the same idiotic move again if given the choice.. or if it’s a reflex attempt to show Rude he isn’t dead yet, like he can see right through that composure. It’s always a risk when you’re out in the field. You may not come back home - your partner may not come back home. He knows it, but it doesn’t help.
And this was his fault. If Reno doesn’t make it in time, his death is on him.
There’s blood all over both of them now, Rude’s hands soaked as he puts pressure on the wound. Another gunshot over head tells him they still aren’t alone. He’s going to have to trust in Elena to handle it- no sooner did he think that did the assault on them come to a stop.