Chapter Text
Sanford's bandana was soaked in sweat as he paused at an intersection to listen. He'd been running at a full sprint for the last ten minutes. Class had just ended, meaning that it would take the rest of the students about fifteen minutes to walk back to their respective dorms. Fifteen minutes to catch Hank before anyone suffered mind-shattering trauma.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" A male student shouted to Sanford's right. The Demolitionist took off, once again running at a full sprint. He knocked an irritating senior student to the side as he caught sight of the Merc. While sprinting, Sanford racked the slide on his Glock 19 and took aim.
"If I can just hit him in the leg, he'll slow down long enough for me to grab him." Sanford thought. Hank suddenly rounded a corner into an alley. Sanford slowed down to a creep as he approached the corner. Hank wasn't stupid. He had some sort of plan. Sanford took a deep breath and jumped around the corner; gun raised. He was greeted by an empty alleyway with a dead end. Sanford spun around, trying to find any clues as to how the Merc escaped. He cursed under his breath as he spotted a long drain pipe leading to the roof of one of the buildings.
Grabbing his phone, the Demolitionist quickly dialed Deimos's number. It rang for a few seconds before the call connected.
"Deimos!" Sanford shouted. The Hacker groaned over the line before replying.
"What?"
"I've lost Hank! I need Yaoyorozu's address right now!" Sanford spoke frantically. Here could hear shuffling over the line and muttered curses on the other side.
Toru squeaked in surprise as Deimos suddenly scrambled to his feet out of her hug and sprinted out of the classroom. His head whipped back and forth as he tried to spot the endangered student. Deimos dashed down the hall upon seeing her and yelled after her.
"YO MOMO! WAIT UP!" Deimos shouted. The heroine-in-training paused upon hearing her name and spun on her heel to see what the commotion was.
"Yes? What is it?" She asked cautiously. Deimos held up his phone.
"Sanford needs to know what dorm you're in right fuckin' now. Please. This is a life or death matter." Deimos replied. Shock plastered her face upon realizing how serious the situation was.
"I'm in dorm building C, room 208. Does this have something to do with Wimbleton? " She asked nervously. Deimos had already turned away from her and was making his way toward the exit.
"Did you catch that Sanford? Dorm C, room 208." Deimos asked.
"Yeah, I caught it. On my way over there now." Sanford replied as he turned off his phone and continued running.
About eight minutes later, huffing and puffing, Sanford reached his location. It didn't seem like any other students had shown up, making his job easier. He quickly checked the hallway for any traps or tripwires before sidling up to room 208's door. He gently pressed his ear to the door, straining to hear anything. Faint music echoed inside. Gently grasping the doorknob, Sanford withheld a surprised gasp at it being unlocked. He quickly prayed to any God that might be listening as he slowly opened the door.
A trail of red rose petals led from the door toward the massive bed in the center of the room. The rest of the room was dimly lit by candlelight. His eyes followed the trail and slowly went upward. It took every ounce of Sanford's willpower not to have a mental breakdown then and there.
Hank J. Wimbleton. The greatest killer in all of Nevada. The scourge of the AAHW. The man who'd gone toe to toe with a wannabe messiah, a God-like being, and a demonic clown and survived half the time, was lying on his side and posing on the bed in nothing but his briefs and his headgear while sensual music played. His head was propped up on his right hand while one knee stuck up. Two small holes had been cut through his bandana to allow a rose's stem to pass through them. In the back of Sanford's mind, he admitted that Hank almost had him beat on muscle tone.
However, the front of Sanford's mind was actively trying to decide if he should shoot Hank or himself. A vein bulged on Hank's forehead when he realized who it was.
"Sanford," Hank spoke in a dangerously low tone. Sanford audibly gulped as his gun shook in his hand.
"H-Hank. You gotta clean this shit up and get out of here before Yaoyorozu gets back." Sanford replied, calming himself down slightly.
"No."
Sanford gritted his teeth and aimed at the Merc. In the blink of an eye, Hank dashed forward and grabbed the gun before pushing it to the side. Sanford punched the Merc in the left kidney before getting kicked in the shin. Thankfully Hank was barefoot, but it still hurt like hell. While the Demolitionist was distracted, Hank ejected the magazine from the glock and jerked the slide back, emptying the chamber and rendering the gun useless.
"Listen Momo, you can't go in there yet!" They heard Deimos say loudly outside the room. The two Nevadians paused mid-strike to listen in.
"Deimos. It's my room," Momo responded, voice filled with irritation. "Why can't I go in there?"
"There's...Uh...There's fumigation going on! They found a nasty roach nest!" Deimos replied. There was a loud thump against the door.
"Stop blocking the door Deimos. I know you're lying. Please move." She ordered sternly. Deimos chuckled awkwardly.
"Here, let me see if they've finished up in there." He said before quickly entering and closing the door behind him before Yaoyorozu could protest. When he turned around to address his two teammates, he froze. Some part of his mind shattered.
"I-I...buh-wuh...Hank...rose..." Deimos stuttered as he slumped against the wall. Hank slugged Sanford in the jaw while he was distracted, following it up with a kick to the gut.
"HANK WHAT THE FUCK!?" Deimos shouted as his senses returned to him and he charged the Merc. Hank sidestepped the charge before sweeping out the Hacker's legs and slamming him into the ground. Just as he raised his fist to smash it into Deimos's face, several thousand volts coursed through Hank's body. Sanford wheezed as he helped Deimos up and retrieved his electrified hook.
"Never speak of this again?" Deimos asked as he lifted one of Hank's arms over his shoulder.
"Never again," Sanford replied as he took the other arm. They dragged Wimbleton out through the doorway, where a shocked Momo stood. She tried to stutter out a question.
"Hank had a set up to try and seduce you. Please, everything hurts, ask us tomorrow." Sanford stated before dragging Hank away with Deimos's help. Momo stood still as her face turned cherry red. Wimbleton? Really? The cold-hearted murderer? She paused to ponder the idea. She was shocked at the sight of the scars littering his body and the almost ash-like paleness of his skin. However, his body had also been covered in rock-solid muscles, with a few scars that could have been considered cool. His facial structure was also nice to look at. She shook her head and tried her hardest to forget the images even as a single thought echoed throughout her traitorous mind.
"OH NO, HE'S HOT!"