Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 3

slowly lowered his arm and held the pistol out harmlessly. Twitchy grabbed it and tossed it to Bear for safekeeping. It seemed like an eternity, but Boss finally moved his gun from Charlie's temple.
    The second he could move, Charlie crumpled to his knees. He waited just long enough for Boss and Twitchy to move away and then scooted inelegantly to Niko's side to inspect his wound. There wasn't enough blood-loss to indicate a major artery puncture; if that had been hit, Niko would already be dead. Just the thought was enough to send a fresh spike of fear-induced adrenaline through Charlie. Niko was obviously trained enough to know how to try and stem the flow of a blood from a leg wound because he'd already cinched his belt above the wound.
    As he checked Niko over with shaking hands, Charlie overheard the Boss muttering sharply to Twitchy, "Christ, B, you shot the cop ? Do you know how fucked you are now?"
    "We! How fucked we are!" Twitchy insisted, his voice cracking as it rose to a higher octave.
    "What if he dies, huh? Do you know what they do to cop-killers? It's not like gunning down Red Shirt here, they'll be out for blood."
    "He won't die," Charlie spoke up. He counted it a personal win that he didn't flinch when they both whipped around to glare at him. "Not if you let me treat him."
    Boss' eyes narrowed. "Treat him? What are you, a fucking doctor or something?"
    "Yeah, actually, I am." Okay, technically Charlie was only pre-med, but they didn't need to know that. Besides, he was pretty sure he was the closest thing to a real doctor they'd get until the paramedics could get in.
    "Then why you dressed like a Game Stop dude?"
    "Long story. Look, do you want him to bleed to death right here, or will you let me fix him?"
    Twitchy shot a nervous look at Boss, who seemed to consider it for a long moment before nodding. "Fuck it, fine. Take them to the office in the back. If there's any funny business, cop or no cop, take care of them."
    With a jerky nod, Twitchy shouldered his gun and leaned down as if to grab Niko's arm.
    "Don't touch him," Charlie snapped. "I've got him." He quickly got to his feet and bent back down to wrap Niko's arm around his shoulder. When Niko nodded, Charlie used every bit of his strength to haul him up and help him hobble to the windowless office behind the teller area.
    Twitchy followed them, his gun in hand, but pointed at the floor. As Charlie helped Niko into a sitting position against the far wall, he spoke up. "Hey, man, I didn't mean to shoot him, you know that, right?"
    Charlie shot him a glare and said nothing.
    "You can fix him though, right? I can help. I don't want to get done for cop-killing, man."
    "Maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to rob a bank at gunpoint," Charlie sniped, feeling a bit more confident away from the Boss and with Twitchy practically groveling. Well, as much as a masked man armed with a semi-automatic weapon can grovel, anyway.
    "You want to help?" Charlie asked as he brushed a lock of Niko's hair away from his sweating forehead. "Get me a pair of scissors and see if you can find some sort of first aid kit."
    "Scissors?" Twitchy asked, suspicion leaking back into his voice. "What for?"
    Charlie fought the urge to roll his eyes as the gun lifted a few inches. "I have to see the wound to treat it. To do that, I need to cut away the fabric of his jeans. I can't do that without scissors."
    Twitchy hesitated a moment before moving to the desk at the opposite corner of the room. He rooted around a bit and came up with a large pair. A quick shuffle through the rest of the drawers had him coming up with a tiny first aid kit as well.
    "No funny business," he warned before he handed the lot over. "You try anything with those scissors and I will shoot you."
    Charlie nodded and took them. Apparently satisfied that Charlie wasn't going to try and stage a dramatic escape attempt, Twitchy moved to stand at the door, giving them a bit of space.
    "What the fuck were you thinking, pointing that gun at him?" Niko whispered harshly when Charlie turned back to him. "Do you have any idea how close to dying you just came?"
    Charlie made a sound of indignation as he cut through the fabric of Niko's jeans to get at his wound. He felt a tiny bit of his tension ease when he found an exit wound. A through-and-through. Niko would have two scars, but his recovery time wouldn't be nearly as horrible as it would have been if he'd taken a hit to the bone. "He shot