The two other last chapters are done, so I will post one per day starting today. I'm so sorry for how long it took this story to finish, but at least it's done. Hope you'll enjoy it ^^"

Unbeta-ed work, so all mistakes are mine.

Hostage at Midday

4

Morgan was onto them the moment Coulson and Penelope returned. He didn't comment on the fact the two had been absent, just gave them a long stare before speaking:

"The team drew a profile, and we think we know what might happen next." Coulson nodded, indicating his listening. "So far Tanner's proven he's not afraid of acting even with the police force deployed around. Given his antics, we suspect he might have an escape plan in motion, otherwise why go in and kill someone in the middle of a restaurant in broad daylight?"

"I agree," Coulson said. "Have you considered help among the hostages? Or even in the police?"

Morgan's expression turned grim and when he spoke next, his voice had lowered.

"At this point, anything is possible. Garcia, can you run a background check on the officers here, see if anyone sticks out?" The blonde nodded and rushed to her computer. Coulson took advantage of her absence to ask:

"You might be able to answer this. My agent in there crossed roads with him a few years ago. What might happen if he sees her?"

Morgan's grimace didn't announce good news.

"I guess it depends on how much he hates your agent, whether he will be merciful or not."

"Merciful such as?" A hint of worry appeared in Coulson's voice.

"If he really wants to see her dead, he'll kill her but after torture. If he doesn't much care, she'll be executed right away." Morgan didn't ask, but the question was in his eyes. The SHIELD agent shook his head sadly.

"Then I guess it's a good thing he hates her badly."

HAM

Prentiss had been waiting for three minutes when she finally saw the reinforcements arrive through a ventilation opening. The meeting point was an old furniture room which offered a good deal of privacy. No lock on the inside or the outside, which might have been a problem, but so far they had been lucky.

"I never thought I'd say this, but glad to see you Barton." She said as they dropped down in the room. "Agent Romanoff," she then greeted towards the redhead. Natasha nodded in return. And Barton opened his mouth:

"You've gone so rusty that you can't handle this alone?"

"Last time I tried to handle something solo -a 20 something Irish gang- I ended up stabbed by a pike in the stomach and bleeding out on the ground of a warehouse. I'd rather have backup this time." Barton grinned, and Emily rolled her eyes. "Fine, maybe I've gone a bit rusty."

"FBI agents are so out of shape," the archer declared in a sing-song kind of tune. His partner rolled her eyes in exasperation and dropped the long-shaped briefcase in front of Prentiss.

"From Coulson," the former Russian said. "A present."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. She opened it right away and inhaled sharply in shock.

"Oh my God…" she whispered in awe. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Depends." Clint replied with a smirk. "What do you think it is?"

Emily carefully retrieved the folded and unusually thin gun with reverence. Natasha looked a little curious.

"You brought back my baby to me?" she pushed a slide on the side and the barrel unfolded into a short, thin rifle about the length of her arm. Her eyes sparkled. "Barton, I could kiss you right now."

The archer grimaced and Natasha frowned but both were ignored as Prentiss kept cooing over the weapon. It had been a new SHIELD-issued innovation at the time, and one of her favorites. It was unusually light and awfully dangerous to manipulate because of said lightness –a bad move and the trigger might have backfired on her –but she outscored everyone with the damn thing (except for Barton, but he was an ass with an unnatural eyesight and gift for aiming, so he didn't count) so no-one complained. She couldn't quite make one kilometer without the sights and magnifying glasses but she definitely hit any target on spot under that distance. And with an additional magnifying glass…Unfortunately, when she had left SHIELD slamming the door, she had to leave it behind. The unusual tech was not to leave the organization and she had really missed it overtime.

"R&D upgraded it a little." Clint added. "Last time you said the handle tremble more than a classical rifle and the barrel tended to shake because of it. Also they added a silencer within the barrel."

Emily checked the weapon over. At first glance it looked exactly like the old model she had but after a closer inspection she spotted the one or two things that might have changed. Nothing she couldn't deal with at the present time. At worst, she'd have to shoot her adversaries in the chest for the first tests.

"Did SHIELD made more of those?"

"You were the only one capable of using that shit properly," Clint replied with a shrug. "Coulson insisted on keeping your prototype just in case." Pause. "You're gonna kiss him too?"

"Am I even allowed to keep it?" she asked longingly, ignoring his sarcasm.

"Maybe if you're a good girl."

"We're wasting time." Natasha cut abruptly. Emily snapped out of her daze with a guilty face. Barton snorted.

"Don't worry Nat, Miss B.O.S is in love with that thing, she's just upset she'll have to wait before canoodl-" his words were interrupted by a dry slap at the back of the head by said agent. Natasha ignored him and went on:

"You and Prentiss go to the rescue and incapacitate the leader and his goons. I take down the ones still walking around."

"You think we should separate?" Barton asked with a surprised eyebrow.

"I don't want Coulson's buddy harmed," the redhead retorted with a sort of snort. "I go on my own, you cover each other's back."

The archer raised his hands in defense.

"Do it your way, and see you in five."

The redhead nodded and turned her back to walk her way. Prentiss and Barton stood behind. The BAU agent glanced at her former partner and smirked.

"What?" Barton asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You are so whipped, peacock."

Pause.

"It was only once, but she sure knows how to handle it." He said with a smirk. Prentiss rolled her eyes; of course he'd play along.

"I don't want to know."

"You asked."

"Seven minutes and counting."

"On it."

HAM

"Okay, I have a problem." Garcia babbled, catching Morgan and Coulson's attention. "I managed to gather as much information as I could on the police and officers of town but some come from very specific background and have a higher clearance level that I can't access."

"If Tanner has help from the outside, it must be from a higher rank." Morgan pointed out, frustration dropping from clenched teeth.

Coulson leaned over her shoulder, which made Garcia tense a bit.

"I'd rather try an officer who spent some time in Argentina or Brazil. Tanner stayed a fair couple of years there."

"With all due respect, if I have to analyze each and every one of them it will take a whole lot more than five minutes."

Coulson raised his eyebrows.

"Even with just the officers in the sector?"

"Sir, some backgrounds are sealed!"

The man sighed heavily and plunged into his inside vest. He pulled out a USB device and handed it to her.

"Password is 'L.O.L.A'. You will only have access four minutes from the moment you plug it in, but you will have access to a very large range of data." At their dubious stare, he shrugged. "I have a high-level clearance. Everything will be strictly need-to-know obviously." He added, and she nodded. "Four minutes, Miss Garcia. Use it well."

He turned around and pulled his phone again to read a text. Penelope plugged the device reluctantly and waited until the program uploaded. A black and grey background with the logo of an eagle on the upper side of the window popped open. The search tool bar was rather narrow, but as she started exploring, her jaw fell wide open. As results came in, key words or themes appeared to narrow them and in seconds she found what she was looking for. Whatever the man 'clearance level' was, it was pretty damn high, because she had access to everything. Her fingers worked on automation, remembering she only had now three minutes and forty seconds. It took her a full minute to scam over information that had been previously denied to her and thirty seconds more to dig a little deeper. Three officers, two of them recently recruited and another one with a long-time service in the city, had spent extended time in a foreign country including Argentina.

"You found something baby girl?" Morgan asked, glancing from over her shoulder, and whistled at the information spread on the screen. "They even have their weight from the past three medicals?"

"You think I can ask for a transfer to CIA?" she asked jokingly, already green with envy at the ease with which she had reached what she wanted. That was when the screen turned black and the window closed. The USB device stopped blinking as it disconnected and Garcia gasped in shock. Her four minutes delay couldn't have been already over, could they? And she didn't even had the specifics-

"Good job, Miss Garcia." Coulson suddenly spoke up from behind, which made them both jump. He pulled the plug back from the computer without asking Penelope, which deleted any bonus points he could have gained. "Please transmit the names to your chief, I need to return to base. A new case, you see."

"You aren't staying to wait after your agent?" Morgan asked, scandalized. Coulson gave him a neutral smile and shook his cellphone.

"You are obviously handling yourself well. My presence is no longer needed." He glanced one last time at Garcia and raised an eyebrow in warning. "Good day." He concluded and left the premises without another word. Morgan narrowed his eyes at his departing figure and shook his head in disgust.

"The nerve of that man. Seriously, I pity the guys working with him. So Garcia, who were the suspects?"

The words barely left his mouth that a bunch of people ran out of the restaurant.

HAM

"Clear," Prentiss whispered as she crouched into position and held her weapon towards Tanner. The angle was perfect, free of hostages and thugs. Barton hummed and nodded. She took the shot, her favorite weapon barely making a noise as the trigger expulsed the bullet into Tanner's left lung.

And people screamed as the big boss crumbled down with a nice red flower blooming over his chest. Barton and her shot down the remaining thugs, leaving a couple alive but injured. Once no-one on the bad guys side was left standing, Prentiss ordered sharply:

"Everyone, out, now!"

The hostages ran towards the front door without wasting a second. Prentiss directed her attention on Barton, who was helping a limping Maria to stand on her feet. As they had more or less predicted, Tanner had decided to 'have some fun' beating up a former enemy before thinking of killing her right away. A small dripping trail of blood was slipping o

"How long before full recovery?" Prentiss asked, eyeing her friend from top to bottom. Maria shrugged.

"Give it two weeks." She replied and narrowed her eyes in pain, a hand reaching for her chest. "Maybe three."

"I took three down." Natasha interrupted them, making them all jump –Prentiss had forgotten about her. "The FBI is planning an entry."

"Go before they come." Prentiss blurted, shooing them away. "I'll take the credit."

"They'll want to see Maria." Barton pointed out while Natasha was staring at her with an odd glint of interest. Prentiss reluctantly threw her SHIELD weapon to the redhead and added:

"I'll make up something. Now go." She could already hear the local police shouting and coming closer. She glanced over her shoulder to evaluate their approach and when she turned back, they were already gone. A small relieved sigh escaped her mouth before she proceeded to unarm the injured goons as the troops approached.