Right okay lads and lasses, this is the next chapter and by all accounts it's the longest one I've written yet!

Trying out a new format to try and keep on top of updates

Feedback would be amazing as always

And thank you to Super-Nerd-Yay for giving me a much needed wakeup call that I had left the story unfinished, always appreciated

She was pinned by three splicers, forced behind a stack of crates, firing only the odd shot when she dared poke her head out. Jack seemed to be having far less worries though. He was stood quite blatantly out in the open, shooting madly with the pistol they'd picked off the splicer earlier. Miriam could have sworn she'd seen him take hits, yet there he stood brazen and still standing.

They'd already killed ten between them, now it was just the stragglers left. Miriam chanced a look out from behind the crates, she glimpsed the scene then pulled back sharply as a bullet went screeching past.

"Jack!" she shouted over the din, for her efforts the man merely offered her a "I'm busy" expression. She immediately ignored him, "hit the water with your plasmid!" she ordered taking another shot at her aggressors narrowly missing a hurled metal trashcan.

Jack glanced over and noticed what she meant, nearly all the splicers were up to their knees in water. A mischievous, slightly scary smile crossed his face and without the slightest bit of effort he let loose a bolt of pure electricity. There was a buzzing sound, the smell of cooking meat wafted over to Miriam, as quickly as they had jumped upon them the splicers were silenced, Jack placed a bullet between the eyes of the only survivor.

Cautiously Miriam peered out from behind the boxes, the alarms were still ringing out in their ears, but it seemed trivial compared to the constant hail of bullets. They stood in a ruined room that before had been merely broken, blood stained the water red, bullet cases were strewn everywhere. Miriam had little time to collect her thoughts or see to Jack's wounds as from his belt their lord and master spoke.

"There's more on the way!" he shouted his words scratched and fuzzy from there crude radio, "You'll have to go through medical, quick!"

Jack was already moving towards the neon highlighted entrance, but Miriam hadn't taken a single step.

"No" she said quietly.

Jack turned and stared at her, through the radio Atlas began trying to talk her down "there's no time lass", he reasoned "them splicers aren't going to follow you through there, Jack'll keep you safe, you just need to get outta there!"

Miriam shook her head, anger boiling in her veins "I won't walk back into there just because you demand it Atlas!" she shouted whirling around looking for a camera, "Do you hear me? I won't be your lackey like your pet here!"

"Jack" Atlas said quietly a chilling sense of calm taking his voice, "hit her would you kindly?"

Miriam turned just in time to see Jack's fist, then it all went black.

Jack stared down at the crumpled mass for a moment, he hardly believed what he had done, he'd hit her? But the thought was soon pushed aside Atlas was spouting out more orders.

"Pick her up and get moving Boyo!" he demanded, "them beasties will be on your tail soon".

Jack bent down and picked her up, she was warm against his chest, her steady breathing calmed him. He thought logically, he wouldn't be able to carry her like this, cradled as she was against his chest, and fend of the hoards of the city. Ever careful he shifted her body and slung her over his shoulder, this at the very least gave him a free hand.

Pistol primed and ready he walked underneath the blue glow of the buzzing light of the 'Medical' sign and down the grim corridor. He could hear the distant scratching of splicers, he kept his cool listening instead to Miriam's steady heartbeat, counting as he went the rhythm of her body. The lights were diming, flickering, slowly till only the faintest glow was left to illuminate the way, Jack could barely see, taking it on faith that the floor didn't fall away before him into a dark death.

Yet he walked on until a faint blue-ish glow marked a corner before him, the light came from a metal doorway, beyond he could see metal walls and another sliding steal door. From his shoulder Miriam moaned, she was starting to wake. Jack knew if she woke before they crossed the threshold there'd be no convincing her to proceed short of knocking her out cold again, he didn't much like that option.

Moving quickly he headed for the doorway. Just as his fingertips were about to reach it there was a thunderous boom, the door clamped shut. Now plunged into utter darkness, Jack was panicking, he could hear the scratching's of splicers ever closer, he couldn't fight them off alone.

Suddenly there was a light, it came from behind him casting the firmly shut exit in an artificial white light. He paid little attention to the source, instead using it to find the handle to the door, it was similar to the ones he'd seen on the top of the bathy spheres, he just needed to turn it enough and the door would open. Putting all his strength into it he tried to shift the handle.

"It's Ryan" Miriam's voice came from over his shoulder.

Jack nearly jumped out of his skin as not only Miriam's voice came but also a man's. Miriam gracefully slid down from his shoulder, Jack half expected her to punch him in fair penance for his actions, but her attention seemed fixed on the source of the voice and light.

Jack slowly turned only to be confronted by a man looking out at him from one of the largest television sets he'd seen.

"So which one of the bitches sent you?" the man in the screen that Miriam referred to as Ryan asked, venom coating every syllable.

It took Jack a moment to realise that he was actually being talked to directly, this was no recording.

"Was it the KGB Wolf or the CIA Jackal?" the man continued.

Jack felt a hand on his sleeve, he glanced down, Miriam was pointing to a spot just beyond the screen. Jack looked and his stomach sunk as he recognised a withered ghastly hand creeping down the wall, the splicers were closing in.

Miriam grabbed the radio from his belt, "Listen to me you jumped up Irish lunatic! Get this bloody door open or I'll haunt you till the day you die down here!" she said in a deceptively calm voice keeping her pistol trained on the approaching splicers.

"Working on it lass" came a hurried reply, "Just keep the old boy rambling".

Miriam knodded clipping the radio back onto Jack's belt. Jack stared at her in confused awe, it was an astonishing transformation from the nervous wreck he'd seen only minutes before.

Meanwhile Ryan was still going strong, Jack barely took in a word, his attention was focused on the increasing number of silhouettes that were crawling over the screen.

"Farewell or is it dasvidania?", there was a silence, Ryan had finished. In those few moments Jack pressed his back up against the metal and prayed, not to anyone in particular, but he still prayed.

It was as if a fire work had passed through the minds of each splicer, suddenly they were frenzied, they beat upon the metal mesh that divided them, howling, eyes blazing in a primal fury that Miriam had never seen before. She backed up against the metal, they'd die. Unless Atlas was a moment away from opening the door, this is how her life would end. Steadily she kept the closest splicer within her sites, she'd take a few with her to her watery grave, she wouldn't go down without a fight.

She'd hardly noticed that Jack's arm was pressed up against hers, though in truth her attention was otherwise occupied, she was acting on adrenaline. She'd repay all transgressions later, if there was a later.

The splicers were starting to lift one corner of the mesh, their bony, ragged arms reaching out to the pair, clawing at the air. Miriam was surprised they weren't shooting, surely that would have achieved the death of their targets far quicker, of course maybe that was the point, Ryan wanted them to die slowly, painfully, he wanted his pets to tear them limb from limb with their own twisted hands.

There was a load metallic clack, and suddenly both Miriam and Jack found themselves falling backwards into an eerie green light. Miriam managed to steady herself catching the edge of the doorway, dazed and confused she heard Atlas' voice over the radio, "You'll have to shut it manually!" he shouted sounding out of breath, "Ryan's blocked me access codes!"

Miriam was about to move to Atlas' orders when a blur passed before her and she was pushed back. At first thinking it was a splicer she pulled up her gun, but it was Jack, he was pulling the door closed.

From the commotion coming from beyond the door Miriam guessed that the splicers had made it through the mesh, Jack was still pulling the metal, he only had inches to go.

BANG!

A single shot erupted through the air, Miriam swore she saw Jack flinch, but if it were so it was just for a moment. In one final swell of effort he closed the gap. The sound of the automatic lock kicking in marked the end of their trial and with a great gasp Jack fell to his knees.

Miriam staggered back slightly leaning on the wall for support the adrenaline was leaving her, now her mind turned to the bruise she felt over her left eye. In a swift movement she closed the gap between them and pressed the barrel of the gun to the back of Jack's skull. He didn't move.

"You bastard!" she hissed pressing the gun a little harder against his skull, "your nothing but his puppet aren't you! How dare you…" she couldn't find the words to express her anger, instead she pulled back the safety and let her finger slide over the trigger.

Jack still didn't move, furious, frustrated Miriam pressed down even harder, Jack rocked slightly then fell. She saw red, her anger was gone, the gun fell to her side. There in his chest about six inches below his collar bone a dark growing patch of red seeped through Jack's jumper.

Miriam dropped to her knees, she placed a firm hand over the wound and pressed down, Jack murmured something in protest but she ignored him, his head was resting against the wall but his eyes were fixed on her face, again she tried as best she could to ignore him.

Reaching into the pocket of her trench coat she retrieved a small bundle of old but reasonably clean bandages. Placing them on the floor she then reached into the opposite pocket and brought out her pocket knife. Working systematically, she cut away Jacks jumper and shirt, the bullet had been fired at close range and had gone quite deep into the flesh. Using the end of the knife she pressed it into the wound, Jack gritted his teeth his chest moving beneath her hands, luckily she managed to hold the blade steady.

"Stay still" she ordered, "or it'll be far worse", she saw the muscles of his jaw bulge as he tried not to cry out, a sense of pity took her, and using a touch she reserved for her daughter she gently brushed aside a lock of Jack's golden hair. This seemed to settle him if only a little.

Delaying no longer she dug down with the blade, as carefully as she could she moved the blade down the wound finding the bullet just within the range of the knife, carefully she hooked the tip underneath.

"Brace yourself" she warned Jack, then as quickly as she dared she twisted the blade bringing the bullet up its length till she could prise it from his flesh. Jack gave a muffled cry, but unlike last time he remained still. Miriam quickly unwrapped the bandage, cutting it in half with the knife she wrapped the half back up to make a wad, she pressed that onto the oozing wound then with the rest she began to bind it on.

Jack had remained looking at her the whole time, his blue eyes watching her grim expression as she worked on him. Wiping the excess blood off her hands onto her coat she looked up at him from under her lashes, something had been broken between them, she didn't trust him by a long shot, she didn't even like him, but she needed him to live, same as he needed her to live.

She told him how it was there and then, "If you died from this how am I supposed to kill you later". She secured the final knot and placed her knife back in her pocket.

She was about to stand when Jack caught her hand, he held it firm yet she didn't feel the fear from before, he gently rubbed the skin of her hand with his thumb and spoke softly,

"Thank you".

Well there it is up before midnight! Yay

I'll try and do the next chapter by this time next week,

Hope you enjoy the chapter and approve of continuing roles of our protagonists

Let me know if not