Thank you to all of my loyal readers and to my Beta's, reading what you've been enjoying and that you've stuck with me to the end. I cannot thank you enough ^_^ And thanks for the messages about my pregnancy. This last chapter took a lot of creativity to write, I hope you enjoy it as much as you've enjoyed the rest of the story.


Rebecca had been out of hospital for a week and taking it easy. The two weeks she had been admitted for had felt like forever. While she had been in there Hauser, Lucy and Doc had managed to get another 63. Rebecca heard about it through Ray, and on the news.

Lucy had gotten rid of her crutch as soon as she was able. Jason Rasgo was behind bars in the new Alcatraz.

Walking away from the counter, Hauser walked with Lucy to a little round table in the back corner of a cafe. It was 11:15 a.m, and this was his third date with Lucy. He set down his cup of coffee.

"This is nice... is it a new place?" Lucy asked. Hauser looks around.

"Yes, I believe it opened a couple of months ago," Hauser watches the steam rise from his ceramic coffee mug for a second before looking back at Lucy. Gosh damn it... when we first dated it was so easy to pick up a conversation... the last thing I want to talk about is work.

Lucy smiled at him, "It's nice to be out during the day instead of waiting in the lab."

Hauser nodded in agreement, "Yes... actually, there's a set of live musical performances taking place outside the old theatre. Next week Friday evening, if I remember correctly. Students from a music academy are performing, and some older musicians from in the area as well."

"Did you get tickets?"

Hauser grinned at her and reached inside his jacket pocket, "VIP tickets, front row."

Lucy smiles, "I'm sure it'll be a nice show. Can I see?" she held out her hand, and he gave her a ticket to examine. "Five until midnight. I remember when you took me to that club with live stage music…" she set the ticket down and sipped her tea.

Hauser sat back in his chair, "I remember that too." He looked back on that as a fond memory.

"Everybody get your hands in the air!"

Lucy spun around in her chair. Everyone's attention was now on two men at the counter of the café. They are wearing black t-shirts, green camouflage pants and dark brown leather boots. The larger of the two is wearing a fabric bag over his head, and it had a skull printed where the face should be. He has a barbed wire tattoo around his right bicep and a Casio digital watch on his left wrist. In his hands is a H&K MP5K sub-machine gun.

His partner is similar, though not as built, and his own tattoo is of an open-mouthed, fanged snake. He has black gloves and is holding a Remington 870 express magnum shotgun. He pointed it at the employees behind the counter.

"Open the register! Now!"

Skull-face was now looking over the customers, "I said get your hands in the air! NOW! On your knees!" he pointed the gun around as Hauser put his Bluetooth in his right ear. He and Lucy moved to their knees like everyone else. Reaching into his right pocket he looks at the phone screen when the man looked away and hitting the button for voice command.

"Call Rebecca," he said over the whimpering women in the room, and Lucy looks at him with concern.

She opens her mouth to say something but Skull-face walked right up to their end. He is sweeping his eyes over everyone.

"Pull out your purses and wallets, toss them into a pile right here in the middle of the floor!"

Lucy took out her wallet and tossed it in with the others. Hauser took a moment before he pulled out his own wallet- and his FBI badge.

"Madsen," he heard in his ear, and he finally tossed his wallet.

He lowered his voice and looks at Lucy, "I need you to listen very carefully, we are going to get out of this robbery. These two men are only interested in our money."


Rebecca and Doc were sitting out on the patio at a diner. Rebecca would have ordinarily gone to her favourite sushi restaurant, but knew Doc wouldn't like it. They are almost finished with their lunches. Doc had ordered a platter of wings, fries, battered mushrooms, potato skins and vegetables. Rebecca had ordered a chicken quesadilla that had green and red peppers, onions, and perfectly cooked chicken, and a side of fries with gravy.

Dipping the tip of her last piece of quesadilla into her sour cream, Rebecca grinned and sat back. "I missed this," she comments as Doc started wiping off his fingers and face.

"Same here... out of the hospital, enjoying good food with good company," Doc said with a smirk as he finally got the rest of the sauce off of his face. "Have you..." he looked at her curiously, wondering if this was a good time to ask or not.

She grabbed two fries and dipped them into the gravy. "Have I...?" she raised her eyebrows at him, not knowing what he was hinting at.

Before he could respond, her phone went off, and she rolled her eyes and answered. "Madsen."

"I need you to listen very carefully, we are going to get out of this robbery. These two men are only interested in our money," Hauser responded in a low voice.

Rebecca frowned, looking confusedly at Doc. She became serious and focused.

'I can't ask anything too specific otherwise whoever is there is going to get suspicious... what kind of guns, but it sounds like they're interested in not only the cash registers but the customers money. Wait... Hauser's wallet will have his badge and that can get them into a sticky situation, a solid hostage that the Feds won't want to lose.'

"Do they seem like amateurs? Where are you?" Rebecca got up and placed her free hand over the microphone of her cell phone. "Hauser and Lucy are in a place getting robbed, if he can tell me where, I need you to call my precinct and tell them the information."

Doc nodded and got up, calling for the waitress to bring their bill. Rebecca went for her wallet, but Doc waved it off. She nodded and went for the car.


Hauser looked around at the two men. Snake-face was pulling all of the cash and coin-rolls out of the cash register.

"Hurry up!" Skull-face glanced over his shoulder, and his partner finally joined him.

"Okay-okay, go!" Snake-face said, now looking over the customers. Skull-face picked up their wallets and started to open them.

Clearing his throat, Hauser whispered to Lucy again "Organized. They've planned this well- in and out operation. Hitting a new café is risky."


Rebecca started the ignition, "Hold on." She pulled the phone away from her ear and did a quick Google search for newly opened cafes in the area. Doc opened the passenger door and got in. Setting the phone to speakerphone, Rebecca said, "I'm going to send the police over. What are they carrying?"

She handed the phone over to Doc, the screen showing the Café address and name. "Two men, organized, taking the cash register money and the customer's wallets. Tell them I'm on my way over now," Rebecca instructed him as he dialed 911.


A man stood up from the cluster of customers. Snake-face took a step toward him. The man was smaller, with his baseball cap on crooked and a hooded shirt that was much too large for him.

"Sir, can't you just take the wallets in your bag and go?" he asked. He had a Boston accent, or something that Hauser couldn't place.

'How are they keeping customers from coming in? There must be more outside or some sort of controlled deterrent,' Hauser wondered as he watched the young man get hit in the stomach with the butt of the shotgun.

"We will leave when we are ready! Now shut up, stay down and don't move!"

Lucy took in the frightened faces, couples holding one another, a woman rubbing her swollen abdomen, a few construction workers looked irritated and like they wanted to make a move, a group of four teenagers huddled together, a husband whispering encouragement to his wife. Then she caught sight of someone, a familiar face.

"Hauser… the guy in the dark blue hoodie, in the corner, he's shifty. I recognize him."

Hauser looked over while trying to figure out how to relay the weapons without looking suspicious. His eyes widened.

"Owen Sampson... that son of a-" he stopped. "I didn't notice him before... maybe he came for a meeting and now he's going to lose his pay cut. Hard to say, but he is very shaky, his hood is up, head down... I hope he doesn't do anything stupid. HK MP5... Rem 870," he managed before Snake-face walked in their direction.

Doc hung up his cell phone, having just relayed the guns, location, how many and everything else Rebecca told him to say. "Okay, they're on their way over in less than 2 minutes," he informed as Rebecca had to stop for the lunch hour traffic.

'Sampson... the man that caused the plane to crash... if I ever get my hands on him... Lucy and Hauser are first priorities right with the other hostages though…'

"Damn it... couldn't this have happened after lunch hour?" then she looked at Doc curiously, "or maybe they're covering their butts. Knowing if the police do come then they'll get slowed up by the lunch hour traffic... at least the cops have their sirens and flashing lights."


Snake-face looked at Hauser and spots the Bluetooth in his right ear, "give me that! Your ear piece!" he ordered, as Hauser reached up to grab the Bluetooth. He made sure to press the power button and handed it over.

The man looked at it and then back at him.

"You a big business man? Hands free driving, don't break the law kinda guy?" he asked, pointing the shotgun.

"I wouldn't say I don't break the law. Who doesn't run a red light, make a U turn in the middle of a busy road or changes lanes without signalling?"

Snake-face shook his head. "You're a funny guy... what's your name?"

"Hank Janekins."

"Quit jerking around over there, these construction workers look a little jumpy," skull face said gruffly, about to pick up Hauser's wallet just as sirens were being heard. He dropped it, spun around and looked through the window, "oh shit... how did the cops find out?" he turned to face the group of hostages. "Everybody pull out your cell phones and toss them into the pile with the wallets! Now!"

Snake face watched each person pull out their cell phones, when it came to the construction workers, all three jumped up at snake face. He managed to smack one in the side of the head with the butt of his shotgun, but the other two knocked him back for Skull- face to fire his MP5 into the ceiling, causing most of the women cry out, cringe and move further back.

The other two construction workers staggered back, one of them was hit with the butt of the shotgun in the gut and then up the jaw. The other got the butt of the MP5 in the ear before being kicked in the back of the knee and then shoved onto his back. "Anybody else tries something, they're dead! We will shoot you!"

Police cruisers drove up over the curb and into the parking lot. Two pylons on either side of the entrance had a thick white string attached to what looked to be wooden mop handles with a large sign saying, 'No Power. No Water.'

Two police cruisers going along the side of the road to block anyone from coming down the road with two officers putting up boundary tape to keep out the on-lookers.

Detective Conner Hawthorn stepped out of his car, fuzz of a beard on his face, blonde hair parted down the right side and combed over, blue eyes, board shoulders, 6'2, wearing a brown leather jacket with a navy blue v-neck shirt under to go with jeans and all black leather shoes.

"I am in charge of the situation, I have been informed of what is going on inside, what I want is a vest and a phone with a direct line to the cafe," he said in an Australian accent.

An officer tossed him a vest, Hawthorn took off his leather jacket, slipped on the vest and then put his jacket back on.

Another officer walked up wearing his hat, "from what you know, up till now, neither of the men in there have made any attempts to communicate. No phone calls going in and out since, it's all you."

"What I know is, there are two men in there that have planned this all well up until we arrived. They came heavy with am MP5 and a Remington 870 shotgun, we know nothing of names, appearance, only that they wanted the money from the register and the money from the customers. As far as I know, no one has been shot," Hawthorn called for a younger officer to step forward as the detective and the other cop walked to stand behind an open police cruiser door.

"When we pulled in, sir we heard shots go off, the MP5," the young officer reported, and Hawthorn sighed, and looked at the young officer, "thank you." Looking at the other officer who approached him moments ago he asked, "What's your name?"

The older officer lifted his hat off his head to pull the hair on the top of his head back, "Jimmy Falone, Sir," he answered, and Hawthorn looked up at the windows to see that Skull-face is pacing all the way from one end of the room to the other, most likely watching the hostages to make sure they didn't do anything, the other is standing at the counter.

Rebecca and Doc pull in, Rebecca having her badge ready to flash to get let in. Pulling in behind a cruiser, her old friend Officer Jimmy Dickens walks up. "Madsen, I didn't think you worked with these hostage situations," he commented, and she smirks at him as they speed walk up to the detective in charge.

"I don't usually, but that FBI guy who kicked us out of that homicide months ago is one of the hostages. He called me and Doc here called you," Rebecca smiled at his look of oh, him.

"Well, let me introduce you to newly instated, Detective Connor Hawthorn, sir this Rebecca Madsen with the FBI, formerly Detective Madsen," Jimmy introduced, and Hawthorn smiled at Rebecca.

"I've heard a lot about you," Hawthorn commented, holding out his right hand, and Rebecca shook it.

She looked him over with a quick glance, 'Australian accent, he has the build of the sports player who works out regularly.'

"I hope you haven't come to take over," he smiles at the petite woman with a gut feeling she'd have no trouble in putting him in his place if the time arose.

Rebecca shook her head, "no, not right now at least. My partner, Dr. Diego Soto and I are here just to assist, I want the same thing you want... get the hostages out alive and hopefully the gunmen in handcuffs." Having mostly worked homicides and now chasing down 63's, she wasn't about to jump into a hostage negotiation unless she knew she could find a way to gain control and end it quickly.

Doc eyed the detective as they made eye contact, and smiled warmly at the other man. 'I'll be watching you,' Doc thought as he smiled back.

Hawthorn looked at Falone, Madsen, then Doc and back at Madsen, "ready for the first call?" she nodded. He hit the send button and all of them turn to look at the cafe.

Snakeface is standing behind the counter, leaning on it, watching the hostages and his partner closely, the phone in the corner under the counter rang and he glanced down at it, "time to make the demands I suppose?" he shrugged, and Skull- face turned to look at him.

"Alright, stick to the plan," Skull face instructed, and Snake face could just see his partners mischievous grin.

"No problem," Snake-face picked up the phone and turned around to look out the large window. "Hello?"

"Hello there, this is Detective Connor Hawthorn, with whom am I speaking with?"

"Before I answer that, could you please raise your hand in the air so I know which of all of the suits is you?" Snake asked, and Hawthorn complied. "Ah! That's you! Well, you may call me Snake, Detective Hawthorn. Now I suppose you want our demands?"

Hawthorn looked at Falone, 'they are organized... he's calm... collected... it's like a game,' he thought, and looked back at the window, letting his arm go down. "Yes, what are your demands? And is everyone alright?"

'This sounds too easy... usually the officer identifies himself when things get hairy, desperate, when the criminals are up to no good. He wanted to know who he is talking to right away... they've got something planned,' Rebecca tapped on Falone's shoulder and motioned for him to step aside.

"Have your guys checked to see if there is anything in the schematics under the building, also, check the back of the building for any vehicles, even if they are company owned. I want them checked out, but do so quietly," Rebecca instructed quietly, and Falone nodded just as the van with the tech pulled up. He went to the back door and stepped inside to have the tech analysts go over the blue prints and hack into the surveillance footage before grabbing his walkie-talkie and instructing the men at the road block on what to look into.

"Oh yes, everyone is fine Connor, a few construction workers tried to jump me earlier. My partner put an end to it through, no one is shot. Hmmm... now our demands... well, we don't need anything to eat or drink because we're in a friggin' cafe and can just have an employee make everyone whatever they want!" Snake turned to look at the hostages and then at Skull.

"How about... you deliver a military grade Hummer to the front of the store, you clear the cruiser cars out of the way, slash at least 1 tire per car and we leave with," he set his shotgun down onto the counter, and rubbed his hand on his chin in a thinking matter, "four no five hostages for our own protection so you don't try anything and you have..." he looked at the clock up on the wall behind a bunch of hostages. "30 minutes."

Hawthorn nodded to himself, "alright, I will get right on that military grade Hummer for you. For us to do this, could you do something out of good faith and let some of the hostages go now?"

Snake chuckled, "I'll get back to you on that one. Let me know when that Hummer is on its way, thank you Detective Hawthorn."

He listened to the click for the line going dead, and then hung up his phone to walk into the tech van with Rebecca and Doc. Once the doors were closed, he leaned against the interior wall. "He wants an army grade Hummer brought to the front, and that when it gets here for the cruise cars to be pulled back to give room and one tire per car to be slashed. He said he'll get back to me on releasing hostages out of good faith... something is up, this almost feels like the movie The Inside Job."

Falone shook his head, "thankfully no vault and no safety deposit boxes to worry about in this case."

"They have a plan, something in the back of their minds, probably an escape route or something," Rebecca said and Falone looked at her.

"You were right to check out the back, even for company vehicles, there was a van and two cars out back. The cars belong to employees currently working shifts in there, we contacted the employer to find that out. However the van has rolls of duct tape, potato bags, rolls of wire and a pack of spray paint inside... did they think they can just slip out the back without my guys knowing?" Falone asked, exasperated.

Hawthorn folded his arms across his chest, "they want to bring five hostages so we don't try anything... all of the supplies but one makes sense. But the van out back feels like a decoy, who is it registered to?"

"It was reported as being stolen from a junk yard four days ago, it was in an accident from some teenagers five days ago. Crashed it into a light pole, scheduled to be crushed as it wasn't worth fixing up and no car dealership wanted it for parts, next morning poof, it's gone," one of the tech analysts answered from their computer.

"How much time did they ask for with this Hummer?" Rebecca asked, and Hawthorn looked at her.

"Thirty, though with it still being lunch hour rush, it'll take longer I'm sure," Hawthorn answered.

"You're right on that, with the rate of traffic now, it's going to take at max, hour and a half, in the least... one hour," the other tech analyst answered. "They're filling it up now."

"This is too damn easy... why go into a cafe, rob the cash register, take most of the money from the hostages and do... this?" Rebecca asked, rubbing the back of her head.

Doc looked up, "they're waiting on something," everyone looked at him, "they're in no rush, but they want the cop cars pulled out and a tire slashed each? It sounds like they're waiting for something to come to them... or they're a diversion! Do something small so the bigger crew can work on the bigger job!"

"It makes sense, only where would they go to rob? We need to check into the station for any reports of an armed robbery... maybe buildings that are actually dealing with their security being down for some reason," Hawthorn agreed, and one of the tech analysts started typing away while Falone picked up the phone to call into the station.

Rebecca looked over at Doc, she smiled, "nice work in thinking outside the box," she patted his shoulder and he smiled back.

Back in the cafe, Hauser's mind kept drifting to what the two men really had planned, he looks at Lucy. She looks calm and with it, "How are you holding up?" he whispers, and Lucy looks at him, she offered a small smile.

"I've been through worse, I know that Dr. Soto and Rebecca are working with the police to get us out of here. They probably also see that something else is going on and are trying to figure out what the goal is... a special escape route? They know this place is new, what could be under it? So many possibilities and I don't have the computers to find the answer," she smiled a little more at the thought.

Hauser put his arm around her shoulders, giving a gentle squeeze, "I'm sure this will all be over soon." Glancing over at Sampson, he looks like a nervous wreck, "at least our guy in the corner hasn't tried anything stupid. But I wouldn't put it past him to take a chance and run the first chance he gets."

He looks at Lucy again, "I'm sorry about this."

Lucy turned her head and looked at him, she gave him a thoughtful look, "Emerson, it's alright. I know that in no time we'll be out of this situation and it'll be back to a regular day. It was the thought that counted."

Snake and Skull are standing around watching the group of hostages, 'they're incredibly calm and patient... what is their goal at the end of all of this? They don't truly plan on leaving in a Hummer with five hostages, the police won't slash each of the car tires. These men seem too in control to just get ambushed, is there a get-away car they're waiting to come to the back where there is fewer cops?' Hauser sighed. 'Too many questions and I'll get all of the answers at the end of the day no doubt. Now I know how Madsen and Soto must feel with me.'


Falone hung up the phone, and looked between Rebecca and Hawthorn. "Well, a jewelry company's vault of seasonal necklaces, earrings and what not has been having difficulty with their security system. They informed us about it a couple of times and today they're having a new system installed, it is a few blocks away, they're sending a couple of squad cars to investigate and they'll call us back."

Looking at the security footage of the inside of the cafe, Hawthorn sighed, "I will call them up and inform them that the Hummer is going to take a while longer. Talk about getting some of those hostages out, if their people are trying to rob that vault, maybe disguising themselves as the installation crew. If there is a way of communication between the two teams, we need to be prepared if they get informed of the police coming. They could go to extremes with the hostages when they find out their plan fell through."

Rebecca looked up at him, "I'm coming with you," she looked at the tech analysts, "can we listen in?"

The one closest opened up a drawer with a few headsets inside, pressed the power button on each of them and watched the signal open up on the device for the phone line, "you're hooked up ma'am." The analyst handed the headsets over.

"Thanks," Rebecca slipped hers around her neck, and then passed one to Doc, and Falone grabbed the other set.

Turning to leave, Falone grabbed a vest and tapped her shoulder, she turned and looked at him. "You might want this, things are probably going to get hairy," he advised, and she took the vest.

Standing at the cruiser car with the driver side door open still, Hawthorn stared at the cafe, worry in his eyes as Doc watched him. "How many of these negotiations have you done?"

Hawthorn looks over at Doc and offers a smile, "this is actually my second one," he looks back at the cafe. "You can memorize all of the rules in the handbook cover to cover, but you can always get thrown a curve ball where you have to," he wet his lips in thought. "Improvise or get ready to deal with something you didn't see coming, think accordingly about how to get control again and act."

Doc nodded, 'a lot is riding on your shoulders, those hostages lives are in your hands... I wonder how his first time with hostage negotiations went,' he wondered.

Rebecca finally pulled up the rear, now wearing the vest under her shirt. She looked at Doc and then at Hawthorn. "Ready?" she asked, after a moment, Hawthorn nodded.

Hitting the talk button, Doc, Rebecca and Falone all put the headphones over their ears.

It took three rings before Snake picked up. "So Connor... how are things looking with my Hummer?" he asked casually.

Clearing his throat, "it is fuelled and on it's way over, but it is going to take longer than thirty minutes to get it here," Hawthorn paused, hoping that Snake would take the delay well.

"How are you going to make this up to me? I do have a schedule to keep, you know and that Hummer running over thirty minutes late isn't going to help!" Snake glanced over at Skull who just shook his head.

Hawthorn mulls it over, "you have food and drink, do you have another demand while we wait on your Hummer?" he asked just as Falone's phone went dead.

Snake turned to look out the window at everyone watching the cafe, "Ooooh... what more could I want... hmmm," his brow furrowed as he looked to Rebecca who is standing next to Connor. "How about you send in that lovely lady next to you?"

Doc and Hawthorn immediately looked at Rebecca who rolled her eyes, 'why is it always the woman?' she wondered.

Hawthorn covers the receiver. "I am not sending you in," he said, Doc immediately felt relief, but Rebecca's eyebrows went up.

'This is a way we can get more hostages out,' she realized. Looking at Hawthorn, she placed her hand onto his arm for him to look at her with curiosity. "Do an exchange, I go in if he lets go of hostages," Rebecca suggested and he bit his bottom lip, staring at her for a few moments.

'It would be nice to get some hostages out of there... but sending her in, I'd rather be the one going in to talk face to face,' Hawthorn thought and shook his head. "No, if he's going to get someone, it'll be me. Not you."

Going back to the phone, Rebecca began to protest, but Hawthorn interrupted. "Take me instead and you let go of four hostages," Hawthorn rebounded hearing a deep sigh come from Snake.

"As tempting as that offer is... no. I want that little lady next to you in exchange for three hostages," Snake counters. "Besides, it looks like she wants to come in here," he chuckles like he is beginning to win the game.

Falone covered up his own mic on his phone, "Sir," Hawthorn looks over, and Falone motioned for him to come over.

Covering up his own mouthpiece, Hawthorn stepped over to him. His eyes going back and forth, he looks over all officers whom have their focus on the building ahead of them. "We have a task force nearly here, we can stall until they get here to take those two out."

Hawthorn shakes his head, "No, killing is an absolute last resort."

Doc looks at Rebecca, "I don't think you should be going in there," he said, and Rebecca gives him an understanding look.

"I know, but if these guys really are working a robbery on the side, and they catch wind of it. Those hostages are going to be the target of their anger, we have to get as many of them out of there as possible, remember the bank robber you helped me sneak in on?" Rebecca asked, and Doc gave her the look of not this time.

"Yes, but this is way different! You are walking up, weaponless again, and instead of one guy it is two, both are armed and you aren't trying to sneak them out. And to get out of being his hostage, you had to crash a police cruiser! You just got out of the hospital a week ago," Doc stated, and Rebecca looked at him in the eye.

"Doc... I've got this... you know that," Rebecca said, her tone softer as she knew he was trying to look out for her. She watched his eyes soften.

Glancing up at the windows of the cafe, Doc returns his attention to Rebecca. "Be careful."

Turning to face Hawthorn, he didn't look sold, but knew that what she had said was true. If they were right about a side operation, they needed to save as many hostages as possible. "Alright... I'll tell him."

Hawthorn turned back to the cafe, removing his hand from the mic as Rebecca took her primary gun out of the holster and was about to reach down for her spare gun, but Doc put his hand on her shoulder making her look up at him.

"I've got your back," Doc said, and Rebecca took that as a hint to keep the gun on her. 'They're right now fully confident everything is going to work out, they won't expect her to be bringing anything extra. Please Rebecca, keep your spare on you.'

'What he is asking me to do is incredibly risky, but if they see me as just being a woman who needs protecting... maybe that's the edge I'll need,' Rebecca nodded and turned to the cafe.

"Alright, she is coming in, send out three hostages when she approaches," Hawthorn instructed, watching as Rebecca walked up to the building with her hands up in surrender.

Snake looked at the hostages behind him, he then points at the young newly married couple, and the pregnant woman. "You, you and you – up! You're leaving," he instructed, and the three stood, walking to the door just as Rebecca got there. The pregnant woman held her swollen belly, worry in her eyes turning into relief as she stepped through first. The guy let his woman step out first and followed her out, Rebecca took a slow breath and stepped inside.

Hanging up the phone, Snake smirked. "Now, what is your name miss?" he asked, his tone still playful as he walked out from behind the counter and leaving his shotgun on the counter.

Rebecca's eyes skimmed over the cafe, finding Hauser and Lucy at the other end, 'for the most part, the hostages look okay, Lucy and Hauser look like they're handling this fine.' Her attention went to Snake, wishing she could see a face, 'you really plan on getting out of this without anyone seeing who you are.'

"I am Rebecca Madsen," she answered, and picked up on the nervous Owen Sampson in the back corner to her left, on the opposite end from her two colleagues.

Snake walked over to her in a cocky way as if he thought he was untouchable. "Your a small woman... but I'm sure you can pack quite the punch," Snake commented, and she could see the mask shifting, figuring he was grinning in some way under there.

'Well... at least your not thinking of searching me,' she thought, 'okay... time to change the topic from being on me to the situation.'

"So... why go and rob a cafe?" Rebecca asks, and Snake glances over at Skull, and then looks back at her. "I know it is a successful chain, and this is the most recent to open, but why a cafe?"

Skull gave a hearty laugh, "That's the thing! You cops dunno what goes on in our heads while we do these things! This robbery is perfect, we have it all planned out," he walked towards her. "We are in complete control, when it's all over you'll be kicking yourself."

"Oh would you shut up already and let us go!" one of the teenage girls a couple feet away from Sampson snapped. She looked nervous, but also like she has a fire in her eyes.

Both of the guys turned around to look at her, and Skull walked over to her and crouched just a feet away from her, holding his gun casually in his hands. "It will all be over soon enough, don't you worry your pretty little head," he said.

'Damn it... I wish I had something to take out Snake in front of me and whip out my gun to maybe disarm Skull. There is no way I can get them both to surrender with my gun, they'd shoot me... I need to subdue Snake first... what do I have around me?' Rebecca wondered, glancing around the counter and the shelves.

"Do not belittle me... what kind of robbers are you? She's right! What are you coming away with? Five, maybe nine hundred dollars? You guys don't know how to pick your places to rob!"

The shotgun was too far away. There were some Stewarts Key Lime soda bottles in their six pack packages under the counter, one was close and open. Rebecca returned her attention back to the two guys just as Snake turned around to focus on her again.

"Heh-heh... how do you know we want to start small and work up to the big leagues?" Skull asked, and tapped the side of his head. "Your not the criminal, so stop trying to figure out how it is we think, it'll hurt your head less," she could just hear the grin in his voice as he stood back up and turned away.

The cafe grew dark as rain clouds loomed over the building. A beeping was heard, everyone but the robbers looks at them in confusion, however Rebecca's heart took a flip. 'Oh shit... a pager,' the robbers looked at one another and then Snake lifted the bottom of his shirt to reveal the pager.

Looking at the bottles, Rebecca reached over and as quietly as possible pulled one bottle out, her eyes on the back of Snake's head as he pulled the pager out to read 'COPS!' and he looks up at Skull. His face went red in fury that their plans had fallen through.

Rebecca slams the bottle into the back of Snake's head, the soda spills, and the glass shatters. His eyes roll up and he starts to fall faster than she expected. She goes for her spare gun, pulling it out just as Snake fell onto his face, and Skull lifts his MP5 and pulls the trigger.

Diving behind the counter, wood splintering everywhere, everyone outside lurched when they saw Rebecca make her move. Everyone outside the cafe looks at Hawthorn waiting for orders.

'One is down and the other one is shooting at Madsen... until the shooting stops I can't send them in there. Or until someone reports that they see a hostage, the other guy or Madsen is down,' he looks out at the officers, Falone and her partner. He then looks back at the cafe.

"Can anyone see what is happening? I need eyes people!" Hawthorn orders, and Falone quickly radioed the tech analysts in the van.

"What is going on in there?" he asks and waited with baited breath.

"Madsen knocked out Snake, the guy Hawthorn was talking with. Then, his buddy started shooting at Madsen, who took cover behind the counter, the hostages were all watching and making sure to stay away from him. However, one man in a corner looks like he is ready to jump in, and so do the construction workers," the tech analyst reported.

Rebecca tried to look over the counter, but Skull fired, and she covers her head to protect herself from the wood and anything on the counter; glass, ceramic mugs, ceramic plates.

"Come out now!" Skull orders, and starts to walk towards the opening, Rebecca hurried off to the other end, she stands up and fires, just missing him twice. He raises his MP5 and fires back.

'Shit... where is he going to come from?' she wonders, and looks around to spot Hauser and Lucy, Hauser mouthed the word 'Move!' and she inwardly rolled her eyes. 'Great... is he on the inside of the counter or the outside?' she moved to the outside, to see him just a few feet away.

She fires, and catches him in the upper chest in a non fatal spot. He flinched, and fires, much to her surprise. Three bullets go across her midsection, their impacts to the vest catching her off guard and she stumbles back into a tall round table for support. Lucy and Hauser's eyes went wide in shock and fear at what they had just seen.

Clutching to keep herself up, Skull walkes up to her as Rebecca focused on controlling her breathing. He lifts the bottom of his shirt to reveal his own bullet proof vest. He grins at her, "looks like I'm not the only one with a surprise," he said in a low cool voice.

'Oh no... shoot!' Rebecca raises her gun to kill him, but he advanced too quickly and grabs her right wrist with his left hand, holding the gun away. Just as quickly as he advanced, he grabs her by the throat with his right hand.

Rebecca's mind flashed back to Redwood Lodge as he lifts her and turns her towards the counter. She kicks at his legs, his crotch, nothing. Skull lifts her a bit and then pushes her down so her head and shoulders are on the counter, her gun is still being held away, and his grip around her throat tightened.

Her jaw clenched, his body pinning her so she can't kick, slide, roll. 'Damn it... I can't breath! I need to find some way-'

Hauser saw this as an opportunity and so do the construction workers, all four of them advance. Hauser was first to grab Skull's left forearm, elbowing him in the side while one of the construction workers grab for the right arm, working on prying his hand off of her throat.

Rebecca looks around to see and feel the grips each loosen on her, she watches as an arm moved around Skull's neck, tighten, and pulls him back. Both hands on her release, and she starts gasping for air, and sat up as the last construction worker kicked Skull in the back of the knees making him fall.

Reaching to the back of her pants, she whips out her handcuffs as Hauser and the second man brought Skull's arms to the middle of his back to slap the handcuffs on. "Well done Madsen," Hauser comments for them to hear the back door to the employees area open, they both look over to see it close. "Sampson," Hauser hissed in irritation and looks at Rebecca. She takes off running for the back door to hear gunshots go off.

Hawthorn, Falone, Doc and everyone else watched as Rebecca shot, got shot, and then got overpowered by Skull. Relief but panic still in them when they watched the men come to her rescue, holding their breath to wait and see if the man would regain control or if they would finally get him down.

"Yes!" Hawthorn grinned for the rain to start coming down and the other officers relaxed some, he looks away just as Sampson made his move to get away to smile at Doc. "Your partner is good-" he is cut off to hear the gunshots go off, Doc watched as Sampson took off through the back door and watched Rebecca take off after him.

"Oh no..." Doc backed up, took the headphones off, and starts running back to get into Rebecca's car, 'no... I will not let it happen again! I will be there for her if and when she needs me! You are not on your own with this 63! Not this time!' he slid into the drivers side, and reached up to the visor to pull it down for the keys to land in his hands. He watches as Hawthorn starts running around the building.

"Take the two robbers away and take care of the hostages! I'm going after Madsen!" Hawthorn ordered.

When Sampson got out the back of the building, the cops hadn't expected to see anyone coming out the back. It wasn't until they saw the gun that they realized he could be one of the robbers attempting to escape. "Hold it!" they ordered and Sampson fired, making them take cover as he ran as fast as his legs would take him with Rebecca hot on his heels.

He turned right to go down an alley to avoid pedestrians on the street. Rebecca followed after him, holstering her weapon for the time being until she could get a clear shot. Hawthorn came from around the building and saw an officer looking in the direction of the alley, "I've got it! Send back-up!" he ordered them, and Doc pulls out onto the street and starts down the road to see the direction Hawthorn was going in. 'Okay, right at the corner, another right and catch up!'

Sampson took off across the street and ran down it to make a left down the next road. He glanced over his shoulder to see Rebecca gaining on him. Hawthorn came out of the alley to see Rebecca taking off down a street, Doc was stuck with a red light and a senior crossing the road with her walker. 'Move it!' he grips the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white. 'Hang on Rebecca... I'm coming.'

Hair sticking to the sides of her face, Rebecca saw that within a couple of minutes she'd be on him. At the next street he made a right, 'still downhill... come on...' she thought, and goes around the corner to be met by a bunch of construction workers who were putting up a road block. When she ran by, a couple of them shouted at her and Sampson, the construction site just further down the hill with a wall already built facing them, no ceilings, no roofs. Just muddy ground and frame work.

"Your not allowed back here!" the workers shout, but they continue.

Hawthorn reached the corner of the street going downhill. 'She's not down there... must have turned off down that road ahead... she must be chasing someone who is literally running for their life,' he assumed, and kept running. The Mustang pulled up around the corner and spots Hawthorn running across the road, Doc looks down the street.

"Shit... where did they go?" he wonders, being forced to wait for a gap in the traffic in order make the turn. Doc bit his lip in frustration. "Come on... someone give me a friggin' gap! My partner needs me!"

Sampson reached the wall and ran around it, pulling his gun out. The construction workers near him were about to tell him to get off the site till they saw the gun. Taking off for cover and to call 911. His gun ready, he listens closely, knowing she is about to reach him.

Rebecca took her gun out and slowed as he turned a corner, 'shit... what is he going to use to his advantage in here?' she wondered, and quickly turned the corner. He turned and fired just as Rebecca ran by, the gun going off next to her right ear making her instantly deaf.

Both Hawthorn and Doc hear the gunshot, to others in the area they're taken off guard by the sound knowing it wasn't thunder.

Dropping her gun as her balance is suddenly off, Rebecca's hands try grabbing for something . As she stumbles and slides on the freshly wet dirt ground, she blinks as her ears start ringing, and finally stopping at a large piece of frame work stuck in the ground.

Turning around, she watches Sampson walk up and punch her in the stomach, only the vest absorbs most of the punch, 'thank you vest!' She looks at Sampson and punches him in the chin, catching him off guard for him to stumble back.

Hawthorn reaches the road block and the construction workers see him coming. They hurried out in front of him. "Sir, you're not allowed through here! This road is off limits!"

Hawthorn pulls out his badge, "I am on police business! Let me pass!" he orders, and they step aside allowing him to pass, his wet bangs bounding off of his forehead as he runs.

Doc pulls up to the road block and slammed on his brakes, "let me through!" he shouts through the driver's side window.

The workers hold up their hands, "This road is off limits to the public, you cannot come through, continue down the street and make a right to get down there!" a man instructed.

"My partner is down there, if you don't move I am driving through this barricade!" Doc threatened.

Taking advantage, she charged and tackles him, forcing her shoulder into his stomach. He drops his gun and lands hard on the wet ground with an, "Oof!"

She climbs on top of him and punches him in the right temple. "You made Lucy, Ernest and me crash!" she exclaims, and punches him again in the left cheek.

The workers didn't take Doc seriously and stayed where they were. Doc backed up and slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, the car's wheels squealing as the men all look on, wide eyed and finally moving out of the way.

Rebecca grabs Sampson by the collar of his shirt, ready to pull him to his feet and pin him so she could arrest him, but he hooks his legs in front of hers, his hands on her hips, he forces her up and over his head to land on her back in the mud. She quickly got to her hands and knees, the mud sliding off her hands as she stood, slowly to see him looking at his gun just a couple feet away him.

'Oh no...' she glances to see her gun is closer, she looks back at him and they make eye contact for a few seconds. He turns and makes a go for his gun, she runs for her own gun.

Sampson saw that she was going to get her gun first, he crouches, and picks up a glob of mud in his left hand and threw it at her. She wasn't expecting the dirty move, and gets nailed in the face by the mud. She stumbles past her gun, hands going up to clean the mud away from her eyes.

He snatches his gun and stops, aiming it at her. She wiped her eyes of the mud as it dripped off of her fingers. Her heart skips a beat, 'oh shit...' she knew before opening her eyes that he has his gun on her and she is at his mercy.

She opens her eyes hearing running footsteps coming to a stop behind her, and hears car breaks screeching to a halt.

Sampson grins, 'I finally got her,' he thinks, as Rebecca holds her hands up in surrender.

"NO!" Doc screams as he looks at the situation in horror. Seeing Sampson's gun trained on her, Doc spots Hawthorn to his right with his gun on Sampson. 'No... I can't be too late... not again,' Doc thought, his heart starting to beat faster in his chest.

"Drop the gun, you don't want to do this," Hawthorn said, but Rebecca knew Sampson wasn't listening.

Owen Sampson's attention is fully on her, her eyes flicked to the barrel of the gun seeing it is aimed at her head. She can hear her heartbeat in her ears, a chill going up her spine as her eyes went up to meet his.

'Please no... not again... he knows she has a vest... Sampson isn't going to go for a shot to the heart,' ran through Doc's mind as he stood there frozen.

Watching the rain pouring on them all, her hair soaked, jacket darker and shining with mud on it, same with her pants. The same is true for Hawthorn, his hair having flattened against his head from the rain, his jacket shining from the rain, and his pants are soaked. Sampson has a bruise starting up on his left temple, his eyes are cold and dark, his clothes soaked and muddied, his attention fully on Rebecca.

"Lower your weapon," Hawthorn requested again, watching Sampson's eyes and his index finger on the trigger of the gun.

'There is no getting out of this... a kill shot to the head and it'll be all over... I'm sorry Doc that you have to watch this,' Rebecca thought. She couldn't calculate whether Hawthorn was going to shoot before Sampson. She doesn't know his timing, his accuracy or anything.

Rebecca sees the look in his eyes. 'I'm sorry Uncle Ray,' she thought as Sampson's finger tightens.

Bang! Sampson's left shoulder jerked back and then his body. His eyes widening, he stumbled back and fell onto his back. Hawthorn rushed forward, his gun trained on him. He kicked Sampson's gun away and whipped out his own handcuffs. Putting his gun away and turning the young man onto his stomach, he bound Sampson's wrists together.

Rebecca stood there, in a state of shock. 'he got him... Hawthorn stopped him!' her hands lowered, and she heard Doc rush up behind her. He walks to stand in front of her and looks at her. His eyes are filled with worry, and she can't tell if tears are running down his cheeks or if it is the rain.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice sounding like he is close to the breaking point.

She stared at him for a moment and then it hit her. 'He blames himself for not being there when Tommy stabbed me... he didn't want to get to me too late again,' Rebecca realized, and forced a smile to try and reassure him. "I'm alright," she answered finally, and not a second later he wrapped his arms around her in a fierce hug.

At first she was taken off guard by his sudden hug, and then he whispered, "I was so afraid I wouldn't get to you in time," and then she heard and felt it. His body shook a little as she wrapped her arms around him, he gasped as she knew he was crying, thankful that Hawthorn fired before Sampson almost killed her.

Relief flooded her own body at the realization of what her body and mind has been going through since Tommy had stabbed her; she came back, then the plane crash, fighting to stay alive, finally catching the man responsible for it and feeling as though she almost didn't make it this time. She took a deep breath, "I'm still here Doc," she soothed, as much for herself as for him. "I'm still here."


Hawthorn wasn't thrilled when Hauser took Sampson away with his own people, much like most of the police officers Hauser had to deal with when getting a 63.

When Hauser got there, the rain finally let up, Hawthorn told Hauser of what happened when he got there. However, his eyes were almost glued to Rebecca the whole time, worry in his eyes. Rebecca had been sitting in the back of an ambulance as they looked her over for any injuries, while Doc stood by and watched.

Rebecca let out a sigh of relief when the vest slid off once the Velcro was removed. Doc had to admit, she was looking better than she did when Hawthorn cuffed Sampson, having awareness in her eyes again.

"Thank you Detective, that will be all," Hauser said and turned to head over to Rebecca. Lucy had just finished talking with some of their people who were taking Sampson away, and joined them. Hauser looks at Rebecca with some concern, but his mask is up. "How are you feeling?" he asked, and she looks up at him casually.

"I'm feeling fine," Rebecca answered, the holes from the MP5 showing in her dark shirt.

"Tell me what happened when you got here with him," Hauser requested, and Rebecca looks over at the edge of the wall.

"He was waiting for me around that corner, when I ran past he shot, his gun went off next to my right ear which stunned me. I dropped my gun then," Rebecca said and looked over at the frame work for the building. "I stopped there, he punched but the vest absorbed, so I punched him in the head, then tackled him. That's when he lost his gun, I let some of my anger out on him for the crash..." she saw in the corner of her eye that Lucy was looking at her. "I punched him a couple of times for it, I was ready to pin and cuff him when he threw me off of him, I saw my gun was closer and went for it. He threw mud at my eyes, got his gun while I cleared my vision and then I realized," she let out a breath, looking up at Hauser. "I was unarmed and he had his gun on me... Hawthorn and Doc then showed up, Hawthorn tried to talk Sampson down, but he had his focus on me and not the gun aimed at him. Then Hawthorn shot Sampson."

Hauser nodded, the last bit of her story adding up with Hawthorn's, as he'd feared. He glanced at Doc and then looked at Rebecca, "take the rest of the day off, you did good." He wasn't about to go after her for letting her anger out on Sampson, as he has done the same in the past. Only he shot the 63's.

In a way, Rebecca was happy to have the rest of the day off, in another way, she wanted to be kept busy and make herself exhausted to sleep it all off. She gave a small smile, "thanks," she stands up and looks at Doc and he held up the keys.

"I'm driving to wherever you wanna go, this is your afternoon, partner," Doc said with a smirk and she smiled a genuine smile at him. Hauser turned to Lucy, seeing concern in her eyes.

"Thanks Doc," Rebecca said as they walk to her Mustang.

Hauser lowered his voice. "She'll be fine," he assured Lucy as she looked up at him.

"I know she will... I was just thinking it isn't fair. It feels like her job has gone from being dangerous to life threatening three times in one year, I know her job before wasn't easy. But chasing down the worlds worst criminals is hardly something to bat an eyelash at," Lucy said, and watched Hawthorn run up to the Mustang's passenger door where Rebecca was about to get in.

"Madsen," Hawthorn said and she looked up, confusion on her face as he approached. "Let me take you out for a drink tonight."

Rebecca smiles at him and shakes her head. Doc started to glare at him from the driver's seat, but lessened it when Hawthorn glanced at him. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine."

Hawthorn studied her for a moment. "After what you've been through today, having a gun aimed at your head is not something you'll sleep off easily. Please, let me take you out for some drinks," he looks her in the eye, seeing she is mauling it over.

She finally gave a sigh of acceptance. "Alright, where and when?" Rebecca asks, and a small smile tugged at her lips.

"I'll pick you up at your apartment, for say 6:00?" Hawthorn offered, and Rebecca nodded.

"Alright, 6:00 at my place," Rebecca said with a smile, 'it'll be nice to get out for drinks. Not that I don't go out with Doc,' she took her seat, closes the door and buckles up as Doc turned the engine on. 'He does have nice eyes though,' she thought as she looks at Hawthorn.

"So... where to?" Doc asked, trying not to be awkward. He is feeling protective of Rebecca, seeing guys hitting on her.

"Hmmm... clothing shopping," she grinned, mostly to get a reaction out of him on the idea of going clothes shopping with her.

"Alright, what store?" Doc asked and she blinked at him.

"We don't have to go clothing shopping Doc, I know how much guys hate it," Rebecca said, speaking from experience with Ray when she was younger.

Doc turned a bit in his seat to look at her in the eye. "Hey, if you want to go clothing shopping, we'll go and look at clothes. I don't mind, seriously. Now, where do you want to go?"

Surprised by this, her eyebrows went up. "Okay... let's go to the mall."


It didn't take long for 6:00 to roll in, Rebecca didn't do much shopping, she browsed, bought a few new shirts and was done pretty fast. She honestly wasn't interested in shopping, but she knew she had to come up with something, and in that moment she didn't want to go to a shooting range to take out frustration on targets. Doc waited patiently outside the changing rooms. At first he felt awkward about it, giving Rebecca his opinion on the shirts she tried on, and how they fit. He didn't want to think of her in that way or see her in that way, but once she stepped out in the casual shirts he knew she'd wear for work, he got over it after the first three shirts she pulled on.

She changed her shirt to one of the new ones, being casual, and Hawthorn came at 5:55, pulling up in front of the bar she smiled. "This is my Uncle Ray's bar," she said, and he looks at her surprised.

"Really? I just started coming here a few days ago, nice and small, not overly crowded," Hawthorn commented as he stepped out of the car.

Walking in together, Ray looked over and smiled when he spotted Rebecca walking in. "Hey Becky, what can I get for ya?" he asked, she took up her usual seat at the bar and Connor sat next to her.

"Scotch on the rocks, please," she requested and Connor mauls the selection in his head over.

"Any light beer will do, sir. I'm driving," Connor requested, and Ray nodded, turning away to grab a glass and make up Rebecca's drink first before pouring Connor a draft. "Her drinks are on me."

Ray looks at Rebecca with a mix of concern and happiness. She sighed before taking a sip, "hostages, he had control of the situation, it was a hard day for me so he offered to take me out for drinks."

Looking at Connor, Ray gave him his beer. "Ahhh... I see, was anyone shot?"

Connor smiled and took a mouthful of his beer, "Rebecca wore a vest and so did the guy she was up against, only one was shot in the shoulder. So in the end, it was a good day," he set the tall glass down and Rebecca took another sip of her drink.

"I heard that a robbery was stopped before it even happened earlier today too," Ray commented, going to the small sink to rinse a couple of beer glasses and dry them.

"That one was connected to our hostage situation; our smaller robbery was a decoy. Doc figured it out, we acted and then... they found out," Rebecca smiled, remembering how she had to act quickly before the situation got out of her control.

Nodding, Ray gave a sigh and then looked over his shoulder at one of his customers waving him down. "Excuse me," he said and walked down. Rebecca could tell what the sigh was from.

'He was afraid a 63 was behind it... he really wants me to stop going after them,' she bit her bottom lip and Connor turned to face her.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, wondering if she was thinking about her ordeal from earlier, or if something else is bothering her.

"I'll be right back, I need to talk to my Uncle about something," she answered, standing up she walked down the bar to being in between Connor and his other regular customers. Ray looked over and Rebecca leaned in. "We need to talk," she said after he gave the man his refresher.

Moving over to where she is, he stood there, looking down at Rebecca expectantly.

"I know your feelings about my hunting down the 63's," Rebecca watched as his eyebrows went up and he started to lean in to say something, but she jumped in. "I know... I've died once," she hated saying that, she watched Ray give a flinch, a pang of pain at the memory. "And now I've crashed in a plane and fought for my life in the woods... and then today, the man who made it so the plane would crash was one of the hostages that I chased down." He looked at her seriously, hands on the counter. "He was the one who got shot... I've been going through a lot with the hunting of the 63's. I know you want me to stop, but I want to keep going – so we need to come to an agreement."

"Like what? I don't want to get called into the hospital and see you unconscious on a stretcher with a large amount of blood loss... seeing you that pale. And not to mention getting a call that you're being hunted by a bunch of killers in the woods and no one knows where. I am all ears!" Ray said, frustration dripping in his voice and written all over his face.

Holding her ground, "I know... I know you've been wanting to have this talk with me for a while. I am good at what I do, I have a great team backing me just like with the SFPD. However, I know that my life is getting more and more threatened the deeper I get into it... so I want to make a deal with you," he stared at her. He already knew he wasn't going to like what she has to say, but inside he knew they have to come to some sort of an agreement as he hates feeling so distant from her because of his disapproval and fear of losing her. Again.

"What if I keep going until we get Tommy?" Rebecca said and his eyes go wide, his face goes a shade red, he opens his mouth again to argue. "He put me in the hospital... I know, but I want to get him. I need to be the one who gets him, and once I do I'll stop."

Ray's head bent down, and he ran his right hand through his short hair and rubs the back of his neck before looking at her again. "Revenge isn't the answer, Rebecca, you shouldn't be chasing him," Ray said in a low tone.

Leaning in more, Rebecca let the words draw out. "Uncle Ray, he stabbed me... He killed me... I wanted answers and that is what it got me. Next time... I am getting my answers and I am getting justice for what he has done to our family and me." Rebecca presses her right index finger into the counter, staring at Ray in his right eye. "This isn't so much as being revenge but closure... I need to end it Ray. Let me do this, catch whoever comes our way up until we finally find Tommy and put an end to it all for us."

In her head, Rebecca wasn't sure that what was driving her into wanting to catch Tommy was revenge. 'For the time being, it's closure until I finally get to Tommy,' she decided, watching his eyes to see it is all going through his head.

'This is her solution, her compromise? Damn it Becky... I know how badly you want to get Tommy, just as badly as I want to get him for what he did to you. I don't want to say yes and then find out your going up against someone worse that I used to watch over in that prison,' Ray thought, and he sighed.

"Rebecca... what if over time you don't catch him for a month, two months, six months or even a year? What if another 63 kills him before you get to him?" Ray asked, and Rebecca pursed her lips together.

"If I can find no resolution in sight, and if I feel that my life is becoming more threatened I'll stop. If they target me however," she watched his suddenly worried eyes, "if they come after me only, I'll have no choice but to stay in protection, because me on my own with them wanting me no matter what. I won't last, but if say four months pass and I don't find him and there is no resolution in sight, I'll drop it. But only if things don't go to hell before that, if I don't find resolution I'll stop and if I find him, I'll stop."

Ray studied her for a moment. 'I don't see you finding any resolution in not finding him... but I do know that things can happened between now and four months. It all depends on how hectic things get and how much the risk is going to grow. If her life starts to get more threatened however... this is better than what she had going between us before the plane crash.' Reaching his left hand over and taking her right hand in his, he gives a gentle squeeze. "Alright Becky, we have an agreement," he gave her a small sad smile and she gave him one back.

She knew he still doesn't like it, but having an agreement is better than nothing, and he knew it.

"Thanks Uncle Ray," Rebecca said, a weight lifting off her shoulders and she could see a little coming off of his. 'He's still going to be worrying about me until this is all over,' Rebecca gave his hand a squeeze.

The man who'd called Ray earlier started to wave him down again, Ray lets go of her hand, "I'll talk to you soon," he smiled to assure her and she nodded.

Standing up she went back to her seat to see that the ice cubes had melted most of the way. She took a mouthful and made a face, "I was afraid of that," she muttered under her breath, and Connor watched her.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, he had been glancing over now and then to see the topic wasn't a nice one, he made sure not to listen in though.

"Yeah, things are improving," Rebecca smiled at him, meeting his blue eyes again, she turned to face him. "Alright, so tell me about yourself," she said with a smirk and took another mouthful of her drink.

The End


So, what did you think? This ending chapter was a lot of work for me, tell me what you thought, what you enjoyed, etc.

This story exceeded what I thought would come of it, I am very proud of it and I wanted to be sure it was done to the best of my ability. So I hunted for Beta's, I know it was finished ages ago, but hey. Better late than never ^_^

Oh and the guy I tried to describe as Connor is Chris Hemsworth, I saw a photo of him in the drivers seat of a car.

Started: Sunday April. 8, 2012

Finished: Wednesday June. 6, 2012 at 12:22p.m.

By: SLITH