Hey everyone, I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season! This is the last filler chapter so that the plot comes together, so please bear with me. :)
As always, thanks for your reviews, follows, and faves! I greatly appreciate it.

"SHIT!" Evan yelled as another bullet zinged past him, catching him off guard. He prayed that he could kill the other sniper before they killed him, Nikolai, or Velkan. He scanned the area once more but found no trace of the sniper. "C'mon, asshole! Come on out and play!"

Velkan had crawled next to his uncle to give him his firearm when a fiery pain rippled through his chest and left arm, kicking the breath from his lungs. "Son of a-!"

"VEL?!" Evan hollered, dropping down behind the boulder and giving his nephew a once-over.

"I'll be fine; focus on that sniper!" Velkan grunted as he stuck his fingers into the hole in his vest. He winced in pain as he tore the 30.06 round out of his vest and stuffed it in his pants pocket. He was definitely lucky that he wasn't bleeding, but he knew that his collarbone was cracked and his ribs were more than likely bruised due to the impact.

"Agent McTeague, report!" Maria demanded, her voice flooding with anxiety.

"Man down!" Evan managed to reply as he began dragging Velkan behind cover. "We need medical extraction now!"

"Fuck that," Velkan shouted, "take out that sniper!"

Nikolai had been scanning his surroundings and found the sniper in a flash. With a sadistic grin, he grabbed Evan's rifle and aimed it at the hostile. His finger suffocated the trigger as he sucked in his breath.

BOOM!

"Night, asshole," Nikolai murmured proudly as the sniper crumpled to the ground.

"Good work, Nicky," Velkan grunted, still seething from the impact of the round.

"Plot twist- it was a tranquilizer round!" Nikolai declared, making Velkan grin despite the pain that he was enduring.

"Go get him then, yeah?" Evan suggested as he pulled a bandage out of his pack and wrapped it around Velkan's chest.

Nikolai rolled his eyes and snuck off to grab the unconscious sniper.

Back on the helicarrier, Maria waited to hear from the doctors about Velkan's condition. She hoped that he wasn't badly injured- the last thing that they needed was to be down one teammate. The sound of heavy boots against the concrete caught her attention. Seconds later, Velkan's brother Malacath, aka Nocturnus, bolted around the corner like a lightning strike on a wild, stormy night.

"How is he?" Malacath panted, skidding to a stop in front of Maria.

"Cracked collarbone and bruised ribs," Maria filled in. "No organ damage or internal bleeding, so he's just fine."

Malacath exhaled loudly and locked eyes with Maria. "Forgive me, but what about the sniper? Has he said anything?"

"Still unconscious," Maria replied. "We will be sending in Agent Romanoff to interrogate him."

Malacath felt anger coursing through his veins like hot gasoline. "No, I want a piece of him!"

"Your emotions are out of control at the moment," Maria said firmly. "We can't have an emotionally unstable agent interrogating a suspect."

"Yet you let Daedra interrogate Kosovo and he almost killed the son of a bitch!" Malacath fired back venomously.

"He was ordered by Fury to aid Romanoff and myself in the interrogation!" Maria spat. "After he injured Kosovo, he was ordered to leave the room."

Malacath took a step back, clearly defeated by Maria's words. "May I at least make a recommendation...?"

Maria closed her eyes and thought about it for a moment. On one hand, having someone that was close to Velkan in some way was dangerous, but on the other hand, it could prove to be useful. "Why not- who's on your mind...?"

"Perhaps send in Ben and Serana...?" Malacath trailed off. "They could easily break this guy."

"Shadowglass is still on assignment," Maria reminded Malacath. "Perhaps we could send in Red Eagle...?"

Malacath's face contorted into the most ridiculous look of confusion that Maria had ever seen. "Are you kidding?! He wouldn't get that far with him!"

"They do have history," Maria said, only realizing her mistake. Shit.

"Maybe sending him in isn't the best idea- Romanoff and yourself might be the best at handling this," Malacath suggested, admitting defeat for the first time in a while. His pride and stubbornness often brought him trouble, but he usually didn't care.

Maria was taken aback at the fifteen-year-old's suggestion. "I'll let you know what happens."

"Thank you," Malacath replied. With a heavy heart, he turned away from Maria and made a beeline for his quarters to contact his mother.

London, England

"Any ideas on how to find this guy?" Natalie asked Serana.

Serana glanced at her niece and smirked. "First thing we need to do is blend in- we don't want to spook him."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "So we have to look like fuckin' tourists?"

"More you than I, but yes," Serana answered. "There's a shopping bag on your bed. Get dressed and meet me on the balcony."

A heated breath whistled through Natalie's teeth. Of all the things, I had to be a goddamn tourist. Serana is lucky that she can blend in what with her being from Scotland. With angry, smoldering flames rising in her blue orbs, Natalie grabbed the shopping bag and rushed to the bathroom. She emerged five minutes later, wearing an "I (heart) London" sweatshirt, a new pair of designer jeans, and chic black boots. Her hair was still shaggy and her eyes smoldering, so she pulled her aviator sunglasses over her nose and trudged outside to Serana. "Now what?"

"We hit the local area and pretend to shop," Serana answered. "Keep your wits about you and stay close. If someone asks you your name, use one of the covers."

"Got it," Natalie replied. "Anything else?"

"Tell me if you see anything suspicious," Serana advised, "but try to be subtle."

"How the hell am I supposed to be subtle if I see Doctor What's-His-Face?"

"Schmidt, and I'm sure you'll figure it out. Let's go."

Natalie romped out of the hotel room after her aunt and said nothing more. She really didn't like being a sitting duck.

"Here we are," Serana said, stopping outside of their rental, a BMW. "Hey, everything here is backwards for the most part, so it may be best if-"

"-you drive. Got it," Natalie grumbled.

Serana rolled her eyes and clambered behind the wheel. "Head in the game, Chaos. We can't work well if one of us isn't mentally there."

"Shadowglass," Natalie started, "I'm just unsure as to how the hell we're going to find Schmidt in a shopping area. I thought he was a shut-in...?"

Serana took Natalie's words to heart. "He's used to the area- doubt the bobbies will be after him."

"'Bobbies?'" Natalie asked.

"Police," Serana explained, "and I'm certain that Cambridge didn't publicly name Schmidt as the thief."

"Gotcha," Natalie nodded. "We need a plan B, just in case, yah know, shit hits the fan."

"Improvise," Serana answered shortly.

Natalie's hand smacked against her forehead. "How are we going to improvise in a very populated area?"

"Think fast," Serana answered. "Alright, we're here- keep your wits about you, yeah?"

"Of course," Natalie replied as she clambered out of the car. She'd memorized Schmidt's photograph and thought of any alterations that he would've made. She started to mingle at the local clothing store, taking in the sleek leather jackets that were undoubtedly punk-rock style. She carefully moved about the shop, her eyes shifting every so often to see if Schmidt had shown up.

She was "taking in" a black jacket when someone ran into her. "Oh, I am so sorry! Are you-?"

It took Natalie a second to process the fact that the person that had bumped into her was Schmidt, and in the blink of an eye, he had already dipped out of the shop.

"Hey Rana," Natalie began, glancing at Serana, "I still feel like shit- I should go see a doctor."

"C'mon, I'll try to cut him off!" Serana caught on, ushering Natalie outside.

"Watch your ass!" Natalie answered. She sprinted as fast as she could, her legs carrying her across the pavement. She pushed shoppers out of the way, muttering small apologies as she continued on her path towards Schmidt. "Hey, stop!"

Schmidt took one look back at Natalie and lost focus for a moment; in a flash, Serana had leaped onto him and knocked him down. "Stay down, asshole!"

"You good?" Natalie asked, skidding to a stop just inches from Serana and Schmidt.

"Yeah; nice work with the subtlety there, kid!" Serana cheered. "C'mon Schmidt, you're under arrest."

"Fuck you," Schmidt spat, glaring at Serana.

"I'm not into douche bags," Serana answered coolly, "and you're not my partner's type, so don't even go there."

Natalie couldn't help but grin as she helped Serana escort Schmidt to their BMW. "You so much as move in this car, I will kill you."

"You don't have the stomach," Schmidt spat as Serana shoved him into the car.

"Try me," Natalie replied smoothly, flashing her .44 magnum pistol. Schmidt shut his mouth after that, terrified of Natalie.

"Let's get outta here," Serana suggested.

"Right behind you," Natalie agreed, sliding into the passenger seat of the car. She was glad that Schmidt had been caught, and once they were done interrogating him, she could hopefully spend some time with Maria. Her grin faded when she got a message from Dave:

Velkan's been shot by a sniper. I will pick you, Serana, and Schmidt up at the hotel. Tell you more soon.

"Extraction at the hotel," Natalie told Serana.

"That quick?" Serana remarked.

"You know these guys catch on fast," Natalie whispered. "Focus on driving."

"Keep Schmidt calm, yeah?" Serana asked.

"Thought you'd never ask."

Schmidt was about to say something when Natalie pointed her gun at his groin. His eyes went wide and his heart began to race at the thought of losing his manhood.

"One word, and your boys go boom," Natalie said calmly, not even turning to face Schmidt. He lowered his head as Serana pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. Natalie didn't move her pistol even while Serana had pulled Schmidt out of the car and shoved him into the black car that was undoubtedly driven by Dave.

"That was quick," Serana quietly remarked as Dave pulled away.

"GPS," Dave answered shortly. "Ben dropped me off in the outskirts of London; he'll pick us up in ten minutes."

"Where are we-?" Schmidt had managed to squeak before Natalie sent a back fist to his face, bloodying his lip and nose.

"Shut up," Natalie advised, placing her gun point-blank against Schmidt's groin. He let out a whimper before silencing himself.

Sorry about the wait- I just went on break from school. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! I will update very soon, perhaps even today! Thanks for your views and reviews!

Happy Holidays! :)