Head note: This chapter is especially dedicated to the Donnelly fans out there, however few they may be. Enjoy!

Chapter seven

Donnelly carried Julie as he followed the Man in the Suit. She was falling asleep in his arms. She was clearly very tired after a long day. He listened as he talked to his friend. Then the John turned to face him.

"Do you have a way to get home?" he asked Donnelly.

"Yeah, my car is right outside."

"Okay, I'll get you to your car," he said. "Oh and Nick, after we go our separate ways, try not to get yourself killed." Donnelly gave a shadow of a smile before nodding in agreement.

They walked out of the building and onto the sidewalk. Suddenly, John went on high alert, which worried Donnelly.

"What is it?" he asked. He hadn't known John long, but he know that if he was worried, something was wrong.

John didn't answer. Then he seemed to notice something in the distance.

"Get down!" he suddenly shouted and shoved Donnelly to the ground behind Donnelly's car. John pulled out his gun, as did Donnelly. Julie was no longer asleep, but very much aware of what was going on as gunfire erupted in the dark street. One of the shots punctured the wheels on his car, leaving them no way to escape.

"Daddy!" Julie cried.

"It's going to be okay, Julie," he said not entirely sure if he was being honest.

He took a look at who was firing at them. It was Stanton and Snow. They had stayed around in case the bomb didn't go off. Just to make sure that he and John wouldn't make it out of here alive. Donnelly swallowed his fear and told his daughter to stay still as he fired a couple shots toward the rogue CIA agents.

"Finch, we're going to be a little held up. They just took out Donnelly's car," John suddenly said probably talking to his friend. John held his head erect even as he fired a few shots of his own.

Donnelly watched out of the corner of his eye as John listened to what his friend was saying. He wasn't sure what he was saying, but considering the cicumstances, he was more than willing to trust a complete stranger.

"Take Julie," John finally said cocking his gun. "My friend will meet you on 43rd street a few blocks that way. Go! I'll cover you."

Donnelly looked at him. He was totally willing to risk his live to save him and his daughter. And while Donnelly was grateful for all that John had done to save his daughter, He knew that John could protect her much better than he could.

"No," Donnelly said. "You take her. I'll cover for you" he said, firing a few shots over the top of the car.

"Nick, we don't have time," John said. "Julie needs you in her life."

"First and foremost, she needs to live. And you can protect her better than I can," Donnelly shouted over the gunfire. As much as he hated to admit it, it was true. John had the training necessary to do so. "Now take her and go."

John seemed reluctant to leave his side, leaving Donnelly to fend for himself. But he nodded and approached Julie.

"Julie, you need to come with me," he said gently. But Julie shook her head.

"But Daddy said never to go anywhere with strangers," she said.

"Julie," Donnelly said leaning down toward her. "Go with John. You can trust him."

John looked at him in surprise. This was the first time Donnelly had called him by his name. And his declaration of trust surprised himself just as much as it surprised John. However, he had trusted him three times before this and John had never once let him down. He could trust him with Julie. He continued, "He will protect you."

Julie nodded and stood up to leave with John.

"Nick," he said suddenly. "I'll hand her over to my friend and then come back for you."

Donnelly nodded and stood up firing over the top of the car while John scooped up Julie and ran, protecting her head with his body. Donnelly kept firing until John was out of sight.

XxXxXx

John took Julie and ran as Donnelly provided the cover for him. He ran toward the Corner of 43rd street to meet with Finch. He got there, but Finch wasn't there yet. Cursing Finch for the delay, he waited impatiently. It wasn't supposed to be like this. John was supposed to be the one staying behind, not Donnelly. He had signed up for this. He remembered what happened to Riley Cavanaugh when he had volunteered to stay behind and he desperately hoped that the same thing wouldn't happen to Donnelly. He would never forgive himself if Julie never saw her father again.

Cursing again, he checked his watch and looked again for the black Porsche that Finch drove as the getaway car. Finally after what felt like an eternity, Finch turned the corner. He knelt down to Julie's eye level.

"This is my friend, Harold," he explained to her. "He will take care of you until morning. I am going back to help your dad."

Julie seemed nervous to be leaving with yet another man who was not her father, but nodded. John opened the back door and placed her in the back seat.

"Get her out of here," he told Finch as he closed the door.

Finch drove off, and John broke into a full sprint back to where he had left Donnelly, praying that he would get back in time.

XxXxXx

Donnelly took a few more shots at Snow and Stanton. They both ducked and returned fire. These weren't exactly ideal circumstances, but considering that he was up against two trained killers from the CIA, he was doing pretty good. And honestly, he hadn't expected to last this long. But don't get cocky, he told himself. Because that is usually when people get shot. He heard someone fire a few shots and immediately stood up to shoot at them. Finally one of his shots managed to find its mark in Snow's chest. Snow gave a staggering cry and fell back, never to move again.

Donnelly didn't have time to revel in his victory before a bullet tore through the muscles in his mid-thigh. He cried out as he fell, dropping his gun to clamp his hand over the wound. He winced at the pain coursing through his right leg and began breathing shallowly. Just enough to get oxygen to his lungs because anymore than that sent waves of agony through his entire body. He bared his teeth as he pressed his hand tighter against his wound and heard heels walking closer. Realizing his mistake, he reached for his gun, but it was too late as a heeled shoe kicked the gun away, coming to rest several feet away from him. Hopelessly out of reach. He turned back to look at his attacker and saw Stanton, her gun trained directly over his heart. She smirked as he realized that his chances of getting out of this were slim.

He froze on the ground in fear watching her every move. She started to speak.

"Looks like John's abandoned you, Donnelly. Just like he abandoned me in Ordos. Left me to die." Donnelly didn't know what Ordos was or what it had to do with any of this. But he suspected that whatever happened was the reason she was so determined to do whatever it was she had planned. "And now here you are. In the same kind of helpless situation I was in and he has abandoned you and left you to die by my hand."

"I asked him to," he said through his pain.

"Oh right, because you trust a killer to take care of your daughter," she shot back sarcastically.

Donnelly's heart froze for a second as he thought about it.

"Or did you think that he had somehow changed? That he's a nice killer? A tame killer?"

Donnelly didn't know how to answer. He thought back on John, the Man in the Suit. Just yesterday he would have kicked himself for trusting him with someone as important as his daughter. Even now he was growing more unsure if he should have. What if this whole thing had been a ruse? Just so that he would trust him?

But John had saved his life several times already. Why do that if he just wanted him out of the way? Why pull this elaborate scheme if he could just get rid of him altogether?

Seeing that Donnelly was trying to put things together in his mind, Stanton's smirk grew wider.

"I will make you a deal Donnelly," she began. "You held out on your own for quite a while. I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did. I work for an organization that could use your skills. This job cannot be done with less than two people so I am giving you a choice. You can help me and eventually make John suffer or I will kill you, right now, and find someone else to help me."

Donnelly didn't have to think about it. No matter what John had done he wouldn't work with this woman. He would rather die than work with the woman who had kidnapped his daughter. And he thought cynically, that he probably would. He took a deep breath before answering her. Except he didn't recognize his own voice as it came out dripping with malice.

"You kidnapped my daughter, you strapped a bomb to her chest, you put her through things that a child should never go through, and you expect me to put all that aside and work for you?" He shook his head and then continued. "I would never work for you or your private intelligence firm, even if you hadn't crossed that line. And as for John, I only wish he had done more than just leave you to die."

Donnelly heard the gun cock and knew the end was coming. She was going to kill him, here and now and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He could only continue to watch her, waiting for her to pull the trigger. She smirked as she observed his reaction.

"Shame." She simply said as her finger began to tighten around the trigger.

However it didn't finish pulling the trigger before a hand clamped down on her wrist and forced the gun away, spoiling her aim. Donnelly watched as John knocked the gun out of her hand and tried to force her against the side of the building. However, she easily got out of his attack and attempted to throw him against the wall as well. Whatever Donnelly thought about Snow's and John's fight paled in comparison to this fight.

Despite John's larger stature, Stanton's combat skills were no less impressive against the tall man. If Stanton won, or even put John out of commission for a moment, that moment would be enough time to kill him. Donnelly couldn't just sit there, he had to help John. He looked around and spotted his gun lying where Stanton had kicked it. It was only a few feet away. He could slide himself over and pick up the gun, but he had to do it now, when Stanton was distracted. He could only hope John kept her distracted long enough for him to reach his gun.

With that, he gritted his teeth and began dragging himself toward the gun. Every move he made sent pain lancing through his leg, the bleeding hole in his thigh threatening to widen at the forced movements. He bit his lip, holding back the yelp building in his throat as he slid himself over to his gun. sweat from the agony began forming on his brow as he pinched his eyes closed, trying to ignore the lightening-sharp pain and moved closer toward the fallen gun. Finally he reached his gun. With a cry of triumph, he picked it up a pointed it at Stanton, but quickly realized another problem. Because John and Stanton were equally skilled, they were moving too much. He was just as likely to hit John as his intended target. He had to wait until he had a clear shot. He felt incredibly helpless as he sat there, waiting for the perfect shot, but he knew he had no other option.

Finally, Stanton managed to force John against the side of the building. Without a word, he raised his weapon and fired, killing the ex-CIA agent that had kidnapped his daughter.

At first John didn't know what happened. He heard a bang and for a second, had thought that Kara had gotten hold of her weapon and shot him. But he quickly realized that was untrue as she crumpled to the ground in front of him and lay still. He looked around and noticed Donnelly lying on the ground, a bullet-hole in his leg, but otherwise alright, holding his gun. Somehow he had managed to get a hold of his weapon. He seemed to be in intense pain and John walked over to him and knelt over him.

He took his jacket off and tore a portion of his sleeve and used it to bind up the gunshot wound. Donnelly hissed in pain as he tied the strips of cloth tightly against his wound. When the wound was bound sufficiently tight, John took Donnelly's arm and helped him get to his feet. Donnelly staggered, and almost fell back down, but John gripped his arm tightly and allowed him to put his weight on him.

"Let's get you out of here, Nick," he said. Suddenly, a car screeched to a stop in the middle of the street. A familiar voice came out of the window.

"Need a lift?" Carter asked. John smiled and moved Donnelly toward the car.

He put Donnelly in the back seat. "Why are you here?" he asked.

"Your friend gave me a call, said you might need some help." she answered. "Wasn't planning on blowing my cover tonight, but then again these thing are never planned out."

"Thanks Carter." John said before getting into the front seat.

End note: so what did you think? This story is not over yet. I have one more chapter I'm going to write and then I will be finished.