Sasha pressed the stairs retaction button and the stairs started to fold up. He looked at his victim for a second. 2 didn't move. His eyes raised to the horizon, he could see the caravan speeding toward the runway. He turned and locked the door.

"Let's go. Now!" he said, jumping in the cockpit, closing the door behind him and sliding into the co-pilot chair.

"Monitor the conversation in the cockpit, I'm going down to the runway," Mattison said.

"Yes, sir."

The plane started to move away down the runway in the opposite direction. Sean stepped on the gas. His car screeched to a halt 50 feet away from the limousine. He and Robert jumped out and drew their guns. Robert moved to 2, patted down the unconscious figure and took his gun. Two WSB vehicles stopped and more agents stepped out of the car with their guns drawn.

"You are surrounded by police and the World Security Bureau agents, open the door slowly and step out with your hands in the air." Sean said determinedly. He reached for the door handle, which was slowly starting to open.

Two of the three shaken hostages emerged from the vehicle with their hands up. Sean looked in the car where the third hostage still held the napkins to Tiffany's head. He froze for a second. "Tiffany, sweetheart."

"She's unconscious," the third hostage said. "The terrorist said to keep pressure on it, she's bleeding pretty badly."

Sean climbed into the car and put his hand to the bloody bandage. "OK, I got her, come on out. Easy." The hostage did as told and Sean cradled his wife in his arms. "Baby, hang on."

The ambulance attendants rushed over to the vehicle with a stretcher. Sean eased Tiffany through the door, holding her as tenderly as he could. "Honey, talk to me, please."

"Let us take her," one of the attendants said. Sean ignored him and delicately placed her on the stretcher himself. His breathing became increasingly measured. "We need to check her vitals, sir, please stand back." Sean warily stepped back two steps. He turned to Robert and the unconscious bad guy. WSB agents were leading the other hostages into their vehicles.

Sean approached Robert, who was crouching over the figure. "He's wearing a bulletproof vest, guess he's lucky Popovic is such a good shot."

"Yeah lucky," Sean said. Two more ambulance attendants emerged with another stretcher. "Wake him up." One of the attendants reached into his kit for a smelling salt vial, cracked it and held it under 2's nose. 2 came too quickly and looked around. He pulled himself up, brushing off his chest.

"Glad I decided to wear this thing," he said as he got to his feet.

"Yeah, I am too," Sean said, pulling his arm back and punching 2 square in the jaw. 2 fell back down to the tarmac.

"Sean, calm down," Robert said.

"Oh yeah, calm down, I'm calm … I'm calm," the uncalm Sean said.

"I can see. Go in the ambulance with Tiff, I'll drive your car to the hospital," Robert said.

"OK … OK," Sean said, trailing the stretcher with Tiffany on it to the ambulance. "Is she going to be all right?" he said the EMTs.

"She's unconscious, there's a lot of bleeding and bruising to the brain, we need to get her stabilized and then the doctors will take it from there," the attendant said. "You're coming with us?"

"Yes, I'm her husband." Sean climbed into the ambulance and kneeled at the side of the stretcher, holding her hand as the doors slammed shut. "I'm here, baby. You're going to be all right."

As the ambulance pulled away, Robert looked down at 2, who was starting to come to again. He regarded Robert warily. "You're not going to punch me out too, are you?" 2 asked.

"Not at the present juncture," Robert responded.

"Good. I'm Royce Stanton. WSB."

"What?" Robert said incredulously.

"I'm undercover … was undercover. Going to need to be undercover again, way undercover when Sasha figures out that he doesn't have the final piece that he needs to rule the world," Royce said.

Mattison's vehicle pulled up to them.

"Stanton, long time, no see. Aren't you supposed to be on that plane?"

"Don't need to, sir. They don't have it."

"Mind telling me what's going on here?" Robert asked.

"Well, not that we have to, but since you're already involved, I will. Stanton here has been deep undercover for about a year and a half now. We've been assigning our agents on this program for a few years now. We get them installed with known subversives. Most of the time it doesn't lead to much, but every now and then…"

"…We get someone like Sasha Popovic with delusions of grandeur," Royce continued. "Then the WSB doesn't have to try and infiltrate his group and run twice as much risk of being caught, because it's already done."

"Interesting," Robert said.

"Let's get out of here," Mattison said. "I'll debrief you at headquarters. Scorpio, would you like to join us?"

"I would, but I really need to get to the hospital. The chief's wife is a good friend of mine. But I would appreciate a copy of Stanton's report as soon as possible."

"Of course," Mattison said. "Let's go, Stanton."

"I hope Ms. Hill … Mrs. Donley is going to be all right," Royce said.

"I hope so too," Robert said. "Thanks, Stanton."

Robert leaned into the driver's seat of Sean's car and sped away.

"Sir, we have to get in touch with the ambulance that Mrs. Donely is in. The final documents are in the bandage around her head."

"Inventive, Stanton," Mattison said.

"Didn't have much choice," Royce said. "I gotta admit I got worried at the end when Sasha pointed that gun at me. I thought he figured out I made the switch."

"And you're lucky he knows how to use that gun he likes to wave around so much," Mattison added.

"I was thinking that myself, sir," Royce said.

"Smith, get me the lead ambulance," Mattison said.

"Yes, sir," Agent Smith said.

"Well it's all over," the backup reporter said into the television camera to the joy of Maren and Ellie in Sean's office. "All of the hostages have been released and the terrorists have fleed the country. The World Security Bureau hasn't released any names yet, but sources say that consulates in England and New Zealand have been contacted, leading to rampant speculation that beleaguered Prince Coulson is once against in the midst of a scandal. This time, of course, it's of a much more serious nature."

"What about my mom?" Maren said.

As if on cue, the newswoman continued. "Sources also say that one of the hostages has been seriously injured and one of the terrorists also took a bullet in the final moments of the siege. The hostage has been taken to Boston Memorial Hospital, we'll have further details as they become available."

"I need to go to the hospital," Maren exclaimed.

"We really should wait here for your father. It might not even be her," Ellie said.

"It's her, I know it's her. Dad would have called by now if it wasn't her," Maren said. Ellie knew she was right.

"OK, I'll take you over there. He'll kill me for doing this, but I will," Ellie said.

"Thanks."

No sooner had they left the room than Ellie's phone rang. "Ellie, come on, where are you?" Sean said at the other end of the phone.

"Mr. Donely?" one of the ambulance attendants asked.

"Yes?"

"It's the WSB, they want to talk to you."

"Fine," Sean said, taking the phone from the attendant, who went back to work on Tiffany. "Mattison?"

"Yes, it's me. Sean, have the EMTs discarded the bandages around your wife's head?"

"What bandages? It was a bunch of napkins."

"The napkins that were serving as bandages, yes… We need them."

Sean addressed the EMTs. "Where are the napkins that were pressed to her head when you got to the scene?"

"We put them in the hazardous waste bag, there," one of the EMTs shrugged.

Sean leaned over to the bag. "Yes, I have them," he said into the phone. He peeled the napkins apart, revealing the envelope Stanton had taken from Popovic.

"Keep them secure, Donely. I'll send someone to the hospital for them," Mattison said.

"OK, fine," Donely said.

"I'm serious. This whole thing has been about that envelope. We need to keep it safe."

"I'll do it, I'll do it." Sean stopped in his tracks and dropped the phone as the monitor hooked up to Tiffany flatlined. "No! No, baby, no. Please, no." The EMTs scrambled to restart her heart.