Despite her calm exterior, the redheaded heroine was anything but. In all her years as part of both the old freelance and new MI-5 Team Possible, she had only ever faced a firearm once before, and that incident had ended in the detonation of a nuclear bomb and why she was here in the first place. The major difference between that time and this was that the firefight in Siberia had kept her on her toes enough so that she didn't have the chance to think about the consequences of a gunshot wound. Now, it was all she could think about.

The guard who had caught her was, himself, a rather unremarkable fellow. He was of average height and average build, and the uniform he was wearing was a non-descript gestapo-esque number, complete with a black leather holster that strapped over his shoulder. What wasn't average was the sub-machine gun that was a mere three feet from her, fully loaded and in the hands of a man whom, she was sure, had no compunction in using it.

There were two other things that struck Kim as odd about the scene in front of her. The first was that there was a rather loud pounding sound emanating from somewhere in the room that she couldn't quite place, until the redhead realized that she was hearing the rapid beating of her heart. The second was that this guard wasn't French; he was Middle Eastern, Arabic or Turkish maybe. "Come to think of it, the guard downstairs wasn't European either," the heroine realized, momentarily lost in thoughts not concerning her death from a small piece of lead.

It was apparent that the guard had not expected to actually find anyone in this study. From years of crime fighting experience to her intense training with MI-5, Kim had become an excellent reader of faces and this man's body language was screaming things like surprise, anxiety, and caught off-guard. This explained why several seconds had ticked by without the man having done anything other than just stand there, although it seemed like an eternity to Kim.

Suddenly, the guard seemed to regain his composure, disengaging the safety on his weapon and bringing it to shoulder level, bracing it against his chest. He made several rapid motions with his gun, indicating to Kim that he wanted her to step away from the computer and out from behind the desk while barking several commands at her in a language that she did not understand. Still, she got the message and, failing for the moment to see another option, the redheaded heroine began to comply.

She had just about gotten to the front of the desk when two things happened. The guards switched control of his weapon to just his right hand as he reached down with his left, pulling his radio from his belt and bringing it up to his mouth to check in with the manor's security center. He was just about to toggle the button when the other thing happened. Ron.

When the guard entered the private study, the blond had been positioned behind the door so that when it swung open, he was concealed behind it and the guard simply missed him. Ron quickly assessed the sitch. His partner was captured but he still had the advantage. The hero thought about simply grabbing his Glock 9mm from his shoulder holster and turning the back of this guy's head in abstract art, but the gunshot would make too much noise and attract more unwanted attention. All he needed to do was keep the focus on Kim for a little bit while he snuck up on this scumbag and then...

The blond struck with the quiet speed that he had gained from years of training and his God-given reflexes. Before Kim could even blink, two hands encircled the guards head from either side and with a quick snap, the man's eyes rolled back into his head, the grip on his weapon slackened, and he fell to the floor, limp as a rag doll. The hunter had become the prey, although the guard would never know it.

For the other half of Team Possible, she had completely forgotten that she was not alone on this mission. The shock of being caught without any plan on how to get out of the mess that she found herself in caused the redhead to focus her entire attention on the gun that was pointed at her. In fact, she had given off a small eep when Ron had snapped the guard's neck.

But her surprise didn't stop there. When the guard fell away, it gave Kim an unobstructed view of her best friend and partner but the man standing there was like no one she had ever seen before. Granted, he had the same features as her friend, was wearing the same clothes. It was his eyes that were different. They were so...cold, so devoid of emotion and feeling that it sent a shiver up her spine. There wasn't anything there, no guilt or remorse or regret, but on the other hand there was no lust or satisfaction or pleasure either and the redhead couldn't decide if that was better or worse.

"Come on" Ron commanded quietly, breaking her out of her momentary reflection on things. Now that Ron had brought her back, she fell instantly into mission mode. The redhead made her way back over to the computer and simply shut it off, having all ready destroyed the hard drive, and rearranging things so that it appeared that no one had been at the computer at all that night. During that time, Ron had made a quick search of the guard, finding nothing more that his weapon and his radio.

The blond checked the semi for any defects, and finding none, he handed it to Kim when she came walking up to him. Slinging it over her shoulder, she hit the small button on her Kimmunicator glasses, signaling to Wade that she needed him.

"Hey, did you guys get the information" was the way the teen genius greeted Team Possible when he popped on the Kimmunicator lens.

"Yeah, Wade, but we have a bit of a mess here" the redhead replied as she looked straight at the dead guard, using the built-in mini camera in the glasses to give Wade a full view of what she was talking about.

"What happened"

"Not sure if it was a routine sweep or if security sent him specifically here to check on something, but whatever it was, the guard walked in on us just as we were wrapping up. Sloth... neutralized him before he could radio in."

"I see" was the response after a short delay. "Alright, what do you need"

"First, I need you to monitor the radio frequency that the security team is using to gather whatever information you can" Ron broke into the conversation. "I have a working radio that is tuned to that frequency, so you should be able to pick up on which one they're using considering that they broadcast at regular intervals. Second, we need a way out of here and to our exit transportation ASAP. It's only a matter of time before someone tries to check in with our friend here and they put a lock down on this place."

"Okay, but its going to take a few minutes to plot the best course around the guards."

"Let me know when you're ready. Sloth out."

Wade gave both friends a quick two-finger salute before returning to his keyboard and disappearing from view. Without her tech man to focus on, Kim shifted it towards her best friend. He had taken out his Glock and had closed the door to the study, leaving open just a crack so that he could keep an eye on the hallway.

"Henry..." the redhead began as she moved to stand just next to the blond. He tore himself away from the view of the hallway, looking back at her with a look that contained equal parts apprehension, resignation, and determination.

"I know what you're going to say, KP" he informed after he had returned his focus back to the hallway. He knew she wanted to talk about the guard. As soon as the man had hit the ground, he felt an instant and powerful wave of guilt and fear overcome him, not that he showed it externally. And it wasn't over the killing of the guard, either; from Ron's point of view, the man had deserved what he got for pointing that gun at Kim. No, he was much more worried about his friend's reaction to all this, and he was sure that she would not approve of what he had done. The question was, did it damage their friendship and, if so, how much?

"And just what is it that I am going to say" she retorted, with a raised eyebrow. This earned an audible sigh from her blond friend and another quick glance back her way.

"You're going to ask if it was necessary for me to kill that guard" he began, not taking his eyes off the hallway. "And you're going to give me a lecture about how that's not the way we do things in Team Possible. Well, I'm sorry, KP, but it was necessary. He had a gun pointed at you, and I know that he would not have thought twice about using it. And after all we've been through, I wasn't about to let some no name guard end it like that. So, I know you're disappointed with me or mad at me, but I'd do it again. And I'll do it in the future."

"That's not what I was going to say" the redhead replied softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh"

"I was going to say, I should probably transfer the data to Wade when he contacts us next just in case" she told him with a small smile.

He turned his face once again to look at her, noticing the look of concern in her eyes, eyes that he thought would be filled with accusation, and gave her a big goofy Ron smile.

"Thanks, KP" he whispered and then, on pure impulse, he leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. They both stood there in a slight awkward silence, neither expecting him to have done that, when they were fortunately interrupted by Wade popping onto the lens of their glasses.

"Okay, I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is, another guard found the one you guys tied up in the game room and alerted your host. They're already securing all the guest downstairs, and are beginning sweeps of the upstairs. The good news is, I've found you guys a way out. Leave the study, take a left, and head to the doorway at the end of the hall. You need to get moving now."

With that, Wade image was replaced with that of a schematic of the section of the manor in which they were located. Once again, there were two blue dots, representing them, and a yellow line, indicating the way to go. Ron turned his attention from his Kimmunicator to the hallway. Verifying that the corridor was still empty, the blond chambered a round and stepped out of the study.

Once out in the hall, Ron quickly positioned himself up against the opposite wall, training his weapon in the direction of the staircase that they had used to get to the study in the first place, the most likely way in which the guards would come. Now that he was in a cover position, he motioned to Kim to follow, which she did, stepping out into the corridor herself and taking a similar cover position.

The two members of Team Possible continued their two-man formation, moving as quickly as they could down the hallway, opening the door and entering the stairwell. Once there, Wade popped back on their glasses, informing them that they had to make it up two flights to the top floor. As soon as the manor layout reappeared, Kim and Ron began moving again, transverseing the two floors easily, cracking the stairwell door, and saw a hallway similar to the one that they were on down on the second floor, with one big difference.

The fourth floor was laid out in the shape of a T, with a hallway running the length of the back of the manor and another one the jutted off from it, allowing access to rooms towards the front of the building. The problem was that it seemed Laurent had been able to fan out his men faster than the two heroes anticipated, and there now stood a clone of the guard that Ron had killed at the intersection of the hallways.

Ron, knowing that every second was crucial in making their escape possible, raised his weapon and was about to eliminate the second guard when he felt a hand on his wrist. Giving his partner a questioning look, the redhead simply tapped the elegant but fully loaded watch that she was wearing and whispered in his ear"Quieter." After a heartbeat, in which time the blond came to the realization of what she was talking about, he let a small smile settle on his face and whispered back"That's my KP, always thinking."

Moving out of the way so as to give his partner a better shot, Kim took a lead position, bringing her watch up to about shoulder level with the wind up dial facing the guard. Once she was satisfied that she would hit her intended target, the redhead thumbed a small, concealed button on the other side of the watch. Instantly, both agents heard the air whistle in front of them as a small dart flew out Kim's watch. The guard had heard it as well, but by the time he could do anything about it, the dart had all ready lodged itself in the man's neck, as the former cheerleader's aim had been true. As the toxin began working it way quickly through his circulatory system, the guard had just enough time to reach up and feel the tiny barb before he lost his grip on reality and sunk to the floor.

Their target now down, Team Possible once again began moving, a little bit faster than before as they were cognizant of the time that they had lost dealing with the guard that was now at their feet. The manor schematic that was still on their Kimmunicator glasses now had them entering the room whose door the guard had been standing in front of. As Kim worked some magic on the door lock, Ron contemplated the still form.

"Sleeping, stuck, or silenced, KP" the blond asked his counterpart, referring to the three different types of darts that Team Possible had at their disposal. The first one required some time in your bed at home, the second some time in a bed at the hospital, and the third some time in a bed at the morgue.

"Sleeping" came the reply, as Kim never took her eyes off her work. "Since he never saw us, I didn't think it was necessary to use the last one. Got it" she announced, as there was a muffled click from the door lock. The redhead swung the door open, allowed her partner access to the room beyond, who was carrying the guard slung over his shoulder, and then quickly shut the door. As if on cue, Wade once again replaced the manor layout as Ron unceremoniously dumped the unconscious man on the floor.

"Alright, guys, you now need to open the window at the very back of this room and repel down the side of the building. If you time it right, you should miss the roving patrols and be able to make it into the dense forests beyond."

Upon hearing his techno-buddy's plan, Ron crossed the room and peered out of it. The view it gave him was not one that instilled a large amount of confidence in the man. From what he could see, there was a large, and well lit, patio (if something the size of a football field could be called a patio) that the guards seemed to be using as base of operations for their forces patrolling the grounds outside the manor.

"Wade, the place is crawling with guards. How do you expect us to make it to the ground without being seen, let alone make it to the woods" Ron questioned forcefully.

"The comm. chatter indicates that the guards below are simply amassing there, getting their orders, and moving off. Within two to three minutes, the place should be mostly deserted."

"Then tell me why we had to climb two flights of stairs to repel down the building when we could have done it from the second floor and be exposed for half the time" came the next question, from Kim this time.

"Because you need a bit of time to wait for the guards down below to dissipate. If you had waited on the second floor, which by the way is now covered in guards sweeping the rooms, you would have been caught by the time it would have been safe for you to get moving again. I figured you'd rather wait on the fourth floor instead of the detention cells in the basement" the teen informed them, a little bristled at the third degree that he was getting from his friends and partners.

The former cheerleader shifted her focus from Wade to her other partner, once again a silent conversation passing between the two of them which ended when Ron gave a slight nod and turned back to watching the patio. Sighing, Kim turned her focus back to her tech man once more.

"Alright, thanks Wade. We'll contact you once we make it into the woods. Oh, and Wade? You rock."

Upon hearing that particular praise for the first time in over three years, all was instantly forgiven as the teen genius allowed a big, goofy, Ron-esque smile to find its way onto his face. He gave the redhead a crisp two-finger salute before blinking off the screen.

"Is it just me, or is he getting better at this" Ron asked once he was certain that Wade was no longer listening in.

"I think he was always this good. He just never needed to use it before" came the reply. This earned her an amused look, with a raised blond eyebrow and a slight half-smile, before he turned back to his surveillance. To no one's surprise, Wade turned out to be right on the money, as two minutes and forty-five seconds later, there were absolutely no guards to be seen on the patio beneath them.

Wasting no time, Ron popped the catch on the window he was in front of, swinging it open on its hinge to allow him access to the exterior of the building. Now it was the blond's turn to use his watch. Taking aim at the radiator in the corner, he fired off the high tensile wire that was attached to the knob of his watch, which, a half-second after it was airborne, became a mini-hook.

Once the hook had embedded itself in the pipes of the radiator, Ron gave several hard tugs on the line to ensure that it would hold. He was sure that the line wouldn't break; Wade himself had designed the new alloy that the line was made of and he promised that it would hold up to 600 pounds, more than enough for the two of them. Letting out some slack on the line, the hero climbed up onto the windowsill, about three feet off the ground, and turned so that his back was to the outside.

Having watched her best friend silently work, Kim now took her cue when the blond offered her an outstretched hand. Using his help, she climbed up onto the sill along with her partner, placing her arms securely around his neck. He reciprocated by wrapping his free arm around her waist, making sure that his partner wasn't going to fall in the repel. Looking over at her with a question in his eyes, he got a slight nod in response. The blond bent his knees, bounced on the balls of his feet once, and pushed off.

The trip to the ground was quick and uneventful. The two had trained for years in the proper way to repel, and from hair-dryer grappling guns to high tensile watch wires, they were experts in getting down the sides of buildings. Now came the fun part. The closest spot from where they were to the forest was a quarter mile away, which they would have to traverse over open ground. Messer. Laurent apparently liked his wide-open spaces and there was no cover once they got moving.

They were actually making good time, aided by the fact that Kim had cut a slit in her dress that allowed her greater range of motion, and were about three quarters of the way to their goal when they heard it. Looking back over their shoulder, the two heroes could hear the low rumble of several vehicles off in the distance. Knowing that they would never stand a chance against a garrison of heavily armed guards, they turned and double-timed it towards the tree line, even as the sounds of the approaching guards grew ever closer.

The two had made it to about a hundred yards when the first of the gunfire erupted from behind them. The two heroes were running side by side when Ron pealed off and dropped to one knee. He fired off several shots from his Glock, not with the intention of actually stopping them, but perhaps buying enough time for them to make it to the tree line. It worked, causing the two jeeps that had been chasing after them to come to a stop, their occupants taking cover behind them.

As soon as he saw the jeeps stop, the blond was running once again. Unfortunately, while the jeeps may have stopped, the firefight had not. Kim had made it into the woods and was taking cover behind one of the large oaks, watching her best friend make his way to her position, praying that he would make it all right. The blond made it to the twenty-yard mark before his partner heard a loud grunt and saw him topple over into the grassy field, face first.

"Henry" came the scream from Kim's mouth that was almost drowned out by the roar of the gunfire. Abandoning her place of safety, the heroine was running at full tilt against the oncoming weapons fire as she raced to her friend's position. Dropping to a similar prone position, her head a few inches from his, she shook him violently in an attempt to wake the still form. It took a few seconds, but the blond started to come around, still groggy and very much unaware of his surroundings.

"Keep your head down" the redhead shouted at him, as she roughly shoved his face once again into the dirt when he tried to pick his head up. "We've got about twenty more yards to go. Think you can make it"

"Yeah, I can make it. Ready" and they took off once again for the dense woods and relative safety. This time, their fortune favored them, and they made it into the forest, moving ever deeper to avoid detection. The growth was very dense and made travel slow and difficult, but it seemed that their enemy had given them a slight advantage as they were not pressing their attack into the woods itself. Kim and Ron could still hear the shouts and see the searchlights that were mounted to the jeeps at the edge of the forest, but did not hear the telltale sounds of a group of men pushing their way haphazardly thought the bush. Once they were a few hundred yards into the forest, Kim contacted Wade on the Kimmunicator.

"Wade, we've got a bit of a problem here" she told her tech man quietly. "What the hell happened"

"A guard that was stationed on the roof spotted you, but you were already out of his range so they dispatched eight guards, four to a jeep, to intercept you. Are you guys alright"

"I'm fine, but I think Sloth might be injured."

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine" came the reply from a few feet over. Kim could see that he was anything but fine, as both members of the team had activated the built in night vision capabilities in their glasses. Ron had slumped up against a nearby tree and had sunk to the ground. His face showed pale, clammy features and he was sweating more than he should be.

"Wade, I think Sloth might be going into shock. We're going to stop here for a moment so I can check him out."

"Negative, Wade. The Fox and I need to get moving again. Who knows when those guards are going to start moving into the woods after us again? Can't take the risk..." he ordered, but it was plain to the both of them that he was in some pain.

"Okay, Wade, what's next" Kim reluctantly agreed after a moments contemplation. After seeing the look on her best friend's face, she knew that his mind was set. She also knew that he wasn't going to relax until he was sure that she was safe, something that they had talked about endlessly and usually ended in a big argument over. "Damn you, Ron! Stop being so macho" she silently cursed him before turning her attention back to her 'eye in the sky' man.

"The goods news is, the eight guards that were chasing you aren't entering the forest, and I don't think they're likely to. The bad news is, Laurent had two man squads deployed before the start of the party into the woods. There are two such squads that are close to your position now. You are here" he went on as his image was replace with a map of the entire Chateau de Foret Noire estate"Your exit is here" and it was indicated by a green dot appearing on the map along with two blue dots and four red ones.

"There is a dirt road that runs through this forest. If you take it due East, you will end up on a road on the outskirts of Paris. Take that road for a quarter mile North and you will come to the last stop on one of the Metro's lines. Take the Metro to Charles de Gaulle airport and you're home free. The pilot is standing by for a priority takeoff should you make it."

"And how do we make it down this dirt road? It looks to be several miles before it hits the avenue that you're talking about" Kim asked.

"It's six miles to the avenue, actually. But the green dot represents, not only the best spot to hit the dirt road, but also where a motorcycle has been hidden for you. That's your means of escape."

"Alright, Wade, we're outta here. We'll contact you again once we're on the jet. Fox out" and Wade blinked off the screen.

"Okay, Henry, you ready" the redhead asked as she went over to help her partner up. He got to his feet, albeit shakily and only with Kim's aid. She gave him a questioning look, but he returned it with a small smile and a quick nod, indicating that he was okay. The heroine would have liked to let him rest here a moment longer, but she was concerned with the position of one of the squads. If they continued along the heading they were currently traveling on, that squad would be in their way to the motorcycle and another gunfight was something she desperately wanted to avoid.

The fortune that they had gained, however, seemed to have run out. Ron was in no shape to lead (and despite repeated questioning from Kim, refused to say that anything was wrong), so Kim took point, steering them on the most direct path to the motorcycle. This required them, unfortunately, to pass pretty close to the two guards. The two agents were counting on the fact that the growth would be dense enough so that, even if the guards had night vision goggles, which was a distinct possibility, they could conceal themselves and the guards would miss the two of them.

They had actually made it past the two men and had a clear shot straight to their transportation when Ron accidentally stepped on a branch that had fallen to the forest floor. The two of them quickly dropped into prone, concealed positions but the unmistakable crack! that reverberated throughout the vicinity instantly alerted the two guards to Team Possible's location. Making a quick decision, and using what was left of their element of surprise, Ron sprang up from his hidden position, took aim with his Glock, and took both guards down with three shots before his enemy could even get off a shot.

The immediate threat neutralized, Team Possible now had another problem to deal with. There were easily three other two man teams within range to hear the gunshots, and a quick check of the map on the Kimmunicator revealed that they were now making their way, as fast as they could, towards the two heroes. Abandoning all pretense of concealment, the Fox and the Sloth now made a desperate dash towards the hidden bike.

It soon became clear that, if Kim were to just take off, she would easily make it to the bike and the safety of the Metro without ever coming close to another guard. However, Ron was not able to keep up quite as well. His injuries were now painfully obvious to be more severe than he was letting on, and Kim had to keep redoubling back to help him. Towards the end, the redhead simply ended up half supporting, half dragging the blond to the motorcycle.

Finally, after what seemed to the heroine an eternity, they made it to the green dot on the map. It took the MI-5 agent an instant to locate the hidden bike, as her partner dropped to the ground to rest. He was looking worse by the minute, as his face took on a pallor that was forcing the former cheerleader to use every ounce of her self-control to not start panicking on the spot. The bike, a Kawasaki crotch-rocket job, came to life as the engine gave off a healthy purr. The problem was, the other guard squads now had a noise source to focus in on. A final check of the map revealed that they were about a few hundred yards outside of firing range.

Putting down the kickstand, Kim made her way rapidly over to where her partner was lying on the ground. Kneeling down, she put on arm around his shoulder while putting his arm around her shoulder and, as gently as she could under the circumstances, pulled him up off the ground. That's when she noticed for the first time that he was favoring his left arm, as it hung loosely at his side. But now was not the time to be worried about that; the redhead could now hear the chatter of the guards as they got ever closer.

Wasting no time, Kim placed her best friend on the back seat of the bike while she hopped on the front one. As soon as she was on the Kawasaki, she felt Ron wrap his right arm, and just his right arm, around her and slump forward, resting his cheek against her back. The redhead was now worried that he wasn't holding on tight enough and might fall off, but her time ran out. The first of the squads had made it within sight of Team Possible and had opened fire.

"Hang on, Henry" she mentally screamed at the blond as she popped the clutch, shifted gears, reengaged the clutch, and opened the throttle. The bike took off, screaming down the dirt path, as Kim ran through both first and second gear amid a hail of gunfire. The guards were yelling and tried to follow them, but the motorcycle put distance between the MI-5 agents and them rapidly. Once she was sure that they were no longer being followed and they were no longer being shot at, she downshifted to second gear and dropped the speed of the bike, taking her left hand off the clutch and grabbing onto her partner's right arm, to ensure that he wouldn't fall off.

The rest of their ride was quite uneventful. The dirt road ended exactly where Wade said it would and the Metro stop was right where it was supposed to be as well. Kim ditched the bike in the parking lot of a store that was adjacent to the Metro stop, pausing only to initiate the self-destruct on the Kawasaki before once again supporting her friend on the way to the subway line. Fortunately for the two of them, it was well past one am local time, and this particular Parisian suburb was completely deserted. This stop appeared to be unmanned at this hour and, not bothering with it, the redhead simply busted the lock on the service entrance, allowing free access to the Metro beyond. A train arrived within two minutes and the two MI-5 agents hopped aboard, grateful that the car they were in was deserted.

Once onboard, Kim gingerly dropped Ron into one of the empty seats as she went to check the subway map. As luck would have it, they found themselves on the B line, which ended at Charles de Gaulle airport. Now satisfied that they were on the right track and out of danger, the former cheerleader settled herself down in the seat opposite her friend's so that she could finally get a good look at him.

He was once more slumped down in his seat, almost in danger of falling off. His tux was destroyed, with multiple rips and tears in both the pants and jacket. How he had kept the jacket was beyond Kim, but that thought was pushed aside by the absolute lack of color in his face. Anyone could plainly see that something was not right, and now that she had the time, she was going to get an answer out of him or start searching him for injuries without his consent.

"You're hurt" she said. This time it was a statement, not a question.

"This? Oh, no, KP, you've got it all wrong. I just can't hold my liquor" he joked, but soon dropped the smile when he noticed that Kim was in her 'tell-me-now-Ron-or-so-help-me' mood. "I've been shot" he informed her finally with a sigh.

"What" In a heartbeat, she was by his side, removing his jacket without any resistance on his part. Now she knew why he had been favoring his left arm; now that the black jacket had been removed, the crimson blood stood in stark contrast with the white of his shirt. In fact, almost half of his sleeve was soaked in it.

"Jesus" his best friend cursed under her breath as she ripped the blond's sleeve further open to get a good look at the wound. The bullet had grazed his upper arm, leaving a canyon of flesh in its wake. Blood was still issuing forth from it, but it wasn't the gusher that she had been expecting, thank God. The redhead them grabbed what was left of the sleeve and tore it completely off, folded it up, and began applying pressure to the wound.

"Wade" she practically screamed as soon as her tech man reappeared on her Kimmunicator glasses, responding to her call after pressing the comm. button on them. "Sloth has been shot. I need medics now"

That shook the teen up a bit. It took a moment for him to gather his wits after that revelation, but once he did, he was a flurry of activity, he hands and fingers leaping deftly and almost at a blur across his keyboard as he worked his magic.

"Okay, I have medics standing by at the St. Michel - Notre Dame stop. They'll take you both to the nearest hospital and…"

"Negative, Wade. We need to get out of country ASAP" came the weak sounding order from Ron.

"We need to get you to a hospital before you lose any more blood" Kim told him in a voice that brooked no resistance.

"No can do, KP. It seems that I might be laid up for a few days, and if Laurent has any friends in high places, which I'm sure he does, we're dead meat. Let's get back to London and then we can go to the hospital" he informed her. His friend still looked mighty uncertain, even in the face of her partner's logic, until he countered"What good does it do us if I make it through the night only to be kill the next day by one of Laurent's men? Let's go home, get the information safe, then you can put me though any test or treatment you want. Okay" he asked her softly, breaking down the last of her resolve.

"Alright. But, Wade? I want some medics on board the jet when we take off, got it" the redheaded agent informed her tech man.

"Got it. I'll also have some agents of the DGSE waiting to receive you at the Metro stop to escort you directly to the jet. Wade out."

The ride passed mostly in silence. A few times people entered the car that they were occupying, but upon seeing in the blood, decided to find another car to ride in. Ron just seemed content to lie as still as possible with his eyes closed while his friend kept her eyes moving from his wound to his face. They were just about to the airport when Kim spoke again.

"What the hell were you thinking" she demanded to know.

"About what"

"About what? About not telling me about this sooner."

"Eh" he tried to shrug and realized that it was not a good idea when a shooting pain went running through his arm. "You needed to focus all your energy on getting us out of there. If you knew I had been shot, you would have worried and we would both be dead."

"Cut the macho crap, Henry. We should have stopped and dressed your wound back there in the forest. It could be infected right now, you know."

"It's better to have an infection that can be cured later than to have waited and ended up being two corpses in the woods. And you know I'm right."

The only response he got was a thinning of his partner's lips and more silence. Before either knew it, they were at the airport Metro stop and waiting for them were at least four Parisian police officers and another man, dressed in a navy suit, who introduced himself as an agent of the DGSE. In no condition to argue with anyone, Kim simply surrendered herself over to a man whom she had never met before, but was beginning to feel a little better about when she saw that Ron was being helped into a wheelchair without handcuffs or restraints of any kind.

They did cause quite a scene as they made their way to the private terminal of the airport. It wasn't everyday that Parisians or the tourists in the airport saw a man flanked by several police officers whose arm was bleeding. By general consensus, everyone gave the party of seven a wide berth, stopping just long enough to catch a quick glimpse. Kim actually found herself having to jog to keep up with the officers and the DGSE agent as they were all moving rather quickly through the terminal.

Soon enough, they found themselves in front of the jetway to their jet. There were all ready two medics standing at the entrance to the jet and once the two MI-5 agents were in sight, they took over, grabbing the wheelchair and bringing it into the back of the plane. Once she herself was aboard, Kim informed the pilots that they were ready for takeoff, and, given their priority clearance, were in the air in less than five minutes.

As soon as the jet was off the ground, Kim sprang from her seat and raced to the back of the jet, where Ron was lying on a fold out couch. The medics had properly dressed his wound, which appeared to have stopped bleeding, but they had also hooked him up to an IV. One of the medics informed her that he had lost a lot of blood, but he was sleeping now and she could stay with him, as long as she didn't disturb his rest, which she agreed to.

The rest of the flight was passed with Kim, sitting in a seat next to Ron in her tattered dress, holding her best friend's good hand.

Author's Notes: First, I want to apologize for the serious delay in this chapter. Between exams at the end of December and January being the busy month in work and the fact that I spent a lot of time working on a one-shot that I still haven't gotten right, this one fell by the wayside. But, here it is, and to any fans that I might still have left, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

For those of you wondering, Kim and Ron got on the Metro at the Antony station, which is close to the Foret Domaniale de Verrieres, the Eastern part of which makes up my fictional Foret de Chateau Noire.

To Me262: Nope, I've never played Nightfire. It's just a coincidence I guess. And yes, as you know by now -), there is weapons use in this chapter. And both of them got training for vehicles, but only Kim got flight training.

To Civanfan: Ah, the Rufus question. I brought him along for a specific purpose, which you'll see in upcoming chapters. As for Ron's bit a jealousy, yep its what tipped off the other guards that they were there, which leads to the whole chase and is the reason why Ron ends up shot.

To AngelOfBlades: As for Rufus, he's there but just doesn't go on missions anymore. He will play a role in an upcoming chapter however. The thing with classic KP characters is if I did do it, I'd have to figure out a way to do it within the scope of this universe and I'm not sure how to do that yet, if I want to do it at all. But it's not ruled out. As for their parents, you'll just have to keep on reading.

To Godhand Number 7: Hey, no sweat. You review late, I update late, its all good -).

To captainkodak1: The email that you sent me was very touching. Thank you. And from what I can see, you are on your way to becoming an excellent writer. Keep up the good work!

To everyone else: Thanks for the words of encouragement. I hope you like this next installment.

That's all for now. I'm going to take an hour break then start planning out the next chapter. Also, there should be a big announcement coming soon concerning The Fox and the Sloth, so stay tuned. Until then, enjoy chapter 10!