As soon as the gunfire erupted, Danny and Lindsay burst into the interrogation room where Kim, Tony and Angela were.

"What the hell's going on?" Tony demanded.

"The lab's under attack," Danny explained. "I don't know by who. But we gotta get Kim and the little girl outta here." He turned to Lindsay. "I want you to go with them."

"What? No!"

"Montana –"

"Danny, I'm not leaving you. This is my job."

He took her face in his hands, his eyes boring into hers. "Montana, I need you to do this," he said quietly. "They're gonna need someone to take care of them." His voice dropped to a whisper. "And I can't lose you, Montana. I need to know that you're safe. Please."

Lindsay heard the emotion in his voice, and she knew she couldn't fight him. "You come back to me," she told him.

He nodded. "Always."

Leaning in, she kissed him briefly on the mouth; then she turned to the others. "Alright, we'll go out the back –"

Kim was already shaking her head. "I'm not going."

"Yes you are," Tony said firmly.

She turned to face him. "No, I'm not. My dad is out there, Tony, taken hostage by God knows who. And now they're shooting up a lab. I'm sick of running from these people. I want a gun."

"No."

"You've got two choices Tony…either I go out there with a gun, or I go out without one. But either way, I'm not running anymore."

They stared at each other for a long minute. As much as Tony wanted to know that she was safe and away from the fighting, he also couldn't blame her for how she felt. He knew that Jack might kill him for it later, but he handed over a gun anyway. When she went to take it, he grabbed her wrist, pulling her close.

"You stay low, and if I tell you to run, you run. You got that?"

She nodded, startled by the ferocity in his voice. When he let go of her, she tucked the gun into her waistband and went to Angela, kneeling in front of the little girl.

"Why won't you come with us?" she asked, her voice shaking.

Kim reached out and ran her fingers through Angela's hair. "I need to help fight the bad guys, sweetheart. But I promise I'll do everything I can to come back to you, okay?"

Angela nodded, but tears escaped her eyes and spilled out onto her cheeks. Kim's heart broke at the sight, and she pulled the little girl against her, holding her tightly.

"I don't want to lose you too," Angela cried.

Kim closed her eyes, her own tears falling. "You won't," she promised. "And Chloe is coming back too. You know Uncle Jack won't let anything happen to her." She held her for a moment longer, before standing up and passing her to Lindsay. "Take care of her," she said to the other woman.

Lindsay nodded. "I will."

With one last look at Danny, she turned and carried Angela out of the room and away from the sound of gunfire.

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After the initial explosion, the only sounds that could be heard were bullets ricocheting off of the desks and walls, with the occasional grunt as someone took a hit. Police officers and C.S.I.s opened fire on the intruders, but the gunmen were carrying automatic weapons, spewing death faster than the cops could return it.

Flack tried to get a good look at the men shooting at them. They had the look of regular street thugs – in fact, he was sure he'd come into contact with some of them in his time as a cop. That observation nagged at him, but he didn't have time to follow it all the way through as he tried to stay alive.

He glanced to the side, and what he saw made his blood run cold. Stella was moving through the room, ducking behind desks with her gun out in front. She returned fire as best she could, but Don could see that her arm was bothering her. Sweat glistened on her forehead as she just narrowly avoided getting shot. As she tried to catch her breath, her eyes locked with his.

A bullet glanced off the desk next to Flack's head, breaking his concentration. He turned on one knee, sending his own fire back, taking out two shooters with hits to the chest. Satisfied that he was safe for the moment, he turned back to Stella. She was embroiled in her own fight, firing at a shooter who was barely old enough to be called a man. Flack followed the kid's line of sight and saw that he was shooting at Mac, and Stella was trying to take him out before her best friend got killed.

A sound to his right made his head snap around. Another shooter was closing in, this time on Stella. In that instant, Don knew that he could never get a shot off in time to save her – a filing cabinet and another cop stood in his way. The rest of the room falling away, he launched himself up from the floor. He distantly heard himself call out her name, the desperation in his voice palpable, as he threw himself into her, knocking her to the ground.

He could barely feel the pain that flared in his side as Stella called to him. She was safe. It was only as the blackness came over him that he realized she was screaming his name.

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Tony couldn't believe how many attackers there were. It felt like every gang in the city had decided to show up, and there were too many cops that had already fallen. From where he was crouched, he could see Stella putting pressure on a wound in Flack's side – it didn't look like the detective was conscious. Hawkes was bleeding from a bullet to the leg, and Mac was cradling his left arm as though he had been hit as well. So far, things weren't looking up for the good guys.

A scream grabbed his attention, a high female voice against the sound of gunfire and curses. Looking up, he saw that Kim was no longer beside him – she had moved over to another desk, trying to get a better shot. But now she was joined by another woman, someone that Tony had never expected to see again.

Mandy grabbed Kim by the hair and jabbed her gun into her side. With an evil smile, she dragged the younger woman away from the gunfight and toward the front doors. Tony leapt to his feet, but was instantly forced back down by a barrage of bullets flying at his head. Keeping low, he weaved around the desks and bodies, doing his best to keep the two women in sight.

By the time he finally got past the shooters and out onto the street, a black SUV was already pulling away from the curb. Without hesitation, Tony grabbed an identical vehicle, not caring who it belonged to. The keys were in the ignition and it started right up; he slammed his foot down onto the gas pedal and launched into the busy Manhattan streets.

Tony could tell that it didn't take long for Mandy to realize that she was being followed. Almost immediately, the SUV began evasive maneuvers as it roared down the streets as Mandy did everything she could to get Tony off her tail. But he just kept with her, silently vowing that he would stop her before she could take Kim to whoever she was working for.

Glancing around at the street signs, Tony realized that they were headed back towards Central Park. The snow fall from the night before made the roads slick, and both vehicles were sliding as they made sharp and unexpected turns. He struggled to maintain control of the wheel, but even so he couldn't keep from sideswiping other cars on the road.

The Park appeared up ahead, and Tony tried to predict if Mandy was going to swing to the east or west. But just as he made up his mind, her SUV plowed right onto the grounds, the tires leaving heavy tracks in the snow. Tony cursed and maneuvered his own vehicle into the Park, slowing catching up with Mandy.

People jumped out of the way as the two vehicles continued their game of cat and mouse. Both SUVs were thrown into 4-wheel-drive as they plowed through the snow, making the chase through the park easier to control than when it was on the ice of the streets.

The sound of the tires changed suddenly, and Tony looked around, noticing that they were no longer driving on just snow. He ran through a map of the Park in his head, and he realized that they had made their way onto one of the lakes. It looked as though it were frozen solid, but it didn't feel as though it could hold the weight of both cars.

Tony heard a cracking sound, and he watched in horror as the front end of the other SUV suddenly fell into the water. He slammed on the brakes, his own vehicle sliding to the side, bringing him perpendicular to the growing hole. Knowing that the rest of the ice probably wouldn't hold for long, he leapt out into the cold air, rushing toward the other car. More cracking caused the SUV to slide even further, and Tony feared that he would be too late. He reached the rear door, almost falling as he slid to a stop. The door was mercifully unlocked, and he ripped it open.

On the floor of the back seat, Kim crouched, her eyes wide with fear. It was obvious that she was trying to escape the sinking vehicle, but she was afraid that any movement would tip the scales completely. Glancing toward the front, Tony saw Mandy slouched over the steering wheel. He took a deep breath and stepped up onto the tailgate gently, his arm outstretched.

"Come on, Kim," he said quietly. "I've got you."

Water had started to fill the front of the SUV. Kim reached out both her hands, gripping Tony desperately as he started to pull her out. When she had come far enough, he wrapped one arm around her waist, slowly inching them out the back.

But just when Tony thought that they were going to make it, he heard a harsh click. Looking up, his stomach clenched in fear and anger – Mandy was conscious, one hand wrapped tightly around Kim's ankle, the other pointing a gun at his head.

"Let us go, Almeida," she said quietly. "And I promise I won't kill you."

Tony glanced down at Kim, hope flaring in his chest at what he saw. When he looked back at the woman in the front seat, his eyes were cold.

"Sorry, Mandy. I don't make deals with trigger-happy psycho-bitches."

Without looking down, he grabbed the gun that was stuck in the waistband of Kim's jeans, pointing it at Mandy. He didn't hesitate at all in pulling the trigger, putting a bullet right in the center of her forehead. With a thud, the weapon fell from her hands and she fell back against the dashboard.

Tony tucked the gun back into Kim's pants before stepping free from the SUV. Reaching back in, he lifted her free as well, cradling her in his arms as he turned and moved back toward his vehicle. He didn't even glance back as the vehicle fell the rest of the way in, plunging Mandy into its freezing depths.

Tony lifted Kim up carefully into his arms as he stepped away from the wreckage and walked back to his car.

"Where are we going?" she asked groggily, her head resting against his chest.

"Home. I'm taking you home."

She shook her head to protest. "We have to go back. The lab. We have to make sure…"

"I'm not taking you back there until I know it's safe," he said, strapping her into the passenger seat.

"What if they come looking for me at my apartment?"

"I'll be waiting for them," he said darkly.

"Then what?"

He shrugged.

"Tony." She stopped.

"What?" he pressed.

"Nothing. Never mind."

"Are you okay?" he asked, reaching across the car to touch her hand.

"No."

"I'm sorry about Chase. I know he meant something to you."

"That was a long time ago."

"Feelings don't always go away."

She swallowed. "Yeah, I guess not."

He squeezed her hand. "It'll be…it won't ever be okay, but the hole inside of you, it gets smaller eventually."

She nodded. "Do you think my dad's okay?" she whispered after a moment of silence.

"I do."

"You're not just saying that?"

"No. Your dad's walked away from some pretty amazing things, Kim. He'll come back. He's not gonna let anything happen to Chloe."

Kim nodded. "What happens after all of this is over? I mean…do you just…I've forgotten how to keep going on, Tony. I'm not in the habit any more, and it's not like I was ever any good at it."

Tony gave her tired, sad smile. "I think we have to wait til it's over to figure out what happens next."

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"Chloe," Jack said softly.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm sorry."

She frowned. "For what?"

"I shouldn't have left without saying goodbye to you."

She shifted her face next to his chest as tears burned her eyes. "We're gonna get out of here Jack."

"I hope so."

"We will." She paused, tilting her head to look at him. "And if we don't," she whispered, her voice breaking, "I absolve you of all your sins, Jack Bauer."

Jack took a shaky breath. "When we get out of here, can I take you out to dinner?"

"When we get out of here you can take me to bed."

He smiled. "I missed that about you."

"What?"

"You get right to the point."

She shrugged. "Sometimes it's the only way to get what you want."

Jack nuzzled her face with his nose. "I'll get you out of here, Chloe."

"You better."

"I will," he promised.

They pulled apart when the door behind them opened.

"Get up," the man commanded.

"What do you want now?" Chloe shot back.

"You must be important. The boss wants to see you himself. Get up and show the man some respect."

"We're not feeling all that respectful," Jack muttered.

The man reached down, grabbing Chloe by the hair and pulling her to her feet. "I said get up," he snapped as Chloe struggled not to whimper.

Jack pushed himself up, lunging at the man and pushing him away from Chloe, trying to knock him to the ground.

"Now now, boys," a voice came from the door way. "So uncivilized. That's really no way to do business."

Chloe gasped, staring at the man who was currently staring at Jack.

"Of course," the man continued, stepping into the light, "I can't say I expected my least favorite son to act any better."