"I have a job I need the lovely Mrs. O'Brian to take care of for me," Phillip Bauer explained.

Chloe stared at him. "You killed Chase," she whispered.

"An unfortunate accident. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Regrettable, really."

Chloe felt tears slip down her cheeks. "And Melissa?"

"An employee who grew a conscious at the wrong time. She was supposed to take the little girl, lead you right here. But I do think it worked out rather well. After all, it did provide me with this opportunity for some father son bonding time with the son who tried to kill me."

"What do you want from me?" Chloe demanded.

"I have some friends in the Russian government. They owe me some weapons. You need to help me get them."

"You want me to hack into the Russian government's weapons site?" Chloe asked.

"Such a smart girl." Phillip turned to Jack. "I can see why you like her."

One of the guards stepped forward, unfastening the chains around Chloe's wrists. She rubbed them before the man pulled her hands together and bound them in front of her.

"Do we have a deal?" Phillip asked her.

"If I do what you want, you'll let us go?" she said, exchanging a look with Jack.

"Of course. You've been so cooperative."

Chloe nodded, moving to the center of the room and sitting in front of the computer that was being set up. "It will take some time."

"You have twenty minutes."

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"Do you think you can still beat people up?" Chloe asked when they were alone again.

Jack chuckled. "It might be hard with these cuffs, Chloe."

She rolled her eyes. "If you remember how to pick a lock, that won't be a problem." When he looked at her in confusion, Chloe sighed. "We have those little knives, remember? And I can reach mine now that my hands are in front of me."

"My little genius," Jack murmured as Chloe worked on opening her belt buckle. She blushed, but kept her head down as she continued to work. "Where would I be without you?"

"Probably in a lot of trouble."

He smiled as she finally got the belt buckle open. Pulling out the knife, she went through its attachments until she found a pick. Jack's smile broadened.

"Nice job, Danny," he whispered. "He gave us exactly what we needed."

Chloe shrugged. "Maybe he's not as dumb as he looks then."

"Be nice, Chloe."

"Why?" she asked. Before he had a chance to respond, she shook her head. "Nevermind. Let's deal with getting out of here for now."

Jack was surprised at how quickly she was able to undo her handcuffs. He had never seen her try to get into anything unless it was a computer system, and he had to admit that he was impressed at her ability to pick locks. As her cuffs clattered to the floor, she immediately stood up and moved over to him. In a matter of seconds, he was free as well, and rubbing his wrists.

"Now to get out of here," he told her.

Chloe rested a hand on his arm, stopping him from heading to the door. "There's something I have to do first."

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Lindsay carried Angela as she ran, her gun out and ready. They seemed to be moving away from the shooting, but she didn't want to be caught off-guard. Her only job was to get the little girl in her arms somewhere safe.

Her thoughts drifted back to Danny. She hated any time that he was in danger; her stomach would knot painfully, and her mind would start racing through all of the horrific outcomes that might come to pass. But Lindsay knew that she didn't have time for that right now. If she let those dark thoughts overcome her, she would break down right then and there.

They rounded another corner, and she almost cried in relief. A back exit out of the lab was before her, and it couldn't have come a moment too soon – her back and arms were aching with the strain of carrying Angela. Lindsay slammed through the door, praying that there weren't any shooters beyond it.

Sunlight blinded both of them as they burst outside. For a terrifying moment, Lindsay was disoriented, unsure of which direction she should turn.

"Freeze!"

Her heart stopped at the same time that her legs did. People were standing all around them, Kevlar covering their torsos and black automatic weapons in their hands. It took Lindsay a moment to realize what was going on.

"I'm NYPD!" she yelled. Dropping her gun, she fumbled for her badge, handing it to the man who had commanded her to freeze.

Angela pointed at the S.W.A.T. letters on the man's jacket as he inspected Lindsay's badge. "Are they the good guys?" she asked.

Lindsay nodded, hugging the little girl more tightly. "Yeah, sweetheart. They're the good guys."

Satisfied, the man handed her badge back and pressed something on his vest. "Sir, we've got C.S.I. Monroe and the little girl. They're safe."

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Stella was only aware of things in flashes, like those of a camera. She was leaning over Don, putting pressure on his wound, trying to stem the bleeding. Her hands were stained and sticky, but she didn't care. All she could focus on was the ashen look to his face, the way his skin seemed to turn cold. It wasn't fair – they had only just found each other, and now it seemed as though she were going to lose him.

But then the shooting had stopped. An eerie calm seemed to settle over the lab as the last of the intruders was dealt with, and the police officers and C.S.I.s had a chance to take in everything that had just happened. Groans of pain destroyed the silence, and cries were rising all around as friends were discovered to be lost.

And then there were hands on her, pulling her away from Flack. She fought them frantically, until she saw that they were paramedics. She watched as they checked his vitals, and tears of relief slid down her face when they put him on a gurney and began to rush him out of the room – if they were taking him out in a hurry, then maybe it wasn't too late.

The next thing she was aware of was Mac standing in front of her. Slowly, she realized that he was saying her name over and over again, his hands cradling her face as he tried to get her to focus on him.

"Stella."

Her eyes met his. "He's still alive," she whispered.

Mac nodded. "Yes he is. The paramedics think he's going to make it. But Stella," he said her name more firmly when her eyes started to slide away from his. "I need you to go to the hospital with him."

She nodded numbly, the fight gone out of her. She didn't care to see this battle through…the only thing she cared about was getting to Don and being there when he woke up.

Mac walked her out of the lab, helping her into the ambulance that Flack was in. "I want you stay at the hospital," he told her firmly. "Neither of you is in any condition to be in the field. Do you understand me?" Stella nodded again, and Mac reached out to squeeze her hand. "I'll be there as soon as I can," he promised.

Shutting the doors, he knocked on them twice, letting the driver know that he was free to leave. As the ambulance thundered through the streets of Manhattan, Mac sent up a quick prayer that he would still have a whole team by the end of the day.

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"What's so damn important?" Jack demanded as he watched Chloe's fingers fly over the keyboard.

"I'm trying to get through the firewall."

"Why?"

"To send a message to the crime lab. Let them know what we found out."

"Can you do that?"

"I can do anything," she said with a small smile. "Remember?"

"Hurry," he said, watching as she typed.

"It's done. We can go."

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"When I leave, I want you to stay here," Tony said softly, studying Kim's face.

"Where are you going?"

He shrugged. "After the bad guys, I guess."

"We talked about this," she muttered. "I'm not a kid anymore."

"I know that."

"This is my fight too."

"I can't do what I need to do and keep you safe at the same time."

"It's not your job to keep me safe."

They were interrupted by the phone ringing. Tony slowly answered it.

"Almeida," he said.

"It's Danny," the voice on the other end said. "The lab's clear. SWAT came in."

"How many causalities?" Tony asked, his eyes still on Kim.

"We don't know yet. Look, why don't you get back over here, we'll figure out what to do next."

"Sure thing man."

"Hang on a second," Danny said, and Tony could hear muffled voices. "Could you put Kim on the phone for a second?"

"I guess," Tony said, handing the phone to Kim. "It's the cops."

"Hello," she said cautiously.

"Kim, it's Lindsay," Lindsay said softly. "You need to come and stay with Angela."

"What's wrong? Did something happen to her?"

"She's fine. She's fine. She's just…she needs someone she knows."

"I'll be right there." She handed the phone back to Tony and they both stood.

"We talked about this," he sighed.

"Be careful," she said softly, avoiding his eyes.

"I will be."

"I have to go back to the lab. Angela needs me."

He nodded, opening the door for her. Kim stopped, turning around to hug him. "Try to come back in one piece."

He smiled. "I'll do my best."

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Mac watched as the team reassembled in his office. Danny and Lindsay were there, of course, and they were joined by Bill, Karen and Tony. Kim had gone right to Angela, and Hawkes was still helping with the fallout from the firefight in the lab. They were smaller than they were when they started, but Mac knew that they had to put an end to this.

"What's up, Mac?" Danny asked.

"I just got a message from Chloe."

There were gasps around the room. Karen spoke up first. "So she's alright? She's still alive?"

Mac nodded. "It seems she hacked through the firewalls on whatever system they put her in front of and send us a note. She and Jack are preparing to fight their way out. I think we should be there to help them."

"Where are they?" Tony asked.

"A warehouse on the East River. I had Adam trace her IP address." He looked around the room. "Danny, Tony, and Bill, you'll come with me. Lindsay, you and Karen stay here."

Lindsay was about to protest, but Danny rested a hand on her arm. Looking over at him, her eyes filled with tears.

"I hate this," she whispered.

He took a step closer to her, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I know."

"Lindsay." She turned her attention back to Mac. "I'm going to need you to keep in contact with Stella. I want to know how Flack is doing. Help Hawkes if he needs it. Okay?" She nodded, and the detective turned to Karen. "Ms. Hayes, I'd appreciate it if you would keep an eye on Kim and Angela. They've both had a pretty rough day."

Karen nodded as well, slipping her hand into Bill's. She had known that they weren't going to let her go – she had no training in field work, and she would be more of a liability than an asset. She just prayed that Bill would come back to her.

Mac looked around the room once more. "Alright, then. Let's suit up and head out. It's time to end this."