Now
Gotham City, Maryland

"It's my... publisher," said Priest as he stood next to Barbara Gordon as they waited for her shift to end, "He's this Indian guy, I think he's out to shaft me."

"So, why don't you leave?" asked Barbara, looking at the clock on the wall, praying that he uncle would be there within the next few minutes.

"Good question, I just really don't know. In some part it's the money, but I've got a partner and it seems pretty improper for me to just bail out on her and leave her with all the work to do."

Priest could hear the door to the library open and several men coming, but didn't look back, even as they came closer, he didn't bother to turn around. It wasn't until he saw Barbara's eyes widen and step back did he realize something was going on.

"Judas Priest!" ordered shouted Lieutenant Gordon as he and a few other policemen raised their guns and pointed them at him, "Got on the floor, hands behind interlocked behind your head!"

Priest looked over his shoulder calmly to see the four guns pointed at him.

"Barbara, move away from him." said Gordon as he stepped forward, while Priest raised his hands slowly before getting to his knees, asking Barbara as he did so, "You called the cops on me?"

"Shut up," said Gordon, "Lopez, cuff him, and be careful."

Syria

Barnes, Sayid and Aisha stood in a row by their SUV which was parked on the side of a dessert highway in the final hour before sunrise, looking at a house that was one of a few in the mostly vacant area. Barnes passed the binoculars down the row to Sayid to allow him to look at the safe house for himself.

"Sane will be executed by noon at the latest, if they hadn't already killed him." said Barnes as he looked up the highway, to see a delivery truck fast approaching, "We'll move quickly and precisely, there is zero room for error. Now tell me, what's the game plan?"

"As soon as the diversion is staged," said Sayid as he passed Aisha the binoculars, "I'll head there and ask for help."

"While I approach them and rig their vehicles with explosives." said Aisha emotionlessly as she looked through the binoculars, "I'll circle and come in from behind; we'll take out the immediate threat with minimal noise."

"And everyone else?"

"You will be here with Fareed and the getaway, if and when myself and Aisha have found Aladdin, we'll come here." said Sayid.
"While providing cover fire for us."

"Good," said Barnes as he opened the car door as the truck approached, he took out a sniper rifle and stepped back calmly, "Lets back it up a bit."

The three walked ten feet back as the truck came speeding, it crashed into the Parked SUV, turning it into a twisted heap of metal and glass, sweeping it across the Asphalt for a considerable distance before stopping.

The driver's door opened and out hopped Almasry, perfectly unharmed and unphased, holding a duffle bag filled with weapons.

"Fareed, are you Okay?"

Almasry smiled slightly and gave them one thumb up.

"I guess that's my cue."

Gotham City, Maryland

Officer Lopez holstered his weapon as he leaned above Priest, taking one of his hands and slapping a handcuff on it, saying, "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a state of law, you have the right to an att-"

Priest rolled over underneath the officer before he could place his other hand in the cuffs faster than humanly possible, then grabbed him by the collars and buried his feet in his chest, ten with one hand he took his pistol out of its holster and rolled back, pressing hard against the officer's chest, hurling him at two other officers. As he rolled to his feet he jumped up and over the counter, then dove to the floor and took out down Barbara.

It all happened so fast that the policemen couldn't react properly and now found themselves facing Priest who stood up, holding Barbara up, pressing the officer's gun against her back.

"This ain't the day you're gonna be taking me in." said Priest through gritted teeth, "Lower your guns."

"Let her go, Priest, there is no escape, the building is surrounded." said Gordon.
"It's a good thing I have 'Barbara' here to hold your men off. You wouldn't want anything to happen to her, right? She is after all your... What is it, exactly? Daughter? Niece? Little Sister? I bet its daughter. Put your gun down, Detective Gordon, or by god I will shoot. You think I won't do it? You think I've never killed somebody? I've killed time and time again; I killed men and women who could barely be called men or women. Drop the gun, Gordon."

Gordon contemplated his options, but he couldn't fool himself for long, there were none. He hesitantly and painfully lowered his gun and placed it on the ground, feeling powerless, wondering how he was trusting his kin's safety to a psychotic criminal.

"Do as he says." said Gordon.
"But Lieutenant.."
"I said lower your guns!"

The officers grudgingly lowered their guns and placed them on the floor.

"Now step back." said Priest, which they did, "Call your men and your snipers off Gordon, we're leavin'."

Priest placed his mouth next to Barbara's ear, asking, "Do you have a car?"
"Go to hell."
"Sure, wanna give me a ride?"

Syria

"What should I do?" asked one of the Agents as he nervously patted his gun to make sure it was there.

(AN: Dialogue is naturaly translated from Arabic)

"Answer the door, what else?" said his partner as the banging on the door continued, "But be careful, we're awfully close to the execution. Try to get rid of him."

The Agent grunted and got up, straightened his jacket and headed for the door; he carefully opened it and looked at the dark skinned frantic man in a gray delivery uniform outside.

"Its four-thirty in the morning, you idiot." said the Agent angrily, "What in god's name is wrong with you?"

"Please, help me!" sobbed Sayid, "I was coming in from the city, I must have dozed off because I hit a car, and.. and.. and there was a woman inside! Oh god! She's still alive, but badly injured. I need to use your phone."

Sayid pushed the door open and forced his way in; the other Agent stood up to block Sayid's way, "You have some nerve, brother. You better get out before I call the police."

"Please, Sir!" cried Sayid, "Look for yourself; you can see my truck there, right outside on the highway. I don't care about anything, you the woman in the car can still be saved, please, Sir! I beg of you!"

"I said out." said the Agent.
"Erm... Kareem, there is some wreckage on the highway, it's a delivery truck and a black SUV." said the other Agent as he peered thought he drapes, scratching the back of his neck.

Kareem rolled his eyes and thought about it for a moment, then sighed as he grudgingly obliged.

"Oh, fine."

As Kareem stepped into the doorframe, he thought he saw a flash in the distance, a fraction of a second before the bullets from Barnes' rifle hit him in the head and sent him to his maker.

The other Agent, hearing the man fall to the floor turned around quickly, his hand reaching for his gun. Sayid was ready for him as he had pulled out his own silenced pistol as soon as Kareem was killed; he aimed at the Agent and pulled the trigger before he could get a grip on his weapon.

The soft green drapes were stained with blood, Sayid approached cautiously, pulling the trigger twice more and firing into the Agent's chest. Once he was sure of the fatality, he searched through his pockets finding a set of keys which he dropped into his own.

Aisha came through the corridor, wiping her bloodied dagger clean using a hand towel.

"Any? asked Sayid.
"One in the kitchen, one by the door." said Aisha as she slipped the dagger into a sheath in her side.
"That makes five. Our intelligence said there would be eight to ten."
"There'll be at least two with Sane." said Aisha as she cocked her gun.

Gotham City, Maryland

"Drive." said Priest, sitting in the back seat with a gun aimed at Barbara's head, having just gotten into the car in full sight of the police who were unable to touch Priest without risking Barbara's safety. Barbara silently inserted her car key into the ignition and started the car before driving off.

"Head for the Bridge."

The two of them were silent for several minutes while she drove, eventually she asked with a trembling voice, "What are you going to do to me?"
"Just get me to the bridge and I won't do you a damn thing."

"Oh, really? Just like you didn't do a thing to those women?"
"Women? What are you talking about?"
"The immigrants coming into the harbor.."
"I didn't do anything to them, they're perfectly safe. I give you my word."
"Right, the word of a raping, murdering drug dealer!"

"Hey! I take offence to that; I ain't never raped anybody in my life."
"Well, horray for you! I guess that makes you a saint."
"Just shut up and drive."

Moment of nervous silence passed before Barbara asked, "You're never going to make it, you know. The moment you're across the bridge you're gonna get caught."
"Who says I'm going to cross the bridge?"

"What do you mean?"
"You'll find out soon enough."

Syria

"Do you have any idea how long it has been, Aladdin Sane?" asked the interrogator as he extinguished his cigarettes on the prisoner's shoulder, the latter flinched and twisted, but said nothing and didn't make any sound to indicate pain.

"I'll tell you, since you seem to have lost all perception of time. It's been Ninety days, and you know what that means, right? Enemy personnel are held for this time and are interrogated, if they do not cooperate, they are executed; that is League policy. You've given us nothing, and unless you start singing like a sparrow, you will be executed eight hours from now. Just tell us who are the other members of your cell and how can General Marko Raimus, your leader, can be found.""

Aladdin looked with mad, green, hate-filled eyes at his Interrogator and said nothing.

"Do you know how we do it? We put a bullet in your spine, which sometimes doesn't kill you right away and could cause you a world of pain before it does. Regardless of what happens, you are put into the incinerator in the next room and cremated, dead or alive. Does that sound like fun to you, Aladdin Sane?"

"I've always liked trying new things." said Sane finally in a voice close to a whisper.

"Fine, then." said the Interrogator as he banged on the door, "Have it your way. Open the door, I'm coming out."

The door opened, and half a second later a knife was buried into the interrogator's throat. Aisha and Sayid came into the cell, and headed to Aladdin who hung his head as he sat tied to his chair.

"Aladdin!" said Sayid as he crouched next to the prisoner, gently raising his head by the chin, "Are you okay?"

Sayid realized how far from being okay Aladdin was when he got a good look at his face, bruised, cut, battered, thin and pale from long weeks of agonizing torture and inhumane treatment.

"Its Sayid, do you remember me? We've come to rescue you."

Aladdin's green eyes looked into Sayid's black one with sadness and despair, and with a shaky voice he said, "Help me.."

Gotham City, Maryland

Priest dialed a number on his cell phone as he saw that they were nearing the Bridge, he waited for the other side to pick up and said,

"Hello? It's Priest... Never mind where I'm calling from, I need you to come pick me up, I'll be in the Narrows, make it quick."

"I told you, we're not going anywhere near the Narrows." said Barbara as she drove the car into the bridge and Priest hung up.

"No," said Priest, putting his cell phone in his pocket, "WE won't."

He lowered the gun he had pointed at Barbara's head for twenty minutes, removed the clip and dropped the unloaded gun on the passenger's seat next to Barbara.

"I know you don't believe me, but I assure you no harm has befallen those women. Be sure to return that to Officer Lopez."
"Wha-"

Priest opened the door as the car was moving at Seventy miles per hour, then lunged forward with supreme agility, grabbing one of the beams holding up the bridge with one hand to steady himself and standing on the very ledge, he looked up at a police helicopter that shined its spotlight upon him, an amplified voice came from it.

'Judas Priest, you are surrounded, get on the ground face down with your hands behind your head or we'll fire.'

Priest stood balanced on the narrow on the ledge, he let go of the beam and raised both arms up, giving the police helicopter the finger, shouting, "Tell someone who cares."

Priest laughed as he lowered his hands and crouched down, then sprang back up, propelling himself upward, launching himself moon salting through the air, flying backward in an arc and eventually falling. With his arms spread out he plunged into the cold waters and disappeared beneath the surface.

Syria

Aisha got into the getaway car, pulling Aladdin in by the arm; he was also being pushed in by Sayid. Across the distance, one of the snipers on the safe house's roof took a bullet in the head from Almasry who had taken position on the west of the highway, providing cover fire for the other three.

"Almasry, get in!" called Barnes as moved the car onto the highway asphalt, Almasry dropped the rifle and got up, climbed into the passenger's seat before Barnes sped off.

Sayid looked back at the safe house, the remaining Agents ran out of the house and into their cars to peruse them, their vehicles exploded upon ignition killing everybody inside, he sighed in relief as they seemed to be in the clear and only had to rendezvous with the Red October.

Gotham City, Maryland

Mona removed the safety pin on her gun as she saw a figure coming out of an ally, as it approached she realized it was Priest, he got into the passenger seat without saying a word and she drove off.

"You're soaking wet." said Mona.
"Had a dip."
"What happened?"
"There's this girl at the library who I thought I could buy a drink, but found me so repulsive that she called her cop daddy on me. I had to take her hostage and get to the bridge where I jumped into the river; from there I swam to here. That about covers it."

"You know, all this-"
"All this could've been avoided if had played it cool on the ship, I get it now. Jeez, just lay off, will ya? I'll lay low for a week till everything is quiet again."
"Will you?"
"Yeah, got a better idea?"

"I think it's about time you made a run for it?"
"And go where?"

"New York."
"New York?"

Mona smiled a sly smile and said, "Yes, New York."

"Well," said Priest as he reclined the seat and closed his eyes, "New York it is, then."

And so, out two protagonists head for the big apple to lay low for a while, whatever could happen next?

R&R.