Syed was doing exactly what he'd been told to do. He was sitting in the unmarked black car that was behind about two others, as out of sight as they thought they could be. He kept fidgeting and rubbing his sweaty palms on his legs as he listened in to exchanges on the radio.

He'd been told to stay there unless he was asked for and that would probably be unlikely to happen.

He was glad to be there though, in any capacity.

In his mind he'd run through so many outcomes where he would get out of the car and run to hug Christian as he carried Kamil out of the abandoned building. He'd even considered a situation where he'd be called upon to talk to those inside and he could come up with something that would either make Alec let them go or distract him long enough to let the police storm the building and bring everyone out safely. One thing he refused to consider was an ending whereby he lost someone important to him due to the whims of a psychopath.

He had begun to worry when a voice came on the radio to say they'd seen Alec at the window and believed they'd been spotted. He'd immediately worried for Christian and Kamil's safety. What would Alec do, knowing that they'd been discovered and there was no way out?

He kept peering out of the windshield anxiously, moving his head to try to get a better look despite there not being one, and eventually he had to sit on his hands to still them. Suddenly he heard a loud bang resound around him and shouts on the radio of 'shots fired!'

It was in that moment that Jack's words came back to him. He could hear them clearly in his head, telling him to stay in the car no matter what. And he ignored them. He pushed the door open with more force than necessary, stumbling as he clambered out. As he ran past one of the other cars there were hands pulling him back, not letting him continue despite his pulls for them to let go.

He fought to get closer, to run straight in the door he could see in front of them. As he shouted and pleaded for them to let him go he knew this was the darkest moment he had ever faced, and he prayed that Allah protect his brother and Christian. If he did not, he feared he would lose his faith altogether.

"Let me go!" He pushed at the hand on his arm but it was no good, and he found himself being shoved hard against a car bonnet and then bundled into the passenger seat with the door closed behind him.

"Stay in there!" He was ordered, and he gave in. He leaned forward, his head hitting the dashboard, unable to look. He wouldn't look until he knew that the sight coming out of the building was the one he envisioned in his head - the one he prayed for.

Christian twisted his body in a natural reaction to try to protect himself and cushion his fall as he held Kamil close to him. He turned as he hit the hard concrete and his shoulder banged against the ground painfully. He then did his best to shield Kamil, should Alec let the gun go off again, but instead the first gunshot echoed into silence.

He didn't know what to do as he scrunched his eyes shut and listened as Kamil bawled loudly in his ear. He opened his eyes to see the bottom of a chair and the peeled paint of a skirting board but his vision swam as he tried to take stock of what had just happened.

The idea of the gun going off had seemed so difficult to fathom, and for several long seconds he couldn't take it in, but then like lightning hitting, he knew it had been aimed at him and the trigger pulled. Alec had shot him.

Alec had shot him?

Wait.

His shoulder was throbbing in pain from where he'd landed but he didn't feel anything else. He scrambled to find protection and pulled Kamil with him to the wall, leaning against it and using the chair as flimsy camouflage as he glanced down his body to look for blood, while mentally taking stock that he could still move everything in his body. He felt for his head but despite his worries there was nothing there. He looked at his arm and saw where his clothing had been ripped and what looked like drops of blood starting to trickle down his bicep. He sighed with relief, realising that the bullet had grazed him as he'd fallen and if there wasn't a God then he was one lucky bastard.

He looked around them as he rocked Kamil in his arms, trying to pinpoint Alec.

He heard a muffled, frustrated groan above the din of shouting outside at what seemed to be the back of the building, and a door being rammed. There were shouts from police officers and then the door beside him opened with a bang and he pulled his legs up to make himself smaller, not wanting to be attacked or trampled on.

He watched as Alec looked up in fear, shouting "No," over and over before backing up and running into the back room, followed by several police officers who were ordering him to lower his weapon, to stand down, to put his hands up, and other phrases so commonly seen on television shows that Christian almost felt like he were sitting on his own living room sofa watching the events unfold. The disjointed feeling continued as he then heard another shot ring out, followed by another. His eyes blinked at the surprise of hearing them and the sounds of feet running in the distance then also became the sound of softer treads coming closer to him, and a figure crouched beside him.

"Mr Clarke?"

"Yeah," he breathed; it was all he could manage.

"Are you injured?"

"Ah, I'm fine," he answered, on autopilot more than anything else.

"The baby?"

"He's fine, I tried to make sure he didn't... uhm... he's crying, I'm trying to stop him crying, it's loud, it's scaring him." He knew he was babbling but despite his dry and tired throat he just wanted to fill the silence.

"Let's get you out of here." An arm went to his shoulder and he cringed but didn't let it show. The officer took note of the blood but seemed to let it pass until he helped Christian to his feet, and then his hand went to the radio on his shoulder and pressed the button. "They're alright, but bring the paramedics." He looked around himself and received nods from other officers before speaking again. "Building is secure; you can let Mr Masood come up."

Christian frowned. "Masood is here?"

"He insisted." The officer led him outside.

"What about Alec? What's happened to him?"

"Officers are in pursuit."

"He got out? There's so many of you, he got out?"

"Don't worry, they'll catch him."

Christian squinted at the sunlight as he emerged from the building and then he heard the shriek of his name and looked up to see Syed by a car, and as their eyes locked, he stopped in his tracks at the surprise. Syed began walking towards him, looking unsteady on his feet but quickly enough he jogged up to him and threw his arms around Christian's neck, being careful of Kamil as he did so.

"Christian." It was all he said and it was all Christian needed to hear. Just by hearing the relief in Syed's voice, he knew exactly what was meant with that one word, as Syed buried his face in Christian's neck.