A/N: Can I just say that your reviews are so very kind even though they're just a few. To those following and putting this story to their favorites, thank you so much! You guys mean so much to me and this means a whole lot to me as well!

Anyway, here we go!


After Faisal is taken into an ambulance, Phil exits the van and sees Hart is all geared up. Hart takes out a map and shows it to Phil. "The warehouse connects directly to the market. Once they holed up inside, my men cut off both exits... the alley and the market entrance."

"It's a rat's nest in there." Phil comments. Melinda walks over them.

"Coulson, we I.D.'d Belyakov's friends, local militia street gang, basically," Melinda gestures over to the warehouse. "That's their stronghold."

"Okay, I'm gonna call Agent O'Brien, see if they'll negotiate." Phil takes out his cellphone and dials O'Brien. After several rings, the phone is picked up. "O'Brien, is that you?" Phil asks.

"Leave us alone." was the reply. Melinda gives Phil a confused look but Phil keeps on talking. "Can you talk? Are they making demands? Put me on with Belyakov."

"Just leave us alone." O'Brien replies, firmer this time, and they hear a click.

Phil looks at Melinda. "'Leave us alone'?"

"Is he trying to warn us away, or…"

"We tried it the nice way. It's time for my team to do its job." Melinda's expression tenses as he watches Hart. She is skeptical about this. "Let's move out!" Hart's team follows him and Phil and Melinda watch them.

Melinda looks at Coulson and whispers in a low voice. "I should go in."

"Let them do their thing." Phil says, not looking at Melinda. "Now we find out what kind of monster we're dealing with." The two walk back in the van and prepare the equipment they have. They have the screen overviewing thermal activity inside the warehouse and talkies for them to communicate with the agents inside, most specifically Hart.

All things seem to go well, but then a gunfire is heard. "We're taking hits downstairs!" a voice of one of the agents call out.

"We've got civilians here. I see the little girl, she's alive!"

"Friendly fire, friendly fire!"

"All agents disengage, disengage!"

Phil grabs his talkie, not taking his eyes off the screen tracker. "Hart, come in." There is silence and feedback. "Bravo, come in." Same. "All operators, check in." Still the same.

"What was that? Were they taken out? Did they take themselves out?" Melinda asks, still looking at the screen, as if the screen will give her some answers. Phil shakes his head. "What about the little girl?"

"I don't know, but I have to call it in," Phil says. Melinda looks at him worriedly. "That building just swallowed 12 agents in a minute."

"We're alone on this." Melinda says in a low voice, realising what just happened.

"I'm calling the government, see if I can get emergency backup." Phil says, picking his phone up.

"Coulson, let me in. I can get them out." Melinda tells him. "I can do this, Phil."

Phil looks at Melinda, his eyes soft. "I know you can, but…Sir! There are multiple hostages, our whole damn tactical team. We need emergency backup 10 minutes ago."

"Tell them to send me in. I can fix the problem." Melinda says, her teeth grit. Phil looks at her.

"I strongly advise sending our specialist inside, Agent May," There is a pause. "No. There are agents inside. There's no time to wait." Phil sighs. "Yes, sir. Yes, sir."

Phil puts his phone down. "Yay for red tape. They want us to wait."

"For how long?" Melinda asks, too tired for the delay. She can get the whole team out and she knows it.

"The Bahrainis are pissed. I think they're about two inches from bombing the building and calling it a night." Phil tells her.

"If they go in, it's gonna be an assault. People will die. I can do this. It's all about slipping in and pulling them out." Melinda frustratedly explains.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is not authorised for any action." Phil replies. They both hear sirens from outside. Phil looks at Melinda and sighs. "Go." Melinda quickly hops off the van and runs to the direction of the warehouse.

Melinda reaches the back of the warehouse and stops as she takes a deep breath. She's got a bad feeling about this. She's got a bad feeling that she may never make it. It's like any other mission, sure, but this feels different. Something about this op feels different. She takes her phone out and dials Andrew's number. After a few rings, she hears Andrew's voice. "Hon? What's wrong?" She sighs in relief to hear his voice.

"We're going off book here... hostage situation, our guys inside." Melinda explains to him.

"You're going in alone?" Melinda can hear the reservations in Andrew's voice. "Babe…"

Melinda sighs. "Drew, they have a little girl."

"Okay." Andrew sighs. "You've done this before. You always come home. Hey... she's gonna be scared. Take a knee. Get down to her level. It'll help. If not, then just grab her and run like hell."

Melinda smiles. "Thanks."

"Do good, Melinda, but come home," Andrew tells her. "I love you."

"Love you, too." she replies. She hangs up and puts back her phone as she jumps up to the nearest possible entryway and into the warehouse.

Melinda takes down the agents she sees in the entrance, putting them down as silently as possible so easily and so gracefully with her bare hands. She's not used to handling weapons, and she doesn't plan to be so comfortable with using weapons against enemies. She's more comfortable using her hands.

She tries her comms. "Coulson, you read?" But she hears only feedback and static. She opens a door and sees her commander, staring at space. She approaches quietly.

"Agent Hart," she whispers. "Hart, it's Agent May. We need to go now. It's dangerous out there." Hart does not respond to her and she frowns. "Are you okay?"

Hart looks at her in the eyes. "No, I need your pain." Hart shifts and readies his gun when Melinda pins him on the wall, and takes his gun away from him.

"What the hell are you doing, sir?" Melinda grits her teeth, trying to knock some sense into her commander who continues to look straight at her blankly. "We have to go."

"I need your pain."

"I need your pain."

"I need your pain."

Melinda looks around and sees the tactical team all saying the same things as Hart. They start preparing for their guns and start training their guns at Melinda. Melinda looks back at Hart.

"Belyakov is controlling you, Hart, that woman is controlling you." Still no use.

"I want your pain."

Melinda grunts and takes them out, knowing that these people are not her team as of now. They are being controlled by a gifted. She exits the door and secures it with a belt from Hart. She exhales sharply. "I've got to take her out."

She takes the stairs, taking down locals against her will. She's focused on finding Eva. She knocks a man against the door which leads to another room. She hears someone behind her speak in a Russian accent, "I will feel your pain." She turns and sees Eva, and before she can react, Eva throws her into the other side of the room.

"Coulson's not lying," she mutters. "She's strong." She groans as she tries stands up.

"I feel all their pain. And I grow stronger." Eva grabs a chandelier and drags it. Melinda is kneeling when she sees the little girl whom she saw earlier. The little girl looks frightened, and all Melinda wanted to do is grab her and get her out of the mess.

"Stay back, honey. I'll get you out of here. It's gonna be all right." Melinda assures the little girl. Her head is throbbing but she's willing to give anything to save the little girl and her team upstairs. The little girl hides back.

"I've had their pain. Now give me yours." Eva says, getting nearer and nearer Melinda. She stands up and faces Eva with a smirk.

"Come on. I've got plenty to share."

Melinda fights. It's an easy fight for her. The men Eva is controlling are not as strong and swift as Melinda is, and Melinda is confident enough to take Eva down. "Feel enough pain yet? Let everyone go, and this can end."

"No, I want more." Eva says. They fight, and even Melinda must admit it's a hard fight against Eva's strength and a shot leg. She screams in pain but continues to fight, with one goal to cross Eva off and let everyone go. With the pole in her hands, she stabbed Eva's stomach and Eva's body fell down on the ground.

Melinda thinks it's over. Melinda thinks the mission is done, that everyone will snap out of it. She falls against her side, feeling the pain of her shot leg, when she sees the same gang approaching her. She looks at Eva's dead body and back at the group.

"She's dead. Snap out of it." she shouts at the group.

"I like the pain," the girl emerges from her hiding place, glaring at Melinda. Melinda's eyes widen. The girl raises her right hand, and the man in front fell on the ground. "You killed mother, and now there is so much pain." The girl raises both her hands to the direction of the two men behind her and they fall as well. Melinda trudges backwards away from the girl.

"I like all their pain." The girl's expression changes to sadness, her eyes pleading. "I'm scared. I want to leave. Please, take my hand." Her right hand reaches out to Melinda, as her other hand waves off other people who come in.

The girl looks at her left and Melinda sees her whole tactical team. Melinda shakes her head. "No. Not them. Let them go. We can fix you. We can help. Just don't." Melinda continues to move backwards slowly, dragging her body away from the girl.

The girl smiles at Melinda as she continues to walk towards Melinda. "Take my hand. Give me your pain. I need a new mother. I'll take your pain."

Melinda stops when she feels a gun on the floor. Her heart starts to beat fast. It's the only way. She did say earlier she was going to take her out. She just didn't know it was the little girl, and not Eva. She had to make a choice. She had to make the right choice for her people. "Stop. Don't... just put your hand down and stop." The girl frowns at her and Melinda gets hold of the gun in her hand.

"Everything's gonna be all right." Melinda says, holding the gun and pulling the trigger, sending the girl on the ground as Melinda catches the small falling body of the little girl, whom for a moment she thought of as her own daughter and as her future daughter.

She doesn't think she can have either after what she has done.