Elvis pulled the car into the front of the hospital, the tyres screeching as he took the corner. He wasn't wasting any time braking. He was out of the car and running, Charles and Georgie close behind him, the second he spotted the rest of his special forces team kitting up ready to go in. A police officer had tried to stop him just before he got there and he'd very nearly lost his temper, thankfully one of the boys had waved him through before he'd done something stupid. He'd already strapped himself into his vest by the time Charles and Georgie caught up. There was a hive of activity behind them as people got ready for what was about to come.

"You're not going in there." Elvis shook his head. He could see from the look on Charles's face what he was thinking.

"I can help!" Charles argued.

Elvis shook his head. "We've been preparing for this for weeks. Let us do our jobs." He reminded his friend. It wasn't strictly speaking true- they hadn't prepared for this exact situation because they hadn't known it was coming, but they had been preparing for something similar and right now that was going to have to do.

Charles looked like he was going to argue for a moment, but Georgie put a hand on his arm and steered him away.

"Right boys, on me." Elvis barked, checking his radio was working. He was just thankful that they'd been on standby and ready to go, he didn't want to waste a second. "This isn't ideal, it's all gone pete tong fellas, we haven't had time to prepare and we've got no idea who is in there and what they're planning. Stay safe okay?" They all nodded, pulling on their helmets, goggles and balaclavas, their fingers by the triggers of their guns ready.

He was caught on the way to the door by a policeman, who quickly removed his hand after Elvis glared at him. "What do you think you're doing?" The Officer asked. "You can't go in there!"

"Captain Harte, Special forces." Elvis told him impatiently, still edging towards the door. "We've been leading the operation on this. No one goes in without my say so. Get your boys on the door ready for anyone we send out."

They didn't hang around to see what his reply was, Elvis waved them all forward and they crept towards the entrance. They were all aware that time wasn't on their side with this one.

The glass of the front doors was smashed and crunched under their feet as they made their way through into the deserted reception area. On the signal from Elvis they split, peeling off in two directions to clear the place. It was painfully slow progress, checking each nook and cranny to make sure they hadn't missed anyone. They'd found quite a few people hiding, one group had looked at him in terror as he'd pulled open the door of the supply cupboard they'd been hiding in. He'd ushered them out silently, and they'd sprinted for the exit after a moment's hesitation, Elvis had carried on moving forward conscious of the fact they still hadn't found Molly.

"Two insurgents dead boss. We've cleared the staff room and the cubicles." Elvis heard in his ear.

"Roger that." He answered quietly. They carried on moving forwards towards the doors that led through to the resus, the other boys slotted in behind as they made their way around the other side of the nurses station, crouched low as they headed for the doors. They paused either side, all looking at Elvis for the signal to move. They knew that the rest of the insurgents had to be behind these doors, they'd cleared the rest of the building, they just didn't know who else might be in there with them. Elvis counted them down silently on his fingers.

Three

Two

One

They burst through the doors, coming face to face with another three insurgents who went running for cover as they saw them come in. Elvis scanned the room, looking for Molly, as they crept forward again. He couldn't let it distract him, they still had a job to finish.

The first shot came out of nowhere, none of them had spotted the guy lying on the floor hidden by one of the beds. There were two shots quickly fired in return and then he laid motionless on the ground. One down, two to go.

He hadn't paid much attention when he'd come to get the keys from Molly to just how complicated this bloody place was. It was a maze of corridors, dead ends and hiding places that made it a complete nightmare for anything like this.

Another poorly aimed shot flew past him, shattering the glass of the windows behind him this time. He heard someone hiss in pain to his left and he rushed around the other side of the shelves, only to find Molly on the other end of his gun.

"Oh thank fuck." He breathed. "Is there anyone else in here?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so." She whispered. She couldn't believe how relieved she felt seeing him.

"Stay here." He was gone again. She could just she the soles of his shoes around the other side of the shelves she was hiding behind. She glanced down at her arm which was bleeding where a couple of the splinters of glass had hit her.

Another shot came flying in their direction, this time from behind the door of the storage cupboard. Elvis ducked down trying to find some cover. The door was pushed open and he seized the opportunity to take his shot. He heard another shot to his right and saw another insurgent drop to the floor. Another shot flew past from the direction of the cupboard and he turned his full attention back to that. They'd got him outnumbered, it was only a matter of time before they got him, or maybe even in an ideal world he'd surrender, but there was still the chance one of them would get hurt in the meantime.

"Has anyone got a clear shot?" He murmured into the radio.

"Negative." Came the response. They all shifted positions slightly, trying to keep themselves covered and get a slightly better shot at the same time.

It all happened so quickly it barely registered in his head what had happened. As the door opened he'd finally had a clear shot, but as he'd pulled the trigger things seemed to end up in slow motion, the man he'd just shot at turning and pulling a woman in front of him and straight into the path of the bullet.

Elvis only realised as he watched her fall to the ground, blood pouring from her neck that it was Molly's friend Jess. Someone fired another shot, which sent the man who'd held her staggering backwards and then to the floor, but Elvis was still rooted to the spot watching in horror. Molly had appeared from somewhere, her hands turning red as she knelt in the pool of blood forming around her friend, frantically trying to stem the bleeding.

He was vaguely aware of the fact he should be helping his team as they checked that they'd successfully cleared the room, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Molly. All he could see was the blood pooling on the floor.

"It's okay, you're going to be fine." Molly repeated, choking back a sob. "You've got that hot date to go on, remember?" She wasn't sure that Jess could hear her. She was gasping for breath and blood was pouring out all over the floor despite her best efforts. "Someone help me!" She screamed.

One of Elvis's team finally came to her aid, scooping Jess up and lifting her onto an empty bed.

"Just stay with me, it's all going to be okay." She pleaded. "I need you to go and get me some help in here! Now!" She shouted, the desperation taking over. She couldn't move her finger, which was currently sort of plugging the hole in her friend's neck. She could see Jess fighting for every breath but she couldn't do anything without risking her bleeding out even more than she already was.

Georgie was at her side a minute later, and she'd never felt so relieved. She hadn't even seen her come in.

"What happened?" She asked, reaching behind Molly to grab some gauze.

"Gunshot wound to the neck. No exit wound." Molly told her quickly. "Ready? Pressure." She pulled her finger away as Georgie put pressure on the wound. Jess groaned in pain, then suddenly went quiet.

Molly reluctantly went to check for a pulse, trying to ignore the fact that she was soaked in her friends blood. "I've not got a pulse." She choked, starting CPR. "I need someone to bag her!"

"Spanner! Get over here!" Georgie shouted, she was relieved he did as he was told. "Push down on this." He took over from her, leaving her free to help Molly.

"Come on, please." Molly whispered, continuing with her CPR and quietly hoping for a miracle. "You don't get to fucking die on me."

Georgie glanced at her watch, trying to work out how long it had been. "Molly, I think you should stop." She suggested gently, she nodded at Spanner who removed his hands, glancing down at the blood that soaked them. Georgie stopped and took a step back, but Molly continued with her CPR anyway.

"You don't get to die on me Jess, please." She whispered, the tears running down her face and mixing with the blood that seemed to be smeared everywhere. "That bloody fireman is out there somewhere waiting for you."

Georgie shook her head slowly at Charles, who'd just come in behind them, he'd been outside ordering the police around, needing to feel like he was doing to something to help. He nodded in acknowledgement, and Georgie and Spanner backed away.

"Molly." He said gently, putting his hands on her arms. "She's gone. You need to stop."

"She can't." Molly cried, still frantically trying to bring her friend back, trying to think of something else they could try, she didn't want to have to admit they were out of options. "We can't just give up on her."

"Molly." Charles was firmer this time, his grip on her arms tightening and lifting her away from the bed, he knew there was no way she was going to come away willingly. He was no doctor but even he knew from the amount of blood that covered Molly and the floor this wasn't something her friend was going to come back from. The expression on her face told him she knew that too, but she didn't seem to be able to stop her hands from doing the compressions. If she stopped she was admitting Jess was gone and she was never going to be ready to do that. "She's gone Molly." His own voice cracked as he took in the look of despair on her face.

He held on tight as she fought against him, trying to fight her way back to Jess. She eventually stilled and her head sagged against his chest, a strangled sob escaping her lips. His arms went from restraining her to holding her up as she crumbled against him, he could feel the silent sobs that wracked her entire body as she fell apart.

"She wasn't even supposed to be here." She choked out, twisting her fingers into his jumper to try and hold herself up, her entire body leant against his and her head buried in his neck.

Elvis was still stood at the foot of the bed, watching in horror, unable to make himself move or even look away. Georgie put a firm hand on his shoulder, taking him by the hand and turning him around, guiding him towards the door. He followed her in a daze. She didn't stop pulling him along until they were outside, and even then he just stopped and stared at her as she reached up to pull his helmet and balaclava off, taking his gun out of his trembling hands. She reached up to undo his body armour and pulled it off him, he still didn't move or speak. She'd never seen him like this, it frightened her. She looked at him for a minute, trying to think of something to say- what was someone supposed to say in a situation like this?

"I killed her Georgie." He whispered in horror.