Vinny wasn't quick or smooth enough to outrun Kimberly. When he dove for her legs, Kimberly jumped the opposite direction, flying over him towards the lamp she had deemed too loud.

He whipped his head around in confusion, finding a wonder in her agility. He was breathless, while she remained calm. Her exterior was rigid, hardened by the blood of those she's taken out. Her kill count was higher than his.

"Surprised?" Her lip quirked and his quickly turned into a snarl.

He reached for her again, this time releasing a growl from the pit of his lungs. She used her flexibility to come around him, effortlessly tying the cord of the lamp around his neck and pulled back.

He was strong, but she was stronger. His body flipped around in a fury, leaving Kimberly straddling his chest, pulling harder at the tightening cord. There was something disgustingly intimate about watching someone die. She never did. She couldn't. Somewhere in the void was the child in her. The one that protected everyone, even those that didn't deserve it. That Kimberly Hart cried out to stop.

The panic in his eyes matched her own, her breath hitching as the color left his face.

This wasn't right. This wasn't right. This wasn't right.

She was continuing to be the monster that Promethea built. This wasn't what she wanted for herself. She didn't want to continue being the faceless assassin that took out the ones everyone most feared.

Her mind was clouded by her thoughts. By the regrets of her past. He couldn't be another name checked off her list of men to kill. Not having a clear head was her downfall and Vinny took notice. Somewhere between grasping for a heartbeat and a breath, he fought back, flipping her over so that she was pinned under him.

She gasped when his fingers curled around her neck, her legs kicking desperately under him.

She almost didn't fight back. This is where it should end. She needed to rest and eternity in the darkness seemed tempting. No more pain, no more sorrow, no longer being weaponized.

But Tommy's smile came into focus behind her watery eyes. Vinny gripped harder, his teeth bearing as Kimberly's head rattled back against the floor.

The darkness was coming, but she pushed to stay conscious. The tips of her fingers reached out to the base of the curtain to her right, the sheer fabric swaying just barely out of her grasp. A second later, she reached it and gripped at the cotton, ripping the curtain from the rod. The falling debris created a break in his concentration, startling him long enough for her to break from his grip. Her fist made contact with his nose and the sound of it cracking pinged in her ear.

Vinny fell back, his face masked in blood as the excruciating pain consumed him. This only enraged him further.

Kimberly coughed profusely as she fought both to clear her lungs and to fill them with oxygen. Her body had lost some of that fire, but her training came back.

Breathe. Focus. Fight.

When he reached for her for the third time, she reached behind her for the telephone on the nightstand, throwing the hard plastic against his face.

He groaned behind the pain, falling back onto the floor.

Just like she had done earlier, she straddled him again, but this time she held his arms against his sides, right under her legs. Again she brought the phone to his face, slamming it against the bones of his cheeks.

Her chin trembled as his blood splashed on her face in little specks.

I'm sorry.

Again the phone fell, this time smashing against his nose.

I'm so sorry.

Her movements came quicker, each downward thrust crushing his face further. The bones cracked each time the phone made contact.

Her tears continued to fall, her lungs releasing a grunt each time her hands came down. Her perfect life had been ripped from her and this was her final release. It was Grace Sterling under her, Mike, Jerry, Raf— all the assholes that kept her chained to this life.

The strip clubs were flooded with agents. It was how they were able to remain undercover. The rich and powerful frequented these areas and befriended their favorite dancers, or agents, in most cases. Promethea had stations everywhere, which is how Kimberly landed in Vegas. It was far enough to where no one would know her, but close enough to the border of Mexico that she could plot her escape.

The other agents in the club knew of her plan to break free. It would have all gone according to plan if Tommy hadn't shown up. Seeing him again rattled her. Then the phone call from Grace came in while they were in his suite.

"He's getting married," Grace had whispered in her ear. "Stop his wedding at all costs."

Grace never did give more information. If it didn't make a difference, Kimberly didn't need to know.

Her mission was to stop his wedding and she certainly did. Prolonged it, at least. She didn't know why, but when she found out it was to Katherine, it all made sense.

Kimberly wasn't the only one harboring secrets. Katherine was the slimiest one of all. Tommy didn't know a thing about the woman he was marrying.

Vinny's face was unrecognizable of something human.

He needed one more blow to the face to end things. It would be giving him mercy at this point.

She held the phone high above her as she stared down at him, her teeth grinding. Her heart quaked, her lips trembled, her breathing stilled.

She brought the phone down one last time in a sobbed grunt but stopped it short of making contact.

She couldn't do it.

Her tears came uncontrollably. Without another thought, she threw the phone against the wall as she fell back, her sobs overpowering her. She was bathed in his blood, but she could still hear the gurgles of his breathing. He was alive, but for how much longer?

"KIM!" Came from a pounding against the door. It was Tommy's voice. He'd found her and now he was going to walk into a destroyed room with a man that was barely hanging to life. He couldn't see her like this.

"Kimberly!" He yelled again. She heard the cracking of the door frame as he fought to push himself in.

"Open the door!" He tried again, banging harder against the entrance.

She didn't have enough time to react before he broke through the door, the five other guys trailing behind him.

He scanned the room quickly, but when his eyes landed on Kimberly on the floor, he made an immediate sprint towards her.

"Kim?" He said, almost afraid to touch her. He wasn't sure who's blood was on her. Was she hurt? Was she bleeding?

"I'm sorry," her voice cracked.

She couldn't look him in the eye. She had spent so much time trying to forget him and having him be so close to her was unbearable. Everything that she had done was for him and he didn't even know.

It was always down to Tommy and Kimberly. When Kimberly was initially recruited, she was given the option to go back to Angel Grove, to return to her old life. Nothing was as simple when it came to Grace, though. If Kimberly rejected the offer to join Promethea, they would go for their next recruit, Tommy.

There would be no option for him. Knowing what life he would have, she decided to stay and go through with her enlistment, giving Tommy the option to live his life. It worked. He went to college, he fell in love, he was getting married. It was everything that she wanted for him.

It was the sacrifice that he never knew. Always for him.

Jason came to her side next and Kimberly threw her arms around him, bringing him down to the floor with her.

Tommy stepped back, feeling a sting in his heart at the way she clung to Jason and not him.

None of it made sense.

She couldn't look at Tommy, she wouldn't dare stare at the hurt in his eyes.

"I know," he whispered in Kimberly's ear and she pulled him towards her tighter. Jason gently stroked the back of her head. Softly, he repeated, "I know."

Hours later, the seven former rangers huddled outside of the Hidden Jewel, which now made more sense to Jason than it did before.

Promethea had their own set of undercover agents that posed as police. They had cleaned up the scene at the Bellagio Suite and covered everything up with ease. Clearly, they couldn't have one of their best agents charged with assault, although she definitely had reason. When Grace got word of Kimberly's little scandal, she gave orders to destroy evidence. Vinny was alive and that reason alone was why they were able to get away without contacting the actual Las Vegas Police Department.

She would need to be relocated, or so Grace Sterling said. It had to be somewhere so different that she wouldn't be recognized, where personal matters wouldn't mingle with her work obligations. Putting Kimberly on Tommy's case was a mistake Grace couldn't do again.

A shower later, Kimberly had washed away all of the blood that had covered her. She had never used a phone as a weapon before. Since escaping the clutches of Promethea was now impossible, she knew the phone could come in handy again someday.

"You're done," Grace had told her in a debrief after her shower, "Say your goodbye's and report back to headquarters immediately. We'll put another agent on your case."

"10-4," Kimberly murmured back into her phone, her fingers crossed at her side.

This was her case. Her case! No one else would do it. She'd die finishing it.

Tommy stood out next to the busy road, the cars zooming past him offering some breeze. His phone had been blowing up for the past few hours. Katherine had been trying to reach him, his parents, Trini and Tanya, but he couldn't answer. He couldn't go through with the wedding. Not only was it legally impossible, he just didn't feel like playing along with the sick game everyone wanted him to.

Katherine tried to burrow her way into his heart like a parasite, but she failed time after time. He didn't love Katherine. He couldn't force himself to. It wasn't for a lack of effort because he tried. There were nights when he would lie in bed just trying to unlock the puzzle of his heart to let her in, but he couldn't. Kimberly held that place for him. It didn't matter that she had been gone for years or that the image in his head was still of her at seventeen. He loved her just as much as he did as a teenager. That never once faded.

She was so secretive about her past. He was married to her, but he knew nothing about her. She wouldn't say a thing. And the way she held on to Jason… it had him thinking the worst. Why him? Did something happen between them that he didn't know? Was Jason hiding secrets from him too? If he was being honest, that was the first thought he had when he saw them together on the viewing screen after Divatox had captured them. Jason never mentioned they were together or that they had kept in contact. Something just wasn't right, but no one was talking.

Seeing her in that hotel room, with blood covering every inch of her toned body had him seriously confused. She was tiny and she took a man down all by herself. It wasn't that he didn't think she could do it, but it was… strange. It was just way too much blood, and none of it seemed to be hers. How the hell did she get so good? What else could she do that he didn't know about?

"I guess this is it, Kim," Zack spoke up, wrapping an arm around Kimberly's shoulders.

Kimberly returned a small smile. "I think so. I'm sorry for dragging you guys along. I'm guessing I made Vegas memorable for you guys for the wrong reasons."

"Nah," Adam shook his head, "I did say we'd always be there for you, and I meant it."

He wrapped another arm around her before Rocky and Billy added in on the huddle. That only left Jason and Tommy who seemed to want to be as far apart as any enemies.

Seeing them so distant had Kimberly chewing on the inside of her cheek. She knew Tommy was thinking that something had been going on with Jason, but that wasn't the case at all. In fact, she hadn't seen Jason since she had last seen Tommy. Now she was creating a ridge in their friendship and she hated that. She couldn't tell him why, but maybe she could settle his thoughts and then leave him for good. There was no future together. That simply didn't exist. She was a ghost and that's how she would have to be for the rest of her miserable, lonely life.

"Hey," Kimberly started towards Tommy, watching him fixed on the road.

She heard him clear his throat before facing her, "Hey."

There was such a piercing silence between the two. One that hadn't been there before, not even when she had first seen him tied to the chair.

She didn't have enough time left. Grace was sending someone to fly her back to San Fransisco. She couldn't let the silence between them linger for too long.

"It's not what you think, you know," She said, "About me and Jason. It's not like that."

"What am I thinking?" He returned, and the pain in his eyes was something she wished she hadn't seen. "That something is going on with you guys? Because I wasn't sure until I saw you clinging on to him and not me."

She sighed, her eyes averted. "I'm sorry, but there's so much that you don't know about me."

"Then tell me," He moved one step forward and she took a solid step back. "Tell me the truth."

"I can't," She felt the tears prick her eyes. "I wish I could, but I can't. You won't be safe. You have to go back to your life and forget about me."

"How?" He reached for her and to his surprise, she didn't pull away, "How can I forget about you?"

His touch was warm, like the night in summer.

"I don't know," Her voice quivered, "I've never been good at doing that."

His heart cried out to kiss her. To run away together where no one would find them.

"Then leave with me," He forced himself to be brave. To say the words that no one expected him to say.

The first tear fell from her eyes and Tommy quickly brushed it away, stroking the softness of her cheek.

"You have other responsibilities, Tommy. You can't run away from that. Your parents—"

He shook his head, ignoring the stares from his groomsmen, "I'm not doing this because it's the right thing for anyone else. I'm doing this because it's the right thing for me. For once in my life, I don't want to do what is asked of me, or what's expected of me, or even what I've promised. Fuck anyone's expectations. I want to be selfish, I want to think with my heart instead of what's in my head or what's being whispered in my ear. I want this. I want you."

"We can't," She tried to look away, but he held her in place.

"Why?" He pleaded.

"Because you don't know me," She found the strength to brush him off, "You haven't seen me in years, and all of a sudden you think we can be together? Are you insane? Listen to yourself. There is no future with me."

He couldn't understand why. Was it because of what she did for work? Was it because her life turned into the complete opposite of what she thought it would be? That didn't matter to him. They'd pick up and start a life somewhere else. Somewhere that could be different. She was all that mattered.

"Because of the club? Do you think I care? I don't."

It was so much more than that.

"All I care about is what I'm feeling inside, in my heart. And that's you, Kim. It's always been you."

Her tears fell two at a time and she struggled to keep her composure. Her training went out the window when she was with him. In his arms, she was sixteen-year-old Kimberly Hart.

He couldn't leave. Not like this. He was never the best when it came to his words. Tommy liked to think of himself as a man that could express his feelings in a more physical aspect, which is why he pulled Kimberly towards him.

She didn't have time to respond to his soft lips against hers. She couldn't push him away, not like she wanted to, or tried to. This was different than the one he had given her the night before. That one was an almost helpless kiss where he had been grasping for some whisper of reality. The one he had been giving her now was for a lost love.

Kimberly couldn't keep her emotions in check anymore, so she pushed him away as her heart broke.

"Stop," She whispered, "Please."

The longer she was in his arms, the more her mind tried to convince her to leave.

"No…" He brushed his nose against hers, "…even if it's goodbye."

Goodbye. That's all she could give him. The proper goodbye that was taken from her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck instinctively, pulling him down towards her. What else could he do but wrap his arms around her slim waist, crushing her to him.

He'd leave with her that moment if she asked him to. All she had to do was ask him to stay. He wouldn't look back or give it a second thought. He honestly didn't even care if Katherine found out. All that mattered was Kimberly and the way she made him feel. That's what he wanted to hold on to. He'd tell Katherine everything if he needed to. He didn't care about hurting feelings or her raging migraines.

"Go," She told him, "Go back to your life."

The life you still think you have… even if it's for twenty more minutes and you hate me forever.

"What am I supposed to do?"

It didn't matter what she was feeling. Things would never be the same. The marriage with Katherine wasn't happening, no matter what Kat thought. She wouldn't win.

"Be happy," Kimberly replied.

Find the right person… because it's not me and it's definitely not Katherine.

Tommy didn't give up easily, but what else could he do? Kimberly wasn't winning this. He'd go back to his room, meet Katherine, call it off with her, and find Kimberly. He'd found her once and he'd find her again.

With a silent promise to himself that he'd be back, he turned on his heels and walked towards his hotel room. Katherine would be waiting and he had a lot to say.

Kimberly's eyes trembled close, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks as she watched Tommy walk away. It was so much easier to leave than to watch him go.

"I figured out what was different about you," Jason said, coming up behind her.

Kimberly smiled lightly, "Yeah? I'm surprised it took you this long."

Jason looked down, placing his hands at his waist. Tommy's image was becoming smaller by the second and he could feel the pain radiating from Kimberly as she held his image.

"You don't have to choose this life, you know," He told her.

Kimberly shook her head, "I don't see a way out."

He'd been there before. His contract only needed him for a year. It was an adventure for three hundred and sixty-five days, but he knew when his time was up. To Jason, being with Promethea was like any branch in the military. You do your enlistment, ride out your contract, and when times up, you either stay or go.

"Why? You're not forced into this. You're choosing to stay."

If only it were that easy.

"Grace isn't letting me go," She told him softly, finally turning to look at him. Tommy had already disappeared into the curve of the horizon. "I've asked to be released and there's no end in sight."

His brows furrowed, "You need help getting out?"

Just like Tommy, Jason was always there to lend a helping hand. The thought that he could help was funny to Kimberly. There was no escaping.

Kimberly shook her head and made her way back inside the club. Jason followed closely behind. He wasn't done having this conversation, but Kimberly clearly was.

"I'm not dragging you down with me," she told him as she opened the locker in her dressing room. She furiously threw her stuff into a bag. All that she owned lived in that bag. It made it easy for her to pick up and leave.

"Maybe there's another way," He tried.

"How?"

He thought about it for a moment, but then turned serious, "You stop asking to be set free and you just take your freedom."

"It's not so easy," She felt helpless, "The more I think about it the more it makes sense to stay in this life. There's nothing out there for me. I don't know how to do anything else."

"I was there once too, Kim… but look at me now… I'm gonna be a dad," He let smile return for a second. "It's not too late."

The hurt returned. There was so much Kimberly still didn't know. Jason was with Trini? How did that happen? She knew Trini had a crush on Jason since the fourth grade, but she was never there to see that relationship blossom. Now Trini was pregnant and she and Kimberly were strangers. Trini was clearly close to Katherine now and that burned. Katherine stole the life that Kimberly wanted.

"Are you sure about that?"

"What do you want out of your life Kim?This?" He gestured towards the club. " or Tommy?"

"Tommy and I would never work. And I can't tell him why!" She felt the tears sting again.

"Why?" He asked louder, and the other guys tried to not listen in. "What else do you have to lose? Tell him."

Somehow she knew Jason was right, but the voice in the back of her head said otherwise. It sounded a lot like Grace Sterling.

"Are you really going to just let him marry Kat?"

Just her name alone had Kimberly steaming.

"That's not happening." Kimberly returned tightly and Jason chuckled at the jealously dripping from her voice.

"Why? What's to stop them after you get this annulled." Why did it just occur to him? "…Somethings not right with Kat, is there?"

She swallowed, "No.."

Jason felt the tremble in his hand as he reached for Kimberly.

"Tommy's meeting Katherine in his room right now."

"What?" That's not right. He was supposed to meet her at the church, with a room full of witnesses. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. "Jase, Tommy can't be alone with her."

The panic had consumed him as well, "Why?"

"No time to explain," Kimberly shook her head. Her plan was derailing. She slammed the door to her locker, brushing past everyone in sight. "Get Tiffany, tell her station six, and take her to the suite. She knows exactly what to do."

"Kim!" Jason bellowed, but she had already raced out the door.

This is all my fault.

Kimberly felt the world around her collapsing as her feet made contact with the hard floor. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Katherine wasn't supposed to meet him in private.

Kimberly pushed herself harder, her heart burning against her rib cage.

She once knew Katherine Hillard. Semi-sweet Australian with legs for days. Kimberly couldn't deny the fact that Katherine was attractive and that she wanted Tommy for herself. However, she had never been a threat to her. It was what it was. Kimberly figured that they would start dating once she broke it off to join Promethea, which is why it wasn't that surprising to see them together in Muranthias. Didn't mean it didn't hurt when she threw her arms around Tommy… or rubbed it in her face that they were together.

Caesar's Palace came into view and Kimberly noted the number of windows to the floor of Tommy's suite. The elevator would take too long. She needed stairs.

Kimberly's adrenaline was flooding inside of her. Even a bullet to her chest wouldn't be able to stop her.

Tommy didn't think too hard on his walk back to his suite. He knew just what he was going to say. He didn't want to sugar coat it or make Katherine believe that there could ever be a chance of them being together. He was done lying to himself and everyone around him.

She would understand someday. People would talk, his parents would be heartbroken, Katherine would hate him, but he didn't really care. He was following something so much bigger than what people thought of him.

He was surprised to see Katherine waiting for him in his room already. He hadn't told her what time to meet him, but seeing as how their wedding would have been in a little under two hours, he supposed it made sense. He should have been getting ready, not in a desperate need of a shower, and the fresh taste of Kimberly on his lips.

"Hi," Katherine said, patting down her puffy wedding gown.

It was… a lot. It wasn't that she looked bad… it just wasn't Tommy's taste. Just like the fucking gaudy hotel room, so was Katherine. It screamed 'look at me—I'm getting married!'

"Wow," He cleared his throat. She was expecting a compliment. "That's… some dress."

"You like it?" She twirled around, the heap of tulle swaying with her

He was careful with his words, "It suits you."

She smiled in return and then took his hands in hers and led him to the couch in the sitting room.

He had to say it now and face the consequences.

"Kat," he started. "Something happened last night."

"Yeah?" She said, tilting her head. "like what?"

Like, I ran into Kimberly last night and I got married.

He didn't have the time to say what he wanted to say. Katherine's eyes grew wide and in their reflection, he saw Kimberly.

He smiled thinking she had changed her mind, but when he turned, he found her with a handgun drawn and pointing directly at his fiancé.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Katherine looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Kim?" Tommy said as he stood up, placing a mediating hand out.

Kimberly ignored him, her eyes pinned solely on the blonde wearing a dress shaped like a cupcake. She almost laughed.

"This is agent K," Kimberly spoke into her earpiece. "I have eyes on the target. Permission to fire?"

Tommy felt the air leave his lungs, his eyes searching hers for an explanation. What. The. Fuck.

Kimberly's arms remained straight out as the grip around her pistol tightened.

Katherine's eyes narrowed on the ring sitting on Kimberly's finger and then the one on Tommy's. How had she not noticed it before?

A smile curved up Kimberly's lips as her heartbeat hummed.

"Hi, honey," Kimberly's gaze flashed to Tommy for a moment, "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Author note: Up next! The conclusion! See you next time!