Roxy held up her hand and brought her pinky down first, counting down… once her thumb came down Kennedy kicked the door open and barged through, firing two shots. Ana entered after, moving her aim quickly to two other soldiers and took them down with ease – knowing their positions with the thermal option in her specs, Roxy and Eggsy following and taking down other soldiers further inside the room.

There was a beat as the men crumpled to the ground, and then muffled screaming filled the room.

They all turned their heads towards the sound to see a bound woman, her face bloodied and bruised, her clothes dirty and torn.

Ana rushed forward, bringing out her butterfly knife to carefully cut at the bind on the woman's mouth, with Roxy behind her cutting the ties to the chair.

"Holy fuck thank god," the woman gasped once Ana removed the gag, her body falling onto hers. She cried out in pain when she moved her arms and Ana shushed her.

"It's the blood rushing into your arms, that's the pain. You're okay. We've got you," she explained quickly.

The woman nodded, sobbing uncontrollably onto her shoulder before Ana felt the woman freeze.

"Thomas?" the woman asked.

There was a beat of silence and Ana stood, helping the woman stand up as well… following her gaze to Kennedy who stood at attention, staring back at the First Daughter.

"Scarlett."

"Thomas, it's really you?"

Kennedy only nodded, his eyes flitting around to the others and then back to her.

"Holy shit, you two know each other?" Ana said.

Kennedy, or Thomas, readjusted his grip on his weapon and then aimed at the two of them. Ana didn't feel fear, knowing his aim was a few inches off, but Scarlett let out a scream as Kennedy pulled the trigger. Ana looked over her shoulder to watch a man fall down. Roxy, weapon at the ready, walked the room to the other bodies on the floor, checking and making sure they were all down and not pretending.

"Let's go," Kennedy said, turning and walking out of the room. Eggsy came up to Ana and the First Daughter.

"Nice to meet ya, miss, if under such circumstances. Let's get ya outta here, alright?"

"British?" Scarlett whispered, seeming confused. As she would be – she was American 'royalty', why would a British agent be there?

"Long story, let's go," Ana said, putting Scarlett's arm over her shoulder, holding her as they left the room and through the halls of the small compound, following Kennedy.

That morning they had executed their plan with only one or two hitches.

After observing the patterns the day before, they took down the perimeter guards one by one, Roxy and Ana rushing to disable all of the vehicles except a Humvee, where they only disconnected the battery, as Eggsy and Kennedy moved to take down the men who came out to investigate why the others weren't reporting in. What they hadn't planned for was more men, unaccounted for during their observations, to come out after the first wave, but they were taken down by the others as Ana disabled the radio tower by cutting all of the wires she could reach on the metal tower. There was some climbing involved, but she didn't have to climb too high.

Thermal vision had showed many more men inside, but with the enemy comms disconnected, they took their time with eliminating the others one by one, section by section in the compound.

"Are they soldiers?" Roxy had asked after they'd cleared a floor and moved up metal stairs to the next.

"North Korea does have an army, but they're not wearing uniforms."

"Do they have their own agency, then?" Eggsy asked.

"Would be hard to keep an agency once it's agents learn of what the outside world is really like, right?" Ana had wondered aloud, "Fast food, movies, the internet, free speech,"

"Democracy," Kennedy interjected.

"That too," Ana had said with a smile before she fired the first shot down a hall filled with more men.

Roxy now held the door to the outside open as Ana and Scarlett moved through, taking the steps down slowly. Kennedy slammed the hood shut on the Humvee Roxy had saved for them and gave the two of them a long look before climbing into the driver's seat and turning the engine.

Roxy took over for Ana to help the First Daughter into the Humvee, Eggsy climbing into the back with them as Ana circled the back and climbed into the passenger seat.

As soon as she closed the door Kennedy hit the gas and they were off.

"What's the plan? Border or coast?" Ana asked, though she had a feeling what the answer would be.

"Coast. Border plan was never an option."

"What?!" Eggsy yelled out.

"Crossing one of the most controversial borders in global history while going undetected? We never had a chance," Kennedy said calmly, turning quickly to evade a small boulder. They were on rough, uneven terrain – no road to follow. "Giving you the semblance of a chance was the only way to help the mission."

Ana pulled out the DHM and turned it on, showing their location amongst the terrain, and she adjusted the views, checking their surroundings.

"First few rivers are shallow enough to drive through, we're good for a few miles."

"Copy, how's the target?"

"You know that's not my name!"

"Sorry about Mr. Grumpy Driver, Scarlett," Ana said, turning her head over her shoulder to glance at the backseat passengers, meeting Scarlett's gaze, "Hey, did you know that the DMZ is home to more than one hundred endangered and protected species?"

The woman's face twisted, as though confused as to what her reaction should be.

"You can be annoyed, Scarlett," Kennedy said, swerving the car around another boulder, catching a large rock on the left side, jostling them around in their seats, "it's usually the appropriate reaction when it comes to me."

"Kennedy, I'm living for these jokes right now!" Ana said, pointing out a large rock for him too maneuver around, "minus the surrounding circumstances."

"Enough!" Scarlett screamed.

The car fell silent, as Kennedy drove through a shallow river, jostling them somewhat.

"Okay," Scarlett continued, letting out a breath, knowing that she had all of their attention, "Thomas?"

There was a long silent beat before he reacted.

"Scarlett."

Ana winced at the reaction, but hopefully hid it well.

"Wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?" the first daughter asked, her voice not as strong as before, setting off alarms in Ana's head.

"Lancelot," Ana said softly, her eyes on the DHM, making sure Kennedy didn't reach any road blocks.

There was a moment of silence, but Kennedy was the one to interrupt it.

"Scarlett? Scarlett!"

He moved to look over his shoulder but Ana reached out and held his face forward.

"Galahad, Lancelot, report!" she snapped.

"She's out. It's shock. She has a pulse, but she's been through a lot," Roxy replied.

Ana watched Kennedy's hands clench around the wheel so tight his knuckles turned white.

"She's okay, these next rivers are good to drive straight through," she said softly, still using the DHM as a reference.

For a good minute they sat in silence, Kennedy swerving around rocks and uneven patches of ground, Ana whispering parts where he had to drive around shallower parts of rivers or more rocky parts of the plains.

They'd made good time and distance, and Ana was about to announce it to the silently tense car before a loud bang jarred her senses. The left side of the car jostled up, threatening to overturn.

"Here we go," Kennedy said, swerving to balance the Humvee out, pulling shortly on the handbrake so they didn't flip over.

Ana focused on the hologram and the terrain in front of them, knowing that Roxy and Eggsy were looking behind them, finding their enemy.

"Two Black Hawks, by the look of 'em," Eggsy said, his voice tense.

"We're two miles from the coast, turn left now, towards that small hill," Ana said, determining the shallowest part of the next riverbend.

She saw Kennedy's leg slam down on the gas, the car speeding up accordingly, swerving again at the sound of another rocket headed their way, the impact only jostling the rear of the cab. They all stayed silent now, knowing that Ana's direction and Kennedy's driving would make or break this mission. Ana's fingers flied in the hologram, determining the terrain, and gave quick directions for him to swerve here, drive straight there.

"Incoming!" Roxy yelled out just as the sound of another projectile grew closer and closer… despite Kennedy's maneuver, the enemy hit their target, and the Humvee upended.

The Humvee rolled only twice before landing upright – not having taken a lot of damage with the roll. Such as it was with military grade vehicles.

"Let's go, let's go!" Ana shouted as the sound of ricocheted bullets surrounded them.

The buckle to her seatbelt wasn't working so she tucked into her waistband and brought out her butterfly knife, cutting herself free.

"Catch," she said to the back, quickly twisting her wrist to retract the blade so she could safely toss it to them.

She brought the DHM with her - not wanting to leave such tech behind - as she exited the vehicle, dropping low to the ground as the dirt around her erupted, bullets flying her way.

She unholstered the pistol at her side and aimed blindly behind her but quickly retreated, knowing there wasn't a chance and saving her bullets just in case.

"She's wakin' up!" Eggsy called out.

"Scarlett!?" Kenney called out, taking cover behind the opened door of the Humvee. He stood up and fired a couple of shots with his rifle, but quickly retreated into a crouching position, a bullet dinging off of the side of the metal door where he had been standing.

There was only a mutter.

Firepower rained down on them, the soft sound of approaching helicopters providing a more daunting soundtrack to their situation.

"Are we all here?!" Ana shouted, hoping the others would understand her jist.

"Copy!" they all replied.

"Is Scarlett awake?!"

"Yes!"

"Can we all run?!"

"Yes!"

"I think so!?"

Ana took a final glance at the DHM before powering it down and pocketing it.

"Less thinking, more doing! A little less than a mile to the coast."

"Lincoln," Kennedy said, and Ana turned her head, meeting his gaze through the front seats of the Humvee, both of them cringing over their bare cover.

"They'll run out of ammo soon!" Ana yelled over the barrage of bullets, "We wait for their re-load, and book it!"

As if on queue, the bullets stopped.

"Run, Forrest, Run!" Ana yelled, standing up and firing a few shots in the enemy's direction for the heck of it.

"I understand that reference!" Eggsy shouted as they all sprinted away from the Humvee.

Ana waited for them to get ahead before she followed.

"Keep going! Coast is up ahead!"

"Linc?!" Eggsy shouted, his pace slowing, letting her catch up. She grabbed his arm as she passed and tugged, hard.

"Keep fucking going, what the fuck?"

"I was wondering where you were!"

"I'm right fucking here! I told you to RUN, not skip about like a little bitch!" she yelled, out of breath as they booked it.

"I thought you were ahead, for fucks sake!" Eggsy yelled back, equally out of breath.

"Well then," Ana said, pausing her sentence as she heard the revving of an engine, "For fucks sake, RUN HARDER!"

Thankfully Eggsy didn't say anything as the five of them pushed themselves hard, sprinting towards the coast in their view. The revving of the engine grew louder, and Ana knew the guns were about to fire.

"Swerve! Swerve!" she shouted, turning to the right as bullets rained down on them, running in a serpentine track. Thankfully the others listened. They had reached the sand and were pushing harder than ever before.

She calculated the time of the bullets versus their time to the water.

"We can make it! Keep swerving! They'll need to reload soon! Almost ther-"

She was cut short by a searing pain in her shoulder. As though in slow motion, her legs stopped moving as her body lurched forward, landing on the sand.

She heard her name called out but didn't hear it. She fucking hurt. She knew the pain, and cursed at the fact as she unintentionally ate some sand.

She'd been shot.

She heard more gunshots and then silence…

She was turned over and grunted as pain seared throughout her entire body.

"Shit that hurts," she barely got out, her voice feeling rough, her vision fuzzy around the edges.

Someone put pressure on her shoulder and she cried out as everything came into focus. She looked around and saw it was Kennedy holding her down.

"Stay awake, you hear me? We're nearly there and I'm not losing you now. Stay. AWAKE."

"Don't take that tone with me," she muttered. She felt a prick in her other arm and cried out – had she taken more than one bullet?

However after the prick she felt… light. Almost weightless.

"Thass not good," she slurred softly.

"I've got her," she heard before she was soon flying through the air.

"Can we swim though?" she heard another voice.

"I like swimming," she muttered to herself.

"Good to hear," she heard just as she was submerged into cold, almost freezing water. The salt of the ocean stung her open wound so much that whatever shot they'd given her was rendered moot - but she didn't feel as much pain as she did before.

"Nervermind," she said.

"Tough shit, Linc," she heard, "now swim!"

"Fucking hell," she screamed as she paddled with one arm, kicking her legs as hard as she could so she could stay above water.

The sound of a few more pops echoed around them.

"Down, now!" Kennedy shouted.

Ana stopped her motions, her body submerging underwater as she kicked and swam with her good arm, staying underwater and holding her breath for as long as she could before her body broke the surface again.

"Swim! Swim!"

"We're out of range!"

Ana cursed and cried and swallowed alarming amounts of sea water as she pushed her body hard, the adrenaline in her body putting a momentary stop to the searing pain of her gun shot. She kept hearing shouts of "Keep going!", "Almost there!", and "Swim! Fucking swim!"

She felt her left leg cramp and cursed aloud – swallowing more water in the process. She went under for a second but managed to bring herself up to the surface again. The pressure of water was softening – as though she was now swimming with the current rather than against.

"We made it, Ana, just gotta get to shore," Eggsy was yelling over the water, but she heard him as though he was farther away.

"I've got it!" she said, kicking through the cramp, through the pain in her shoulder that was coming back, "I've… got… it…" she said before she faded to black.

"ANA!" Eggsy screamed, veering towards where she had disappeared under the water. He dove down, his eyes closed against the salt water as he reached out – he felt something and grabbed, pulling her up to the surface as he kicked. He looked over to see her break the surface – unconscious, and by the look of it not breathing.

"No, no, no," he said to himself as he kept swimming, moving his legs faster even though he felt as if they were about to fall off. As soon as his foot hit sand he stood up, scooping her into his arms as he ran to the shore, his legs fighting the water.

He bent down and dropped her onto the shore where the waves wouldn't drown her.

She lay still and lifeless, a little blue, water spilling from her lips. He moved his hands to open her mouth as he bent down to give CPR.

He heard the others reach him, Kennedy faltering in an order as Eggsy lifted his head, moved his hands to her heart, and pushed down hard.

"Galahad-"

"Shut it!" he said before bending down again, breathing his hair into Ana's lungs before pulling back and pushing down on her chest again. He was feverous, applying pressure, then air, applying pressure, then air… he noticed the spot in her shoulder where she had been shot was growing with blood, it seeping into the sand around her…

"DAMMIT Ana wake up!" Eggsy shouted, his hands pushing down on her chest for a few quick beats before he moved to mold his lips to hers, breathing air into her lungs before pulling back and pushing down on her again. He didn't know if her bullet wound was through or stuck – but she needed to be alive.

"Galahad," Kennedy said, his voice breaking. Roxy was crying, clutching Scarlett as they stared down at the both of them. They were quickly surrounded by armed men of the South Korean army - and even their barked orders faded away at the scene in front of them.

"NO! She didn't make it all this way to give up on us, to give up on Natalia," Eggsy said quickly, pushing down on her chest in tempo, breaking to bend down and breathe more air into her lungs.

He pulled back and moved to press down on her chest again when water spewed out of her mouth and she started coughing, catching her breath as her eyes flew open.

Kennedy cursed at the sky as Roxy and Scarlett let out cries of joy, and Ana turned to vomit the rest of the sea-water remaining in her lungs.

She coughed more as she lied back, cursing at her pain as she stared up at a dripping wet Eggsy above her.

"You're okay, oh fuck, ya' okay."

She only nodded, coughing a little more before gasping for air and throwing her head back, basking in the Southern Korean sun, where they were safe.

"Ow," she gasped, stared up at him, her face wincing in pain "Ow, that fucking hurts!"

He reached forward and put pressure on the wound that was growing bloodier by the second. She cursed aloud, but kept his gaze, an incredulous look on her face.

She was so beautiful. She was wet, disheveled, just moments ago not breathing at all…

He bent down and covered her lips with hers, this time not trying to save her life but to capture it.

Capture her passion and her stubbornness and her ability to adapt, capture her fierce ways and defiance in the name of impossible outcomes. He heard a moan and wasn't even sure if it was his or hers, he only felt a hand – her hand – pull his head down to her to kiss him with fervor.

"Wait," Scarlett said, her voice sounding eons away, "They're…"

"It's a long story," Roxy said, equally out of breath.

Dissolve Me by Alt J