It was sometime in the middle of the night and Sammy was sitting with her back to the wall on the mattress like she always was. She was holding the shiv tight in her fist. She'd ripped a piece of her shirt to tie around the handle to make it just a little bit more sturdy and so she could grip it better. It was dark in her room, and even though the night was warm, the breeze from over the water whistled in through the barred window and chilled her metallic box so much that she shivered. Her teeth were chattering. Her toes and fingers felt cold. Despite that, she didn't curl up in a ball to try and get warm and sleep. She kept her eyes glued to the door, wondering when someone might come knocking. They had never really taken her during the late night to the other room, but she didn't want to risk being unconscious for them to show up. Her lungs were aching from the waterboarding and her skin felt dry and cracked from the salty ocean air. Her head hurt, but it wasn't the worst pain she'd ever felt. She reached up her empty hand and traced the pink scar under her shaved hair from where she had slammed into the rock in the river roughly a year ago. The pain was just a blurry memory, but she knew it had been the worst physical hurt she'd ever experienced. She dropped her hand to her lap and examined the dirt under her fingernails. They were brittle, a few of them chipped or snapped short. She had always kept her nails short growing up because she had a bad habit of biting them down to bloody stumps, something her grandma and mother would scold her for relentlessly.

Fingers out of your mouth, they'd say. You don't know where they've been.

Sammy cracked a dry smile and laughed a little bit. Life was so simple then. She knew she'd made the choice to go get training and be like the Expendables. She'd made the choice to stay involved with them. She'd made the choice for this to be her life. It just never failed to amaze her how quickly things could change so drastically.

She heard some noises from the hallway then and gripped the shiv tighter in her fist. She hoped this would be her opportunity to get out. She didn't care if she had to jump into the ocean and swim to the shore, she just needed to get away. She tried to slow her breathing so she could focus on the sounds from outside.

The door rattled and she held her breath. She wasn't a scared teenager in upstate New York with a baby sister, dead grandma, and absent parents, even though deep inside she felt like she always would be. Hell, she wasn't even the bartender that lived next-door to Lee anymore. She was a fighter, and it didn't matter how she got there, just that she was prepared.

Two men fumbled in and they reeked of body odor and vodka. She didn't recognize them as she watched as they softly close the door behind them. They were older, maybe closer to Barney's age, and had thick scruff on their faces and necks. Their skin reflected the moonlight from the oil and grease that coated them, and their hands were dirty and calloused. They were muttering to each other, and Sammy concealed the shiv in her palm as she took a soft breath.

She watched them carefully. One man, the taller of the two, scratched his chin and squinted as he looked around the room. His eyes must have been adjusting to the light, because when he finally saw her looking back at him, his flat lips pressed inwards and twisted into a grin.

"You were right," he said to his buddy, holding out his hand in Sammy's direction. She frowned. The shorter one had a gut and was wearing a soiled white tank top under a torn, striped button-up. Neither of them looked like the type of men she had seen around Conrad. She was confused, but she didn't spare herself the moment to question any of it. It didn't matter who they were if they were just going to be in her way.

"I told you so," the shorter man said, licking his lips with a fat, slimy tongue. The taller of the two took a few steps forward and squatted in front of her, and as he got closer she could see the details of his face more clearly. He was missing teeth, had shaggy, uneven hair, and sunspots down his arms and dark freckles along the bridge of his nose. His cheeks were red and hot, sunburnt. They must not have been from the part of the ship she was at; everyone she saw the face of was pale despite the fact that they worked on a boat in a tropical area.

The taller man pressed his loose lips up into a grin and waved his hand lazily at her. His fingers were long and narrow. He looked up to the window and then back down to her on the mattress and the uneaten dinner beside it.

"Hey there," he said, looking her up and down. She sniffed and tightened her fingers on instinct. He bit back a chuckle, amused as though he was watching a caged animal put on a show in a zoo.

"What're you doing here, girl?" The shorter one said, crossing his arms as he took a few steps closer. "You make someone mad or something?"

Sammy swallowed. If they actually knew Stonebanks and what he was doing, they were putting on one hell of a show acting like they didn't. Either way, she didn't trust them.

"You know," the tall one said, shifting closer still. "Me and my friend here have been working on this ship for a long time. We haven't seen anyone as pretty as you in… Jeez, since we set sail a couple months ago."

Sammy tightened her jaw. Her heart picked up in her chest, but she was irritated. She didn't have time for this and they were only getting in the way. Here she had been hoping for Dilly or Conrad or some of his cronies to break into her cell in the middle of the night, and all she got were two sailors trying to find some cheap entertainment.

The two men glanced at each other and chuckled. If there was one thing in life she knew she could rely on, it was the audacity of men.

"Why don't you come on over here," the shorter one said, his eyes dark and lips wet as he licked them like some sort of hungry predator eyeing up his prey. She took a second to look him up and down. She didn't want to dismiss the possibility of him having weapons, but she was also pretty certain he had nowhere to hide anything. He had a black smudge across his cheek that was broken up by the lines in his face.

"Keep it down," the taller one said, waving his friend off as he leaned forward and balance on his hands and knees to move towards her again. "Wouldn't wanna get anyone's attention now, would we?"

Sammy glanced over at the door and wondered how difficult it would be to incapacitate them and make a run for it. Conrad didn't seem like the type to have workers that would be this stupid, but then again, he also didn't seem very in touch with reality in the first place.

"Oh, I think she wants out," the short one said.

"Maybe we can help with that," the tall one laughed. "What do you say, huh?"

He reached out and gave her knee a playful tap and let out a squeaky laugh. She knew they wouldn't let her up and leave without something in return. She was glad she wrapped the handle of the shiv she'd made because if she hadn't she might have drawn her own blood from how hard she was squeezing it against her palm.

The tall one reached out and took a tuft of her tangled, greasy hair between his thumb and pointer finger. She tugged away out of instinct, her breath shallow from her mouth as she tried to focus on the end goal. If they thought she was weak and scared, they'd let their guard down even more. She shook her head and averted her gaze to the floor. They both chuckled again.

"Must be scared, poor thing," the tall one said. He looked back at his friend again. "Don't worry. We'll be real nice, promise."

He moved closer again and she could feel the heat radiating from his body and smell the pungent scent of alcohol on his breath. His hands were on the mattress, dipping it so that she couldn't help but slip closer to him. He was eager and drunk. She looked up at his friend and noticed him shifting from foot to foot, an excited and focused smile pressed into his scruffy cheeks. He wanted a show. She almost laughed- he would get a show, just not the one he wanted. She masked the noise in her throat with a strangled cry. The tall man, nearly overtop of her at that point, laughed again but didn't speak. He tried to pull her legs down from where she had curled them up against her chest, but she tightened herself and shook her head.

"Don't be so tense, it's only a game," he said, and his smile made her nauseous. She wondered if he had any idea what mess he had just stumbled into. Clearly not. She had a feeling if they knew enough about Stonebanks to be scared of him, they'd be nowhere near her in that moment.

He pulled her legs a little harder this time. She let him win, waiting for the right moment to strike, and thought back to when she was fighting Bee at the Hacienda in Mexico. They were evenly matched, but she hadn't wanted to hurt her at all. She wondered if Stonebanks had tortured Bee at all like he was torturing her. She hoped not, but she knew the answer was probably a lot more complicated than just yes or no.

The man tried to lean forward and kiss her and she tilted her head far out of the way and grunted. He took her by the chin then and straightened her face in front of his, irritated.

"Now stop playing," he mumbled. "Making this harder on yourself."

She clenched her teeth hard and looked up towards the window. It was late. The only color in the sky was the deep blue of midnight and the buzzing, fuzzy light of distant stars. He pressed his lips to her cheek as she turned her head, and as he was about to reach out and hold her down, she slipped the shiv from her palm and dug it up hard into stomach. He looked down at her with wide eyes and an open, stupid mouth. She twisted the shiv harder in his gut and he let out a deflating whine, a bit of blood beginning to pool at the corner of his lips.

Poor sucker should've minded his own business.

She could feel the slippery blood dripping over her fist at his gut and watched his eyes strain as he struggled with a gurgling breath. His friend watched on, not in tune yet with what happened. Sammy rolled as hard as she could so that they slipped off the mattress and his head bounced back against the tray of food with a clatter. She used the momentum to pull the shiv from his gut and stood to turn towards the shorter man. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open in shock. He blinked a few times like he wasn't sure he could trust his eyes. She used this to her advantage.

When he saw her moving towards him, he turned frantically to the door. She wrapped her arm around his neck and yanked him back, her hand tight over his mouth to muffle the shout slipping from his lungs. She lifted the shiv in her bloodied fist and slammed it down into his shoulder right where it met his neck. He cried out and scratched at her, moving backwards until Sammy's back was slammed against the wall. She adjusted her grip to get him into a choke hold and squeezed her arms as tight as she could while he clawed at her. He made a few strangled noises before he finally started to fall limp in her arms. She waited a couple more seconds before she let his body fall forward on the ground, limp and bleeding from his shoulder. It stained his raggedy button-up. She grimaced and wiped the blood from her hands on the back of her shirt and turned to the door.

Time to go.

—-

Dilly watched from her chair while Conrad slept in their bed. She'd had a hard time sleeping beside him for a few years, but the last few weeks it had been especially difficult. He slept so soundly for someone who had done such horrible things. He never woke with nightmares, never cried out during a dream or shed a tear with his eyes closed. She found it strange. She still had nightmares about Vietnam decades later. She had lived way more life outside of the jungle than she had within, but still the war was one of the most prominent memories in her mind. She watched Conrad's chest rise and fall and thought about Sammy locked up on another part of the ship, probably not sleeping for the same reason as herself. Well, at least one of the same reasons.

She fingered the locket at her chest and sighed. There was a pistol and a knife on the table beside him. Maybe it was her fault for following him for so long, for holding onto somebody that in truth died a long, long time ago. Maybe Barney had been right; Conrad was gone well before he ever shot him in the chest. Dilly closed her eyes and rubbed at them with the butts of her palms. She'd joined the war back then because she wanted to help people survive. She wanted to see more people make it home to their families.

Conrad stirred and she opened her eyes to watch him turn his head away from her empty side of the bed. He wouldn't notice that she wasn't there just like most other nights. Her fingers were still clasped around her locket and she chewed at her lip. Maybe she could still find herself- the person she had been so long ago, at least. It was like she was in a dense forest surrounded by fog and thick brush and for so long she was following the sound of Conrad's voice telling her he was leading her out. In reality, he'd just pulled her farther in, and now she was in so deep she didn't know if she'd ever escape.

She stood from her chair and let her hand drift away from the locket. It rested over her heart, her chest thin and exposed to the cold as the collar of her shirt dipped low. She didn't have anything really important with her. Most things she loved and held close were kept away from her as motivation to stay by his side. Maybe he knew before she did that he was losing her. That she would want to get away. That the doubt was planted in her mind but never watered, never tended to- until now. Until he was so close to getting what he thought would solve all of his problems; Barney Ross. And maybe it would. Maybe revenge was just what the doctor ordered, and he'd go back to being the Conrad she had loved so long ago… but she doubted it. She pushed her false hopes away and wrapped herself in her old leather jacket and slipped her feet into her boots. She looked back at him again, his hair a mess about his head and eyes closed gently while he slept. Always gentle, never pained. Despite all the years of torture he'd inflicted upon others, he still slept like his hands were clean of blood. In reality, they were stained.

She tossed her bag over her shoulder and looked down at her own hands. She knew they were not clean either. She knew she couldn't go back and undo the years she'd spent at his side- not that she wanted to. She'd gotten, somehow, some good things out of it. She pressed her hand over the locket again and looked away from him.

It took only a normal amount of strength to open the door and close it quietly behind herself. She was surprised. Her body felt lighter as she made her way through the empty halls of the vessel and she breathed in her first breath as a woman free from his grasp. It didn't stop the pang of dread and misery that crashed into her heart as she turned the corner and realized that he'd never hold her again, would never smile in her direction. But when was the last time he really had anyway? She was holding onto memories to make him a better person. The old Conrad Stonebanks was dead, and she'd just been holding onto love with a phantom.

The hallways were darker the deeper she got within the ship. Her heart was tapping in her chest and she looked over her shoulder every few seconds into the shadows. Fear was clawing at her back as she ran if only because she knew she was running. She'd walked those halls so many times before without being afraid. This time was different. This time she looked at the walls of that cursed ship and knew it would be her last time hating it.

She neared Sammy's small room and hurried to the door. It took a few seconds to find the key, but when she put it in the lock, she realized it was already open. She pushed the door ajar and held her breath, uncertain, and found the bloodied bodies of the crewmen Sammy had escaped from. Dilly furrowed her brows. Then she turned and closed the door again, making sure to lock it and look both ways. Her heart was pounding in her ears and all she could think was to run back to Conrad and pretend like she wasn't trying to break out, to tell him that Sammy was missing.

But she didn't. She pressed her hand against the locket again and retraced her steps. Sammy would be heading for the top of the ship, she figured, to try and get away. They worked on a skeleton crew at this time of night, which was probably why nobody had noticed she was missing before then. She wondered how long Sammy had been gone and if she was too late. She didn't need to wonder about how angry Conrad would be, she already knew that well enough. She'd witnessed it first hand already. She hurried back down the hall and turned into the first staircase she could reach.

—-

Tool and Gunner were waiting near the docks for the rest of the crew to get there so they could hop into the boats and make their way out to the ship. Tool chewed on another piece of straw, his jaw tensed and hard. Gunner was anxious for the action to start. Sitting there for so long without any gunfire made him feel sick. His gear was thick on his shoulders, drenched in a little over a weeks worth of sweat and dirt and blood. He'd tied his hair back and out of his face so it wouldn't get in the way during a fight. He glanced out at the ship for the millionth time, mostly dark except for a few dots of light that separated it from the horizon.

"They should be here soon," Tool said, checking the time on his watch. His phone had died and become useless a while ago. He knew Barney would show up when they agreed on, but he couldn't help the nerves that set him on edge. He hadn't been in the field in a long time. He'd put that part of himself behind him a long, long time ago. He ran his fingers through his hair and cleared his throat. What he would do for some nicotine, he thought. The cravings were damn near driving him insane.

They heard a few gravely steps and Tool pulled his blade from its holster on his hip. Gunner did the same, fingers tense around the handle of his bowie knife, eyes darting around them just in case. Just because they were expecting company didn't mean they were in the clear. The steps got closer and louder, and Tool looked over at Gunner and nodded. In one swift move, Gunner rounded the corner and slammed the man approaching into the side of the building while Tool held up his knife in one hand, draped over the wrist of his other holding his gun. He looked out at the faces staring back at him and huffed. Then he smiled.

"Goddamn boys, it is good to see your ugly faces," he said.

Gunner looked down into Barney's eyes and was very aware that everyone watching him. Barney seemed irritated but he didn't fight or move away from Gunner's grip. After another second he loosened his hold on him and stepped back and slipped his blade away.

"Gun," Barney said, stepping away from the wall and stretching out his neck. "Good to see you ain't out of commission."

Gunner grunted and turned to see the rest of the group. They were geared up for a fight and looking around uncertainly. Cap and Bones were there, and so was Luna. They stayed near each other. In the corner of his eye he caught sight of Trench hovering near the back of the group.

"Out of the light," Tool said, motioning them all behind the building. "Let's all get on the same page and get this show on the road."

They all walked passed them except for Barney, who was looking Tool up and down with a bemused look spread across his face. Tool made a face and Barney chuckled.

"Makes me feel young again, seeing you in the field," he said.

Tool rolled his eyes and waved him off. "That makes one of us," he said.

Barney clapped him on the shoulder and they headed back towards the docks together. Gunner watched them as he slowly followed, his eyes still stuck on the ship, lips twisted into a permanent scowl.

"Toolbox," Trench said once they were all settled in the shadows. "Good to see you in person again."

Tool rolled his eyes. "You too, Mouse. What the hell are you doing here, anyway?"

Trench looked around the group and shrugged. "You hired me to do a job, did you not?"

Tool pressed his lips together and sighed as he felt all the eyes around them land on him suddenly. Then Trench laughed.

"Oops," he said.

"I hired you to kill the Major," Tool said, crossing his arms. "And he's dead. So what's really up with you tagging along here?"

Barney was staring daggers at Tool suddenly. He was the one that had called in Trench? Trench? Out of everyone he could've pestered for a favor, and he picked that bumbling oaf-

"I didn't take the shot. Conrad took the shot," Trench said, his voice darkening. "Imagine my surprise when I saw him with the gun after being told he was dead." He shot a look towards Barney then.

Tool pinched the bridge of his nose. "We don't have time to fight over this right now," he said.

"You're damn right we don't," Barney grunted. "But we sure as hell will once this is behind us for good."

Tool waved him off and walked to lean against the back of the building where he had been standing before. They'd deal with their egos later, after the wounds festered and healed and scarred over, no real harm done. They'd about it over a beer.

"Alright ladies," Cap said, glancing around awkwardly between the older men. "We're taking it in teams. Search the ship, and if you find her, we get the hell out."

"We're not killing Stonebanks?" Tool asked, alarmed.

"I don't like it either," Barney said, shaking his head. "But Sammy is our priority."

Tool raised a brow and sunk back into himself. He knew he wouldn't hesitate if Conrad wandered into his line of fire. None of the rest of them would, either.

"So, it's me and Barney," Cap said, looking over them all again. "Bones and Lee. Luna and Toll. Caesar and Gunner. Trench and Tool. Am I missing anyone?"

They looked around at each other.

"Where's Yang?" Gunner asked.

"At home, babysitting with Angel," Caesar said. "You good for this, brother?"

Gunner nodded. He didn't have much to say.

"Alright," Cap said, looking towards Barney and nodding. "Let's do this. Let's get her back."

—-

Sammy slid open the door to the top deck and peeked out. It had been going too smoothly for her liking. After the two idiots that broke into her room, she hadn't run into anybody else. It put her on edge.

She heard a few distant voices and slipped out from the doorway to crouch behind a shipping container. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but they were two men going back and forth. She couldn't see them, and with the way the sound was bouncing off of the containers, she wasn't sure where they really were. She chewed on her lip and thought hard. If they saw her and were armed, the entire ship would wake up from the noise of the shooting. She could always make a run for it and throw herself over the side. Water tasted better than bullets anyway.

She looked around for something she could use as a weapon. She saw a tool box laying open a few paces away, but getting there would expose her for a few seconds. She turned her head slowly around the corner of the shipping container and checked to see if the men she heard were there- they were, but thankfully they were facing the other way. She let out a breathy sigh and pressed her hands and feet firmly against the floor. She had to stay quiet. She kept an eye on them as they spoke and waved their hands around, lost in their own conversation, while she stayed low and moved towards the box. She felt like every step she took echoed around her. The metal walls of the containers made her feel cold and small. When she crossed the aisle, she ducked down and looked in the box.

There were a few loose nails, some rusted and old, and some washers and bolts. The only hefty thing she managed to find was a wrench, just smaller than her forearm. It would have to do.

She held it in her fists and held her breath so she could focus on the voices of the men. They were still echoing around her, bouncing off of the metal and floating around her like ghosts. Their footsteps fell hard and sure, and she wondered if there were more of them out there in the maze of containers. She didn't have time to worry about it too much. She'd have to handle that problem if it came up.

She was about to make her next move when she heard movement around the corner from her. Her breath hitched in her throat and she tightened her jaw, looking around for some place to hide. Her eyes fell to the staircase she had come through and saw the door begin to open. There was nowhere else to go. She was surrounded.

Well, at least she knew how to swim.

—-

They were rowing out towards the ship on smaller boats so as to draw the least amount of attention possible. It was pitch black on the water, and the only thing Lee could see in front of him in the low light was Bones wincing as she tried to row. He remembered the injury she'd taken to her shoulder the last time they'd all done a job together and he sighed.

"I can do it," he said in a low voice. "Come on. Let's switch."

Bones looked up at him and furrowed her brows. There was a gleam of sweat on her brow that caught the moonlight, and she hesitated for a moment before she sighed and handed him the oars. She rolled out her shoulder and cracked her neck. Lee watched her as he rowed, curious.

"Still hurt?" He asked.

She shrugged. "On and off," she said. He nodded.

He'd had injuries like that in his time. Bones couldn't have been much younger than he was, but he was pretty sure he'd been in the business longer than she had. She massaged her traps for a second and then huffed and looked up at the ship they were approaching.

"You mad at her?" She asked, looking Lee up and down. He hadn't said much since they all found each other.

"Of course," he muttered, turning his eyes up to the ship as well. They were close. "But can I blame her? 'Course not. I would've done the same thing for this lot," he motioned with his head towards the few other boats in the water, only visible to them because of the approaching light of the ship.

"Well," Bones said, checking her gun out of habit as the tides rocked against the side of their small boat. "You deserve one big fat 'I told you so' when this is said and done."

Lee thought back to Bee in the spare apartment above Tool's shop. She had definitely been alive. The issue was a lot bigger than Sammy, but Conrad had focused his energy on her because she was the least jaded and most predictable. She had found Bee against all odds just like Conrad knew she would. Lee wondered why the rest of them didn't believe in her as much as the bad guy did. The thought left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Yeah, we all do," Lee said.

"Not us," Bones said defensively, holding up her hands. "We helped her. We believed her."

Lee rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright."

Bones watched him for another second before she chuckled. She felt the future get a little lighter when the Major was confirmed dead, and after spending the better part of the last year in New Orleans, she was hoping to stick around. She wondered when Lee had decided to stay in one place- not many mercenaries like him did, since they tended to follow the work and keep a low profile. The Expendables were different, though. She appreciated it.

"I could get used to you, Christmas," she said through her breathy chuckle.

He rolled his eyes. "Don't jinx us," he said.

"You believe in that stuff?" She asked. She could heard the waves knocking against the hull of the ship. They were close.

"No," he said with another shrug. "I believe in skill. Ability. But this is a weird situation. We're fighting a ghost."

"Touché," Bones admitted. "Never thought I'd see one in person."

"Me either," Lee agreed.

He'd killed enough people in his life to know that the dead weren't scary; the living were. That being said, the closest thing he'd gotten to fighting a ghost like Conrad Stonebanks had been Biffo, but that felt like ages ago compared to where he was now, and even then, Biffo was just a passing specter. Stonebanks was a phantom, maybe the closest thing to the devil himself on earth that they'd ever encounter. Lee had never seen Barney's eyes get so dark when talking about anyone else. If he was the type to get scared of things, he'd have been downright terrified.

—-

Dilly pushed open the door to the top deck and saw Sammy across the aisle with wide, uncertain eyes. She frowned, confused, when she heard the approaching echoing steps of one of the late night guards. Without much hesitation, she closed the door behind her with a rattle and winced against the sudden sound. The guard rounded the corner with his gun up and aimed at her chest, and she lifted her hands over her head and made a face.

"Watch where you point that thing," she hissed.

He lowered the gun as he looked over her, his face hard and cold. "Sorry Miss," he said, looking over her shoulder to see if the stairwell was empty behind her. "Boss doesn't like people roaming around at night."

Dilly tried not to move so she wouldn't draw any attention to the fact that she was fully dressed and had a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Just needed some fresh air," she said, lips pressed into a practiced, polite grin. She raised her eyebrows as he looked her up and down.

"I should call this-"

Sammy came up behind him and hit him hard on the back of the head with the wrench. He stumbled forward and grunted, his hand flashing up to the back of his head while his other fumbled with his gun. Dilly hurried towards him as Sammy wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back, his throat closed and silent. He choked and reached for her, his chin pushed down towards her forearm. Blood dripped from his hairline and into his eyes as he started to struggle less and less. Dilly took the gun from him and helped Sammy lay him down as quietly as possible on the deck. She had blood on her hands and on her shirt, but she seemed okay.

"So you made your decision?" Sammy said, catching her breath as they crouched on the side of the stairwell building.

"So you got out?" Dilly said back, looking her up and down.

"Looks like we both have some explaining to do, then," Sammy sniped. Dilly swallowed and nodded, her hand drifting towards the locket again.

"We can explain when we're far away from here. They'll find him when they do their rounds. If they're on schedule, it should be another ten minutes before they notice he's gone- and that's if we're lucky."

Sammy nodded. "So where do we go?" She asked.

"Life boats. They're shitty, but good enough to get us towards the island," Dilly explained. "Come on."

She motioned for Sammy to follow her down the side of the deck towards the stern of the boat.

"What the hell are in all these containers?" Sammy whispered as they hurried from aisle to aisle.

"I don't know. Guns, explosives, stolen art- I don't know."

Sammy pressed her lips together and followed along. Her body was already tired from fighting after the week she had, but she knew she had a long way to go before she could give up and lay down and sleep in peace. She felt a little bit better having Dilly at her side, but a piece of her knew that she couldn't blindly trust her. Not yet.

Sammy stopped just short of running into Dilly's back when she paused. She was about to ask what was wrong when she noticed the pool of blood from around the corner of one of the containers. Dilly took a few tentative steps before she looked around the corner.

"I don't think we're alone," she said, glancing back at Sammy.

Sammy made her way around the corner and looked down at the guard laying with his head towards the sky, eyes wide open and empty. There was a blade sticking up out of his throat, and she crouched down to pull it out. A little bit of blood bubbled up when she did, but without the pressure of a beating heart it just fizzled and pooled within the wound. She turned the blade over in her hand.

"What is it?" Dilly asked, holding the gun down low and looking around nervously.

"Lee," Sammy said, wiping the blade off on her shirt to get a better look. "These are the blades he uses. They're here."

Dilly blinked and tugged at Sammy's shoulder. "Come on. We can't stay still," she tried.

Sammy shrugged her off as she stood, her eyes focused down on the black knife. "No," she said. "They're here for me."

"We need to get off this boat," Dilly said, her voice a little tighter, almost as though she were scolding a child. Sammy frowned. "Now."

Sammy felt her mouth go dry. She shook her head.

"I have to let them know I'm alright," she said.

"We're too exposed. We have to go."

"Will he kill you if he finds you?" Sammy asked, her eyes locked on Dilly's for a long moment of tense silence. Then Dilly nodded.

"Without a doubt," she said, her voice hoarse and low, just a whisper silhouetted against the midnight sky. She'd never admitted it to herself out loud before.

"Get to the lifeboat," Sammy said, taking Dilly's hand in her own and giving it a squeeze. "Don't look back. Just get to land and we'll find you."

Dilly swallowed. She opened her mouth to argue, uncertain, but wasn't sure what to say. Sammy's eyes were set and decided.

"I can't let you do this on your own," she said finally.

"You're not. You saved my life," Sammy said.

"No," Dilly said. She tucked the gun into the top of her shirt and took Sammy's hand in both of her own. "If Barney is here, this place will be going to hell faster than we could get away. We have to leave now."

"I can't leave them behind," she said. "This is my family."

Dilly felt her face drain of color. The closest thing she had to family was Conrad, and he was there too. She was leaving him behind. She pulled one hand away and gripped the locket over her heart. She closed her eyes.

"Fine," she said softly. "Just do me a favor."

Sammy studied her, uncertain. "Sure," she said.

Dilly pulled the locket from her neck with a hard tug and gripped it tight in her fist. Her hand shook as she held it out and her chest felt cold and bare without it.

"This is my family," she said as she opened her eyes. She folded the locket into Sammy's hand and closed her own over top of it. "If something happens to me, everything you need to know is here."

Sammy frowned and felt the metal in her palm, warmed from Dilly's touch.

She didn't have much time to ask what she meant, because in the next second, the shooting started back from where they had come from, and Dilly pulled the gun from her shirt and cocked it. Sammy watched her take a few steps towards the sound before she turned her attention down to the locket in her hand.

This is my family.

She tucked it away for safekeeping and held Lee's blade in her fist instead. The Expendables were finally there, and it was time to end the mission.