Author's Note: Welcome back for Chapter 9! Personally, I'm not happy with this chapter … but I'm going to post it anyway. The basic sequence of events is OK, but the writing is not.

Ths reason for both the lateness of the posting, and the style/mood of this chapter, is that real life has been rather – harrowing recently. My friend has unfortunately suffered a relapse – she has fortunately gotten better over the last day though. So if this chapter seems a little dark or different in style/tone to the others, please attribute it to that.

Katie: No worries :-) Good to have you back …

IceDragon3: Ah, well some of that will be revealed in this chappie … but I've left some to the next chapter! Can't tell all my secrets at once :-)

Kagii: :-) Sure!

Wolfmaid: is embarassed Thankyou

Flame Guardian: I watched the scene in the movie before I wrote it … I wanted to get an idea of what they actually did, because I could not remember at all! Thanks for reviewing! :-)

Chapter 9: To The End

Street glanced up at the helicopter again, noticing that it was lowering its altitude, and that there was a man leaning out the side.

He glanced down to where Gamble had been kneeling … and froze momentarily in horror. Gamble had just grasped the knife in his hand.

Gamble began to turn, fire in his eyes, even as Street moved to take him down. He knew – instinctively – that he was gone. Gamble had the knife, he was moving, he was coming, it was over …

Street felt a brief moment of sadness. Why like this?

Suddenly, a shot rang out, and Gamble fell. Street whirled around again, searching for the origin of the shot. His eye fell on the figure leaning out of the helicopter … and he knew. Brian Gamble had been seen threatening a police officer. Brian Gamble had been taken down.

He turned back to Brian, and saw the bullet hole in his chest, and the blood spreading. He fell to his knees, exhausted and emotional.

It shouldn't have ended like this.

But he had a knife, the more reasonable part of his mind told him. He was going to kill you.

Doesn't matter. It shouldn't have ended like this. We were friends, damnit.

Once. Once you were friends – he betrayed that when he left SWAT and then when he tried to break Montel out.

I don't betray my friends!

There it was – what the entire mess had come down to. Jim fell to his knees, exhausted and suddenly unable to carry his own weight.

He let out a sigh as he looked at Gamble's body. For better or worse, it was over.

Hondo stared around the bridge, now covered with police vehicles, ambulances, and fire trucks … but no sign of Jim Street. He sighed, then glanced over at the police officers forcing Alex Montel into the back of a police car. At least that scum will end up where he belongs …

He glanced up again – and there he was: Jim Street, alive, walking towards him. He was bloodied and bruised, and looked exhausted, but he was alive. Hondo allowed a smile to make its way across his face, as Street came to a halt in front of him.

"Tell them – tell them they're going to need another body bag down there," Street told him dully.

Hondo nodded. "What happened?"

"Sniper in the helicopter took him down," Jim told him tonelessly. He swayed a little on his feet.

"Time for you to go to hospital, I think," Hondo decided, leading him over to an ambulance.

"Chris? Boxer?"

"They're both critical … Chris may have to have her arm amputated. She was damn lucky as it was to still have an arm after the explosion." Hondo shook his head. "She must have just got out in time."

People were rushing around the bridge – securing what remained of the plane, checking the two former hostages for injuries, checking for structural damage to the bridge … and of course checking the SWAT officers over.

Hondo walked away from Street as the ambulance took him away. It had taken the regular police forces long enough to realise their blunder – even after Hondo and the team had alerted them to the plane landing – and by the time they had got there, Deke had brought down Montel, TJ had suicided, and Street had climbed down the side of the bridge after Gamble. The helicopter had immediately been ordered to look for Street and Gamble – and they had been given the green light on Gamble – shoot to kill.

Gamble had never had a chance at a trial.

Hondo couldn't say he was particulary upset about this either – the man had after all put three of Hondo's officers in hospital, resulted in the deaths of several policemen, and nearly split Hondo's squad in two after TJ's betrayal.

But damn, it was going to be hard to come back from this. Street, Sanchez, and Boxer, all in hospital – two of them likely to be in for at least a month, and most likely more than two. One officer dead. Of the initial squad of six, only two – Hondo and Deke – remained operational. And there was still the matter of the transportation of Alex Montel to consider … the rat who had started the whole mess. Hondo couldn't wait to get that animal behind bars and throw away the key.

But they would come through the experience – something told Hondo this. They would come through stronger than ever – and may the Lord help anyone who attempted anything that required the intervention of Hondo's team … because it was certain that no one else would!

Author's Note: Only two chapters to go, I believe :-) I'll try to be a little quicker with the next update I promise!