Chapter 32

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"We're here." Jack announced into the earpieces.

Sam was sitting near the window and when she looked down she saw a dark blue Taurus parked below. She turned to Victor and said, "That's Harry's car."

He peeked out the widow and nodded his head in agreement. He pulled out his gun and held it on his lap as the helicopter began its descent. Sam was slightly worried, unsure how long it had been since the Deputy Director had handled a firearm but glad that they had more backup all the same. As soon as the helicopter touched down, Victor opened the door quickly, stepped out, and immediately headed towards the campground. Sam and Jack walked briskly behind him as they scanned the area for any sign of Harry or Martin.

Jack pointed to the cluster of tress and said, "According to Joaquin the shed is….."

His speech was interrupted by the sound of gunfire. One shot and then another.

Victor stopped short and darted his eyes around as he tried to locate the source and in a panicked voice said, "Where is it coming from!"

"This way!" Sam shouted as she rushed towards the source of the gun shots. She and Jack exchanged looks and he indicated that he would go left and that she and Victor should go right. Another shot sounded and she took off in pursuit with Victor hot on her heels.

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Martin continued racing through the woods where low hanging tree branches and bristly bushes scraped his arms and face as he passed. He could hear Harry catching up with him but he knew that he had to keep moving. He wanted to run faster but his injuries were slowing him down as the pain in his side increased with each step and each inhalation of breath.

Suddenly he felt something pierce his thigh that was instantaneously joined by a hot burning pain. The moment he started to collapse onto the ground he knew that he had been hit by one of Harry's bullets. He braced his fall with his hands and he could feel his fingers sink into the muddy floor. He crawled forward a few inches before rolling over onto his back. If he was going to be killed he wanted to face his murderer.

Martin watched as Harry rushed towards him with a smug look of self satisfaction on his face. He aimed the gun at Martin and panting heavily grunted, "If I am going to get put away for life I am going down in a fucking blaze of glory."

He felt the roots of the tree digging into his back as he glared at Harry and replied, "There's no glory in murder."

"Says you." Harry aimed the gun carefully at Martin who was holding his breath, realizing that the last thing he was going to see was this man's ugly mug. Everything around him went quiet as all of the sounds around him faded away. Martin steadied his gaze on Harry in this moment seemingly suspended in time when the silence was abruptly ruptured as several shots sounded.

A millisecond passed and Martin realized that he wasn't the one who had been shot. He looked at Harry whose crazy eyes went wide in disbelief as he looked down at his shirt where blood began to pour from the holes in his chest. His buggy eyes went even wider before going completely lifeless. Harry fell to his knees and face forward onto the wet dirt.

Martin stared at Harry's prostrated form when he heard the most beautiful sound in the world as Sam's voice shouted, "Martin!"

He looked over to the source of her voice and saw not only Sam rushing towards him but his father as well. He smiled knowing that it was finally over. He blew out a breath and slumped back down relieved.

"Martin?" Sam said as she took the gun out of Harry's hands and tucked it into the back of her pants. She kneeled down next him and looked into his eyes, "Martin, are you okay?"

He smiled at her and replied, "I'm really happy to see you, Peaches."

"The feeling is mutual." She replied with a soft laugh, taking off her jacket and laying it over him. She looked at him with infinite tenderness. They kept their eyes on one another for a beat when she turned her attention to the gunshot wound on his leg. "You're bleeding." She started to take off her belt.

"Martin." Victor said as he kneeled on the other side of him. He put his hand on Martin's forehead, brushed his hair back and said, "Son, thank god you're alive."

Martin looked at Victor and saw that his extremely emotionally guarded father had tears in his eyes. Realizing that he had never been happier to see him in his entire life, he softly replied, "Hey dad."

He winced when Sam strapped the belt around his thigh and tightened it. Sam looked at Victor and said, "I'm going to need your jacket and your tie and your shirt."

Victor made quick work of removing the items and as he handed the items to Sam he quietly said, "Here you go."

"How is he?" Jack asked in his gruff but sincere voice.

Sam turned to Jack and said, "Tell the paramedics he's been shot. It looks like a through and through but they have to hurry."

Jack nodded and pulled out his cell phone. "This is special agent Jack Malone…."

Sam pressed the shirt to Martin's leg and said, "Victor, I'm going to need you to press down hard to slow the bleeding."

"Sure, absolutely." Victor did as he was instructed and Sam turned her attention to the blood on Martin's shirt. "Son…I'm so sorry….it's my fault…"

With heavy lidded eyes as he felt exhaustion overwhelm him, he interrupted his father as he softly whispered, "Look dad, we're finally out in the woods together."