Hell's Peak -"Rescue"
Jack and Jeff head towards the FBI agents and SWAT members waiting for them. Jack starts giving out orders, he breaks them into teams; one team covering the back exit, one team the side entrance and the final team with him and Jeff. They cautiously and quietly enter the warehouse looking for Dornvald, his accomplices and any sign of Martin and Danny.
They go room by room searching, but to no avail. When they finally make it up to the 5th floor, they see Dornvald and his accomplice but don't see any sign of Danny and Martin. Jack silently signals to the agents and SWAT to go to either side to block Dornvald from leaving.
A couple of agents and SWAT members stupidly knock over some boxes that are sitting in a corner of the warehouse. Dornvald and his accomplice see them and all hell breaks loose. As Dornvald refuses to get captured by police, he and his accomplice begin to shoot at the teams approaching them. As they begin to shoot their fully automatic guns at the agents, Jack, Jeff and the rest of the agents shoot back.
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In the room where Danny and Martin are being held…
Martin begins to hear the gun fight and grabs a hold of Danny protectively.
"You hear that, Danny. That's Jack. I told you he was coming for us," Martin sighs.
Danny has tears streaming down his face and is barely able to breathe because of exhaustion from the blood loss. "It's too late for me, Mar…tin.," Danny says. He swallows as he tries to take a breath. "I'm…dying."
"You're not dying, alright? I won't let you and neither will Jack," Martin says his voice breaking with emotion. He smiles as tears run freely down his face. "You're gonna be okay and soon you'll have all of those hot nurses all around you giving you nice, long sponge baths."
Danny finds a small smile for Martin. "Thanks for being such a good partner and a great friend. I know I didn't deserve it," he stammers breathless, with tears streaming down his face. "Just let me go, Martin. Please! I deserve to die like this!"
"Just shut up, Danny! You don't deserve any of this and neither do I! Alright! Dornvald is the only one who deserves to die." Martin screams out fear and anger. He sees Danny beginning to close his eyes so he grabs Danny's hand in a very tight brotherhood grip - causing Danny's eyes to open wide from the pain. His voice is fearful and cracking with emotion. "Damn it, Danny, stay with me!"
Why does he want me to stay here and fight after the horrible things I've done. I failed him. I failed him and the entire team. I'm a disgrace to the job. It's all my fault that everything went to hell. Please, Martin just let me die! It's the only way to make things right, Danny thought with tears streaming down his face.
"Danny, open your eyes! I know you think you deserve this but you don't. You haven't done a goddamn thing wrong, man. You're a great agent and you're the best friend I've ever had," Martin says crying. He sniffs and continues sternly because he's afraid and is trying to get Danny to react. "Look at me! Jack's already here to rescue us so if you think for a second that I'm gonna let you go then your sorry ass is mistaken! You fight like hell! I don't work with quitters!"
I know that he's just acting tough because he wants me to fight but I know that I'm dying. I'll just make him happy by pretending to fight. It's the last good thing that I can do for him before I die, Danny thought with a smile. "Ok…ay," he says as he smiles at Martin.
"That's it, man. I knew you weren't a quitter," Martin sighs in relief and smiles. But his smile is soon lost as he sees Danny shivering and shuddering. "What's wrong, Danny!" he asks his voice filled with fear and concern.
"I…I'm…c-c-cold, M-Martin. It's s-s-so…c-c-cold," Danny stammers – his teeth chattering.
Martin holds Danny to his chest protectively and rubs his back and arms trying to bring some warmth back into his friend's body as he fights to keep Danny alive. "It's okay, Danny-boy. You're gonna be okay. Jack's on his way here," he reassures. He watches Danny nod his head, indicating that he understands. Oh my God, Jack. Come on, where are you! Danny doesn't have much time, he silently cries.
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During the shoot out Dornvald's accomplice gets shot in the knees by agents and SWAT team members, causing him to hit the floor hard—they apprehend him.
Jeff gets shot by Dornvald—he is hit in the chest and the impact causes him to hit the floor hard and get momentarily knocked out.
"Jeff!" Jack screams, thinking that Jeff is dead. "You son-of-a-bitch!" he yells at Dornvald, not knowing that Jeff is wearing a bulletproof vest.
Jeff begins to stir and starts to cough violently.
"Jeff, are you all right! Jeff, answer me!" Jack yells.
"Yeah, I'm okay, the bullet just hit the vest," Jeff says breathlessly, as he continues to cough violently.
Because Jeff is still dazed from the impact of the gunshot, Dornvald takes advantage of the situation. Dornvald grabs Jeff by his hair and takes him hostage. He puts a gun to Jeff's head.
Dornvald is completely surrounded by agents and SWAT team members but refuses to be taken alive. "You're not taking me out alive!" he yells to Jack. "Call them off or he's going to die right here, right now! Drop your weapons or he dies!" He cocks the gun and presses it against Jeff's head.
The agents fearing for Jeff's life reluctantly give Dornvald some space and back away from him. "Let him go, now! Give yourself up, Dornvald! You're completely surrounded; there's no way in hell you're getting out of here. Drop the goddamn gun now!" Jack yells.
"Move out of my way now!" Dornvald yells as he begins to walk to the exit door of the 5th floor.
"Just shoot him, Jack! Don't let this fuckin' bastard walk out of here, Jack. Forget about me! He has to pay for what he did to Danny and Martin. Damn it, Jack, just do it! Shoot him!" Jeff yells panting - fear evident in his voice although he tries to sound confident.
"Just shut the fuck up, Jeff!" Jack yells out of fear and frustration.
"You should really listen to him," Dornvald laughs, as he makes it out of the door and walks down the hall to make his way downstairs.
"What the hell do you want! Let him go! You're completely surrounded!" Jack yells angrily.
"You choose right now-either I walk out of here or he dies!" Dornvald screams angrily. He's walking backwards and doesn't notice that there's a SWAT team member walking cautiously towards him from behind; Jack does see Jason, the SWAT leader, and decides to 'play along' and make Dornvald think that he's giving up.
"Alright, you wanna leave; you gotta give me what I want. You gotta give me Martin and Danny and you have to let him go," Jack says in a mock defeated tone.
"You can have those pathetic agents of yours but this one stays with me!" Dornvald scoffs.
"You know I can't let you do that. You give me what I want and you can walk out of here. I don't give a damn where you go just give me my agents and no one will follow you," Jack says.
Jeff gives Jack a worried look. "What the hell are you doing, Jack! Shoot the son-of-a- bitch right now! Don't let him get away with what he did to our guys. For all we know they're already dead!" Jeff yells.
"You shut the hell up or I'll kill you right now! I got nothing to lose!" Dornvald yells angrily as he pulls Jeff's hair.
"Just calm down, Jeff and do what he says," Jack says as he continues to 'play along'. He raises his hands and steps backwards.
Jeff begins to realize that Jack is just playing along with Dornvald-that he has a plan in motion. How could he have doubts about Jack, he thought, when he'd known him for ten years and knew that Jack never gave up that easily? "Alright, Jack. I'll do what he says," Jeff says and sends Jack a small, crooked smile.
"Okay, good, that-a-boy," Jack sighs, hoping that he won't draw suspicion from Dornvald, who continues to walk backwards. He looks past Dornvald while still appearing to look at him; he sees Jason and Sean - another SWAT member, closing in on Dornvald with their high-powered submachine guns.
"Stop right there or I'll kill him!" Dornvald yells angrily.
"What the hell did you do with Danny and Martin! Where the hell are they!" Jeff yells at Dornvald.
"Those pathetic excuses for human beings and agents are dead!" Dornvald chuckles evilly.
"Nooooo! Jack, kill the son-of-a-bitch! Kill him goddamnit!" Jeff screams - tears fall freely as he feels his blood boil for the hatred that he feels for Dornvald.
"They never should've meddled in my affairs! I only wanted Paige Hobson!" Dornvald chuckles evilly. "Fitzgerald actually thought he could fight me - he was so weak and pathetic. It was so easy to kill him. I made him suffer first, by watching me kill Taylor. I sliced Taylor's gut like a rotten fish while Fitzgerald screamed and cried like a little girl as we watched Taylor die. Then, after I killed Taylor I moved on to him. He tried to fight me so I sliced his throat," he pauses, smiling evilly, he sadistically licks his lips. "I can still taste his blood on my lips."
Jack felt his blood boil. He couldn't stand hearing Dornvald any longer. He just wanted to kill him. Kill him for hurting and killing his boys. He couldn't believe that he was too late. He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat back down as he reminded himself that Jeff was still a hostage.
Jack sees Jason and Sean closing in on Dornvald. "I'm gonna fuckin' kill you. But first, I'm gonna make you suffer worse than what you put my men through," he growls through clenched teeth.
Dornvald becomes suspicious of Jack's attitude. First he was being submissive and willing to bend to his will and now he was being defiant toward him. This had to a trap, he thought. While still holding the cocked gun to Jeff's head, he quickly turns around but is too late because he finds himself staring down the barrels of two automatic submachine guns belonging to the SWAT team members.
"Drop the goddamn gun and put your hands on your damn head, now!" Jason says in an eerily calm voice.
"He said drop the goddamn gun now and get your fucking hands off of him before I blow your brains all over the fucking floor!" Sean yells angrily, as he presses the gun to Dornvald's forehead. "Now!" Whilst still holding a gun to Dornvald's head he turns to Jeff. "Hey Jeff, are you all right!"
"Yeah, Sean, I'm okay," Jeff sighs in relief.
Seeing that he's got no where else to go, and doesn't want to get caught, Dornvald throws Jeff to the ground and tries to turn the gun on himself.
"No!" Jason screams. Risking his own life, he struggles and manages to take the gun from Dornvald. "You're not taking the easy way out!" he growls and quickly handcuffs Dornvald, "You're going to pay for what you did to those agents!"
Jack feels his blood boil over and can no longer contain his anger as he lunges toward Dornvald. He was going to personally make sure that Dornvald paid greatly for killing Danny and Martin; for killing his boys.
"I'm gonna kill you!" Jack yells, as he punches Dornvald in the face repeatedly, and then kicks him in the groin, causing him to fall to the floor groaning in pain. He then proceeds to kick him in the face, chest, stomach and ribs causing him to bleed all over the place.
The agents and SWAT look on as Jack beats the shit out of Dornvald but decide not to interfere. Instead, they decide to let Jack make Dornvald pay for killing his men.
"Jack!" Jeff says calmly. He puts a hand on Jack's shoulder and sighs heavily. "Jack stop, you're gonna kill him!"
"He has to pay for killing Danny and Martin! Don't you give a damn about them!" Jack yells at Jeff as he puts a gun to Dornvald's head.
"Of course I give a damn about Danny and Martin! But if you kill him you'll be giving him exactly what he wants. And you won't be any better than him, Jack! You'll be just like him," Jeff says sternly but he is hurt by Jack's words.
Jack knows that what Jeff had just said was true. If he killed Dornvald now it'd be too easy and he'd be just like him. He would lock him away, instead, in a federal prison and made sure that he paid hell for torturing and killing his boys. He unwillingly stops beating Dornvald and takes the gun away from his head.
"Get this filthy shit out of my sight!" Jack says, anger and exhaustion clearly evident in his voice. He watches Jason and Sean take Dornvald into custody and leave the warehouse. He falls to his knees and begins crying; he puts his face in his hands. "They're dead," he cries his voice filled with venom. "This is all my fault. I never should've sent them out without backup. He tortured them and killed them because of me."
"Jack, this isn't your fault! You did what you could to rescue them," Jeff says his voice breaking with emotion. He swallows hard. "They wouldn't want you to blame yourself."
"God, Jeff, I can still hear their screams of agony! Martin knew it, he knew that Dornvald was gonna kill them! He told me and I didn't do a goddamn thing about it!" Jack cries as he remembers the phone call – tears continue to fall freely down his face.
"Jack, wait a minute! How do we know the guys are even dead? We haven't even found them yet. Just because Dornvald said that doesn't mean it's true. He probably said it to make you suffer," Jeff gasps, as realization hits him – they haven't actually found Danny and Martin's bodies.
"You really think they're still alive!" Jack says his voice cracking with emotion and hope.
"Yeah, I do! Come on, let's go find them!" Jeff says smiling, as he helps Jack get up from the floor.
"Alright, listen up! We still have two missing agents that are seriously hurt and could be dying. According to the accomplice, Ridder, Danny and Martin are somewhere here on the 5th floor and they're in very bad condition. I want you to search every inch of this place until they are found," Jack says to the agents and SWAT. They disperse and begin to search for Martin and Danny - Jeff and Jack search together. They all begin to call for Danny and Martin.
"Danny! Martin! Where are you!" Jack yells.
"Martin and Danny answer me! Martin! Danny! Just tell us where you're at!" Jeff yells.
Martin and Danny hear someone calling out for them but it sounds so far away. Especially to poor Danny, who is slowly slipping away into complete darkness; away from all the pain and suffering. Martin hears someone calling out for them again. This time he calls out to the voice, since to him it sounds like Jack.
"Jack! Jeff!" Martin yells.
"Martin!" Jack yells back, shocked to he hears Martin's voice.
"Martin, where are you!" Jeff yells, his voice filled with emotion and excitement.
"Jack! Jack, help me!" Martin screams, as he begins to panic. "Jack, please, help me! Danny's dying! Jack, where are you!"
"It's Martin, Jack, he's alive! I told you they were alive!" Jeff says with excitement to Jack. He calls out to Martin. "Martin, where are you!"
"Jack, Jeff, we're over here. Hurry up! Danny's in trouble!" Martin yells, as he begins to bang on the door.
Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime they finally reached the door that Martin was desperately banging on. "Martin, we're here! Back away from the door now!" Jack yells, as Jeff kicks down the door. "Martin! Oh my God, Martin, I thought you guys were dead!" Jack cries, as he grabs Martin's shoulders – almost overwhelmed with emotion. "Dornvald told us that he killed you!"
"Jack, Danny's dying! He's lost too much blood already!" Martin stutters, his voice breaking with emotion.
"Martin, just calm down! I'm not gonna let anything else happen to either of you! I'm not gonna let Danny die! Now, are you okay?" Jack asks – his voice compassionate but stern.
"Forget about me! It's Danny you gotta worry about, not me! He's dying!" Martin yells angrily.
"Martin, calm down, he's gonna be okay. Why don't you come with me? Let's go get help," Jeff says sternly.
"No, I'm not leaving him!" Martin says, shaking his head, his voice filled with fear.
"Danny? Danny-boy, come on, look at me! Come on, Danny; open your eyes for me!" Jack pleads as he kneels down next to Danny.
"Jack? Jack, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault! I'm sorry that I failed you!" Danny stutters in a shaking voice, as he opens his eyes a crack – tears stream down his face.
"Shhh! Everything's gonna be okay, son! You didn't do anything wrong! I'm gonna get you outta here! Just calm down," Jack says soothingly, his voice breaking. He runs a gentle hand through Danny's hair.
"No, Jack, please!" Danny cries and shakes his head. "Just let me die! I deserve to die like this!"
"What the hell are you talking about! You don't deserve any of this!" Jack says – shocked by Danny's words.
Danny closes his eyes and whispers as tears run freely down his face. "Just leave me alone, Jack. Let me die like the filthy garbage that I am."
Jack grabs Danny's hand tight, as fear takes a hold of him. He winces as it causes Danny to cry out in pain and open his eyes; he didn't mean to hurt Danny anymore than he was. He just wanted his agent to understand that he deserved to live, that there were a lot of people that loved and cared about him.
"Now, you listen to me! I don't give a damn what you think! This isn't your fault and I'm not gonna let you die so you better get that through your thick ass skull! I'm gonna go get help but you better fight and you better fight hard! I'll kick your sorry ass and bring you back from the grim reaper if you try to die on me!" Jack says firmly to Danny hoping that he will understand. He turns to Martin. "I'm gonna go call for help. Stay here with him and keep him awake; don't let him fall asleep. I'll be right back!" Jack sighs, he doesn't want to leave his injured agents' sides but he knows that if he doesn't get help now Danny's gonna die.
"Jack! What about Dornvald?" Martin asks, his voice filled with fear.
"Don't worry about him. He's gonna get what's coming to him," Jack replies.
"Jack, we have to hurry! Martin, don't worry about Dornvald now, you just stay here with Danny! He needs you! Let's go, Jack!" Jeff says sternly.
"Thanks Jeff! Go get help, Jack!" Martin says. Once Jack and Jeff leave them, he goes back to Danny's side. "Danny! Danny how are you doing, bro! You okay?"
"Oh God! Danny! Hang on, man. You're gonna be okay," Martin cries as Danny starts to choke on his own blood and begins to lose consciousness. "Don't you fucking die on me!" He turns Danny on his side to stop him from choking on his blood. "Help's on the way, Danny. You can't give up now. Just stay with me. Come on, man, just stay with me," Martin pleads.
"Martin? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have distracted you when we were transporting Adisa Teno. This is all my fault," Danny says, still gasping for air.
"None of this is your fault, Danny. Dornvald's the only one to blame. But we got that son of a bitch," Martin reassures, his voice cracking with emotion.
"Tell the team...I'm sorry for...letting them down," Danny stammers. Why couldn't he breathe? Why was it so cold?
"Damn it, Danny, I already told you this isn't your fault. So stop talking like that, all right! You're gonna make it through this-you've been through a lot worse, alright?" Martin yells out fear and desperation.
"T-Thanks f-for… always having my back… M-Martin," Danny manages to stammer - each shallow breath draining his strength and life from him.
"I'll always have your back, brother," Martin cries, tears streaming down his face.
Danny looks up at Martin and tries to give him a small smile. "Good...Bye...Martin," Danny says barely breathing. He closes his eyes as complete darkness takes over. Danny's head rolls to one side as he takes his last breath.
"Danny?" Martin whispers fear evident in his voice. With trembling fingers he checks for a pulse but doesn't find one. "Daneeee! Nooooooo!"
Martin looks up and around as the sound the sirens of the ambulance coming filters into the small room - but it sounds far away… too far away. He lays Danny down on the ground beside him. He lowers his face to Danny's to hear if he's breathing - he isn't. The only thing he sees is blood coming out of Danny's mouth. Unwilling to let his best friend and partner die like this - by Dornvald's hands - he begins CPR.
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A huge to thanks to my beta fans1024 and all of you who have taken the time to R and R this fic. It wouldn't be possible without any of you. I have/had an ending in mind for this fic but now I'm not so sure if I should continue it. Let me know if I should continue it or not.