Nana watched as Emily moved throughout what was once the Center's dining area.
"So you're really going to do this, then?" Nana asked.
"Yes, I am. That's my daughter on the line. I won't loose her like I lost Zack and my parents." Nana smiled sadly.
"Just be careful, then. And don't forget to take a water bottle with you, Emily," the old woman insisted. "You know perfectly well that, as a diabetic, you tend to get thirsty more then other people. And make sure you watch yourself if you get cut. You need to take care in preventing infections…"
"I'm not four years old anymore, Nana," Emily interrupted. "I can handle all the small stuff."
"I'm sorry for nagging," Nana apologized. "It's simply that, since I never was blessed with a child in my youth…." The old woman trailed off, a sudden look of pain on her aged face.
"You don't have to say it, Nana," Emily stated softly.
"I think of you as my own," Nana finished. Emily, after a brief hesitation, turned to the old woman and hugged her tightly.
"I know. I'll come back, Nana. And I'll have Penny with me." With that, Emily walked out of the Center, but she froze on the front steps upon seeing the Bohemians were all standing there. "What are you guys doing here?"
"What do you think? We're here to help get Penny back," Mark replied
"I can't let you do that! This is my fight, not yours"
"Friends don't abandon friends in a pinch," Maureen insisted
"But… you could get yourselves killed."
"We all appreciate your concern, but you could get killed too." Joanne pointed out.
"I've been in danger my entire life, if you'd remember. It's not a new experience for me. If I'm for the Angel of Death, then I'll go to him without fuss. Because that would mean I'd finally see Zack and my parents again."
"Ungrateful brat!" Roger shot out.
"What?" Emily stared at him in shock.
"Your family gave their lives for you.," he growled. "Your parents degraded themselves to give you a good life. Your father died to save you. Zack got infected with AIDS because he was trying to keep you safe. How can you seriously consider throwing your life away, making all their sacrifices for you in vain?" Emily, upon hearing this reasoning, was visibly stunned to silence. Finally, she lowered her head in defeat.
"What else can I do? Everyone I've loved has died. Sooner or later, you have to start thinking 'what if it's you? What if you were the one meant to die, and everyone was just getting in the way of the inevitable?' I… I don't want anyone else sacrificing themselves for me," she admitted finally. "If anyone is going to die tonight, it will be me."
"You can't just accept death willingly if it presents itself, Emily," Mark persisted. "Roger's right. Your family gave their lives for you. You can't just give up everything their deaths gave you."
"Like what, Mark? I've lost my mother, father, and brother. I might lose Penny. I'm only human. I…I can only take so much loss. They always said that everything comes at a price. Well, what about me? My whole life, I've paid price after price, and got nothing back. What have I ever gotten in return for all the blood and tears?" Emily's question was met with a long silence.
"Us," Collins answered finally. "You got us. We're your friends, Emily. You asked a month ago what you did to deserve the friendship we all have for you. Don't you think that's what you got in return?" Slowly, as Collins' wisdom sank in, Emily replied with a warm smile, one that was accompanied by grateful tears.
"Perhaps… you might be right. And I am eternally grateful for everything you've done," she announced. "You gave your time and money to help keep the Center open. You found me a job. You stuck with me, despite knowing that the Rat Fangs might go after you, too. You even helped out in finding where they took Penny. You've all done so much for me already. It would be wrong to ask for more."
"Since when do you have to ask for a friend's help, Emily?" Mimi asked. "We've all had plenty of time to back out. There's no way we can do so now. That point's been crossed."
"Whatever happens now," Mark concluded, "we're all with you to the end." Emily was rooted to the spot for half a minute, but then moved right up to Mark, so they were facing one anther head-on. A moment later, she had pulled the filmmaker into a strong, thankful hug, one that he returned immediately.
"We've studied the ground plans of the warehouse," Officer Kurtz stated as he went through the briefing as he and the Bohemians hovered over the outline of the warehouse that served as the hideout for the Rat Fang Gang. "There are two places we can send people in undetected. The first is through a small hatch door in the roof, which can be reached by an old ladder on one side. The ladder itself is rather rusty and old, so this might be a task reserved for people who are rather light. It's also the most risky, because the only cover would be the shadows. The second is a more stealthy entrance. It turns out that this warehouse holds an entryway to an old bomb shelter. A person could enter through a second doorway a few blocks away, and come up into the warehouse though the bomb shelter."
"I can take the ladder," Mimi offered, with a mischievous smile. "After all those years of pole dancing at the Cat Scratch, that should be easy."
"I suppose it would," Officer Kurtz agreed. "It would be advisable, however, if you didn't do it alone. There is safety in numbers. Thus, I suggest the next two lightest people accompany Miss Marquez. And judging from just physical analysis, that would be Mr. Cohen and Miss Goodhall."
"That leaves the bomb shelter to me, Roger, Maureen, and Joanne," Collins mused.
"Actually, I have a special task for Miss Jefferson," Officer Kurtz stated. "We need someone to stay behind at the safety point located at the place Team Two will enter the bomb shelter. Once everyone has gotten back to that point, with Penny in tow, Miss Jefferson is to contact me immediately via radio. Once we get the all clear, the police squad that will be at the ready will move in.
"I want to make one thing known to all of you right now. Since none of you have actually gone through police training, what we are doing here is completely against regulations. I can't convey to you enough the danger you're putting yourselves through. There are a thousand ways something can go wrong. If anyone has even the slightest hesitation about this, now is the time to back away. No one will think any less of you."
"No way! We're in this to the end!" Maureen replied adamantly.
"Very well," Officer Kurtz nodded as the others expressed equal thought on the subject. "In that case, we best be off."
AN: How'd you like this chapter? Hope no one thought that Emily's little personal conflict came out of nowhere, 'cause I tried to drop hints of it here and there. If they were too subtle, I'm sorry, but in my defense, I didn't take notice of the personal downfalls Mark had in detaching until I saw the second half of 'Goodbye, Love' on the DVD's deleted scenes. From here on in, it's a wild ride down a rocky road. So, until next time...