We'd briefed up quickly, right there in the lobby of the Hotel. Chang had departed to make his own preparations, and the newly arrived Russians were helping Hotel soldiers set up to defend in case we got pushed back.

D.C had wheeled in behind us big time; we had an additional three teams from SAD, NSA listening posts setting up around the city, and forty Delta guys on standby just across Slipknot in case things got real thick, rumor had it that the Kremlin had sent some Spetznaz into the city, but no one had clocked them yet, so it was hearsay until it wasn't.

Then there were my boys, and they always would be; Hotel Moscow totaled around three hundred strong… The Triads brought four hundred to the table. All of the best the US, Russia, and the criminal underworld had to offer… against a combined arms military in its own right, composed of contractors that had spent the last fifteen years conducting all kind of shadowy operations at the behest of men just like Lomonosov.

The poor bastards.

I sat in the lobby and smoked, far away from prying eyes, waiting on the word from Kelly, the guy seemed to know his shit, and I was glad to be following his lead. Dave walked around the corner, breaking my concentration.

"You alright? Did you eat something?"

I smiled from my crate-borne vantage point.

"Yeah, Dad, I ate. I'm okay; seeing her happy made me happier than I'd like to admit; I just hope we get the chance to talk when this is all over."

He grinned, "I saw that; you weren't lying, she's gorgeous, and you can tell she's an ass-kicker. I hate to say it, just fanning the flames over here, but the way she looked at you? Buddy, if you two had been alone, I'd have been worried about the furniture."

I sighed wistfully, "Nah, she's just that intense, period. Always has been"

He shrugged, "Not from where I was sitting. I'm no mind-reader, but I'm not blind either; she would've jumped you given half a chance."

The smell of floral perfume, cigar smoke, and sex graced my sinuses for a moment, meshing with the feel of silky hair underneath my fingers before the memory was gone.

"Yeah, maybe." But a smile played over my face.

Dave grinned, "Well, if you're all squared away, but that crush back in your pocket, Kelly's waiting."

I smiled all the way to the parking lot; even if Dave was wrong, I wrapped the thought that she still cared around me like armor.

I'd need all the help I could get.

Parker tossed the small IR beacon in a high arc; I caught it low and switched it on, throwing it onto the roof. All around me, the guys were doing the same, ringing the same dock where we'd fought the psycho maid what seemed like another lifetime ago.

The thinking was simple, we had two drones, six Hellfires; once the contractors docked and offloaded the bulk of their forces, we'd let them separate and then wipe out their equipment and avenue of retreat in one smooth shot.

At least that was the plan.

"Whiplash, progress?"

I keyed my mic, "Briggs here, last one going up now." I primed the last beacon and threw it onto a boat launch that looked oddly familiar.

"Finish up and consolidate, far end of the dock."

"Check, moving." I turned and hustled to where the others were waiting.

Kelly was eyeing a hardened tablet, speaking into a radio.

"Grizzly, beacons are up; confirm you have them on overhead?"

….

"Understood, proceeding with secondary objectives, will advise. Out."

He shut the tablet off, shoving it between his vest and his combat shirt.

"Alright boys, ISR has the beacons; we check defenses, head for the church, and wait for our guests."

Nods and whispers of assent all around, Dave looked more alive than I'd ever seen him.

I couldn't blame him; this was a drug, we were all high on it, and rehab didn't work.

Our Suburban waited, and we double-timed it, climbing in almost in unison and throwing gravel as we sped off.

Ten hours and counting.

We rolled past the Triad defensive perimeter; Hotel Moscow soldiers had been helping them fill sandbags for the last nine hours, setting up machine gun emplacements and explosives in the chokepoints.

"What's the status on the other teams?" I called out to Kelly.

"They've arrived. Rabbit, Butcher, and Oxide, they're gonna split up and advise the Triads, keep them combat effective, and coordinate our fires if need be. Meade is gonna be feeding us continuous intel from the sat feeds. D-boys are prepped as our QRF."

I nodded, watching the Triads and my Hotel Moscow brothers herding civvies into hardened buildings, anything to protect them from what was coming. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, trying to steady myself, keep the steadily rising anger at bay, even dead, that fucker Lomonosov was fucking with us.

Mills piped up, "Transmission from OP Valentine, patching it in!"

"Whiplash, be advised, we have a problem; buster it back to Valentine for an update brief ASAP."

Kelly keyed up as Dave, and I shot each other a look.

"Whiplash Actual copies all, moving to Valentine."

We peeled left, jumping the curb and heading to the OP.

The Rip-Off Church glinted dimly in the moonlight, a cluster of guys standing out front.

"Jack?" Kelly called out as we all disembarked.

A pretty redhead, hair stuffed under a faded Red Sox cap, turned at the sound of his voice.

Check that, a bunch of dudes and one female.

"Kelly?" She sounded thrilled. They hugged as we walked to catch up.

"Good to see you, Jackie, Rabbit's ready to run?"

She nodded, "Always, Butcher and Oxide are already spread out with the Triad units; we're staying here to secure the OP and assist you as needed."

He nodded, lightly socking her in the shoulder, "Stay safe, Jack, Whiplash? On me."

We rallied and pushed inside, offering nods and fist bumps to Rabbit as we went.

Eda had turned the house of worship into a makeshift command center, Cisco monitors connected her to Langley, several laptops displayed multiple sat feeds. The woman herself was hunched over a desk, scribbling something.

"Blackwater?"

She jumped a little at Kelly's voice; when she looked up, I knew it was bad; her face was pale.

"We're in trouble."

"What's the word?" Kelly asked.

She stood and crossed the room, grabbing one of the untethered laptops and setting it in front of us.

"This was eighteen hours ago, see it?"

I leaned in, two container ships, about three miles apart.

"This was fifteen minutes ago after the satellites rotated."

She tapped a few keys, and a new image came up.

Two more ships had joined the formation.

"Fuck…" Someone whispered.

"They hooked in from Malaysia as far as we can tell, we backtracked, and heat signatures put another five-hundred guys on each ship. Plus what analysts think are rotor-wing assets…They have Hinds."

All the air rushed out of the room.

We'd lost the fight before it'd even begun.

Nah, fuck that.

"What's our play?"

Eda looked haunted, "MI6 is using their connections with the pirate outfits; they're going to try and harass the Mercs before they make landfall, but I'm not holding my fucking breath."

I stared at death coming for us, and something clicked.

"Could we get close, maybe plant some demo on the ships? Whittle them down before they get here. Hit 'em with the drones, mop up what's left?"

She shook her head, "It'd take too much material, ship that size? You could plant charges on the waterline all day, and they'll just smile at you and keep on coming."

"What about inside? What if we could get in and set off whatever they brought to play with?"

She opened her mouth to rebut me, but Kelly stepped up.

"Blackwater, we can't beat two-thousand guys, not rolling armor and helos; Briggs is right; the best chance we have is to sink some of these assholes before they ever make port. Now can you get us air?"

She shook her head, "Not a chance; I had to beg for the drones; we're basically attacking Thailand as it is, no way PACOM gets us fast air."

Parker cut in, "Sounds like Briggs's idea is the best shot we have. Do we have any waterborne assets?"

A voice behind me made brought a smile to my face.

"That'd be us."

I turned to see Dutch and Revy walk in, Rock and Benny on their heels. D' smiled wide.

"Sister Eda clued us in; how can we help?"

I pushed off the table and shook Dutch's hand; he pulled me into a side hug, "Briggs, when this is over, you gotta come clean. We thought you were dead."

"Not a chance in hell, brother, and uh…" I waved my hand at the heavily armed assembly, "Coming clean might be heavily redacted."

Revy stepped around him and slugged me in the shoulder hard enough to push me back a step.

"Fucker, we thought someone chopped you up and chummed the water with your ass."

I grinned, rolling my now throbbing shoulder, "No such luck Rev'. Rock, Benny?"

Rock stepped up and shook my hand, while Benny grinned and waved over his shoulder; the kid had a grip on him.

"Zack, it's really good to see you again."

I laid a hand on his shoulder, beaming, "You too, man," I shrugged, "Figured the end of the world was a good time to get the gang back together."

Whiplash was watching the exchange; Eda had a grin on her face.

"All things being what they are, I'm sorry for leaving like I did, didn't have a choice, guys."

"Wah-wah, can we get to the fucking point?"

I laughed harder than I had in a long time; Revy smirked, I knew she was too emotionally fucking stunted to say it, but that smirk said it all.

Good to have you back, Boy Scout.

I reached out a fist, and she rolled her eyes, knocking hers into it.

Good to be back, Rev'.

"Revy…here's the point, I'm asking you guys to help me blow up some cargo ships full of contractors that are on their way to raze this place to the ground, kill everyone we know and everyone we care about. We're going up against some serious odds, and the pay…" I glanced back at Eda, who nodded, "…will be considerable."

"How considerable?"

I rolled my eyes, "Eda?"

"Five million, enough for Lagoon to do what they want once this is over."

Dutch's eyes bugged, the rest of the crew likewise.

Eda raised a finger, "Contingent of course on this meeting never being mentioned, ever. Or that money will swiftly be replaced by lengthy, lengthy prison sentences."

Revy looked like Christmas had come early over and over for every dollar Eda had just offered her.

"Are you shitting me? I've never met you in my fucking life! HA!" She crowed.

"We're gonna be millionaires…" Benny whispered.

"Provided we don't die, of course," Rock added, bringing them all back down to earth.

Dutch hummed, "Well, that's certainly enough scratch to start over if we wanted, or really expand the operation, we'd be free guys. That said, you're my crew; I'd like to hear your thoughts."

Revy still hadn't stopped grinning, " Dutch, I'm all the way in. This is the job of a lifetime!"

Rock looked pensive, "I think we should help, although I don't know how much help I can be during what amounts to a military operation."

Revy grabbed him in a headlock, "We'll figure it out, Rocky baby, A cool mil' for each of us? We can go anywhere, or we can stay right here and live like kings!"

Rock nodded, turning slightly blue.

Benny was mulling it over, "How would we even get close?"

"Radar scramblers on the 'Lagoon, we get real close, let the kinetic elements handle the hard stuff, you just make sure the tech stays on, and we'll handle the rest. Revy and Dutch along in case shit gets loud; Rock to drive the boat."

Kelly nodded, "So we split the element, three and three, take the deck crew down real quiet, roll for the shit that goes 'boom,'. Exfil and light 'em up all at once."

Eda nodded, "They think they're up against criminals, criminals don't do what we're proposing, we might have the element of surprise."

"I think that's it then." Parker interjected, "all that's left is to do the damn thing."

Kelly nodded again, "It's the only way through this. Dutch was it?"

D' nodded, "That's the rumor."

Kelly grinned, "I think it's time we saw your boat."

Revy whooped, Rock and Benny both looked green but resolute, Dutch nodded.

I was beginning to regret opening my mouth, but it was the only way.

Eda walked up and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, "You gonna get me a present, cowboy? I've always wanted a bay full of dead Russian contractors."

I smiled as she kissed my cheek, "Who am I to refuse a lady?"

She leaned close and whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

"Sic 'em, boy."

An hour later, I was sitting on the prow of my second home, feeling the gentle sea breeze welcoming me back, caressing me into relaxation despite the almost certain death we were walking into, the rolling of the waves, and my friends at my back made me feel a hundred feet tall and bulletproof.

Dutch had her wide open, and we'd be sighting the convoy in another three hours. So for now, I leaned back and smoke; our radar jammers were up and active, and Eda was running ISR with some very advanced real-time imaging.

Dave slid to the deck next to me, I offered him a smoke, but he declined, per usual.

"I get it."

I raised an eyebrow, "You get what?"

"Why you love this place so much, I can see it on your face, the freedom of it all, the people, I mean the crew is something else."

"They're great, right?"

"That Rock kid is brilliant, like scary smart, Revy reminds me of a rattlesnake, Dutch is still a Marine no matter how much he tries to hide it or pretend it's in the past. Benny seems like every laid-back stoner on earth." He smiled, "They're really great."

I pulled off my smoke, "But the fucking unresolved sexual tension…"

"Between Revy and Rock?" He finished with a broader smile, "Fuckin' bonkers, man, they just need to get on with it already."

I chuckled, "I love Revy to death, but she's an emotional midget; Rock's scared of getting shot in the face."

Dave snorted, "I guess that's a concern?"

I flicked my smoke over the side, "Big time."

"Weird friends you have, but I can dig it."

"Glad you approve," I answered with a smirk

We sat there for a long time, neither one of us speaking, merely enjoying the silence the way only people who've known each other for a very long time can. I had one of my best friends beside me, riding into hell together.

I don't know when I nodded off, but someone shook me, and I jumped a little. Kelly was standing over me, his helmet already on.

"Sorry Briggs, Convoy's on the radar; we're about five miles out."

I shook my head, blinking to clear my head, "No worries, let's do what we came here to do. Do we have the teams yet?"

"You, Dave, and Revy. Me, Scotty, and Tucker. Dutch is gonna take care of our exfil."

I nodded, returning my gaze to our fast approaching targets.

The ships loomed in the distance, like mountains on the horizon, silent and deadly, they held our own personal apocalypse in their depths, and still, we knifed towards them, unheeding of our own ends a scant few miles out.

But fuck it, you only die once, and if I had to die? I wanted it to be here, defending the place that had changed me for the better.

Sofiya's eyes blazed in my mind as I dropped my NOD's, turning the world a pale blue to match; satisfied that they worked, I secured them again. Her nails raked my shoulders, and chills that had nothing to do with pre-op jitters fluttered through me; I heard her whispering breathless words of affection as we made love over and over.

It all seemed so far away as I keyed my mic.

"Whiplash Two to Actual, radio check, over."

A chorus of assent and request for checks answered, all steely, we were ready for this.

Two miles out and I screwed the suppressor onto my rifle, checking to ensure all of my kit was secure.

One mile and I could see the lights burning in the living quarters that would separate us from the cargo holds. I readied myself as much as I could for what was to come; we'd roll off as the Lagoon passed and scale the ship using a couple of grapple-guns, hoping we didn't alert the topside crew.

A thousand yards and a hand squeezed my shoulder, Dave smiled as we lined up on the port side, Revy looked a little uncomfortable in her black Multicam getup, but she kept her mouth shut. I dropped to a knee before laying flat; the others followed suit, a rope came down the line, hooking us all together.

Five-hundred yards and Sofiya was all around me. Gently caressing the hair that my helmet didn't cover, nails ghosting over the back of my neck.

Baby, baby, rock-a-bye

On the edge, you mustn't lie.

Or the little grey wolf will come.

And will nip you on the tum,

Drag you off into the wood

Underneath the willow-root.

I felt a tap on my foot, and I rolled into the water, the impact knocking me sideways for a moment before I bobbed to the surface, the ship a scant few yards away, looming out of the darkness as it cut through the water. The whoosh-pop of the grapple gun was followed by a whisper of affirmation from Dave.

"Hook set."

He spooled the line in, foot by foot, we fought the current until making contact with the side of the ship a little harder than I was ready for, knocking the wind out of me as we started our climb; I took point, climbing over Dave and Dutch with Revy on my tail, another relic from my firefighter days, always be the first one in the door if you can.

Hand over hand, I pulled myself into the blackness above, punctuated by the light streaming through portholes; I could hear something raucous going on inside, good, maybe they'd all be too drunk to wipe us out on sight.

My arms were on fire by the time I reached the railing, drawing my knees up and pulling my suppressed .45. Revy tapped my boot, and I popped over the railing, landing softly on the rolling deck; I flashed her a thumbs up over the side, and up she came, her suppressed Beretta scanning.

I keyed up, whispering as I dropped my NOD's, holstering the pistol and test-firing my IR laser, "Two is on the deck, moving to primary."

"Actual copies, making our ascent now."

I chanced a look to the East, where the other cargo ship rolled over the waves.

Soon to be a ball of fire if all went to plan.

Dave rolled over the railing, brushing past me to take the point; I fell in behind him after undoing our line and dropping it back into the ocean. Revy pulled slack, moving cat-like behind us; it seemed she knew how to be quiet, color me surprised.

A light flashed ahead, just around a corner; without a word we flattened against a bulkhead, waiting. Dave brought his rifle up, I sidestepped him and raised mine.

Two guards rounded the corner, heading for the railing; one already had a smoke going, the other killed his helmet-mounted white-light and pulled a lighter, sparking his own cigarette.

Their NOD's were up and off.

I fired my laser twice on the closest guard; Dave's lit up on the furthest guy a moment later.

I knocked the tip of my boot into his once, twice…

We fired as one.

My target took two rounds right under his helmet, a puff of white vapor and chunks of brains sprayed as Dave hit his dude three times; I crossed over and shot him twice as he fell.

"Move."

We pushed; I dropped my muzzle and shot them both once more, rotating mags on the fly. Revy helped me throw them into the ocean while Dave pulled security; I grabbed one's radio before he went over.

"Freq is 506.975, looping into comms now."

I twisted the dial on my own radio, tossing his after him. Voices greeted me.

"Team Three reporting all clear, no activity."

"Team Two reporting all clear."

…

"Team One? Report."

I keyed up, "Team One is experiencing minor comms interference, All clear."

I held my breath…

"Copy, all clear."

"Fucking hell," I whispered, relaxing and throwing a nod to Dave.

He moved a knife-hand toward the hatch.

Take it slow.

I nodded and heel-toed it to the wheel, spinning it as they covered; the door came open with the soft hiss of hydraulics. Dave moved through, Revy followed.

"Last man," I whispered, pulling the door shut behind us.

We were in.

The two contractors never saw it coming; Revy stepped around me in the stack and shot them both in the head, a smile on her face. Starbursts of blood sprayed the wall behind them, and they dropped without a sound.

We'd been making our way through the ship like ghosts, dropping and hiding bodies where we couldn't sneak past them; every so often, Dave would flash a thumbs-up to let us know that Kelly's team was making progress. Now the cargo bay doors were ahead of us, and my heart was thudding against my ribs.

If they were conducting some last minute checks, we were fucked. I jerked my head at the door, Dave nodded, and we moved together, bracketing the heavy pressure hatch; I reached for the handle, gently popping it, I locked eyes with Revy, and she nodded, Dave followed suit, and I dragged the door open, Dave was the first one through, Revy behind him with a hand on his shoulder, I pushed in and closed the door, spinning to face the room, and my jaw dropped.

Contractors…Everywhere….

They'd strung up hammocks in between crates of munitions, milled around smoking and drinking…

Ah.

Fuck…

We'd stepped in the middle of it now. And there was no way through it but through it. They hadn't noticed us yet, but we had bare seconds.

There was a silent agreement between the three of us.

Nobody was going out like a punk.

Revy pulled her other Beretta, a grin washing over her face; the glint in her eye told me that the thought of losing wasn't even on her radar.

Dave smiled sadly at me as he pulled two grenades from his vest.

I winked and pulled the M79 off my back, loading a White Phosphorous round, and shook my head slowly.

Not dying here, brother.

"Who the fuck is that!?" Somebody shouted, and all eyes in the room, all hundred plus of them, turned our way.

I leveled the grenade launcher, "Roanapur says hello."

The "Thumper" bucked against my shoulder, and my grenade sailed right into the midst of them; a second later, there was a loud POP followed by hellish screaming.

Revy went left, firing her Berettas; Dave hurled both of his primed frags and went right, pulling his rifle up, dropping three guys with a frightening speed. I followed him, breaking open the launcher and slotting another Willy-Pete. A steel crate was our cover; I peeked out to fire another round and was shocked by what I saw.

Revy was twirling, leaping, and firing, taking down bad guys even as they scrambled, a manic grin plastered all over her face, we locked eyes as she reloaded behind a shipping container, and her grin got wider.

"FORTY GOING OUT!" I yelled, and she nodded, slamming new mags home.

Another POP sounded, followed by more obscene howling.

There was a reason the use of White Phosphorous was a war crime.

"KEEP UP THE PRESSURE! PLANTING CHARGES!" Dave shouted.

I slung the M79 and pulled my rifle up, hooking out and hosing two guys who were trying to break open a crate full of AK's. Revy was laughing, spraying them with rounds, cutting guys to ribbons. I watched her dance in and out, kicking one guy in the teeth and shooting his buddy twice in the face, dropping low and blowing his brains out as he fell. Before planting off a container and hitting them from angles, I didn't know were possible.

Now I saw what everyone else did.

Revy Two-Hands… the Angel of Death herself…She definitely lived up to the hype.

I dropped an empty mag, seated a new one, and it hit me.

No one was firing back.

They didn't have weapons.

Probably locked up in an arms locker somewhere.

I smiled evilly.

"REVY!"

"YEAH, BOY SCOUT?" She crowed, taking down another three guys in a spray of blood.

"NO WEAPONS!"

Her face turned positively demonic as she caught my meaning.

No mercy.

"KILL 'EM ALL, BABY!"

I hooked out of cover as Dave set the charges, smoke from the phosphorous billowing, and I flicked the selector to full-auto… at this range, it didn't matter.

They were running and screaming orders, trying to gather up and get us in a rush. I dropped the hammer, and they just screamed. The heavy .300 Blackout rounds tearing into them, spraying blood, bone frag, and brains everywhere.

I dropped the empty thirty-rounder and seated a sixty round casket mag.

Apt.

Revy and I moved, mowing them down as they tried in vain to get away from our iron. She matched my grin as blood washed over the deck, crossing over and hitting my targets as they fell, dead-checking them for me; someone swung a crowbar at me, aiming high, I dropped to a knee, and it sailed past, burying itself in a crate.

Revy shot him in the face for his trouble.

"EYES UP, BRIGGS!" She chastised with a wild smile.

"YEAH, YEAH!" I grinned back, hosing a group heading up the stairs.

More guys popped out on the catwalk; these guys were armed.

They'd gotten their shit together.

"REV'! UP HIGH!" I was already hammering at them, skipping rounds off of everything I could hit, trying to keep their heads down. Revy took my breath away by scaling a stack of crates and leaping to the catwalk, hitting the newcomers from the side in a ballet of burning gunpowder.

Holy shit.

I was legitimately afraid for Rock at that point. The boy was fucked with a capital "F."

"CHARGES SET!" Dave called out.

"REVY, FALL BACK!"

She reversed her course, dead-checking dudes, as she hurdled the railing and ran for the door. Dave peeled after her, and I covered the rear as we crashed into the passageway, running with guns up; two guys popped out of their quarters, and Revy sprayed them both. I gunned another to the ground when he poked his head out, double-tapping his roommate and finishing him off with around to the face. We never stopped moving; the hatch we'd entered was fifty feet ahead and closing fast.

I keyed my radio while they covered, "Actual, Two has heavy contact! Objective accomplished moving to extract, how copy?"

"Actual to Two, Objective complete, no alarms, already topside, tasking priority extract to you."

"Two copies all, ready for extract, ninety seconds!"

Our boots thudded on the diamond plate; twenty feet away from the door, three guys stepped out, AK's snapping up.

Revy hit the gas, sprinting for them; the first guy took four rounds to the chest, slamming him into the bulkhead, the second took a single round high in the face, taking the top of his head with it, the last guy was bringing his rifle to bear when she pistol-whipped him across the face, blood and teeth spraying the wall, dancing out of his reach and blowing his head off, the guy with the rounds in his plates coughed, broken ribs, if his wheezing was anything to go by.

She dropped her spent mags slowly, resting a foot on his rifle as he reached for his pistol, rage and pain burning in his eyes; she smiled down at him, shaking her head as she thumbed the slide release…

And shot him in the head.

Voices behind us screamed in Russian, and we boogied, pushing the hydraulic door open and making our way onto to the now rain-slicked deck.

I bolted across the expanse, pulling the quick detach cordage on my plate carrier, pulling off my helmet, and hurling them over the side, preparing for the absolute last thing I wanted to do…

We were gonna have to jump.

Thank god all the cargo was weighing the ship down; the waterline was just high enough that we wouldn't kill ourselves outright. I socked my rifle as close to my body as I could before planting off the railing, leaping into the dark and the rain as the newly armed contractors sent rounds snapping past us.

A moment of weightlessness before gravity took hold, dragging me towards the inky blackness below. I barely had time to bring my feet together before I made an impact; the world suddenly drowned out in a roar of water and tremendous pressure, knocking the wind from my lungs and sending me spinning.

I let out a small stream of bubbles, feeling them rush up my forehead, now oriented, I kicked violently for the surface, my lungs burning…

With a gasp, I broke the surface in time to see the 'Lagoon roaring towards me; Revy and Dave were already clustered together, Dave was lassoing his white light over his head, drawing the boat in. I swam for all I was worth against the swells, eating up the distance between us; the fire was picking up from above as the contractors recovered enough to try and kill us. The PT boat hooked in, cutting a tight turn that put them between us and the rounds zipping in from above as best as they could. Shadowy figures raced across the deck, pulling Dave and Revy aboard; I kept moving, pumping my arms and kicking hard.

Then I heard it.

You never forget the sound of a round meeting flesh, audible even over the driving rain, and the roaring of a boat engine.

SMACK!

One of the figures pitched over the side, splashing into the water.

I didn't think, I dove, ten feet away from the side, I was blind, reaching… my fingers closed around something solid and I tasted blood in the water as I powered back for the surface, hauling my cargo with me. Strong hands dragged me out of the water. Dutch, a pained look on his face, Revy, eyes wide and unreadable, Dave, looking as grim as I'd ever seen him.

I looked down at the still body in my arms.

Oh, Jesus.

Rock…

Benny must've been driving because seconds later, we shot off the line, rounds pinging off the steel deck.

I shut out the world and looked down at Rock; the round had dug a furrow from his scalp to his chin; I couldn't tell how bad under all the blood, my fingers reached for a pulse.

Nothing.

No….

No.

No!

I frantically reached for my aid bag.

Gone, ripped away by the impact.

I tore his shirt open, counting ribs and lacing my fingers over his sternum, locking my elbows and counting reps.

"C'mon Rock!"

Revy was pacing next to us, the driving rain sheeting over her.

Dutch was barking orders at Benny.

Dave had a hand on my shoulder as we raced towards Whiplash.

I never stopped pounding on his chest, checking for a pulse, and restarting my compressions as we raced toward Whiplash.

"C'mon! You're not a pussy, and you're not starting now. Don't fucking give up on me! I need someone to keep breathing for him!"

Dave broke off, breathing into Rock's mouth. His fingers digging under the limp kid's collar.

Someone was breaking behind me.

"Got a pulse!" Dave yelled.

All the fight ran out of me as I half fell, half sat back on the deck, tears of relief streaming down my face…Dutch and Revy shook it off and pulled the others from the water, and Benny hit the throttle; we were only a mile out… way too fucking close.

"Minimum distance?" Parker shouted.

"Fuckin' blow it before we lost the signal!" Kelly answered.

My eyes were on my friend's slowly rising and falling chest as Dave and Parker hit their detonators at the same time.

The effect was…biblical, the farthest ship split in half, secondaries shredding metal like it was paper, sending a fireball hundreds of feet in the air. Our target bulged, metal warped, and rivets exploded across the surface of the water before the explosive force overcame the strength of the steel, tearing a massive hole in the side. Even more terrifying were the waves tearing their way towards us.

"BRACE!" Someone screamed.

I jumped on top of Rock, shielding him as the waves hit, buffeting the boat, one side coming up so high that we started to slide for the railing, and for one horrifying moment, I thought that we were going over…

Until we didn't.

The boat came crashing back down, the screws caught, and we raced away, leaving the burning wrecks in the distance.

Mills slid to his knees next to me, unslinging his med bag, "What do we got?"

"GSW looks like a graze, but I can't tell. His heart stopped for a bit, got him back, pulse is steady."

He nodded, pulling out a bag of saline and spraying the wound; I caught a flash of bone before the blood rushed in.

Just a graze, a fucking deep one, but a graze nonetheless.

"No fractures looks like it deflected off his skull. Let's get him inside."

Tucker helped me pick him up; I glanced back at the sinking hulks.

I hoped they felt it all the way down.

I sat and smoked at Rock's bedside; we'd cleaned and bandaged his wound; the round had been a ricochet. Which was the only reason he was alive; some of the energy had bled off before it hit him, digging a trench from the corner of his chin up the side of his head, a half-inch one way and it would have missed him entirely, the other way? It would've smashed up through his jaw and killed him outright.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, trying to banish the images of how close we'd come to losing him.

Revy sat opposite me, chain-smoking, her face entirely unreadable.

Benny was watching our ass down the hall, eyeing the radar suite to make sure they hadn't busted out the Hinds.

Dutch was driving.

This was a victory, we should be happy, but we'd almost lost big. I think we were all just glad to be alive.

I know I was.

I'd just lit another smoke, my abused throat protesting, the injuries I'd sustained diving off the ship were slowly making themselves known, when Rock opened his eyes.

"Wha-what happened?"

Thank fuck…

I opened my mouth to speak when Revy bolted for the door, slamming it behind her. I eyed the door for a second before digging out my smokes, lighting one, and handing it to Rock.

"You scared the fuck out of everyone; that's what happened."

He took a shaky drag, staring after her.

"They fucking shot me, didn't they?"

I smiled at the anger in his voice, "Well, it was more of a 'to whom it may concern' sorta deal, a ricochet. But yeah, they shot you in the face."

His eyes were stormy, "How bad?"

"Well, you're gonna have a souvenir." I pointed to the side of my head where the hair tried to grow around the borders of my scar, "but you'll always have a good story at parties."

He cracked a smile and winced, "Thanks Zack, for trying to cheer me up."

I smiled, "Anytime man, just glad you're okay, and uh, welcome to the club, huh? Listen, I've gotta hustle, we're almost home, and you're outta the woods."

I went to rise, and he grabbed my sleeve, "Thank you, for saving me, for trying to save the city, for all of it. I'm proud to call you a friend. I can't do much, but I'm in your corner; we all are."

"Likewise, Rock, you guys may not know it, but somewhere along the line, I started thinking of you like family, and I'll never leave you hanging."

He nodded, wincing again.

"Hurts?"

He nodded again, "Starting to."

I dug in the aid bag Tucker had left behind, pulling out some painkillers rattling two into my hand, "Here, relax."

His eyes hardened. "No, I need to be on my feet for this; I can handle it."

I hesitated for a moment before dropping the pills back into the bottle, "Alright man, if you change your mind, let me know."

"I will, before you go, is Revy?…"

"She's okay; left when you woke up; I'll let her know you're okay."

He closed his eyes, "Thank you."

"All day, man, be back to check on you soon."

I got up as he relaxed and pushed the door open; Revy was standing in the hall, a cigarette glowing in her hand.

"He's okay; was asking after you."

She didn't respond, and I stepped around her, not really expecting an answer.

"Hey, Briggs?"

I stopped, glancing over my shoulder; she was still staring at something I couldn't see.

"Yeah, Rev'?

Her voice was so dead, it wasn't like anything I'd ever heard from her before, and I had a sneaking suspicion as to why…

"Thanks."

The weight wasn't lost on me, "Wasn't gonna lose him... He's still awake."

She looked at me then, her pretty eyes haunted but slowly coming alive, and nodded.

I kept walking, ascending the steps to the bridge.

A door opened and closed somewhere behind me.

A/N: So begins our endgame. Revy got a chance to stretch her legs and our heroes got to blow some shit up. You know the drill, R&R, let me know what I missed.

Until next time!