Author note:

Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me. Thank you all for your support. All feedback are appreciated.

Have a nice day.

Steve and the boys escaped through the back door and were on their way to a safe spot to lay low and call for help.

Steve's thoughts were all over him. If it was only him, he would have handled the situation differently. But now, he has three innocent lives depending on him, the one who took the risk and saved his. He knew it was just a matter of time before the cartel members round them up. His body was on survival mode, there was no way he could protect the boys. If the cartel members round them up before backup arrives, things would very ugly. Steve knew why the cartels were after him and if the boys were captured as well, they could easily use the boys as leverage against Steve. He could not let that happen. Just when Steve was mentally strategizing to outrun the cartels, he heard some sound and voices in the distances. Steve further slowed down his already slower pace and stopped. The boys followed Steve's act, they too stopped and waited for Steve without any words.

Steve doubled his focus and attention on his hearing. The voices were faint but Steve could roughly make a guess.

It was the cartels. They were coming for him.

Steve turned to the boys. They were running out of time. Steve made his mind. "Okay, time for a new plan."

Ethan was the first to ask "What are we going to do?"

"Not we but you guys."

"What are you saying?" Chris let out, afraid of the answer he might hear.

"Look, we have no time, they are faster than I expected. I will divert them, you gonna go and call for help." Steve's voice was determined. He needed to be if he wanted to convince the boys.

"You got to be kidding us!"

"That's insane!"

Matthew and Ethan expressed their disapproval at the same time.

Chris spoke next without missing a beat. "We can't just leave you here. Those lunatics will kill you!"

"Not until they get what they want," Steve answered quickly, not wanting to waste any time. "Look, I'm hurt and I'm slowing us down. You guys can go twice the speed we are going right now. I will buy us some time, you guys call for help, okay?"

The boys looked torn, helpless to be exact and Steve could understand. Asking them to make the decision to leave someone behind was not easy. If anything were to happen to him, they would end blaming themselves.

"Look, I will okay." Steve continued. "I know how to handle these guys. I'm trained for these kind of situations. You go and get help, reach out to Detective Danny Williams. He will take care of the rest."

"This is so wrong." Ethan expressed his dissatisfaction. "We didn't save you just to leave you behind."

"I know and I'm sorry," Steve said, trying his best to make the boys understand the situation. "If the cartels were to get us first before the backup, I want it to just be me. If you guys are here, they will use you to get what they want from me. Between you all and that high-value information, I can't… please, try to understand." Steve practically begged for their understanding.

"Okay," Matthew uttered with an expressionless face. "I get what you're saying."

"Here, take this." Steve handed one of the guns he took from the intruder to Matthew. "Shoot only if you need to, okay? Okay. Go!"

Ethan and Chris still looked at little hesitated to leave Steve behind.

"Go!" Steve gave the nudge the boys needed. "I'm counting on you guys."

"We will get the help you need. I promise." Matthew said before he pushed the other two to the front, forcing them to start running. He glanced back and smiled sadly. "Be careful," he mumbled before he took off.

Steve watched until they disappear into the darkness and turned around. The voices in the distances were getting louder. Steve breathed in heavily, keeping his pain in check as he limped and stood behind a tree, allowing the branches and leaves to give him the cover he needed.

Steve leaned on the tree for support. Somehow, he trust the boys to get to a safer place and call for help. Getting help was one thing but more than anything he wanted the boys to be safe.

But what if…

Steve shook his head to stop his negative inner voice.

'They will be safe.' Steve tried to convince himself. 'They have to be safe.'

His hand suddenly realized the thing stuffed in his pocket, he quickly took out the satellite phone he had found earlier and dialed Danny's number.

"Dammit." Steve murmured when he couldn't reach Danny. He dialed Junior's number next and to his dismay, Junior too didn't answer his phone.

Steve's face dawned in realization. He should be spending the night with them and when he failed to turn, his team must have put the pieces together and figured what happened to him. There was only one possible reason why he couldn't reach his team. They must be in the jungle as well, looking for him.

With the boys off to get help and with his team looking for him, all Steve needed to do was to hang on, by all means. He hoped he could buy him some time before the backup arrives.

"Danny is going to be so pissed," Steve mumbled as he watched for any sign of the cartel with a vigilant eye.

-H50-H50-H50-

Matthew wheezed as his burning lungs gasp for air. His legs feel numb and unsteady as he ran on the muddy ground but he refused to slow down his pace. It was out of the question.

I'm counting on you guys

Commander's words were ringing in their ears. Matthew couldn't help but feel a little claustrophobic at the moment. The jungle may seem stretched for miles in front of him, giving them the freedom to escape but the darkness of the jungle and situation they were in was suffocating him.

Their crunching footstep on the twigs was invading the silent of the jungle and keeping them on the edge.

In the darkness, Chris wasn't really paying attention to the ground. His foot got tangled with some roots, and before he realized he hit the ground with a grunt.

"You okay?" Ethan asked as he helped Chris to get up and lean against the tree nearby.

"Did you twist your ankle or something?" Matthew asked in a rush as he was gasping for breath.

"No, I don't think so," Chris answered but his face scrunched in pain.

"Shhh." Matthew hissed as he covered Chris and Ethan's mouth with his palm. He pushed all of them down on the ground, behind the tree. "Someone is here." He whispered.

-H50-H50-H50-

"Found him."

Before Steve could react, a hand yanked him out from his hiding position, shoving him on the ground. Steve fell in a heap on the ground. Everything went blur for one moment. Pain violated his bruised body without any mercy. Steve groaned when he was flipped over onto his back.

"You don't look so good, Commander."

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