I heard the shots go off but they never hit me. Wolf had jumped in front of me, taking both shots. One hit his right side while the other hit his left shoulder. He let out a deep grunt and began to fall back. I caught him before he hit the floor but his weight took us down faster than I would have liked. I cradled his head in my lap and nearly puked from looking at the blood flowing from him. He writhed in pain.

"Wolf… Gods… I wasn't paying attention… I'm such an idiot…"

"Well, well," the man that shot at us mused. "This explains why Tally never returned."

I looked up at Pete Liger who was still pointing a blaster at me. He was half tiger, half lion and had obviously had plenty of time in max to beef himself up. He didn't look at all like he did in Craig's pictures. He was a hulk of a man with long, stringy, blond hair that hung at his shoulders. He was someone to be reckoned with… And he was out for vengeance.

"A pity that Tally couldn't do a simple job," Pete sneered. He knelt down to me, not letting the barrel of his blaster drift away from me for even a second. "Now, where is Cyrus? I know you know where he is. Or, at least give me his pretty wife. You know, the princess that he sold me out for. I could kill her first and bring him her head."

"I will never tell you where Melissa is," I spat. "As for Craig, I don't know where he is. All I knew was that you were going after him."

He gave me a toothy grin. "I suppose I'll have to try something else."

Pete seized the collar of my shirt and lifted me up. Wolf let out a yelp when he moved and tried reaching for me but soon gave up when he realized Pete was dragging me away and his pain was too much for him. I tried to fight Pete but his grip was unforgiving. He kicked the door in to Craig's office. Craig was nowhere to be seen.

"Come on out, Cyrus!" Pete called. "Either come out or-" he pulled me to him and put the barrel of his blaster against my temple, "your star pilot's brains will make a new mural on your otherwise bland walls."

I swallowed hard at his threat. I knew he wasn't kidding for a second. I also hoped that Craig wouldn't come out. My heart sank when I heard footsteps from the very back of the room. Craig came out from behind a bookcase with his hands in the air in surrender. He had a blaster in each hand, now pointed up so that Pete knew that Craig wasn't going to put up a fight. Craig knelt to the floor and placed his blasters parallel to each other then, rose back his feet. My heart felt like it had dropped into my stomach. I began to shake my head at him.

"No, Craig. Please don't do this," I pleaded. A few tears escaped me, knowing what was coming next.

"Is Melissa safe?" he asked me. "Is my wife okay?"

"Yes," I told him.

"Good." Craig turned his attention to Pete. "This is dirty, even for you, Pete."

"And turning your back on me isn't?" Pete seethed. "You sold me out, you bastard. All because you decided to grow a conscience. Congratulations, you got what you wanted. You had a beautiful, royal wife and you got a new lease on life while I rotted in max. You betrayed me! The great, Cyrus Astaire!"

"It wasn't supposed to be like that," Craig argued. "But you just wouldn't let it all go. Out of all the scores we had, it was never enough for you. I had found something worth having and that was it for me. But you always wanted more. It was time to let go, Pete. It was time for us to have lives and live out the rest of what we had." Craig's features softened. "We were friends once, Pete. We can be again, if you will let me. Let go of your hate. It wouldn't be a problem making a new identity for you. You could have a new life."

Pete began to drop his blaster as he thought over Craig's proposal. Part of me hoped he would take the deal and go. I wanted this to have a happy ending. My heart pounded in my ears. I watched Craig's eyes, something in them told me that this wasn't going to end like I had hoped.

I felt Pete stiffen as his resolve kicked in. He pointed the blaster at Craig.

"I think I would rather take pleasure in watching the life drain from your eyes."

Pete pulled the trigger. I let out a piercing scream that I didn't think could come out of me. The shot hit Craig square in his chest. He stood for a moment, then put a hand over the wound just to look down at the hand that was covered in his own blood. He fell backward and landed with a loud thud. I broke away from Pete to dash to my friend's side. I held Craig in my arms and tried to stop the bleeding but the pool of blood kept spreading.

"Don't give up on me yet, Boss," I sobbed. "Stay with me. My brother and the military are on their way, I promise."

Blood bubbled up and started flowing out of the corner of his mouth. My stomach lurched at the sight but there was no way I was leaving him.

"You're such an idiot, Skye," he wheezed. "You shouldn't have come."

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… Just stay with me, help is coming."

"It will be too late and you know it. Promise me… Promise me something, Skye."

"Name it and it's yours," I hiccupped.

"Take care of Melissa. Please look after her…"

"You got it, Boss."

He managed a weak smile. "I'm counting…" he took a deep breath, his last before he let out the rest of his sentence, "…on you…" His eyes closed slowly and he went limp against me.

"No…" I shook him, hoping that he would wake up. "Please Craig… Wake up… Come on…" I cried harder when I accepted that he was gone. I still held onto him.

Pete strode up to me and pointed his blaster at my head. "Now that he's dead, I can finally put you out of your misery. You're done, Kell."

I heard another gun shot from behind Pete. A hole showed up in Pete's forehead and he came crashing forward, barely missing me. I tried to see who shot him. Leaning up against the door was Wolf, keeping pressure on his side while barely keeping his blaster steady. He dropped the blaster and went stumbling forward. I ran to him and managed to catch him again. His head lay on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry…" he mumbled. "I didn't make it… in time…" He passed out.

I held him close. "I'm sorry too, Wolf… I'm sorry too…"

I heard a flurry of footsteps from the hallway. Falco and Fox arrived, along with a handful of military soldiers. Fox stopped to take in the sight of me and Wolf while Falco went into Craig's office to see the scene in there. I watched as Melissa pushed through the crowd. As soon as she locked eyes with me, a whole new batch of tears came flowing from her. The look of horror fell on her features then she made her way into the room. Her screech was heart-wrenching. She went straight for Craig's body and held what remained of him in her arms. Her wails were enough for the both of us.

"I need a medic! Now!" Fox called back. He knelt down to me, the sympathy in his eyes said it all. "We're too late… Skye… I'm so sorry…"

I shook my head at him. My tears were drying as the numbness was taking over. "It's not your fault… It's all mine…" I looked down at the unconscious Wolf in my arms. "And I brought him into it…" I glanced over at Melissa weeping over her husband's dead body. "One of my best friends is dead… And his wife a widow…"

Falco walked over to me. "Who took the final shot?"

"Pete shot Wolf twice in the elevator trying to get me," I answered distantly. "He then went for Craig while holding me hostage. As soon as Craig went down, he was going for me again. Wolf did the rest."

The medic finally came rushing in. He took Wolf from me to put him on a stretcher.

"Where are they taking him?" I asked.

"To a hospital," Fox told me. "Don't worry, we'll make sure he can't get arrested." He gave me an once-over. "We need to get you checked out, too."

I took a look at my blood-stained clothes. And my hands… My hands were completely covered.

"Trust me, none of it is mine…"

Fox helped me to my feet. "Let the medic look at you anyway."

He took me out into the hallway so that the medic could examine me. After a few minutes of blood pressure tests and being poked and prodded, I decided that I had to get these sticky clothes off. I shrugged off my jacket and started to peel my shirt off. Falco walked in on me stripping and freaked.

"Whoa whoa!" he gawked. "What are you doing?! Do you have any idea how many men are here?"

I gave him a droll stare. "Does it look like I care right now? I need these off. My friends' blood… I can't deal with all of it on my clothes."

He gave me an understanding look then dragged me into an empty closet. "Strip in here, I'll be right back." He closed the door behind him and left me in there.

I stripped all the way down to my underwear and stood waiting for him. A few minutes later, he knocked and opened the door. He stopped as soon as he saw me in my underwear and turned beet red. He shut the door.

"Damnit, Skye, I wish you had said something."

"So you saw me in my underwear. Big deal."

He cracked the door open and handed me a huge t-shirt and some gym shorts.

"These were all I could find."

I took them from him and quickly changed. I stepped out, not even bothering with my other clothes. I would just buy new stuff later and they were just going to be a reminder of how I failed my friend.

By the time I was done changing, some of the soldiers were carrying two body bags out and to the elevator. Melissa was being carried out as well, completely spent from all the grieving. I walked through the hallway and saw the drops of blood on the floor and a large smear on the wall from Wolf trying to get to me. I instinctively put my hand over my mouth, not really feeling any shock or surprise. I couldn't really feel anything at all.

One friend was dead, another in the hospital… And one friend a grief-stricken widow… It was a giant mess.

Fox came to me. "I have to call Hara. I promised I would keep her updated. Will you be alright with Falco for a minute?"

I managed a nod. Fox stepped away so he could call my best friend. Falco came back to me.

"I don't know what to do for you," he said honestly. "You've had two brushes with death and now this… I'm kind of at a loss."

I didn't even look up at him. I moved toward him and put my forehead against his chest. I slowly wrapped my arms around his waist. He stiffened at my actions.

"Skye?" he questioned.

"I just… I could use a hug right about now…" I murmured.

He gently put his arms around me and put his cheek on top of my head. He was so warm and comforting. Nothing could make this ache in my chest better right now but, Falco's embrace seemed to at least alleviate some of it. If just for this one moment… I listened to his steady heartbeat, letting the sound drag me away from the here and now. The moment was short lived as Fox came back to us.

"Conna is going to stay with me for a few days," he told me. "Hara will look after you until you can get your bearings back. Yours and Wolf's ships can stay on the Great Fox for now. I'll keep tabs on Wolf. The hospital will let me know when he wakes up from his injuries. I also called Leon. He's been granted temporary amnesty as well, for as long as Wolf is indisposed. He said he would be around."

Falco pulled away from me, clearly embarrassed that Fox saw us like we were. I didn't care right then. I didn't care about anything, I didn't feel much of anything except grief and the temporary warmth with Falco. I gave my brother a nod.

"Take me home then, brother."