Scott was sipping his coffee on his private jet and feeling very confident. Lee Christmas was taken care of. Now he was going to finish off the rest of them. His goal was finally complete. He'd known that bastard Lee was out there when he didn't find him with the others that fateful day. Barney had shoved him off the cliff. Then he had escaped. It had been so infuriating. It wasn't until he thought of the ring idea that he realized he had his way of finding Lee. It had been so simple after that. Drummer was an idiot, and that kid was even dumber. He'd take care of them next. He didn't want anymore Expendables running around. They landed a few hours later back in Winterberg. He would complete his task the next day. All the flying and terrorizing had worn him out.

...

Lee phoned John on the burner cell while Rita stood guard.

"Yea?"

"John, it's Lee. Look, we've got a problem."

"What kind of problem."

"The people who have Barney tracked you to my house. They tried to kill me and my wife, and they blew up my house. I'm not very impressed," Lee finished.

"What? They followed me?!"

"Which means Drummer has been tagged. The whole ring thing was a trap. Cut him loose, gather your team, and meet us at the coordinates I'm going to give you."

"I can't just cut him loose. He knows how to find me."

"Do it. Or stay home. I can call someone else."

"Okay, okay. I'll cut him loose."

"Tell the others to head over here. You take a different route. If you see you're being followed, don't come to us. Got it?"

"Got it."

Lee gave him the directions then to pass on to the others.

"I'm really sorry, Lee..." John started.

"Save it. You're still an-"

"Do NOT say amateur," John ordered. "I made a mistake. I'm sure you've made mistakes. That doesn't make me an amateur."

"You've still got a lot to learn," Lee said indifferently. He hung up then, feeling annoyed.

"I can't get the video," Rita said from the laptop. She had been trying to find the live feed again to get some clues.

"There weren't really any clues that would help us," Lee said, seeing his mates all trussed up again, and Barney...oh God, Barney being flogged. Rita touched his hand.

"If he's the way you say he is, he'll get out."

Lee didn't respond. He knew his friend was suffering badly. If he hadn't been able to escape after this long, then Lee didn't know how they could escape now.

...

Rita booked them into a hotel under false names. Lee checked out the place to make sure no one was watching them. He knew Scott would have a false sense of security for about a day before he realized his goons weren't corresponding with him anymore. That would tip him off, and the hunt would be on again. He just hoped they had enough time to surprise Scott before he found out.

"Are you okay?" Rita asked when he came into the room and bolted the door.

"Not really," he admitted.

"Can I help?"

"Not much you can do, luv."

"Who was the other person you said you could call?" she prompted, thinking it would help him to talk about saving his friends.

"Ah," Lee nodded. "Right." He picked up his phone and dialed. Rita watched.

"Hey, it's me. Don't hang up! I know it's been a while. I'm sorry we didn't include you. It's for the best anyway after you hear what I have to say. Barney's been captured. For a year. Yes, I'm a shit friend, I know. I didn't know! I thought they had died in the War. Look, I'm asking you now, are you in or out?"

Rita held her breath as Lee waited for a response.

"Good. Come find me," he said, giving the other person his coordinates. Then he hung up.

"Who was that?" she asked, curious.

"Trench Mauser. If anyone is gonna help save anybody's ass, it's him," Lee sighed.

"So he's going to help us?"

"Yes. He's got Yin Yang with him too, so that helps."

"Yin Yang?"

"Our hand to hand combat specialist," Lee explained. "Very short, though."

"Tempered?"

"No, no. Height."

"Oh."

"Toll is our demolitions expert. Gunner is...Gunner. Doc is a medic and other knives specialist."

"Who's the other one?" Rita asked.

"Me," he answered.

"Ah, that makes sense," Rita nodded, remembering their knife throwing contest back when they first met. Her memory went back to the photo of the team that Lee had framed in their house. She tried to remember who was who.

"You get some sleep. I'll keep watch," Lee said, loading his gun and sliding it into his holster. Rita saw his knives in his other one on his other leg.

"See you when I wake up," she said.

"This'll be over soon," he promised. She didn't say anything else before getting into bed and turning the light off. Lee sat in the darkness, waiting. Just in case.

...

Lee snapped his attention over to where Rita was sleeping. He was certain he'd heard her crying, so he stood and went over to look at her. She wasn't making a sound.

"Rita?" he said quietly. She didn't answer. He bent down to kiss her cheek softly, brushing her hair aside. She shifted but didn't wake up. He went back to his chair. It was around three a.m. now, and he was feeling a little tired. He rested his head on the wall. He figured he could get some shut eye for an hour or two. Truth be told, he was scared to sleep. Images of Barney were trapped in his head, and he didn't want to have nightmares. In the end, though, sleep won.

...

"Wake up," Rita urged, touching Lee's shoulder. She leaped back when his arm shot out to grab her. He came to full attention immediately and aimed his gun at her.

"It's me!" she cried, holding her hands up.

"Geez," he said, lowering it. "Don't scare me like that."

"You really are on high alert all the time aren't you?" she asked.

"You have to be when people are trying to kill you," he replied, standing up to stretch.

"Did you sleep much?"

"A little."

"Won't you be tired for the day?"

"It's not my first time, luv."

Rita waited for him to finish in the washroom before she put the belt on from the bag. She felt right at home like she did during the War. She loaded herself up with ammunition and a few guns. Lee came out and smiled when he saw her.

"What?" she asked.

"You're just so hot," he commented. He wiped the rest of the water off his face from when he splashed it a moment ago.

"Where have I heard that before?" she teased before remembering that he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Let me guess. That's something I said on one of your reset trips," Lee said, putting his coat on.

"It was what led up to our first kiss actually," she explained. She looked at him cautiously, wondering if he'd be angry. He didn't seem to be.

"Well, I'm right," was all he said. "Let's go." She followed him out the door, and he took her hand as they walked. He didn't want to get separated from her. Who knew if Scott had figured it out yet.

...

Barney heard the ominous footsteps approaching, and he knew it was the end.

"Judgment Day," Scott said, stopping in front of him. He tilted his head. "You seem disappointed. I have to say, finding Lee Christmas took long enough, but his death feels sooo good."

Barney hardly dared to hope that his friend had escaped. Scott was a bit sadistic. Toll, Gunner, and Doc were quiet as Scott knelt in front of Barney.

"Bet you wish you'd stayed out of Vilena now," he whispered. Then he roared with laughter. "All right! Who's first?" He went over to stand in front of Doc, who closed his eyes.

"Sir! Sir!" a voice called. Scott turned to see his assistant standing there looking scared.

"What?" he snapped. "I'm busy!"

"It's Mr. Lee," the assistant said, trembling. "He...he got away." The silence in the room was deafening. It was all Barney could do to contain his laughter. Of course Lee got away. The man was a ghost when he wanted to be.

"What did you say?" Scott said in a low voice.

"H-he g-g-got aw-w-way," the assistant managed to say again.

"HOW THE HELL DID HE GET AWAY?!" Scott roared. The assistant cowered.

"I-I-I-I d-d-don't k-k-know."

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! NOW!"

The assistant ran for his life, which Barney figured he might not have for long. Scott turned to look at him then, and he couldn't resist a smirk. It cost him. Scott moved forward and punched him in the face so hard he saw stars.

"I will find him again, and I will end this! BRACE YOURSELVES!" Scott raged. Then he stormed off.

"You think he'll find us?" Toll asked once they were alone.

"If I know Lee, he'll have a plan," Barney answered. "Just sit tight."

"I am gonna whup some serious ass if I ever get out of here," Gunner grumbled.

"You and me both, man," Doc agreed.

Barney didn't comment. He closed his eyes and prayed that Lee got there quickly.