Rita was surprised when Lee took them to another small house hidden away on the side of a mountain in Harz, Germany. Lee did a quick sweep before letting her inside.

"All clear," he smiled, opening the door.

"Is this another one of your secret hideouts?" she asked him as she looked around. It was surprisingly tidy for a place a bunch of men spent time in.

"Yup," he replied. He took a picture off the wall and revealed a safe. Rita watched him fiddle with it before swinging it open. He pulled out a stack of cash and what looked like fake I.D.'s.

"So where all have you traveled to?" she questioned, curious. He paused from counting money to look at her thoughtfully.

"I actually don't remember them all, but it's a lot," he answered.

"Is this where the others are going to meet us?"

"Yes."

"Will they be here soon?"

"As fast as they can. I expect Trench first."

"Why?"

"He's closer."

"So what do we do when this is all over?" she asked, leaning on the counter and putting her finger on the wad of cash Lee was counting. He stopped and rested his hands on the counter, bending to her level.

"What do you want to do?" he countered.

"Will you be working with Barney again?"

"I don't have to."

"Do you want to?"

She waited for Lee's answer, but she already knew what it was. He wanted to work again. This was his element.

"I don't want to do anything that's going to ruin us," Lee said carefully. He wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"Nothing will ruin us," she reassured him.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

He reached over and touched her face then. She closed her eyes. That simple gesture said a lot of words; it was something he did often. Sometimes it was to reassure her she was all right and other times it was to tell her he loved her. Right now, he was thanking her for being understanding.

A sudden pounding at the door startled them out of their moment, and Lee went to answer.

"Code," he said through the door.

In response, the door was flung open, and Lee was thrown backwards onto his back. Rita grabbed her gun, aiming it at the door while trying not to feel afraid.

"What the hell is going on?" Trench demanded. "Is that code enough for you?"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Lee shouted to Rita, who was still aiming her gun at Trench. "It's Trench."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"You want I.D.?" Trench asked, chuckling.

"Sure," she nodded. He laughed out loud.

"You've got a very funny partner," he said, pulling Lee to his feet.

"It's nice to see you too," Lee responded, dusting himself off. "Rita, you can put that down now." She did so hesitantly.

"Yin! Come on," Trench called. A short Chinese man appeared all dressed in black.

"Lee," he said, shaking his hand.

"Good to see you, Yin," Lee grinned.

"Who's the broad?" Trench asked. Rita bristled at this. She did not like the term "broad."

"Sergeant Major Rita Vrataski," she introduced herself.

"Oh, big title," Trench said, nudging Lee. "She yours?"

"She's my wife, yes."

"You got married?!" Yin exclaimed. "Oh boy. Poor woman."

"Hey, that's enough out of you," Lee warned.

"So what is this about Barney being captured?" Trench asked. "How did that happen? And you all made fun of me for Nepal."

"It was well orchestrated. They've got Doc, Toll, and Gunner too."

"Caesar?" Yin asked.

"He didn't make it," Lee answered, hanging his head.

"Where are they?" Trench interrupted.

"Here. Germany. Just not sure the exact location yet. I'm waiting for my tech guy to look at this laptop and give me answers," Lee told him.

"Not the kids," Trench groaned.

"They're all I've got," Lee argued. "What would you do?"

"Find adults?" Trench suggested.

"I don't have time for that."

"We're doomed then."

"Negative as always," Lee sighed. He went to sit beside Rita while Trench and Yin sat across from them.

"You were in the War," Yin noted.

"I was," Rita nodded. "Lee too."

"You Full Metal Bitch," Yin grinned.

"Hey, hey," Lee said, holding out his hand. Rita just laughed.

"It's all right. Yes, I am," she said to Yin.

"Angel of Verdun," Trench commented, finally realizing. "Damn. You married this loser?"

"Hey!" Lee said, outraged.

"He grows on you after a while," Rita winked at Lee, who made a face back. Noises sounded outside, and everyone froze. Lee went to the door, which was surprisingly still standing after Trench had booted it in.

"Lee?" a voice sounded.

"Code," Lee answered.

"Let us in or we'll kick your ass?" came the response.

"Close enough," Lee replied, opening it. A woman and three men came inside. Rita didn't recognize any of them as John.

"It's the Little Rascals," Trench said around his cigar, quoting Church. Yin hid his smirk behind his hand. Rita had to contain her laugh as well. Lee openly smirked.

"That's getting old, you guys," the woman said, crossing her arms.

"Just like you," the one guy said, laughing and high fiving the other guy. The older of the three just stood there rolling his eyes.

"Rita, this is Luna," Lee said, gesturing, "Galgo, Mars, and Thorn."

"Nice to meet you," Rita nodded.

"Who is she?" Luna asked.

"That is the Angel of Verdun, Full Metal Bitch," Trench answered for Rita, giving her a wink. "Sergeant Major Rita Vrataski."

"Wow," Mars breathed. "You were in the War?"

"Yes."

"Damn. That's cool," Mars grinned. "Wait! I remember now. You were in the papers!" Thorn rolled his eyes.

"Where is the laptop?" he demanded. Lee handed it to him.

"You can do it?"

"Give me ten minutes, and I'll tell you where they take a piss," Thorn replied.

"That's my tech guy," Lee said to Trench.

"John is doing as he's told and is making sure he's not being followed. I expect he'll get here eventually," Galgo explained. "And I must add that it is an absolute pleasure to meet the Angel of Verdun." He took her hand and kissed it.

"Lips off my wife, Galgo," Lee warned. Galgo looked back and forth between them.

"Is he serious?"

"Yes," Rita smiled.

"Oh shit. Sorry!"

"It's all right, Galgo. Just don't let it happen again," Lee threatened. Galgo stepped back and held up his hands.

"You're my hero," Luna said to Rita, grinning. "We women don't get enough credit, you know?"

"Can you all stop calling me the Angel of Verdun? Just Rita is fine," Rita said. She wasn't exactly fond of that title.

"Okay, Just Rita," Trench commented.

"You haven't been in contact with Drummer have you?" Lee asked them all. They shook their heads in response.

"John dumped him," Luna said.

"Good. I think he's been compromised. Once tech boy over here finds out where Barney is at, we can go," Lee said.

"Almost," Thorn said, clicking away. Rita watched, fascinated, as he sped through so many windows.

"What about John?" Mars asked. "Will he meet us here first?"

"If he gets here by nightfall," Lee replied.

"We're leaving in the dark?" Galgo asked, confirming.

"I believe that's the best way to not get spotted," Lee answered, feeling a bit annoyed.

"Got it," Thorn said, spinning the screen to show them. Lee leaned forward.

"Winterberg," Trench nodded. "Close to here."

"How did they get captured?" Mars wanted to know. Lee swallowed hard. He still couldn't believe they had not been dead after all.

"Scott got my guys after the Mimics left," Lee explained. "Barney shoved me off a cliff to save me, and I thought I saw him die, but apparently he didn't. Scott's mad cos we killed his brother James Munroe in Vilena."

"Oh shit," Yin said. He had been there. Why wasn't Scott looking for him?

"Yea. Him," Lee nodded.

"So what's our plan?" Thorn asked. They all looked at Lee then. He didn't like being the leader. Barney was better at it.

"Well, to quote our leader, 'Track 'em, find 'em, kill 'em,'" Lee said.

"Here, here," Trench said, waving his cigar in a small salute. Rita recognized the look in Lee's eyes. It was revenge.

...

"Hey," Rita said, coming up behind Lee. He was looking out at the lake (how did they always have a place on the lake? Rita wondered), while the others were talking and planning in the house.

"Hey," he replied.

"Track 'em, find 'em, kill 'em, huh?" she smiled, gently touching the scrape on his cheek from the other day.

"Yea."

"I hope for your sake that Barney is still alive," she said.

"Scott had better hope for his sake that he is," Lee corrected.

"I don't know if it matters. You're going to kill him anyway, right?"

"Of course, but it'll be a whole lot worse if Barney's already dead."

"I see."

"I get the feeling you're not sure of what to make of me right now," Lee said, looking at her.

"I know exactly who you are," Rita said. "You're a man on a mission. You fight for your friends. You're loyal and honest, and you are brave."

"Really."

"Mmhmm, but there's one thing I get to see that others don't."

"What's that?"

"How gentle you are," she replied, kissing the corner of his mouth softly. She flashed him a smile as she went to go back inside. Lee couldn't help but smile after her. She was right.

Nightfall

"I'm here," John said, coming inside. Lee nodded at him. The others lowered their weapons when they saw it was him.

"Anyone follow you?"

"No. I guess they thought the job was done."

"Good. Now how do we know if he realizes I'm not dead yet?" Lee asked.

"I intercepted some chatter from the laptop," Thorn answered from the table. "They know, and they're pissed. There's a big warrant out for you now."

"Excellent."

"He'll know you're coming for Barney, though," Luna pointed out. "He'll be prepared."

"He thinks I'm coming for Barney," Lee corrected. "But I'm not."

"You're...not?" Mars faltered. They all looked at each other, confused.

"No. You guys are. I'm luring him away to give you a clean break," Lee explained. Rita felt her breath catch in her throat. Where did he expect her to be?

"Who's with who?" Trench said, echoing her thoughts.

"Yin, Mars, Thorn, Luna, and Rita go get Barney. Trench, John, Galgo, and myself distract Scott."

"No," Rita said immediately, standing up. Lee caught her eyes and knew she wasn't happy.

"I don't want Scott to know you're still alive," Lee said to her when she approached him.

"We do this together, like you promised," she said angrily.

"Come here." Lee led her to the other room and shut the door.

"I'm not separating from you," Rita said defiantly.

"Look, the majority of Scott's men will be after me. I want at least one of us to get out of this alive," Lee instructed. Rita felt her heart rate pick up immensely.

"You're saying you're not going to survive this? Is that what I'm hearing?"

"I might not, but I want you to."

"No."

"Rita, this is not up for debate. You're going to get Barney. Understood?"

Rita wanted to hit him, and she knew he knew it because he took her hands in his suddenly.

"I love you, and I want you to get out of this in one piece. I don't want Scott using you against me again, okay?"

Rita felt all her triggers going off, and she couldn't help but flash back to all the scenes where Lee had died in her arms on the battlefield. Losing him was the worst feeling in the world. She couldn't do it again.

"What if I break your foot? Like you did to Brady?"

"I didn't break his foot. It happened on its own by chance."

"You still shoved him."

"I was going for a sprain," Lee said exasperated. "Let's not go on about that again right now, okay? And don't break my foot."

Rita faked a stomp on his foot, and he dodged it. She started to laugh.

"You're quick," she gestured. He lifted her up over his shoulder then, making her protest. He dropped her onto the bed and landed on top of her, kissing her hungrily.

"I love you," he said again after a moment, brushing her cheek with his fingers.

"I love you too."

"We'll be together again before we know it."

"You promise?"

"I promise." Lee kissed her again before getting off and pulling her to her feet. It was finally dark outside.

"Okay, gang. Let's get this show on the road," Lee ordered. His team followed him to the door, and the others huddled around Yin, waiting for Rita to join them. She stared after Lee, knowing that if she ran after him, he had no choice but to let her come. The look he gave her, though, was begging her to stay behind, so she did. The last thing she saw before he went through the door was his famous crooked smile and a small wave.