Carmen narrating here.

As best I can put it together, the reason they brought me there was that Ivchenko owed some kind of debt to my family and was paying it off by making sure I didn't get horribly killed.

Dottie didn't seem too convinced that it shouldn't happen anyhow, judging by the glances she kept giving me. Luckily for me, she wasn't in charge.

As we stood in the hangar, I became very aware of someone watching me. Probably not Agent Carter – she wasn't supposed to be there until the two went into that side room. Then again, since I was there, things might be different.

Then the explosions went off.

Miranda here.

Have you ever tried to assemble a bomb while in the middle of a field, with no access to chemicals or actual explosives?

Jack, apparently, can do that. I'm not sharing the details here because some of you might try it at home.

Also, because I don't understand quite how it worked. I just know that Jack's knowledge of explosives is scary. And awesome.

He built the bomb as close to the hangar as we dared to get.

"Okay," he ordered. "Get behind the building. I don't want you to be anywhere near this when it explodes."

"Run fast."

"No, I'll walk slowly because I really just don't care about getting blown up."

"Not funny, Jack."

I snuck around behind the building with really no difficulty, dropped down behind some crates, and covered my ears, waiting for the blast.

There was a moment of silence.

Then the explosion rocked the ground.

Gunshots sounded.

Jack grabbed my hand, pulling me out. "Time to run."

We sprinted around the other side of the building.

I collided with a running body.

Carmen yelped.

"Come on, let's go."

We grabbed her arms and pulled her after us, her stumbling and trying to keep up.

We made it behind a small clump of trees and kept running, using them in an attempt to keep out of sight.

"I'm slowing you down," said Carmen.

"Don't even go there," said Jack. "We were crazy enough to come to get you, we're certainly not sane enough to leave without you just because of a little setback."

There was a gunshot.

"I don't suppose you have bullet proof vests?" asked Carmen.

"No, the SSR doesn't like lending them out." I should have thought of that. We should have planned better. "Fortunately, guns run out of bullets eventually. Do you know how many they have?"

She shook her head, then winced.

"Just keep running, Carmen," said Jack. "My mom would kill me if she knew I was making you run after a head injury like you had yesterday."

Another gunshot.

Jack stumbled slightly, then fell backwards, dropping Carmen.

"Jack?"

"I can't believe it," he muttered. Blood spread out from his shoulder.

"I can." How are you supposed to deal with getting shot again? "Carmen, go."

She took off, running as fast as she could.

"Miranda, get out of here," said Jack. "No point in getting us both killed."

"Pressure, right? Put pressure on it?"

"Miranda, go."

I ignored him. "Pressure, right?"

He hesitated, then nodded.

I tore off my jacket and folded it, then pressed it against the injury. I pressed his hands on top of the jacket.

Then I took off running.

Call it cold hearted and you'd be right, but I gave Jack the best chance I could have given him to survive, then took the best course of action for myself. They would find him, and either kill him immediately or try for information. If he died, there was nothing I could have done to save him anyhow, except for run. If they wanted information, he might stay alive long enough for me to help him. If I tried to help him, it was pretty much certain that we'd get caught.

I caught up with Carmen, grabbing her wrist and pulling her behind me as best I could.

Jack here.

I pressed the jacket against my shoulder hard and began to retreat as best I could into the undergrowth.

Unfortunately, the racket I made could have been heard a mile away.

Dottie came around the corner, ready to fire.

She stared at me for a moment. "I should have known."

The gun fired again, hitting me in the knee cap.

I screamed in pain.

She took off running in the direction Miranda and Carmen had gone.

Well, at least she didn't want me immediately dead.

Mom was going to have a heart attack when she saw what had happened. We would have to tell her the truth. No way around it. We'd need help explaining why I had two bullet holes and Carmen had a concussion.

What could I do about my leg?

Not much.

I pressed the jacket tighter against my shoulder and wondered if I'd live through this.

Should I try to get away or stay and hope someone found me? Which would give me the better chance of survival?

I tried moving. Pain streaked up my knee and and shoulder and I gasped.

Still, maybe if I moved around the trees...

I began to drag myself, slowly. Every slight jarring of my body made me want to scream. I did scream, once, when my injured knee scraped a rock.

I pulled myself in sight of the building and then just lay there, praying someone would find me and either help me or put me out of my misery.

Carmen here.

Between the intense pain in my skull and the blur of trees, I don't remember much of the running.

"Come on," said Miranda. "The trees can't be too much further, we've got to get out of the woods sometime..." she stopped short.

I collided with her and we both went sprawling.

We had run in a circle around the hangar.

"Brilliant," muttered Miranda. "Just brilliant."

Footsteps crunched behind us.

"As wonderful as that sprint was, let's go now."