Disclaimer: I may have technically written a novel, as the lovely user Nina542 informed me, but I sadly have yet to own these characters.

Rated: T

Chapter 17: Cliffhanger

Deep breath. She just needed to take a deep breath.

She inhaled too quickly, exhaled shakily; breathing deeply was easier said than done.

Riley had trained for this when she became a member of the secret service, taught that at any moment, any situation could escalate with a new and unexpected threat and she had to be prepared.

The only thing was that this time, she'd thought that they'd only been dealing with one threat, and that threat had been neutralized just a half hour ago. Riley had a different feeling this time; this time she knew it wasn't any false alarm. The impossibility of the situation somehow made her all the more sure it was real.

Gabriel was still clutching her arm as if he was her bodyguard and not the other way around. She was about to speak up, ask Gabriel what they should do, when he spoke first.

"I just checked out the electrical wires around the campsite. The main power comes from the lodge, so I figure that's where the guardsman and his crew are at now. I reckon we have about three minutes until they figure we're still at our cabin, assuming Chris let them know where we are." His voice was tight and sure. If he hadn't been holding onto her like he was, Riley wouldn't have suspected he was nervous.

"We don't have the option of driving past them do we?"

Gabriel shook his head and then remembered she couldn't see him. "No. There's only one road out of here."

All of a sudden, something moved against Riley's leg. She nearly jumped out of her skin, but realized it was Ivy. A wet nose sniffed her leg and nudged it, almost like the dog could sense something was wrong. Riley reached a hand down to reassure Ivy. "We've got to hide her," she told Gabriel.

"We've got to hide ourselves," he urged. He understood keeping the dog safe, and he wanted to, but it wasn't the dog the arms dealers were after at the moment. He sighed, resigned. "Put her in the backseat of the car. They won't care about her if she's out of their way. Hurry."

"Are you sure?"

"Two and a half minutes, Riley."

"Right."

They both walked to the door, Riley's hand firmly wrapped around Ivy's collar. She looked out the peephole first, just to make sure that Gabriel hadn't wildly miscalculated where the guardsman was at. The moon was nearly still full and lit up the yard which, thankfully, was clear.

Her partner stood watch at the doorway while Riley crept silently, only the sound of Ivy's panting and the grass crunching under her feet making a sound. Even the crickets had hidden themselves away that night, it seemed. Either that or she couldn't hear them over her own heartbeat.

On the side of the car facing away from the road to the main lodge, Riley placed her hands on the cool metal of the door. With a heavy click, the door opened and Ivy nosed the opening, trying to pry it open faster than her new owner could like she was excited to go on a ride.

As the dog climbed in, Riley swore because she'd forgotten the inside was going to light up. It didn't matter how quite she tried to be. Light travelled faster than sound. With that realization, she heard the revving of an engine not too far away. There was no time to grab her bag out of the trunk. If they'd spotted the light through the trees, oh – they were as good as dead already.

"Riley!" she heard Gabriel calling from the doorstep. Only a solar-powered light illuminated his features from above, creating shadows on his face that made him look much too tired.

She shut the door in the poor dog's face and tried not to look back when Ivy whined. This was the best way to keep Ivy safe, she had to keep reminding herself. Even if they couldn't get back to her, someone would come along eventually and let the dog out. She had to keep holding on to the shred of hope that at least one of them might make it out safe. If it was only the dog, well then-

No. She forced herself to stop thinking about it. She and Gabriel would be okay. Riley was assigned to protect him, and she was going to do her damn job.

She quickly went back inside the house and Gabriel half-closed the door behind her. He left it a crack open and looked to see if any vehicle had made it past the trees lining the curve of the road. At once, he turned back to face her. "I've got a plan."

"Shoot." She was all ears.

"As much as I hate following Lillian's orders right now," he started gruffly, "I think it's the best option of getting out alive. We've got to make a run for it in the woods and avoid those men."

Riley nodded slowly. "I'm willing to bet they're as heavily armed as Lillian said. We'd better move fast if we're going to go." Her breathing had calmed down once they knew what they were doing. It was just that split-second of panic that she didn't like or know what to do about.

"What if we get lost?" The light coming from the doorway caught in her eyes, reflecting a few golden specs against the green that Gabriel had never noticed before. He also saw the strain in her expression, the slight crease between her brows.

"The only feeling of "lost" we're gonna experience is when we get back to my apartment and watch Lost on Netflix." He said it with such confidence in his voice that Riley decided to believe that they were going to make it out. She felt fingertips reaching out for her elbow and skittering down her forearm to hold her hand, squeezing tightly. However, a frown in his voice could be heard when he said, "Let's exit out the back. Headlights just peaked over the hill."

His fingers dropped hers, leaving a cold feeling in their wake. She ignored it and followed him past the couch in the living room (hearing a thump and a quiet curse as he banged into it) and to one of the wide windows on the other side of fireplace. He shoved it open and looked out both ways, trying to make sure no one was coming on foot.

The moonlight was fading now, the clouds in the sky covering it up and making it harder to see. He must have felt it was safe. Securing his bag around his back, he jumped down to the ground not four feet below and reached up to give her a hand.

She grabbed his hand but froze stiffly as she saw headlights bounce on the wall next to her. Soon they'd be knocking down her door, and that thought got her moving. When Riley was safely next to him, Gabriel reached back up to pull the window down as far as he could. "I hope that buys us a few extra minutes," he whispered, chest heaving.

"I'm not so sure about that," Riley challenged, some of the worry creeping back into her voice. Gabriel turned his head to the direction hers was facing, seeing movement across the grass on the corner of the cabin.

No, not movement. Faint beams from flashlights. However faint they were, it didn't matter. All he saw was that there were at least ten of them on the side nearest the driveway. They heard a few indistinguishable shouts in another language, and then a heavy sound like wood breaking.

"They've broken open the door. Let's move," Gabriel told her. In front of them was a short stretch of land before the trail that led down to the lake. He figured it was worth a shot if they could make it past the eyes of the men who were sure to be waiting on the other side of the house as well. "Most of the men are on the right side, so if we run for it at the right time, we might make it without them noticing."

Being careful to duck under the other windows, they made their way to the edge of the house peering around just enough to see that they'd crowded around the agents' car, poking their flashlights against the windows to see inside. One of the men jumped as Ivy suddenly bounced up and greeted him, barking at the strange face in front of her. Some of the other men pointed and laughed at the jumpy one, to which he replied with a string of expletives that Gabriel had the misfortune to translate with his chip.

It was just the distraction they needed. "Alright, I'll go first while they're still distracted-"

"No way," Riley caught his elbow with her fingers in a hard grip. "It's my job to keep you safe. I'm going first. That way, if they see me, it'll create a better distraction that will let you run the other way."

Gabriel scoffed and received a deeper frown from his partner. "Are you kidding me? After everything we've been through for the past five days, you think I'd let you go get caught without me? That's it. We're going together." He kept his focus on the group of men that were laughing at the one with the vein popping out of his head, but grabbed her hand again, this time looking ready to run with her.

The moment slowed down for Riley. His hand covered hers and she was never so sure he'd hold on as long as he needed to. The yellow and orange light played on his face and showed off the perspiration starting to gather on his face and down his neck. Less than a week ago, Gabriel was complaining about her protecting him. Now he was the one who was making sure she was safe. If she hadn't been so worried they were going to get shot at in the next five minutes, she probably would've felt compelled to hug him or something.

Then all at once, the men near the car started shouting, and reality came back in full Technicolor. His grip on her was tightening and he was tugging at her, so she brought her attention up to his eyes. There must have been something in the way she looked at him, because he paused for a moment as well.

But this wasn't the time nor the place.

"Alright. You ready to go?"

She nodded. "Together."

A cloud passed over the moon, darkening the lawn somewhat. They watched for the men outside the house as yet another round of jeering commenced and made their break for it. The grass was wet from the dew that had already settled on it, and Riley was desperately hoping her sneakers wouldn't slip. Surprisingly, they made it to the edge of the trail without anyone noticing.

They'd just made it past the line of trees when they heard a heart-stopping shout, and then the laughter died down almost immediately.

Riley was prepared to throw both Gabriel and herself on the ground for the inevitable hail of bullets that the machine guns would toss their way, but none came. Gabriel released her hand but crouched down next to her, keeping little space between them. His breath was at her ear when he whispered, "Wait, look. Isn't that him?"

Indeed it was. Riley looked back up to the front porch to see none other than the guardsman himself, his face lit up by the headlights of their car. He must have been the one to yell, angry that they'd found an empty house. Besides his angry words, Ivy's barking could still be heard.

"Gabriel, they're going to start searching around outside now," Riley said. She turned her head to whisper over in his ear, but found her path blocked. His face was still hovering in the same spot as it had been when he'd last said something, and he only listened with interest to what she was saying, rather than move backwards. As she continued, his eyes danced back and forth between her eyes and mouth.

Focus, she told herself. Now is so not the time. "I think we better keep moving before-"

But then suddenly she could see Gabriel's bright, squinting face all of a sudden and it was like a shot if adrenaline rushed through her.

The cloud passed and moonlight washed over him. Not to mention, a flashlight had landed on his face.

Her eyes widened. "Run!"

They bolted from where they were, running off as fast as they could up the trail. It was much like the first time they'd been on this path, trying to outrun each other, expect for now it was someone else they were trying to outrun.

A couple of other someones. With guns. And a grudge.

"Riley," Gabriel huffed, jumping over a stray root in the trail. His vision was not clear; only the moonlight that occasionally broke through the forest canopy was lighting his way, and he was trying his hardest to pick up his feet and avoid any other roots that might trip up his feet.

Between breaths, he managed to tell her, "I think we better break off the trail."

"Yeah, that won't get us lost," she said, finding the energy to make a sarcastic remark. Riley saw lights from the men behind them reflecting off the trees, though, and she didn't see any better means of losing the men before they caught up further. "Let's do it at the top of the hill. Right or left?"

"Left."

Riley's toes nearly caught on a root, sending her stumbling quickly up the path, balancing on Gabriel's arm for a moment to keep from falling. They soon neared the crest of the trail and diverted off to a new path. They heard the crunching of twigs and other bits of herbaceous understory under their feet, and realized it might be too loud to be a good way of escape. Riley slowed down and told Gabriel to wait up. "I have an idea. Pick up that rock," she pointed to the object resting at her feet as he did so, "Great, now throw that in the other direction, down the trail."

He understood at once, and threw the medium-sized rock on the path in a way that sent it tumbling down the other, steeper side of the path. As it gained momentum, it made a lot of noise bouncing off other rocks on the trail. Riley ducked behind a tree and Gabriel laid as flat as he could in the ferns, waiting quietly for the men to pass.

Loud shouts were heard and more flashlights danced near where they hid, but they kept going in search of the noise. Riley peeked from behind and saw that the armed men were now scratching their heads at the bottom, splitting up in directions all around the beach. She pulled her partner up and whispered, "It's go-time."

"Quick thinking, partner," he smiled handsomely at her and started running again. Riley decided she could get used to Gabriel complimenting her and being nice. It was a much more attractive quality on him, if she had to admit.

"Thanks," she finally remembered to answer him. They were keeping a less-hurried jog now, but it picked up every so often when they heard one of the men shout.

Perspiration was rolling down their backs, making their shirts slick with sweat. They'd been going steady a few minutes when all of a sudden, they heard one of the machine guns go off in their direction. The leaves rippled above them where the bullets hit, so the agents veered right to run through a thicker cluster of trees. The bullets had a better chance of catching the oaks than two moving objects, they figured.

Neither said much, but glances where exchanged whenever a bombardment of bullets whizzed past their heads. They kept making sure the other was okay, too afraid of what might happen if they didn't look over at the other after every few seconds. The other frightening part was not knowing what they would do if a bullet managed to snag their partner. Riley could've sworn one was right next to her ear because of how loud they were starting to sound and because of the ringing that started in her ears.

The men seemed to be on their tails, or at least slightly closer than they had been a few minutes ago. How they found the agents so quickly again was a mystery to her.

Gabriel, on the other hand, realized that they'd started making quite a raucous when charging through the underbrush, as it was not nearly as flat or clean as the pathway was. He took comfort in knowing that the men chasing them had to go the same terrain with guns on their backs, which was much harder with branches and pricker bushes pulling at the objects. He would know; the pack still strapped to his back was making it a bit more difficult to run than it would be without it.

His partner didn't have anything to carry on her back. She was a few paces ahead of him when he nearly knocked her over after stopping abruptly. Riley's momentum carried her forward and she tried her hardest not to lose her balance, but Gabriel's weight upon her back wasn't helping.

He caught a glimpse over her shoulder trying to see what it was that they were avoiding. It became clear to him that nothing was in front of them, not a tree or guardsman in sight.

Nothing but a cliff and pale moonlight to tell him he'd better grab ahold of something before both of them plummeted down to their deaths.

"Shit," he cursed. Riley said nearly the same word, only it rhymed with 'duck'. Gabriel did have a hand latched onto her shirt, but the silky fabric was slipping out of his grasp quickly. The moment played out slowly; Riley repeated her curse and tried to grab ahold of his bicep, losing her footing while Gabriel reached out and tried to hold onto the nearest tree. As it turned out, the tree he grabbed ahold of was only a small sapling, and it bent viciously under his weight.

"Gabriel?" he heard from below him. All other sounds left him. Her voice was the only thing he focused on other than keeping his grip on the sapling. His partner's body was now swinging over the cliff, the moonlight reflecting on her perfect ivory skin that stood out in stark contrast to the dark uncertainness below her. The only thing keeping her out was Gabriel, who was now losing his own footing, dropping both of their bodies lower into the pit and causing the sapling to bend nearly horizontal. Her voice came again. "Drop me."

Her heart was beating wildly. It was hard to hear over the sound of her own pulse in her ears. Her hand slipped down until she was gabbing his wrist. So this was how she was going down.

"No way in hell," he groaned, painfully aware of the rough bark scraping the inside of his hand, no doubt carving little cuts into his skin. The pain didn't matter, though. He wasn't going to through a couple tours with the army, become an Cyber Command operative with a chip implanted in his brain, and hide out in a cabin for a week to hide from a couple arms dealers who wanted his head just to end up dying at the bottom of a hole. No way in hell.

"Just do it," she urged, her quiet voice concealing her inner voice that wanted to scream or cry. Even if they were hanging precariously, she wasn't going to try and alert the armed men to their positions. They'd just end up dying faster. Right now they were hanging far enough over the edge and low enough under the ferns that they couldn't be found, or at least seen from a distance.

The sweat was prickling up through the pores of her palm, making it harder to keep her grip steady.

"Gabriel, please," she pleaded, hating that her voice was starting to break. "I have to protect you, not the other way around. Just let go. That branch isn't going to hold forever." He kept trying to interrupt her with his protests, but she just shook her head as her eyes started to water.

"Riley, you really should know better than- than to convince me to let you die," he huffed with effort, both his arms starting to wobble from holding her weight. He took his attention off from the bending branch and tried to catch a glimpse of her face.

There was so much she hadn't done yet. So much she hadn't said. Too much she had yet to accomplish. And everything she worked so hard for was over so soon?

For a long moment, she didn't say anything aloud, glad that she was sharing these last moments with her partner, content to prolong the inevitable for just a while longer. But then, the shouts of the men could be heard again, and they were getting closer.

She let out a shaky laugh and made her decision. "I'm going to let go now, partner. If one of us is going to survive it has to be you. Gabriel, just know that I l-"

SNAP.

Before either of them could even let out a noiseless scream, they held onto each other for dear life and tumbled down until the moonlight no longer reached either of their bodies.

Soon enough the guardsman and his crew reached the outlook where they found a freshly broken sapling. The men slowed down and looked around for a bit, shrugging and turning away.

They decided to search elsewhere, finding no signs of life near the cliff.

A/N: Next chapter might be up today or tomorrow, depending. I want to thank you for everyone's amazing feedback on the last chapter – It was one of my most reviewed! You guys ROCK. Seriously, I mean that. Did you know you made this story the most popular so far in the Intelligence fandom? I owe everything to you. I love you all.

Spectacularly special thanks to those reviewers I just mentioned: KTaylorCSI, KVD, TearsInTheDust, Blue Obsidian Butterfly, sunshineforever13, snowflakes211, Cupuffle, Midgardian Avenger, clay cowan, Chymom, Guest (1), USNeshama, byLunaA, Guest (2), wowyounoticed, Emma (I'm actually really glad you pointed that out, dear!), Guest (3), kwisteria, .12979431 (Hey, now I know what Tenterhooks are. Neat expression.), Murph, and Sephiria Arks. *HUGS*