Heres a new chapter guys! Sorry it's so long to update and Im not even sure my fic is still posted cause I've been trying to find it and havent been able to. But in any case if anyone is able to read this thanks for having faith in me and keep the reviews coming. ENJOY!

Chapter Thirteen

Here goes nothing, Arianna took a deep breath as she stood just inside the door to the first set of stairs. The click of the door closing sounded so ominious and final as it echoed in the space of the stairwell that she couldn't help but shiver just a little.

Waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim light before moving up the stairwell she checked for any movent around her; not knowing if Mandala would have people stationed in each exit to take her out. As much as she knew he didn't want to admit it; as much as she knew about the sick bastard; he was sick of waiting for her. Sick of the fact that she hadn't buckled under the pressure of what had been happening to her already. Wasn't dead after the several attacks on her life. Because as much as Gonzalez had been adimant about the fact that his former boss had had no idea where he was or what he was doing the young ranger knew full well that Mandala had had his finger on the pulse of everything that those who use to work for him and still do did. Even from his jail cell.

Just as she was about to place her foot on the first step scratching was heard from her right hand side. Slowly and as silently as possible she stepped back onto the landing; pulling her gun from it's holster at the same time. Gun at her side she headed in that direction; stopping just where the stairwell ended. Glancing around the corner nothing automatically jumped out at her but it was also pitch black in that part of the space. Taking a deep breath she counted to ten; stepping into the pocket of darkness she switched on the flashilight attached to her gun; ready for whatever happened to be there.

When nothing came at her she let her shoulders slump; let the tension drain. Then the skittering was heard again and she was back in battle mode. Gun raised again she caught movement on the edge of her flashlight beam and moved in the direction of whatever it was was going. Once the motion stopped and the beam landed on what it was she couldn't help but laugh.

"Who ever thought a five star hotel like this would have rats?" Arianna mumured.

Satisfied that she was safe; for the moment at least; the young woman headed back to the stairs and proceeded up to the first floor. Stopping at the gray steel door marked fire exit she breifly checked for any kind of contact points that would indicate that there were explosives attached to the entrance. As much as she had the sinking feeling that he was waiting to deal the final blow hisself she had to be sure. Making as little noise as possible she made her way onto the carpeted hallway; closing the door soundlessly behind her.

Cursing the fact that there really was no place to hide Arianna tried to keep to the shadows as much as possible as she surveyed her surroundings; looking for any and all exits. The carpet in the hallway was a plush cream color that made it almost impossible to hear footsteps as they came towards you. But in the same respect made it easy to follow people; especially if they hadn't bothered to clean the bottom of their shoes. There were a total of ten rooms on each side; the elevators exactly opposite from the emergency exit. Those on the left hand side were slipt in half by a much bigger doorway that she could only guess had to be a sitting room of some sort. A lot of the higher end hotels had them; guests would use them to get out of the confines of their rooms when the weather wasn't condusive to going outside.

Back against the wall she headed in that direction; knowing that as stupid as it would be to have all of his guys in one area he was also smart enough to know that anyone she came across was going to need back up. Though she didn't like to brag she knew that she was one of best out there; and the fact that Mandala hadn't forgotten that gave her some small measure of satisfaction. Of course there was also the fact that she was as pissed as all get out right which in turn made her ten times worse then he could even imagine.

Still on the right side of the hallway she was just about ready to switch over to the left so she could survey the sitting room when voices came from the room in question. Stilling herself; trying not to move a muscle she watched as a shadow fell across the carpet right before a figure stepped out; AK 47 slung over his shoulder. Breathing becoming faster as the adrenaline started to pump harder through her system Arianna had the sinking suspicion that she had been caught. That was until she felt the door she currently had her back against start to open.

Stealing herself for the fall she let the door open the rest of the way before darting in; grabbing it before it could slam shut. Instantly her eyes scanned the room for the cause of her little entrance into this particualr area. Standing in front of her; cowering in obvious fear; was a couple that had to be in their fiftes. Both had hair that was turning a salt and pepper shade but at one point had been brown. They were both dressed in their night clothes; ready to head to bed after whatever festivies they had had planned for the New Year.

"Who are you? What do you want? We've already done everything they asked." The mans voice came out loud but a little shaky.

Locking the door she put a finger to her lips for them to quiet down a little. Leaning against it she took a minute to get her bearings; feeling like her heart was going to beat right out of her chest.

"I'm not here to hurt you." She reassured.

"Then what do you want?" The woman demanded.

"My name is Arianna Walker. I'm a Texas Ranger from Dallas and the reason why you're being held hostage." She explained.

"You mean to say you know those men out there?" The man couldn't believe it.

"I know the person that hired them. And both he and them are not to be messed with. So in order for you to remain unharmed I need you to do as they say." Arianna explained. "What are your names?"

Though he acted as if it seemed to be a strange question given the circumstances the man extended his hand anyway. "Frank Davidson. And this is my wife Elane."

"Nice to meet you both." Arianna shook the couples hand. "Sorry it has to be like this."

Watching as she checked through the peephole to see if anyone was coming the couple wasn't sure what to make of it. The men who had kept them captive in their hotel room were not to be messed with as she had stated earlier. They had already shot one person who refused to do what they had asked. Arianna Walker didn't look like much; even if she did carry herself like someone who didn't need protecting.

"Are you sure you shouldn't try to call the cops; get them involved? You can't take all these guys on on your own." Frank stated.

Turning to them with a sad look on her face she shook her head. "I can't do that. Enough people have already gotten hurt; I refuse to let anyone else. And the sad fact of it is that I've taken on men like this before; by myself."

Opening her mouth to speak Elane instantly closed it as Arianna held up her hand. This had to be one of the most exciting vacations she'd ever taken and if the young woman knew what she was doing there was no way she was going to question her motives. Stepping towards them she placed a hand on each of their shoulders; a serious expression on her face.

"I need your help." She told them.

"Anything." Elane agreed.

"There's a man headed towards your room right now. When he opens the door I want you to act as naturally as possible. Then let me take it from there. No matter what happens I need you to stay out of it and keep yourself as safe as possible. Lock yourself in the bathroom if need be." Arianna explained.

Nodding in response was all they could do as a knock came on the door just as the young ranger slid up to the wall behind it. Trying to stop his hands from shaking Frank reached for the lock on the door; flicking it open before opening the door wide so as to cover the fact that the young woman was hiding standing there.

"Yes?" He questioned.

"Did someone just come in here? A young woman with long red hair?" The voice of the man that spoke was thick with Spanish origins.

"No; it's just us." Frank knew his voice was wavering and tried to stop it.

Brown eyes narrowed in his tan face; lips curled over his mouth in a sneer as if he acted like he didn't believe them. His suspicions were confirmed when a beefy hand came up as the older man tried to close the door. Fighting him would've been no good; the guy was built like a linebacker and at least twenty years younger them him.

"Where is she?" He asked again.

"I told you there's no one here but us." Frank told him again.

"I don't believe you; so I'm going to check for myself." His voice menacing as he headed towards the the living room of the suite and bedrooms beyond.

Not sure what to do he glanced to the door; surprised to see Arianna slipping out from her hiding place. Putting a finger to her lips to silence them she slowly made her way around them to come up behind the man who had barged his way into their room.

Hands sweating; heart pumping five times faster then normal Arianna hoped and prayed that she was being as silent as she thought when she came up behind the guy who was dressed like he had just stepped out of an episode of Miami Vice. As much as she wanted to take him out as quietly as possible she also needed answers about what Mandala had planned for her on each of the nine floors that were remaining.

However fate was not on her side that night as the man turned before she could duck into a closet or alcove to stop the inevitable and put the advantage back on her side. There wasn't even any time for her to react; his gun drawn up and pointed at her chest before she could even say a word.

"If I've caught you already then you must not be as good as Mr. Mandala claims you to be." He smirked.

"How about you put that gun down and we'll see just how good I'am." Arianna offered.

"As much as I would love to Mr. Mandala wouldn't be very happy if I brought you to him beaten and bruised." The man asnwered.

Seeing that there was no way out of this but her fists because if she tried to reach for her gun she'd be dead before she was even halfway there Arianna knew that she was going to be feeling this in the morning.

"I'm sorry to have to disappoint you both." She answered.

Using one hand she knocked the gun aside; lashing out with right hook from the other. As he reeled from the blow she heard footsteps behind her. Knowing that the couple was now crouched down on the floor she grabbed ahold of the gun; finger on the trigger as she turned. Bullets sprayed the partially open door and wall as they also sank into the man who was in the middle of raising his own weapon. His lifeless body slumped to a heap on the floor; blood running from the wounds.

Turning back she was met with a weighty fist right to her face. In her hurry to try to take him out as quickly as possible and take care of the other man that had come running she had forgotten to secure his other arm. Staggering back she still had a hold on the gun and managed to wrench it from his arm the rest of the way; tossing it to the other side of the living room. Ignoring the sting on her left cheek and the blood she could feel dripping from her mouth Arianna worked to quickly regain her footing.

Unfourtanetly it wasn't fast enough and the linebacker built man came at her again. She could guarentee that the thud from her hitting the wall with his weight behind her had to have been heard all the way through the hall. Pain knifed through her as she lashed out with an elbow to his back; indicating that she had seriously bruised her back and possibly had a few bruised if not broken ribs as well.

Again and again she pounded on his back to no avail; getting herself even more hurt in the process as he made a punching bag out of her stomach. There were so many times that she had wanted to cry out in pain but refused to give him the satisfaction. Realizing that her current course of action wasn't working. And that she needed to get out of the corner she had worked herself into Arianna ignored the urge to collapse from the pain and using all of her body weight pushed against the guy. The fact that he was confused about what she was doing worked to her advantage as it took her a couple of tries to move him.

Grunting with the exertion of what she was doing the young woman gave a slient cry of triumph when she finally had him off of her and headed on a path to land on the couch. Deciding that he needed a little taste of what he had just given; and that if she didn't knock him the hell unconcious he was going to come after her again she proceeded to let out some of the anger she had built up over the last month.

Batting away the fist he attempted to connect with her face again she let out with a left hook; followed by a right and a solid front kick to the chest. When he didn't come back at her again; instead walked as if completely drunk she thought that she might get out of this one easy. Then he regained his footing; shaking his head as if to clear it before coming at her again.

That's it; I've had enough. I've got better things to do, Arianna thought.

Waiting until the last possible second she leapt in the air; feeling the solidness of his jaw as it connected with her foot. Turning in a crouch once her feet touched the ground she had realized before it was too late that the beating she had given him had altered his course so that he was headed for the window instead of the couch.

"No..." Arianna trailed off as she raced to try to catch him.

It was too late and the crash of his body through the glass was all she heard as she covered her face with her arms to protect it from the shards that flew through the air. Seconds went by before she moved; contiuing her path to the window.

Wind blew around her; lifiting up the pieces of hair that had come loose from her bun, snow coming in through the window as she looked down to what was left of the man who had just effectively given her a good beat down. Though she was only on the first floor the way the hotel was set up it was at least fifty feet off the ground. His body lay in the snow; arms and legs contorted at an odd angle. Blood poured from his head; coloring the pristine white snow a deep red.

Stepping back she felt the adrenaline drain from her body; replaced with the pain from her many injuries. She wasn't a doctor so she couldn't tell for sure but she had the strange feeling that her ribs were definetly broken from the way he had used her ribs like a rack of meat. What had just happened reminded her so much of Mexico that she wanted to just sit down on the floor and cry. But she knew she didn't have the luxury; or time because even if there wasn't anyone else on this particualr floor you could guarentee that the shots from the automatic weapon she had fired were heard throughout the entire building.

Stiff and sore as hell already; and things had only just begun; Arianna proceeded back to the front door; knowing that there was nothing she could for the man who now lay dead on the pavement below. Despite the fact that she had known there had been no other choice she still felt a little sick at the fact that that man had died at her hands. Killing someone wasn't something she liked to do; even if it was a part of her job. Injuring them instead was what she had been taught. Pushing back those thoughts she stopped just in front of the couple; trying to be as slow as possible so as not to scare them. Something like this was nothing new for her; a part of her everyday life; but not for them. There was a huge chance that they could be in shock.

"Everyone okay?" She questioned; crouching beside them.

"No worse for the wear then we were before." Frank answered.

"Good." Arianna agreed. "I need you guys to do me another favor."

"You just saved out lives; so just name it." Elane finally spoke.

"I want you to change as quickly as possible; grab whatever you can and get the hell out of here in under ten minutes. Don't worry about the other people on the floor. I'll have one of the uniformed officers come up once I know it's been cleared." Arianna explained.

Waiting until she was satisfied that neither one was going to have a heart attack on her the young ranger headed towards the door; knowing that she had already wasted precious time taking care of the people who had given her a place to hide when she needed it most.

"Where are you going?" Frank wondered.

Turning she saw them both loaded down with suitcases; changed into street clothes. I guess that no matter what your age when the possibility of death was looming over you it tended to make you feel as young and sprye as a fifteen year old.

"In less then three minutes this floor is going to be over run with people who work for the same man that men I just killed do. All after me; all wanting me either hurting badly or dead. That's why I want you to high tail it out of here. It's time I ended this once and for all." Arianna stated matter of factly; mouth set in a grime line.