A/N: You people are fantastic! I've gotten more reviews for this story than for any other story I've ever written! So thanks so much! Hope ya'll enjoy this next chapter!

Side note: Thanks and a bouquet of flowers to sarahofearth for the little idea snippet!

Riley

Sometimes, I hate my life.

Me and Ben just had to sit there and watch as all the other hostage-type folks filed out of the place, shooting us these awful, sympathetic, boy-am-I-glad-that's-not-me looks. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad they all got out okay. But when one guy tripped on his way out and stubbed his toe, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a small measure of satisfaction.

Moe stood against the wall by the door, and I could tell by the look on his face that he figured he had everything under control. He was being really annoying, waving bye bye at the people leaving with a smirk that might've been more sarcastic than anything even I could manage. As the cute waitress walked past, he pinched her butt; just about made her cry. Stupid jerk.

Ben must've read something on my face, 'cause he nudged me with his shoulder. "Easy, big fella."

I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms. "Enough with the cracks about my name. It's not a dog name. It's a people name, okay?" Geeze, it's like everywhere I go, somebody's gotta be like, Riley? Oh, I had a dog named Riley once...

He smiled, closing his eyes and resting his head back against the wall for a minute. "That's not what I meant. Though, if we ever do get a puppy..."

"You're not naming it after me, Ben. There will not be a dog running around your house answering to my name. Your life will be miserable. Mark my words."

He laugh/grimaced. Guy had a concussion. That much I knew. The area around the nasty cut on his head was already swollen and had turned more shades of blue than a Picasso. He looked beat, and I think he'd kept from passing out through sheer, determined, Gates-style will. More powerful than a locomotive? Maybe not. But I'm pretty sure if it came down to it, Ben would be able to figure out some brilliant, ingenious, locomotive-stopping plan. Especially if it was somebody else's life on the line...uh...tracks.

"Ben?"

"I'm fine, Fido."

That almost annoyed me into believing him. Almost. I was about to tell Mr. Benjamin Franklin Gates to go fly a kite in a lightening storm, but Moe and Larry came striding up to us, looking down at us like we were nothing. Moe took a cell phone from his pocket and held it out toward Ben.

"I need you to make a call for me."

Ben glanced at it, then closed his eyes again. "If you're needing me to convince your girlfriend to get back together with you, I have to tell you,sir, that..."

"Shut up!" Moe, interrupted. Whoa. Ben. Man must be tired. I couldn't help but laugh at that one, though. Moe pointed at me. "You shut up, too." I leaned back against the wall and grinned up at him, arms still crossed. I take back what I said earlier. Guy can't hold a candle to the amount of sarcasm I can squeeze into this face. "I want you to get me a helicoptor. Tell the pilot to land it near the back entrance and to get out. We've got a man to fly it."

"Well, where would you like me to get this helicopter?" Ben asked slowly.

"You must have a few private choppers," the man declared, oh so sure of himself.

Ben looked purposefully confused. "Well...that's news to me. Riley? Do you know about any helicopters?"

"Told you we should've taken more than one percent, Ben."

He glanced back at Moe. "We're really not as rich as you might've hoped..." He trailed off as Moe's gun was out and pressed against his head.

"You'd better be lying," the man said lowly.

I stopped breathing.

Ben met the man's eyes, said something like, "Take it easy. You haven't killed anyone yet. You need to relax, and we'll figure..."

He kept talking, but I couldn't really hear what he was saying over the blood roaring in my ears. It was kinda like the sound on the TV when the satelite goes out. It got louder, and time got slower, and I saw him raise his gun to hit Ben again. A whole bunch of images and nightmare memories came flooding back, and in my head there was another body and another beating that messed up my life forever. Not Ben. Not now. Couldn't let the same thing happen to him. Couldn't let it happen again...

So many thoughts rushing crazy fast through my brain, the gun on a collision course for Ben's head. I didn't think. I reacted, hearing one thing over the rushing in my ears. My voice.

"Stop!"

Time sped back up, and I realized what happened, and I kinda wish I could've seen the look on Ben's face. I was standing between the nut job and my friend, breathing hard. The man had stopped midswing, the only reason being, I'm pretty sure, that I surprised the heck out of him. But I realized if I wanted to keep breathing at all, I had better start talking.

"I...I can get a chopper for you."

"Riley..."

"Ben," I said, trying out one of his favorite lines, "Shush." It actually worked, and I resolved to use it more often. I spoke to Moe, "Get me access to the Internet, and I'll get you a chopper, one way or another."

He seemed to consider it for a second. Then I was spun around by my arm and slammed into the wall, my cheekbone taking most of the impact, as my arm was wrenched painfully into the small of my back. I seriously thought the guy was going to break my arm. When he spoke, his mouth was right up against my ear. And I was more scared than I'd been in awhile. "If you're lying to me..."

"He's not lying. That kid can do anything with computers. But you let him go now." Ben's held a dangerousness that it only got when he was really mad. "Right now."

I wasn't that surprised when the creep suddenly released me, but I guess I hit that wall harder than I thought, because as I took a step, everything sort of tilted and got dark. I didn't realized I'd fallen until I didn't hit the ground.

v v v

Ben

I managed to catch him under his arms before his face could hit the floor. Crazy kid. What was he thinking? What was I thinking? I'd just made myself guilty of the same thing I'd gotten on to Riley for. And as in some way always seemed to be the case, he ended up paying the price. But he somehow never has the sense to get mad at me for it. He looked up at me and actually offered a weak smile. "Vertigo," he offered by way of explanation. He sounded embarrassed. Embarrassed, not angry.

I hoisted him up and kept a firm grip on him as he regained his balance. "I'm sorry."

He either didn't hear me or decided to ignore me. "Did you really just call me 'kid' in front of the bad guys?" he complained his forgiveness. "I mean, really, Ben. It's one thing when you do it in my head, but..."

I was spared having to wonder if that knock on the head had severely damaged that brain of his as the leader waved us forward. "You two get moving. There's a computer in the back room."

"We're coming," I said. If I sounded half as frustrated as I felt, it would probably explain the look of disgusted disapproval the man shot me. I had enough sense to count that as the only warning I'd get before he started hurting people again. I started forward with Riley, but the kid suddenly wavered, and I drew him back against my side. Good grief, how hard did that monster hit him? That's when I felt his hand tighten around the fabric of my shirt. He wouldn't look at me, though. It was then that I figured out maybe he wasn't quite as dizzy as he'd let on. Didn't matter. I didn't plan on letting go, anyway.

I followed the leader to a door at the head of the restaurant that led to a back room. He brought us to a halt and looked at me. "This is where you get off."

I looked at him. What? "Beg pardon?"

"You're going to wait out here with Jerry and Blaine. Kid goes with me to the computer."

The grip on my shirt went impossibly tighter. "Actually, I think I might need Ben to..."

"You'll shut up right now if you want out of this alive." The gun in Riley's face was a good incentive.

"Look, we're staying together," I told him as simply and calmly as I could. The slow-toned anger that crept into my voice probably messed up that plan, though. "No negotiation on that one. You need us to get out of here. If you want our cooperation, you keep us together."

"I'd like to second that," Riley put in, eyes crossed and staring down the barrel of the gun not two inches from the end of his nose.

"That so, Mr. Gates?" the man asked.

"Yes, sir, it is." I wasn't going to be moved on that. No way was I letting my best friend go into a room alone with this maniac.

He seemed to consider it for a moment. But in the end, he was a moron with a gun. And as with most morons with guns, he thought that gave him the power to do whatever he wanted.

"Hey!" It was the only thing that could escape my lips as Riley was wrenched away from me, an arm wrapped around his neck, and a gun pressed into the side of his skull. I glanced back. His two lackeys were watching carelessly beside the aquarium. The less intelligent one looked entertained.

"Back up, Mr. Gates."

"Come on..."

"Back up!" I backed up. Didn't really have a choice there, did I? Riley was staring at me, wide-eyed, his cheek purpling with fresh bruises. Fix this, Ben. It was all but Sharpie-ed across his forehead. I'm trying, kid. I wasn't sure how! I stepped back until I was standing in front of the aquarium between the henchmen, feeling helpless. My eyes moved to land on the leader's. I think I put more heat into that glare than any that had come before it. This guy was worse than Ian.

He took a few steps forward, dragging Riley along with him, practically in a choke-hold. The gun left Riley's head and moved to point at me. That at least was an improvement. Then something happened to shock the living daylights out of me.

With a grunt, Riley knocked the man's arm up as his elbow embedded itself solidly into the man's gut. As the man doubled over, I reacted. Grabbing a chair, I slammed it into Jerry. The man went down hard. Before the dumb one could get his gun up to fire, I swung the chair around, crashing it into the aquarium glass. I dove out of the way as hundreds of gallons of water and fish and shards of glass errupted from the tank, taking Blaine to the floor. He didn't get back up. The water also managed to sweep the leader off his feet, but not before his gun discharged. I saw Riley fall, his body landing with a splash. I think I almost passed out. No time, I told myself. I had to get Riley out. I had to fix this.

I ran to him and hefted him up, more relieved than I could've imagined when his feet held most of his weight. "Don't look back!" We kept running, bursting through the front doors, managing to go a few steps before spilling onto the pavement. There was an uproar as the authorities realized who we were and their teams swarmed the building. I didn't really care. All I cared about was the guy lying on his stomach the ground next to me.

I sat up. "Riley? You alright? Riley,hey, are you okay?"

He groaned and I watched his eyes track an aquarium fish that was lying on the pavement a few feet away, it's tail fin flopping sluggishly. "Man, PETA's gonna be so ticked."

I laughed. A real, tension-relieving laugh. It might've been slightly hysterical, but it was just then settling in that we were safe and alive and okay and free. All the newfound freedom was a bit overwhelming. I went to help him up, and he stopped me suddenly.

"Wait! Be careful."

Eyebrows knit, and a dreadful feeling in my gut, I helped him sit up carefully. The red streaks were the first thing I noticed. "Riley," I said in amazement. "You've been shot."

v v v

A/N: I know. You guys give me such great reviews and this was like my slowest update ever. I'm really sorry. I'm going to try to get the next chapter up ASAP, 'kay? I'm pretty sure the next chapter will be the last, so bear with me. And, though it may not appear so, your awesome reviews really do spur me on! So feel free to spur!