'Sir? Was there anyone else in this office with you?' Now THAT was a dumb question Rude, of course no one else was here…

Rufus slowly opened his eyes and glanced up at Rude. 'No. No, only me.' He began to close his eyes again when they shot open one again. 'No! Dark Nation was here. He's always with me.' Rufus tried to get up but Rude gently kept him lying down. 'Where is he? Is he ok?'

I didn't think that cat meant so much to him. Rude looked at Reno who was trying to find something to wipe the blood on. 'Reno, see if you can find Dark Nation in here somewhere.'

Reno looked at him in disbelief then whispered quietly to him 'Are you nuts? Rufus barely survived this and you think that a cat could survive? I think the smoke has affected your brain Rude. Really.'

'Fine, you tell him that you don't want to look for something that means a lot to him. Besides, it's a cat; it's smaller then Rufus. He probably found a good hiding spot and probably just got stuck. Just humor him Reno. Hell, humor me. It won't kill you to look for his pet.'

'Fine, I'll look for the damn thing. He creeps me out though. It really doesn't like me.'

'He wouldn't cast bolt on you every time he sees you if you would stop teasing him with food you know.'

'Yeah yeah, I know. But it's fun.' He got up, leaving Rufus in Rude's care to search for the cat.

This is pathetic. How am I supposed to find a black cat, in a dark building? This will be SO easy.

When he got to the far end of the office he stopped and glanced around. In the silence, he thought he heard a weak meowing from under some debris. No way, he thought it should be dead.

Pulling the debris away he eventually came across the injured cat. His front paw lay limp beside him and there was a large gash on his side, but Dark Nation was alive, if not worse for wear.

The cat looked up and noticed Reno looming over him. Although feeling weak, he began casting bolt on the redhead.

Damnit, I just saved you and you want to electrocute me? Well, Rufus talks to him and he seems to understand him perfectly. I might as well give it a shot. I'm going to negotiate with a cat…I HAVE gone insane.

'Look, I know you don't like me very much and all but don't electrocute me yet. Rufus is lying over there probably dying and he asked me to find you because he wants to know you're ok. I'm going to get you out of here so don't shock me alright?'

Somehow it didn't surprise Reno that after hearing that Rufus was hurt that Dark Nation stopped casting the spell and tried to get himself up. Reno proceeded to get the remaining debris away from the animal and before he could stop the injured cat, Dark Nation limped his way over to where his master lay. He nudged his master to try to wake him up and lay his head over his chest, as if guarding him.

Rufus felt the nudge and opened his eyes to find his cat lying protectively against him. He smiled at the cat and looked up at Reno.

'Thank you for finding him.'

Reno was speechless. He had half-expected for the cat to guard his master but he was honestly quite surprised to see it. If it's possible for a cat to feel he mused I'd say Dark Nation is scared that Rufus won't be ok.

He shook himself from his thoughts and managed a simple 'You're welcome sir.' in reply. Rufus' eyes started closing once again.

'Sir' Rude shook him gently 'Sir, you can't fall asleep. Stay awake until the medics arrive. You'll be able to rest in the chopper to the hospital.'

Rufus tried desperately to stay awake but couldn't find the energy. 'I really can't. I'm too tired.'

Where the fuck are those medics? Reno fumed He's going to die and it'll be their fault.

A sudden noise startled Dark Nation and made Reno and Rude draw their guns. Seeing the guns aimed for their heads, the rescue team stopped dead in their tracks.

After a moment, one of the medics stepped forward to address the two Turks. 'We're here to get the President to the hospital if that's alright with you two.'

Wordlessly, Reno and Rude returned their guns to their holsters and gestured to where Rufus' broken body lay. Rude gently picked up Dark Nation off of Rufus in order for the medics to examine him.