"What the hell?" Kate said when it went dark. The emergency lights came on a moment later, but she knew they would only last a couple of hours, and it was going to be dark outside soon.

"I have no bars," Mason said, holding up his phone. Kate checked hers and found the same thing.

"They've shut us down," she said, incredulous.

"This guy must be really, really important."

"I was told he knew too much," Kate explained. "About what, though, I have no idea."

"Get Royce to lock this place down," Mason said, and she nodded. As she hurried back to the computer lab, she saw the others gathered in the bull pen area talking and sounding anxious. She knew how they felt. She was pretty damn scared herself, not that she'd ever admit that to anyone.

"Thank God for batteries," Royce said as he furiously typed on his computer.

"How long do you have?"

"Two hours, tops. I don't have internet, but I can still watch our security system."

"Okay. Can you lock us in?"

"Nope, because I need more power to do that. Batteries won't be enough...they're more for just the computers."

"Oh." That was going to cause a problem. Kate bit her lip.

"I told Carla we needed to update this place, but noooo, she wouldn't listen to me," Royce went on, muttering under his breath. "Maybe now she'll get it!"

"Take it easy, Royce," Kate instructed before leaving him again. She found Carla coming back from interrogation.

"What did you get from our guy?" Kate asked, referring to Husky Voice.

"He's a vault," Carla stated.

"Why did you have the sound turned off?" Kate asked, hoping she didn't sound as accusatory as she thought she did.

"It was off?"

"Yes."

"Oh. I didn't realize. Sorry."

Kate wasn't sure if she was lying or not. It was hard to tell.

"There are three SUVs out front," she told Carla now. "I think they're here for Deckard."

"We'll hold our ground. It's all we can do. You get Royce to lock up?"

"He says he can't...not enough power."

Carla let out a frustrated sigh at this, gripping her head tightly.

"We can't call out for backup," Kate reasoned, carrying on. "We're isolated here, Carla. They'll pick us off like flies. They'll come in here and slaughter us." She was starting to understand why Deckard had told her to leave. This was a violent end to all of them, she just knew it.

"With that attitude, yes," Carla agreed. "Just go gear up and stay frosty. We'll get through this." She left before Kate could say anything else. Kate went to join the others, who were still gathered together.

"What the hell is going on?" Lola demanded.

"Are we being attacked?" Greta asked.

Kate looked at them all. Each one of them was trying very hard to appear tougher than they felt in this moment.

"I don't know what's going on," Kate answered finally. "But what I do know is that we are a team, and we will get through this. Carla wants us to gear up and be ready."

"Ready for what?" Halley asked, her voice wavering slightly.

"Whatever is going to come through those doors," Kate answered. She led the way to the armory, trying not to feel scared or worried. She definitely was not trying to think about Deckard. She figured he was back there stewing hard core right about now. A part of her felt good about that. Let him stew after lying to her, although she knew the irony of it all was that he hadn't really lied...he'd just been a fling. What fling divulged their entire life story to someone? No one.

"You sure you're up for this, Pete?" Trent asked.

"Yea. I'm not going down without a fight," Peter answered, loading his pistol. He slung a machine gun over his good shoulder next. Kate was impressed with his determination after getting shot in the shoulder like he did.

"Why didn't you hand him over?" Derrick asked after sidling up next to her.

"Do I really have to answer that?" she countered, incredulous.

"I mean, what did you see that made you realize he was in danger?" he corrected.

"Just...something in the one guy's eyes. I don't really know how to describe it."

"Hmm." Derrick looked thoughtful and then nodded. "Well, good call."

"Thank you." She put her body armor on, trying not to think about who they might lose after they left this room. It made her feel more emotional than she liked. As much as she tried to keep her distance from her coworkers, they did spend a lot of time together. She picked another pistol to put into her leg holster, her original one still strapped to her hip. She preferred them to rifles, really.

Carla's shout made them all jump to the ready. Kate was in the middle of the pack going out the armory door. She held her gun up in front of her as she followed Mason towards the front door. Bullets were flying in no time, and Kate did her best to hold her ground and take down the oncoming mercenaries, but they were ruthless and like a wall.

"Fall back!" Victor hollered. Kate spied Henrietta then. The woman was curled behind her desk with her hands over her ears.

"Mason," she said, grabbing his arm. He looked and saw her too. He gave a nod.

"I'll cover you," he advised. She gave the nod, and he stood to fire off rounds as she ran to the desk.

"Henrietta!" she yelled. "Come on!"

"No, no, no," Henrietta whimpered, shaking her head. "I'm gonna die..."

"Not today," Kate promised, hoping she could keep it. She hauled the woman up and rushed her across to the others, who had moved a bit farther back. A bullet whizzed by her ear, but she didn't flinch.

"We can't hold the line," Lola was saying now as she reloaded quickly. "There's too many of them!"

"We need to get a better advantage on these guys," Peter offered.

"Give me that," Mason said, taking the machine gun from Peter's shoulder. It appeared to have been forgotten by Peter. Mason loaded it and aimed, spraying back at the mercenaries. Kate saw about three of them fall down dead.

"HaHA! Take that mother f-" Halley started as she aimed to fire, but a bullet struck her right in the neck. She went down hard, pressing her hand against her wound.

"HALLEY!" Victor shouted, skidding across the floor on his knees towards her. "Halley, no!"

Kate's heart broke as she watched Halley choke and drown on her own blood. Victor was trying to help to no avail.

"Vic, we can't stay here!" Trent yelled at him.

"No, no, no," Victor was saying when Halley's head slid to the right after she stopped moving, indicating she had died. "Halley!"

Derrick grabbed Victor's collar and hauled him back. Kate felt shaky on her legs as she moved to the bull pen to get a better vantage point.

"I'm sorry, man. I'm real sorry," Derrick was saying as Victor did his best not to cry. So the rumors were true...he and Halley had been a thing. Kate could see it clear as day on his face.

"Come on, team," Carla said, violently reloading her gun. "We have to keep going and end this."

"Where is Royce?" Greta asked, suddenly realizing.

"Oh shit," Kate said. He'd still be where she'd left him.

"Go get him," Carla ordered. "Peter, go with her."

"On it."

Kate hustled with Peter to the computer lab, feeling relieved when they didn't come across any gunmen. The door was locked when they got there, so she pounded on it.

"Royce!"

"Go away! I'm safe in here!" he called back.

"Royce, come on! We're going to get you out of here!"

"Yea right!"

"Royce, you can't stay here, bud," Peter said now, pushing his glasses up. Even in the midst of this gun fight, it still irritated Kate to see it. "It's not safe. We're going to evacuate."

"I saw Halley die," Royce said back. Kate knew he meant on the monitor and not in person. "I really rather doubt you can save me."

"Get your skinny ass out here now!" Peter shouted, taking Kate aback slightly. She wasn't used to him being aggressive. "The more you make us wait out here, the more odds of you dying, and possibly not by them!"

The door finally opened, and Royce stood there glaring at them.

"If I leave with you and get killed, I am so coming back to haunt you!" he said angrily.

"Fine by me," Peter agreed. "Come on." They hurried back, but Kate grabbed Peter's arm halfway there. She put a finger to her lips, and he nodded. Royce immediately hid behind Peter.

She aimed her gun and took a few steps forward, seeing the shadow of the mercenary coming closer to them. When he was in view, she fired and killed him.

"See? You're in good hands. You're safe with us," Peter told Royce, who scoffed.

"Says the man with a bullet hole in him," he retorted.

"I'm still standing. That says I have great endurance," Peter argued.

"Stop it," Kate ordered, annoyed. They moved forward again, but Kate felt like something was off. She couldn't bring herself to go back into the bull pen.

"What are we doing?" Peter asked when she led them to the armory.

"Reloading," she answered, grabbing a machine gun for herself now. She'd decided it was necessary after all upon seeing what she was up against. Peter reloaded too, and even Royce snagged a pistol for himself, though she doubted he would use it unless he had to. She made him put body armor on as well.

"If they want the guy in the cell, why don't we just hand him over?" Royce asked.

"Because they'll kill us all anyway, right Kate?" Peter looked at her.

"Yea," she confirmed. "We were never going to survive this."

"Oh, great. That's what I want to hear about my supposed protectors," Royce said irritably. Kate resisted stomping his foot.

"Just shut up already," Peter ordered. "Kate, what's the plan?"

"I...I don't know," she confessed. "I have no idea what to do right now, Pete."

"Alright. Let me figure it out."

"Okay."

When they walked out of the armory, Peter got shot in the head right in front of her. Out of reflex, she shot and killed the mercenary who did it. Royce was yelling, and she was standing there shaking and covered in Peter's blood.

"Oh my God," she gasped while Royce kept saying f*** over and over again. "Oh my God, Peter..." She didn't even bother to look for a pulse. There was no point. She swallowed the bile trying to climb up her throat. She knew the image of him was going to haunt her for a very long time.

"We're gonna die!" Royce cried now, snapping her out of her reverie, and she reached to slap him across the face. He stopped immediately, staring at her with a stunned expression.

"Grow a pair and stop freaking out!" she commanded. "That is what will get us killed if you don't knock it off!"

"What are we gonna do?" Royce asked in a whisper. She felt for him, she really did. He wasn't really an agent in the field. He did computer stuff behind the scenes. He knew how to shoot a gun, but she doubted he'd ever killed anyone.

"Come on," she said, pulling on his arm. "I know exactly where we are going."

...

Thank God for emergency lights. Deckard was pacing a bit faster when the door opened. He braced himself, thinking whoever coming through it was going to kill him. He relaxed when he saw through the dim light that it was Kate. She wasn't alone, though. She had a skinny kid with blue/green hair, who was clearly losing his shit, with her.

Ah, computer genius Royce.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"My team is getting slaughtered is what's going on," Kate answered, coming over to him.

"So you need my help," he finished for her.

"What?!" Royce freaked. "Kate, are you serious?! He's a criminal!"

"Right now, he's an extra body," Kate answered.

"He could kill us!"

"He won't," Deckard promised. Royce just stared at him, still looking terrified. Kate held up the keys, and he went over to her.

"If I let you out," she said quietly while Royce muttered and whined in the corner behind them, "you better not screw me over."

"I told you...I'd never hurt you," he replied. He suddenly just wanted to touch her to convey he meant it, that he had feelings for her that he'd rarely had for anyone. Imagining her hurt was devastating to him.

"Try not to cap him in the ass," Kate added, gesturing with her head towards Royce. "I know he's annoying, but he means well."

"I can hear you!" Royce hollered, his hand holding his phone up high to try and get service.

"If you shoot me, I will kill you," she warned Deckard. He scoffed lightly.

"If I shot you, you'd be dead," he clarified. She gave him a look, and he held up his hands. "Kate, I meant what I said. I'm on your side here."

"Fine. Come on," she said, unlocking the door. He stepped out, and she hesitated briefly before she handed him the machine gun she had. "I have no idea what to do, but I know I can't do this on my own. We've already lost two..." She trailed off, and that's when Deckard finally saw the blood on her arm and cheek. He moved to wipe it off with his sleeve from her face, and she closed her eyes, working her jaw. He imagined she was reliving it again.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

"Can you please tell me who these people are and why they're after you?" Kate asked once he stopped and she'd opened her eyes again. He pulled her to a corner, looking to see Royce still trying to get a cell phone signal.

"It's a group called Eteon," he said quietly. "And they're after me because I know too much about them and their plan for the future."

"I've never heard of them."

"Probably for the best you haven't. Do not repeat this to anyone, understand?"

"I won't."

"I know you don't trust easily, but I promise you that I won't let you down," he added.

"I don't really have a choice," she confessed. "It's either trust you or die. I don't really feel like dying at this moment." A flicker of vulnerability went through her eyes at this, and he couldn't help it. He rested his thumb on her chin with his fingers tucked under it, and she looked slightly emotional for a second. He really hoped that she could trust him, that she knew he trusted her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Royce said, making them both turn to face him. "Why is he touching you? Kate, do you know this guy?!"

"Relax, Royce," Kate tried.

"Is he the guy you slept with this weekend?! Are you in on this?!" Royce was hyperventilating now, and Kate stepped towards him fiercely.

"Unless you want me to slap you again, you'll get a hold of yourself!" she ordered roughly.

"Is he the guy?" Royce asked again. "I need to know."

"Yes, but I didn't know he was into this shit," Kate answered. "Okay? I'm not in on this with him. He is on our side, Royce. He will keep you safe."

"Peter said the same thing," Royce whispered, and Deckard felt the punch in the gut for Kate. She swallowed and gave a curt nod.

"I know, and that was really terrible...but we have to go on. We can't just lie down and die," she told him.

"I just want to get out of here."

"We all do. Royce, we're doing the best we can here. I need you to buck up."

"Fine," Royce said. "Fine! I'll buck up. I'll see you in hell."

"Oh stop being so damn dramatic," Kate growled, cuffing the back of his head. She walked to the door now, and Deckard followed her.

"Maybe I could stay here?" Royce asked hopefully.

"They'll come here looking for him," Kate answered, gesturing to Deckard with her thumb. "Not a good idea."

"So what is your plan exactly? Run out there and die?"

Deckard had had enough at this point. He went over and caught Royce by the ear, making him squeak. He hauled him to the door next to Kate.

"Let's go," he said.

"Deckard, let him go."

"I will when he stops whingeing."

"I don't know what that means," Royce tried.

"It's exactly what you're doing," Deckard retorted. He gave the kid a shake. "Toughen up. We're doing this."

"You first," Royce said.

"Gladly," Deckard replied. He nodded for Kate to open the door, and when she did, he stepped out first. Chaos was definitely in the air; he could hear and smell it. It immediately put him on black ops mode. He and Kate made their way down the hall, guns out, while Royce hid behind them. Thankfully, he was quiet.

Deckard stopped and reached to throw his arm across Kate's chest to stop her. She came to a jerky stop, shooting him a look. He shook his head slightly, and she understood what he meant. Footsteps were coming, and he aimed carefully, getting ready to fire when the person came into view and Kate hit under his arm with her hand to make his hand go up. He barely missed pulling the trigger.

"Kate!" the woman gasped. "We're dying out here, Kate."

"Greta, what happened?" Kate asked quietly.

"Why does he have a gun?" Greta inquired, staring at Deckard. "Who let him out?!"

"I did," Kate answered, stepping in between Deckard and Greta as she looked ready to pop him. "We need him, Greta."

"You trust he's not in on this?!"

"I know he's not." Kate shot him a look, and he knew she was really taking a risk and letting him know she was. He tilted his head in acknowledgement at her, hoping she knew that this small bit of trust in him was appreciated. He wouldn't let her down.

"She banged him all weekend," Royce piped up now.

"WHAT?!" Greta whisper-yelled.

"Oh my God, Royce," Kate growled, lunging at him. He danced away out of her reach. Deckard stuck his foot out, and Royce tripped over it backwards and hit the wall hard with his back. Winded, he struggled to stay standing while Deckard smirked to himself.

"Where is everyone?" Kate asked Greta while glaring at both of them for their antics. Deckard sobered up quickly.

"Holed up in the staff room."

"Take Royce," Kate said next.

"What?! No..." Royce started.

"Get him out of here," Kate finished, ignoring him. "Deckard and I will assess what we're still up against."

"I don't trust him," Greta said, looking at Deckard.

"You don't have to," Deckard told her.

"Just go," Kate urged, barely keeping from growling again. Greta snapped her fingers at Royce, who reluctantly left with her. Kate and Deckard went the opposite way.

"I'm glad you decided to trust me," he said.

"Don't make me regret it."

"I won't." He looked at her, and she bit her lip. "What?"

"It's just...this is not what I envisioned when I hooked up with you."

"What did you envision?" He was curious.

"I have no idea. I guess just us parting ways and fondly thinking back on it from time to time. I did not anticipate fighting for my life because of you and whatever shit you're into."

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever. Just don't think for a second I won't hesitate to shoot you if you so much as twitch the wrong way, if you know what I mean."

"Loud and clear." He smiled, and he saw her work to not smile back.

"It's too quiet," she said now as they kept walking. "Something's wrong."

"They're planning next moves," he reasoned. "You've got maybe a ten/fifteen minute break before they storm this place again."

"Great."

She took them to a room full of computers, and he watched as she brought up security camera footage on the one monitor. She swore softly as she saw all of them showing fuzz that indicated they were disconnected.

"We're blind," she said.

"Good thing you've got a highly trained black ops soldier with you," Deckard said almost cheerily. She gave him a look, and he grinned at her. Then her face changed, and she aimed her gun at the doorway.

"Hello again," a husky voice said, and Deckard looked to see a man standing there wearing a big smile and aiming a gun back at them.

Then the man fired.