Part VI

"No!" Kaplan and Max both yelled at the same time. Max's eyes watered and she looked at Kaplan, his face showed the sadness that he felt and he wrapped her in a huge hug.

"I'm sorry for shooting at you, I'm really glad I missed." Max nodded into his shoulder and sniffled.

"We need to stop her before she hurts anyone else," he nodded in agreement and they both took off. The door burst open from the force of Max's shoulder and they sprinted down the hall. She could hear Kaplan's leg make louder thuds than the other. She knew his leg would be sore tomorrow.

With a shake of her head, she entered a room. It wasn't the one they wanted, so they spun around and entered another. The first five rooms were deserted, and finally, they slammed in to a set of double doors, sending them sprawling.

"Get them!" Dr. Isaccs yelled before running out of the room. Alice, who had at some point, dropped the gun, reached for it. Kaplan ran and slammed into her, sending her to the floor beneath him. His fist made contact with her face but she shook it off, she grabbed her own fallen weapon and hit him over the head; he went limp as Alice pushed him off of her and fired the gun at Max. The gun clicked empty and Max felt giddy at that. Alice looked at the gun and tossed it on to the floor.

"Alice, please, stop what you're doing, you killed Angie...what happened to you?" Carefully Max stepped closer to her. Alice narrowed her eyes and she looked down at Kaplan's gun which lay on the floor. She dove for it, and slid into the desk, knocking it over. Max tried to take the gun from her but Alice had a hold of it.. Her elbow made contact with Alice's throat and she let out a gasp for air and let go of the gun. She jumped back and raised her weapon.

Max aimed the weapon dead center at Alice's heart.

"Why Alice? She was just a kid!"

Rain kicked open the door and aimed her rifle at Max, slowly she looked down at the red dot on her chest.

"Put it down Max!"

Alice turned and looked her in the eye, a cruel smile on her lips. The look on her face didn't match the one in her eyes. The pain and turmoil caused Max to pause, her finger twitching on the trigger.

"Shoot me," she pleaded softly. Her voice was strained.

Max pulled the hammer back on Kaplan's gun. Rain took a few steps toward her, weapon still trained on Max's chest. Carlos and Jill followed behind her, their weapons aimed at different parts of the room, scanning, securing.

Alice's eyes found the unconscious Kaplan on the floor only a few feet away, and it seemed that everyone else saw him at the same time. The only people who knew what had happened were Alice, Max, and the man himself.

"Chad!" Jill yelled out. A lone tear fell down Max's cheek.

Alice took a step toward her and Max fired a shot into her shoulder. All was silent for a moment before Alice slowly reached for her now bleeding shoulder.

Two shots rang out and Max dropped the weapon. The taste of blood filled her mouth and she coughed. Blood splatting on the floor as a result. She staggered backward and then against the wall. She turned to look at Rain, who had been the one to fire. Rain's eyes were glossy, and a few tears had fallen.

Max let out a small choking laugh, feeling the irony and pain of the situation. Carlos rushed over to Alice and began to tend to her as Jill tried to wake up Kaplan.

Rain lowered her weapon and stared at Max, pain flitting across her face before it became stoic.

Max coughed and spit the blood on to the floor, her breathing becoming more and more difficult as blood began to fill her punctured lung. She faintly heard Kaplan groan.

Max tried her hardest to get up and Rain weakly held her weapon up and aimed it at her. Max turned and slowly staggered past the overturned desk where Angela's lifeless body lay. She used the desk to support the weight of her own body and bent down to close Angela's eyes.

With a gurgled grunt, she lifted the body. She could hear Carlos gasp out Angela's name.

Kaplan sat up and grabbed his weapon off the floor, he aimed it at Alice.

"She killed Angela!" Rain, who'd been watching Max, turned to face Kaplan. She followed his gaze and aimed weapon to look at Alice. Her face lost color.

Max stumbled slightly and Carlos caught her before she fell. He took Angie's body from her.

Kaplan turned to look at Max, his eyes widening.

"Son of a bitch!" He holstered the weapon in his hand and ran over to Max. She fell into him and he carefully sat her down.

"Alice shot you?" He was tearing open the shirt she wore, and as he did, blood ran freely down her chest.

"No," Rain got on her knees in front of Max. Pain and guilt all over her face, and Kaplan understood. Max was gasping for air. Very little flowed into her lungs as they filled with blood.

"Why?" Kaplan applied pressure to the wound.

"I thought, I...she was aiming a gun at Alice," she pushed Kaplan's hand aside so she could apply pressure. Max choked out a breath, her hand trying desperately to reach the bag on her hip.

Kaplan grabbed the medical bag and tore it open. He found the scalpel and tubing she had in it.

"What do I do Max?" Kaplan looked lost, panic setting in. Rain felt the same.

Max slowly raised her left hand and mimicked scissors, then she slowly raised her right thumb and did a half cupping motion with her right hand against her chest. She then made an okay sign with her hand and tapped it twice against her chin before making an s along her chest with it. She then used both hands, one as a cup and the other going in before making the sign she had made the second time.

"I don't understand loca, what are you trying to say?" Rain choked slightly as Max spit up more blood before making the same motions again, this time quicker but weaker. Carlos rushed over to them and took the tube from Kaplan.

"Its sign language," he took the scalpel from Kaplan and cut a strip of skin near the bullet wound. Max winced and whimpered before Carlos abruptly shoved the tube up into the opening. Max cried out as he violently jerked it up, straight into the hole the bullet had made. Blood instantly filled the tube and began to spill out on the floor.

Max gasped deeply. A little blood came up but her breathing was getting better. She took a few deep shuddering breaths, her eyes showed the pain she was in.

"Loca...Max," Rain began. Her eyes watering, her hand reached up to cradle Max's face. Kaplan was carefully taping the tube in place. He patched up the gashes around the hole as best he could. The gauze was already becoming red with her blood.

Max pressed a finger to Rain's lips to silence her.

"Don't...worry about it, would have done the...same had I thought," Rain shook her head at Max's words, knowing damn well that Max wouldn't have been able to shoot anyone there. Carefully Carlos helped her up, Rain got her other side and was careful not to jostle the tube. Carlos nodded toward Rain who took her.

"I'll be fine soon," Max winced as she touched the tender area of her chest and abdomen.

They looked over to find Jill handcuffed Alice, she had tears streaming down her face.

"Wasn't her fault Jill," Kaplan slowly patted her shoulder, "She was under Umbrella's control."

"So what should we do with her?"

"Leave her here, with a note?"

Alice came to, "I'm...so sorry. Angie, oh God." Alice legitimately began to cry, pain and guilt overwhelming her.

"You're awake," Carlos bent down in front of her, "Come on, let's get you up." He helped her up and Jill glared at her.

"You should shoot me," it was a quiet whisper.

Rain and Kaplan looked over, "We're gonna take Max somewhere safe. Away from here. Away from Umbrella." Max was exhausted.

"Damn it, I didn't shoot that dickhead doctor when I had the chance," she mumbled and Kaplan smiled slightly.

"Golden opportunity Max, you missed it," she shook her head and looked at Alice who was speaking softly to Carlos.

They helped her out and in to the truck they had recently, and Max pointed out that she had hijacked that vehicle out front. Of course Rain found that amazingly sexy and hilarious.

"Look at you loca, you're a regular criminal," she placed a gentle kiss on top of her head and Max vaguely smiled.

"I need a nap, and a shower, and to get laid," Kaplan snorted and shook his head.

"All in that order?"

"Not quite, I'd like a snack in there somewhere."

Rain buckled her in to the seat in the back before jumping in shotgun while Kaplan took drivers seat. They drove for a while, but Max didn't know how long since she kept drifting in and out of consciousness. She had nightmares, nightmares about the fact that she had failed Angie. She watched her die over and over again. At one point she woke up to Rain stroking her hair and soothing her quietly. Whispering that it was only a dream. A nightmare. She wished it was.