Face was cuffed to the wall a short distance from Amy, but it took a good half hour after they were alone again before he showed any signs of awareness. He sat there looking straight ahead through dull, lifeless eyes. Finally it was the constant throbbing of his arm and the burning sensation in his feet that started to bring him back around.

Amy heard Face groan; it was the first sound he had uttered in what felt like an eternity. "Face?"

Another groan.

"Face...can you hear me?"

A slight nod of his head.

"Are you okay?"

Nothing.

Amy reached out her arm toward him.

"Don't," Face recoiled. "Just don't."

Amy nodded and moved back.

"I...I swore...I swore I would never let this happen to me." As an afterthought he added, "again."

Amy's eyebrows rose. 'Again?' she thought.

Face cradled his blood soaked arm against his body and bit his lip to stop it from quivering. 'Pull it together, Peck...you can't fall apart now.' He waited until he was sure he had enough control over his emotions to speak before saying, "give me your barrette."

Of all the things Face would say, she hadn't expected that. "Excuse me?"

"Give me your barrette," he repeated.

Amy complied and then watched in fascination as Face with his one free hand managed to bend and twist the back of the clip into a lock pick. Gone was the lost look on his face, covered by a mask of sheer determination. It only took him a matter of seconds to free himself and to move onto her cuff. She could feel the heat radiating from his skin as he knelt by her side. A chill ran down her spine as he took her chin into his hand and forced her to look him.

"Keep your hand inside the cuff. Play along with whatever I do." His eyes darkened and hardened. "And when I say 'go', you run…got that?"

Amy nodded, though Face still held her head tightly.

Face finally released his hold on her. "You run fast, and don't look back. Get to the 'Vette and get yourself out of here…understood?"

"But…but what about you?"

Face crawled back to his spot and forced his hand back inside the unlocked cuff. "It's a little late for you to start thinking about me, isn't it?"

Face knew he was being harsh, but he was beyond caring about anything but getting them out of there. In order to do so he had to push his feelings down and stay focused.

Amy hung her head in shame. There was nothing she could say to take back what had happened. Face was paying the price for her mistakes; mistakes that could have and would have been avoided if only she had listened to her heart instead of her head a couple of years prior. And would have been avoided if only she had trusted the team.

There were voices outside the door followed by the turning of a lock.

'It's go time,' Face thought as he got into position, curled up on his side with his eyes closed. Cracking his eyes open ever so slightly he saw a man wearing what looked to be a designer suit followed by Rico enter.

"Hello, darling."

"Gianni," Amy responded with as much strength as she could muster. While the mobster was indeed handsome, she now felt nothing but contempt for the man.

"I do wish we could meet again under better circumstances. It's a shame you had to lie to me...we could have been so good together."

"I could never be with a no good crook like you."

"No good?" Gianni smirked. "That's not what you said in bed..."

"You bastard!"

"Ah…such ugly language coming out of such a pretty girl...what would your boyfriend here think? Speaking of which…he's not looking too good."

"Why don't you just let him go? It's me you want."

"Wrong...it's you I wanted...past tense. Now I just want you to pay. Rico...unlock her handcuff."

Face had no choice but to make his move. Adrenaline trumped his pain as he pulled his hand free and pounced onto his charred feet. Luckily, Gianni and Rico had their backs to him as he took their heads between his hands and banged them together full force.

Amy remained frozen in place watching as the stunned men crumpled to the floor. Face barely had time to reach for the gun in Rico's holster before a groggy Gianni yelled for help.

The door opened and the remaining two guards lumbered in. Face fired a warning shot off to the side. "Nobody move!" Backing up closer to Amy so the enemies were all in front of him he motioned with the gun. "Down on the floor with the others."

Once all four were down, without taking his eyes away he said, "Amy…go."

Amy freed her arm and stood but then hesitated; she didn't want to leave him. In spite of Face's astounding performance it was clear that he was in bad shape. His arm shook as he held the gun, he was covered in sweat and his chest was heaving from the exertion.

But it wasn't about what she wanted right now…it was about what Face wanted. And he made it clear earlier that he had wanted her to run. And so she ran.

It had been smooth sailing once the accident that had caused the traffic was cleared, but each moment they sat idle was another moment Face and Amy's life were at risk. B.A.'s tracker had worked like a charm and led them directly to Face's parked Corvette.

Hannibal, Murdock and B.A. approached the warehouse with their weapons drawn. Once inside, Hannibal signaled for Murdock to go left and B.A. right. They moved, seeking cover behind large crates and pieces of machinery until they converged at the beginning of a long corridor.

They heard Face's warning shot and started to run.

Amy ran blindly down the dark and seemingly never-ending hallway. Her vision clouded by tears, she didn't see them in front of her.

She ran into something solid and felt arms wrap around her holding her tight.

Letting out a piercing scream she began to struggle and kick for her life.

Face heard Amy scream and his eyes darted toward the open door for just a brief moment. It was just a long enough distraction, however, for Rico to kick out and take his legs out from under him.

Face hit the ground hard landing directly on his right hip. Upon impact the gun fell out of his hand and went sliding across the room. So intense was the pain that it took his breath away left him unable to see anything but bright white.

By the time he got his senses back, they were already on top of him.

"Amy…it's us," Hannibal said as he tried to protect himself from her blows. When it wasn't getting through to her he said in a firm tone, "Allen...stand down."

Amy's body tensed and ceased all movement.

"I only thought that worked with us," Murdock marveled to B.A.

"Amy, where's Face?" Hannibal asked.

At the mention of Face, she crumbled against Hannibal. "Oh, God…it was so awful…he…he…"

They didn't have time for hysterics. "Where's Face?" Hannibal repeated shaking the reporter slightly.

Amy pulled away and pointed in the direction she had come from. "In a room…down…down there."

"Take Face's car," Hannibal ordered, following behind an already moving Murdock and B.A., "and drive straight back to my place…move it!"

Amy waited until the three figures disappeared into the darkness before she turned and ran towards the light of the outdoors.

She ran out the door and didn't look back.

TBC…