A/N: A total kick-ass action chapter! And I apparently decided there still wasn't enough whump in this story... I have issues... Oh, and uh *warning* - there's a bit of blood and violence in this one...

Jensen's eyes stay open as the miniature lightning bolts pour into them and his breaths come in short, sharp gasps. When he starts bleeding again Pooch rushes towards the machine, ready to turn it off, but Cougar stops him.

"It's gonna kill him, man!" the driver snaps as Cougar holds him back.

"He said wait," the sniper tells him in a tight voice, obviously not liking the situation anymore than Pooch does.

Pooch wrestles out of Cougar's grip. "Wait for what?"

A loud popping sound comes from the base of the device and they all step back as the thing short-circuits right in front of them. The bolts of electricity come to fizzling stop, leaving the machine smoking and Jensen looking almost lifeless.

"Get him out of there," Clay orders in disgust.

The team moves quickly to get the busted equipment as far away from the tech as possible, Pooch giving it a good, solid kick sending it crashing to the floor on its side. Cougar gently taps on the hacker's cheek trying to snap him out of his trance, but Jensen's only response is to let out one long, slow breath as his eyes droop shut. Clay looks at Cougar in alarm until the sniper checks Jake's pulse and nods that he's still alive.

"If he's good, can we deal with that?" Aisha asks, jerking her thumb towards the ruckus going on outside.

Clay pulls a detonator out of his pocket and tosses it to her before he leans down and hefts Jensen over his shoulder. "Back of the room," he tells the others, and they all move as far away from the door as possible.

Aisha grins. "Come on in," she says evilly and hits the button.

The big metal door explodes outward, barreling it's way into the men just on the other side and crushing them beneath its weight. Two more explosions go off a split second later, bringing a swift and messy end to the majority of the remaining threat.

"Let's move," the Colonel barks, then looks at the other scientist who is still unconscious on the floor. "Pooch, can you grab him?"

Pooch smirks. "No problem. He can keep his friend company." He laughs to himself as he hoists the man over his shoulder, settling the weight so he can still have one hand free to fire his gun with.

Cougar pushes ahead and takes out any remaining soldiers in the hallway, leading the way to the exit. Aisha volunteers to fall back to the rear so she can cover their escape, keeping the hindered Clay and Pooch between them. They all position themselves in such a way that if the bullets come flying in their direction, Jensen's chances of getting hit are the absolute least; it's an unspoken agreement that their man down is to be protected at all costs.

Light streams down the hallway from ahead as they near the outer exit where the doors have been blown off, and they're almost out when a couple grenades get tossed in front of them. Cougar dives ahead, hitting the floor in a slide just in time to grab both and throw them back towards the attackers. The men outside don't even have time to shout before they disappear in the dirt cloud that sends debris into the building. Clay steps back to shield Jensen from the worst of it, but has to practically drop his unconscious burden when shots ring out from behind them. Pooch does simply drop his charge as they all hit the ground firing, the sunlight silhouetting their frames as the dust from the grenade blast clears.

"We're sitting ducks in here!" Aisha shouts just before she's thrown back from the impact of a bullet slamming into her shoulder. The others move in quick to cover her as she sits back up, hissing in pain and anger. "Mother fucker," she mumbles, and empties her clip into the first person she sets eyes on. The man's head practically disappears in the shower of metal.

"Was that really necessary?" Pooch asks as he takes out another soldier. "You don't even know if that's the guy that shot you."

She grimaces as she jams a new clip into her gun, then sends him a wry smirk. "No, but it made me feel better." She aims and hits her new target in the neck, and the man goes down spraying arterial blood on the walls and his teammates. When the two behind him turn away for a second, Cougar takes advantage of the distraction and quickly dispatches the both of them. The Losers slowly inch back towards the doorway as they shoot, Clay gently pulling Jake along with them and Pooch half-assed dragging the scientist by the collar of his lab coat. When the man begins to stir Pooch simply hits him across the head again with the back of his gun, sending him back under.

Aisha arches an eyebrow. "Was that really necessary?"

He shrugs. "Probably not, but it made me feel better."

They share a smile as they go back to the task of covering each other's asses while they try to escape. They're finally able to reach the exit, and Clay peeks through first to make sure it's clear. He hears Cougar grunt and turns back to see the sniper dutifully ignoring a dark patch slowly growing on the lower right side of his shirt.

"Aisha, Cougar, get Jensen to that car. Pooch and I'll cover."

"What about him?" Aisha asks, and motions towards the scientist.

Clay fires down the hall again. "Leave him with us. If we can't get him out, so be it."

She nods and falls back beside Jensen with Cougar. "You ready?" she asks. At his nod they each grab one side of the limp tech and drag him out away from the gunfire. With their injuries it's awkward getting to the safety of the car, but they manage it in quick time. Positioning Jake in the middle seat, Cougar slides in beside him and slams the door shut on the side facing the building where they can still hear shots being fired inside. He rolls the window down slightly and points the muzzle of his rifle at the door before nodding to Aisha. She nods back and stands on the other side of the car, using it as cover as she also aims towards where Clay and Pooch should be making their run.

"We're in position, get your asses out here," she says, and is relieved to get an affirmative from both men through her comm. A few seconds later they come racing towards the car, Pooch still toting the scientist and Clay, now sporting an obvious limp, covers their retreat from behind.

"Pop the trunk!" Pooch shouts just as their pursuers make their first appearance through the door. Aisha and Cougar are quick to send them ducking back inside the building, giving her just enough time to lean into the driver-side door to hit the release latch on the trunk. Pooch is running so fast that he almost slides right past the car as he comes to a stop, but grabs hold of it with his free hand to both regain his balance and fling open the hatch at the same time. He looks at the bound scientist already inside and smirks.

"You're gonna have to move over, got some company," he informs the man, who immediately starts to frantically mumble against the duct tape covering his lips. As Pooch leans in to shove him over, the scientist looks down at the gun which is taped upright against the inside of the car with its trigger rigged up to various parts of his body. If he moves at all it'll go off, and the muzzle is aimed right at the place where Jensen once said he'd prefer it if the gun was pointed at his head. It was apparently having the same traumatic effect on this man.

Pooch pulls the gun out of the rig just before the trigger is squeezed and drops the other scientist inside, whipping the weapon up in time to help cover the rest of Clay's gimping run to the car. As the Colonel reaches the passenger side, Pooch slams down the trunk lid and rushes up past Aisha to take his usual driver's seat. She doesn't jump in until just before he throws the car in reverse, slamming her door shut barely in time to prevent it from coming off its hinges as the car skims too close to the gate of the compound. The transport specialist speeds down the winding road in reverse as the others hang out their windows, keeping up the cover fire ahead of them until they're out of enemy range.

As they come upon an area of the road that widens out, Pooch spins the car around effortlessly, but Clay tells him to stop before he can race off. The Colonel pulls another detonator out of his jacket and glances back at his teammates with a wicked smile. It fades as he takes in the sight of all of them in the full daylight – Aisha pressing a hand still clutching her gun against the hole in her shoulder, Cougar keeping his right arm tucked tightly against the bleeding wound in his side, Pooch with a line of red trailing from a thin graze above his ear that Clay doesn't remember seeing him get, his own leg throbbing in time with his heartbeat as he bleeds through adjoining holes in his calf, and Jensen…

The kid, his face partially hidden beneath a grotesque mask of bloody tears, sits slouched a little to the side with his head lolling onto one shoulder. If not for Cougar bracing him up, he would fall over onto the seat and be none the wiser; and if not for the tiniest rise and fall of his chest, he would look dead.

Clay reaches back and grabs one of Jensen's lifeless hands, wrapping the fingers around the detonator. Smiling sadly, he looks at his youngest charge. "Complete your mission, soldier," he says quietly, and squeezes Jake's thumb against the trigger.

A brilliant flash lights up the sky above the trees behind them, followed quickly by a plume of dark smoke. Clay turns back and nods to Pooch, giving him the signal to get them the fuck out of there. No one says a thing as they ride out, each seemingly lost in their own thoughts, their own pain, and their own prayers as they occasionally sneak little worried glances at the fading sun in their center.