Chapter 6

"Whoever destroys a single life is as guilty as though he had destroyed the entire world; and whoever rescues a single life earns as much merit as though he had rescued the entire world" (The Talmud)

Wade was mildly concerned, not on any degree of personal level, but if the X5 was supposed to be an asset, a tool and even remotely useful, he was vaguely concerned that perhaps this line of action was damaging the goods. Then again, he didn't really care, if Max killed it, it was done and dusted and he wouldn't have to dirty his hands with that particular piece of Transgenic filth anymore.

The Transgenic in question was still seizing on the floor at that point, which meant that Wade could stand back and watch. It was amazing how normal it looked until it was like this, now it was all weak, feeble and . . . animal. It wasn't human.

Wade looked at Max, saw the intense fascination in his eyes and the sadistic gleam at watching the creature's suffering. Wade resigned himself to the fact that this wasn't going to be over any time soon.

When Max finally decided it was time for 494 to have the second shot, the Transgenic's breath was shallow, his heart rate high and his movements slow and uncoordinated. Even taking away the pain wasn't going to make him of any use to them for the foreseeable future.

Wade watched as 494's eyes blinked and struggled to focus. "Better?" he asked absently.

494 gave a weak nod, a whispered "Yes." Wade nodded and reached for a bottle of water, holding it out to the prone Transgenic. 494 attempted to move to balance himself against the wall, but couldn't coordinate. With a sigh, Wade bent down and turned him, lifting him to lean back against the wall and rest. He put the bottle into his hand and helped support it as he drank.

494's eyes met his and he mouthed the word, "Thank you," not enough energy left to try and talk past his ravaged throat.

"Oh, so sweet. I think the little animal likes you, Wade. Do you want him as a pet?" Max's sneering words had the X5 dropping his head again in defeat. "There's just so much pleasure to be had in watching someone else's pain, you know. Plus, of course, there's the added benefit of getting one over on Ames . . . After all the money and time the Conclave have sunk into that jumped up little sleaze ball, he's failed continually to actually deliver any information of use about the X5s. Now we've got one right where we want it . . . I bet we could ask it anything and it would answer us now."

"I doubt it somehow," Wade said drily. "Right now, he couldn't string three words together audibly, let alone tell you anything."

"It," Max weighted the word heavily, "already told us that this works . . ." He held up another syringe. "Okay, we need to find another method of administering it unless . . . already it will try to do just about anything we tell it. It knows we hold the antidote and it knows the pain comes back when it doesn't get a dose so now we hold it to ransom; it does what we tell it or we don't let it have the next dose. Simple. So simple in fact that I don't think even you could mess it up." Max turned to walk out before glancing back over his shoulder at Wade and adding, "Oh and Wade, it stinks in here, hose it down before we attract any other types of vermin. This one's bad enough."

There were times when Wade found the petty one-upmanship of the inner families of the Conclave irritating beyond belief. For the most part, Max seemed to be more driven by his own paltry interests of world domination rather than any great desire to further the cause of the Conclave or its Familiars. Wade had more or less turned his back on them all after one too many missions gone badly, when his star had not only ceased to climb, but had come plummeting back to the ground amid scandal and demotion. He'd not completely burnt his bridges; after all, there was no telling when it might prove useful to be able to call on the connections, but he'd found his own line of work and only relayed information back when it seemed particularly pertinent to the Cause. It had been enough to credit him with a little good favour should he ever need it.

Jensen moved first, knowing that Cougar was tracking his movements closely. He heard the dull thud of a body falling just ahead of him, beyond the end of the container he was skirting and knew that Cougar had to have taken out a guard.

They didn't have long. Jensen had been tracking the site, and seen that Max and Wade's visits seemed to be getting closer together. It meant that they needed to act soon before something changed. They were as confident as they could be that Alec was on the inside; they couldn't risk him being moved.

Jensen ducked low as he ran for the next cover. Clay was coming in from a different angle, between them they would breach enough of the security and take out the guards before drawing attention to themselves. Cougar would join them once they were ready to enter the building.

Pooch was with Dr Carr in the transport for the minute, but again as soon as they had taken out enough of the external guards, he'd start work on getting the gate open and moving in closer as well. Time was of the essence.

"I'm at the door, Clay. How're things on your side?" Jensen said hurriedly.

"Start your entry, I'll be with you soon. Cougar, time to move!"

It took mere minutes for the three of them to assemble inside and begin to move through the corridors. Cougar and Clay worked on taking down the remaining guards as quietly as possible while Jensen broke through each of the electronic security barriers. They headed deeper and deeper into the complex, searching each level quickly but thoroughly before moving on.

An increase in the amount of secured doors to pass through was the first clue that they were getting closer to their objective. Surprisingly, there was a decrease in the number of guards. They moved efficiently covering each other silently, clearing each corridor quickly before continuing onward.

It was Pooch who broke the silence, "Shit! Clay, trouble . . . Max and Wade are just pulling in outside! They're heading your way."

"Fuck! That's all we need. Come on, we've got to move quicker!"

Jensen rounded the next corner and started on the first door as Cougar moved onto the second, Clay standing back to provide as much cover for both as he could. Jensen's door opened first, revealing nothing inside, so he ran past where Cougar was just finishing on the second and started work on the third door.

He wasn't sure but he thought he heard a slight sound of movement from inside, but when he stopped to check, there was nothing. Spurred on, he hurried to open the lock quicker and Cougar had barely cleared the previous room before he was forcing the door open and getting the first sight of a figure crumpled in the corner of the room. "Shit! Clay! Got someone . . ." Jensen moved forward as Clay followed him into the room and Cougar kept watch at the door.

Jensen hurried over to the figure, stunned as the man tried to cower further away. He stopped, dropped to his knees, trying to appear less threatening. "Hey, hey, it's okay." As the man before him shifted, Jensen could make out just enough of his face to know that it was Alec. Amid the bruises and blood, he had found Alec.

He looked back over his shoulder at Clay and said, "It's him." He saw as both Cougar and Clay's faces dropped in horror. Jensen turned his attention back to Alec. "Alec, we've come to get you out."

Alec still wouldn't look up, but he shook his head, a hoarse whispered, "No, no, no!" Jensen reached out to gently touch his shoulder, unprepared for the broken cry of pain.

"Clay! Wade and Max are heading for the main entrance. They're heading for you. You need to get out. Now!" Pooch's voice came through urgently.

"You heard him, we've got to go. Jensen, can you get him on his feet? If you can get him out, Cougar and I will cover."

"On it. Come on, Alec, help me out here, dude." He slipped an arm round Alec's back, pulling him upward. He realized immediately that he wasn't going to be getting any help at all. Alec couldn't have stood up on his own if his life depended on it, which ironically enough it did. "Shit! Okay, okay, we can do this." Jensen bent his knees, shifted his hold on Alec's waist and hoisted him up and onto his shoulder, ignoring both the sob of pain and the possibility of causing any more damage to Alec.

Clay and Cougar shared a concerned look, but Jensen just responded with, "Come on, this is the only choice. We have to get out of here, right? So, let's move!"

"Pooch, how many with Max?" Clay demanded.

"Not as many as expected, he obviously wasn't expecting trouble when he got here. He's taken two in with him and Wade and left three up here, but as soon as he realizes that the security is compromised he's going to be calling for back up, so you need to get out here quickly. I can deal with the three up here, just hurry!"

Cougar cleared the end of the corridor, making sure the way was clear for Jensen to follow. Clay hung back making sure no one came round the far end of the corridor towards them until the others were almost to the next intersection. As he followed, he realized Jensen and Alec were leaving a trail of blood behind them that would make tracking them easy. He rushed up closer, knowing he needed to staunch the blood. He put his hand out to stop Jensen, saw the younger man turn. "He's bleeding, Jensen. You're leaving a trail behind you that's clear as . . ."

"Shit!" He stopped, tried to lower Alec's body to work out where the blood was coming from, only to realize that he himself was covered in blood. "It's no good, Clay, there's . . . fuck! There's too much, I can't stop this and . . ."

Clay took a look quickly and agreed with Jensen's assessment, "We can't deal with that." He kept close watch as Jensen's hands flew over Alec's body and the only thing they were sure of was that there was too much damage for them to staunch the blood but that most of it seemed to be coming from shallow wounds, apart from that which was dripping from his mouth and nose for which they'd got no explanation.

"We're going to have to keep moving . . ."

Jensen tried to pick Alec up only to have the X5 make a feeble attempt to fight him off. "Alec, you've got to stop this. We're getting you out, man. Please don't make this any harder, I know it's gotta hurt, but the alternative is worse, believe me." In the end, Clay had to help confine Alec's struggle long enough for Jensen to have him back up on his shoulder and pinned in such a way that he couldn't fight back. Jensen hadn't failed to notice how every touch seemed to increase Alec's pain or how he clearly didn't know who they were, but then again his eyes were barely open and who knew whether this was some sort of delirium. Jensen was pretty sure that if they hadn't made it in then, they'd have been too late.

Jensen was back up on his feet and moving again, keeping close to the wall and shadowing Cougar as much as he could. A series of hand gestures had him pressing backwards and looking round for cover, before diving into a room on the other side of the corridor with his team mates promising to return for him as soon as the way forward was clear.

It gave him time to go over Alec's injuries again, to try and get something other than the pained responses he'd got so far combined with lack of recognition. He laid his burden down gently, shielding Alec's head as he settled him against the wall. "Alec, Alec . . ." he said softly, voice quiet in the hope they wouldn't be heard from outside.

Alec's eyelids fluttered and Jensen tried again, lifting one hand to rest against Alec's cheek. Alec moaned softly and Jensen worried at his lip. He reached for his canteen, unscrewed the lid and carefully supporting Alec's head, he tipped it up to his lips. Alec gulped greedily until Jensen took it away again.

"Alec, look at me . . ." he tried again, persisting with the attempt to get some sort of actual response that showed Alec knew what was happening. He splashed some water onto a piece of bandaging from his first aid kit and began to wipe at the cuts on Alec's face. He ended up trying to hold him still while he worked to stop Alec flinching and pulling away. "It's okay, I've got you. I'm here to help. We're going to get you out of here."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Jensen. I have to say it's been a long time . . ."

Jensen looked over his shoulder, not really needing to look to know. "Wade . . . yeah, definitely not long enough in my opinion. So what are you doing here?"

"Don't even bother reaching for the gun. You'll be dead before you've time to draw. So your choice, my friend. . ."

Jensen sighed, "Seriously Wade, posturing much? And you know, I think we have different definitions of friend because you definitely don't class as one of mine."

"Thankfully, in my opinion, if you're here for the Transgenic filth."

"So . . . where's Max? Isn't this his show? I mean it's been years since you've been able to even remotely think for yourself, so he's got to be around somewhere or you'd be lost."

Wade stepped closer, gun raised to aim directly at Jensen's head. "You know if you actually fire that thing now, the blood spatter is going to be a bitch to get out of your . . . rather cheap suit! You need to talk to the boss about your pay grade, Wade, or are you on performance related pay, because that could account for it?"

"Shut up, Jensen."

Jensen kept his face bland as he felt Alec's hand shift up and reach for his side arm, knowing that from where Wade stood he wouldn't be able to see the movement. Alec deserved this shot if he could make it, Jensen just needed to keep Wade distracted. "So, what's this week's weird and wacky plan for world domination then, Wade? Is it something full of fun and frivolity or have you and Max gone for the blood and gore option again, just to be boring and predictable?"

"You really do talk too much, Jensen. You've never learnt to control that mouth, have you?"

Jensen felt the gun come free of its holster and silently prayed that Alec would have the strength to shoot at least enough to disable Wade long enough for him to get a second shot off himself. "Probably not, but then again, it has its uses for distraction . . ." Jensen didn't need to look to know that the gun was pointing over his shoulder and he heard the trigger pull, the shot fire and the grunt as it hit Wade. He felt Alec slump and snatched the gun from his hand, turning around to face Wade to find him on his knees, one hand up to his chest, as blood spread round it. Wade was reaching out desperately for his dropped gun with the other hand, so Jensen kicked it away. "What have you done to him?" he demanded.

"Fuck you, Jensen, you think I'm going to tell you anything?"

"Oh, go on, you know you want to . . . bad guy monologue and all that. Happens in all the crappy movies!"

"You want to know something good? He's not going to survive, you've wasted your time and effort and if you'd any real sympathy towards him, you would put him out of his misery like the goddamned disgusting filth that he is."

"Fuck you, Wade!" Jensen pulled the trigger and with one shot finished what Alec had started. He turned his attention back to Alec, who had fallen completely to his side, breath shallow and pained, sweat beading on his forehead. "Shit, Alec , you have to hold on. There's help. We've got Dr Carr outside; he's gonna help you. You've got to hold on a bit longer, please." He took Alec's hand in his and squeezed it gently, felt the tremors that were passing through him. He activated his comms, "Clay, we need an exit now. We can't hold out any longer. Wade found us and Alec's getting worse. I've got to get him to help!"

"Cougar's on his way back to you. Make your exit and I'll catch up to you. I'm on Max's tail."

Jensen turned his attention back to Alec, trying to rouse him again, and feeling the light tremors that were coursing through his body. He contemplated re-establishing comms contact and asking Pooch to talk to the Doctor, but figured that was just risking Pooch and Dr Carr unnecessarily. His objective now just needed to be to get Alec out and to the doctor in person. He wasn't left with much choice beyond hoisting Alec back onto his shoulder and making as discreet a run for it as he could.

He was just coming out of the room when Cougar appeared at the far end of the corridor and indicated that he should head in that direction. Jensen set off at the fastest pace he could manage, aware of the fragility of the life he was carrying along with him.

Together, Jensen and Cougar made their way through the corridors hoping they were still heading for the exit after they had to make a couple of detours to avoid guards who were patrolling the area. Clearing one particular route without being seen, Cougar dropped back to make sure no one tried following them, and as he began to head to catch up with Jensen, he saw his team mate suddenly stagger to one side, barely keeping his feet. The struggle to stay on his feet was clearly getting worse and before Cougar could make it to him, he'd sunk to his knees and was trying to lie Alec down without dropping him.

"Not now, not now, Alec! Don't do this to me!" he heard Jensen murmuring as he approached. Catching up to them, Cougar realized that the problem hadn't been Jensen's as he'd staggered, but Alec's. The X5 was now in the throes of a full seizure with Jensen watching over him anxiously. Jensen looked up at Cougar as if expecting him to have a better answer.

"I'll watch the end of the corridor," Cougar said with a shrug, having nothing better to offer.

Jensen nodded and activated his comms to let Clay know they were in trouble and couldn't make their exit. It was a surprise to see Clay appear around the opposite end of the corridor to the one Cougar was guarding, hauling Max by the scruff of his collar. "Oh dear, looks like you've got a bit of a vermin problem," Max sneered despite his position.

Clay shook him hard, demanding, "What do you know about it?"

Max shrugged. "Figure you're on to a loser with that one . . . then again, maybe that's appropriate, ex-Lieutenant Colonel Clay." The title was emphasized sarcastically. "Can't trust those X5s to do anything properly."

Jensen barely contained his temper and would have moved if it weren't for Clay's warning glare. "What did you do to him?" Clay demanded again.

Jensen heard Alec moan and looked down as he finally came to rest, body ceasing its involuntary movements. With as much care as he could, Jensen rolled him over into the recovery position and waited, one hand on his arm offering what reassurance he could, the fingers of the other hand pressed in to Alec's neck in search of a pulse. Alec's breath was shallow, his pulse high and erratic, and it didn't really shed any light on what Jensen should do next to help.

"Alec?" Jensen got no response.

Clay wasn't going to stand around and watch while Alec suffered anymore, while his team who'd worked so hard to save the kid fell apart watching him like this, not while he'd got Max to provide answers. He slammed the man up against the wall fiercely, trying hard to hide his surprise when the only reaction he got was a petulant "Ow!" He did it again for good measure, then pinned Max high, toes barely reaching the floor, forearm pressed heavily across the base of his throat. Max didn't fight or struggle against it, just watched Clay with amusement in his eyes.

For all the superior expression on his face, his voice was slightly strained as he said, "Oh Clay, your foreplay needs some work."

Clay growled, "What the fuck did you do to him?"

"Who? Oh, it? X5-494, you mean. Yes, I wouldn't call him Alec any more, he won't answer to that. We spent some time reminding him of his designation. Now are you going to let me go any time soon?" Max's eyes flickered to the door as if expecting someone else to enter.

"Waiting on someone?" Clay asked, receiving a curtailed shrug by way of response.

Cougar drew his sidearm and stepped closer up to Clay, letting the gun rest against Max's temple as he said, "Wade is dead."

Max sighed, "Just can't get the help these days . . ." He let out a dramatic sigh before adding, "Let me go and I'll consider telling you what we did to it?"

"Tell us what you did to him and I'll contemplate making your death quick."

"Oh! You military types do have such a wry sense of humor." Max tilted his head to one side, "You really think you've won this time, Clay? Believe me, you haven't."

The sound of footsteps outside had Cougar shifting from Max's side to cover the doorway. Two armed guards with some sort of medic between them were approaching. Two shots later and the guards were dead on the floor with the medic cowering face down between them, begging not to be shot.

Quickly, Cougar checked the corridor was clear in both directions before dashing out and grabbing the medic by the scruff of the neck and hauling him into the room with him and pushing him to the floor. He pressed his gun to the man's temple and looked across at Clay and Max. The man whimpered, "Please . . . please don't shoot me."

"Oh, don't hold back on my account," Max said offhandedly. "I allow for natural wastage of resources in my calculations."

Cougar jabbed the gun against the medic's temple fiercely as he snapped, "You tell us or I shoot!"

"E-experimental drugs . . ." the medic began to stammer out. "Something that would intensify everything an X5 felt or – or –or anyone really but X5s even more . . ."

"What do you mean everything he felt?" Jensen demanded.

"The pain-pain receptors are heightened, every touch registers as pain. Even where the-the-the subject touches a wall or the floor, it will register as pain to some degree." The man was terrified, his eyes wide as he tried to give enough information for Cougar to remove the gun.

"What do we do to make it stop?" Clay asked without loosening his grip on Max. Max laughed, but gave no answer.

The medic looked anxiously at Max, flinched as Cougar forced his head to tilt further to one side with a firm reminder of the gun's presence at his temple. He gulped and began to talk again, "It – it doesn't stop as such . . . The-the first doses of the drug increase the pain exponentially, the subject felt the pain until they lost consciousness. Later a stimulant was-was added to the mixture. It-it means the subject can't lose consciousness. The sensations of pain will intensify until the body is confused, organs will first of all feel like they are failing and-and then when-when the body tries to compensate they will begin to fail, intensifying the pain further and confusing the body's reactions until it begins to cause itself more damage."

"What's the fucking point in all of that, Max? Pain for the sake of it? There are easier ways to kill someone, why go to all this bother?" Clay exerted more pressure on the pinned man.

Max grunted under the pressure, "You're too short-sighted, Colonel. It's a control mechanism. Think of Pavlov's dogs, only more useful."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

When no answer came from Max, Cougar nudged the medic into answering again, "There – there is a second drug. It works by muffling the pain receptor signals to the brain. The pain doesn't go, it just lessens enough that the subject can learn to cope. . ."

"What drugs? What's in the mix?" Jensen made no attempt to hide the desperation in his voice. The cool ruthlessness he left to Clay and Cougar, he was the one knelt here with Alec, watching a good man die needlessly because a bunch of scientists and a psychotic megalomaniac decided to play games. "Where do we get what we need? How often does he need it? And for how long?"

Max's laugh was chilling, "Oh you don't go shopping in the local drugstore for this stuff, little boy . . . You take him now and you're going to watch your 'friend' die in agony. Enjoy!"

Jensen reacted without thinking, diving across the room and snatching Max from Clay's grasp before anyone else had time to realize what he was doing. He smashed his fist into Max's face once, before slamming him back against the wall until he was breathless and then hurling him to the floor and following him down. Jensen threw a few more powerful punches before stilling for a moment, shifting position and letting his knee drop across Max's throat. "You're dying here," he said bluntly. "Only questions are how quickly and in how much pain?"

Max was silent, watching as Jensen drew his gun out and pressed it firmly against Max's stomach. Clay stood watching, concerned, but he didn't move to stop Jensen. Cougar still had a firm hold of the quivering medic, who seemed to be re-thinking his opinion of the threat they each posed. With a shaky breath, he spoke, "M-Max was carrying the two syringes earlier . . . There is a limited supply in the lab as well, but that's all. We-we were-were scheduled to make another batch later w-with m-modifications."

Clay was already patting down Max's pockets, coming up with a box which he opened to reveal two syringes. "Well…" he held the box out to the medic. The medic pointed at shaky finger at one of the syringes. "That stops the pain?"

"N-not stops, but . . ."

"Right, nothing stops it, it just dulls it and stops his organs from imploding or whatever. That one, yes?" The medic nodded hastily.

Clay lifted the syringe out and started towards Alec, dropping to his knees and trying to roll the injured man so he could see what he was doing. "Does it matter where?" The medic shook his head.

"Clay, stop!" Cougar sounded unsure of himself. Clay looked up. "That is all we have. We need to know what's in it. He will need more later."

Clay hesitated. Jensen turned angrily, "He'll be dead later if we don't give it to him. We'll get more from the lab." Cougar glared back.

"Jensen," Clay's voice was quieter as he weighed the truth in Cougar's words. "Cougar's right, we can't be sure of what's in the lab until we get there." He didn't add that they couldn't be sure of getting there at all, just turned back to the medic and asked, "What happens if I give him half of this?"

The medic shifted trying to see his watch. Cougar adjusted allowing him that movement, but making it clear that anything further would be too much. "The subject sh-should be alright for another twenty minutes; the pain will increase but not to dangerous levels. There won't be real risk for about another hour."

"He's in pain now!" Jensen retorted.

"Not dangerously so," the medic murmured. "D-did the subject have a seizure?" Clay nodded. "X5s were always prone to that. It was controlled by medications when they were at Manticore. On the outside, I would imagine that plenty of them are beginning to have mild seizures by now. The stress the subject has been under has sped up the deterioration. This reaction would be the after effect of the seizure at this point."

"You fucking bastard!" Jensen said, pressing his gun deeper into Max's stomach.

"Jensen!" Clay said again. "Not yet!" He watched warily as Jensen barely held back from pulling the trigger. "Not yet!" Clay said again, quieter. "But we will – let's just be sure we don't need him." Jensen gave a slow nod of acceptance, but the urge to finish Max was still clear.

Clay moved over to Jensen and Max, laid a hand on Jensen's shoulder before bending down to grab hold of Max and haul him up. "Get Alec," he said firmly to Jensen. "We're moving out." He looked across at Cougar. "Bring him. He could be useful as well."

It didn't make for an easy trip, trying to travel undetected through the complex with two prisoners and one severely injured colleague was never going to be a cake walk. Jensen was carrying Alec again, the X5 still too weak to move under his own steam. The medic walked in front of Cougar, leading the way to the labs, subdued and obedient, clearly desperate to please in the hope of getting out of the situation alive. Max was difficult, as was to be expected, he was loud, calling for guards, awkwardly refusing to walk and only moving when pushed by Clay.

They made it to the labs unchallenged, and the medic was quick to point out the supplies they would need, rifling through papers until he came up with an overview of the chemicals in the compound of drugs. Clay remained near the door, while Jensen checked Alec over again, giving him more water and seeing that at last Alec's eyes tracked his movements with some accuracy, although he still didn't seem to recognise who he was with. Jensen kept up a low litany of reassurances, telling him they were getting him out and he was going to be okay.

He seemed calmer, was pulling away from Jensen's ministrations less, although he flinched and groaned at some of the contact. Max's grumbling from the other side of the room renewed the fearful reaction from him as he tried to pull away only settling when Clay hauled Max bound in front of Alec, so he could see for himself that they were in charge now and Max was no longer a threat.

There was the sudden sound of approaching footsteps and Clay headed for the door, Max stumbling with him. The first two guards to appear round the corner were dealt with quickly, going down before they could get a shot off, but their companions were more cautious, prepared and shooting before sticking their heads round to check on their quarry.

Clay waited, gauging the right time to fire and managing to take out one of them with his first volley of shots. It wasn't enough though. There was no secret to where they were, the rest of the guards would be on them rapidly now. "We've got to go. Jensen, are you ready? Cougs?" A nod from Cougar and a grunted yes from Jensen as with Cougar's help, he got Alec back up on his shoulder was all the indication Clay needed.

He leant round the door and fired again, taking the offensive and driving the remaining guard backward. A lucky shot hit his opponent's gun, knocking it out of his hand and sending it skittering away across the floor. The guard didn't bother scrambling for it, instead turning and running for his own life.

Clay didn't bother with pursuit, that guard was the least of their problems. He led the way, knowing the rest of the team would follow. As they rounded each corner, he shoved Max out first, figuring that if there was anyone there and ready to shoot, it would be some kind of justice for them to get Max.

As it happened the first set of guards to catch up with them came from behind. At the first sound of gunfire, Cougar pushed Jensen and Alec forward to safety before turning to reach for the medic only to find him on the floor and bleeding out. A quick assessment and he knew the medic was beyond saving, his eyes already fluttering closed, breathing labored. Cougar took a quick breath, fired rapidly, hitting two of the pursuers before taking off after Jensen and Clay. They were his priority.

They'd made it to the last run to the exit door, Clay shouting through the comms to Pooch that they were coming out hot. As Clay opened the door, Pooch was screeching to a halt outside. Gunfire was flying wildly around the intervening space. Cougar and Clay covered as Jensen moved for the back of the van. The doors swung open and Sam Carr was helping him lay Alec inside. As soon as he was free of his burden, Jensen turned laying covering fire for Clay and Cougar as they ran, hauling Max between them.

Jensen saw as Cougar took a shot to the arm, saw him lose his balance for a moment and stumble before managing to pull himself together again, long enough to almost make it to the doors to climb in. Another furious volley of fire had Jensen stepping away from the van to reach for Cougar and pull him to safety. Clay was still shoving Max ahead of him, but as Cougar stumbled again, both Jensen and Clay pushed Max to one side in favour of reaching for Cougar and getting him to safety. They barely registered as Max was hit falling to the ground. With Cougar inside, the two of them looked back, saw Max bleeding on the ground several feet away. From what they could see he'd been hit several times. A quick look at each other and they turned away, climbing in and pulling the doors closed behind them.

"Drive!" Clay shouted and Pooch floored the gas and the van spun round, heading for the exit.