Frank led the way, conscious of the footfalls of his brother behind him mingling with the sounds of the Marchettis following in quick step pursuit. He took a moment to glance over at Joe whose mouth was set in a grim determination though his eyes were shining slightly. Mary's death had happen so fast neither of them could have done a thing to prevent it. But from the expression on Joe's face and the feeling in his own heart, that fact would do nothing to quell the guilt both brothers were obviously carrying.

Frank walked aimlessly in a daze, jumping slightly as Lance barked an order from the back of the procession.

"Take a left Hardy, I feel the need for some fresh air."

Frank frowned, confused until he turned a corner and saw the service door in front of him. Pushing through he was confronted with the sight of darkened hallways lined with pipes and vents and other apparatus which was essential to keep the hospital running behind the scenes. Straight ahead of him was another door, this time with cracks of sunlight peeking through the gaps around the edges. Frank raised an eyebrow, pushing through and blinking in the sudden brightness of the outside world. Finally it made sense. The door led onto the roof of one of the hospital's many floors.

"Tony, Pietro, cover the entrance," Lance bit out, pushing the still crying form of Maria ahead of him.

He moved until he was stood across from Joe who held his own weapon to the glowering face of Abigail.

"And here I thought you were one of the good guys," she spat out, venom lacing her words.

"Yeah? Well I thought you were a nurse," Joe replied distractedly as he snapped an unwavering focus onto the giant man before him, dwarfing the distraught woman in his grasp.

Frank moved a little closer to Joe, his gaze fixing on Lance as well as he furiously tried to figure out their next move. He took a moment to breathe a deep lungful of the fresh, outside air. He hadn't realised how stifling the hospital ward had become until that very moment.

"So, now what?" Joe said, his voice cold once more as he compartmentalised his reaction to the last half hour's events.

"You give me Abigail and I'll consider letting this little doe eyed doe leave with her life," Lance said motioning with his head towards Maria. Tears streamed down her face silently but her eyes spoke only of anger and hate. She was done being scared.

"What's to say you don't just put a bullet into all of us the second we hand over your sister?" Frank asked, fists unconsciously balling. What he wanted more than anything was to wipe the crazy right off Lance's face.

"Nothing." The men snapped their heads towards the panting form of Dante as he barked out the word between gasps. "There's not a thing to say that that's exactly what will happen. Apart from my word."

"Your...word.." Joe said incredulously. "Your word means nothing Dante. Your family has killed and killed and killed again today without so much as a second thought. But you promise you're not going to shoot us right? Good, well now I feel comforted."

"Watch your mouth," Lance began before Dante raised his good hand, silencing him.

"I want my daughter, you want the nurse. Hand Abbie over and I give my word to you as a Marchetti that we will leave this place and no harm will come to you or her." At these words, Dante eyed the young men before him with an unwavering stare. Daring them to contradict him but also cementing the truth behind his statement.

Frank looked between the old lion and the straining form of his brother. Dante was sick but danger still crashed off him in waves. Joe's shoulder muscles were visibly shuddering now as the stress he was putting on them holding both Abbie and the pistol for so long was beginning to show. They were running out of time. Maybe the best course was to finally admit defeat and let the Marchettis go before they lost their patience and mowed down everybody on the rooftop.

Just as he was about to intervene a shout of surprise from Tony drew his attention. More gunfire began erupting from the maintenance hall beyond the door. It looked like the Chief had finally re-joined the party.

It seemed to happen in slow motion although in reality it was the work of moments. A hail of bullets tore through the doorway, clipping both Tony and Pietro as they returned fire at the officers storming the roof. Tony fell to the side, blood spewing from his arm and Pietro crumpled to the floor as the leg which took a bullet folded up beneath him. Three officers, including the unmistakable form of the Chief, poured through the door. The first officer wrestled with the limping but snarling form of Nick who had launched himself at the man with a scream of primal rage as his family had hit the floor bleeding.

The Chief and his comrade headed straight for the meat of the problem.

At that moment, whilst Lance's attentions had been thoroughly taken up by the commotion, Maria sank her teeth viciously into the arm which was now loosely clutching her around her chin. She gagged slightly as blood filled her mouth but her actions drew the desired effect. Lance roared as he instinctively threw her to the side, dropping his weapon as he grasped at his now freely bleeding arm. Maria hit the ground with a bone jarring thud which knocked the air from her lungs. The sound of the gun clattering down behind her drew her out of her daze and she flailed her legs, successfully clipping the gun and sending it skidding across the roof.

"You bitch!" he screamed at her, looking for a moment like he might launch himself at her and kill her with his bare hands. The forms of the Chief and his fellow officer rushing up towards the group with their own weapons drawn stopped him in his tracks and an animalistic snarl broke from his mouth as he fixed his attentions on them.

Whirling, a vicious sneer still ripping across his face, he fixed a murderous gaze upon Joe.

"Noo!" Frank yelled as Lance threw himself at the younger Hardy quicker than he could react.

Joe didn't have a moment to say anything to stop him and the shock froze on his face as Lance rushed at him like a train made of muscle. Lance lowered his shoulder and with another raging snarl, launched Joe clear across the roof where he hit the ground with an audible grunt and lay still, dazed.

Lance bent forward and grabbed Joe's pistol in one hand as he stood protectively in front of the fallen form of Abbie who had crashed to the ground along with Joe. Lance raised the gun without preamble and pointed it straight into the dismayed face of Frank. He was distantly aware of the Chief screaming garbled words from what felt like miles away as the muzzle stood out in sharp relief and took up his entire field of vision.

He flinched when Lance, face free of emotion, pulled the trigger.

The sound of strained laughter broke across the rooftop in the moments of silence which followed. Lance slowly turned his head to look at Joe, still lying on the floor, who laughed that much harder at the confusion spreading across the man's face.

"You didn't think I would actually point a loaded weapon at another person now did you Lance?" he said, attempting to sit up and visibly wincing as his back muscles protested with a shudder.

"What..?" Frank spluttered slightly as he looked from Lance to his brother, heart pounding in his ears in a mockery of the weapon in front of him.

"It's not loaded?" Lance said, looking at the pistol with a completely blank expression.

"No," Joe said coldly, "because I'm not insane enough to skip through my day putting bullets in people's faces."

There was another clatter as the gun fell to the ground, slipping from Lance's slackened hand as he lowered his arms to his sides in a daze. The Chief stepped forward taking out heavy duty cuffs and placing them on Lance's limp wrists none too gently.

"Oh you so have the right to remain silent. Asshole."

Frank glanced over to where Nick and one of the officers had been wrestling as his life had flashed before his eyes, to see the injured Marchetti being pinned to the ground, his own wrists clamped into cuffs behind his back.

Tony and Pietro lay on the floor groaning and gripping at their respective wounds as they waited their turn to be trussed.

Frank's gaze roamed over to the now empty chair where Dante had been sitting. He felt his stomach drop as his mind finally registered this fact with shock. He looked wildly around the rooftop before calling out to the retreating form of Ezra who was marching Lance in front of him.

"Chief..."

"Hardy?"

"Dante. He's gone."

So nearly there!...

Thanks as always for the support. All comments and critiques are very welcome.