A/N: Thanks to those of you who are still with me! Hope you enjoy this chapter, too…

I don't own them.

Chapter 14

The fight was fierce, as the pain of loss the three agents felt gave them energy. Two of Lovett's men were out instantly, shot by Ethan and Jane. Brandt's bullet caught the Secretary in the arm, but didn't seem to cause any serious damage, much to the analyst's disappointment. There were five men left, as far as they could see. The three agents took cover behind walls, occasionally firing their guns in return. It was crystal clear that it wouldn't take long for them to run out of bullets. They needed a better strategy.

Jane took a pause to think. She reckoned she had one bullet left. There was one person she wanted to end up with it in his head most. Lovett wasn't walking out alive or uninjured, no matter what would happen to her. She needed to reposition herself to be able to take aim. She looked around and saw a passage into the hallway. She knew the building was a labyrinth of corridors. Maybe she could walk around the room and attack from behind? She remembered she had studied the plan of the building. She knew it was possible. Trying to be as quiet as she could, she moved into the corridor, relieved that nobody seemed to notice her.

She walked down a narrow badly lit corridor, careful not to make any noise and take the right passages. She circled the room and stopped just as she could clearly see what was happening in it.

By that time the agents had run out of ammunition and were fighting hand-to-hand. Ethan had just finished off one of the intruders and was fighting another one. Brandt was also holding on pretty well with his opponent. Lovett didn't take part in the action yet, merely watching what was happening around him, his back turned to the darkened archway Jane was in. Perfect, the agent thought as she drew her gun, aiming it for the older man's head. He was going to pay for what he had done. She knew it wouldn't bring Benji back. But it would make her feel a bit more relieved, knowing that at least the son of a bitch didn't walk out without punishment. Steadying her breath to enjoy the moment, she prepared to pull the trigger… and then everything turned into a mess.

In her concentration she paid no attention to a completely dark corridor to her side. Eying the room, she suddenly got a hint of confusion. There had been five people they were fighting. Now she could only see four… The thought struck her too late. She only caught something moving towards her from the darkness to her right in her peripheral view milliseconds before something hard collided with her temple, sending her to the ground. Jane didn't even hear her gun fall down, as she spent a few seconds being too dazed to make out any shapes from the blur.

"Jane!" someone cried out, and she was quite sure the voice was familiar. Two more shapes moved closer to her from the room. As she looked more carefully, one of them turned out to be Brandt who had finished off his opponent and was now dealing with her attacker. The other one was Lovett. The older man bowed down to pick up her gun, and during that motion she could see Ethan speeding up their way.

"Don't even move, Ethan" she heard somewhere very close to her. The edges of her view were becoming black and she could see red spots dancing in front of her. "One movement from either of you and agent Carter will get one of her own bullets".

The space around Jane got quiet. She could feel she was losing consciousness and really doubted whether she should fight it or not.

"What an irony would that be," Lovett went on, playing with the semi-conscious agent's gun.

"Face it, Lovett, you've lost," Ethan spoke up, not daring to move. Despite the situation, he was doing his best to stay calm. "Even if you kill her, you have the two of us to deal with".

"I think you don't know what you are dealing with, agent Hunt," Lovett's tone didn't have a slightest hint of worry in it, which was really unsettling. "Do you really think I have no backup?"

Ethan and Brandt exchanged glances. Whatever he meant, it didn't promise any good.

"Do you think that explosion was an accident?" Lovett motioned towards one of the windows, the remains of the building's wing seen through it. "Another gas leak?" he smirked. "Another ironic twist, isn't it. The former agent Dunn just avoided dying in one explosion a few days ago… only to end up in another one".

Brandt could feel his eyes welling up. He looked down at Jane and sideways at Ethan and found a similar emotion expressed on their faces.

"I suppose he didn't have much of an alternative though," Lovett went on. "Maybe he would have died from an overdose… or possibly he'd have just killed himself, that would have spared him a lot of trouble".

Brandt's hands formed fists without him even realising. Ethan clenched his teeth, staring into whatever was remaining of Lovett's soul in the man's eyes. Jane, who didn't have the strength to do either of those actions, just lay on the floor, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"So, anyway," Lovett went on, "I have some of my best men around here. But I think I could spare then the efforts and get rid of one of the targets now".

He let out another smirk as he looked down at the female agent, the gun in his hand having been aimed at her all the way through his little rant. Ethan and Brandt froze in terror. Jane could barely see their faces but she knew what they must have been showing. It's all over. She could barely see at all, losing her battle with unconsciousness. The darkness was not unwelcomed though… and then something light crossed her view, just as everything finally got dark.

Lovett didn't even get to realise what struck him. He had been standing there, preparing to shoot and next thing he knew was something grabbing his neck and his face being slammed into a wall, the gun falling down from his hand with a thud. He barely registered the sound though as at that moment the unknown force threw him against the opposite wall, the back of his head hitting it loudly and painfully. The movement stopped but he still found it difficult to understand what was going on. It was hard to breathe, partly because of the blood pouring from his nose and partly due to something that felt like a very strong hand holding his throat, pinning him to the wall. In the semidarkness he finally managed to catch the glimpse of his attacker's face, his lips shut tightly together and nothing but murderous hatred in his big blue eyes. The image was frightening enough by itself, not to mention the fact that the man in front of him was supposed to be dead.

Ethan and Brandt had to take a few seconds to realise what was going on. And to acknowledge that the man holding Lovett by the throat and effectively choking him was actually Benji. The Englishman looked like he was about to kill the Secretary with his glare alone, the blood from the older man's nose running freely onto his hand without being noticed.

The shock of the realisation made the two agents freeze for a second, and it was only when Lovett started making some gargling noises that Ethan ran up to them and put his hand on the younger man's shoulder, squeezing it in an attempt to calm him down. After a few moments of Lovett's gargling it did work, as Benji finally let go of the man's throat and let him collapse to the floor in a heap. He suddenly seemed like he was very tired, as the adrenaline he had been going on was wearing off. Leaning on a wall, he slid down it into a sitting position next to the unconscious Jane, closing his eyes and trying to calm down his breathing. The team leader and the analyst exchanged glances again. Everything was getting even more confusing…