So do I have a personal record or what?! Two updates in one day! Very awesome. I'm glad the writing bug bit me. Song this chapter is The Blues by Switchfoot. Thanks to Wep for beta editing and being his awesome self. IBA would suck without him. Hope you enjoy!!

Is this the New Year or just another night?
Is this the new fear or just another fright?
Is this the new tear or just another desperation?
Is this the finger or just another fist?
Is this the kingdom or just a hit n' miss?
I miss direction, most in all this desperation

…

The only sound piercing the silence of the alley was the pounding of running feet. Residents of the above apartments saw a lone woman, running away from four dark figures. But citizens of this dark city learned long ago not to interfere with any kind of crime taking place and so offered the woman only a silent prayer, looking at the passing figures with extreme pity for the dark haired (if slightly bruised) beauty that was only steps ahead of them. They watched her disappear into an adjacent alleyway and the onlookers sighed.

That alley was a dead end.

Suddenly the people looking down disappeared into their apartments and closed the doors and windows, attempting to keep the disturbing sounds they knew were about to come from reaching their ears. This wasn't the first woman who'd been taken in these alleys.

But, unbeknown to them, the woman beneath them was much more than what she appeared and the men behind her were not the usual level of scum that chased women into dark alleys. No, this woman was much more than that; and so was the small chip she held in her fist. Sometimes the smallest things are the most valuable. This chip held valuable information on CHAOS and once delivered to Washington, the CHAOS threat would quickly be conquered and their quiet but lethal reign as a world terror would be brought to an end.

The woman hurtled a small cart sitting in the narrowing alleyway, hearing three grunts behind her followed by a loud crash. She allowed herself a quick look back and saw one agent fallen over the cart, apparently not jumping high enough. Stairs were on her right and she grabbed onto the railing just above her head and began pulling herself up, feeling a hand grab her ankle. She kicked out with her other foot at the CHAOS agent's face and his hand released her and she saw him drop, blood covering his face.

She rushed up the metal stairs, her breath coming raggedly and her legs feeling as if they were on fire. She'd been running so long. She looked down and saw the agents starting up the stairs after her. It could be worse; they could have guns like they did earlier. She'd thankfully dispatched them of those pretty quickly. She could tell they were just as tired as her, but they all were running for the same reason. To save something. For her, it was saving the lives of American and even non-American people.

For them, they were saving their own asses. If she got away with these codes...they would be severely punished and finally killed. Logically, they didn't want that and so they'd chase her until one of them won. She knew it'd be her. It had to be.

She'd called for backup about two blocks ago. He should be waiting for her, and she trusted he would be. She kicked in the door to the first apartment on her right after clearing the stairs, hearing several screams from inside the small home. Ten steps and she could be out of the window. She counted to herself and jumped through the window, feeling the glass scrape at her and some lodge into her skin. She didn't have much time to evaluate the situation beneath her, but she didn't see her partner. So she was forced to drop and roll, and she came up looking for an escape. She heard tires squealing and looked at the two opposite ends of the alley way to see two cars speeding towards her. She knew it wasn't her partner. She was trapped.

The cars stop and four men exit each car, guns extended. She doesn't have any time to react before they open fire....

Is this what they call freedom?
Is this what you call pain?
Is this what they call discontented fame?
It'll be a day like this one
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in

…

Emily jerked forwards, letting out a gentle cry. Her dreams had been the same this whole long night, with her running from some men, only dying in the end. It was what she was afraid would happen to her if she passed that test. She wasn't sure if she wanted to pass it or not. If she passed it, she'd become CHAOS, but she'd get to see her parents. Or at least she thought. If she failed she'd get to go back to Ellie and there was a good chance she'd never see her parents again. Her self preservation instinct wanted to fail, wanted to get out of this hell hole. But she loved her parents and felt extremely guilty that any part of her wanted to fail so she could go back to Aunt Ellie's.

Sarah was already by her. She'd come to Emily's side each time she'd awoken. "Another one?" The blonde asked and Emily nodded. Sarah sighed. "You know, I'd really love to tell you that nothing bad will happen to you and that we'll all be alright." She started. "But I don't want to lie to you. I honestly don't know how bad this will turn out, but I'm still hoping for the best. One thing I've learned in my years of fieldwork is help can come from the most unlikely places sometimes." She offered Emily a comforting smile and the brunette nodded. She hoped her mother was right.

The knot in Emily's stomach was getting worse; she felt like she was going to throw up. "Mom, will I ever see you and Dad again if I fail the test?" She was not encouraged by the look in Sarah's eyes.

"I don't know. I doubt CHAOS would release us before we died. The odds of you getting to see us again would be very slim. But, Emily, if you fail and go back to Ellie's, make sure you get back on track okay? I don't want you giving up your life over this. You've got to tread forward and be determined. Sometimes that's all you have to go for. If you fail, finish school, go to college, have a life. This is what I want for you and I know Chuck does too."

"What if I pass?"

"I pray you don't, Emily, I really do. If you pass, you probably wouldn't see us very often if at all. You'd become an agent and that means missions, death, and thorough training. I don't want that for you and I never have. You deserve so much more. I'll die before I let them do that to you."

"If I pass you and Dad will be working together right?"

"It's likely. It makes sense to team us up as long as we aren't trying to escape; which, we won't. We don't want anything to happen to you."

"Then if I pass I don't want you to do anything, Mom. Dad will definitely need you then."

Sarah was silent and Emily knew the blonde was agreeing with her. Chuck would need someone if Emily was taken away from them. Sarah would need someone.

The sound of approaching footsteps reached their ears, and Emily inhaled raggedly. This is it. The door opened and in stepped four agents.

"Move," one ordered and Sarah and Emily did as they were told. They were being led down a series of dark halls, doors everywhere. Its dingy smell settled in Emily's nostrils and she made a face. They made a few more turns before arriving at two large double doors. Upon entering, Emily saw a large white room, empty except for a single desk. Her dad was in the room, along with Smith and some of the CHAOS agents. Emily also saw Carina and Bryce.

Emily felt Sarah's hand on her arm and she looked up to the blonde. "Be strong." Sarah said and the duo walked up to the group. Emily looked at her father, just now realizing he had blood on the side of his face.

"Dad?" Emily breathed.

"Are you two okay? Did they hurt you?" Chuck quickly asked.

"No," Sarah replied.

"Bring the girl over here," Smith stated and a man was suddenly guiding Emily over to that table. Two men dressed in white coats came up to her and placed two white pads on her temples. From the white pads ran two cords into a small computer in front of her. She looked at Sarah and then Chuck, the pain in their eyes was unbearable for her to see and so she looked away quickly. One of the men in the white coats started pressing buttons on the keyboard beside her.

Emily looked at Bryce, who was handcuffed along with Carina. They were watching with expressions Emily couldn't quite make out. They were silent however as they watched.

There was this tickle in Emily's temples now and it was spreading to her eyes. "Look at the screen," One of the technicians told her. As her eyes rested on a picture of some kind of gem, the tickle increased and she could only compare it to a sneeze building. Except, it started to hurt. Really badly.

"Ah!" Emily cried and she started to raise her hands to her head but they were restrained by that same man who'd escorted her. "It hurts!" She cried and she felt the shakes building inside her as the pain continued to increase. "Stop! It hurts! Mom, it hurts!"

"Stop!" Chuck and Sarah yelled. They started to rush towards her but both were restrained. "You're hurting her!"

"Emily!" Sarah cried and jerked against the arms of the men holding her. She continued to try and pull away from them, but their grip was too strong.

Emily was fully shaking now; she no longer could even control herself. She absently wondered if this was what a seizure felt like. She continued to let out cries of pain and her knees gave out, only the man kept her upright now as her vision went dark.

I'm singing this one, like a broken piece of glass
With broken hearts and broken noses in the back
Is this the new year or just another desperation?
You push until you're shoving
You bend until you break
Do you stand on the broken fields where your fathers lay?

…

"Stop it!" Sarah cried, throwing herself forward. That was her baby, her only child, being hurt and she was powerless to stop it. The tears burned her eyes as she watched Emily jerk around and scream. Emily had called for her; Emily was counting on her to save her and Sarah couldn't do it. Sharp pangs of failure struck the blonde. She'd always meant to keep Emily away from this all.

Emily collapsed, the man behind her barely catching her in time.

"Get her out of the way," Smith ordered and Emily was dragged to a corner off by herself. Chuck and Sarah both were attempting to get away from the men holding them.

"Emily!" Chuck called. Sarah felt the restraining hands ease on her and she twisted, sending her elbows up and towards where she calculated the agents' noses would be. She heard the sickening crack as she found her intended targets. She felt their hands leave her arms and shoulders and she already saw more men rushing towards her. But Sarah was fighting in a way she never had before; as her body moved and disabled the agents coming towards her, her thoughts simply rested on Emily. She wasn't going to let her daughter suffer anymore.

Sarah saw Bryce already moving, immediately using Sarah's outburst as a distraction while he himself joined in on the tussle. They wouldn't be real agents if they didn't even try. Sarah suddenly got hold on a gun as she dropped another man to the ground; her blue eyes rested on Smith, whose dark eyes were glaring at her. He had a gun in his hand, and was lifting it. Sarah froze.

Then Chuck was tackling Smith and Sarah began to hurry to them. Chuck couldn't handle Smith by himself. Chuck hadn't fought a day since they retired (or so Sarah was assuming) and Smith undoubtedly had. Sarah saw Smith regain himself and find his weapon, sticking it to Chuck's temple. "Stop or I'll shoot!" Smith yelled. Sarah raised her weapon as the fighting stilled around her. She'd done this a thousand times. First with Bryce, and then even with Chuck. Did Smith really think that using Chuck as a body shield would protect him?

She began to aim discreetly. He'll never know what hit him. If I take him out, we can finish off these guards and escape. As her finger began to squeeze the trigger, she felt the cold press of steel against her own head.

"Drop it, Sarah." With those words Sarah heart sank. Have we been played from the beginning? You've been a traitor this whole time, haven't you? Why?

Sarah looked to her right and saw Carina looking right back at her, her green eyes full of determination. Sarah then turned her head to Bryce, who was being held by two men once again, his features full twisted in angry shock.

"It's been you this whole time," Sarah stated to the brunette sadly. "You're the reason they found us. I always knew there was a mole; I just never thought it'd be a friend. I thought I could trust you, Carina."

"Carina," Chuck whispered. "What – what are you doing?"

Carina ignored Chuck and looked at Sarah. "You thought you could trust me? Well I thought I could trust the American government. When they stabbed me in the back, I decided we needed a new system, one free of corruption and fat ass leaders who do nothing but sit in an office, making us bleed and fall in the line of duty. If a few people have to die here for that to be accomplished, then so be it. This is the sacrifice we have to make, Sarah."

"What? Do you realize what you're saying? You're willing to kill innocent people!" She pointed at Emily. "Why do people like her have to die?! That's what CHAOS is!"

"You're blinded to the truth! Look what our government did to you! They took you from your husband and daughter and made you go through Hell for ten fucking years! How is that a good thing?"

Sarah paused. True, she resented the CIA for forcing her to return. But she'd never betray them for something as evil as CHAOS. What had happened to her friend?

"What happened to you, Carina?" Sarah said quietly.

"Casey is what happened to me. We were assigned a mission together. A long term one as husband and wife. Unsurprisingly, we turned into more than just partners. We were under attack by some cheap mafia scum and they captured him. They took him away and stuffed him in some dark hole all alone and told the NSA they wanted the intel we'd stolen back and the cash before they'd return John. The NSA refused. They decided what they'd gotten was worth John's life. They left him to rot in a hole."

Carina paused and Sarah saw the briefest flicker of pain on the brunette's face. "I went on a rouge operation to find him. When I finally tracked down his location, I arrived in time to see them execute him using slow, tortuous methods. I was powerless to stop it. Can you imagine watching that happen to Chuck? You say I betrayed this country...No. This country betrayed me. And they betrayed John."

Sarah swallowed hard, thinking about Casey dead. He never got to retire like he said he was going to. He never got that calm life she always known he'd wanted. That was like a kick in the gut to her. She'd considered Casey a great partner and a friend.

"Oh my god," Chuck mumbled.

"Okay, enough trips down memory lane." Smith barked. "Get their asses back to their cells."

Sarah gave Carina a pleading look, but the brunette just stepped away, letting Sarah be taken away. Emily was taken with Sarah back to their old cell and Sarah watched over her daughter, praying that whatever pain she'd been caused, no serious damage had been done.

So Carina is CHAOS, Casey is dead, now my daughter is unconscious and I don't know how injured she is and I have no idea how we'll make it out of this okay.

If Sarah had felt hopeless before, she now felt doomed.

Is there nothing left now?
Nothing left to sing?
Are there any left who haven't kissed the enemy?
Is this the New Year, or just another desperation?
Does justice never find you?
Do the wicked never loose?
Are there any other songs to sing besides these blues?
And nothing is okay, until the world caves inUntil the world caves in

…

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