"We're closing in on the target," Scott heard another man's voice through his ear piece. "There's movement."

Scott looked over at John, who was looking at him. All his brothers were looking at him; because he was always the one in charge. Even the Ben kid seemed to be looking at him for some instruction.

Usually level headed in a situation like this, Scott tried not to fall to his urges and just run in, get his siblings out and beat the crap out of anyone in his way. "Alright guys, remember, just like a mission," he whispered to his brothers, making sure the walkie wasn't transmitting. "Cool heads, wait for orders. Don't do anything rash, we don't need to make things worse." His eyes traveled over the faces of his brothers, who nodded with concentrated looks. He settled on Ben, who nodded as well.

He knew what they all wanted though, to rush in and find their siblings. He was amazed at Alan's control, since he was usually the one to go into it in a rush. Gordon wasn't giving his usual quirky quip, which meant his head was way in the game. And John, well it was always harder to read his immediate younger brother. His face was passive and controlled, but it took a close look at his eyes to see the anger. That Ben, his emotions were all over his face; he portrayed their struggle precisely.

"And there's visual," the same voice broke through their silence, causing all of them to move at once towards the lookout in charge. He had gone ahead, and crouched in the shadows right before the house's clearing.

"It looks like the back of a house," Ben whispered.

"Well there's no back door, that's good," Scott added, already calculating. "No side window either. All front entrance. It'll make this easy and difficult."

"That's an oxymoron," Gordon whispered very softly, but Scott chose to ignore him.

"There'll be three points of entry in a house like this. The front door and two windows. There may be more windows, but they're not a main priority. They'll be too far for an infiltration."

"You're talking like we have an army here," the Lieutenant spoke. "There are only eight of us here."

"It's an Air Force thing," Alan provided.

"It's actually just a Scott thing," John pointed out.

"Enough. Focus," Scott said, trying to regain control. "It'll be easy then. We'll have two go through a window, the other two through the other. The remaining will go through the front door."

"Only two of us have a gun though," someone pointed out.

Scott was getting frustrated. This was not going well. More than once he wished this was a Thunderbird job. Things always went easier and without much fight when he was in total control.

"You bitch!" The yell was clear, causing everyone to look up from their circle. And then a gun shot. And the sound of glass breaking.

"We're moving. Now," Scott said and before anyone could say anything, he broke out of the shadows and ran. He rounded the corner as another gun shot went off and he managed to see two people run into the woods.

He was vaguely aware that the others were calling his name. "I'm going after them," Scott said, pulling out his own weapon from the ankle strap he had it hidden in.

"The others have Virgil," John said coming up behind him. He was looking at his own watch, no doubt tracing the signal. "Let's go."

With a look at his blond brother, Scott nodded and broke off into a sprint.

One of the bastards shot at his sister. This meant war.

May God have mercy on his soul. Because Scott wasn't going to give him any.

Kathryn had made it to the small kitchen before throwing up in the sink. With her eyes closed, she could hear the sound of the gun and that power in her hands. It made her puke once more before she started to calm herself down. Kathryn turned the water on and was her mouth out, then splashed the cool liquid on her face. She could feel the gun pressing against her stomach, making it angry. "Get a grip Kathryn," she told herself as she started to look through the drawers for a knife to get her brother out. "He deserved it. He deserved it." She gripped the handle off one tightly, trying to convince herself.

"You shot someone and already unraveling?" His voice was so dark and menacing that it sent shivers down Kathryn's spine. There was a point when you realized a criminal was about to commit a crime. She moved her hand slowly to grab the gun, trying not to freak out. "The bat, it was a good trick, too bad you didn't swing hard enough."

Kathryn turned around and looked at Johnson standing there with his own gun. She mentally scorned herself for not taking it away from him when she had the chance. "I've already called them," she lied. "They'll be here soon. You should leave while you have a chance. You know, get a head start from when my brothers get here."

"Now we both know they aren't coming," he said and the gun made click noise, the one before you shot.

Kathryn reacted quickly though time seemed to slow. She threw the knife right at his chest as she ran to the side, towards the window. "You bitch!" he shouted and the gun went off, hitting the window. It cracked and she threw the small bread box she found on the way, breaking the glass. And she jumped out as another bullet flew by her. Kathryn didn't even stop to see if the knife had hit its mark, or how close behind he was. At the moment, with a heightened sense of danger, she ran.

Whispering good bye to her brother, who she knew was incapable of following her, she gripped onto the weapon, and sprinted into the woods, just as another shot went off. "Oh yes! Oh yes!" Johnson yelled. "A hunt!"

Kathryn knew that for all biological reasons, she should not be able to run as fast as she was. For a moment she heard Ben in her mind, reminding her that the adrenaline that came from the adrenal gland, which was in the kidney, was a powerful thing. She wasn't even sure if that was all correct, but some reason it made her run faster.

Another bullet whizzed close to her face and she almost tripped in surprise. Steadying herself, she kept going, jumping over roots and fallen branches. There was a certain familiarity to it all though; it reminded her of the running she'd had to do for gymnastics. And the trees weren't as dense, making the moonlight her guide.

Weaving through the trees, trying to shake Johnson off her tail, she looked up once in a while to try and figure out in which direction she was going. She was afraid to be heading east and hit a shoreline, leaving her trapped between him and the Atlantic Ocean.

"You can't run forever Tracy," Johnson yelled, and she heard another bullet whiz by, lodging itself with a thud in a tree. "I'll be there, when you fall. I'll be there as you try to scramble up and away. Oh yeah, then we'll have some fun."

Kathryn clutched the gun in her hand harder as she tried to run faster. She shivered, but it was not from the cold winds, or the small streams she ran through. No, Kathryn was very much afraid, but it kept her feet moving and heart pumping. She just hoped it would be long enough.

"We have to get him to a hospital," Ben said, checking over Virgil as they waited. Being on the med track at Princeton helped him out with the minor things, and doing sports in high school helped him out with the concussion, but he was aware at how much he wouldn't be able to detect or treat here.

"Is he that bad?" Alan asked, standing over Ben's shoulder. The twenty-four year old watched as his middle brother was being looked over. Alan had found him pretty out of it, and it was no doubt the concussion that was causing it. He was overwhelmed with guilt, because he should have known better than to bring Virgil along. He had three other brothers and any one of them could have come to Jersey to get Kathryn. Three non-concussed brothers who would have been excellent replacements.

"A concussion is a brain injury," Ben started as he flipped a pen light between Virgil's eyes, checking reaction time. "So it's already bad. Agitating it could lead to a serious brain trauma, something I can't detect. And even if I did, I would be able to do anything for him here. He could die if he doesn't get checked out soon."

"I could have told you that," Gordon said bitterly from where he stood, looking out the window. With arms crossed tightly, he turned towards Ben and Alan. "Aren't you supposed to be like a genius med kid or something?"

"Only a sophomore," Ben told him. "This is all spring semester and third year stuff. Besides, I'm doing a lot more than you are," he was defensive; Gordon's attitude not rubbing well with his already distressed mind set. He too wanted to see Kathryn safe and sound, and more importantly within his eye sight.

"Guys cool it," Alan said, feeling the tension. "Gords, he's doing the best he can. He did patch up the external wounds, so give the kid some credit."

"I'm not a kid," Ben muttered as he handed Virgil a cup of water. "I'm twenty-one come January."

Alan sighed and went to stand by his brother. "She'll be okay Gordo," he told his partner in crime. "She has Scott and John looking out for her. We both know it's always best to hide when you get either of the two majorly pissed off. The guy won't know what hit him." Alan clapped his shoulder. "You'll see. Everything is going to work out."

"How do you know Alan? How can you be so sure about it?"

"Mom's watching out for us. All of us. We just have to believe in her."

Kathryn felt the burning of her lungs and the ache in her legs as she stumbled over another fallen branch. Her body was finally ready to give out.

Not hearing Johnson, but afraid he was still out there, she broke into a small clearing. Tripping over debris covered rocks, she fell to her knees and stayed down to catch her breath. Fear gripped her but the sudden urge to heave pushed that aside. It was clear to her that things had to end, now. Kathryn didn't know if she would be able to make it anymore. She just hoped it had been enough for Virgil to escape or for help to find him. That's if he wasn't dead.

The hand gripping the gun was starting to hurt, because she held onto the thing with as much strength as she could. She just prayed she wouldn't have to use it again. Kathryn didn't like the feeling of the gun in her hand. She didn't know how anyone did it; it felt almost like playing god and that was not her place. Even if she thought the bastard deserved it.

The sound of rustling dead leaves and bark breaking nearby brought her back to the reality of the situation. Jumping up, she held the gun in front of her, just like how she saw Scott do it once. She listened for the approaching footsteps, which slowed as they neared.

Kathryn knew she had to show no fear. That's what he wanted. The struggle, the pleas; it all satisfied his urge for domination. Kathryn knew that by showing it, things would go much worse. But she was scared out of her mind. She had no idea what she was doing; if the gun even had any ammunition left. And she didn't know if she could pull the trigger before him.

"I know you're there," she stated loudly, turning her upper body to follow the sounds. "It's over, right here, right now." Her finger trembled by the trigger as she waited for the person to emerge from the shadows.

"Kathryn."

John broke away from his brother not far into the woods. At the rate they were going, and by the distance the map on his watch said, he knew they would be catching up to them soon. What worried him was that they would be there too late. He'd already heard multiple gun shots in the far distance, but that must have meant none of them had met their mark if they continued.

Because John was a better and faster runner, and he had the trace on Kathryn, he'd broken off to get to her first. Be at her side incase a fight came on and Scott wasn't there. He could kind of tell where she was going, at least the direction Kathryn seemed to be heading in. John knew she was looking up at the stars for guidance, and he felt proud of his little sister for being resourceful.

He was nearing the location of the signal, which had stopped. He slowed, as to come up unaware in case they were already in confrontation. As the trees started to thin out, he knew there was going to be a break in the forestry, making it a bit more difficult to hide.

And then he stopped. Because before him, in a Weaver stance Scott would be proud of, was Kathryn. She held the gun steadily as she turned, trying to find the source of all the noise he'd been making. He took the picture of his sister in, who just wasn't so little anymore. Even though it was dark, the moonlight provided some assistance. And it was late into the night that the sun would start to rise soon enough, making it lighter. He could see the stern look on her face, the way her jaw was set and determined, even if her arms seemed to shake slightly.

"I know you're there. It's over. Right here, right now," she said into the woods and John it would be best to reveal himself now or accidently get shot. So he took the tentative strides forward, out of the shadows and into the field.

"Kathryn," he said clearly. "Kathryn it's just me. It's…" he didn't get to finish his sentence before Kathryn had been at his side and holding onto him.

"John!" She said in disbelief. He could hear the waver in her voice and hugged her close, letting her know it was really him. He was really there. She was finally safe. "You found me."

"Of course I found you. I promised I would always find you," John told her. "You're safe now Kitty Kat. We found you. You're going to be okay sis."

Kathryn pulled away, fearful now. "Virgil! He's back, at the house. John we have to get out of here. Johnson, he's out there. He has a gun. I don't know how to use this gun." She said it all in a tangent, unable to decide which was most important.

"It's okay," John said, knowing the best thing to do was to get her calm enough so they could head back to the helicopter. There, they'd be safe. "Gordon and Alan are with him. Scott is out there, no doubt already with Johnson in a ditch. They're not going to bother you anymore. You're going to be okay."

He hugged her again, bringing his hand to her head. "John," Kathryn whispered so softly he almost missed it. "I shot him. And I did it again. I killed him." He looked down at his sister, seeing that detached look in her eyes and knew what was happening. She was seeing it, that moment. He could only imagine who she was talking about, but he knew that whatever happened, it was going to haunt her. Just like how Scott's first kill in the Air Force still haunted him sometimes, how Gordon was haunted by the hydrofoil accident and how he still heard her screams. Maybe they did get there too late.

"Come on Kitty Kat, let's get you out of here."

A/N: They're saved! But that doesn't mean they're out of the woods yet. And John is the hero once more.