I hope you all like this chapter. I really enjoyed writing it. Oh, I want to make one thing clear: any shots in this fanfic between Myles and Lucy are based on friendship, not romance.


"Jessie? I think you'd better head back to the hospital." Mark said, while they were at the police station with Steve gathering together an army of officers plus Jack and his FBI team.

"But, Mark. I want to help." Jessie argued. "I think I should go with you." Mark pulled his young friend closer to him and spoke in hushed tones.

"Look, Jess, there's nothing I'd like better than to have you on hand in case things went wrong. But...I just have a strong feeling we're gonna need you more in the ER." Mark groaned. "If anything happens, or if Lucy's hurt bad, which I'm afraid she will be, I'd feel a lot better knowing you would be at the hospital waiting for us." Jessie frowned and nodded.

"You're right." He sighed. "Okay, I'll be there if you need me, but I sure hope you won't."

"So do I."

"Hey, guys? Let me know when you're out of there and on your way back, okay?" Jessie announced before leaving the police station.

"Will do." Amanda nodded. She was going with them. As county coroner, she should be there to...to examine Sue's cadaver, which she was not looking forward to!

"Okay, guys. Let's go." Steve said. Chief Masters was standing behind him.

"I'm going with you." He said.

"We really appreciate that, Sir." Jack said solemnly.

"That's got nothing to do with it." Masters grunted. "This is my city, and I incinerate all the garbage. If you're really about to take down White, I want to be there to lead that knave away in handcuffs."

"It''l be our pleasure." Mark said humorlessly. He had already enlisted two ambulances from Community General to accompany them to the scene. One for Lucy, and the other...the other for Sue, to bring her to Amanda's morgue.

"All right. Let's go disintegrate this cockroach!"


Lucy couldn't see a thing. With the blindfold around her eyes and her arms still tied behind her, and now her legs tied again too, she appeared helpless. But Lucy Dotson wasn't one to just give up! She struggled to free her limbs and hands. She didn't know why the two scoundrels had transported her to a different location, but she had a feeling it wasn't good at all. From what she could observe through physical touch, she must be in a closet of some sort. "Drat you, White!" She growled. "You're not so smart if you think a little lockup like this is gonna keep me from talking! When I get out of this mess, I swear I'll see you from the witness stand and tell them everything!" Then she gulped. "Oh, Sue! Where are you, girl? What have they done to you? I'm not leaving this place without you! I promise."


"So, what exactly are you planning tomorrow?" Lance asked his boss.

"A day I've been planning and waiting for for a long time." White said in contemptible delight. "These two weaklings were part of those darn imbecile feds who almost stopped me in D.C. If it hadn't been for them, I might've gotten away with it! Well, now they'll join her fate. Tomorrow night, we're getting out of here, out of this place, and out of this town! I'm sick of it! I'm sick of all the places we used to go, and all the nauseous memories that reek in this crumby city!"

"But what about...you know."

"They'll never trace us here."

"Oh, yeah? Then how come I can't go back home?" Lance challenged.

"Idiot! They could trace you at your house from the prints on the broom, bonehead!" White's temper flared. Then he went eerily calm. "But they'll never find this place. And by the time anyone does, they'll never know it existed. When we leave tomorrow, this whole building will be nothing but kindling, and those two weak rabbits with it! They'll literally be toast!"

"You mean that?" Lance asked skeptically.

"I've dreamed about it every night, I think about it when I'm low, it gives me a reason to get up in the morning." White said quietly, taking on a creepy, faraway look. "I want to see her bloody name burn in big, bright, glorious flames against the night sky. I want everyone to see it, and that's how she will be remembered! That's how I will remember her!" Personally, Lance thought that was pretty extreme, but he knew better than to say it.


Jack was so quiet on the drive to the funeral home, and it really worried his friends, especially Bobby. Ever since Tara had received that killer email this morning, Jack hadn't displayed much emotion except sadness, which was completely understandable. But he didn't carry any of his usual tenacity, his determination, his drive to fight the evil they were facing. Right now it seemed he was only along for the ride. Myles, Bobby, and Dimitrius longed for Jack to at least show some anger, some fiery desire for revenge, then they'd know he was still Jack. But, no. At this time, he was a mere walking shell of heartbreak, just going through the motions.

"All I can say is thank God we figured this out before the 28th tomorrow." Amanda commented, trying to think of something good to say.

"Yeah." Tara agreed.

To them, the drive to the funeral home seemed to drag on as they counted every minute and every mile they'd traveled, but in reality it was much shorter than they realized. "There it is." Chief Masters said with satisfaction. Thankfully, the building structure was adjacent to the parking lot of a large warehouse, whose company supplied paper products, so the team of law enforcement officers had plenty of open space to park and areas to hide in order to have the funeral home surrounded. Masters, Steve, and Dimitrius setup their battalions of armed officers where they wanted them positioned. Masters himself, Steve, Dimitrius, Jack, Bobby, Myles, and six more officers were the ones who planned to enter the building. They were fully geared with ammo, ear wires, and bullet proof vests. Tara and Cheryl were in charge of the command center in the large phony bread truck they'd rented with a little help from Ben Hacker. Mark and Amanda joined them and Levi sat close between the two doctors who tried to comfort him and keep him calm. Tara and Cheryl had a blueprint of the building taped up on the wall and they'd be giving directions as the guys stormed the place. Amanda and Mark were constantly praying in their minds for safety and guidance.

"This is it, Jack. You with us, mate?" Bobby asked, patting his shoulder.

"Yeah." Jack bit his lip.

"All right, our first priority is to quietly get Miss Dotson and her friend out of there before White knows what's happening." Chief Masters said.

"His accomplice could be watching us right now." Myles commented.

"Well, I don't care how stupid they get with themselves, they're not getting away this time!" Steve declared indignantly. "Tara? Cheryl? How are we looking?" He asked into his ear wire.

"Everyone is in position." Cheryl answered.

"Got it." Dimitrius replied.

"Snipers are in position for every side door and every window." Tara stated. "And backup is posted all around the perimeter in case they make a getaway."

"All right. We're going in." Masters said. "On my count, gentlemen." He, Myles, and Dimitrius covered the main entrance while Steve, Jack, and Bobby headed to enter through the Hurst garage. Steve looked back at Jack, not sure if he was truly ready for this.

"Jack, you find Sue, and leave White to us to handle. Got me?" He asked, trying to snap the guy out of his daze. Jack nodded.

"Okay, on three..." Masters whispered. "One...two...THREE!"


"POLICE! FBI!" Steve, Bobby, and Jack all shouted as they stormed inside. The interior of this once fancy place had now been stripped to look like a warehouse. "Okay, Bobby, you and I will go that way."

"I'll cover here." Jack said.

"All right." Bobby nodded. "Let's go."


2 minutes earlier, Lance had wandered into the main hall to get away from his easily provoked boss when he thought he saw vehicles outside. He ran to the window and looked. Sure enough, there were police vehicles and he could see armed men in various spots. Lance panicked and ran through the building hollering, his hysterical voice echoing through its now warehouse like walls. White met him in the old lunch room. "What is your problem?!" White growled.

"Th...they're here!" Lance gasped breathlessly. "The cops. They're all over the place!" White's face turned beet red.

"You're lying, you slime ball!"

"G-go see for yourself if you're so smart!" Lance shouted. White looked out the windows.

"Drat!" He fumed. "What the heck is going on?!"

"I'm out of here!" Lance cried and started to dart, but White painfully gripped his shoulder.

"You stupid idiot! They'll shoot you as soon as look at you. You open one of those doors and you're dead meat!"

"You can't shoot cops, Jeff!" Lance warned. "That's a big..."

"You're right." White glared and tackled Lance to the floor. The guy fell on his back and White sat firmly on top of him, preventing any escape. He clenched Lance by the throat and with his other hand pulled out his gun and held it against Lance's chest.

"H-h-hey!" Lance gagged, horror pasted on his face. "W-what are you doing?!"

"You're disposable." White squinted down at him evilly. "Coward! Thought you'd spill it and get a square deal from DA, huh? I'll have it out with the cops, but you..."

"N-no!" Lance pleaded, fearing for this life. The anger left White's face and melted into a hideous sneer.

"On second thought..." He said casually, jerking Lance to his feet, but still holding him in a threatening grip. He backed him to one of the doors.

"L-look, man..." Lance begged. "After all I did for you...j-just let it go now, man…w-we got to give ourselves up." At that moment, White released him and shoved him backward out the door. There was a gunshot before the door closed and then the snipers fired and shot Lance up. He dropped to the pavement, never to wake again.

White was furious. At that moment he heard the police burst inside from the front of the building and he headed straight for the basement. Forget Lucy, they couldn't find her the way he'd put her away, but there was someone else he had to take care of before the cops stopped him!


"POLICE! FBI!" Masters, D, and Myles all hollered as they stormed inside the funeral home. They rushed to the viewing room, but when they reached it, there was no sign of Sue. "Blast it." Myles grumbled. They headed through other rooms, searching for Lucy and Sue.

"What just happened?" Amanda asked inside the command center when they heard shots fired outside.

"Detective Banks to Sgt. Barnes, over." Cheryl spoke into her two-way radio.

"Sgt. Barnes to Detective Banks, over." Barnes replied.

"Sgt. What's going on out there?" Cheryl asked.

"One of our subjects is down. They took him down as he came out the door." Amanda and Mark stared at each other.

"Which subject?"

"Officer Waner just confirmed that it's Howard Lance. He's dead." Barnes said.

"Okay. Over and out." Cheryl said.

"Ten four."

"Whew. They had me worried there for a minute." Mark sighed.

"Yeah, me too." Amanda agreed.

"Well, that's one less crazy to deal with." Cheryl stated.


"All right." Masters said after Cheryl told them.

"All I can say is good riddance." Myles said flatly.


Lucy heard the distant voices, aways off, but she recognized them and her heart lept in relief. They had come, her faithful friends had come to get her out of this rat hole! But how would they find her? She struggled to free herself from the restraints but failed. "HELP!" She called out as loud as she could, while trying to kick the walls with her feet. "Guys! I'm in here! Help me!"

"Sshh. I hear something." Myles said as he halted in his tracks.

"So do I." Dimitrius said calmly with furrowed brows.

"Over here." Masters spoke up from the bathroom hallway. "In here." Myles and D scurried over to the closet the chief was standing in front of.

"Lucy?! Is that you in there?" D asked. "It's us!"

"YES!" Lucy cried. "Yes! I'm in here! Get me out! I can't see a thing." They all sighed with relief. Masters kicked the door knob and the door flew open. "Where are you guys?" Lucy asked, anxiously wagging her head back and forth, still blindfolded. Myles stepped inside the closet and removed the scarf from her eyes. She winced and fluttered her eyelids, trying to adjust to the darkness around her.

"Are you all right, Luce?" Myles asked tenderly. "Can you stand up?"

Lucy almost chuckled, when she recognized that all too familiar voice speaking to her. "I'm okay, and yes I can stand up if you'd untie me!" She huffed. Myles quickly released her and helped her to her feet. "Oohh, you have no idea how glad I am to see you guys!" She exclaimed, then lost her footing.

"You okay?" D asked.

"I'm fine, just that my darn feet went to sleep from being tied up too long." Lucy complained. They were relieved to see that she hadn't in anyway lost her wit or feisty side, considering what she'd been through.

"Lucy, where's Sue?" D asked. Lucy looked up at him with worry.

"Didn't you find her?! Isn't she with you?" Lucy gasped. "I don't know where she is! Those two skunks took her away! And you'd better find her, because that White wasted no time in treating her like a punching bag!" Lucy spat out. The three men frowned, knowing all too well White's violent side and what he'd already done to Sue.

"Do you have any idea where they could've taken her?" Masters asked.

"Noo." Lucy moaned. "I don't even know where we are."

"Okay. Myles, take her to Dr. Sloan." D instructed. "Bobby? We've located Lucy. We've found her and she's safe!"

"Oh, great. That's good news!" Bobby answered happily.

"Thank God." Steve agreed. "You'd better get her out of here. Bring her to Dad so he can make sure she's all right."

"Already on it, Lt." D answered. "Still no sign of Sue or White."

"We'll keep looking. Come on." Bobby said.

"Myles, is Lucy okay?" Jack asked hesitantly.

"Well, she's not thanking me yet for saving her, and she's complaining about the accommodations." Myles said sarcastically. "And she's not clinging to me. If that's not normal for Lucy, what is?"

"I'm good, Jack." Lucy said. "It's so good to hear your voice."

"Yours too." Jack said quietly.

"You've gotta find Sue, Jack!" Lucy wailed. "You've just got to. There's no telling what they've done to her!"

"Don't worry." Jack gulped. "I'll find her." He tried to keep himself composed as he searched through the basement for where White might hide a body. "D? Did you find anything in the viewing room? A secret panel? A...a..."

"There was nothing, Jack." Dimitrius said sadly, knowing what Jack didn't want to say. "But we'll find her." Jack cleared his throat and tried to keep looking.

Myles knocked on the truck door and Mark opened them. "Lucy," he said kindly, helping her inside.

"Oh, Lucy!" Tara exclaimed and hugged her friend, Amanda joined them.

"Girl, are you all right?" Amanda asked.

"Not 'til we find Sue!" Lucy declared. Everybody's faces fell. Levi jumped up, happy to see Lucy. "Oh, hey, buddy." She gushed, wrapping her arms around his very warm, welcome fur. "I missed you too, big fellow."


Sue was slowly starting to come around. Her body was hurting badly but she couldn't understand why. It felt very heavy, and as she moved her arms and legs, it was difficult and her muscles were so stiff. Her face felt raw, like it didn't belong to her, and was extremely tender when she stroked it. She very slowly opened her eyes. Wait, where was she? Wasn't she in her bedroom? It looked like she was in a room made of cinder block. But that couldn't be right! She was supposed to be at home, right? What time was it? Shouldn't she be getting ready for work? But with her body feeling so out of whack, she'd have to call in and stay home. There was no alarm clock in here, actually there didn't seem to be any furniture at all. The last thing she remembered was being at Community General talking with her friends and Dr. Sloan.

Sue tried to sit up but her upper body ached terribly and she could hardly move, plus the effort caused her to feel light-headed. Suddenly, for some unexplained reason, Sue felt an overpowering sense of dread. She didn't understand why, but she was very sure that something wasn't right at all. She had the thought that she was in danger, but she couldn't be, right? Yet, where were her friends?! What had happened and how did she get here? And where was Levi? Okay, now she knew that something was really off! Levi was her faithful companion and always with her. What had happened to him? "L-Levi?!" Sue cried out. "Levi! Lucy, where are you? Jack?!" Just then someone cantered into the room. "Wh..." Sue tried to ask, but stopped when he glowered at her and aimed his gun at her.

"Shut up!" White hollered, sweat glistening on his face.

"I..." Sue whimpered in fear and total confusion. Who was this guy, and what had she done to make him angry enough to kill her? There was a familiarity in the flapping of his hostile lips, but other than that, she didn't recognize him. But she was very frightened and tried to speak. "Do..."

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" White howled, stepping closer to her. There was murder in his eyes and he reached towards her in a threatening pose, with his gun still in hand. Sue tried to back away from him but her body hurt almost too much to even move. She didn't know how to save herself. There was only one thing she could do: she screamed.


Jack was scouring around the dense walls and isolated rooms, listening for any sounds. He wished Levi was with him, surely he could find Sue. But then he'd have to watch the heartbroken Golden find his dead mistress. He heard rushing footsteps and a door thrown open. He quickly tried to follow the source as he heard an enraged man hollering. Then...a scream. Not just any scream...HER scream! For a moment he froze. Jack would know that voice anywhere! Sue? Sue...Sue was in trouble and crying out for help! Jack's body raced with sky high adrenaline and he dashed toward the voices.


The other guys heard someone screaming through their ear wires, plus the desperate cries echoed throughout the halls. Bobby stopped in his tracks with Steve when they heard it. Bobby froze. "Jack, where are you?" Steve asked, but Jack didn't answer. "Jack!" Then he glanced at Bobby who looked as if he'd seen a ghost. "What is it?" Steve asked.

"Can't be," Bobby said, more to himself than to Steve.

"What?" Steve persisted.

"Th-that's Sue!" Bobby exclaimed.

Steve's eyes almost bugged out. "WHAT?!" He gasped in astonishment.

"I...I know it can't be, but that's Sue screaming!" Bobby declared excitedly.

"Sounds like it's coming from the basement." Steve stated. "Let's go!" They took off running back the way they'd come.


"That's Sue's cry." Dimitrius declared.

"What are you talking about, Ganz?" Masters asked skeptically.

"He's right." Myles spoke up. "That's Agent Thomas we hear! So she's alive!"

"Not for long if White decides to shut her up." Masters groaned as they kept running. "Come on."

"Tara, we believe Jack found Sue!" Bobby called into his ear wire. "And it sounds like she's alive!"

"WHAT?!" Tara, Cheryl, Amanda, Lucy, and Mark all blurted together, then they listened closely to the cries for help. Levi's ears perked up. He stood, wagging his tail and started barking eagerly. He whined and jumped up at the truck doors, demanding to be let out.

"Bobby's right." Lucy and Tara said together. "That is Sue!"

"Oh, thank God." Mark sighed heavily and smiled at Amanda.


As Jack came around the corner in an abandoned hallway, he raised his gun then sprang into the room. "FBI! Freeze!" He barked, pointing his firearm straight at White. The murderer whipped his maddening face at Jack. But Jack's eyes were on the helpless victim leaning against the wall. It was her, it was Sue! It was her! But she was hardly recognizable: her face was more bruised than in the hospital, and swollen too. She was trembling, she was crying, she was panting, she was moving! She was alive! And that louse was trying to hurt her. She gazed up at Jack in fear, hope, and worry. Jack's face darkened. All his suppressed anger, determination, buried stamina to fight the evil he was facing, and vengeance suddenly snapped and he felt his strength return. Jack Hudson was not a violent man by nature, he could usually hold himself calmly in check, but the sight of Sue so vulnerable at the hands of this vicious madman triggered Jack's dangerous side to the surface. He trembled in rage.

White was out of control. All of his dark plans were sinking down the drain so fast that his brain didn't have time to process a redemption of clenching them back within his grip, and his already reeling temper forced him to act on impulse. "Drat you!" He spat, and before Jack could even react, White darted forward and socked Jack hard in the middle. White, frustrated and livid, punched him again and again, then he kicked him in the guts hard. Jack was so stunned and out of breath that he couldn't fight back, but nevertheless, he firmly gripped his gun. White kicked him again and again, then he did it repeatedly in Jack's ribcage. Jack heard and felt them snap and collapsed to the ground though he fought for a foothold. White continued to kick him.

Sue was frozen in her spot, physically weary herself, her eyes glazed in horror. He pounded with his foot on Jack's torso, whamming him with the most defiant blows. "S-stop!" Sue begged desperately. "Stop it! Leave him alone! PLEASE!" White halted, then just like that, he snatched Sue by the arm, dragged her to her feet, and fled the room.

Jack lay on the ground, gasping for breath and wincing hard. His battered body was hindering him from being able to rise to his feet. His chest pounded and every breath he took sent a shot of sharp pain through his whole torso. Bobby and Steve ran to him. "Jack, you all right, man?" Steve asked, kneeling down next to him.

"Jack?" Bobby repeated anxiously. Jack clenched his teeth, trying to breathe, and pointed repeatedly in the left direction.

"S-stop him!" He moaned. "He...he's got...Sue!"

"I'll head him off." Steve stated, rising to his feet. "Bobby, you stay with him?"

"Sure thing, mate." Bobby nodded and Steve took off. Then they heard Sue cry out again. Jack gripped Bobby's arm.

"Bo...Bobby...help...find...Sue." Jack spoke between strained breaths. "G-go! Now! Please!"

"All right, you stay here, Jack and wait for help." Then Bobby left too. "Tara, we need Dr. Sloan in here, quickly. But not without backup. Jack's hurt bad. He's in the basement." Bobby spoke into his ear wire.

Jack painfully, forcefully pulled himself to his feet and staggering, made his way through a different door. The heavy, searing pain in his ribs and bruises on his stomach stole his breath away, but he had to get to Sue! He turned a corner, when he heard a frightened voice: her frightened voice! They were very close by. He barged through the door and found White standing over Sue, who was on her back too weak to defend herself, trying to back away from him. White dropped to his knees and roughly administered a forceful grip on her throat. "Let her go, White!" Jack bellowed as he halted, aiming his gun. Just the strain alone of raising his voice made it even more difficult for Jack to breathe. Jeff sneered, backing up with his arm around Sue's neck, holding her in a headlock, and holding a gun to her head. Her face was drawn with fear and Jack couldn't stand the helplessness in her eyes.

"Jack," Sue's voice quivered. She'd seen him take the blows, and she was afraid that he was going to get hurt even worse now, especially if White didn't release her! It was actually a wonder that Jack was able to stand at all. Don't. Please don't, Jack! Sue thought, pleading with him not to get himself hurt more than he already was, yet as the same time, Save me, please, Jack! Get me out of this mess! Her eyes begged. Steve was close by, hiding around the corner and stealthily making his way behind White.

White clicked his gun. "Don't do this, White!" Jack half-pleaded, half-warned. "It doesn't have to be this way. Charlotte's gone, and you already made her pay for what she did to you."

"It's not enough, G-man." White snarled. "It'll never be enough!"

Jack stood his ground and tightened the grip on his pistol. "Let her go! It's over." He begged in a cracked voice. White tightened his grip on Sue's throat. Steve was just about to whip around the corner and aim his gun at White when it happened. It happened so fast no one could've prepared for it, but to Sue it was like slow motion in a horrible dream. Within a split second, White removed his gun from her head and opened fire...at Jack! A white-hot, searing pain ripped directly through Jack's lower abdomen, making him flinch, and falling back, he collapsed to the floor wincing badly.

"Aaahhh! JACK!" Sue screamed, and struggled. Steve sprang forward from behind, and grabbing the gun from White's hand, pounced onto his back, and tackled him to the ground, pulling Sue along with them. White roughly gripped Sue by the shoulders and thrashed her aside where she was rammed against the wall. Steve angrily dug his fingernails into White's neck and tightly gripped him in a headlock, making the thug gag. The two scuffled on the floor. Jack lay on his back, grimacing and gasping.

"Jack?! Jack?!" Bobby's voice was heard a couple rooms away, along with other footsteps."What's going on in there?!" He hollered into his mouthpiece.

"In...here!" Steve hollered as he continued to clench White's wrists and threw himself on top of him, finally pinning him to the floor. "Manning! Masters! Backup! I need backup in here! NOW!" White thrashed around, squirming underneath Steve's full body weight. Steve gritted his teeth. "Stay down!" He seethed. "It's over, White!" Bobby and the others scurried into the large room and took in the whole scene. Bobby's eyes flashed from Jack, lying on the floor in blood; then to Sue, lying dazed on her side; and to Steve who was trying to prevent White's escape. "Jack!" Bobby yelled, and leaped to Steve's side. He was going to help maul the fiend who had done this to his friends. Myles, Dimitrius, Chief Masters, and the other officers rushed after him. Bobby cringed and his eyes flamed in fury. Steve stood up and roughly jerked Jeff White to his feet. He slugged White hard square in the jaw, making the dirt bag stumble. Then Bobby grabbed him from behind and after turning him around, sucker punched him smack dab in the middle of his face. White slumped limply to the floor, out cold. Both Steve and Bobby panted heavily, glowering down lividly at the vicious killer lying unconscious at their feet. Myles and the officers raced over to them.

"All right. Get him out of here, before I make the tabloid news of what I do to him!" Bobby snarled.

"That goes double for me!" Steve nodded with his hands on his hips. Chief Masters and Myles, along with the other officers, heaved the long-wanted fugitive up from the floor and dragged him out. Dimitrius was at Jack's side.

"Tara, get the paramedics in here now!" He yelled frantically. "Jack's been hit! Gut shot! And he's having trouble breathing!" Steve glanced from Sue to Jack, then back to Sue who was moaning and whimpering as she struggled to sit up. Bobby rushed to her side.

"Sue, you all right?" He asked with deep concern. Sue stared dazedly, mournfully at him.

Steve was standing behind them. "You see to Jack. I'll get Sue." He told Bobby, and he stooped down to help her. Bobby glanced sorrowfully at Sue, nodded, then darted to his best friend and dropped down on the floor next to him.

"S...Sue," Steve said as she sadly looked up at him, moaning. Her lips quivered. "It's all right." Steve said soothingly, smiling. "Here, I'll help you." Sue looked away and shrieked when she saw Jack, her Jack: he was lying flat on his back, his face scrunched in extreme pain, and his left side was bleeding!

"Ohhh. J...Jack!" She cried and staggered to her feet clutching her side, and rushed to him.

"Steve! What happened?" Mark asked anxiously as he burst into the room.

"Jack's been shot." Steve growled, slipping his gun back into his holster. "You'd better help him, Dad. Looks pretty bad." Mark looked at the small group gathering together and he hurried over to see if he could help. Steve was at his heels. Jack's color wasn't good at all and his breathing was shallow and rapid. White had aimed directly at Jack's stomach, where the bullet proof vest had ended, where he knew Jack wasn't protected. Jack tried to sit up, but Bobby and D both pushed him back down.

"Stay down, Jack." D said calmly.

"You just hang in there, mate. You're gonna be fine." Bobby said in a shaky voice. His hand was firmly covered over Jack's left one, which was trying to compress his bloody side."We've got help on the way. Just hang on, Jack." Sue dropped to her knees right beside Bobby and leaned directly over Jack. She gasped and warmly gripped his bloody hand. Hot tears spilled out of her eyes.

"Jack!" She wailed. "It's okay. I'm right here. I'm not gonna leave you!" The sudden, emotional movement of her jaw was painful. Jack clenched his teeth as he tried to raise his head and look into her soft brown eyes. He managed a very tiny attempt of a smile, then dropped back to the floor. Mark knelt down as Dimitrius stood up and stared with grave concern at the injured young man.

"Jack! Can you hear me?" Mark asked loudly, closely to Jack's face.

"I...I..." Jack gasped, nodding, trying to talk but he wheezed and coughed violently. Mark pressed his hands firmly on Jack's chest.

"Easy, easy," He tried to say encouragingly. Steve stood behind him, watching the whole thing. He silently prayed that Jack would be okay.

"Jack, we need you. You hear me?" Sue begged as her eyes swam. "Come on. I'm not going home without you! We're going home together! Okay?" Jack tried to open his eyes to look at Sue, but he was in so much pain that he couldn't. He started hacking again, and the spasm shook his body. He was gasping hard. Mark loosened the belt from around Jack's waist and pulled out his own handkerchief, firmly applying pressure on the wound that was still oozing.

Sue didn't move. She just gripped Jack's hand. Mark examined Jack's wound and heard the whistle in his throat, plus could feel the cracked ribs as he checked for further damage. "We need to get him to the hospital...fast!" he said urgently.

"The EMTs are here." Myles said.

"It's gonna be okay, Jack." Mark said soothingly, patting Jack's shoulder.

"We're here with ya, mate." Bobby said, small tears forming in his eyes at the sight of his best friend in such turmoil.

"Let them help you, Jack." Sue spoke softly.

Steve gently pulled Sue back and Bobby also helped her to her feet as the EMTs stabilized Jack and loaded him onto a stretcher then rushed him outside to the ambulance. "We'll do all we can." Mark said softly to Sue, then followed the paramedics.

"I'm going with him." Sue said with determination.

"Sue..." Steve started to protest, facing her so she could read his lips. Bobby patted her shoulder.

"Leave her alone." He said to Steve.

"I have to go!" Sue argued. "He needs me!"

"All right. Come on." Mark nodded, and carefully pulled her along.

Bobby gulped and wiped his nose. Steve stared at him sympathetically, and rubbed his shoulder. "He's in good hands." Steve said encouragingly. Mark nodded in agreement before leaving.

"Yes. Jessie's the best ER doctor I've ever worked with." He added. "He knows what to do for Jack."

Bobby sniffled and nodded. "Yeah. Right oh." He sighed and followed Steve outside. Myles and Dimitrius joined them. Lucy ran up to them as soon as they came into view. She threw her arms around Bobby, who returned the much needed hug. Tara, Levi, Amanda, Cheryl, and Chief Masters were all standing together in a group.

"Sloan, how badly is Agent Hudson?" Masters asked quietly. Steve looked up at him and shook his head.

"Not good, I'm afraid." He bit his lip.

"Is there anything we can do?' Cheryl offered.

"Yeah, there's something you can do!" Myles snarled. "You can drag that piece of filth down to the house of justice where he belongs!"

"Right." Masters agreed. "We can all work on the report later. Right now I know you're anxious about your friend."

"Thank you." Lucy whispered.

"Detective?" Masters eyed Cheryl and headed to his car where White was confined. Steve nodded to Cheryl and she followed her commanding officer. Everyone else stood around, not sure what to do. The ambulance carrying Jack to the hospital blared on its sirens and sped away.

"We need to bring Lucy to the hospital and make sure she's not seriously hurt." Amanda finally said.

"I'm fine." Lucy shook her head. "I just hope Jack will be okay."

"I still want you to come in." Amanda insisted. "Come on. "I'll drive you and Tara there."

"We'll see you there." Dimitrius sighed. Levi sadly hopped into the back seat of Amanda's car next to Lucy. D and Myles rode with Cheryl and Chief Masters.

"Let's go, Bobby. I'll take you to the hospital." Steve said sympathetically.


So, what did you think of it? Really, you guys didn't honestly think that I would actually kill Sue off, did you? It may appear so in my stories, but I can assure you I don't do that, not to characters that everybody knows and loves! Besides, this is a murder mystery, so things are not always as they first appear. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. Reviews are great.

Yes, Sue is alive! But now what will happen to Jack?! Will he pull through? Will he survive?