A/N: I am extremely grateful to all the readers and reviewers, KenLalaLaura, mlivingston1432 and adela, for supporting this story and encouraging me to write.

Chapter 17

(Kate's POV)

I felt even more nervous and scared than before, as I stood next to Mathews, waiting for his driver to get the car for us. Gray was constantly giving me instructions, and I couldn't hear Leon's voice anymore. I heard them having a disagreement about whether I should accept to go see Mathews' laboratory or not. I didn't want to go and even Leon clearly told me not to, but then I remembered that it was really important for Leon to find out about his research, and that's why I was willing to take the risk.

I just hoped that all assurances Gray gave me, weren't just sweet lies and that he really had a plan. My heart pounded in my chest, as a car stood in front of me. Tony opened the door for me and I had second thoughts about my decision. I told myself I couldn't back out now, and with another deep breath I got inside the car. I watched Tony hurry up to join me on the backseat.

All the way to his home, I kept talking to him and reading road signs with street names and such, and asking if this lane was the shortest route or something similar to him. I wanted to make sure that Gray and Leon know where I was being taken, so if things go wrong they can come and get me. I hoped that the car, which was a little behind us, was being driven by one of the agents. But to my utter disappointment that car drove past us, as we neared a very lavish looking mansion.

The big gates were opened by two guards and, as the car entered the premises, I looked back at the closing gates feeling trapped. I couldn't help but remember Leon's warning to decline coming here, but it was too late now. The car stopped in front of the mansion and both, Tony and I, got out. The driver took the car away, as Tony started to climb up the steps to his manor.

"What are your waiting for?", Tony asked me from a little ahead, looking back at me.
"I was just admiring your mansion", I said walking up to him.

The big mansion doors opened, Tony walked through it and I followed him a little hesitantly, but even before I could step inside, I was stopped by a man, and my heart almost flipped out and I almost let out a scream, "She's my guest!", Tony said to him.
The man looked at me darkly and then spoke, "Remove your jewelry and pass through this metal detector."
"What?", I said looking from him to Tony. And who keeps a metal detector in their home, and for what reason? There was something very wrong here.
"It's for security reasons, I hope you don't mind", Tony said to me in an apologetic tone, "My fund raiser doesn't want anyone to find about this research."
"Oh alright", I said and reluctantly removed my earrings and necklace, which were the spying equipments. I moved to pass through the metal detector, but the man grabbed my hand; he pointed to the bracelet and I removed it at once. I took a deep breath and passed through the metal detector, which gave them a green sign.
"This way", Mathews led the way.

I looked back, as the man pocketed my jewelry and thus stripping me of my last line of defense, and walked away. I really felt vulnerable without that communicator and tracking device on me. Now there won't be any instructions or warnings and if I was forcibly moved from here, no one would know. Fortunately, however, they didn't suspect my spectacles to be a camera, so as long as it's with me I had some hope to cling on to.

Tony led me through the hall and up the stairs to his bedroom. I was really surprised and couldn't help but wonder, if I was tricked into thinking he was taking me to his lab, when he had some other motive. I didn't enter his bedroom feeling scared for a completely different reason now. I couldn't help but remember the similar incident from a year ago, which led me to hide at Leon's place.

"I guess I should be going?", I said to him stepping back and away from the room.
"Oh please don't misunderstand", Tony said smiling back at me, "My lab can only be reached through here."
"Is that so?", I said doubtfully.
"Yeah", he nodded but I didn't trust him, and he pulled out a green book and shelf shifted to a side exposing a control panel, "This is the only entrance to my lab", he added, as I stepped in his room. I saw the control panel was asking for some sort of access code, and Tony turned to enter the code. I made sure that I had a clear view of the code, when he turned to his side to look at me, "Please step back a bit…", he said to me politely.
"Yeah, I am sorry", I said and stepped back a few steps.

Tony turned back and I couldn't see the panel screen any more or what number he was putting, since my view was blocked by his back and shoulder. An automated voice asked him to enter the code once again and in a totally desperate attempt to somehow make the agents aware of this pass code, I removed my specs and held it as high as I could trying to aim the camera at the panel, hoping the camera could see what I could not. Again the robotic voice confirmed the validation of code, and the control panel slid to the side revealing a doorway.

I should be awed by this technology, but on the contrary, all of it was just scaring me more and more. I put back my spectacles just in time, before Tony turned to look back at me. He beckoned me inside his lab and I followed; I really could be an adventurer. I walked past a super computer, whose screen showed the different parts of the mansion. Leon had already told me that the security was tight here. I bit my lip seeing those images and fearing the worst.

"This is where I do my work", Tony announced standing in the middle of his secret lab, "This is just the first top floor though; the lab has underground levels as well."

I looked around it; it was a big hall and had few machines. It essentially looked like an area where, they kept various dead and alive specimens, since I could make out a few floating in the big cryostasis tubes, "So this is where you study the degeneration of cells?", I asked him holding myself together and tried to keep my voice neutral.

"Study and also try to reduce it", he told me with smile.
"And how do you do that?", I asked him yet again.
Tony looked at me thoughtfully, "Have you heard about the G-virus?", he asked smiling somewhat madly at me.
"G-Virus?!", I repeated confused and terrified, if it involves a virus then I don't think it's very safe.
"Yes, the G-Virus", he said pushing some buttons on his super computer to access a log file, that showed electronically magnified image of the said virus, "Do you know what it does?", I was too speechless to answer. This less spoken guy seemed to be talking too much today, "It gives its host fierce regenerative capacity, almost like a god! But it's highly unstable and mutagenic; its mutations can't really be controlled. Its administration to its host destroys the host's body."
"It kills them", I couldn't help but say.
"Well it depends…", Tony said crossing his hands objectively, "...on the fact if their genetics are strong enough to handle it or not. There are very few cases where host was injected with G-virus; like I told you it's unstable. But with my research I'd stabilize it and it would lead humans to immortality."

"That's impossible", I said horrified about this virus, it just seemed too dangerous to be that powerful.
"No, look!", he pushed some more button on his computer and a picture of blonde girl appeared on the screen, "Guess her age?", he asked me enthusiastically.
I looked at her, I wanted to be out of here but I couldn't shake Tony's maniacal gaze off of me, "Uh… Umm.. 16-17?"
"She's 24!", he told me happily, "She has traces of G-virus in her DNA and that's the reason she looks so young. And not only that her fatal injuries heal in just few minutes. If just a trace of virus in DNA can do that, imagine what a whole strain would do?"

"It would make monsters!", I screamed out loud at him. I couldn't handle his insanity anymore. I never thought this recluse guy would turn out to be a mad scientist, "I have to go!"
"You can't go!", he spoke the words I feared the most, and grabbed hold of my hand, "Not after seeing this. You're not going anywhere; you can stay here and live with me or stay here and be my guinea pig."
"You test it on humans?", I couldn't help but ask him, terrified of the idea.
"Well eventually I have to test it out on someone", he said to me, looking at me sternly.

I wanted to push him away and run away, but I remembered Leon's words. He had told me to stay calm and cooperate with the people, I am being held hostage by, "Okay, Okay! I'll stay I won't say anything but please don't hurt me", I begged to him, hoping that he would calm down.
"That's like…" he was saying when I heard a gunshot and I instinctively screamed in fear.

Tony fell to the floor, his eyes wide open staring up at me, as his blood made a pool at my feet. I bent down and checked Tony's pulse and unfortunately there wasn't any and he had stopped breathing as well. He was dead. I looked back at the shooter; it was the same man who had my communicator and tracker. I didn't know if I should be cautious of him or trust him and if he was one of the agents. But my doubts cleared, as he pointed his gun at me.

"Your turn", he said somewhat monotonously, as I stood up.
"Look please you don't have to do this", I raised my hands in defense, "I won't say a word about this to anyone."
"The moment you leave, those government fools will be after you and then killing you would be tough but I can kill you now", he spoke loading his handgun and that's when I saw Leon closing up from behind him.
Leon signaled me to keep quiet and engage him talk, "Alright but before you kill me, at least you can tell me why you killed Tony?", I asked him in hopes that he'd answer.
"Government already had a tail on him and the boss didn't like it, so he'll find someone else", the man replied and the next moment Leon had him in a sleep hold.

The man accidentally fired a stray shot and struggled to get lose, but Leon efficiently knocked him unconscious. I couldn't help but run and wrap my arms around Leon, like always he had come to my rescue. I cried on him feeling really stupid for going against his will.

"Thank god, you're here! I was so scared!", I told him, as I pulled away from him and took off those spyware glasses to get rid of my tears.
"If you're scared then don't do stupid stuff", Leon scolded me sounding a little angry, "If I was a little late you could've died or worse."
"What's worse than dying?", I tried to humor him, even though it wasn't really the right time.
"Coming back to life", Leon said very seriously looking down at me. I didn't exactly get what he was trying to say but it rendered me speechless. He looked away and sighed in relief, "Anyways, let's tie him up."
"Yeah", I said and looked around for something like a rope or something.

Leon bent down and pulled off the man's tie and belt, and used it to tie his hands and feet. He called up Gray next and reported the situation, asking him to get more men, so that they could seal this lab and arrest the man, who shot Tony. I was still a little shaken, so I made sure to stay next to Leon. I really had an adventure of a lifetime in just one night. Leon moved to the computer, looking at the picture of the blonde woman, and lines of worry ran across his face. And that reminded me that I had to tell him whatever I had learnt about Mathews' research, but I didn't know where to start.

(Leon's POV)

I called John, seeing the image on the screen, and he answered my call immediately, "John, go check on Sherry and make sure she's safe", I got straight to the point.
"What…", he began.
"Just do as I say. I'd explain everything later", I told him and we hung up.
"Sherry?", Kate asked me, as I moved to check the research data. I nodded my head to Sherry's picture, "She carries the traces of the virus he was working on."
"So he had the G-virus", I muttered to myself, "What else did he tell you about?", I asked Kate and she explained everything that Mathews had told her about his research.

I patiently listened to whatever she told me and she apparently had more information than our Intel at the moment. Although she had put herself in danger to gather this information, but she did manage to do what she came here to do. I could see she was still scared but she's been a lot braver than many agents tonight.

"That's all he told me, before he was shot", Kate ended her explanation.
"I see", I said thinking over it a bit.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get here all by yourself?", Kate asked me, "The security is pretty tight."
"I drove in the car with you", I replied to her in an obvious tone.
"Oh you hid in the trunk like what they show in the movies", she said conclusively.
"No", I shook my head, "I was the one who drove you here."
"Huh?", she repeated confused.

"After you agreed to go to his mansion, I had to double up to the parking. Our Intel already knew his car, his driver and his address, so I went and knocked the driver out, disguised as him and drove you here", I explained it to her, "You were lucky that his bodyguard is the one who drives him around, otherwise it would have been difficult for me to pull this off."
"What if Tony had noticed?", she asked me concerned.
"Then I would have knocked him out, left him in street and escaped with you. But he was more busy talking to you, so he didn't notice, and you were more interested in street signs", I told her with a laugh.

"I just wanted to make sure you guys know where he was taking me", Kate said to me.
"You had a tracking device on you", I reminded her with a smile.
"I was scared and I didn't think this much about it", she said turning a little red in embarrassment.
"You were scared and you still jumped in both feet first", I couldn't help but scold her once again and she didn't say anything but looked regretful. I let out a sigh, "You did a great job. Thanks!", from accepting to see his lab to leaving behind her communicator and tracker, to making sure we see the pass code to his lab, she had done a wonderful job and deserved my gratitude.

(Kate's POV)

"Anything for you!", I smiled up at Leon.
"Me?", he asked puzzled and I realized what a big blunder I had made.
"U.S.… I mean U.S. and other countries like it", I quickly added a false information to cover up my mistake, "You didn't let me complete."
"Oh my apologies", he said fortunately not paying too much attention to what I said.

I sighed in relief from nearly dodging the bullet of suspicions; things would have been really uncomfortable, if Leon came to know the truth. I put a hand against my chest trying to calm by fast beating heart. My heart beat increased a number of times tonight, but this was the fastest pace that my heart beat tonight. I said something that would have really been awkward and inappropriate at the moment.

My gaze fell on Leon, as he accessed some files on the computer with an extremely serious expression on his face. He was really professional about his work when it came to it, and somehow it was really adding it to his appeal, as if I needed more reasons to fall in love with him. I reminded my heart that it should be busy falling out of love with this man and not the other way around, but the next moment it made me realize that Leon looked really hot when he was working and I got admiring him almost subconsciously.

Leon spared me a look and smiled, making me smile back at him. I looked away from him feeling hopeless and reprimanding my heart for slipping out of my hands once again. I looked around to distract myself, when my eyes fell on the organisms floating in the cryostasis tubes and it reminded me of something.

"Do they experiment on human beings?", I asked Leon, turning to look at him again.
He stopped typing for a brief moment before answering, "Yeah", his voice seemed emotionless but it was obvious that he didn't approve of it.
"Your friend… was she… experimented on", I asked him speaking in broken sentences.

Leon shook his head and continued to work and I guess he didn't want to speak on the matter anymore. It was possibly a confidential matter so I didn't ask him anything anymore. The fact that some people used other people as guinea pigs was a really terrifying thought. I could feel chills run down my spine and goosebumps on my skin. I moved a little closer to Leon, being next to him was definitely reassuring. All of a sudden Leon stopped and stood straight, grabbing hold of his gun.

"Did you hear that?", Leon asked me looking at the lab entrance.
"I heard nothing", I shook my head but he kept looking for something.

(Leon's POV)

Although, Kate didn't hear anything but I was sure my ears definitely picked up muffled footsteps. We were not alone and if it was Gray, he wouldn't have been this shady. I just wasn't sure how many people were here with us, this estate had huge security force, and slipping past them to get to this lab was no piece of cake. I was being a little naïve in thinking that they won't detect an intruder, especially when the guy I knocked out earlier fired two shorts. I heard the sound of loading of a handgun and spotted just the head of a man, as he tried to make out my position. Kate touched my arm and pointed to the door through which we had entered the lab, I could see something like a corner of a coat.

I grabbed Kate's hand and slowly backed away, assessing a hiding spot from the corners of my eyes and making sure to keep my eyes on the two men in hiding. The only reason they didn't attack yet was possibly because they weren't large in numbers, but it didn't mean more wouldn't come. My guess would be that they were just keeping an eye on us while they called on for backup, but luckily for me I heard them. The man hiding behind the machinery rolled out and at the same instant the one hiding behind the door leaned out to fire at us.

There was no way I could take on them out in the open, so I made a run with Kate, as we were showered with bullets. I toppled over a desk and took cover behind it. The sounds of continuous firing died down and I took a peek, as I heard the men reloading their gun and fired at them randomly. They took cover as well. I heard more footsteps and cursed, as the security men joined them.

I cursed inwardly, they knew our position and with their numbers we will be surrounded, if we didn't make a move now. I looked for a possible place for cover; there was a machine to our farther right and practically nothing towards our left. I looked back at Kate, there was not much time and it was a long run to the next cover. I signaled her that we'll be taking cover behind the machine and she gave me a nod. I kicked a chair to my left which distracted the men and gave us enough time to run behind the machine. I even made sure to take out a few, as I we dashed for the cover.

We again had to switch covers and I decided to take cover by a wide pillar, which was to our front left, "C'mon", I said looking back at Kate but she collapsed to the floor, "Are you okay?"
"No", she shook her head with a painful expression; one of her hands pressing against her leg, clutching onto what seemed to be a bullet wound, "I've been shot", she stated the obvious.
"It'll be alright", I said taking out my handkerchief and tying it on her wound tightly to keep the pressure, "C'mon", I helped her stand.
"Leon, I can't do this", she said to me sobbing a little.

I knew we were trapped and I couldn't risk dragging her to the cover, since it would just give our enemies ample time to hit our vitals this time. My best option was to hold my fort here, behind this machine, till Gray arrives. I reloaded my gun quickly and supported Kate with one arm. I felt a little overwhelmed by the enemy number, but fortunately Gray came with the reinforcements at the right time. I guess he was close by, at least he knew how to take responsibility for sending a lamb into Lion's den. The enemies turned their attention to them, since they couldn't leave their backs exposed.

"Couldn't be a better time", I couldn't help but comment with a smile.
"We survived!", Kate said relieved and I looked down at her.
"You alive Kennedy?!", Gray yelled over the gunshots.
"Barely", I yelled back at him.
"Relax, I'll take it from here", he said in a confident tone.

I looked down at Kate and even though her leg might be hurting a lot, she smiled at me beautifully. This smile was really a token of this victory and I couldn't help but return it. All of a sudden Kate's smile faded and with an incredible force she made me spin on the spot, as I heard a gunshot. She let out a muffled scream, as I reflexively shot at her shooter that had sneaked behind me, in head. She collapsed to the floor since her sudden action made me let go of her.

I immediately bent down to her aid. I was really shocked that Kate took a bullet that was meant for me. I took her in my arms and looked down to see that the bullet had pierced the side of her stomach and gushing blood was staining her beautiful white dress in a dark shade of red. Her eyes were closed and body was a little limp, and I feared the worst. I shook her a little, calling out to her but she didn't respond to me. Somehow it all felt so surreal.

"Kate! Hey, Kate!", I said to her limp form shaking her a little, "Please don't die on me!", I pleaded to her leaning close to her face, "Kate, don't do this", but she didn't respond to me, "Please say something, anything!"
"You're too close for comfort", she spoke weakly and opened her eyes to look at me.

I smiled down at her and pulled her in a hug, holding her close, feeling relieved that she was alive. For the first time in years, I had felt this fear of losing someone important to me. She lost consciousness soon after from losing so much blood, but I could feel her pulse and breath on me, as I hugged her close. I didn't wait for the firefight to die down and carried her out; she needed medical attention to live through this.

A/N: Thanks for reading the chapter; I hope you enjoyed the little action I put in here. I apologize for any typing errors and grammatical mistakes. Please feel free to let me know what you think about the chapter or the story so far.

Adela, I am glad to know that one of the old readers of my old stories is reading and loving my current story.