Disclaimer: I don't own Human Target and intend no copyright infringement.

The cavern was too small for Chance to stand up, he had to crawl towards Ames. Anxiously he sniffed the air for foul eggs, a sure sign that from somewhere gas was streaming in, but it was hard to tell. In the last couple of hours he had breathed in a lot of dust that now affected his sense of smell.

Crawling prone, stretched out at full length, he reached Ames' feet first. As he put his hand out to grasp her, his heart was beating so wildly, it felt as if it was going to explode. Once he could feel her skin he'd know if she was dead or alive. If the skin was cold…

The thick denim of her jeans and the grimy layer of dust on his fingers had the effect of thick work gloves: No nuanced sensory perception was possible. Cursing breathlessly, fingers shaking, he frantically pushed her pant leg up a little, at the same time not sure if he could stand the sensation of a lifeless limb.

Finally his fingertips brushed against smooth, clean-shaven skin.

And it was warm.

But Chance knew well enough, that was only half the battle. A dead body needed hours to cool down completely. Supporting himself on one elbow, he inched a little closer. Since he had now one arm free, he could let his fingers wander a little further towards her ankle, where he should be able to detect a pulse…

Should…

For a moment he forgot breathing.

Then the tiniest of movements flickered against his fingertips and the world lurched back into place.

She was alive!

With newfound strength he hoisted himself forwards. "Ames", he whispered, cautiously touching her back. Her right arm was buried under debris, but he could detect no blood.

She let out a pained moan, faint, barely audible. Chance drew back his hand, worried he was hurting her.

At long last he managed to come lying right next to her. "Ames…", he tried again.

She whimpered.

"Bro?" Guerrero's voice via earpiece.

"We need to get her out of here, fast." With the gentlest of touches, Chance removed the strands of hair that covered Ames's face. Her lips were horribly parched, white dust filling every chap. Her eyes were firmly closed, the long lashes clotted with grime.

Hectically Chance wiped her nostrils free as well as he could and then fumbled with the respirator. The cavern was so small, he had terribly little room to maneuver and to him it felt as if it took ages till he had worked the device loose. Finally he was able to put the breathing mask on her.

"Breathe. Breathe for me", he softly told her.

Her eyelids fluttered open. For a moment her gaze wandered aimlessly, then her eyes found focus. She was directly looking at him.

"Guerrero? Turn the earpieces off."

A split second later Chance's earpiece cracked, then went dead.

He swallowed hard. "There's something I need to tell you."

… … …

"There must be a way to give a more reliable prediction!" Ilsa was practically yelling at the professor from the earthquake monitoring station. "Maybe in the next few minutes, maybe a much stronger one is not helpful at all!

Guerrero walked over to her, took the telephone from her hands, disconnected the call and put it on the table. Ilsa couldn't help it, she started shaking and suddenly the tears came, streamed down her face. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

His cell phone on the computer table signaled shortly. Guerrero noticed but didn't check the message. This particular bleep indicated it was from one of his informants, he had expected it. That matter could wait.

Down at the FiDi collapse site Emma Barnes flashed her FBI badge at the lone policeman that was supposed to keep watch. He barely paid attention to her ID – the city all around them was in turmoil, the sound of the various sirens mixing with those of thousands and thousands of automobiles on the streets, packed with people somehow trying to get away, was a constant background to his windmilling thoughts. What about his family? His wife was pregnant. His daughter was in daycare.

An ambulance that had somehow made it through the traffic caught Emma's attention. It headed towards the entrance of the subterranean garage underneath the building, which was, to her great surprise, not blocked by debris. She decided to follow it.

… … …

"You kept me alive", Chance whispered, gently removing another stray strand of hair from Ames's face and tucking it behind her ear. "When I was so lost. Before I knew there was Ash. You kept me alive."

Her eyes fluttered closed and he quickly checked her breathing and her pulse. Both was faint but detectable. Coming from the shaft he could hear the muffled voices of the firemen, their scraping and scratching at the walls as they installed the equipment that would help to get Ames out.

Her eyes opened again. She didn't say a word, but Chance understood.

Spit it out already.

"There was this woman. Katherine. I was lost and she found me. I hadn't even known how lost I was till I met her. She was … hope … life … But the second I understood… she was snatched away from me again." Chance's voice cracked.

"She died, Ames. And a part of me died with her."

The scraping and scratching of the firemen grew louder. They were almost there.

"When you told me… at that lake… after you had just survived that explosion…"

A sob escaped Chance's lips.

"All I could think was that I couldn't go through all that again. The thought of again losing … hope … life … I'm so sorry, I was a coward, only out to protect myself…"

Ames' eyes threatened to close again. She was trembling, fighting with all her might to keep them open.

"…and I was wrong. It was already way too late to stop anything. You already are life to me. And hope. I love you, Ames."

Her eyes were shut.

Behind Chance, the loud groaning of the metal doors as they were forced open a few inches more, announced the arrival of the firemen.