It was only a few minutes before they were loaded into a truck waiting outside. Uhura didn't know where they were going, or what was going to happen to Jim. All she knew was that it didn't look good. She kept thinking of Kirk's dead eyes as he shot down Kabul. And even though she knew it wasn't really him, she realized the sight might never leave her. Kirk was aggressive, sure, but he had never killed or even hurt anyone without a reason as long as Uhura had known him.

Leighton had said something about a choice… what did that even mean? She locked eyes with Spock as the truck shook over a rough patch in the road. His face was closed, and he didn't keep eye contact with her for long. She still had the hope that, with his melding, they would have a chance of saving Jim.

McCoy sat across from her on the floor of the truck, mumbling to himself and shaking his head. Every once in a while, Uhura could make out curses, but nothing more. She knew what was troubling him though. They were all upset.

Sulu was white faced, sitting in the corner. The bullet wound in his arm had mostly stopped bleeding, but he still kept his other arm wrapped around it tightly.

The other two security guys, Hanfred and Guiders, were sitting close to one another, their faces stony as they intermittently tried to get their hands out of the ropes securing them.

It was another five minutes before the truck stopped with a sudden jolt, and Uhura was pushed forward a few feet by the momentum. The back of the truck was opened up to reveal a view of the city. They were back on the crest of the hill, almost where they had been beamed down at the beginning of all of this. It seemed like that was so long ago. So much had happened in so little time, she almost wondered if it was really the next day, instead of the same day. She knew it really wasn't, though.

As she stepped out into the bright sun, she was momentarily blinded. But when she could see again, she almost cried out, her blood boiling.

McCoy couldn't keep from shouting. "You little fucker!" he screamed, and tried to fight his way to Leighton, who was standing next to another car. Jim was lying at his feet, and Uhura noticed he was twitching slightly. "Jim! Can you hear m –" McCoy was cut off with a guard's elbow to his stomach.

Leighton gave a little smile that made her want to punch his teeth out. All this time, they had trusted him, and he had been right there scheming, just waiting for his chance to take Jim out.

"Here will the final battle take place," the traitor said slowly. "We just have to wait a minute – Jimmy'll be up soon. And if he isn't, I suppose it doesn't matter that much. But he has to make a decision." As if on cue, Jim groaned and his eyelids fluttered.

"Jim!" McCoy managed to call out before another punch to the gut.

"Jimmy! How lovely to see you up." Jim's eyes closed again and Leighton kicked him in the ribs, making him groan and McCoy yell. The guards were barely holding everyone back, but Leighton didn't seem bothered by them. "All you need to do is answer one question for me." Leighton knelt down and said softly, "What do you want more? Your life, or theirs?"

Uhura could barely believe her ears. What kind of a question was that? And what was Leighton planning to do when he heard the answer?

"What?" Jim coughed, blood dripping from his lips, trying to push himself up. "What's going on?" He blinked and looked around, stopping to frown when he spotted Uhura and the others. "Spock? Sulu? What?"

Leighton grabbed Jim's collar and turned his face towards him. "Answer me, Kirk!" he yelled, and then softer, "Your life, or theirs? If you say them, they live, and you stay with me. Otherwise… well, I think you get the picture."

Jim looked at him for a moment, his face filled with hurt and confusion. "Tom…?"

"Yes, it's me! It was always me! Back on Tarsus, it wasn't just Kodos who saw you. I did too. I've been waiting, and now I've got you."

Jim's face was white, his lips bloodless. "I don't understand," he said weakly. Uhura's heart strained to see her usually stoic captain acting this way.

"Just answer the question!" Leighton snapped.

Jim's face was morphing from hurt to angry. "What do you want from me?" he growled desperately. "Whatever I say, it won't matter! Nothing will change!"

Leighton gave a small smile. "But it will change. I felt you fighting against me before. If you submit, I will have complete control."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Tom shrugged. "It's only fair you get to know the details of each side of the bargain." He stood up, staring down at the man who he pretended to care for for so long. "Just know that it's the city or you."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that we have placed bombs in strategic areas all around the city." He pulled a communicator out of his pocket. "With one word, the whole city will be up in flames, and all of its people blown to bits."

Jim was struggling to keep himself up. "You're crazy!" He shook his head. "Tom, please, don't do this. The man I know would never do this. Please, just think for a second!"

Leighton frowned. "That's just it. You've never really known me. I've always known you – better than you know yourself, probably – but you've never known me. Only who I pretended to be for you. But the games are over. And you're running out of time. Now choose your path."


So... hi? It's been a long time. Ha, I'm sure all of you are used to this sort of thing, as annoying as it can be. But believe it or not, writing is kind of difficult. And my muse just completely left me for a while. I thought I wasn't going to finish this story, but after re reading it i've decided to keep going. I can't tell you how often I'll be updating but it's completely possible there'll be another update by the end of the weekend, so look out for it! Thanks to everyone who's Favorited and followed this story, but a special thanks to every reviewer. They really help so much.

On that note, please review! I love hearing what you think, and will accept anything. If you have any suggestions, or want anything particular from this story, I'll try my best to put it in!

xoxoxox