I awoke to a pounding headache and a scratchy throat. I could barely roll over hit the snooze on my loud and obnoxious phone alarm.. I coughed really hard and woke up Jules.

"Are you okay?" Jules asked me as she sat up.

"I don't think so," I said sitting up, "apparently that scratch in my throat is actually a bad thing."

"Oh no," she said with real concern, "what do you need?"

"just some rest and some green tea." I say as cough happens.

"I saw some tea in cabinets in the kitchen," Jules said as she got out of bed and put on her

robe. "I'll go make you some."

"No you don't have to do that!" I say as she already heads downstairs, "or never mind."

I roll out of bed with a cough and quickly put on my oversized sweater with my Pj shorts and socks. I head downstairs slowly but eventually make it to the kitchen and sit at the counter as Jules pours the hot water over the tea bag. She turns around and places the mug, a spoon, and honey in front of me.

"Give it three minutes before you remove the bag." Jules said as she turned to make coffee.

"Thank you Jules." I said as I coughed. " You didn't have to do this."

"I know but I wanted to." She said with a smile as she pushed the start button on the coffee.

"Also, Sophie and Shelly will be making breakfast this morning."

"Oh! Then it's going to be delicious." I say I stir un some honey and take out the tea bag.

"Exactly!" Jules said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "I'm going back up to get dressed do you need anything?"

"No but thank you Jules!" I say with a smile as she heads upstairs.

I take a few sips of coffee as I watch Jules head up to the room and hear noises of people waking up from the other rooms. I turn from the kitchen to stare out the windows over looking the valley in front of the lodge. This place is so beautiful. I can't believe that I didn't know existed. I can't believe I'm sick. And today is the day of the hike. I let out a huge sigh and cough with that thought.

"That was a rough cough Diana." Sarge said as he exited his room. "Are you getting sick?"

"I think I am a little bit." I say as I turn to face him as he enters the kitchen headed for the coffee pot.

"Oh no!" Sarge said as he grabbed a cup and started pouring a cup. "And today is the hike day!"

"I know," i said with a cough, "I was really excited to go."

I quickly feel a hand press against my forehead and pause for 10 seconds.

"Yeahp, she has a fever," Sophie said as she removed her hand and headed to the fridge.

"Who has the fever?" Ed says from behind me.

"Diana does," Sarge said as I coughed, "and apparently a nasty cough."

"I hear that." Ed says as he sits beside me. "So no hike for you?" I nod sadly and drink some tea.

Sophie chuckles as Shelly and Wordy come out of their room. Shelly comes to the kitchen and Wordy heads to get the girls up and ready. Jules comes down as Sam and Spike come and join us all in the kitchen area. Oh no! I hope I didn't get Spike sick. Oh no! I thought as I remembered the events of last night. I shake out the thoughts as Sophie and Shelly made eggs, bacon, oatmeal, fruit, and cereal for everyone. While they make breakfast, everyone finds out i'm sick. The girls came running down as i coughed and were concerned. The girls were quickly shuttled to the couch by Sam and Wordy for their morning cartoons. We all grab plates and find places to sit around the dining/kitchen/living room area. I stay at the counter with Sarge and Sam. Jules, Ed, Sophie, and Shelly sit at the table as Wordy and Spike sit with the girls on the floor watching cartoons.

We all enjoy a good breakfast and light banter about grown men watching kids cartoons. As we finish, the guys go to take all the plates and such to the kitchen without being asked and to some hesitation of the ladies. As the guys clean up the kitchen, Sarge pulls out a map.

"So who is ready for our hike?" Sarge said as he scanned the map. Everyone agrees to be ready. "I think we have a pretty clear trail for today."

"Sarge and I looked at the maps on the way up," Ed said as he stood next to Sarge. "We think the trail that leads up the side of the mountain and to the overlook and back will be easy enough for the girls and fun for everyone."

"Well," Sarge said looking towards me, "most of us."

"Don't worry about me," I say with a cough, "I'm already planning to come back up here and hike this place later."

"It's must," Sam said patting me on the back.

"We're going to miss you on the hike." Jules said.

"Don't worry about me," I say with a smile, "I'll be okay. I've got a book and sleep in my future."

"Good choices!" Sarge said with a laugh, "Now everyone be ready to leave in 45 minutes to go on the hike."

Everyone nods and heads off to get ready for the hike. I head upstairs to get into some normal and comfy clothes.

***45 minutes Later***

Everyone meets up in the living room to head off on the hike. I say goodbye as they head off for the hike and i shut the door behind them and head to the couch with a cup of tea and a good book. All of a sudden I hear the door open and look up to see Spike coming back in.

"Everything okay?" I ask as he heads towards the fridge.

"Yeah," Spike said as he opened the fridge and reached inside. "Sam and I didn't grab any waters." He came back out with two bottles of water.

"Oh water is very important," I say with a smile as he shuts the fridge.

Spike begins to head out but stops behind me on the couch. I turn to face him as he leans down and kisses me on the cheek.

"I hope you feel better," he whispered as he pulled slightly away, "I also wish I could stay here with you, but.."

"I know," I said smiling up at him, "Have twice the fun for me."

He smiles at me and heads out the door to join the group. I shut and lock the door after he leaves. Instead of reading the book I decide to go to back and nap. put my cup back into the fridge for later. I leave my book on the counter and head upstairs. I lay down and quickly cover up and fall fast asleep.

***45 mins later***

There is rapid loud knocking on the door. Who is that? Why are they so loud? I think as I crawl out of bed and slowly make my way downstairs. In my sleepy state, I grab my gun and keep it behind my back. I round the corner and see a young man at the door. I cautiously go to door with my gun behind my back.

"Please can you help me?" the young man said in a quick voice as I approached the door. "Please!"

"I can't open the door," I say through the door, "I've got a cold."

"Please," the man insisted, "My fiancé fell down the hill and has hurt her ankle. She can't walk and I can't carry her myself."

"I can call for mountain rescue," I say through the door, "but I have a high fever and can't leave the house." I say with a cough.

"Then please call mountain rescue," he said as he looked back towards the woods. "She is about a mile east of here. I'm going back there to light a signal fire."

"Okay, I'll call them now," I say as I pull my phone out and dial Mountain Rescue.

I call Mountain Rescue and watch as the young man goes into the woods. I give them the address of the cabin and tell them of the location of the young woman, and the possible signal fire. Within 30 mins, I hear a helicopter overhead and I hear it circling. About 20 minutes later there's a knock on the door and two Mountain Rescue guys are standing on the porch with two police officers. I open the door.

"Hello miss," the officer said, "I'm officer Marsh and this is Officer Stevens." He pointed at the other officer.

"Hello," the Mountain Rescue Ranger said, "I'm Ranger Evans and this is Ranger Anton."

"We're here about the call you made about the young man in the woods." Officer Stevens said as he flipped open his notepad. "You did make a call about an hour ago right?"

"Yes sir," I said with a cough.

"Ma'am we didn't find anyone out in the woods within a mile radius of this location." Ranger Anton said as he looked over his shoulder as everyone else was making their way back.

"So we are concerned about your safety," Officer Marsh stated as he looked over his shoulder at the group.

"Are these guys staying here?" Officer Stevens asked looking from the group to me.

"Yes," I said with another cough. "we are on a retreat. We've had a stressful few weeks at work and so we all decided to come up and relax for the weekend and they got to go hike this morning while i stayed here sick." Sarge and Ed came up onto the porch as everyone else stayed below on the ground.

"Diana, what's going on?" Ed asked as he stepped beside me and put his arm on my shoulders

as Sarge stepped up to the officers.

"We're with the Toronto SRU," Sarge said with confidence, "Is everything alright?"

"Miss Diana here called and reported an injured hiker in the woods near here," RangerEvans said, "the only issue is that we didn't find a hiker injured within a mile of this place."

"So the question we had," Officer Marsh asked looking back at me, "who told you this and where did that person go?" Everyone looks back at me.

"It was a young man about 28-30 with brown hair and about 6 ft." I said thinking back to the man at the door. "He knocked on the door which woke me from my sleep."

"Wait," Ranger Anton said with a chuckle, "You remembered what he looked like with such precision. How is that?"

"She's very good with details," Ed said smiling, "She's been trained really well." We all kind of chuckle.

"Please continue Diana," Sarge says as he nods towards me.

"I came down to the door," I said with a cough, "I didn't open it because I don't do that when I'm by myself and slightly groggy from sleep. We had a conversation through the door because I told him I was contagious and couldn't leave the house. When I told him I would call Mountain Rescue he left and headed off East as he pointed in that direction to his "friend". He said he would light a signal fire."

"Wise choice on the door." Officer Stevens stated with a smile. "We are still concerned for your safety as there have been a few incidents of robbery in these parts by people making these same claims."

"We wanted to warn you to be extra cautious and to keep a watchful eye out," Ranger Evans stated as he looked from Sarge to me to Sarge again. "It appears that you guys can take care of yourself if anything were to happen."

"We will be extra cautious and careful," Sarge said as he nodded towards Ed, "Thank you for doing your jobs so well and keeping everyone safe."

We said goodbye to the officers and the rangers and we all went inside. Sophie and Shelly took the girls into their room to clean up and play while we all chatted.

"So what's going on?" Sam asked breaking the silence as we all sat on the couch.

"So Diana had a little encounter today while we were out." Ed said as he and Sarge sat on either side of me.

"Diana what happened?" Jules asked with concern.

I go to speak and Sarge put his hand on my shoulder stopping me.

"A man came to the house and tried to convince Diana to open the door," Sarge said as he looked around the room, "Diana didn't open the door and instead chose to call the authorities who looked into her claim and found none of what the man said to be true."

"The officers and rangers have had break ins around here with that same M.O." Ed said as he looked from Sarge to the room, "I think we all know that this means we have to always be cautious and alert while we're here."

"So what are we going to be doing?" Wordy asked as he eyed in the direction of the girls' room.

"We won't go anywhere by ourselves," Sarge said mater factly, "and we don't open the door for anyone but our people."

"There are also shades for the windows and the doors we can put up," Ed said as he looked at Sarge who nodded.

"Are we going to keep a lookout at night?" Jules asked looking at Sarge.

"It wouldn't hurt," Sarge said as he looked at Ed.

"We do it in shifts of two." Ed said as he looked around the room, "With the exception of a special rotation for the girls' room. I'll ask Sophie and Wordy can you and Shelly stay in the girls' room. So tonight, Wordy and Shelly will be in the girls' room. First shift is Sarge and Myself, second shift is Spike and Diana, and the third shift is Sam and Jules."

"Diana, will you be up for that?" Jules asked looked concerned.

"Yeah," I said with a serious look, "If it's to keep everyone safe, yes I'll be okay."

"Good," Sarge said with a nod, "Now let's all clean up and get ready for a restful afternoon."

We all chuckled and I watched as they all headed to their rooms/showers. I reached under the couch and pulled out my gun and unload the bullets and clear the chamber. As I stand and turn to head to my room, I see Sarge smiling at me.

"Did you bring your gun down when the guy was here?" Sarge said as he looked from gun to me.

"Yeah," I said as I pocketed the bullets, "I don't go to the door alone without my gun. It's a force of habit. I made it invisible to the guy."

"Good girl!" Sarge said with a smile, "I'd keep it close by until we leave." Sarge turned to go to his room "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah Sarge," I said with a smile, "I'm good."

He nods and we both head to our rooms. I go and put my gun on the nightstand along with the bullets as Jules comes out from the bathroom with her gun in hand. We laugh because we had the same idea. I reload my gun and leave it on the night stand. When we were out of the room we put them in the drawers. We all enjoy a quite and calm afternoon of relaxing, book reading, tv/movie watching and some napping. Because of all the drama of the day, we didn't do a lot for dinner or after dinner. The girls wen to bed early and we all enjoyed some time watching sports on the TV as Ed and Wordy closed the shades.

"Alright," Ed said as he sat on the couch next to Sophie, "Sarge and I will take the first shift and we will switch with Diana and Spike at midnight, and then you will switch with Sam and Jules at 4."

"Sounds good," Spike said as he and the rest of us nodded.

"So off to sleep with you all and we'll chat in the morning." Sarge said with a smiles.

We all headed to bed as we rested for our shifts and for the night. Sarge and Ed stay behind on the couch. Jules and I head off to our rooms and quickly fall asleep, but not before we both pull our guns out and place them on the night stands with our alarms.

***Midnight***

My alarm goes off so I get up and head downstairs with my gun in its holster on my hip. I get to the living room as Spike comes in .

"You guys ready?" Sarge asked as he stood and stretched.

"Yes sir!" I say as I grab a soda from the fridge.

"Spike?" Ed asks as he pats him lightly on the shoulder walking past him.

"Yeahp!" Spike said with a smile as he plopped on the couch.

I grab a soda for Spike and join him on the couch as Sarge and Ed head off to bed. I pass him a soda and we crack them open as he turns on the TV and turns the volume down really low. I readjust my gun to beside me on the couch but still in the holster. Spike notices and smiles a little bit and i catch him smiling.

"What's with the smirk?" I ask as I sip soda.

"You brought your side arm on the trip?" He said with that adorable smirk of his.

"Of course" I say with a smile, "I always have my personal side arm on me when not on duty. I don't live in the best part of town."

"That makes sense," He says with a chuckle. "Your place isn't in a crazy part of town."

"No but it has it's moments," I said with a cough.

"How's that cough?" Spike asked as he sat his soda down and settled into the couch a little more. "It doesn't sound so good."

"It is a really dry cough," I say with a cough, "But the rest and the tea has been helping. But you know…"

I stop talking as I hear a noise outside of the house. Spike notices too as his hand goes to his side arm on his hip (I didn't notice it until just now) and my hand went to my gun. I looked at Spike and he nodded and I slowly moved from the couch towards the front window as he moved towards the door area. The noises weren't coming from the front, so I joined Spike at the door with a shake of the head. A light rustle came from the hall with the girls' room, I turn and see Wordy emerge from the room with his side arm at his side. He nods at us and as he does the power goes off. I look from Wordy to Spike as Sam, Sarge, and Ed come out of their rooms as Jules comes from upstairs.

"Alright" Sarge whispered, "We've got company."

"Jules can you go back up to your room and watch for movement outside?" Ed whispered as he handed her and the rest of us as a bluetooth ear piece. We all promptly put the ear pieces in without question.

"The girls are in the walk-in in their room," Wordy whispered as Jules headed upstairs, "Our wives are also in the closet with the girls keeping them calm and quiet."

"That's good," Sarge whispered as he nodded his head, "We need to make sure there isn't a breach and possibly try to attempt to contact the authorities."

"So what's the plan boss?" Sam whispered as he looked around the group.

"We'll start off in pairs around the house, except for Jules," Sarge whispered nodding up towards her, "She'll keep us informed of what's going on outside. Sam and Wordy take the windows on the East side of the house; Ed and I will take the door area; and Diana and Spike take the North side of the house. Jules will be watching the West side."

"Use the group call to communicate," Ed whispered as he pointed at his ear, "Spike will you start the call?"

"On it," Spike said as he pulled out his phone and started messing with his phone and suddenly all of our phones buzzed, "Done!" (it's a push. to talk app that works like a walkie)

"Good," Sarge whispered as we all answered the call. "Now let's go protect the house."

We all nod and head off to our sides of the house. Spike and I quickly and quietly head over towards the North windows. As we get there he grabs my arm and stops me from going any further, he nods at the corner of the window that wasn't covered. I looked out and saw two guys slowly walking by the window. As they drew near the corner where they could see us, Spike pulled me close to him and turned us away from the window.

Oh my gosh! I thought I hope they didn't see us. ….He smells really good. I can't believe that we're this close. I look around his shoulder and peek out the window. I see that they are moving on towards the side with Sam and Wordy.

"They've moved on," I whispered looking up at Spike who had a sharp look in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Just worried about this incident," He whispered as he looked down at me, "You could've been hurt or worse today."

"I could have," I whispered with a slight smile, "but I'm a trained SRU team member who knows when things don't feel right, even when I am a little sick."

"You're right," He whispered as he gently let go and pulled out his phone, "Sarge, did two guys come to your side of the house?" He whispered.

"Yeah," Sarge replied, "There are also two other guys over here with them."

"Sarge," Jules whispered into the mic, "We've got three more coming from the trees to the West."

"That makes 7 in total," Ed whispered.

"Are they armed?" Wordy asked on the com.

"I see two shotguns and two pistols," Ed whispered, "that's all for these four. Jules, do you see any weapons?

"Yeah," she replied, "these three have pistols."

"Hey Sarge," I whisper as I position a lookout out the window.

"Yeah Diana," He replied.

"Should we move the girls up to the bathroom upstairs," I whispered as I locked eyes with Spike, "in case anything happens they'll be out of line of fire and a little more safe."

"That's not a bad idea," Ed responded, "Wordy and Sam can you help Sophie and Shelly get the girls upstairs quietly?"

"On it boss!" Sam and Wordy replied.

We hear quiet footsteps and doors opening and closing as they move the girls upstairs. Spike and I continue to watch the windows and see nothing for about 20 minutes. All the while, keeping coughs down and watching the guys circle the house. Then all of a sudden the body language of the guys changed. I looked at Spike and he just shrugged.

"Sarge," Jules stated on the com, "we've got a problem."

"What's going on Jules?" Sarge said with alertness in his voice.

"They appear to have been waiting on someone." Jules said, as we all looked out the window. I noticed I can see who she is talking about. "I think that would be who is in charge."

"Sarge we have another problem," I say with some trepidation. "We know their leader, boss."

"What do you mean Diana?" Ed said over the com.

"We met him earlier," I said as I looked from Spike to the man outside. "It's Ranger Evans."

There is a long pause before anyone moves or says anything. I look out at Evans as he climbs out of the jeep and heads to meet with one of the guys. I shake my head and look back over at Spike. He looks concerned and just mimics breathing to me, which makes me smile.

"Okay," Sarge said, "Now we know who we are dealing with."

"What do you mean Sarge," Wordy asked.

"During our shift," Sarge started, "Ed and I looked into the guys who came here earlier. Because something seemed a little off. We called into the local constable department and made inquiries about the men who came today." Sarge paused, "We learned that the men who came were very well respected in their departments, except for Evans."

"It turns out that a few years ago he lost his fiancé during a hard medical time for her," Ed stated, "He somehow payed for her bills and while making a normal minimal salary."

"So there have been some speculations," Sarge said in a whisper, "that he is either taking from busts, or is working with an outside force. The latter is what appears to be the way he is paying for things. He has some issues with authority and tends to be a bit angry in general."

"So they know who we are, right?" Sam whispered, "Why are they coming at us so lightly prepared and so obvious."

"Why are they coming even at all?" Spike asked looking in my general direction.

"We are wondering the same thing," Ed stated, "And we have a strategy to find out."

"What do you mean boss?" Wordy piped in.

"We got his number from his superior," Sarge said with a chuckle, "and now that he has shown up, we are going to call him and start a line of communication."

My phone started buzzing and I looked down and noticed an unknown number.

"Sarge," I said quickly, "What's the number?"

"Why do you ask Diana?" Ed asks as I hear their footsteps coming near.

"I've got an unknown number calling." I said as the rounded the corner. I showed them my phone and they looked at their number.

"That's it," Sarge said. "Apparently he wants to talk with you. So if he calls back, go ahead and answer it on speaker. We'll keep his number on speed dial in case he becomes unreasonable. Also Ed can you go ahead and call the locals and have them make their way here."

"It'll take them at least 30 mins to get here." Jules piped in as we all chuckled at her quick response.

"Yeah," Ed said, "but we can at least get the convo started and possibly resolve the situation before they get and make their job easier."

"Exactly," Sarge said as my phone started to ring again. "put it on speaker and go ahead and talk with him."

"Hello," I say as I answer the phone and put it on speaker phone.

"Hello Diana," Evans started, "This is Ranger Evans from earlier."

"Ranger Evans," I said with a smirk, "is everything okay? Are there any developments?" Ed smiles at this comment.

"Kind of," He started with a more somber tone. "we have reports of men talking of coming back and trying to hurt you for messing up their plan from earlier."

"Oh," I said mimicking surprise, "so are the locals coming?"

"Well," He started, "about that."

"You've broke his lie," Sarge whispered with a nod. "now he's going to try and talk his way out or come clean."

"They are not coming," Evans started with a chuckle, "and you guys are in a lot of trouble."

"What do you mean?" I said "Why are we in trouble?"

"Your bosses called my boss and now," He said with anger in his voice. "I've lost my day job and all I've got left is this gig."

"This gig," I said looking from Ed to Sarge, "What do you mean?"

"You've seen it already," He stated with an angry chuckle, "I'm the headman for the Mountain Maniacs. The notorious mountain gang known for their ruthless and vicious attacks."

"So you're saying you guys are here to attack defenseless women and children," I stated with assertion, "who have done nothing to you. You have no beef with these people. Just with me."

"You're right," He stated, "I have no beef with the women and children."

"See if you can get them out," Sarge said as he pushed the mute button, "See if he'll let them go."

"So," I say as I unmute the phone, "Could you possibly let the ladies and the children come out? With their husbands?" Ed shook his head and pushed the mute button.

"What are you doing?" He whispered.

"Getting you guys outside for an outside perspective." I said clicking the unmet button.

"Will they be unarmed?" Evans asked, "Because we have enough guns out here."

"Of course," I said with a nod and a glance at Sarge, "They'll be unarmed, but for their mindset, it would be better if they went with them."

"I'll call you back with an answer." He said as he hung up.

"Diana," Sarge started, "good choice."

"Sarge you can't be serious," Wordy said as he came around the corner, "we can't leave you guys in here."

"Jules come down," Sarge said as we hear footsteps coming downstairs. "We need eyes on the outside and they don't know we are armed. So, this is the best option for getting eyes and innocents outside."

"What's up Sarge?" Jules said rounding the corner.

"You classify as one of the ones to be outside," Sarge said with a nod, "So Sam will go take the perch and you will go out with Sophie and Shelly and the girls."

"Sarge?" Jules said questioningly.

"You, Wordy, and Ed will be our eyes outside." Sarge said with authority. "Make sure that you have your side arms hidden as they may search you."

The three of them nodded as Wordy and Ed went upstairs and quickly returned with the girls and their wives. Sophie, Shelly, and Jules each picked up one of the girls, who were either scared or asleep. Sam went up to our room and took up the overwatch position. Sarge walked everyone to the door as I sat by the window with Spike waiting for the call.

"Do you think this will work?" I ask looking at the floor.

"I'm not sure," Spike said looking out the window, "but you will be keeping 8 people safe and giving us some help on the outside. So no matter the outcome, you've got to realize, we make split second decisions that affect lives in positive and negative ways and trust that in the moment it was the right decision." He looks over and smiles as my phone rings.

"Evans?" I say as I answer the phone.

"We'll let them out," Evans said, "but nobody else."

"I understand," I say giving a thumbs up to Sarge, "They're coming out now." Evans hangs up.

Ed leads the group with Wordy at the end. They walk out and are led towards the trees. Once they are behind the trees with two guys standing guard. Evans calls me back.

"So you ready to talk now?" I ask.

"What do you want to talk about Diana?" Evans asked.

"How about why you are doing this?" I said matter of factly, "just to start off."

"Oh," he laughed, "you want me to bear my soul and just spill it all out don't you."

"No," I said calmly, "Just why are we here, in this moment today."

"Ya know," Evans stated rather directly, "I think this would be better if you and I could talk face to face."

"Well," Looking at Sarge who nods, "that's an option that's doable."

"Be out here in five minutes," Evans said with malice in his voice as he hangs up.

"You know we've got you covered in here," Sam said over the headset.

"I know." I said looking towards Sarge, "I'll try to resolve this peacefully."

"Just try to end it," Sarge said with a grin, "Ed needs his beauty sleep."

We could all hear him chuckle a little over the headset. I hand my gun to Sarge and head out the door with my hands raised. I walk around the house until I can see Evans and his men. I can also see the others by the trees with the guards. I walk up about 15 feet from Evans and his men.

"Hello again," Evans said sarcastically.

"I would say its a pleasure, however," I say looking around, "considering the circumstances I can't say it's a good time."

"It's never a good time," Evans stated, "especially when I've got unfinished business."

"Unfinished business?" I said questioningly. "I don't understand."

"You…don't…understand." Evans said emphatically, "You don't understand? You don't understand? Because of you and your friends, I don't have my job anymore."

"What about this 'gig'," I said as pointed in a wide gesture at him at his friends.

"I barely have this," He said as he frantically waved around him, "I noticed a lot more people reporting our hits and a lot more heat coming down on us."

"Is that why you resulting to assault and battery, instead of larceny?" I asked with a smirk. Evans closed the distance quickly and with his gun to my chest.

"HOLD!" Sarge said quickly, "Diana, move your head if this is part of your tactics."

"You good?" I asked quickly as I turned my head side to side.

"You mock me when I hold all the cards," He snarled, "I could kill you right here and now. I could kill everyone."

"You could," I said looking him straight in the eye, "But you haven't, have you?"

"Just shoot her and be done," a crony said from by the woods.

"Shut up!" Evans yelled as he pulled the gun off for a second, "I can handle this. You just shut up and look after the women and kids."

"I'd actually prefer to get over with this," the man said as he started walking towards Evans, "We came here to end this, and get our reputation back. And yet here we are chatting."

"Excuse me," Evan said as he turned to face his friend.

"Diana," Sarge said, "Sam, Spike, and I are taking up positions around the perimeter in the woods. On your signal we'll take down these crooks."

"What are you doing, Evans," the man said accusingly as he approached me and Evans, "What do you gain from 'talking' with this cop?" By now the man is behind me.

"Justification," Evans stated emphatically as he stared past me at the man, "just because you don't get it, doesn't mean its wrong." Evans began to get an angry look on his face as I felt the barrel of a gun on my back. "What are you doing?"

"What you couldn't," the man said as he ran his hand down my head, "if she is the problem why don't we just take her and her friends out."

"Not all of us know anything," I said glancing over my shoulder, "you'd really take out the kids? That's twisted."

"You're not helping yourself?" the man said grabbing my hair roughly.

"Jonathon! Stop it!" Evans said as he smacked his hand out of my hair.

Jonathon and Evans were inches a part and that left a little distance between us. I noticed everyone in position and i took a side step to avoid the guns.

"Go!" I said softly as I turned and quickly knocked both guns out of their hands and kicked jonathon in the gut and back kicked Evans, knocking both to the ground.

Sam quickly got the two guys at the truck to lower their weapons, at the same time Wordy, Ed, and Jules got the two guarding them to lower their weapons. Spike tackled the fifth guy as he came out of the woods. Sarge joined me with the two on the ground.

"I think this is over," Sarge said as he pointed his gun at Jonathon and headed me my gun.

"I believe you're right," I said as i pointed my gun at Evans, who looked up at me with anger.

We tied up the crew and had them sitting by the truck they came in as the real local officers showed up to take them all into the custody. We all gave our statements as they loaded the men into their squad cars.

"We are sorry for what's happened today folks," the sheriff said as he shook Sarge's hand, "we've been stumped as to why we couldn't catch this crew," he looked back at Evans as he was being loaded into the squad car, "an now we know why."

"We understand," Sarge said looking around, "we're glad we could end it peacefully and that no one got hurt."

"Agreed," The sheriff said as shook our hands and proceeded to leave with his squad.

—It was quiet finally—