"'Twas the night before Christmas

"And all through the mall,

"Not a creature was stirring,

"Not one, not at all.

"Except for the wannabe conmen who

"Were creeping and sneaking like naughty men do.

"And all of the last minute shoppers, of course,

"Hopefully roaming 'round late opening stores.

"And Rick on the rooftop was looking down at the lot,

"To where Magnum was watching camera feeds on Higgy's laptop.

"The plan was quite simple by our good duo's standards,

"With T.C. on standby in case the baddies got heavy handed."

T.C., he muttered, "Quit speaking in rhyme!"

"Who?" replied Magnum, "Surely not I?"

"Shut up, brother."

"Now is that any way to speak around children?"

Rick interrupted before T.C could threaten to leave the mall and make Magnum sorry he had even been born.

"Let's all just try to remember why we're here."

"Right," Magnum nodded, though no one could see him. "This guy and his team are going to blow up the mall to claim on the insurance."

There was a heavy silence that lasted longer than it probably should have.

"People, Tommy! These guys are going to use bombs to hold all these people hostage. Honestly, what's wrong with you today?" Rick kept right on grumbling under his breath, but no one focused too hard. After hearing a man with his skillset say things like 'headshot,' even the most foolhardy of people tend to try to stay quiet.

"But you have to think of all the small business owners too. I mean, some of these stores aren't even open. On Christmas Eve. That's how small-time they are. I doubt they have insurance policies that cover the building owner being a scumbag."

Magnum redefined foolhardy.

"The late night workers were yawning and struggling just to

"Keep their eyes open to keep the clock within view

"When all of a sudden there arose such a clatter

"That T.C. took off at a sprint to see what was the matter

"He ran to the staircase and took them by threes,

"Then stumbled and fell, crashing down to his knees…."

"Don't think now is the time for poetry, Tommy!"

He's right, Magnum!" Higgins sounded strained. "They know I'm not really a city inspector, and they're not happy about... ack!"

The sounds of a fight started carrying over the phoneline, underscored by the odd cry of pain. Magnum was out of the car and headed to the doors as Higgins cried out again, abandoning his poetic musings.

"Rick, you need to get that signal jammer installed and soon!" he called as he ran through the lobby towards the door marked 'Staff Only.'

To his credit, Rick hadn't let his concern over his friends distract him from his role. Much. "I'm nearly done," he assured them all, carefully twisting the end of two wires together, just like his 'friend' had shown him. "I'll be done in less than a minute." He wasn't sure anyone heard him.

T.C. was calling to Higgins, demanding an update on her location. "C'mon, Higgy Baby, talk to me!"

"East…" A grunt of exertion cut off her words, followed by a shriek that seemed to get quieter as it went on. "East stairway," she called, and the diminishing yell suddenly made sense; she had pitched someone over the railing.

T.C. swore and told them he was on the other side of the building.

"I'm two floors down!" Magnum yelled, ignoring the body sprawled on the floor in favor of running as fast as he could up the stairs. He could hear the sounds of the fight above him. "Hang on, Higgins." But he could hear her scream as he spoke, and then a thud sounded above him. He tried to push himself faster but reached the landing just as the door on the floor above, the roof access hatch, swung closed.

"Rick! They're on the roof!" he called, pushing himself up the last few stairs.

"I see 'em!" Rick was running, his footsteps thudding over the line. He swore at whatever he was seeing, and Magnum and T.C., just starting on the stairs, both felt a shock of panic rush through them. "They're gonna pitch her off the roof! Hurry!"

And then a yell came ringing over the line as he launched himself at the men who were dragging a barely conscious Higgins toward the edge of the building.

Magnum burst through the door and took stock of the situation in one sweeping glance; Rick was struggling with two men, Higgins, held firmly between another two and swaying alarmingly, was trying to pull herself free, and a fifth man was headed right for him. Magnum ducked as the man threw a wild swing at him and threw himself forward, wrapping his arms around the man's waist and pulling him to the ground. A cry of pain sounded over to the right somewhere, and Magnum could only hope that it hadn't come from one of his friends. The man he was pinning was stronger than he'd first thought, and it was a struggle to stop from being thrown.

He heard the door fly open again and felt a rush of relief as feet sprinted past him, toward where he had seen Higgins. He risked easing up a little and brought his knee up, catching his guy in the side. As he tried to roll to ease the pain, Magnum pulled back, threw a vicious right hook, and then another, and the guy slumped down.

He climbed quickly to his feet in time to see Rick take down the second of his adversaries; the first was already bleeding on the ground. They both turned to see T.C. struggling with the larger of the two men still standing, a knife on the floor explaining the delay, while the smaller of the two had Higgins in a choke hold. Her face was turning red, and her hands were scrabbling at the arm pressed against her throat.

Magnum and Rick started toward him, trusting T.C. to handle himself.

"Give it up, friend," Rick called, his voice anything but friendly. "There's no way you get away with anything at this point." His face tensed as the guy tightened his grip, making Higgins wince and gasp for breath.

"Let her go." Magnum didn't even try to sound like he wasn't issuing a threat. "Now." He didn't bother trying to keep the anger off his face either and saw the man's eyes widen slightly as he took in the very real threat standing in front of him. A thud had his eyes cutting over to where T.C. was standing over a crumpled body, and the guy suddenly realized he was, quite literally, all alone.

For a second, it looked like he might actually throw himself and Higgins both over the edge of the roof. Then his shoulders slumped and he let her go, shoving her away from him and holding his hands out like he expected to be cuffed. T.C., closer than the others stepped forward and knelt down, wrapping his arms around Higgins' shoulders, while Rick dropped to his knees and gently prodded at the nasty looking cut on her forehead. He muttered a quiet apology when she sucked in a pained breath.

The sound of flesh on flesh made them all snap their heads over in time to see the man who had been holding Higgins drop like a rock. Magnum shook his hand a little, the pain from the punch reverberating through his knuckles. All three men looked to Higgins, as if waiting for her to react before reacting themselves.

A grin slid over her lips, and a huff of laughter escaped her. "Thank you," she said, voice quiet from lack of breath but perfectly audible in the silence of the rooftop.

Magnum returned her grin while Rick patted her arm and T.C. pulled her a little closer to him, not liking the way tiny tremors were running through her. It was almost peaceful. Until Magnum ruined it.

"Twas the fight before Christmas and all through the mall

"The bad guys were lying sprawled out on the floor.

"Higgins was kneeling with blood on her hands

"While the brave and bold Magnum was... ow! What the...? Did you just throw a shoe at me?"