His heart rate was slightly elevated, adrenaline being pumped through his system, the moist and cold of the ground penetrating his clothes, as the darkness of the night surrounded the both of them. The sky above the mansion was only partially clouded, which had meant that their entrance had to be perfectly timed. So they had spent the first two hours of the mission in perfect silence, just observing the few guards making their rounds.

The mansion actually reminded him a little of their old base in Rome, it was even surrounded by a mixture of wood and swamp lands. Now they were in a ditch, just below the grass hill leading up to one of the side windows, which according to their limited surveillance was the least well defended place in the mansion.

Silently he peeked over the edge, as he hoped that their talk from a day earlier would help him through this. He had felt a lot better now, though the fear he usually felt before a mission was slightly intensified because of his more recent experiences.

Still ever since they had talked about certain things, okay if he was fair she had done most of the talking, he had felt more like himself. For the first time since downloading the 2.0 he felt as if things were somehow more in his control. For the first time it wasn't like they were on a rollercoaster that had surged out of control. Even if leaving what had happened between them seemed hard to leave it behind them. Deep down he wanted nothing more than to forgot about what had happened, but they had to deal with that truth. He wasn't sure if he'd ever fully understand what had gone through her head at that time, hell he was quite certain she didn't completely understand it herself, but he wanted to leave it behind them. He didn't want those few moments to define them for the rest of their lives.

Silently he looked at his watch, and exhaled the breath that had been stored deep in his lungs, while his eyes momentarily switched focus from his watch to his girlfriend that was crouched down next to him. The concern was obvious in her eyes, but he felt better than the last time they were in this position. In fact, he was feeling more determined than anything else. He would not risk her again, that stood out above all else, he wanted her safe, he needed her safe.

He tore his eyes away from her reluctantly, and once again peeked over the edge, only to see two shadows, which were created by the dim artificial light from the house, slowly removing themselves from their surroundings. Feeling his stomach tighten, and his heart rate slowly rising, he looked at her, both nodding at the same time.

Before he knew what was happening, he was over the top of the ridge, and momentarily noticed if this tension he was feeling was comparable to those that went over the top in times that had long passed, but before his thoughts could become coherent, they had reached their temporary destination.

Not wasting any time, she set to work on opening the window, while he waited patiently, kneeling in the flower beds beneath the window, as he kept his senses focused, determined to notice anything that would come.

He momentarily glanced at her face, and could see the tension clearly in it. She seemed in a darker mood than he had ever seen her on a mission, she usually seemed in her element, but it was like she knew something was going to go wrong. Her eyes were a shade darker than usual, her features were tense, and her body seemed rigid. The last time they were in this situation something nearly had, so he couldn't blame her, still he felt uneasy knowing she was not herself. He didn't want to think about doing this without her on her a-game.

Still she created an entry for them without too much trouble, and before he could say a word, she had moved herself inside. Only seconds later he heard her muffled voice give the all clear, and he followed her, scraping his exposed hands on the structure as he pushed himself into the house.

With a barely audible dud his feet hit the soft carpet that was strewn out over the floor of the dark room. Both took out their respective weapons, and held their breaths, looking at the door in worry, hoping that they hadn't triggered some sort of alarm. When things remained quiet, they looked at each other, and with the briefest of nods, they both knew what they were expected to do.

Maintaining complete silence, they walked towards the closed door, where Sarah placed her long sleek fingers on the knob, as he couldn't help the uneasy feeling he felt building in his stomach.

X-X-X-X-X

She almost shook her head in disbelief. There it was, her team had barely been in place for a day, and apparently they had already struck gold. The message that was on her screen said enough. She couldn't believe that they were this lucky, or perhaps it was because of the other side's desperation.

Either way, this was her chance, her chance to end her involvement in this world that disgusted her beyond words. So she finally shrugged off the surprise that she felt, and looked to the person she had chosen to lead the other team.

"Let's move out." She said in a stern tone. "Remember, keep the target in one piece."

"Roger that." The low voice replied, before the bulky agent stalked off.

She saw his form disappearing and wondered if her plan would work, and if it did if she would get what she wanted. She needed this to go off without a hitch, but that meant Chuck would have to react just the way she anticipated. Nothing could go wrong, not when she had gotten this far. Regardless of how quickly they had found their targets, she needed this to be over.

Taking another glance at the message on her phone, she let a small grin form on her face, and stalked off towards her team. This would work, she would make sure of it.

X-X-X-X-X

Only the sound of his fingers hitting the keys of the computer in front of him, which itself gave of a light humming sound, while she rummaged through some of the papers that were scattered across the room. Occasionally she would sent him a hurried look, pleading him, nearly begging him to move it a long faster.

He let out a barely audible sigh, as he hit another password. He barely resisted the urge to slam his hand into the keyboard in front of him. He should have opted to do this differently he realized, he should have just copied the hard drive, plant a virus, and get the hell out of there. But he had insisted to do it this way, wanting to make sure every last file was deleted.

Not to mention the ever so frustrating fact that the case was so well fortified that breaking into it would be an arduous task. In fact it would require some of Casey's most prized possessions to get through the thick titanium casing, which was bolted to the ground. Whoever was working on this definitely knew what he was doing.

"Come on." He whisper shouted in frustration, when he hit another one as soon as he had bypassed the previous round of security.

He couldn't believe how meticulous these people had been, and he wondered if perhaps he was being led on a wild goose chase down the rabbit hole. Worriedly he glanced at the blonde in the room, and he could see the same tenseness he was feeling on her face. There was no telling how much time they had left.

A few sounds from outside the room invaded his ears, and he once again looked at her filled with worry. Her features were tense, while her hand started clutching the cold steel of her Smith & Wesson tight enough for her knuckles to turn white.

She threw him another pointed look, and silently hissed at him. "Come on, hurry up."

He immediately set back to work, while another sound filled the air. This time he didn't look up, but kept his eyes focused on the screen in front of him. A few small beads of sweet were forming on his forehead.

"Come on, come on." He muttered once again, while his fingers flew over the keys. He wasn't sure how long they had left but by the sound of it, this could go south real fast.

He tried to focus on his work, when once again a foreign sound filled the air. It seemed like the muffled sound of commands being shouted. Soon followed by the sound of the blonde agent creeping to the window.

Just seconds later, he felt someone grab him by the shoulder and pulling him to his feet. He looked up slightly startled, and was greeted with familiar blue eyes, though he had rarely seen them darker than they were in that moment. He didn't like the feeling that instilled in him at all.

"We got to go." She said quietly, though she couldn't keep the panic out of her voice completely.

He started to nod his head, but then changed his mind. "Wait, what about the software?"

"We don't have the time." She hissed. "The ring is outside Chuck. We either move now, or…" She let her voice trail, obviously not wanting to consider the possibility of what would happen if either would be killed, or worse captured.

Before he even had time to reply, she was already dragging him out of the room by pulling him along by his arm, while her other arm was still firmly clasping her weapon.

They rushed through to the house in a blur, while he had no idea where they were going, other than outside the house, she was quick on her feet, making turns whenever they deemed appropriate, and almost running through the house.

From time to time he was slightly startled by the sounds around them, but she just kept forcing through headlong. Seemingly not caring, and before he knew what was happening they had traded the old carpeted hall ways for the cool night sky.

Usually this was the part of the missions he enjoyed, the relief of being outside safe and sound washing over him, a brief glance and smile to a certain blonde, and then on to eat some sizzling shrimp with his buddy or perhaps a movie night with said blonde. Now though, they were still in a frantic mode, she was looking around slightly panicky, and he couldn't help but do the same. He had to get his head into this game, he had to make sure she could depend on him, and that she would remain safe.

He heard some people stumbling around the corner, and he looked at her worriedly for a brief second. "We need to go." He hissed.

As always she proved to be a person of action, as she darted of towards the tree line in front of them, leaving him no choice to follow her, he thanked his lucky stars when they finally reached the relative cover and safety of the trees. They continued walking in a quick pace for a few more minutes, both silent except for their ragged breathing, before she stopped in the middle of the woods, looking over to him.

"How the hell did they get here so fast?" She asked in a low voice, disbelief and anger clearly emanating through her voice.

He was silent for a second before answering. "Kayla must have told them about the list." He stated matter of factly.

"Great." She muttered in reply. Pausing a moment clearly in thought, before she continued. "We need to warn Casey."

He looked at her, realizing she was right. It wasn't like the Ring to a half assed job. He pulled out his phone, and looked at it, while she did the same. "Damn it." He sighed "No signal."

He looked over and saw her look at her phone full of dismay, "We need to find a landline and do it fast." She ultimately said.

Again she didn't wait for him to react, but started walking immediately. The pace a lot higher than he was used to, but thanks to his long legs he was able to keep up, despite the lack of conditioning and working out showing through thanks to his breathing that was growing increasingly ragged.

Still in her he could see nothing but sheer determination. Her eyes were trained a head, and would only divert when she momentarily glanced backwards, her eyes filled with tenseness and worry over the situation, especially when that look was preceded by vague sounds that filled the air.

He was vaguely aware of the trees they passed, the ground moving under his feet, and the surrounding constantly shifting. All he could think of was monitor her, she was still his guide, he couldn't help it. Not to mention that he wanted nothing but to see her through this situation.

Suddenly she froze in place, causing him to stumble into her, eliciting a groan from the both of them.

"What is it?" He questioned in a harsh whisper.

She gave him a stern look, silencing him instantly, and causing his concern to grow. He had rarely seen her like this. His eyes started to look around more, and he saw a small group of rocks, with an equally small looking cave. Other than that, there was nothing but trees and emptiness surrounding them, at least in his mind. She only seemed to grow tenser with the second.

She turned several times in a matter of seconds, and then turned to face him again. "I think they have us surrounded." She said in a low voice.

"What? I don't see anything." He exclaimed as softly as his surprise allowed him, earning him another stern look.

"Just trust me Chuck, they're there." She took a moment to look at him, worry and concern flashed through her eyes, and there was something he hadn't seen before. Panic. He had never seen her like this.

"You got your tranq gun right?" She asked him.

He didn't answer her question, instead he questioned her. "Why don't we just hide?" He asked her, his words falling out of his mouth faster than usual.

"They know we're here Chuck." She said dejectedly. "There is no way they would leave this place without you."

He placed his quivering hand on his weapon, as he looked around once more. It was the first time he was hearing the same sound she must have been hearing all along. He knew he needed to do something. There was no way he would allow her to die.

Once again his look lingered on the cave, he figured it had to be big enough to hide one person in it. Quickly he glanced between the blonde in front of him, and the small opening to his side. Resigning himself, he shakily raised his weapon, and placed it close to her neck.

"I love you Sarah." He whispered into her ear softly, just as he fired a first dart.

She had just enough time to whip her head around a little, and as she started to fall to the ground he could see the shock in her eyes, her mouth slightly agape, clearly wanting to say something.

As soon as she hit the ground he hovered over her. "I'm sorry Sarah." He said with a slight shiver in his voice, as he started to pick her up to relocate her now limp form.

It only took her a few dozen seconds to place her in a completely concealed location, but by the time he was done, he could clearly make out the first Ring agents that were closing in on them. Not wanting them to find her completely helpless, he started to make a run for it. Wanting to put as much distance between him and her as he could.

He was sure his feet had never gone as fast as they were going in that moment, but he could still hear them closing in. After running for another few minutes, he stopped, and looked around. She had been right, there was really was no place to run from them this time. Resigning himself, he looked back, and could see that they were mere feet away from him.

"Hello Chuck." He heard a familiar voice say, causing his head to whip around.

"Why are you doing this Kayla?" He questioned harshly, momentarily he tried to look for his options, but there were already ring agents all around him.

"You know why." She stated simply, before she turned her look to a few of the agents that surrounded him.

"You four take care of mister Bartowski here. We'll continue to look for Walker." She ordered in a voice that didn't hide her happiness.

He looked at her in disgust, as he felt the cold steel of cuffs hit his wrists. "You aren't going to get away with this Kayla." He bit at her, as he got pushed past her.

Instead of a response, all he heard was an order to move out, and a distinct remark that they were free to shoot at anything.