And I was able to write the conclusion in one chapter. Although that's not to say I didn't stretch this baby out a lot more than I expected. Also, that theory about the ideas all coming at once certainly applied. A good 2/3 of this chapter was written today alone. I don't know why it happens like that, but it does.

A very special thanks to all of you who read it, and a bigger thanks to those of you who left reviews, especially East Coast Captain, Garnetflint, Phnxgirl, Jimmy 144, Osced, Michael 66, Katsamura, and I apologize if I left anybody out.

The bad news is, my next Forrest & Slade story might take a while to start. The good news is the reason for that is I finally got a job. Yay! I'll be doing number crunching for an insurance company in Chicago who needs my computer skills. Guess I fooled them, huh? :-D

Enjoy the last chapter, please leave reviews, and I'll talk to everyone in Forrest & Slade: The Beckman-Turner Overdrive Mission.

Unknown Location, London, UK
October 11, 2033
6:30 PM GMT

John slowly awoke to find himself handcuffed and sitting on a hard folding chair in the middle of a warehouse. He blinked slowly to clear his vision as he tried to figure out what the hell happened. His eyes and nostrils still stung, no doubt the result of whatever that bitch sprayed him with. Twenty feet away, a group of four men sat around a table and paid very little attention to him, other than taking the occasional glance in his direction. John kept his movements to a minimum so they wouldn't keep more of an eye on him.

Why the hell didn't Uncle Jimmy let me keep that Intersect? he thought to himself. If he had that, he would have been able to break out of here easily. He couldn't even imagine what his parents were going through right now. They kept him from helping with Samantha's problems because they were afraid he would be kidnapped. And then he gets kidnapped anyway. It frustrated him to no end someone was doing this to Samantha, to his family and friends, and to him. The urge to spring into action was bubbling to the surface, but he had to resist it. After helping rescue his parents seven months ago, he learned you had to pick the right moment to act. He didn't when Daniel Shaw called him, and it was only through Sam's intervention that he didn't get himself killed. Attempting an escape right now could yield the same result, and it was pointless to do so without knowing more about what was going on. The only thing he knew for certain was he had a little bit of time. He figured they wouldn't kidnap him unless they were either forcing Samantha to do something or whatever it was they were doing had gone wrong and they were desperate.

Suddenly, John heard the clicking of heels against the concrete floor. He turned his head to see a woman approach him. The same woman who had kidnapped him a few hours ago.

"I see you're awake," Natasha Herbert said as she glared condescendingly at John. "It shouldn't be long. Once your girlfriend does as we requested, you'll be free to go."

John shook his head and gave a derisive laugh. "Problem?" Herbert asked.

"It's bad enough you kidnapped me, but now you're going to insult my intelligence by claiming you'll let me go? Even I can lie better than that," John seethed.

Herbert shrugged and smiled. "Fine, but your girlfriend doesn't know that. That's our advantage. If she doesn't do what we want, we'll kill both of you. If she does, you'll die and we'll tell her British Intelligence raided this warehouse and you were killed in the crossfire. Revenge can be quite the motivation for her to join us."

"Join who?"

"Our organization is always looking for talented people. People who truly understand the way of the world and wish to do something about it."

John started to laugh. "What is so funny?" Herbert asked, her temper beginning to rise.

"I've heard that BS before. You sound like a Bond villain. And not one of the good ones, either."

Herbert took out her gun and stuck in John's face. "You couldn't possibly know what I've been through in my life. To have the government use my talents, my mind, my body, only to throw it out like so much garbage."

"Yeah, you'll get a lot of sympathy from the guy you kidnapped and handcuffed to a chair. Face it, lady. You're just another sad, pathetic loser who didn't get what they wanted in life and now wants to hurt innocent people because of it."

Herbert took the gun and hit John across the face with it. His head snapped to the side. He then slowly turned back to face her, spitting blood out of his mouth that landed on her shirt.

"Oooh, that really hurt," John deadpanned, his eyes daggers at her. "Thank you for proving I'm right."

Herbert shoved the gun under John's chin. "What makes you think I won't kill you right now?" she said in barely-contained fury.

"Because you would have done it already," John replied evenly. "You need me alive. Or maybe you're just too chicken shit to do it yourself."

Herbert cocked the gun, but John continued to stare defiantly. "It must really frustrate the hell out of you that you will never scare me. You pull that trigger, you might as well kill yourself. It'd be far less painful than what you'll have coming to you."

Herbert was interrupted by a ringing iComm. She backed away from John and turned towards the table. One of the men sitting there answered.

"What did I tell you about talking to anyone?" Herbert yelled at the man who answered the phone.

"It's them. The ones with the girl. She wants to talk to you."

Herbert walked over to the table and snatched the iComm from the man's hand.

Canary Wharf, East London, UK
October 11, 2033
6:50 PM GMT

Samantha took the phone away from the thug who called his partner. So far, both of the men they captured were on their best behavior. The fact each had a gun pointed at their heads by Casey and Verbanski may have had something do to with that. Now it was time to see if Chuck's little trick with the iComm would work.

"Agent Collins? Do you have a plan?" Herbert asked over the phone.

"Yes," Samantha replied. "We don't have to wait until tomorrow. I know where Nolan will be tonight. I was able to hack his calendar on his assistant's computer. He's having dinner in the West End at 8:00 PM tonight. Even better, he's having dinner with Forrest and Murdock. If you can get your hands on a sniper rifle for me, I can shoot them from a flat across the street from the entrance. Specifically, I need a Diemaco C10."

"Why that one?"

"Because that's what I trained on and I don't have enough time to get comfortable with a different rifle," Samantha lied. "Will that be a problem?"

"No, not a problem. Tell the two men with you exactly what you need. They'll get it for you. What is your exit strategy?"

"The flat across the street has one of those old chutes people used to throw refuse in. You have someone retrieve the rifle from there. Meanwhile, there is a pub a block over from the flat opposite of the restaurant. I want all of you there in the back room, including John."

"Why do you want him there?"

"I told you before; I don't want anyone harmed when they don't have to be. Besides, what can I do with him? I have to dump him. I'll make up some excuse, tell him I'm going away."

"Or we can take care of him," Herbert replied with the mental image of John dying a slow, painful death running through her mind.

"What, do you think I'm going to negotiate against myself?" Samantha replied angrily, the bile rising in her throat from even talking to this bitch. "What incentive do I have to work for you if you're going to break your promises? I will deal with getting rid of him, not you. Otherwise this ends right now and I'll take my chances with the bookends."

"Very well," Herbert replied, not really caring since Samantha's boyfriend would never be brought to her anyway. "Anything else?"

"Yes. I want to meet your boss."

"Sorry, but that's not happening."

"Look, I'm risking my life just to prove my loyalty to this person. I want to know from them directly what their plans are for me. I'm not going to sit around being some sort of glorified hitwoman. Any idiot can do that. I want to know how I fit in and what the organization can do for me."

There was a long pause on Herbert's end of the line. "I'll tell him. But it's his decision. I cannot guarantee he'll do it."

"Very well. I'm going to take the two guys you left with me, get the rifle, and scout the location. I'll call you from there."

Herbert heard the click as the call disconnected. Arthur Pollard insisted they get rid of Samantha, and she would have been very happy to take care of that. But she figured Mr. Lightman would make the final decision. Maybe he saw something in Samantha she didn't.

She ran the trace program on the phone to verify the call came from the hotel where they took Samantha. "Excellent," she said to the men sitting there, talking low enough so John wouldn't hear it. "I will join her at the pub, and then I will call you and let you know when to kill him."

-/^\-

"Did it work, Chuck?" Samantha asked in anticipation.

He nodded. "The program in the computer sent an encrypted file through the iComm to theirs so it would give the coordinates of the hotel you were at. As far as they know, you never left the place."

"And we have their location?"

Casey nodded with confidence. "We'll get into position. But you have to sell this, Samantha. Once you meet with them, you have to convince them you're ready to join their group. Then you ask them to bring John to you."

"Presumably, they'll hold him at that warehouse and give the order to kill him," Jimmy continued. When that happens, give us a signal."

"How?"

Jimmy handed her a pair of shoes suitable for running. "There's no place like home, Dorothy. Just click the heels three times on these things. The booster in the shoes is powerful enough that the signal will go out no matter what sort of jamming device they might bring to the meet. That'll be the go-ahead for John's rescue. And Alexandra and I will come busting in to take down the group's leaders."

"OK," Samantha replied nervously as she sat down on a nearby chair. Sarah walked over and sat down next to her.

"Samantha?" Sarah gently prodded.

"I…I never wanted it to come to this. I really didn't think they would go this far." She kept her head down, afraid to look John's mother in the eye. "I wish I knew how you could be so calm about this."

Sarah smiled. "You weren't here earlier. And believe me, if it wasn't for Carina and Chuck and everybody being here, I would be a complete wreck."

Sarah gently grabbed Samantha's chin and lifted it up so she was looking at her. "You've done everything right. It's obvious these people are desperate if they've kidnapped my son. We will stop them. But we need your help to do it."

Samantha exhaled slowly. "Being a spy is not for the timid, is it."

"No, it isn't. But I recall a young woman full of fire and determination who helped my son rescue his parents seven months ago. That woman is a spy. She's going to be one of the best." Sarah took Samantha's hands. "And I'm hoping she can help us in bringing John home."

Samantha nodded gently. "I will." Sarah hugged her tightly. Samantha then stood from her chair and walked over to her two 'escorts', both of whom were tied up at the other end of the room. "Now, if you two wish to live to see tomorrow, I suggest you do everything we tell you."

Regent Street, West End, London, UK
October 11, 2033
8:15 PM GMT

Mr. Lightman waited patiently for an update from Natasha Herbert. He knew Samantha Collins was willing to assassinate Chancellor Nolan and his two American helpers, and the report Herbert gave him made him consider his work in securing the rookie agent was worth the effort. Someone of her skill set would be quite valuable in his new organization.

His iComm beeped. He saw the name of Tyler Cook on the ID. "What is it?"

"I have some good news, but I have a lot of bad news. The good news is I kept an eye on things at British Intelligence, and a report was released that two people were found in the computer labs in the basement, so it appears Gerald Cooper and the man with him are dead."

"And the bad news?"

"I expanded my search trying to find out more about Samantha Collins, specifically the time period when she was in the States seven months ago. I hacked into the systems of the U.S. Justice Department and found out a high-profile prisoner escaped right around the time Samantha was there. His name was Daniel Shaw."

"Shaw. I met him many years ago. It was a shame to see him become so unhinged."

"When that name popped up, that put all of the pieces together, so to speak. Shaw was trying to find the people who put him behind bars in the first place, Chuck and Sarah Bartowski. Supposedly they have two children. I'll just bet one of them was Samantha Collins' boyfriend. That would explain how a kid would be involved with the CIA like that."

"How does Collins fit in?"

"It's a longshot, but it would fit the scenario. Have you ever heard of Carina Miller?"

"She worked for several American agencies before moving here a few years back. But she hasn't made any noise in quite a while."

"Except perhaps have a daughter. The same Agent Samantha Collins. That would tie everybody together. Bartowski, Miller, Forrest, Murdock, all of them."

Lightman exhaled slowly. He had really hoped Collins could be turned, but it was clearly impossible given the company she kept. "Thank you for the information, Mr. Cook. Sadly, Agent Collins' promising career will have to be cut short tonight."

Mr. Lightman disconnected from Tyler Cook with considerable disappointment. He then decided to make a couple of calls to arrange some insurance. All he could hope for now was that Collins carry out the assassinations of Nolan, Forrest, and Murdock. She would still be a big help to his organization if she were to complete that task.

Even if it would be the last thing she ever did.

Aqua Nueva Restaurant, West End, London, UK
October 11, 2033
9:25 PM GMT

Samantha looked out the small window at the entrance to the restaurant across the street, gently cradling the Diemaco C10 rifle her escorts provided for her. The team was worried they might have attempted to signal their friends at the warehouse where a huge cache of weapons was being stored. However, Alex and Jimmy were waiting outside, having accompanied them to make sure things went smoothly, and one word from Samantha would have ended their lives.

She motioned to the men with her. "Bring that chair over here."

As they turned to get the chair sitting at the opposite end of the room, she removed the magazine from the rifle and replaced it with the special magazine Casey prepared for her. One of the men placed the chair next to the window, and Samantha took a seat. She uncapped the telescopic sights and took aim out the window. There was a steady stream of people walking past the restaurant, but there was a small opening just to the right of the doors where she would have a clear shot at anybody who stood there. That's where Alex, Jimmy, and Chancellor Nolan would stand, pretending to wait for their car to pull up. Casey admitted it had been a few years since he tried this, Verbanski and he had developed special rifle shells that were ideal for this scenario. She hoped they worked like he promised.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment and controlled the pattern of her breathing. She knew she had to pull off three consecutive shots, so she wanted her breathing pattern to be exact. It may have been a basic skill to learn when using a sniper rifle, but her instructors couldn't emphasize it enough. Once she was satisfied, she opened her eyes and looked at the target.

The timing was perfect. Chancellor Nolan handed his keys to the valet and stood in the opening. Alex and Jimmy stood next to him.

Samantha closed her left eye and looked through the telescopic sight with her right. She took aim at Nolan's chest and released the safety on the rifle. She inhaled slowly, held her breath, counted to three in her mind, and fired a shot. Chancellor Nolan fell back against the wall as blood exploded from his chest. Samantha exhaled, took aim at Alex, and inhaled. She locked on and fired a second shot with the same result. Finally she aimed at Jimmy and fired, and he slumped to the ground as well, his coat and shirt covered with blood.

Samantha put the safety on the rifle and turned to the two men with her. "Got all three," she said quietly.

"What now?" one of them asked, which didn't surprise Samantha given they didn't let the two men in on the plan.

"I don't need you two anymore." Samantha drew her tranq gun and fired a shot at each man. The two lost consciousness and fell to the ground. Samantha took the rifle and replaced Casey's cartridge with the rifle's original cartridge. She then took the safety off and fired three shots into the ceiling, just in case the two men sent to recover the rifle were ordered to verify it was actually fired and collected all six shell casings. She put the safety on again and went for the door, taking a homing beacon out of her pocket and activating it. It was a signal for the Metropolitan Police to pick up the two men and to signal everybody else to get into position. She ran down the hallway to the refuse chute and dropped the gun in the bin. She wasn't sure if they would really recover the rifle, although it wasn't going to matter anyway. She descended the stairs quickly and exited out of the back of the building. She hopped over two fences and made her way to The Argyll Arms.

-/^\-

Chaos still reigned outside of Aqua Nueva as a large ambulance pulled up. Three stretchers immediately came out of the back of the ambulance, and EMTs placed the bodies of Alex, Jimmy, and Chancellor Nolan on them. They quickly loaded the three into the ambulance and sped away to the hospital.

At least, that's what they wanted the shaken crowd to think they did.

A low groan was heard as Chancellor Nolan sat up in his stretcher. "I can't lie; that hurt quite a bit," he said through gritted teeth as he pulled off his jacket and removed the exploded gel packs from his chest. He then removed the radio transmitter that picked up the signal from Samantha's fired shell casings that set off the gel packs.

"Yeah, Casey doesn't really follow OSHA guidelines when he fakes an assassination," Jimmy grumbled as he removed his packs and transmitter. Alex did the same with hers.

"Sir?" One of the attendants, an MI-5 agent playing the role of an EMT, got the Chancellor's attention. "Met's on the line for you, sir."

"Nolan," the Chancellor said as he took the proffered phone from the agent. "Really? Good. Get everything written up and send it to me here right away." He disconnected the call. "The Met picked up Tyler Cook an hour ago. He has been very, very cooperative."

Argyll Arms Pub, West End, London, UK
October 11, 2033
9:40 PM GMT

Samantha entered the pub and made her way to a back room where three people sat alone at a single table. Samantha recognized two of them: the woman and the man who visited her earlier at the prison. She assumed the older gentleman also seated at the table was the head of the organization. So far, this was working exactly as everyone had hoped.

"Take a seat," the older gentleman said. Samantha sat in the chair opposite of him and tried to remain calm, even though her entire being was on edge.

"Quite a show you put on, Miss Collins," the older gentleman said.

"You asked for them to be killed. I accomplished my task. Now what are your plans for me?"

"Quite honestly, I'm disappointed. I had really hoped I found a proverbial diamond in the rough in discovering you. And I commend you for your performance given you're the youngest agent the SIS has had in over half a century. But just like your superiors, I have my sources, too. And they told me you are familiar with Director Forrest and former Agent Murdock. In fact, you helped them recover your boyfriend's parents seven months ago."

Samantha could feel her hands gripping the chair underneath the table. Casey and Forrest both warned her this could happen, but that didn't make the moment any less frightening.

"What are you talking about?" Samantha asked.

"No sense in denying it, Miss Collins. Whether you were trying to play us for fools or you were desperate to get their son back, you never would have joined our organization of your own free will."

Samantha looked at each of the three. She then focused on Natasha Herbert, who bore a depraved smile. "Well, I'm not the only liar here. You never planned to let John go, did you."

Herbert shook her head. "Honestly, I'm surprised you had the guts to carry out the assassinations anyway."

Natasha Herbert dialed a number on her iComm. "Go ahead," were her only words. Under the table, Samantha raised her heels and gently clicked them together three times.

Herbert turned to her. "Nervous, Samantha?" Herbert teased. "You should be. To be honest, I wouldn't mind going back to when I saw things the way you do. A young optimist who thought she would save the world. But after you've killed countless people, stole enough to retire on a dozen times and spread your legs for every last lowlife who crossed your path, you discover the world doesn't care about you. It is a cruel master, and the only person you can rely on is yourself."

Samantha stared for a moment before a smile spread across her face. "Well, I guess that's the one thing I learned that you never did. I know I'm not alone."

The door to the back room burst open. Carina, Alex, Jimmy, and Chancellor Nolan entered with guns drawn.

"Uh-uh," Jimmy said to Pollard, who tried to reach for his weapon. He put his gun to Pollard's head and took Pollard's gun from its holster.

"You're not dead?" Pollard rumbled.

Jimmy shrugged. "I suck at it."

Samantha bolted up from her chair and slammed Herbert's head against the table. She held her neck in place while she searched her, retrieving the gun behind Herbert's back and her backup in an ankle holster.

"David Lightman," Chancellor Nolan spat out as he looked at the man in utter contempt. "To think, there's a star on the wall in your memory. I don't even plan to wait until the morning to rip that thing down. I should have guessed a sick bastard like you would kill innocent agents for your own personal gain."

Lightman smirked. "Quite the oxymoron, Tim. You of all people knows nobody is innocent in our business. You betrayed an old friend once."

"An old friend I caught selling technology to the Iranian government fifteen years ago."

"What can I say? Pity you could never prove that. I enjoy money and I don't like to follow anyone's political agenda but my own."

"Yes. High atop the mountain you made out of the corpses of all of those people you killed over the years."

"The Russians killed each other. So did India and Pakistan. I just made a handsome profit from it."

Nolan shook his head. "And you're still the same piece of rubbish you were back then. You want power and respect, no matter how little you deserve either one. Thankfully, you're little computer programmer has been cooperating with us, so you won't be bothering anyone again. You're an insignificant speck with a severe Napoleon complex."

Lightman's eyes flared in anger for a moment before calming down. "Unlike you, however, I am not a fool."

The door opened once again, and the five agents found themselves surrounded by a dozen men. Herbert and Pollard rose from the table and took everyone's weapons.

"Have a seat," Lightman said calmly. Carina, Samantha, Alex, Jimmy, and Nolan looked around at the dozen men surrounding them, their guns leveled right at their heads. Reluctantly, they sat down on one side of the table. Samantha looked at her mother, whose expression remained impassive.

She really wished she knew how her mother could remain so calm when they were about to be executed.

Unknown Location, London, UK
October 11, 2033
9:45 PM GMT

Chuck readied his tranq guns as Sarah stood by his side. He also checked to see the IntComm was activated and ready in case he needed it. Casey and Verbanski stood by the door on the opposite side of the warehouse from them.

"Is everybody ready?" Casey whispered over their comms.

"Ready," Chuck replied.

"Ready," Sarah added.

Casey turned to Verbanski, who nodded in consent. Casey and Sarah stuck a small cube of T-4 explosive to the hinges and the locks of the warehouse doors and inserted a detonator into each. All four moved quickly away from the charges and switched their remote detonators to the "ready" position. Casey took one last look inside the warehouse and noticed one of the four men answering their IntComm.

"Yes," the man said into the IntComm. "OK." He disconnected and grabbed his gun. He then walked over to John and knelt down to be at eye level.

Casey's eyes widened. "We go in three…two…one…"

"Do you prefer the head or the chest?" the man said.

"Like it really matters?" John growled at the man.

The man shrugged and began to rise to his feet. Suddenly a loud explosion could be heard from both sides of the warehouse. The four men, including the one with the gun, stared in shock at seeing the two doors blown away. John pushed off of his feet, still tied to the chair, and head-butted the man with the gun under his chin. The man staggered backwards, and John swung the chair hard, nailing the man in the head and knocking him out. The other three men reached for their weapons, but one fell from Chuck's tranq gun. The other two tried to run, but Sarah knocked one out with a roundhouse kick, while Verbanski took the other one out with the butt of her automatic weapon.

"Mom! Dad!"

Chuck and Sarah ran over to John and hugged him tightly. "Are you OK?" Sarah asked as Chuck procured a skeleton key to removed John's handcuffs. Sarah pulled out a knife to cut the ropes around John's ankles.

"I'm fine, Mom. Is Samantha OK?"

"Hopefully. She sent the signal. Carina, Alex, and Jimmy are trying to retrieve her now."

"Who were these people? What did they want with me?"

"They're part of a rogue group inside of British Intelligence, just like we suspected. They set Samantha up and kidnapped you to force her to kill Alex, Jimmy, and Chancellor Nolan. But we staged the whole thing when we were able to lock onto the phone signal of one of the men holding you."

"We can do the Scooby-Doo explanations thing later, preferably over some eggs and bacon and a bottle of scotch," Casey said. "But we need to get out of here right now."

"You're right, John," Sarah replied. The five went to the door and toward Casey's vehicle with John leading the way. The sound of gunfire suddenly filled the air.

"Get down!" John yelled as he leaped back, tackling the other four down in the process. They quickly moved away from the door as a group of twenty men fired away.

Argyll Arms Pub, West End, London, UK
October 11, 2033
10:00 PM GMT

Carina, Samantha, Alex, Jimmy, and Chancellor Nolan stared at the men holding them in the back of the pub. Given they were unarmed and outnumbered three-to-one, their hopes of escape appeared slim at best.

"You know," Lightman began. "I almost feel bad about ending your lives. So much talent assembled in vain. It's like destroying a Renoir. Well, in your cases, maybe a Picasso, given how sideways you people operate."

Lightman laughed at his own joke. Samantha hung her head. "I'm sorry, Mother," she said quietly.

"For what?" Carina replied.

"For getting everybody involved in this, especially you. You did all of that work to help me, encouraged me to be an agent, and it's over before it ever really began."

Carina smiled. "Then you're apologizing for no reason, Sam. We've gotten out of tougher situations than this before."

Samantha stared at all of the guns pointed at them. "You have?"

Carina took her daughter's hand. "You forget who you're friends with? The impossible is our specialty."

"She's right," Jimmy replied as he slowly extracted his emergency phone from his back pocket. "We just have to give Jenny a call."

Alex raised an eyebrow and glanced at the Chancellor sitting at her left.

"Jenny who?" Samantha asked.

Jimmy punched 867-5309 on his phone and hit Send. "Nice girl. Really lights up a room."

Jimmy threw his phone into the air and ducked down, putting his Intersect glasses on in the process. Alex tackled Nolan to the ground while Carina grabbed her daughter and turned her away. All five of them shut their eyes as the flashbang in the phone went off, blinding Lightman, Pollard, Herbert, and all of their men. Jimmy leaped up as the light subsided, and his Intersect flooded his mind with the right program. He performed two consecutive spinning kicks to knock the guns out of the hands of Lightman's men. He then took out two of them with a single roundhouse kick. Alex and Carina got up as two men went after them, taking both down with a punch on each. Another man tried to attack, but Nolan tripped him from his prone position. He quickly got to his knees and landed a shot to keep him down. Lightman, Pollard, and Herbert ran for the doors as the remaining men tried to attack. Jimmy landed a haymaker on one, pirouetted, and connected an elbow at another. Samantha landed a roundhouse kick on another thug as Carina and Alex pulled Nolan to his feet. They stood and watched as Jimmy took out two more men with a flurry of punches. The last two tried to attack him, but Jimmy pushed off the back of a chair and scissor-kicked his legs, knocking both men out at the same time.

Chancellor Nolan looked at the charred phone that contained the flashbang. "Jenny, as in that old song from the early 1980s about the phone number?" Jimmy nodded. "Wouldn't Manfred Mann's Blinded by the Light have been more apropos?"

"Hey, you make your own running gags, we'll make ours," Jimmy replied in mild irritation as he retrieved his gun. "By the way, that's a Bruce Springsteen song."

"But which version is better?" Nolan countered with a smirk.

Jimmy rolled his eyes as Alex and Carina retrieved their weapons, and the group took off after Lightman, Pollard, and Herbert.

Unknown Location, London, UK
October 11, 2033
10:00 PM GMT

Chuck, Sarah, and John kept away from the opening as Lightman's men continued to fire at them. Casey and Verbanski held them off with their automatic weapons.

"Did you guys bring any more guns?" John asked in a state of panic.

"A whole arsenal, but they're out in the van," Casey replied. "Plus, we're a little busy right now."

.John crawled towards Casey and Verbanski. "No problem. Keep them at bay. I'll go get them."

"No, John!" Sarah replied as she pulled him back from the entrance. "You know what we went through to rescue you? I'm not letting you risk your life like that!"

"But Casey and Gertrude will run out of ammo sooner or later," John replied. "We'll all be dead if that happens."

Casey looked back at Chuck and Sarah. He then focused on Chuck's Intersect glasses. "Bartowski, Walker, get up here."

Chuck and Sarah crawled up to Casey and Verbanski. "You two cover us," Casey said as Verbanski and he handed Chuck and Sarah their automatic rifles and extra clips. "We'll run and get the weapons."

"Wait, what?" Chuck asked in shock. "You're a much better shot than me. And you know I have trouble with killing people!"

Casey pointed to his Intersect glasses. "Then aim carefully."

Chuck froze momentarily before figuring it out. "Oh, of course."

Casey and Verbanski readied themselves. Chuck and Sarah moved to where Casey and Verbanski were, and Chuck looked out over the terrain at Lightman's men. The IntComm downloaded the information he needed into his head.

"Three," Chuck counted down. "Two…one…now!"

Chuck opened fire as Casey and Verbanski sprinted across the road to reach their van. Chuck's aim was true, knocking several weapons out of the hands of Lightman's men while Sarah fired away at several other men who tried to charge towards them. Casey and Verbanski leapt behind the van for cover.

One of Lightman's men threw a grenade at the entrance to the warehouse.

"RUN!" Chuck screamed as the grenade landed in the warehouse. The three ran for cover, Chuck's IntComm spotting a steel storage locker. He grabbed Sarah and John and threw them over it as the grenade went off underneath a scaffolding, sending it crashing to the ground. Sarah and John landed behind the storage locker as the scaffolding fell forward, hitting Chuck just as he was about to dive behind the same storage locker. He fell to the ground and screamed out in pain as the scaffolding pinned him to the ground.

"Chuck!" Sarah yelled as she peeked over the storage locker. She was horrified to see Chuck not moving and his leg broken in two places.

Four of Lightman's men opened fire at Casey and Verbanski, pinning them back from opening the van, while the remaining men poured into the warehouse and surrounded Chuck, Sarah, and John.

Noell Street, West End, London, UK
October 11, 2033
10:10 PM GMT

Mr. Lightman walked down the alley behind the pub. His plans were ruined, but he wanted one last chance at revenge. However, getting out of the area would be problematic with the large police presence.

He stayed in the shadows as he approached the Metropolitan Police vehicle. He picked up a rock to throw at the wall and get the attention of the officer inside the vehicle.

"Who's back there?" the officer said when he heard the noise. He got out of his vehicle and walked down the alley. He never saw the flash of metal from the knife in Mr. Lightman's hand as it was plunged into his side underneath his vest. He fell to the ground. Mr. Lightman fished the keys out of the officer's pocket and got in his vehicle. He took off with sirens blaring towards the warehouse where John Bartowski was being kept.

The Bartowski family ruined his plans. He wanted to make sure he ruined their lives.

-/^\-

Jimmy ran down the street with his gun drawn, looking for Arthur Pollard. He was incensed they managed to get away and was determined to take him out. He then heard screams coming from the Oxford Circus station on the Underground. He descended the stairs and ran through the station as the few people riding the tubes at this time of night sprinted for the exits. He reached the tracks and found out why.

Pollard had a shoulder launcher aimed right at Jimmy's head.

"Mr. Murdock," Arthur Pollard called out. "This will be the highlight of my career."

Jimmy smiled. "More like a lowlight to me. Don't you just hate it when the good guys win? It's like you're on a damn TV show or something."

"Not tonight," Pollard replied acidly. "Even all of your skills can't stop a Skullbuster. I fire, and there's no way you can get out of range in time."

Jimmy shrugged. "That's true." Pollard gave an evil grin and fired. "Unless I happened to find your car before I entered the pub."

Pollard's eyes went wide when the Skullbuster didn't launch out of the tube. Jimmy sprinted in the opposite direction and dove onto the tracks as the Skullbuster exploded inside the launcher. Pollard screamed in pain as the electronic waves overtook him. He collapsed to the ground.

Jimmy slowly got up as his entire body shook from the effects of the Skullbuster. He pulled himself up on the platform and exited the Underground.

-/^\-

Samantha walked down the alley behind the shops on Hanover Street. Carina, Alex, and she managed to trace Natasha Herbert to this area and had the police cordon off the street. It astounded her to no end that their lives were about to end only a few minutes ago, only to have everything turn around. And as much as she tried to treat this like a mission, she couldn't deny she wanted revenge against this woman. Alex may have been right about revenge being a dangerous motivation, but it was serving her well right now.

Until she took a roundhouse kick to the face. She fell to her knees, and her gun fell out of her hands.

She looked up groggily to see Natasha Herbert standing over her with a wicked smile on her face. Herbert gave her another kick to the face, and Samantha collapsed to the ground.

Herbert kicked Samantha's gun far away. "You know, Michelle was just business," she sneered as she towered over Samantha. "But this I am going to enjoy to the fullest."

Herbert grabbed Samantha by the lapels of her jacket and threw her into the brick wall.

"My only regret," Herbert said as she approached Samantha. "…is that someone already killed your loser boyfriend."

Herbert reached down to grab Samantha again. Samantha's boot shot up and nailed Herbert in the chin. She staggered back as Samantha got to her feet with a fury that matched the red color of her hair. She spun and landed a roundhouse kick to Herbert's face, sending her back against the opposite building. She followed it up with a vicious hook, followed by a second and a third. Herbert snarled and tried to attack, only to get another roundhouse kick to her face.

"Nobody," Samantha growled as she landed a right cross. "…calls John Bartowski a loser." She landed a second cross which sent Herbert to her knees. She then landed her boot right under Herbert's chin, and Herbert was down for good.

Samantha felt unbridled fury run through her veins as she retrieved her gun and aimed it at Herbert's head. She cocked it and her trigger finger began to squeeze.

"Sam," a voice called out gently from behind her.

Samantha turned to see Carina standing there.

"That's not you," Carina said quietly.

Samantha stared in shock, even though her blood continued to boil. It was the last thing she expected her mother to say. "She killed….she killed my best friend. And she did it for no good reason."

"I killed people the same way when I started. And I didn't even care. But it takes something away from you and you won't even know it. It takes away your soul. Something I didn't get back until you came along."

"But…"

"I know you want her to pay. I don't blame you. But I don't want to lose you. And I don't think John wants to lose you, either. You have so much more than I did at your age. Please, don't make the same mistake I made."

Samantha stared at her mother. The longer she stared, the more she could feel her fury ebb. She safetied her weapon and walked to her mother. Carina pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I'm proud of you, honey," Carina said. "You did the right thing. Even if it doesn't feel good, sometimes you have to show you're the better person."

Behind them, Herbert shook her head clear and looked up at them. She then reached under her coat for her gun. She aimed it at the pair.

A shot rang out. Herbert fell back to the ground with a bullet through the middle of her chest.

Carina and Samantha stared at Herbert in shock. They then turned to see Alex behind them with her gun aimed and smoke coming out of the barrel.

"But sometimes, you do have to put the bitch down," Alex said quietly.

Unknown Location, London, UK
October 11, 2033
10:35 PM GMT

Sarah and John stood with their hands above their head as ten of Lightman's men surrounded them. Two men stood on each side of them. They could still hear gunfire from outside as the remaining members of Lightman's men continued to fire away at Casey and Verbanski.

"I hope you realize your meal ticket has been arrested by now," Sarah said to sow a little discord in the people in front of her. "Kiss your big payday goodbye."

"Like we'll believe that," one of the men replied. "And even if that's true, we'll just collect our fee from you instead."

"We don't have a lot of money on us," John replied. He then saw his father move his head slowly behind the men in front of them. "But we do have something that you don't."

"What's that?"

Chuck pulled the Intersect glasses off of his head. He tossed them into the air and John caught them. Chuck changed the program on the IntComm as John put the glasses on. The IntComm flooded his mind with the proper program.

"Skills," John said.

He pushed off the shoulders of the men on each side of him to kick high and nail two of the men in front of him. He landed and then slammed those two men into each other. The others were taken by surprise, which was the opening Sarah needed to land an elbow at one man and flip him to the ground. She then send another one down with a vertical kick. One man tried to level his gun at Sarah, but John kicked the gun out of his hands and sent him down with a hook while Sarah thrust a palm strike at the thug behind her. John grabbed Sarah and spun her so she could take out the last two with a hard kick to their faces.

"How was that?" John asked.

Sarah grinned. "Like father, like son." She grabbed two of the automatic weapons Lightman's men carried. "Stay here with your father."

Sarah ran to the warehouse exit with both weapons at the ready. One of the men turned to fire at her, only to end up with a bullet in his shoulder. He fell to the ground in pain.

"Drop your weapons!" Sarah shouted as she trained her guns on Lightman's men, taking them by surprise. Casey and Verbanski quickly opened the van and took out rifles of their own. "Now!"

Lightman's men stood for a moment but did nothing. One of them decided to raise his weapon at Sarah. It was the last thing he ever did as he took a shot through the middle of his forehead.

"Anybody else want to piss off Mama Bear?" Sarah asked defiantly.

-/^\-

"Dad, hang on," John told his father as he stepped back and surveyed the warehouse. The Intersect flooded his mind with various objects and physics equations. John ran to get a steel girder from the other side of the downed scaffolding. He then found an industrial-sized toolbox and placed it next to his father. He then placed the steel girder over the toolbox and wedged it under the scaffolding to make a lever. He grabbed a length of rope.

"Hang on to this," he told his father. Chuck hung on to one end of the rope as John took the other end to the opposite side of the girder. He lifted his foot up as high as he could and pushed down hard on the girder. The scaffolding lifted slightly off the ground, but it was enough for John to pull the rope slowly and extract his father from underneath it. He let the girder up slowly, and the scaffolding dropped to the ground again.

"Dad, are you OK?"

Chuck nodded. "My leg hurts, but that's fine. You did great, son."

"Thanks." John then heard the sound of a siren coming from the opposite end of the warehouse. "I'll tell them to call an ambulance."

John ran out of the warehouse and saw a Metropolitan Police car pulling up to the warehouse. He waved at it, and it pulled up to him.

"Officer, my father is…" John was interrupted by the IntComm processing who the man was. John froze in shock. "You're David Lightman. You're responsible for all of this!"

"And you're a dead man!" Lightman screamed in rage as he pulled out his gun. The IntComm quickly flooded John's mind with instructions, and he backflipped away from the car as Lightman fired. However, the IntComm wasn't fast enough, and the bullet caught John in the shoulder. He fell to the ground clutching his shoulder.

"Now I can finish the job." Lightman started to get out of the squad car, only to have to duck back in when gunfire hit the car. He looked up to see Casey and Verbanski running towards them. He gunned the engine and sped away. Casey and Verbanski fired until they emptied their clips.

"John!" Casey said in shock as he saw blood coming out of his shoulder. "Hang on, we'll get an ambulance."

"Dad, too," John whispered in pain. "Dad, too." Verbanski took off her coat and pressed it against John's shoulder wound. Casey kept his legs elevated while he ordered an ambulance for Chuck and him.

MI-5 Headquarters, London
October 17, 2033
10:30 AM GMT

The memorial service had just concluded. The gathering was small, as only a few people were authorized to attend. The majority of the crowd were John's family and friends, as well as Samantha and Chancellor Nolan. The anonymous star that represented David Lightman had been taken down last week, Chancellor Nolan keeping to his promise of not waiting until morning to remove it. However, four new stars were added. The three agents who were cut down by Daemon were now on the wall, as well as Michelle Travis, who was honored for having died in the line of duty even though she was still a student.

"Agent Collins, I wish to thank you for your dedication to preserving His Majesty's Government and the people it serves," Chancellor Nolan said solemnly. "I deeply regret it came with such a heavy personal toll for you."

"Thank you, Chancellor," Samantha said quietly.

"I know you'll honor Michelle and your fellow agents with your talents and bravery for many years to come."

The Chancellor shook her hand and then turned to John Bartowski. "Mr. Bartowski, I know this wasn't your fight, but His Majesty wanted me to convey his personal thanks for your help. It is a great comfort to know the Bartowski name will continue to symbolize bravery and dedication for another generation of your family."

The Chancellor then placed a small medal with a red ribbon in John's left hand, his right still in a sling from his gunshot wound. "He decreed that you be awarded a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire."

John stared in surprise at the medal. "Wow, this is an honor." He turned to his parents. "Have you guys ever gotten one of these?"

Everybody shuffled their shoes a bit. "Um, we all have, John," Chuck replied as he balanced himself on a set of crutches. "Alex and Jimmy are Commanders. Casey and Gertrude are Knight Commander and Dame Commander, respectively. That's a higher rank than a regular Commander."

"Which he never lets me forget," Jimmy grumbled.

"And your mother and I are Dame Grand Cross and Knight Grand Cross, which is the highest honor you can be."

"Which they never let me forget," Jimmy grumbled again, although the smirk on his face told John he was just kidding.

"So mine isn't all that special?" John said.

Sarah grinned and gave her son a hug. "John, yours is the most special of all. We received ours for doing our jobs. You earned yours for being brave and resourceful when you're only supposed to be going to college."

John smiled. "Kind of hard not to be that way when I grew up with the people in front of me."

"That's certainly true," Sarah replied with a nod. "Although I'm sure your Dad will appreciate the full scholarship the government gave you for Cambridge even more."

"Nerd will probably spend it all on a new computer," Casey muttered to break up the discussion. "You still have a 1:00 PM Econ class to attend this afternoon. Right, John?"

He rolled his eyes. "I can always count on you to prevent me from enjoying a day off, Uncle Case."

"We'll meet you at the car, John," Chuck said as everybody walked away from the Memorial Wall, leaving John and Samantha there.

"So, back out into the world?" John said with a grin. "Fast cars, cool gadgets?"

"I wouldn't mind a fast car, but we seem to do quite well without cool gadgets," Samantha replied with a grin. "And on missions, too."

John laughed heartily. "Well, I'm no expert in that field, but I do try my best."

"And now His Majesty's Government knows how good your best is. Better be careful, John. I'm sure your mother can stop your Aunt Alex from recruiting you, but how much pull does she have with Chancellor Nolan?"

"She won't have to," John replied confidently. "I am still a college student. Although the thought of us fighting the bad guys together is very tempting."

Samantha wrapped her arms around his neck. "It always will be. But I'll be here no matter what happens. After all, you'd be a tough man for me to get over."

John smiled as he gazed into Samantha's sky blue eyes. She pulled his face to her and their lips met. Their kiss may have lasted only seconds, but it felt like forever in their minds. A forever both of them wanted to share.

"Be careful out there," John whispered. "Don't be a hero, just be you."

Samantha cradled his face in her hands. "I will." She kissed him on the lips one more time and planted a few more along his cheek. "I'll see you soon."

They stepped back from each other, and Samantha squeezed John's hand one last time before she walked down the hallway, reaching the elevator and touching her ID to the scanning plate to open the doors. John gave her a gentle wave goodbye as the doors closed. He then turned and walked to the car where everyone was waiting.

Unknown Location
December 19, 2033
3:30 AM

Mr. Lightman spent another sleepless night on the rickety cot in a hostel somewhere in Eastern Europe. It was one of the few places he could blend in and not worry about the world-wide manhunt for him. It was also one of the only places that didn't require a lot of money.

Thanks to Tyler Cook providing a litany of information to the SIS to avoid a lifetime in prison, Lightman's bank accounts were frozen and even using a computer could raise red flags. The only thing he had now was time. And he had plenty of that to consider his next move. He vowed to rebuild his empire. He vowed he would be powerful again.

But most of all, he vowed that John Bartowski and Samantha Collins would pay for what they did to him.