Hans and I walked down the building and into the basement where the rest of his goons were waiting. They were climbing into an ambulance and we got in, as well. Hans kept his arm around me and aimed his gun at my waist. We sat down and his goons stared.

The ambulance was started and its siren went off. Hans touched my lips, noticing that they were bleeding.

"Give me some ice." he told one of the goons.

They opened one of the first-aid kits and tossed him a pack of ice. He held it against my lip.

"Better?" he asked.

I didn't answer.

He put the pack down and stroked my face, staring at my lips.

"You'll like Germany." he said with his monotone voice.

"To Hell with Germany." I said, coldly.

He chuckled as he sat beside me, wrapping his arm around my neck. The ambulance started and drove out of the building. The siren was going off and I could people shouting and cars honking as they moved out of the way.

"You truly are remarkable." I muttered. "Using an ambulance to get out of town."

Hans spoke into my ear. "Very remarkable."

Suddenly, the ambulance came to a halt. Hans turned his head to glance at the driver.

"What happened?" he asked.

No reply came. A crash was heard and a gunshot.

Then, the little window separating the back of the ambulance from the front opened and more gunshots were fired. Hans's goons dropped dead and his grip around my neck tightened.

"Jen...Jen, you hear me?"

Dad..!

Hans acted quickly and covered my mouth with his hand. "You seem to have a difficulty staying dead, Mr. McClane."

Dad climbed through the window, holding his gun. "Difficulty? It's not that hard to avoid death, as long as you're smart enough."

Hans gripped my neck with his other hand. "Don't come a step closer. I would hate to break such a beautiful neck."

"It's over, Hans. The cops have probably noticed this crashed ambulance and are on their way."

"This ambulance is still mobile. You drive since you've already killed my previous driver."

My dad chuckled. "I'm a cop, not a medic."

Hans shrugged. "Your choice."

I let out a muffled cry as Hans squeezed my neck tightly. I couldn't breathe.

"Whoa, whoa, hey! I'll drive, alright? Just leave her alone." Dad said, holding his hands up.

Hans's grip loosened and I inhaled deeply. "Drop your gun."

Dad obeyed and climbed through the window and started the ambulance. He had to back it up a bit and continued driving as the siren continued.

"Where to, chief?" he called out from the driver's seat.

"You killed my navigator, Mr. McClane. Now, you must figure a way out of town." Hans called back.

"Looks like you're screwed. I don't really remember the streets around here."

"Then, allow me to refresh your memory."

Hans grabbed my arm and painfully twisted it behind my back. I held in any noise and he chuckled.

"You can do better than that, can't you?" he asked.

He twisted it even more and I couldn't help it. I let out a small cry.

"What are you doing to her? Get your damn hands off her!" Dad yelled as he drove.

"Then, get us out of town before I lose my patience."

Hans released my arm and I cradled it. My father hadn't been in New York in ages. There was no way he was going to get us out before Hans lost it. I knew the streets but that would remove my father's usefulness to Hans. He might kill him. I had to think of something.

Before I could think, Hans stroked my short hair and tilted his head in curiosity. "Why is your hair cut this way?"

I gave him a cold look. "Like what?"

"Like a boy's. I've seen many American women and most of them have long hair. But, not you."

"It's just a style, okay?"

He frowned and held the side of my face with his hand. "It's not a common style, is it?"

"Why the hell do you care?"

He turned red with anger and grabbed the back of my hair. He brought my cheek to his lips and spoke angrily.

"Your attitude has been too comfortably harbored in the dock of my patience. Face the future ahead of you and deal with it. When we get out of town, I will shoot your father and rip out his sarcastic tongue."

"You want to talk about the future? Fine. You're going to have to shoot me too. I'd rather be a corpse on the side of the freeway than go to Germany with a rotten thief with no conscience." I spat.

He yanked my head back so I could only look at the ceiling. "No conscience? My conscience is what has kept you alive this past hour. You may not believe this but I truly care for you, despite your little act. I would give nothing more than to just make love to you...right now."

"You're a really charming guy. I almost believe that you care about me."

"I would be happy to make you believe."

He made me face him, hugged me with one arm and pushed my head towards him with the other. I let out a muffled scream as we kissed. He held me tightly and I had no way to fight back. I screamed again but Dad couldn't hear me. Hans leaned me against the wall of the ambulance and put all his weight on me.

He parted to catch his breath and his lips were on mine again. I let out another scream and Dad heard it. The ambulance stopped and Hans looked at the driver's seat.

Dad came into the back, clenching his fists. "You're going to have to kill me and drive this damn thing yourself. I won't let you run your filthy hands over my daughter and pretend like nothing's wrong by driving this stupid thing."

I was silently crying now. Hans rolled his eyes and aimed the gun at my father. "It's your decision."

I acted fast. I kicked his leg but he fired the gun before he dropped it. He lunged at me as the bullet buried into my father's leg. Hans tackled me down and grabbed my throat with both hands. He was choking me.

"I don't need a gun to finish you!" he sneered.

I stared up at the ceiling and thought about Lucy and John Jr. Their little faces clouded my mind.

A gunshot pulled me back to reality. Hans's body collapsed ontop of me and I screamed. His weight kept me from being able to breathe.

"Jen!" Dad shouted. "Jen, baby, can you hear me?"

I was in total shock that I couldn't answer.

I heard his voice shake. "Jen? Baby girl..?"

I croaked. "Help..."

He gasped and pushed Hans's body to the side. I gasped as I was now able to breathe. My father was on the floor, his leg wounded badly. He crawled towards me as police sirens rang.

He pulled me into a hug and I cried. Despite all the pain and soreness of my body and the chaos going on outside the ambulance, I heard my father's voice.

"You did good, baby. You're okay."

The ambulance doors opened and officers came in, aiming their guns. They helped us out and drove us to the hospital. I fell asleep in the ambulance and woke up in the hospital as my mom was stroking my hand.

She gasped when I opened my eyes. "John..John, she's awake!"

I turned my head and saw that Dad was in a bed next to mine. He was all bandaged up and his face was clean.

"How you doing, Jen?" he asked.

"I'm fine. You look like crap." I smiled.

"Trust me, I know. I feel like crap."

Another face came into view. Black hair and brown eyes. I knew that face anywhere.

"Chris.." I croaked.

He held my hand and looked into my eyes. "Thank God, you're okay."

I squeezed his hand. "Thank my dad."

Chris looked over at my dad. He gave a curt nod. "Thank you, sir. She means everything to me."

My dad smiled. "So, you're Chris. We've got a lot to talk about."

Mom came to my side while they talked. She ran her hand across my forehead.

"You were so brave, baby. This will all be forgotten soon. I promise." she whispered.

I wish it was true. To this day, I'll never forget that horrible night where I played with the heart of a terrorist to stay alive. I know he truly loved me. I knew it.

But, I only played along to keep myself and many others from dying at the hands of a dangerous man.

THE END

A/N: There might be an epilogue so stay tuned for that, but otherwise, thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.