Mark wants nothing more than to sleep for at least three hundred years and then, and only then, consider opening his eyes, but yelling and general commotion are beckoning him awake. His eyes feel like lead, his mouth like it was stuffed with blood-soaked cotton, and his head pulses with a sharp pain. He coughs as he pulls himself into a sitting position against a building, recalling the firefight then fistfight and Curran ranting before knocking him out.

The corridor he is in is empty, the soldiers apparently either assuming he was dead or not bothering to restrain him yet. Mark attempts to stand and winces at the stabbing pain in his side. He definitely has a cracked rib. The world tilts slightly but Mark is determined to gain his bearings. He knows Emily will take care of Macey and Stephen if he never returns, and though she may think he left after their argument the other day and abandoned them like their father, he needs to prove with the last of his energy that that isn't him. Emily may never know, but if Mark is going down it's going to be to the benefit of the Shannon kids who will get through this. Someone has to get through this, so it can all be worth it for those who don't.

Feeling beyond determined and significantly more solid on his feet, Mark inches toward the corner of the building where the commotion is dulling. Surveying the situation rather than living it, Mark realizes that there isn't an entire army here. He bets the suits in charge didn't expect the apprehension of a single family to be so hard, and even with the escalation, there aren't that many soldiers remaining. It appears that between himself, Ken, and Josh ten men are down, and three more are covering any possible exists.

There are probably more at Hope Plaza and around the city center but neither local cops, pop control, nor even recruitment officers are in the vicinity. They don't know, Mark realizes. This is Phoenix taking charge, not an all-out war against half a dozen people. Before he can consider how to use this realization to their advantage, Mark zeroes in on Ken roughly leading Maddy toward an idling vehicle. He slides open side door and proceeds to secure a zip tie around Maddy's wrists, but what Mark can't understand is that Maddy isn't running away.

She merely turns her back toward him, her arms compliantly behind her. "Get the others secured with as minimal damage as possible," Ken says nonchalantly. Mark follows the gesture of his head toward the fire escape Ken and Josh are scaling rapidly, Josh cradling Zoe and Ken covering them.

A large soldier thunders up the narrow stairs after them, but the weight is evidently too much for the old metal. It starts to creak. Everyone grabs onto the railings as the structure sways. Ken looks over the side toward the pavement. They are about halfway up and reaching the roof seems doubtful now given the imminent risk of collapse. "You're going to jump," Ken tells Josh who in turn looks at the guy as if he has just sprouted another head.

Ken takes a crying Zoe from Josh's arms and cradles her against his chest. "Tuck your legs so the impact doesn't break them and prepare to roll," he instructs. "Then you'll have to catch Zoe and run as I distract the soldiers."

"This is a bad idea," Josh argues, but Ken is already persistently pushing him toward the railing, the large soldier now only two flights beneath them. Josh looks at his sister in Curran's grip and his resolve hardens. He may have already lost Maddy, but he sure as hell isn't letting that creep touch Zoe.

Josh vaults over the railing and onto the ground below. His left ankle gets caught beneath him and throbs in pain, but it isn't broken which is about the best-case scenario. Without hesitation, Josh is alert and aiming his gun. The remaining soldiers are either scaling the fire escape or off blocking the streets, so Josh turns upward, most of his weight on one leg, and prepares to catch Zoe.

"Cross your arms in front of your chest for me," Ken tells the quivering child. "And close your eyes. You'll be with your brother before you can blink."

"I'm scared," Zoe shakes her head, fists clinging to Ken's coat.

"Remember I said I would keep you safe?" Ken says. "We're friends and friends have each other's backs." Zoe ponders this for a second with wide teary eyes before nodding and crossing an x over her heart. Ken copies her before tossing the girl off the edge of the fire escape toward Josh's waiting arms. Josh catches her and two stumbles backward with a thud.

Two soldiers have reached Ken on the platform now and attempt to subdue him. Meanwhile on the ground, Mark searches for his previously discarded weapon and finds a much better one on one of the dead guys instead. He attempts to aim at one of Ken's opponents, but they are moving around too much between the many metal bars, effectively blocking Mark from being much use.

Maddy watches the scene unfold, and Curran's words from earlier come back to her. "To negotiate you need to have something desirable. From where I'm standing, I'm holding all the cards." There needs to be more of a diversion for Ken and Josh to get away with Zoe.

Having Jim Shannon as a father, Maddy had been taught a general overview of what to do in various situation. So, when Tim had retrained her wrists, Maddy had intentionally held them in such a way to prepare for an escape. Granted, she isn't nearly as strong as her father, but right now she feels fueled with so much adrenaline it's like she's invincible.

Using all of the force she can muster, Maddy snaps her wrists in opposite directions, freeing them from the tie. Her body moves without her mind's directions, an instinct she didn't know she had. As Tim turns from the fire escape chaos toward Maddy's sudden movement, she yanks the handgun off of his side and points it at him with shaking hands.

Ken blinks, then laughs. "You actually think you have it in you to shoot me?"

Maddy hesitates. She doesn't want to pull the trigger. She wants to be with her family and safe even if that means never going to Terra Nova. Even if that means putting up with John and his friends for the rest of her education, Maddy would give anything to be back home right now.

Despite everything he has done to hurt her and the people she loves most in the world, Maddy can't fathom killing Timothy Curran. She doesn't want to take someone else's life.

Tim of course sees her confliction and moves to swiftly disarm her. Maddy shifts to autopilot again though, backing away and turning the gun around. The self-assured glint leaves Curran's eyes instantly.

"Not funny, Madelyn," he spits. "Drop the act and drop the gun."

"This has never been funny," Maddy chokes back a sob. "I don't understand how this is all just a twisted game to you! I just want my family! Stop. Stop trying to hurt them."

Josh is shielding Zoe's face as he looks on in horror. Mark is still covered by the side of the building, hiding until he can be most effective.

"I'm not playing anymore," Ken seethes. "You have until the count of ten and then one of them dies." He points the sig in his hand toward Josh and Zoe.

"You do that, I do this." Maddy's voice is barley a raspy whisper, but her intentions are clear.

"One … two …"

Maddy only raises her chin in defiance, then clicks off the safety.

Ken curses and tells the other soldiers to lower their weapons.

Through a veil of tears, Maddy looks over at her big brother who's yelling now, pleading for her to stop. "Promise me you'll go through the portal!" Maddy merely yells in return. "I know you never wanted to, and I'm sorry you have to leave your friends, your life, Kara, but I need you to make sure that you, Mom, Dad, and Zoe go tomorrow morning. Please, just promise me you'll get out of here. Please."

"Maddy, no! You're the one that deserves to go. You're the one who wants to." Josh is crying freely now, grasping onto Zoe with a death grip. "You have an entire life ahead of you just stop."

"Five … six …"

"I know I've always made fun of you," Josh continues, "but you're my sister. This isn't how it's supposed to go. You're brilliant, and I've always been jealous. I love you."

Josh still remembers his sister as the little girl who would bring home ants she found on the side walk and feed them crumbs and name them because she was so kind hearted. In elementary school during lunch, she would always go sit with the new kid or the left-out kid or the one who had just lost a parent, and they'd sit in silence and she'd wipe their tears. She'd offer to help her classmates who were struggling and actually wanted to learn, and she'd spend her weekends volunteering at the hospital as a translator. She is the most deserving person he knows and watching her carry the burden and guilt of this entire mess crushes him. "None of this is your fault," Josh promises.

"Tell Mom and Dad how much I love them?"

Mark crumbles, barely able to aim at anything through the tears streaming down his face. No way in hell is he letting Maddy sacrifice herself like this.

"Eight … nine …" Curran hesitates. "Last chance," he says, but it comes out more of a plea than a threat.

This is for you, Daddy.

Mark catches Ken's attention and without speaking they agree upon a plan. With a nod, Mark sprints off toward Maddy, ready to knock her down, while Ken knocks out the smaller of the two soldiers with a solid punch and evades the other by vaulting off the side of the metal structure toward Josh and Zoe.

The fire escape has had enough of undue weight and sporadic movement and with a loud crash crumbles top down.

The sound of the single gunshot is still louder.