Hannibal had told Murdock to guard the cars. Then he'd called Murdock to come in and help them. Well Murdock could see only one way of doing both.

He drove through a hall full of dead hulking machines and screeched around a bend as Hannibal gave him directions over the radio. A long passageway, dark as a bag. But up ahead a light, a thin stream pointing upwards. Flashlight. A beacon. Like the goddamn bat signal. Murdock put his foot down.

"Okay, I hear you," Hannibal said over the radio. "Slow down now. Now Murdock, dammit!"

Murdock slammed on the brakes, and then jumped out of the car, leaving the engine running. Just a few yards ahead of him, the headlights shone into a gaping hole in the floor. Cautious, he stepped to the edge and looked down to see Hannibal and BA staring up at him, their faces lit only by Hannibal's flashlight

"Rope, Murdock. There's some in the trunk," Hannibal instructed.

Of course. They always had rope. Always came in useful. Murdock ran to the trunk and found the neat coil of nylon rope. He tied one end of that to the front bumper of the car and tossed the other end into the pit. After the beating he'd taken earlier, he certainly couldn't heave either Hannibal or BA up himself. But the car could do them both at once. He jumped back into the driver's and put the car in reverse, then spoke into his radio.

"I'm ready."

"Okay, Murdock, slowly. Very slowly."

Murdock just barely touched the accelerator and the car edged backwards. He heard Hannibal cursing and BA growling, but nobody yelled at him to stop, so he kept moving, slow and steady.

A moment later, he grinned as Hannibal emerged over the edge of the pit, into the glare of the headlights. Once he had his feet on solid ground, Hannibal turned back to help BA up over the edge too and then they both dropped the rope. Murdock braked and a second later Hannibal and BA piled into the car, breathing heavily.

"Let's go, Murdock," Hannibal panted, tossing the rope into the back seat. "I can't raise Face or Decker, I get the feeling they could use a hand."

+-+-+

"Ah," Saunders turned back to Face and smiled. "The 'rabid' Colonel Decker, as Miss Allen called him in one of her stories."

"She was quoting."

Saunders laughed. "Of course. Do you want me to kill him?"

"What?" Face's yell echoed off the walls.

"He causes you and your friends a lot of trouble."

And killing him would cause us about a thousand times more. How the hell do I deal with this guy? How do I keep someone talking when he's so irrational?

Saunders took a step towards Decker.

"No! For God's sake! No, I don't want you to murder Colonel Decker, you goddamn nut. Put your damn gun down right now, I've had enough!"

He looked hurt. Saunders actually took on a wounded expression, as if Face had hurt his feelings. Well he'd hurt more than that. He started walking forwards again. Nervous, Saunders gestured at Amy with his pistol.

"Stay back."

"You won't shoot her. Because if you do, I tell you what, I won't shoot you. I'll make sure you stay alive. I'll make sure you stay alive for a long time... Just like in the camps."

"Don't talk about --"

"You brought it up." Face kept walking, close now, very close. "Quite a learning experience wasn't it?"

"Shut up, I --"

A sound interrupted him. A groan from Decker, stirring on the ground. Saunders couldn't help turning to glance at him. And now Face was close enough that the second's distraction gave him enough time, to launch himself, flying past Amy and tackling Saunders, flinging him backwards. Saunders's gun discharged and Face heard Amy give a cry muffled by her gag. Please God no, let that be fright, don't let her be hit. God, please!

As they hit the ground, Face on top, both men dropped their guns, which bounced away into the dark. Face scrambled upwards, straddled Saunders, across his chest. How long can I pin him down? Heavier than me. Can't pin a man heavier than me for long. Need an alternative. How about this? He put his hands around Saunders's neck and squeezed. How about I throttle this bastard to death like he did to Celia and all those poor girls?

Saunders made a choking sound and struggled. But insane anger gave Face more strength than he ever remembered possessing. He wanted to kill this man. So many years since he'd killed anyone and he'd never wanted to do so again. Not with a gun and certainly not with his hands. But now, the temptation overwhelmed him, drowned the rational part of his mind that knew they needed Saunders alive, for the police. Nothing mattered but revenge as the blood roared in his ears and misted his vision.

"Lieutenant." The voice, command voice. Hannibal? No. He stopped, looked up. Decker stood over him. The colonel spoke again, quiet, almost sympathetic, but firm. "That's enough now."

Yes, it is. Face looked down at the man under his hands. Decker doesn't believe I'm a murderer. Wouldn't normally mind proving Decker wrong, but not about that.

Face took his hands away from Saunders's throat and the man coughed and gasped and moved weakly under Face's weight, too stunned to fight. Recalling the short work Saunders had made of Murdock, Face gave him no chance to recover. He locked his hands into a double fist and swung, pasting Saunders across the jaw, knocking him out.

He stayed sitting on the limp body for a moment, panting, head spinning now, feeling sick at how close he'd just come to finishing the man.

"Quick," Decker said, "before he comes around. Grab him."

That damn voice. The Army taught commanders to use it and conditioned the rest to obey it. Face followed Decker's order without hesitation. They each grabbed one of Saunders's arms and dragged him, none too gently, to the wall. Decker took a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. For a moment, he looked at the cuffs, then at Face, an agony of indecision in his eyes. But Saunders groaned and started to stir and at once Decker lost the agonised expression and cuffed Saunders to a sturdy pipe.

Face stepped back and smirked at Decker. "Got any more cuffs?"

Decker just glared and Face laughed, the relief making him dizzy and crazed. Turning away from Decker, he ran back to Amy and dropped to his knees by her. The gag came off first and then the ropes on her wrists. As soon as they fell away Amy threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest, sobbing.

"It's okay," Face said. "It's over." He rubbed her back, trying to calm her. "You're safe. Now, hold on, I need to get you out of that shackle." She pulled away from him and smiled through her tears.

"Right, sorry, just... Sorry."

"That's fine." He reached into his pockets for his lock picks and then stopped. Decker stood nearby, gun in his hand, watching Face, anticipating. Face groaned. Aw hell, he's waiting for me to let Amy out of this shackle, so he can put me in it instead. He's still got his gun; I've no clue where I dropped mine. He'll try to force me. But what choice do I have? I can't leave Amy here.

"Grateful isn't in your vocabulary, is it?" Face said to Decker, who just frowned, puzzled. Of course, he'd still been knocked out when Saunders had offered to kill Decker and Face had refused the offer. Then Face smiled. He could hear a sound now, a car. The rest of the team were on the way. Decker would be outnumbered any moment.

"Amy watch him." Face started working on the shackle on her ankle. He needed to time it just right.

A moment later car headlights swept up to them, at the exact same time as the shackle fell open. Face grinned at Decker, who stared, with frustration and despair on his face, at the oncoming car.

Face helped Amy to her feet and they stood hand in hand in the glare of the headlights as the car stopped and the rest of the team jumped out.

"Amy!" Murdock ran to her and grabbed her into his arms in a bear hug that must have squashed the breath from her. Hannibal looked around, taking in Decker and Saunders, then turning to Face.

"You handled it?"

Face nodded. "It's handled."

"Okay." Hannibal nodded in return. "Details later. We have to go, before any cops or MPs show up. Decker, appreciate the help. You've got the arrest. See you around."

"You certainly will." Decker's voice rumbled lower than BA's.

"That's the spirit." Hannibal grinned. "Never give up. Come on, guys, Amy. In the car."

Face took a step towards it, following BA, but then stopped when he heard Amy's voice.