Laura's POV

'They're gone... They're both gone... And it's all my fault... If I hadn't been so stupid and reckless while fighting my father, then my mother would still be...' I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to. My eyes welled up with tears—pouring down my cheeks like rivers, as I screamed and cried out. I collapsed onto the ground—sitting down close to the window. Hugging my legs tightly against my chest. 'She's dead. He's dead. They're both dead. All because of me...' All of a sudden, I hear the metal door burst open and the sounds of heavy foot steps.

"Laura! Are you here?!"

"Uncle Chris..." I muttered quietly to myself—recognizing his voice. My voice sounding very hoarse after crying my very heart out.

He came barging into the room, with his rifle in hand. Once Chris saw me on the ground next to the broken window—with my eyes all puffy and red from crying so much, along with numerous dried tears stained on both of my cheeks. He lowered his gun and hurried over to me, kneeling down. Chris engulfed me in a warm longing hug, as I cried even harder than before.

"Shh, shhh.... Its okay kiddo. You're alright," He said. Using a soothing tone of voice to help calm me down,
while he rubbed my back.

"Mom... she's–" I couldn't finish my sentence as I cried out again, with guilt tearing at my heart from the inside out.

"I know Laura, I know," Chris said as he helped me up off the ground. "We need to hurry, the helicopter is waiting for us at the top."

I nod my head. Knowing there was nothing we could do about Mom. I wiped away the tears brimming in my eyes, as we left the ninth floor. Setting out for the very top.

Chris's POV

After radioing in with everyone that I've located Laura and that we were now heading for the chopper, I learn that they're all already at the top. Waiting for the two of us so we can finally go. When Laura and I make it to the very top of the skyscraper—we see Leon, Piers, and Tyler standing on the helipad next to the helicopter with everyone else inside waiting patiently for us. As they all glanced over towards Laura, their gaze softening as soon as all of them notice how blood shot and swollen her eyes were, and that Claire isn't with us.

"Laura, are you okay? Where's your mother?" Tyler asked her with a concerned tone, as he approached us.

Laura slowly shook her head, as she was biting her bottom lip while trying her hardest to prevent more tears from pouring out of her eyes again. Tyler stood in front of us with utmost remorse. It didn't take very long for everybody else to figure out what Laura meant. Everyone fell silent with shock, as the girls silently gasped at the revelation.

"Come on, we to hurry," I changed the subject. "It won't be long until those gas bombs are deployed onto the city."

***3rd POV***

As the trio were walking towards the helicopter—where everyone else was waiting for them, they were well unaware of the fact that a Tricell operative had stealthily followed the group all the way from the facility to the top of the enormous skyscraper. Without being seen or caught—yet... He presses his finger over his comm link.

"Raymond, I've located the second target. Over," The agent reported in.

"Understood. Even with the major setbacks all of us had, we still succeeded with our objective here on our end, and we're now heading out. You have permission to switch from plan A to plan B. Take any measures necessary in order to succeed with the objective. Raymond out."

As the agent was hiding quietly on the staircase that lead to the roof of the building. With a semi-automatic sniper rifle in hand, he steadily peeked over from behind the stone wall. Taking his rifle—gradually aiming the weapon right  at Laura as she walking farther behind Tyler and Chris. The agent adjusted the scope to get a perfect view of the target—cocking his rifle with ease and his finger over the trigger. The instant he fixed his weapon, Laura faintly heard it from afar.

She halted in her tracks—turning around to face the man, as everyone's eyes instantly landing on the operative partially hiding behind the wall. They tried to get to Laura and pull her out of harms way before the Tricell agent could even pull the trigger, but the guys were too far away from her to stop what was about to happen. No one could at that point.

As if on cue, the agent pulled the trigger—beginning to fire his rifle right at Laura. The first couple of bullets pierced right through her arms and shoulders, causing blood to pour like rivers out of the bullet holes in her body and spill everywhere around her. The next round of bullets perforated through her chest and stomach—hitting a few of her vital organs along the way. He finished off by shooting Laura's legs, as her knees buckled under the tremendous pain—causing her to fall back and collapse onto the ground beneath her.

Everyone couldn't believe their eyes, they were overtaken by shock and vexation. It all happened so quickly. Almost as if it all occurred in slow motion—with everyone hearing nothing but the sounds of gunfire in the distance and their own hearts beating loudly against their chests. They all watched as Laura buckled to the ground under the immense pain that her whole body was virtually throbbing with.

"NO!!!" Leon, Piers, Rebecca, Austin, and Mark all hopped out of the chopper, as the B.S.A.A. sniper aimed his rifle at the agent—shooting him in the shoulder and in the arms. Causing him to drop his rifle and clutch himself in pain.

Rebecca, Chris, and Tyler rushed straightaway to Laura, as she was lying and bleeding out on the ground—on the verge of blacking out and falling unconscious. Leon and Piers charged right at the enemy operative with Mark and Austin following right behind them. The D.S.O. agent jumped up and aggressively kneed the asshole right in the face—tackling him viciously to the ground. Practically straddling his waist, Leon kept constantly throwing punch after punch right at him. Leon had never been this furious before in his entire life, up until now. Nothing but belligerence had clouded his thoughts and impelled his current actions. Leon grabbed him tightly by his throat—slightly lifting him up off the ground—and dealt one final blow to his face. Instantaneously knocking him out unconscious as he fell back onto the ground. Leon stood back up off the ground, with his fists clenched—breathing more heavily than usual.

Leon was able to snap out of his enraged daze, when he heard Laura cry out—yelping in pain. Turning around, he sees her whole body grimacing. Tossing and turning in a small forming pool of her own blood on the ground. While Rebecca, Chris, and Tyler were applying adequate pressure to the new wounds on her chest and stomach. With of look of pure determination and fury written all over her face, Emile jumped out of helicopter and began sprinting over towards Piers and Leon. Leaving behind the pilot and Moira in the helicopter as she was comforting little Lily in her arms.

Laura vaguely looked up at Chris, Rebecca, and Tyler, with tears tricking down her cheeks and blood profusely pouring out of her wounds in her chest and stomach onto the ground beneath her. The pain from Laura's wounds was very agonizing for her, nothing but torment and discomfort plagued her whole body. To the point where it was literally killing her, from the inside out. She began to have difficulty breathing, as her lungs were starting to fill up with her blood. Laura coughed up some blood—feeling herself slowing fading away from existence. Her eyelids began to feel heavy with fatigue. She just wanted the pain to stop.

"Laura you gotta fight to stay awake! You gotta stay with us!" Chris said to his dying niece. Laura couldn't hear a single word he said, only the sound of his voice. Her vision began to blur, as she was slowly slipping out of consciousness.

"Chris," He glanced up at Rebecca sitting across from him. "Laura has sustained massive internal bleeding from the gunshots. Some of those bullets had punctured a couple of her vital organs inside of her body, including her lungs. We need to get her to a hospital, and quick," Rebecca informed him.

While the trio were tending the best they could to Laura's injuries, Emile was about to throw herself at the motionless agent on the ground and beat the living shit out of him. Leon stopped her, by grabbing ahold of her before she could even reach him. Emile struggled fiercely against his grip, while Piers, Austin, and Mark were securing the agent's the hands and feet together with black zip ties.

"Come on, come on! Let me at him! This bastard deserves a hell lot more than a serious ass kicking–"

"Hey kid, now's not the time to be picking a fight with this guy. We need him alive for interrogation. So we can find out who hired him to do this in the first place." Emile calmed down and stopped thrashing around against Leon's grip, as he let go of her. Emile turned around to face him." Look, I know you're more than upset for what he did. So am I. But we can't let our emotions cloud our thoughts, especially now out of all times. If don't act fast now, Laura will bleed out to death soon, if we don't leave the city and get her to the closest hospital right away," Leon explained to Emile.

She glanced over at the agent, as Austin, Piers, and Mark were dragging him towards the chopper. Then looked over at her bestfriend on the ground surrounded by Tyler, Chris, and Rebecca. She shifted her gaze back at Leon.

"Alright. The douchebag can wait until later."

"Guys!"

Leon and Emile glanced over towards Chris. "We have three minutes to leave before the anti-viral gas bombs are deployed onto the city. We need to go, now!" Chris picked up Laura off the ground—not caring if her blood was getting all over his clothes or equipment—racing towards the helicopter along with everyone else.

Once they were inside the large chopper, pilot began starting up the helicopter from his seat. "Take us to the closest hospital out of Seattle and quick!" Leon ordered the pilot. "Roger that, we'll be there in no time," The pilot replied, as he was clicking numerous buttons on the panels before him. It didn't take very long for the pilot to start up the chopper, as the propellers were spinning at full speed. Once the helicopter was high up off the helipad, the pilot took off right away heading farther and farther away from the biohazard zone.