—tw: death; graphic depictions of death scenes.
please read at your own discretion.—

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There was an explosion, one right after another. All of the entrances were blown apart as Deckard's backup shot their way inside. The room went dark, the red lightbulbs exploding into pieces as bullets hit them instead of their targets. Izzy let out a muffled scream and crouched down as bullets cascaded around her. She felt something tugging on the chain attached to the handcuffs and as she poked her head up carefully, she could see Deckard cutting through the metal. Once the chain was free, she tore the tape off of her mouth and glared hatefully at the man.

"Now's not the time for your theatrics, darling." He sighed and reached for her. Izzy stepped back and took her chance to run. She couldn't see anything through the haze of gunfire as she dodged a man shooting her way. She stopped and crouched behind one of the giant stacks of pallets and caught her breath, using her still handcuffed hands to wipe her hair out of her face. She heard shuffling coming towards her and she stood up shakily, ready to run again. She knew she needed to find one of the men she knew but she couldn't risk getting hit by a stray - or intentional - bullet.

"Goddammit Torres, what the hell are you doing?" She gasped in relief at the sight of Sheppard.

"I'm trying to stay alive. It's not really going so well for me." She grimaced.

"I gotta get you to Nobody or Genie." She heard him talk through his comms and she felt a surge of relief course through her, she was one step closer to going home. A bullet hit the pallet behind her and she squealed as she moved closer to him. "They're coming for you." She saw him pick up his gun and shoot back at whoever was shooting at them and she glanced around hoping to catch sight of another familiar face. She saw the fluorescent blue light out of her peripheral and she let out a little gasp at the tablet's screen.

"Is that God's Eye?" Before the man could answer her, his body went crashing to the floor and she couldn't stop the scream that escaped her.

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The shooting halted for a brief second as the men in the warehouse all registered the girl's scream. Each team wanted her for a different reason and knowing they didn't want to lose her again, the girl's family shot their way through their enemies as they rushed to find her. Only one of them had his eyes on her. Nobody watched as the girl froze in shock at the sight of the dead man, he needed to get her away from him. "I've got eyes on Potter." He used her code name as he spoke into his earpiece. The men on his teams didn't bother replying, assuming the girl would be safe with him.

The brunette finally snapped out of her trance and clambered to Sheppard's body. She touched his neck as she tried to find his pulse and she sobbed quietly when she couldn't. In all of the years she'd been an agent, she had successfully managed to avoid seeing someone die, until now. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She wiped her eyes and grabbed the tablet from his hand and the earpiece he had in. She slid it into her ear and she sniffled as she spoke to the teams in the room. "Sheppard's down." She sniffled again and slid her body against the pallet.

"Potter, where are you?" She sniffled again as Genie's voice echoed into her ear.

"I've got her." She heard his voice louder than the one in her ear, and she looked up and smiled tearfully at Brian as he stood over her. "You okay?" She nodded and raised her handcuffed wrists into the air. "We'll get those off of you later." She nodded and jumped as another round of bullets cascaded around them.

"Cover me." She turned her head to the right and saw her boss leave the safety of the pallets and shoot at the enemies coming towards them. Brian moved along behind him, keeping himself shielded as he kept a close eye on the scared brunette.

"Izzy," Brian called her name as she scrambled closer to him. "Genie is two pallets that way," he pointed to her left. "Go."

"Is that safe?" She asked. "I don't think we should split up. I mean I've managed to stay safe in this spot so should I really move?"

"Go." He didn't leave any room for her to argue and she sighed nervously as she poked her head around the side of the pallet. All of the focus was on her boss as he played hero so she quickly figured that could probably make it to Genie without getting hit. She took one last fleeting glance at Brian before scampering across to another stack of pallets. She panted and sat for a minute. She looked to the side where Genie was supposed to be and panicked when she noticed he wasn't there.

"Nobody's going down." Cowboy's usually sarcastic tone was serious as he announced it over the comms.

"Genie, where are you?" Izzy whispered as she heard footsteps get closer to where she was hiding. She didn't have a weapon with her and with her hands still latched together, she was basically useless.

"Not the best hiding spot you could have chosen," Deckard smirked as he loomed over her. She hastily stood to her feet and tried to rush past him, but he was much faster than she was. He grabbed her from behind and dragged her away from the shooting.

"Let go of me!" She grunted as she struggled in his hold. She thrashed her body around and hoped if she flailed enough, his grip would loosen and she could run. Luck wasn't on her side. "No!" She cried out as he pulled the earpiece from her ear and forced the tablet out of her hands. She watched it clatter to the floor and she fought even harder to escape him. "Leave me alone!" She begged and kicked at him. He endured her flailing and pulled her into the open area. She watched as his arm came up, another grenade in his hand. "How many of those do you have!"

"I have enough." He replied. She heard the pin fall and her heart stopped as she noted Cowboy was the closest to them. Her wide eyes met his and he paused in his movements as he saw the grenade. She tried to rush towards him the same time he tried to reach for her, but Deckard had other plans. He pulled a gun from his waistband and before the blond man could move any closer, a single bullet entered his forehead, sending his tall body crashing to the ground. Izzy screamed in agony as she watched one of her closest friends die right before her eyes. Deckard took advantage of her limp state and carried her away just as the grenade exploded. As he moved them towards the exit, Izzy glanced around wildly for anybody she knew and she saw Dom and Brian struggling with her boss.

"Dom!" She called his name and thrashed around in Deckard's arms once again. Dom heard his name and looked up, fiercely glaring at Deckard when he saw Izzy being taken away again. He made a move to rush towards her but had to duck as bullets were sent his way. "No, no!" She cried out as Deckard moved further away from him. With one last desperate plea, she uttered a word she had never used in her life. "Dad! " Something in Dom came to life as the three-letter word was shouted his way. He felt adrenaline rush through him as he left Brian with Nobody and his team. Izzy left his sight and he rushed out to see Deckard struggling to force her into a car.

"Deckard!" Dom's voice boomed across the empty airfield and the British man stopped what he was doing and turned to look at the tall man.

"This is where we part ways." Were the last words Deckard said to her before he pushed her to the ground and clambered into the car, speeding away. Dom didn't hesitate to rush to her, kneeling beside her as she cried.

"Hey, hey, I got you." He picked her up and she buried her head in his shoulder as she wet his shirt with her tears.

"Dom! We gotta go!" He could hear Brian calling for him and had it not been for the looming threat, they were trying to escape from, he would've chosen that moment to question the girl about the word she called him. But he had other things to worry about first. He placed Izzy on the passenger seat before climbing into the backseat with Nobody and ripping his shirt open as Brian sped away from the burning building.

Izzy sniffled as she hazily listened to the conversation happening behind her. She wiped at her eyes as she sent Brian a small grin. "I told you we shouldn't have split up."

"Yeah, you did." He smiled slightly.

"Look, Toretto," Izzy turned away from him and watched the two men behind her. "You're not gonna like what I have to say but you need to listen to me. Or specifically her." Dom glanced at Izzy before turning his focus on the bleeding man before him. "She'll tell you the truth, about everything." Dom nodded, not really knowing what he meant but knowing enough to know that it had something to do with what happened earlier. "You also gotta try that Belgian ale man, its something special." He grunted, cutting himself off as he coughed.

"We need to get him to the nearest hospital." Brian interrupted them.

"No need." Nobody told him. "I carry my own health insurance." Izzy watched him pull his locator out of his pocket and she smiled to herself. "Medics on standby, they're already inbound. Pull over, kid!" He demanded.

Brian listened and Dom helped settle the man to the ground as Brian stood watch, his gun cocked and ready to shoot any threat. Izzy stayed in her seat, unsure of if she had to stay with her boss or leave with Dom.

"Listen, Dom," Dom squatted in front of the gasping man and eyed him curiously as he waited for him to continue speaking. "You need to protect Ramsey. As long as she's alive, she can lock them out and get the program back." Dom nodded and moved to stand. "Wait," he stayed squatting. "You gotta hear her out. She didn't know anything until recently. You need to be patient with her. And you need to prove her wrong." Dom took his advice silently. "Time for you to go now, Dom." The sound of a helicopter approaching them had the two men nodding goodbye as they went their separate ways. Dom climbed in the backseat and Izzy slouched in hers as she sighed, mostly from exhaustion and relief.

"We've got a war coming for us Brian," Dom spoke up behind her. "If a war is what they want, then we're taking the battle to the streets we know best."

"Where are we going?" Izzy inquired.

"Home."

— izzy is not a damsel in distress,
she's just emotionally a mess—