They hadn't slept more than five hours, but it had to do. Before they left the lodge, Jerry managed to pull some bagels and coffee out from somewhere and forced breakfast on everyone.

Kyle gulped down his coffee obediently, even if it left a bitter taste on his tongue and ate up, aware he would need the energy.

So after loading the luggage and themselves in two of the fastest cars left behind by Snitch Gravel's goons, they stopped at the nearest gas station for more supplies.

Kyle watched Jimmy's driving pensively, downing an energy drink. Bubbly caramel he almost immediately felt like spitting out, but he couldn't deny its merits. He shoved the empty can inside the door and took out another one.

"I think you should stop," Kay whispered.

"Huh?" He turned to her. She rode shotgun and had her own can of RedBull. Fortunately, she was also doing much better.

She nodded at his hands and only then did he notice how quickly he was drumming on the wheel. Maybe she was right, maybe he'd had enough. Typical of Kay to notice stuff like that.

"Sweet," Tom said from behind. "Gimme!"

Kyle tossed the unopened can in the back seat where Tom caught it without difficulty and cracked it open.

"You really like that stuff?" Kyle asked.

"Oh yeah. When sleep is a commodity for eight years, you start to appreciate the little things," Tom answered.

"You shouldn't go overboard either," Angie said.

"Billy, how's it going?" Kyle asked, looking to him in the rearview mirror.

Throwing caution out the window, Billy had pulled out the gaming laptop he'd taken along and his WiFi stick and was currently using the magic of internet. So what if Snitch Gravel knew they were coming? Anyone with half a brain would expect them.

"Not very good Kyle, not very good," he mumbled, his face behind the screen. "I think the best way to get to Chenonceau is to go to Contres and from there to Montrichard. Chenonceau is pretty close from there. We've got sixty five miles to go until we reach Contres and then another seventy to Montrichard. From there it's just another six miles to Chenonceaux."

That didn't sound too bad. One hundred and forty miles in snowy conditions meant two hours of insane driving and since Jimmy was leading just fine, it was obvious he had no issue with trampling all over the speed limit. Which meant there was another issue.

"How about the town?"

"I got a satellite image and the news isn't good." Billy let out a tired sigh. "The castle is outside of town. There's a long narrow road leading from the gate to the castle and it's obvious that it will be heavily guarded." He lowered the screen of the laptop. "This used to be fun, but I'm getting tired of everything always being so complicated."

"Don't be a killjoy, Billy," Tom said with a grin. "We're going down in a blaze of glory!"

"Chenonceaux itself is going to be heavily guarded anyway," Angie said throwing Tom the stink eye, obviously not wanting to go down in a blaze of glory. "I have no idea how to pull this off without getting killed on the way."

Kyle didn't either, but he hadn't looked at that map yet. Sam would've been so good with it.

"Wait a minute. Zoom out again!" Tom said all of a sudden and Billy probably complied.

Kay looked over her seat and Kyle took advantage and floored it, successfully bypassing speed demon Jimmy and signaling he should stay first.

"There's the castle. Zoom in on that," Angie ordered and Billy did just that. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"What are you seeing?" Kay asked, trying to lean over more, but the seat belt held her in place. Billy turned the laptop around and Kay let out an exasperated sigh. "Of course. We find a much easier way, but it has to go through more forest."

"Whaaaat?" Kyle asked.

"The castle is placed over the Cher River," Billy explained. "What Angie is most likely suggesting is that we enter the castle through the backdoor which would be a lot less obvious. The only problem is that there's no road to lead us there."

Well then... "That's not really a problem," Kyle pointed out. "If there's no road, they won't expect us to come from that direction."

"It also means we'll have to walk through a forest to get there," Kay mumbled, pulling her knees up and hugging them.

Kyle placed one hand on her knee and squeezed, understanding where she was coming from, bit it was better that way than getting shot before they reached the castle.

"How far?" he asked.

Billy frowned at his map. "Depends on how we get on the other side of the river. There are hardly any bridges in Chenonceaux..."

"But that's perfect!" Tom said, taking the laptop from Billy. "There's a bridge right outside Chenonceaux. We won't even have to enter the town and be seen by Snitch Gravel's cronies."

"Fair point," Angie said. "And if we follow this road here, we'll come close enough to the castle."

It was good enough. Kyle gave Kay's knee another squeeze, then focused on driving. They had to get there as fast as possible. Who knew what Snitch Gravel was up to, if he'd done anything to Sam. Sleep was something they'd needed, but any other delay was unwelcome.

It took them another hour to reach the bridge Tom had seen on the map, which led them on a snowy country road along the river.

Tiny snowflakes fell on their windshield and Kyle honestly hoped it would stop snowing already. The unplowed snow was giving them trouble as it was. They forced the cars as much as possible, until the snow reached the fenders and the wheels spun in vain.

Finally facing defeat, they got down from the cars and retrieved their luggage.

"It's better this way," Jerry said, strapping his rucksack to his back. "They might have heard us coming if we got any closer."

"I think I actually see the castle," Jimmy said, raising a pair of binoculars. "They have lights on, but it looks deserted."

"What time is it?" Tina asked, her voice small and tired.

Kyle threw her a fleeting glance, wondering if he should suggest she stayed in the car or went to a cafe or something.

"A little past noon," Jerry answered. "Do you think he might be already gone?"

"Nope," Jimmy said. "Unless he decided to leave Sam behind.

"Let me see!" Jerry grabbed the binoculars from Jimmy to have a better look and almost strangled him with the chord.

"Jerry...air..." he wheezed, tugging at the chord.

"There he is!" Jerry said, and didn't let out a peep of protest when Jessie yanked the binoculars out of his hand and freed Jimmy.

"Did you see Christine as well?" Tina whispered.

"No, but Sam doesn't seem panicky, he only seems annoyed."

"I would be annoyed too." Kyle took the binoculars from Jessie and, after making sure Sam was really there and unscathed, analyzed the rest of the windows. "There seem to be a couple of men in each room. Maybe the rooms in which Sam and Christine are held don't have any, but we can never be sure."

"So what are we going to do?" Angie asked quietly.

"The only thing we can do. Charge the castle and pray we won't die." Jimmy shrugged. "Does anyone know if the part of the castle that acts as a bridge is divided into rooms or not?"

"It's not. It's just one big corridor," Tina answered.

"Well, that makes it a lot harder," Tom mumbled. "We'll apparently have to rush to the door on the other side."

Kyle raised his eyebrows and apparently wasn't the only one a little confused about the brilliant plan.

"What?" Tom asked. "If we take it slow and steady and shoot or fight our way towards it, we'll obviously get killed. The hallway is long and narrow enough for even the lousiest shooter to get at least one of us. If we manage to reach the door on the other side, we could lock it and take care of what's behind us. And even if we don't manage to lock the other door, it doesn't allow more than two men to come out at once. So we'll have a better shot at surviving."

Jerry clutched his head in his hands. "I can't believe you have a point. I can't believe getting shot in the back is our best option."

"We're not going to get shot in the back." Kyle took his guns out and checked the cartridges. Tom's strategy was good with some fine honing. "Jimmy and I will bring up the rear to make sure that doesn't happen."

"No," Kay said.

Kyle blinked at her. "What? I think it's a good idea."

"No, it's not! It's a crappy idea!" Kay said furiously. "Why does it always have to be you and Jimmy taking the heat for the rest of us?"

"Because we're the ones who can take it." Jimmy wrapped one arm around Kay's shoulders.

"No, Kay's right." Jessie slapped Kyle's shoulder. "It's always Kyle and Jimmy this, Kyle and Jimmy that..."

"Jess, not you too!" Kyle laughed, but both girls shot him a death glare and he chocked on it.

"No, seriously now," Jessie said. "You're my best friend." She turned to Jimmy. "And you're everything to me. I'm so done with always worrying about you."

"I've already explained this to Kay. I'm really selfish that way." Kyle grinned and though for a second Kay might end him. But he was high strung, filled with energy drinks and this was so stupid.

"I could do it," Tom said, raising his hand.

Before Angie could open her mouth to add to the conversation, Kyle decided that he'd had enough.

"Okay, enough trying to be nice. The real reason Jimmy and I are doing this is because we're the only ones who have a decent aim. The rest of you suck."

Everyone just stared. It would've been funny if he didn't feel like a jackass for lying, but they had no time for this.

Jerry shrugged. "I don't have anything to say to that. I am terrible."

"Fine," Jessie said, throwing her hands in the air. "If you put it that way, knock yourselves out."

Kay and Angie gave him the stink eye, but started off towards the castle. Tina hesitated a moment, then hurried after them. Billy waited for the punchline for another few seconds, but once there was none, he followed with Jerry.

"Good one," Tom said amused and rushed out after the others.

"You were lying your pants off, weren't you?" Jimmy asked as he and Kyle started walking after the other, too.

"Of course. I just wanted the girls off our backs. Fine time they've picked to be overprotective."

"Tom was right then. Good one!" Jimmy smirked and they stopped, hidden behind the last line of trees, the back door of the castle in their sight.

Two harassed looking men stood in front of the massive wooden door, switching their weight from one foot to the other.

"Knock them out, girls," Kyle whispered.

Kay and Jessie both turned to him with feigned surprise.

"You're letting us out of the kitchen?" Kay asked.

Jimmy and Tom sniggered, but Kyle wasn't sure just how much this would bite him in the ass later, so he didn't find it that funny.

"I do trust you with stuff." He gave both her and Jessie a light shove. "Now fix our problem."

Even if they still huffed and puffed, Kay, Jessie and Angie headed for the goons, giggling like a bunch of lost high school girls on vacation. The men perked up and watched them approaching, but didn't take out their guns, which was a good sign.

Kyle's stomach tightened uncomfortably as they flirted their way into the good graces of the guards. It was such a stupid thing to get jealous over, but Kay was really acting her ass off, smiling sweetly and batting her eyelashes. That's when he realized he wasn't jealous, but nervous that they'd see through her act like he did.

They didn't. The goons snickered and nodded, and like the idiots they were, unlocked the door to let the girls in. As soon as the click of the lock filled the air, the three of them charged, knocking the two men out.

"Come on," they called.

"Billy, Tom, you go first," Kyle instructed as they jogged towards the door. "Jerry, watch the girls. Guns out."

They listened and distributed each other so that most guns would be facing forward. Kyle didn't really think they'd shoot anyone, but it was important to use the element of surprise and reach the other side.

The moment the door opened and Billy and Tom charged in, guns pointing, he turned with his back towards the others and entered the castle running backwards. He hadn't been wrong. There were a lot of men in there, two for every window, but they stood motionless, as though unable to believe what was going on.

"Someone shoot them!" a random goon yelled.

Kyle tightened his hold on his guns, trying to identify the speaker. He really wished he had a BB gun so he could shoot everyone. But everything seemed to be going well. They were advancing and no shots were fired.

His heel caught something and he tumbled over a potted fir which just happened to lay in the middle of the hall. Nope, most likely pushed down by one of the men.

"Get them!"

Then someone shot and a goon joined Kyle on the floor, blood pooling out of his thigh.

"The fuck, Jimmy," he growled, rolling to his feet.

Jimmy had stayed by his side, guns still pointed while the others made good progress. Unfortunately the goons were now armed and pointing.

"He wanted to shoot you," Jimmy mumbled back.

"To hell with it. Cover fire."

He and Jimmy both started shooting at random, walking back slowly, hoping the others were covering their back. Tom suddenly appeared next to them and threw a vase towards one of the goons. It hit him in the face and knocked him over. Tom then proceeded to grab the table placed under the nearest window and dragged it away.

Jimmy threw a glance over his shoulder. "I love Tom."

Kyle wished he could look, too, but he'd rather not get shot in the face because of curiosity. Though once Tom appeared into his line of sight again and pulled a low wooden bench after him, he got the point.

"Furniture barricade?"

"Yup," Jimmy answered, shooting another goon in the leg.

"Stop actually getting them!"

"They're shooting at us anyway!" Jimmy retorted, sending a kneecap flying.

He had a very valid point, but Kyle would still rather shoot the floor at their feet and send them scurrying like frightened chicken. A bullet scraped the side of his vest, throwing him off balance, which was just great seeing as it caused the next bullet to narrowly miss his head.

"Watch your step," Jimmy said the same second Kyle hit something and toppled over again.

This was turning out to be one fun little incursion. He scrambled to his feet just as Angie and Tom stepped out from behind what looked like a beaver dam and started providing cover fire.

Kyle could finally turn towards the rest of the room. His breath caught in his throat. There were two doors behind them, one of them open with goons pouring out and the other held closed by the joined efforts of Billy, Jerry and Tina. Tom and Angie had built a baricade out of all available furniture, rucksacks and jackets, and had ducked behind it, but they focused on the incoming goons from the corridor, leaving Jessie and Kay alone to face the masses.

Without giving it a second thought, he charged towards the open door, leaving Jimmy to assist Angie and Tom with covering their asses.

"Was about damn time," Jessie mumbled when Kyle kicked one of two men away from her, throwing off his rucksack and winter jacket in the process.

"Sorry, tripped a lot."

"Where are they coming from?" Kay asked exasperated because the wave seemed never ending.

Kyle didn't know and it made no difference anyway. The good part was that these guys weren't waving pistols around, just knives and the occasional knuckle ring. Which was actually a pretty decent idea. He kicked the legs from under one of the men and removed the metal rings. With a twist and a flourish, he dug the weapon into another guy's face.

"Does that count as a weapon?" a terrified goon yelled. "Do we shoot now?"

There was a general ruckus following that question, but Kyle didn't want to give them any ideas so he ditched the weapon by throwing it against the nearest man's face. It split his skin open and sent him to the floor.

A cry had him twisting toward the second door. Somehow, the men had pushed through and now Jerry and Tina were on the floor while Billy danced around to distract them. Shit. He needed to close that door and fast. He threw one fleeting look over his shoulder, but Jessie and Kay were doing fine, working together.

Jessie tripped a guy and Kay rushed over and punched him into unconsciousness.

"You can't get me!" Billy yelled, dodging and ducking ar random.

As effective as that strategy was, it also enraged the goons enough to pull out weapons.

Jerry and Tina immediately crawled against the wall opposite from where Jessie and Kay were fighting.

"Billy, move to Jerry and Tina," Kyle ordered, darting towards the new door. He came face to face with the barrel of a shotgun, but he was too used to that by now, so he just punched it, hitting the goon in the face with the other end.

Fortunately, the two doors leading into their giant hall were connected by a tiny, rounded vestibule which made it very difficult for Snitch Gravel's men to move around properly. He took advantage and kicked the first man in line, sending him over the others like bumbling dominoes.

He shut the door and propped his back against it just as a chair flew past him, over Billy's head, and through the window. The cold wind filled the room together with the sound of the raging river below.

"Isn't that cute," Billy said with a laugh. "They're so frustrated, they started throwing furniture."

Kyle pawed the door, searching for some way to lock it from their side, but the men were no longer pushing and seemed to have just resigned to using the other door. The one who had pointed the shotgun at him emerged, his mouth and nose bloody. Kyle ducked a second before a bullet flew above his head and lodged itself into the wall, next to the broken window.

The door opened, knocking him sideways. His shoulder landed on fallen glass shards, but it was a mild inconvenience when he realized Jerry had fallen at the same time, only because some goon punched him down. Tina darted out from around him, a savage look on her face and started hitting the goon with everything she had. Which wasn't much.

Jerry rolled on all fours and tackled the man. Kyle picked up a long and sharp piece of glass and propelled it like a knife across the room, right into the left ass cheek of a man trying to bring Jessie down.

Another chair flew past them, enlarging the hole in the window.

"Your aim sucks!" Billy called.

Kyle rolled to his stomach, facing the goon with the shotgun who was taking his sweet time aiming. Only this time, he wasn't aiming at Kyle. The barrel of the gun shifted towards Billy who was laughing his head off.

A weight lodged into Kyle's throat as he saw it all before it happened and realized he didn't have time to stop it. The focus on the goon's face morphed into glee as he pulled the trigger. The recoil of the shotgun snapped his shoulder back, but it didn't hinder his aim.

The slug hit Billy in the chest and propelled him out the window, the shadow of his last laugh still on his face.

❄❄❄

Oh man, am I on a roll or what? Here we are with the start of the climax. There is of course more to this scene and the chapter is only starting, but it seemed like such a perfectly evil place to cut it off.

Yes, I'm evil. Yes, this is only the beginning as you shall see in the next part. And I hope the action scene was clear and interesting enough. It's been very long since I wrote something like that.

So, is Billy really out? Or will he heroically made a comeback? How about the others? If I really did do a baddie, is everyone else safe?

I'm so excited I might actually write the next part of the chapter soon enough. Wish me luck!