Author: Amy Jonas

Rating: FRT

Summary: An alternate ending to Jump the Shark

A/N: This picks up when the Gunmen, Jimmy and Yves chase Gillnitz in the seminar. There is brief ‘All About Yves’ references.

National Bioethics Seminar
7:53 P.M.

The Lone Gunmen, Yves and Jimmy chased Gillnitz through the crowded banquet room; following him through a steel door with an EMPLOYEE'S ONLY sign on it. The door led to a storage alcove where two corridors stretched out, offering two possible paths he could have taken.

"Where'd he go?" Jimmy asked, voicing the question they were all thinking.

"Split up," Yves decided. She checked her watch. "Seven minutes left. Good luck."

She and Jimmy started off down one hall.

“Hey, wait,” Frohike called. They stopped and looked back at Frohike’s questioning look, “What do we do with this guy once we get him?"

"Hold him until I get there." Yves replied, "I'll do the rest." She turned but Langly's skeptical words stopped her.

"You mean cut him open?"

"If that virus gets into the air stream, we'll have failed. People will die." Yves met their eyes, willing them to understand. "Whatever it takes."

Yves broke into a run with Jimmy at her side; the two disappeared down one passageway. The Gunmen exchanged looks and then raced down the opposite hallway. Langly’s long legs quickly put him ahead of his friends. The end of the hall was a dead end. Langly glanced around and in a corner, he saw one of two double doors slowly closing.

"Over here." Called Langly; taking off through the doors with Frohike and Byers right behind him. The proceeding hallway led them to the laundry department. Langly and Frohike tested several doors along the hall; all of them were locked. Byers glanced at his watch. Time was slipping past them at an alarming rate.

"Its five minutes to eight, guys." Byers warned his comrades.

A faint sound reached the Gunmen. The glanced at each other, recognizing the sound of metal hitting metal; someone was trying to open a locked door. They ran down the hall; turning a corner, they saw Gillnitz desperately trying to force open an emergency fire exit door. Gillnitz abandoned his frantic attempts to flee back the way he had come, but the Gunmen blocked his only avenue of escape.

"Jimmy. Yves. We found him!" Yelled Langly.

"Over here!" Shouted Frohike; he watched Gillnitz cautiously.

The cornered man glanced around desperately; but any hope of escape disappeared as Jimmy and Yves turned a corner from the far end of the hall. Yves pulled the pellet gun from her pocket as she ran, aiming it at Gillnitz' chest. The Gunmen parted to give her a clear shot.

"Drop it right now!"

The Gunmen, Jimmy, Yves, and Gillnitz all looked at the source of the booming command. A hotel security guard stood in a defensive position at the entrance of the hallway, his weapon trained on Yves.

Gillnitz caught Frohike's eye; an arrogant smirk briefly crossed his face as he called out to the guard, “Help me, please. They're trying to kill me!"

"I said drop it, lady!" The guard ordered. He glanced at Gillnitz before turning his attention back to Yves.

"This man is a terrorist," Yves said calmly, “carrying a surgically implanted virus in his chest. In a short time the vessel containing it will disintegrate, releasing the virus. It will kill thousands if we don't act quickly."

"Save it for the police." The guard swept his gun toward Jimmy who started to advance toward him. "Don’t try it." Jimmy stopped and glanced at his friends.

"Listen to her, you stupid rent a cop," Langly shouted. "She's telling the truth."

The guard ignored Langly’s outburst and indicated to Gillnits, “You. Get out of here.”

Gillnits started to move, but was stopped by Frohike’s hand on his chest.

"Two minutes, guys." Byers' quiet warning was heard by everyone.

Yves glanced one last time at the guard. They were at an impasse, he wasn't going to listen to them and innocent people were going to die. She couldn't - wouldn't - let it happen. She turned her back on the security guard and raised the pellet gun.

Jimmy had been watching and listening as his friends tried to convince the guard of the legitimacy of the danger. He saw the man’s eyes harden as Yves turned her back on him.

”Drop it!” The guard paused for a heartbeat then fired his weapon.

"Yves!" Jimmy shouted. He tackled her and they both crashed to the floor. The gunshot sounded like an explosion as the bullet ripped into the wall where Yves had been standing. Yves lost her grip on the pellet gun. It struck the floor at an angle clattering across the smooth floor.

Frohike, Langly and Byers dropped to the floor when the gun went off. They watched helplessly as the pellet gun slid to a stop at Gillnitz' feet. Gillnitz blinked in bewilderment before scooping up the gun, firing wildly. Uttering a surprised grunt; the guard toppled over. He was dead before he hit the floor.

"You're out of time." Gillnitz said as the gun slipped from his hand, landing at his feet. His breathing was labored and harsh. His face contorted in pain as tremors racked his body; forcing him to drop drunkenly to his knees. He looked up at the shocked faces staring at him and smiled.

"No!" Exclaimed Yves. Thousands including Jimmy and the Gunmen would die because she had failed to stop her father. She felt someone – Jimmy - grasp her arm and help her to her feet.

Frohike looked at his friends, although Langly and Byers had instinctively backed away from Gillnitz, Frohike knew they were still trying to come up with a viable plan. Yves' face was unreadable, but her dark eyes hinted at the turmoil within her. Jimmy wrapped his arm around her shoulders, as if that simple gesture could protect her.

Frohike’s eyes darted around, frantically trying to MacGyver a solution. He spotted the fire alarm on the wall, then realized that one section of the hall was steel. He looked up. Fire doors? What kind of hotel has fire doors? He quickly pushed the thought aside for later examination.

Yves' earlier words echoed in Frohike’s head. Whatever it takes. He glanced at his friends; they were safely beyond the point where the firewalls would come down. He knew what he had to do to save them and thousands of innocent people from a horrible death. He quickly grasped the fire alarm lever and pulled it. The shrill alarm filled the entire hallway, echoing off the walls. The fire doors slowly started descending.

"Ah hell!" Muttered Frohike; he leaped toward the closing door like a baseball player sliding for home plate. The foreword momentum along the metal floor hurtled him past the fire door just before it slammed shut with a thunderous finality.

“Safe,” Murmured Frohike. A groan escaped his lips as strong hands yanked him to his feet; enveloping him in a crushing embrace.

"Jimmy!" Frohike gasped as his face was mashed into the younger man’s chest, "Can't breathe down here.”

Jimmy let him go and Frohike saw Langly and Byers standing by the fire door looking at him with stunned expressions on their faces. He walked over and joined his friends to look through the partition. Gillnits was on the floor; his whole body shuddering as a viscous florescent green liquid leaked from his chest, mouth, and eyes. They stood transfixed, thinking of how differently it could have ended. After a minute, they turned from the horrific scene to see Yves standing next to Jimmy, their fingers almost entwined. The relief apparent in her dark eyes was taken over by a familiar mysterious smile.

Lair of the Lone Gunmen
1 week later
4:21 P.M.

Byers stood lost in thought as he surveyed the work area. The once empty warehouse now contained several brand new state of the art computers, printers, and scanners. The shelving units were partially full of assorted surveillance equipment as well as other electronics. The warehouse and its occupants seemed to crackle with an energy that had been missing the past year.

Childish bickering pulled him from his reverie; he glanced over to where Kimmy was typing away at one of the computers. Langly and Frohike were standing behind him looking over his shoulder.

“And that Langly,” Said Kimmy with an air of superiority, “is how a hack is done.”

“What did you find?” Byers asked as he rejoined his compatriots.

“Just what we thought,” replied Langly, “the security guard was an imposter. The post mortem indicates his fingerprints had been burned off by some kind of acid, possibly Hydrochloric. There was no identifying marks or tattoos on his body either.” He reached across Kimmy and hit a button.

“The F.B.I. put his picture out, but they haven’t gotten any hits from any Federal or International data bases.”

“Which means what?” asked Kimmy.

"We believe he worked for Yves' father," Byers replied, “sent to ensure Yves failed to stop the virus."

“Sorry I asked.” Muttered Kimmy. He stared at the monitor “Don’t you think it’s ironic that you took money from Yves Harlow to get the paper up and running again.” He glared at their perplexed looks and then said condescendingly “Hello? Her father is an International arms dealer who supports terrorists, and nearly killed you.”

“She has her own money, moron,” Frohike countered, “and it’s a loan we fully intend to pay back.”

“Yeah,” Retorted Langly, “so shut up about things you don’t understand.”

Kimmy grinned, “Speaking of which; where’s Special Ed?”

Byers glanced at the gold band on the ring finger of his left hand, “Fighting for a dream.”

Regency Hotel

Yves scanned her hotel room, making sure she hadn't left anything. Satisfied, she zipped her black leather suitcase shut and grabbed it. She walked out of the bedroom to the front door. She opened it to find Jimmy standing outside her room; his hand raised, ready to knock on the door.

"Hey, Yves," Jimmy's face lit up when he saw her, "can I come in?"

Yves hesitated for a moment, then stepped back and opened the door wider. Jimmy entered, his shoulder lightly brushing hers as he walked past her. She quietly closed the door and turned to face him.

"You're leaving?" His eyes were filled with puzzlement and hurt.

"I have to, Jimmy. I have to stop my father and his organization from destroying more lives. This is my responsibility; my mission.” She touched his shoulder, “Just as it’s yours, Frohikes’, Byers’ and Langlys’ responsibility to uncover conspiracies against the American people. This is something we have to do.”

Yves smiled and pressed her lips lightly against Jimmy's cheek, remembering a similar kiss only a year ago. Instead of jabbing him with a tranquilizer to protect him from harm, she turned away from him. She opened the door, but Jimmy reached over her shoulder and put his palm flat against the door; stopping her from opening it. Jimmy gently turned her around to face him.

"I love you."

"Jimmy…" Yves began.

Before she could say anything else; he cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers. It was a soft, tender kiss that was tantalizing and warm. “I had to tell you how I feel,” Jimmy murmured, tracing her jaw

Yves took his warm hand in hers and pressed a piece of paper into his hand. “I’ll be keeping an eye on you four,” she said. “Someone has to make sure you’re not getting in over your heads.”

She smiled then quickly opened the door and left.

Jimmy glanced at the paper in his hand and unfolded it. In her neat script was a phone number.