InsaneJournal

Who will save your soul after all the lies that you told?

[ Not spoiler-y if you've seen the previews for next week's episode, because this probably won't happen, and I don't know anything you don't. ]

Matt was a cop. Surely he'd been trained for this sort of thing. They certainly didn't teach you how to dismantle a bomb in American Government 101. Why did it always have to be a bomb? At least this was your standard explosive device - presumably. It was possible to disarm it ... or it could explode and end up wiping out the Capitol and God only knows how much more of the city. No pressure though, right? What Nathan couldn't figure out was what he was doing there instead of the bomb squad. Ma had told him about what Parkman was about to ( unwillingly ) do, and he'd flown over. For what? For moral support? Because he was some kind of expert? No. Maybe not the smartest move now that he really thought about it, but he had to try and do something.

Oh, and don't think he didn't know who was behind this either. Potentially dangerous or not, Matt was not the type of guy to strap a bomb to his waist and blow up anything to prove a point or express his dissatisfaction about a situation. This had Danko's name written all over it. The man was really battin' a thousand. First shooting Pete, now this ...

Unfortunately, the police academy obviously didn't consider this basic training. They'd touched on how to treat explosives, but not extensively. Lucky them. The fate of D.C. rested in their highly incompetent hands. Not a very reassuring realization to come to. Regardless of the feeling of impending doom that'd formed in the pit of his gut, Nathan stayed. Perhaps in a way he felt partially responsible. He'd set all this in motion. And while he still firmly believed in what he was trying to accomplish, he was now able to admit that he should've handled things a little differently. If he had, this disaster could've been avoided altogether. But he could fix this. He would. It wasn't too late. He was fully committed to seeing this through, although right now his biggest priority was stopping anything and anyone from getting blown up.

As expected, it didn't take long for the surrounding area to be evacuated, but soon a new crowd had gathered. News crews and SWAT team members had already set up and angled themselves for whatever kind of shot they needed. The bomb squad had also arrived on site, but after checking to see how much time remained on the clock, they went to sweep the area to make sure Parkman wasn't just a decoy. This left Nathan a few additional minutes to get the situation under control before the professionals took over and it all got taken out of his hands. Believe it or not, he didn't want that. Matt was understandably scared. He didn't want to kill anyone - at least not anyone who wasn't pointing a gun at him or Daphne. So Nathan made it clear that he wasn't going anywhere and assured the one with the most to lose that they could do this. They'd made a pretty good team once.

"Matt, I need you to focus, okay? Do I pull the black wire, or is that the one I don't pull?"

Concentrating with all this commotion was difficult, but it was crucial that they get this right. They only got one crack at this. If they made the wrong decision, they, along with everyone else within their vicinity, would die.

Parkman had to have changed his mind at least a half a dozen times before he made a choice and stuck to it. Because of the other's hesitancy, Nathan was skeptical about following through, so he stalled briefly. But they were running out of time, so after taking a deep breath and steadying his hand, he pulled the black wire. A part of him expected that to be the last thing he saw: that this would be the end for both of them. He'd set something in motion he wouldn't get to finish ( or stop ) because he wouldn't be around anymore. It was not the kind of legacy he wanted to leave behind: not as a politician, a brother, or a son. In that split second following the removal of the wire, he had an epiphany: one that was long overdue.

Once he realized that he wasn't dead or going to die hopefully anytime soon, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Whew.

"It worked." There was a hint of surprise in his voice as Matt turned around. Both of them were smiling ( despite the fact that they didn't get along these days ) because they thought the worst was over. What hadn't occurred to Nathan until now was that even once the bomb was no longer an issue, Parkman would be seen as a national threat and treated as such. Any program of his was going to seem mild in comparison to what the government would do to Matt for his act of terrorism. The direness of the situation really became apparent once the lasers locked in place. They were somewhat fortunate that he was standing in between Matt and the firing squad, but they would instruct him to move, and once they did, if he didn't comply, they'd send someone to pull him out of the way. All it took was one trigger-happy person to start a massacre - a massacre that was completely unwarranted.

"Don't shoot! He's unarmed," Nathan shouted. He lifted his hands to emphasize his point just in case they couldn't hear what he was saying. "He was set up!" His words were drowned out by a helicopter circling overhead.

... He was starting to get another sinking feeling.

One of three things could happen. He could step out of the way and let Matt suffer the consequences of his actions: actions that had been forced upon him. Either he would be taken into custody and locked in a maximum security federal prison for the rest of his life, or he'd be shot dead. The third option Nathan dreaded just as much because this would require a personal sacrifice on his part. There was one way Parkman could get out of this without a scratch. He'd still be a fugitive, but the rest could be worked out later. The question was did he want to risk everything to make things right with one person? In the grand scheme of things, Matt's predicament was not going to make or break anything.

The truth was that even though everyone was quick to label him the villain, he didn't want to be. And as much as he was trying to talk himself out of it, he knew what he had to do.

Nathan slowly turned. "I'll see what I can do about getting Daphne released." He'd been prepared to hand her and Parkman over to Peter before, but Danko had other plans. Well, he wasn't calling this shot, and if the guy wanted to play dirty, then that's how they would start doing things. In any case, at least she was being treated for her injuries. That was a vast improvement from where ( and how ) Tracy and Mohinder were currently being held. The difference in his loyalty to them verses his loyalty to Matt was that they had both betrayed him, making Nathan less inclined to care. Sure, he had been close to Tracy. He'd also had doubts about whether she'd been conspiring with his father behind his back. All the man standing in front of him wanted was his girlfriend and his freedom. Honestly, a lot of them were just victims of circumstance.

"When I give you the signal, hold on tight." He waited until he got a nod of acknowledgement before maneuvering himself so that he was once again facing the crowd. He knew he would regret this. However, Nathan didn't see any other way.

Just as he was about to give Matt the go-ahead, gunshots rang out. They sounded like they came from a parking garage down the street. They echoed, one after the other. There were five of them fired. It was just the distraction Nathan needed to grab Parkman and fly them out of there. They literally disappeared right before everyone's eyes, but chances are, hardly any of them had noticed - not until after they were long gone.

What neither of them knew was that those shots weren't a coincidence. They had unknowingly gotten a little help from a friend.