WHEN TIME STANDS STILL

"You cannot stop the birds of sorrow from landing on your shoulder, but you can prevent them from nesting in your hair"

"Whooooohoooo!!, I can't believe we made it out of there"

Forty Four's excited voice sounded out rivaling the loud rotating noise of the helicopter as it transcended the dark sky. The others including Five had similar excitement coursing through their veins though they weren't as expressive as Forty-Four it could still be seen in their eyes and face as they pulled off their mask.

"Hey happy Tom, take the helm"

Five said to Forty-Four, who nodded his head immediately, "I'm not a good pilot unless you want us to die from crashing after escaping a gun assault"

Five purses his lips,

"let me"

Forty-One said before he could say anything and they immediately changed position with care as Five moved to where Sixteen was still lying unconscious, he looked at her and started slapping her awake, leaving a dumbfounded expression on Forty-Four, "Will you take it easy with her bro, she's a lady for God sake."

Five didn't bother replying to him and continued what he was doing, but stopped when his effort bore fruit as Sixteen started to stir awake. She let out a low moan, has her eyes fluttered before finally opening and seeing Five's face in front of her. She was confused at first, but before she could think about anything she came to a sudden realization that the face in front of her looked a little familiar, she searched her memory before it finally clicked,

"I know... you, ...you are the kid from Detroit"

Five chuckled, "Yeah, now the table has turned, I'm the one saving your life this time"

Sixteen stared at him for a few seconds and replied with a weak smile. She proceeded to look around the remainder occupants of the helicopter until her eyes landed on the Asian man tied to the back seat of the chopper her body visibly trembled which Five noticed immediately.

"What is it?"

"Untie him"

"What?" Five asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Now, untie him now!!!"

Everyone was confused at her request and her urgent tone, Five looked at Eighty and nodded for her to untie him, which she proceeded to promptly, but what now unnerved everyone was at the process a mocking laughter rang out from the man before he started speaking.

"I knew you knew, it didn't get pass those sharp ears of yours," he paused and looked at Five and smiled, "Too bad these greenhorns didn't notice"

Five rushed towards him and pushed aside Eighty who had just finished untying the man, he looked at him dead in the eyes, "What the hell are you saying?"

"I told you fighting your way through is better than taking me hostage"

Sixteen who was still weak was trying to move towards them, but her body was not responding to her will, all she could do now was talk"Get him off the chopper now!!, Get him off"

"What the f**k is going on here" Ninety-Nine shouted.

"Lady calm down," Forty-Four said to Sixteen,

"Don't tell me to call down, get that fucker out of the Chopper immediately"

"Why?. What's happening"

"What the hell is happening there" Forty-One shouted The whole chopper was now in chaos as everyone was shouting with nobody listening to the other, everyone probably, except for Twenty and Five, the former simply looking at Five's back, while Five was looking at the haunting smile on the man's face.

He slowly drowned out every noise, until suddenly he heard it, a little chime and another as if something was counting. He then tore off the man's suit and shirt and he saw it, a compact bomb strapped on his chest with ten seconds left on it.

"Oh shit" Forty Four exclaimed as Five eyes widened, he reacted immediately though as he dragged the man up, in a bid to throw him out of the chopper, but was it going to be that easy, the answer is no as the man wrapped him in a dangerously tight bear hug as a crazed look appeared in eyes.

"We are all going to die you fuckers!!!" He shouted in Mandarin.

In a normal sense without any urge of a last-minute ticking bomb, Five could have easily held his arm and forced away the hug with his superior strength, but there was no time to do that.

All of a sudden it was as if time became a standstill as memories of his life played in his mind, his laughter, sadness, tears, and many more replayed in his mind, ("So this is the proverbial life flashing by your eyes before you die"), he thought and then turned to Forty-Four with conviction in his eyes as he gave him a reassuring smile, then reciprocated the hug leaving the man confused for a second before jumping out of the chopper with him.

Immediately an explosion lit up the night sky, and even rocked the chopper which left Forty One struggling to keep it steady before they crashed.

Forty Four and the rest just remained in their positions all shellshocked and not knowing what to feel.

"We have to go back," he murmured before finding his voice, "We have to go back now" he shouted at Forty-One as he made to move towards her, but Eighty intervened immediately and held him in place,

"Let go of me!!"

"You know we can't go back" She shouted.

"Why not?"

"Cause he's dead," this time, it was Ninety-Nine who replied.

"He can't be dead," Forty-Four said in a low voice as if trying to convince himself of the impossible as a tear dropped from his eyes.

"He saved our life, but is the truth, he's dead," Eighty said in a choked-up voice trying to hold back her emotions, which she failed woefully as she looked at the tears in Forty-Four's eyes and didn't know when she let out a low cry as tears poured from her eyes too, her sister at the helm of the chopper silently cried as well as tears threatened to blur her vision.

Ninety-Nine at the side didn't know what to feel, he wasn't familiar with Five like the others, but he also felt the loss of someone he had exchanged blows with and had just braved dangers together, Twenty still had his unreadable cold expression, not moving since everything happened, which is actually a short time.

Sixteen was the most confused about what to feel at the moment and she had unknowingly felt some guilt about Five's death, if only she just saved him that night and left him he wouldn't be here sacrificing his life to save her. She recalled the little brave and innocent kid she once saved and the last reassuring smile he gave before jumping to sure death.

"I'm sorry Jordan" she muttered