With Elias' death as his driving goal John started to assess the current situation. As his mind slid into tactical mode he began to unconsciously note things in his surroundings. Where Scarface was standing. What position was he holding his gun. How far away Elias was from him and how fast he could cover that space. The ground he was standing on was loose gravel. If he could move around to the solid concrete that was two feet to his left he'd have better traction when he made his move. If he moved on Elias first, he could get to him and end him before Scarface would kill him. When he got to Elias he could use him as a shield, that way Scarface would be afraid he'd hit Elias, so he wouldn't shoot. That would give John enough time to do what needed to be done, to kill Elias. Then Scarface would of course kill him and he could finally be with Joss. He had told her in the morgue that he would see her on the other side. He knew she would be waiting for him there too.

John was ready to make his final move. Though it meant his death, in his mind it was nothing more than going to meet Joss. To see her again, be with her, touch her, hold her, kiss her..... John's thoughts of seeing and being with Joss again brought a real smile to his face.

Only to Elias it looked like lunacy and made Elias' brow furrow in worry. Elias recognized that look. He'd seen it a number of times in his life. Usually it was plastered on the face of someone that knew they were going to die. Someone that felt they had nothing to lose, someone who would do anything to attain their last and final goal.

John saw the way Elias was now studying him and understood that he had to distract Elias so he could get in position to finish this. Elias' verbosity had always rankled John but he would turn it against Elias and use it as a distraction to get his self in position. John had to put Elias at easy so he could gain that two feet he needed. Getting Elias to talk should be very easy.

John was thinking of what to say to Elias when unbidden the question pushed from his heart, came to his mind and escaped from his lips.

"How could she die...for a monster like me?"

Unnoticed by John, tears again slowly slipped down his marred and dirty cheeks as his mind started filling in the rest of the small details need to achieve his goal of ending Elias.

To Elias, John seemingly started to pace. Though John was tall his pacing was shuffling and aimless, slow and in small steps. Elias was very much aware of how dangerous John still was even in his current wretched state. But to Elias, John's movements seemed worn out, ponderous and burdensome.

"I understand that question John and share your sentiments." Elias stated slipping easily back into lecturer mode. "But the good Detective chose to save you. She chose to save you John because she loved you. I have wondered many times about her capacity for love and compassion. I know you would think that being a homicide detective would have dulled and reduced that trait to bitterness and leave her with no faith in people or their ability to become something better. But John, even with all of the crap I put her through and the HR mess she found herself in, she truly amazed me with her treatment of Tony and I. She was civilized to the end."

Through Elias' prattling John continued to pace. To keep what he felt was a safe distance from John, Elias moved when John did. They became like dance partners - each moving around and with the other. Even thought he didn't know it, Elias was following John's lead. Four steps to the right, then five to the left, three to the right, then six to the left. John's weaving back and forth was getting the results he wanted. He was moving closer to the patch of solid ground he needed to be on. Like a mongoose weaving back and forth in front of a cobra, John was getting Elias in position to deliver the death blow.

"How could someone as innately good as Jo...Detective Carter let herself fall in love with you John? I am aware of some of the things she did for you that perhaps pulled her compass a bit from true." John stopped moving and looked at Elias with hooded eyes. "Though I'm experiencing a bit of a down turn at this time, I still have contacts in the police and even in the FBI John. I heard about the evidence tampering and about the interrogations and suspects while you were briefly indisposed at Rikers'. Though I can't prove it I know it was the Detective who cleaned up your mess yet again John. How could she justify to herself the things she did for you? Did she need to justify them John or was she compelled to do them by her love for you?"

Elias seemed to John to be more off guard and relaxed as he offered his thoughts on John and Joss' relationship. John resumed his pacing.

"Now that I think about it John you two remind me of the classic love story of Psyche and Eros. Detective Carter is of course Psyche - the beautiful, wonderful, wise and soulful woman who unwittingly fell in love with the monster. And Eros the ugly, hateful, murderous monster who fell in love with Detective Carter is you John. How could she love you John? Like Psyche, the Detective must have accepted you for who you are and chose not to hold all of the monstrous things about you and that you have done, against you. She saw the man that was trapped and lost inside of the monster John. And she chose to love the man, she chose to love you. She was such an unusual person John that I can see how... no let me rephrase that. I know what a strong reforming influence she was on people. Sure it sounds trite but spending time with her did sometimes make me want to be a better person. Well perhaps be a better person is a bit too strong a phrase John, for me anyway. But I did restrain myself from carrying out a couple of... actions, because she had asked me not too. I'm a decisive man, a man of honor. You know this John." With a smile in his voice Elias tells John. "I really don't remember anyone in a very long time being able to make me change my mind about much of anything. But I did, simply because she asked."

By the time Elias finished speaking John had moved into position. Their dance has carried John to the patch of concrete he was aiming for. But John sees it has also moved Elias closer to him. In Elias' efforts to keep John in front of him he had moved closer to John as he tried to avoid large chunks of smashed concrete, abandoned tires and trash scattered around their meeting place. While Elias still felt that he was a safe distance from John, John knew that the extra foot Elias had lost to their dance had truly sealed Elias' fate. Still doing the slow shuffle pacing, John takes note of Elias' and Scarface's positions. He marks the distances. He becomes very still and starts to coil his body for the strike. John was ready and knew that both he and Elias would be dead in three minutes.

Elias sees John has stopped pacing and has become eerily still. John's stillness disquiets him and Elias notices at the same time that the distance between them has shrunk. In his effort to keep John at a safe distance he's been unknowingly drawing closer to him. Elias turns to tell Tony to move back a couple of feet when from the corner of his eye he sees John start towards them. Elias is close enough now to see the look in John's eyes and as he turns back to look at John directly; Elias realizes death is coming for him-now.

John brings his left arm up sharply in preparation to charge Elias when he feels someone grab his arm and bring him up short.

To late Tony understands what is about to happen and raising his weapon and starts to move forward to try to protect Elias. Elias stumbles backwards trying to escape what he knows John has in store for him. His back peddling is awkward and off balance. In his haste to move away from John Elias trips over a piece of refuse and heavily stumbles into Tony who reaches out to help steady his boss. But there's too much garbage at their feet and they go down hard while they hear Tony's gun hit the ground and skitter off in some unknown direction. As they both scramble to regain their footing they see that John has pulled up short and stopped in his tracks. John tilts his head left as if he's listening to someone then looks to his left.

Her voice is in John's ear. Joss tells him in no uncertain terms "No John! You are not doing that." She has hold of his arm and she's holding on to him so, so tightly. She is trying to stop him just like that night when he was fleeing to the roof of the DOD building so the bomb vest he was wearing wouldn't hurt anyone when it detonated. "John. You don't have to do this." Joss spoke to him with such urgency and fear in her voice that he had to turn to her to explain why Elias must die, today. He needed her to know that he would be with her soon if she would just let him go. One. Last. Time.

With his eyes full of tears and his voice steeped in anguish John's strangled plea of "Joss, Please." leaves his lips as he turns to her to beg her to let him finish, to let him come be with her. He turns and sees Joss' beautiful brown eyes shining with unshed tears pleading with his now cold, dull blue ones to not throw away his life this way. He could tell by the way her brow was deeply furrowed she was angry with him. He could deal with her anger. What tore his heart to pieces was that he had made her cry - again- over his worthless self. "John don't do this. They'll kill you." Joss whispers to him. Her words sounded familiar but his blood deprived brain can't understand why. All he knows is she's here by his side again and right now he needs to touch her.

Elias and Scarface were scrambling up from the ground and trying to put some distance between them and John. Scarface quickly located his gun and rejoined Elias. They did not know what had stopped John's advance but he appeared to be in conversation with someone located to his left. Elias gave Tony a questioning look and they both moved further away from John but to his left. There was no one to the left of John but they could see what had prevented him from completing his attack and possibly killing them both.

John heard Joss' voice quiver with emotion as she told him, "Anything happens to you I swear, I'll hate you forever." John's voice is raspy as he tries to explain to her why he's doing this. Lionel isn't here this time to make her release John and then drag her to safety. John has to make her understand and let him go on her own. "Joss let me go, let me do this. I have to protect Taylor. Don't hate me." His voice broke as he pleaded with her. "Please wait for me." John reaches his hand up to cup Joss' face and to wipe her tears away as his name from Joss' lips gently fades away taking with it the image of her. John drew in a shuddering breath. He didn't know that he had closed his eyes until he opened them and looked down expecting to see Joss still holding his arm.

She wasn't there; no one was.

What was there, clinging so desperately to his arm and keeping him from killing Elias, was her scarf. Joss' white cashmere, jasmine infused scarf that John had forgotten he was even holding, had somehow become tightly wound about his arm and firmly snagged on a piece of errant rebar protruding from a pile of broken rubble slightly behind him on his left side.