Hunter immediately recognizes the danger when he sees Vince using a guitar-string garrote on Sue, because Vince nearly killed Hunter the same way before. Vince drags Sue over the low wall and uses her body as a shield, while Cayton steps out with a silenced pistol trained on Hunter. Hunter refuses to drop his gun, knowing surrender would likely mean his own death and Sue's capture anyway, so he tries to hold the standoff by warning both men that they may all die if Vince does not let Sue go.

As Vince backs toward an escape route with Sue still trapped against him, Hunter hears vehicles arriving. Rink reaches the scene, but at the same moment the remaining SUV full of Vince's allies also pulls up. That arrival changes the balance against Hunter and Rink, and Cayton becomes visibly nervous because Vince's retreat to the SUV would leave Cayton exposed between two armed opponents.

When Hunter realizes Cayton is about to fire, Hunter shoots first and hits Cayton in the chest. Cayton manages one wild return shot before going down. Gunfire erupts from the car and from Rink, but both men have to shoot carefully because Vince is still using Sue as cover.

Sue then surprises everyone by drawing a pistol from her tote bag, having managed to keep enough control to arm herself while being garroted. She fires twice and wounds or startles Vince, then tries to press the suppressed weapon against his throat for a finishing shot. The attempt fails because the gun she grabbed held only two rounds, leaving her unable to fire again at the crucial moment.

Vince recovers, twists Sue with the garrote, and throws her into the waiting hands of the men in the SUV before diving in after her. Hunter and Rink fire as the vehicle pulls away, but they cannot risk shooting freely with Sue inside. Their attempts to stop the SUV by targeting a tire or the engine fail, and the kidnappers speed off down the highway with Sue.

As police sirens approach, Hunter and Rink share their anger and confirm that the fight is not over. They decide to leave before the police arrive. Before running back to the Ford, Hunter retrieves Sue's tote bag, recognizing that she had protected it until the moment Vince overpowered her.