01. The Way Back Home

Tight ropes cut into his aching wrists, as she tightens the restraints around his ankles. The acute pain in his groins from where she kicked him is still rendering him speechless. She circles him like an animal ready to attack.

"I am going to ask you a question Hayward and I am warning you…you better tell me the truth. If you don't…I have ways of making you talk that will cause much pain and discomfort."

"What the hell is wrong with you," he snaps. "Don't you think this a little drastic?"

"Not when it comes to my husband," she coldly responds. "I know you have been keeping secrets from me Hayward. Secrets that, if not admitted, very well could get you into a lot of trouble. I am prepared to do whatever it takes to find him…even if I have to beat it out of you."

"What could I possibly know about your husband Anna…Last I heard, he was dead. "

As his angry words echoed in her head, an uncontrollable rage permeated within her. She was done with his crap…done with all his lies and phony excuses.

"You bastard," she yelled, her hand aching from the impact of her palm against his cheek. She pulled out the letter from her pocket and held it in her hand…it was curled around a simple gold band.

"When were you going to show me this," she rages. "And don't try to tell me that you have not seen it before. I know you have. Next time you try to hide something, maybe you should hide it somewhere not so obvious."

"Anna," he whispers.

"Just tell me David…When did you get this?"

He blinks once, then twice, adjusting his eyes to the sudden shift in her personality. Where there was once light and laughter was now rage and determination. Whatever kind of feelings she may or may not have had for him are as dead as a door nail.

"About two weeks ago," he finally admits. He knows by the cold, unfeeling look in her eyes that she would have no problem using her training to elicit information from him.

"Two weeks ago… fucking two weeks ago? Do you have any idea what you have done? You may have just signed my husband's death warrant and if you have…I promise you, he won't die alone…you will be joining him."

"I thought he was already Dead Anna. I didn't want to get your hopes up."

"That is such bullshit David and you know it. If you had given this to me when you got it, I could have saved him weeks of torture. And that is assuming he is even alive anymore."

"What are you talking about? What does that letter say?"

She pauses as she reads the simple message, encoded only for her eyes, tears streaming down her face.

My Dearest Luv,
If you are reading this then you must be well enough to know that I am alive and trying to get back to you. Do not trust anyone Anna. I cannot tell you more than that. As proof of my identity, I will offer you one thing that only you and I would know. What did I tell you when I rescued you from Putman?"

"I would have moved heaven and hell to find you," she says, finding the words on the page, followed by the simple phrase. "I still feel that way now luv. I will move mountains to find you."

"Not if I find you first, "she says. She pockets the letter and feasts her angry eyes on David. She would deal with him later. For now, she was going after her husband.

Anna walks to the closet and pulls out two bandanas. She ties them together tightly.

"You can't be serious," David snaps. "You aren't really going to leave me here, are you? I told you what I know."

She very calmly stuffs one end of the bandana into his mouth and the other end securely around his head. She stands in front of him holding a loaded gun.

"I can't have you out there trying to cripple my search David. You have already proven to be untrustworthy. I am going to find my husband if I have to go to the ends of the earth to do it. When I find him, you had just better hope that he is still alive…Because trust me, if your actions have led to his death for real…I will kill you with my bare hands."

She slammed the door without another word; David's muffled screams heard by no one.

Anna is securing her holster to the belt on her jeans when her sister Alex walks in. One look at her twin and Alex knew that things had shifted.

"What happened," Alex asks? "And where are you going? You should be resting."

"Alex, I have been resting for weeks now. I have to find my husband."

"Has something happened that I don't know about," she questions. Unlike David, she knows better than to mention the fact that as far as she knew, Robert was dead

"A couple weeks ago, a letter arrived for me. I did not get it until now because David intercepted it."

"What"

"Believe me Alex; he will not make that mistake again."

"What was he even doing here?"

"According to him, he was making a house call."

"I'll just bet he was," Alex said.

"Look, the point is that my husband is alive and he tried to reach out to me…He has never failed me Alex. I'll be damned if I am going to fail him."

"So you are going to go after a needle in a haystack," Alex says. It was not a question but rather a statement.

"I need to find him Alex. Please do not try to stop me. If this was Dimitri, wouldn't you do everything in your power to find him?"

"You know I would," she agrees. "I won't try to stop you Anna but I am also not letting you do this alone. I'm coming with you."

"Alex."

"No Arguments okay. I know this can be dangerous and someone needs to watch your back. There is a better chance of getting out of here alive, if there are two of us. "

"Then hurry up and get ready. The clock is already ticking. Robert's life could depend on how promptly we act."

"Give me five minutes."

Anna nods her head as Alex quickly dresses. She knows that if she is a minute after the five minutes, Anna will be gone. She is nothing if not tenacious…particularly where her husband is concerned. She has never met the man but she knows of their history. There is no stopping a woman when every breath she takes is rooted in that kind of love that most people never even touch. It is better to work with her than against her.

She fastens her own holster and gun and the sisters are out the door faster than the speed of lighting. When Anna is on a mission, you had better learn how to catch up or you will be lost in the shuffle. It is called survival.

"This can't be right," Anna states.

"It looks deserted," Alex agreed. "Is there some significance to this place?"

"There's a lot of bad history in this place Alex. A lot," Anna admitted.

"Where's Robert," Anna asks Sean, as he helps her down the snow covered hill. He comes from the other direction with a gun to Putman's back.

"I hope she dies Scorpio," he rants. "I hope she dies."

Sean grabs Grant as he and the officer take him away. For a moment, she just stands there crying. Robert reaches for her then and takes her into his arms. As he holds her close and strokes her hair, she feels safe for the first time since the ordeal began. Divorce or no divorce, he was still her hero.

"There has to be a reason he chose to remind me of that time," Anna admits. "I have to believe there is."

"Maybe we're missing something Anna. Things have changed since you were last here. Are you sure there is still a cabin?"

"I'm not sure of anything anymore Alex. I just know that I can feel him. I can feel his suffering. Time is running out. We have to find him."

"And they say twins have a connection," Alex quipped.

"We didn't grow up together. I've known Robert most of my life. I've loved him most of my life."

"Let's go then," Alex says.

"Where is he, you son of a bitch," Anna raves. "Tell me where he is or I swear to God I will send you straight to hell. I am not playing games Faison. You either tell me what you did to Robert, or your life ends here and now. Your choice."

Alex has a gun pointed straight into his back. She knows exactly who this man is. They should have known he was involved. Somehow, he always is where her sister is concerned.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your lovely sister," he asks.

"You shut your mouth about my sister. I am giving you exactly ten seconds to start talking. Then I start shooting. "

"Why do you fight me, Anna? Why?"

Alex steps back slightly and Anna pulls the trigger.

"That was a warning shot. If you do not start talking. The next one won't be."

"You're just going to stand by and let her shoot an innocent man?"

"You are hardly innocent Mr. Faison. I would not look at me as an Ally. I would help her kill you if you must know."

"So what we have here is an ambush."

Alex pushes the barrel of the gun further into his back as Anna gets closer.

"I am losing patience with your games Ceasar," Anna snaps. "Perhaps we should try a different tactic."

She threw all her weight into her hips as her foot connected expertly into his lower anatomy. She was a trained operative, who knew how to expose her targets weakness. She knew how he thought. That had been his downfall. Alex took her sisters lead and pulled him forward by his hair…pushing him head first into the snow. It was like watching a trapeze act. The sisters did not know each other's next move but they adapted quickly with no hesitation and complete trust.

"Do not make the mistake of thinking that I won't pull the trigger. You forget that I know all your moves. You have ten seconds to tell me where my husband is…I should remind you that I am a perfect shot; I never miss my mark."

He stares at her with the eyes of a predator, only this time she matches him.

"I am through being nice Ceasar. "

She starts counting down from ten and he simply stares at her coldly. She pulls back the trigger and says

"Last chance. Any famous last words."

"He's dead Anna. You want to know where your husband is. He's been disposed of…just like the trash he is."

She pulls the trigger…not once…not twice…but a full clip. "Tell me he's dead," she asks her sister. "Tell me that animal will not live to breathe the same air as all the people he's hurt…tell me."

Alex does not need to say the words; she knows that she finally sent him straight to hell. She kicks him once more for effect as she steps over his body like the trash he is.

"Game over Ceasar. I Win."

"Robert," Anna screams. "Robert wake up. Please wake up. I'm right here."

They found him in chains in a room she knew was meant to be his prison cell. Alex handed Anna her gun and she shot through the chains. He fell to the ground but Anna caught him as he went down.

"He needs to get to the hospital Anna. He's bleeding internally."

"Please help me Alex…Please…I can't lose him all over again. What would you do if this was Dimitri?"

Alex picks up her phone and dials the hospital.

"I need a chopper down here immediately. Prepare an ER. I'm calling in my personal favor."

She hangs up the phone and Alex tells her to stay with him. She is going to flag down the chopper.

Anna's head is on his chest. She can hear his heart beat but it is weak.

"Can you hear me Robert? Can you feel my love?"

He squeezes her hand lightly and she looks up into his face. There was no change.

"Don't you leave me Scorpio," she cries. "Don't you dare leave me again?"

It is ironic that she got her memory back just in time to find out that her husband was alive. God only knew what he suffered through for those five years but she would not look a gift horse in the mouth. He was alive. That was enough for now.

"Whatever that animal did to you because of me, I'm sorry. We will get through this Robert. You just have to live. Please just fight for me one more time. I love you so much."

The chopper arrives and Anna steps away as they load Robert onto a stretcher. Alex puts her arm around her sister as she cries and a moment later they both step into the chopper. Anna holds Robert's hand the whole ride to the hospital. Alex holds her sisters other hand. They say a prayer for his recovery.