Chapter Two

Steve's plane would be landing soon, and he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, thinking of Jaime. She'd be livid if she knew he was back in Greece! The buyers Michael had arranged to take Jaime off of his hands had never been apprehended and Oscar had sent him in as a sort of bionic bait. (Jaime, of course, didn't know that either.) He'd be met at the airstrip by a team from Interpol and taken directly to their office in Athens, where he could casually feel out the underworld – with the painstakingly careful protection of Interpol backing him up unseen from the sidelines.

Jaime....the truth was, he missed her already. He'd seen true longing in her eyes when she'd taken in the three-year-old twin girls, and he knew exactly what she was thinking because he wanted the very same things in his life...and he wanted them with her. When he held Jaime in his arms, Steve felt truly alive in ways he never could without her. Being with her was like breathing – natural...and necessary.

He forced himself out of his reverie as the plane touched terra firma. The very instant he set foot on the tarmac, a much harsher reality took hold. Gunfire filled the air – seemingly from every direction at once – and in the blink of an eye, four Interpol agents lay motionless on the ground. Three men were immediately upon him, guns pointed straight at Steve's chest.

"Hello, Colonel. I believe we're your welcoming committee now."

- - -

Peggy knew when Russ ran past her desk without even glancing her way that something was terribly wrong. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but in his hurry, Russ hadn't closed the door.

"Interpol reports four agents gunned down at the airstrip," he told Oscar breathlessly. "The pilot's dead, too."

"Damn it!" Oscar's fist pounded the desk in frustration. "What about Steve?" he asked.

"There's no sign of him. He could've established a quick cover – and gone with them willingly, working the case," Russ suggested.

"I can't take that chance." If it weren't for his leg (still in a cast), Oscar would have gone in himself, but as it was now, he had no other options. "Call Jaime," he said, very softly.

- - -

Steve had been right – Jaime was livid. "Oscar, how could you do this?" She'd never yelled at a boss before in her life, but her temper was on auto-pilot. "You sent him straight into the line of fire – put him into the very hands of the people who were ready to buy me and cut me apart!"

Oscar had the uncanny ability to grow calmer as the people around him began to lose their heads – and right now, he was very calm. "He may not be in trouble at all, Jaime. He could be working the case from the inside. These people may not even know he's bionic; all they know for certain is that he's from the OSI."

"That's just great. Best Intel in the world and all you can tell me is 'maybe'?"

"You're the only person I've got who's capable of scoping this out from a distance, determining if Steve's in trouble – and if he is, getting him out. This group knows your name, but we don't believe they've ever seen your face..."

"You'll be taking a regular, commercial flight," Russ told her. "You'll draw less attention that way. Interpol will arrange -"

"No," Jaime stated flatly.

"What?"

"I don't want them involved," Jaime insisted. "At least, not yet." Seeing the look on both men's faces, she explained. "We don't know what happened at that airstrip – or who might've tipped these people off that Steve was coming."

"She's right," Oscar agreed.

Jaime bit back the urge to say 'I usually am' – and simply nodded. "I'll keep in touch with you when I can," she promised, "but the more I can fly solo on this, the safer I'll be – at least until we know what we're dealing with."

Russ looked at Oscar with amazement. Was he really going to allow Jaime to dictate her own terms here? Surprisingly, Oscar did exactly that.

"Alright, Babe....we'll wait to hear from you."

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