Duke frowned as he saw Flint enter his office. "Aren't you on sick leave until tomorrow? It's not kosher to ignore orders from Doc or Psych-Out."
Flint glared at his best friend. "Like I could take another day of that! NO ONE has been updating me. I need to know what we are doing to find Lady Jaye. I need to be on the rescue team. I just need to…." he sat down hard on the only other chair in Duke's office. "I have to find her," he whispered so softly that Duke had to strain to hear him. "You know that."
Duke cleared his throat, uncomfortable with seeing the deflated look on his second in command's face. In the past, if it had concerned Lady Jaye, there had been passion – anger, jealousy, sometimes even a little fear – not that Flint would ever admit to that last one. However, seeing his friend looking so defeated, it was downright depressing.
"There was so much blood," Flint whispered, unable to express his worst fear – that Lady Jaye might not have made it. No, he couldn't go to that place right now. Not again.
Duke crossed over from his desk and put his hand on Flint's shoulder. "We're doing all we can," he explained gently. "Unfortunately, there's not much to report. Extensive Enterprises is a vacant building. No sign of the twins there. We still have it under surveillance, though. Snake Eyes and Spirit can't even pick up a trail. But, we'll find her" dead or alive, he added in his head, though not wanting to express that particular thought to Flint.
Flint stood quickly. "I need to be doing something. Something to help. Anything," he almost pleaded with the CO. "Being cooped up in sick bay does not help and" he held up a hand, "don't get me started on how I need to get my head together and think these things through clearly. I have. I am. I just need…to…..DO…something," he finished through gritted teeth.
Duke understood how Flint felt. "Have you thought over the account you gave earlier? Is there any detail you might have missed? Anything stand out? Even little things might help."
Flint sighed. "I've been through it too many times, it's almost surreal." He closed his eyes and shook his head sadly. "Why didn't they take both of us? Why just her? Why stab her? It was like a game they were playing. And how," he continued, his voice rising in anger, "how the HELL did they know we'd be in Vegas? Was it planned? Impromptu? They mentioned it was in retaliation for the school in Ireland. But why would they hurt her and not just leave her there?" His balled fist hit the wall of Duke's office hard enough it left an indentation. Duke sighed. It wasn't the first one to be created in his office, nor would it be the last.
"Without a lead, what can we do?" Duke softly said. "It's not just us looking into it. The Spooks are also on it, as well as Army Intelligence. We'll find something. All these brainiacs…." his voice trailed off. This wasn't helping his friend. "As soon as we know, you will be on the extraction….but" he added, in a stern voice, "you have GOT to keep your head!"
Flint looked at his CO and best friend. "Yes sir," he replied bitterly, walking out of the office, unsure of what to do next.
The next time Lady Jaye awoke, it was from a string of nightmares she seemed to be having, but could not get rid of. Fuzzy images, like a bad movie, kept replaying in her head. In the dreams, she had been beaten, drugged, threatened, and physically abused unless she agreed to join Cobra. Each time, she remembered, she had replied in the negative, but each time had been harder and harder and part of her body had just wanted to give up and say yes. Just to stop the constant abuse. However, she knew that once her spirit broke, that would be the end of her.
Slowly opening her eyes, she realized that the nightmares had been real. Her body was stiff and bloodied. Her ribs, she felt, were surely cracked as she had a hard time taking any kind of deep breath. Her eyes felt swollen and she could barely lift the lids. Her throat was dry and sore. She remembered screaming in Gaelic at her abusers, as well as several other languages, as they continued to torture her. She also remembered the voice, the one from before, the "doctor." His voice always seemed to be hissing in her ear. He kept injecting her with something, saying that it was not enough, he needed more. More of what, she wasn't sure.
"Good. She is awake," said a voice in clipped English. She heard the click of footsteps approach. Lady Jaye inwardly groaned, knowing there was no way she could fight off her abusers at this point, not with the damage they had already inflicted on her body.
"Can you hear us, dear?" inquired the same voice. It was female. "You are safe now. We have brought you home."
"Water…." gasped Lady Jaye, her throat raw and sore. A glass was pressed to her lips and she drank greedily. Home, she thought. Home in Scotland, although the voice did not have the brogue of her homeland.
"Easy now, you don't want to make yourself sick. As we said, you are safe now. Rest. We will take care of everything."
Lady Jaye sighed and lay back down on her bed. It was soft and a warm blanket was placed over her. She remembered at one point laying on what seemed to be a stone floor or hard bench, but no longer. Home. Safe. She gave a small smile as a thank you, the only one she could manage, and relaxed, letting sleep overtake her. Home, was her last thought before she drifted off, this time into the blessed healing darkness of sleep.
"Do you know your name?" inquired the same female voice. Jaye struggled to come fully conscious, not wanting to offend her host.
"Alison," she croaked, her throat still raw. A straw was placed in her mouth and she was grateful for the cool water. She cleared her throat. "Alison Hart-Burnett. Am I truly home?" Although her eyes were still slightly swollen, she was able to see around the room, noting that it looked like a hospital room. No, not truly home. In a hospital. A brief thought flitted into her head that she detested hospitals, but she did not know why. As soon as it was there, it was gone. She was lucky, she thought suddenly, almost as if another voice was inside her head. If they had not found her, she'd be lying in an alley, dead. She frowned. Now how did she know that?
"Good. Very good," the woman said soothingly. "We found you where those….those people had dumped you. Good thing. I don't think you would have made it much longer," she stated in a no-nonsense voice.
Lady Jaye looked closely at the woman who was dressed in a black jumpsuit. "You look familiar…." she mused quietly. "Have we met?"
The woman gave a cold smile. "Yes, we do know one another. However, in order for you to regain your memory, you will need to rest. The doctor will give you a sedative to help you sleep. Only then can your body regain its former strength and you can go about your usual duties." She placed her hand on top of Jaye's, resting on the sheet. Patting it, she continued, "We are truly lucky that we found you. You are very valuable to our organization." Nodding her head to someone standing just beyond the doorway, she stood back as a man in a white lab jacket gave her an injection in her arm. Yes, Jaye's last drowsy thoughts were, definitely need to rest to be able to regain my strength and status.
