Hello, dear readers. Sorry for the long wait. Issues are being taken care of, but they take time. Please enjoy this new chapter, and please fav/follow and r&r! Happy New Year to all!

Wallace blinked a few times in utter shock.

More blood dripped down Layla's face as her eyelids parted.

Two bloody holes appeared. In each eye socket, there were bloody rests of what should have been her eyes. Not even one bit of white was left. Someone had really done his best to destroy them completely.

James had rushed inside at his daughter's scream.

When he saw the Arabian woman's face, even he had to swallow.

'They have gouged out your eyes…' Wallace whispered.

He reached out and gently stroked her face.

She managed a faint smile at that touch.

'That must have hurt a lot…' the man said softly.

'Yes…' Layla mumbled.

'Do you remember when they did that?' Wallace asked curiously.

Layla hummed pensively. 'Mmm… maybe a month after they'd brought me here….'

Wallace managed to prop one arm under her upper body.

'Try to hold on tight to me,' he said. 'I'm going to get you to a hospital.'

That word seemed to trigger something in the young woman.

'Hospital…' Layla muttered. 'I was in a hospital….'

'When?'

'Before I… was brought here….'

'Do you remember what happened?' Wallace asked curiously.

'Unnng…' Layla did tiredly. 'Uhm… car accident…. I was… I was driving my mmmm motorcycle…. Got hit by a lorry…. Landed on a metal point…. It pierced my… right shoulder…. Stitches… contusions, lacerations…. Hospitalised… for a month….'

'And then they came for you?' Wallace said.

She could only nod. Then she managed to get one arm over his shoulder and grabbed the back of his shirt, holding on as tight as she could.

Wallace lifted her up slightly, so that she could hold on to him with her other hand as well.

Layla slipped the fingers of her left hand up his arm and held on to his shoulder.

Wallace moved one arm around the small of her back and the other one under her knees. Then he lifted her up. She groaned softly. Her shoulder still hurt.

'You okay?' he asked softly.

She hummed in confirmation.

'Okay,' Wallace said. 'Do you have any personal belongings here?'

'I don't know…' Layla muttered.

'Lilah, can you check that cupboard?' Wallace asked the young girl.

'Mhm,' she did and immediately went to rummage through it.

Wallace needed a few seconds to stand up steady. The young woman in his arms did not weigh much, but he staggered slightly anyway.

'Hey, I found a black shoulder bag,' Lilah said, holding up a medium sized bag.

Again, it triggered something in the woman in Wallace's arms.

'Does… does it have embroidering… on the lid?' she asked softly.

Lilah looked at it. 'Yeah, it does.'

'Blood red?' Layla asked with a slight groan.

'Yeah, it's some sort of crest with weird scribbles in it,' Lilah said.

Layla let go with her right hand and reached for Lilah and her bag.

'Not… scribbles,' she whispered and traced the embroidering with her fingers as soon as they touched it. 'Letters….'

She moved her delicate fingers from right to left, tracing each symbol.

'Is my name…. In Hebrew…. Layla… Zoher…' she muttered.

'Oh, right, of course,' Wallace said. 'Hebrew is read from right to left….'

A vague nod from Layla was his answer.

'What's in it, Lilah?' Wallace asked the girl. 'What's in the bag?'

'Uhm, a wallet…' Lilah said, rummaging through it. 'No cash, but everything else is still there. A smartphone, a PDA, keys, the usual lady stuff, a handgun…. Wait, that's a Jericho 941, those are illegal in the UK!'

'Issued by the Mossad, in collaboration with MI6,' Layla muttered. 'Don't touch it.'

'Okay, okay,' Lilah said, a hint of disappointment in her voice. 'Also a badge, MI6 again.'

'Don't touch it…' Layla mumbled again.

'You work for the British secret service?' Wallace asked in amazement. 'What do you do?'

'I work… as an information center…' the woman said softly. 'I know a lot of things about a lot of people….'

'So that's why Logan had kidnapped you,' Wallace realised. 'He wanted information.'

'Yes…' Layla said tiredly.

'Did you talk?'

'No….'

'You sure?'

'Yes…. Otherwise I'd be dead….'

'Fair point,' Wallace said.

'You've got a ton of messages,' Lilah said. 'Some guy's been spamming you like hell.'

'Put my phone back in my bag,' Layla said, slightly louder. 'Do not read any of the messages. I don't want to have to kill you.'

'Sorry,' the girl said softly. 'Here.' She placed the bag in Layla's lap.

'Thank you,' the latter whispered.

'You have to get to a hospital now,' Wallace said. 'Come on, let's go.'

Layla clutched her fingers around the back of Wallace's shirt again and nodded softly.

Wallace carried her out of the room, followed by Lilah.

James looked at them, amazed.

'Who is she?' he asked.

'Her name is Layla,' Wallace said. 'She's been held captive here for months. I have to get her to a hospital. Do you know if there's one near?'

'The Royal London Hospital is about one-and-a-half mile from here,' James said. 'I'll take you there with my car.'

'No,' Wallace said. 'I'll walk. I can't put her down, which I would have to if you'd drive me.'

'It'll be faster,' James said.

Layla responded by clutching onto Wallace even tighter. She was not going to let go of her saviour any time soon.

'I'll walk,' Wallace said and made his way to the door.

'Please hurry…' Layla breathed in his neck, her head resting on his shoulder.

'Of course,' he said softly and quickened his pace.

He stepped outside and breathed in the cold night air.

Looking up into the street, he recognised where he was. He walked onto the nearest main road and made a right turn. He followed it down all the way to Whitechapel Road, which he entered and then started making his way to the Royal London Hospital.

He tried to continue his conversation with Layla to keep her awake, but she could barely bring up the energy. Each answer was less audible than the previous one.

Layla understood that Wallace did his best to keep her awake, but she just did not have the strength to answer all of his questions.

So instead, she started humming.