Chapter Three
Steve and Rudy began carefully weighing their options. It didn't take long; there was very little they could do. Rudy anxiously eyed the wound to Steve's neck. It wasn't bleeding much, but the position on the debris made him nervous. While he could potentially grasp the edges of the metal fragment with his fingers and remove it, there was no telling how much damage might be done. With no way to put pressure on the wound or bandage it, he didn't dare.
Steve stared intently at Jaime, trying to will her back to consciousness but unsure what to do if she did wake up. For the last three years, before the crash, they had been the OSI's best team, able to function smoothly – almost as a single unit. Their combined knowledge and abilities had made them virtually unstoppable, but for Jaime those abilities were in the past. She had the same strength, but with very little knowledge of how to channel it and none of the combat or stealth training to be able to use it.
Still, she was their only hope. Somehow, they had to not just rouse her but help her find a way to break her own bonds so she could free the two of them. Otherwise, they were all essentially helpless.
- - - - - -
Oscar had just fastened his lap belt and was sitting back in the seat with his eyes closed as the plane began to taxi when it abruptly stopped on the tarmac. Two dark-suited security officers hustled him off into a waiting limo, where he was immediately handed a car phone with Russ on the other end.
"Oscar, we've got a problem," the young Assistant Director said breathlessly.
"I gathered that when they took me off the plane, Russ. What's going on?"
"We got a mayday call from SnowBird2. Steve got cut off before he could finish, and -"
"Steve? What about the captain?"
"We don't know. We're trying to send assistance, but they've disappeared from radar."
"What do you mean, disappeared?"
"We've been unable to reach them by radio and...we can't find them, Oscar."
- - - - - -
Rudy moved as close as he could get to Jaime's prone body and continued stroking her face while he and Steve both spoke softly to her and after several very tense minutes, a tiny moan escaped her lips and her eyelids fluttered. Her eyes opened slowly and, finding herself unable to move, she began to panic. Rudy placed his bound hands on her shoulder to steady her and looked directly into her eyes.
"Honey," he began, keeping his voice calm and even, "it'll be okay. We'll get through this, but we need your help. Are you hurt?"
"No-o-o..." she said slowly, frightened tears forming in her eyes. "Where's Steve?"
"Right here, Sweetheart."
"Oh, no..." she mumbled, spotting his neck right away when she turned her head. "What happened? Why...?"
"Jaime," Steve said carefully, "we're gonna get out of here. We can do it if we work together. Okay?"
Jaime nodded, trying hard to swallow her fear. "What do you want me to do?"
"We have to get untied. Can you move your hands?"
Jaime rolled over on her side and nodded again. "Yeah; I think so. Should I break the ropes?"
"No – you'll break your other arm," Steve explained. "I need you to slide over to Rudy and slip your fingers under the rope around his wrists. Once you get him free, he'll untie us."
Jaime complied, but paused with her fingers hooked under the bindings. "Just my fingers?"
"You can do it – trust me. Don't think about it, just pull up and they'll come apart."
Jaime did as he instructed and soon Rudy's hands were free. The doctor rewarded her with a warm and comforting hug and then untied her hands. "You can break the ones on your legs," he told her as he began cutting Steve loose. Carefully, they propped Steve up against the potato sacks and without needing to be asked, Jaime snapped the cuffs from his wrists.
Steve glanced at his watch. "We've got about 20 minutes to come up with a plan," he told Jaime. Rudy busied himself with gathering whatever he could find to treat Steve's wound, then splashed vodka on his hands and on a towel he found among the crates. Without a warning that might've made Steve cringe or pull away, he quickly plucked the offending debris from his neck and held the towel in its place.
Steve grimaced in pain but forced himself back to the task at hand. "They know about my bionics," he said quietly, "but I don't think they know about yours, so -"
"So that makes me the secret weapon," Jaime surmised.
"Something like that. If they start firing – and they probably will – then take cover behind the crates and try to hit them with whatever you can grab. Bottles are good, but potatoes oughta work, too. Just throw 'em with everything you've got. We have to get to the stairs, but we'll never make it if we don't take them down first. Rudy, I want you to stay behind that pile of sacks over there until everything is clear."
Jaime nodded solemnly, and they looked up as they realized the ship's engines had stopped. Sensing the terror she was trying so hard to hide, Steve took her hand. "We'll be okay," he repeated. "We can do this."
Jaime nodded again, leaning into him for just a moment and drawing new strength from the love in Steve's eyes. Suddenly, her body stiffened in his arms. "I hear a boat," she whispered.
- - - - - -