Their next prison was not an abandoned compound of any kind. Assuming the White House knew of the massacre at the hospital, they probably were patrolling any other places that fit the description and therefore were off limits to the terrorists. Just as they were pulling up to a factory building, C.J. saw that they were dragging out two bodies in security uniforms. She swallowed hard. They had improvised and two more people were dead. It was dark and deserted now, but how long until the employees returned?

Rounded up in a small office on the second floor, she and Zoey were once again shut in. Riyad followed them inside. "You will prepare her, if she is to be a coward, it will not look good for your country." He smiled.

C.J. had no words. Suddenly, Riyad grabbed C.J. and turned her away from him. She gasped in surprise at his abrupt contact and heard Zoey cry out. C.J. felt cold steel on her arms, but suddenly the binds were released. Relief and soreness shot through her arms as she brought them in front of her, rubbing her wrists gingerly. He turned and cut Zoey free as well.

"You have the time until we secure the building. If you do anything that makes me angry, I will have every one of my men rape her in front of you then rape you." Riyad smiled, stepping closer. He was tall, as tall as C.J. and their eyes were level, "That was the first English word I learned. 'Rape.'"

She could feel his body almost touching hers but he broke the tension first and walked out. C.J. wiped a tear away and took a big ragged breath. She looked at their surroundings, mostly to gain back her bearings and not look as if she was losing her cool in front of Zoey. She went to the window and noticed that the building next to this one was similar and very close. Her heart began to beat very fast as a plan began to form. The next building was so close, a window adjacent to the one she looked out of right now. The option of waiting to be rescued was no longer an option. She turned to Zoey, "Help me with this."

Zoey was shaking violently, pacing the room. She closed the distance between she and C.J. as C.J. began prying at the window.

"We can't." Zoey was afraid of his threat, "If he catches us-"

"We have to get out of here, Zoey." C.J. told her.

"I'm scared." She whimpered.

C.J. sighed, "I know, I am too." She hugged the girl.


"I'm a reporter and I can get your story on any television station and paper you want." Danny's voice was much stronger than he felt as he explained his position to a man who had answered the call with a thick accent.

"How did you get this number?" The voice came back.

Danny could hear voices in the background and a hollow sound as if people were walking around in a large space, "I stole it from the White House Chief of Staff's office. I want to get our story out there. They will keep it hidden as much as possible."

"And what do you get in return? Why do I trust you"

"I get ownership of the biggest story in the country."

A half hour later, he and his pack full of camera equipment was being picked up from a bus station by a black car. He was told as much and got in without a word. His throat caught suddenly when he caught a whiff of C.J.s perfume. His guts began to twist up as he imagined that C.J. might be hurt. Blowing out a breath, he pushed the awful thought aside. He suddenly knew that he was crazy, that he was very likely to be killed for doing this. They pulled into the parking lot of a warehouse or factory. It was dark and quiet. The vehicle drove inside of one of the double doors that were closed behind them. Danny got out when he was summoned. He was promptly searched and the bag taken from him.

"It's a camera." He said, quietly.

"No phone?" It was the man who could speak English, it was Riyad.

"No." Danny said. He was crazy to come here alone, "Shall we begin?"


"Once we get over there, we'll go West." C.J. was talking in an urgent whisper, "There was a busy road about a mile West." C.J. said, forcing the window open. Zoey offered her the pole they had found in the corner of the office and C.J. pried the adjacent window open as well. Both had opened fairly easily. She motioned for Zoey to go first and the First Daughter quietly and carefully pulled her body through the window. She paused, looking at the window in the other building, "It seemed so much closer from in there." She said quietly.

"You can do it." C.J. pressed.

Zoey pulled herself in a standing position on the ledge. Holding onto the outer window, she reached for the opposite concrete molding. Taking a breath, she stepped onto the next ledge, adjusting her weight to keep her balance. C.J. bit her lip nervously until Zoey slipped halfway into the other window, letting out a relieved breath.

Grasping onto the outside of the window, she was about to follow when the door flew open. There was yelling but she couldn't understand the words.

"Zoey, run!" C.J. called across the alley between the buildings. Zoey hesitated, unwilling to rush off without C.J. until she saw the face and gun in the opposite window. She turned and ran as fast as she could. Instead of taking the stairs, she found another window and dropped one flight onto the ground outside. She saw trees and rushed toward them. In a panic, she ran, using the trees for cover until she remember she needed to go West. Looking up at the sky, she realized that the sun was rising to her right. She turned and ran left. There was no noise behind her and she kept running, keeping her head low and her steps light to make as little noise as possible. It was likely they expected that she had not left the other building yet. At least she hoped so. She hoped they were searching the building for her, wasting their time. She felt a pang of guilt in her chest for leaving C.J. and began to cry as she ran. Even though it felt horrible, it was the right thing to do. She would send in the entire Army to rescue C.J. once she got out of this. She ran harder.


C.J. was dragged away from the window and slammed against the wall, a gun pointed in her face. She was being screamed at and was left to guess what was being said. It didn't matter. She couldn't help but feel a little victorious even as it mixed with the grim realization of what would probably happen next. Only one of them had been sent to check the room, only one of them knew so far and every second that passed was more time for Zoey to get away. He carted her along with him as he left the room, still shouting at her. They scaled two flights of stairs before reaching the main floor of the factory. Now someone shouted back (C.J. thought she recognized Riyad's voice) and the conversation began. Men rushed out of the building, presumably to try and catch Zoey. They continued to walk toward the voice of Riyad, C.J. being pushing forward roughly.

Around one of the machines on the factory floor, she saw a camera propped up on an easel in front of a single chair and Danny Concannon. Before she could register this fact, Riyad's fist met the side of her face with enough force to make her fall. If not for the other man holding onto her, she would have.

Danny rushed forward, "Hey!" He said angrily, his hands up in an effort to get everyone to calm down.

Riyad turned to him, furiously, "You will not get the story I promised." He stormed past Danny, "Bring her."

Danny was stopped in his tracks by a gun in his face. He watched helplessly as C.J. righted herself. Their eyes met for a brief moment before she was pulled past him toward the camera.

"Come on, Toby." Danny said softly before turning to follow. Sitting on the floor beneath the seat of the black car that brought him here, was Danny's cellular phone.