Monday morning had finally arrived for Lucas after what had been a rather tense few days for him. Caged up in his flat, he had tried to rest as advised but he couldn't stop worrying about what was happening at work and with no word from Harry over the past four days Lucas was becoming increasingly nervous of what the near future was holding for him.

Thoughts of 'What if' kept plaguing his mind…What if… his colleagues were no further forward in finding his sister….What if …he just gave himself up to the Russians….and the most unpalatable 'What if' of all to enter his mind was…What if… he refused to be used as a bargaining chip, could he really live with himself and let his unknown sister rot in prison? And as the word "prison" lingered in his thoughts, it sent a shiver down his spine. For that was the root of the dilemma he was now facing, he really didn't believe he could cope with going back to that living hell.

Making his way through the cavernous corridors of Thames House, Lucas paused briefly and took a deep breath before entering the door behind which Section D loomed.

Through the pods now Lucas looked around and was greeted by his boss beckoning him over,

"Lucas." Harry called as the still rather bruised man walked swiftly over to his senior. "I trust you are fully rested as per doctors orders." Harry continued. Lucas said nothing but smiled back with his crooked smirk which neither confirmed or denied he had done as he was told.

Ignoring Lucas' obvious noncommittal on the subject, Harry confirmed there would be a meeting in the conference room in five minutes to get him up to speed with the latest developments that had happened in his absence.

Lucas didn't like the sound of Harry's turn of phrase and a sense of dread started to creep over him as he made his way into the meeting.

As he entered the familiar room and sat down at his usual seat Lucas was surprised to see only Harry and Ruth present and the look on their faces was telling him a story that all was not well.

Harry was the first to speak saying,

"Lucas…I'm not going to beat around the bush here but finding any new leads on the whereabouts of your sister is proving to be rather difficult…you are well aware that the Russians are extremely adept at keeping their hostages very well hidden."

The word "hostage" cut through Lucas like a knife and he visibly grimaced. He had never really thought of her in that way and it left a bitter taste in his mouth, making him now feel even more guilty that he was contemplating leaving her to suffer her own fate.

The problem he had was that he didn't know this woman who was proclaimed to be his sister and he had no connection to her, nothing to link him to her. As he churned this snippet of a thought through his mind, Ruth spoke next giving Lucas the latest news they had on the unfolding crisis. But in reality they were really no further forward then they had been almost a week ago and with this revelation Lucas' heart sank.

Deep in thought, he didn't notice that Ruth had now quietly left the room leaving him alone with Harry who was looking at him very closely, wondering what effect this sorry business was having on him and as he looked up Lucas knew instantly that Harry was about to deal him another devastating blow.

Harry sighed deeply before speaking and when he spoke he did so pragmatically as there was no other way to tell Lucas what he needed to know.

"Lucas….In your recent absence we did in fact receive a video message from your sister."

"Why didn't you tell me Harry?….You promised me you'd let me know as soon as anything came in!" Lucas said exasperated.

Holding his hands up, Harry feebly offered, "I thought I was doing the right thing Lucas…. You needed rest….You needed time to think things through."

"Well you were wrong Harry because I spent the entire time worrying what the hell was going on here!" Lucas replied, spitting the words out in anger.

"So you didn't do as the doctors ordered after all." Harry spoke in a mocking tone.

"Come on Harry." Lucas continued, his voice now raised to a new level. "Did you really think I could just sit at home and rest with what you have told me recently…What kind of man do you think I am for hells sake?"

"A man who is confused…a man who is deeply troubled by recent events and ultimately a man who is worried for a woman who is being held against her will ….. who also happens to be your sister."

Harry's words hit home like an arrow finding it's target and all Lucas could do was hold his head in his hands.

"It's ok Lucas, I under-" "NO IT'S NOT OK!" Lucas shouted out, "I can't do this anymore….I can't!"

Harry said nothing to the outburst but got up, walked over to where Lucas was sitting and placed the remote control on the table. Before turning to leave, Harry gently patted Lucas on the shoulder and then silently made his way back to his office.

For over thirty minutes Lucas numbly stared at the blank television screen hanging on the far wall of the room. He was afraid, …afraid to press play on the remote for fear of what he would be confronted with, fear that the unknown woman, the until now unseen woman…his sister… would tear such a hole open in his heart that nothing would ever heal it.

Finally summoning up the courage, Lucas grabbed the remote and started the video message.

Upon the screen came the image of a beautiful woman but it soon became apparent that the woman had been damaged at the hands of her captors and they had not treated her with the respect that she deserved. For the duration of the footage where at times she became tearful, she tried desperately hard to stay strong and not show her true emotions. As his sister began to talk, Lucas could feel the bitter anger begin to rise within him.

"Hello Lucas….my brother…. that sounds such a strange thing to say and one that will take some time to get used to….but even though I've never met you…I'm glad I have a brother…I just wish it was under different circumstances…I didn't know at first why they had taken me, they kept asking me endless questions to which I didn't have the answers. As I now know to my cost when you don't give them the answers they want to hear they will use less formal ways to try and get you to talk… after they realised I knew nothing about you they had pleasure in enlightening me about your eight year stay in this dirty hell hole they call prison….they even showed me some of the video footage they had shot of you being tortured…and so to the point of this message…they want me to beg you to give yourself up for me ….but after seeing what they did to you in this filthy stinking shit hole I refused….even though I don't know you….I can't and won't put you through that again….so please Lucas don't give in to their demands….that's the only thing I beg of you….please don't worry about me….I'm stronger than I look….they may try…but they wont break me."

Ruth sat at her desk and continually checked her watch, it had been over an hour now since Harry had left Lucas alone and as the minutes ticked on and there was still no sign of him, she got up and made her way to the meeting room. On arriving, she was just about to knock gently on the door when she heard the heartbreaking sobs of the broken man within.

Ruth rushed back to Harry's office and without knocking burst into his sanctuary exclaiming,

"Harry…Lucas is crying…We must h-"

"I know Ruth" Harry said sadly, looking up from his computer screen. It was then that she realised Harry had been watching Lucas the whole time.

"Harry….We have to help him!" Ruth said almost in tears herself.

"No Ruth." Harry said firmly, "Leave him be, he has to do this by himself, we can't help him now but we can be there when he needs us."

"But Harry…we can't just le-"

"Ruth…I said no…please just once…. do as you are told."

Shocked at Harry's outburst, Ruth had no words to counter him and so biting on her lip, she stormed out of his office and left him to stare once more at his computer screen and the lonely figure captured on it.

Lucas finally emerged from his solitude some ninety minutes later and went straight to Harry's office. Without sitting down Lucas spoke calmly and said

"Harry….you can tell them they have their wish." Harry looked at Lucas with a puzzled expression and so Lucas continued

"Tell the Russians they can have what they demanded….Me." and so Lucas set in motion the destiny that would change his life forever.