No Leads, Fever, Spike's Orders & Sergei


Ashbridges Bay

In Jules mind it had taken too long to get here. She stepped out of the SUV that the Boss had driven to see the tape already roping off an area that contained a boathouse and a dock just beyond. She recognized the boat moored at the dock. She started forward with Greg, Wordy and Ed.

As they approached the tape Greg called out to a small group of patrol officers "Who is in charge here?"

An older patrol officer stepped forward "I was first on scene. Put the tape up to keep scene from getting contaminated. No one has ventured in since I arrived. I had a couple of the officers hold a few folks that were here when I arrived. Thought you might need to talk to them. They are being kept over there." The officer pointed to a group of people off to the left.

Nodding Greg said "Good work. Jules you are with me we'll interview. Ed, Wordy work with the Interpol CSI agents see what you can find out."

Sergeant Bradley came up to them just then and said "I'll have my guys canvas the surrounding area. See if we can find any other leads."

Ed asked "Did Curtis get a name of the owner for the boat?"

Connor and Curtis joined them at that moment and Curtis answered "Yeah, his name is Grant Weatherby. He said he hasn't been to the docks in over two weeks. He's been away in Calgary on a business trip for the last week and is not expected back in Toronto until next week. He is single and informed me that he didn't give any friends permission to use the boat while he was gone."

Jules asked "Does his alibi check out?"

Nodding yes Curtis answered "I spoke to his manager and the clients he was meeting in Calgary. They all confirmed he has been there the whole time. In fact one of the clients said a group of them were with Weatherby yesterday from noon until well past two am."

With the owner of the boat being a dead lead the group broke up to search, investigate and interview. Connor joined Jules and Greg to interview the people the officer had detained. In the end, none of the eight bystanders could provide any information that appeared to be useful. No one saw or heard anything out of the ordinary yesterday.

Bradley's team struck out too. It was a fairly remote location. Curtis found no security cameras trained on the area of this back dock, the boathouse or the parking area around the Lion's Club.

Wordy could see why the Black Dragons would use this bay for their activities and spoke with his friend Bill again. But Gangs and Gangs was not able to help any further. Their surveillance cameras were focused on the entrance of the bay and the Yacht club docks on the other side. It had only by the thinnest thread of luck they had captured video of the boat entering the bay on their tapes.

Ed and Wordy mostly observed as the CSI agents meticulously combed for evidence in the boat, the dock and the boathouse. They found blood, vomit and a bloody metal shard on the floor of the boat. A slew of fingerprints had been lifted from the boat too; including a bloody one from a bottle of vodka. In the boathouse they found a blood smear on a crate near a small amount of blood on the ground. All had been rushed off for processing.

By the late afternoon Jules, Greg, Ed and Wordy were tired, frustrated, and terribly concerned. They had no leads. They were back to waiting. Waiting was hard for all of them. They were used to moving, executing and resolving things quickly. Whoever planned this gave them little or nothing to immediately act upon.

Greg suggested the team should head back to SRU Headquarters. Connor agreed and asked if it could become the command post so he could have information found at all scenes routed to him there. Greg contacted Commander Holleran and he agreed setting up the briefing room as the command post.

With nothing left to do at Ashbridges Bay and no leads to chase down a dejected Team One plus Connor McGillie headed back to SRU HQ.


SRU HQ – Briefing Room

After a very late dinner of pizza and sodas that had been delivered, the team and Connor sat quietly each reviewing details that were coming in from the various locations. Frustration was mounting. Absolutely nothing useful to find Sam's and Spike's current location had surfaced yet.

Team Two had gone home long ago. They had wanted to stay and help after shift but Bradley ordered them to go home. Ed and Greg had backed him up. Given the fact they had nothing to go on and SRU was down one team now, Team Two was back to normal duty tomorrow. No one wanted Team Two to be exhausted for their normal shift, bad things could happen if they were. So reluctantly they had all left.

Corporal Cassandra Xenos had been recalled to Ottawa but according to General Braddock she would be available if the team needed her assistance. The General asked to be kept informed knowing that with Interpol in charge they would have the access to information and databases if needed. Before she left, Cassie had reported out to them that unfortunately none of the satellites had been in a position to provide any useful details.

Jules put down the latest report that had been given to her. Ed and Wordy looked up at her when she pushed back from the table and went to stand by the window looking out. They noticed that her face was drawn and tight. They heard as she blew out a breath understanding she was trying hard to maintain control, as they all were.

She turned to them "That was the report on the identities of the two bodies found at the fishery. They were twenty-four year old Kwon Shoi-Ming and nineteen year old Pedro Ramos. Both were local criminals. Kwon had a string of assault charges and a few petty robberies going back six years. Pedro Ramos had numerous drug possession charges, one mugging charge as a juvenile and was thought to be a member of the Southside gang."

Greg asked "Doesn't sound like there is much of a connection between them."

"None that the Interpol agents have found and none that I can see either. They didn't live in the same part of the city. Their rap sheets are so different. I've racked my brain and cannot come up with a single thing that connects them, other than they are both petty criminals and were in the fishery" Jules stated the frustration and exhaustion both evident in her voice and posture.

Connor had watched this team work all day. He was thoroughly impressed with their dedication and insights but he felt their frustration and completely understood. Sam and Spike were not strangers to them as they were to him, they were friends and teammates.

He sighed and offered "Perhaps they were not connected in any tangible way. Until now I only suspected the Anagram Killer might have accomplices but we never had anything real to go on, just supposition."

Rising from his chair and stretching his back Connor said "The only thing I can come up with is that they may have been motivated by money. For the Anagram Killer to move from country to country he has to have access to money. And lots of it given the details we found at all the scenes. My agents are trying to follow the financial trail right now but it seems as much a dead end as everything else we've run across because we have no names to actually follow. But I'm thinking that the Anagram Killer hired local criminals with the promise of a huge payoff in order to pull off the abduction."

Ed smirked "Yeah some payoff. A bullet to the head. But I tend to agree with you. He would've have needed help to set up all those locations. But would not want to leave any lose ends. So they were expendable and they never even knew it. I'm wondering if they and the man in custody are the only ones or if there are more. Has anyone been able to get anything out of him yet?"

Connor shook his head "No, not a single word. It is like the guy is mute. He appears to be deathly afraid of whoever he is working for. He's being held in solitary right now under suicide watch just in case. Also I've been told that the Ottawa office is sending in their best two interrogators. According to Gabby at the Ottawa office they have an extremely high success rate with getting perps to talk. They have a style that just seems to work and get the job done. They should be here late tomorrow."

Ed asked "Why so long?"

Connor grimaced "They had to locate them first. They thought one was in Barbados and the other in Hawaii. Their office said they were both on vacation and they had held off contacting them since neither usually took vacations. But since we have no other leads they contacted both to see if either was willing to come and help. They were not in the locations they had indicated for emergency contact forms."

Rolling his shoulders trying to release some tension Connor continued "A few hours ago they finally tracked them both down in a small bed and breakfast in Scotland. Gabby said they were thunderstruck to find out they were together and on their honeymoon. But once Pat squared heard the reason they were needed they immediately agreed to come directly here."

The team was a bit stunned Jules said "They were on their honeymoon? And what did you mean Pat squared?"

An amused look crossed Connor's face "Yeah that got me too so I asked. Gabby lives up to her name and gave me all the details without much prompting."

Walking to the windows and leaning against one he said "Pat squared is what their office calls them; Patrick Downs and Patricia Emerson. They both go by Pat, hence Pat squared. They have partnered for the past nine years. No one had a clue they were dating or involved in any way."

Connor turned and looked out the window and finished "Apparently they went off to elope and planned to keep the marriage secret too. They didn't want to stop working together. Guess their secret is out now. I just hope the ramifications are not too harsh for them; especially since they work so well together."

Needing a mental break from the evidence Connor remained at the window staring at the city lights. His mind wandered to his wife. Well ex-wife actually. She never could put up with the hours he put into the job. She didn't understand what drove him. Maybe if he had married someone in law enforcement or more like minded his marriage would have worked out.

Unknown to Connor, at the mention of a teammate relationship everyone at the table immediately thought of Sam and Jules. But each had a different thought.

Greg thought it was a shame that he had to break them up. He could tell that had been hard on both of them. But they had gotten over it and moved on and become good friends. Greg was glad they were able to remain friends because that meant the family could stay together. He would have hated to lose either of them over that.

And after Toth it was a condition. It was a good thing it was over because Toth would not hesitate to rip his team apart. Just what the hell was he thinking in asking for and bringing in outside assessment? He had not foreseen his team being on probation as an end result of Toth's assessment.

Greg looked at Jules. It was good that Sam and Jules relationship was over. Wasn't it? Yes! It was a good thing. They had a great friendship now. Unknown to him a small seed of doubt planted itself in a dark corner of his mind. It would grow slowly, very slowly.

Ed recalled the pain his words had caused Sam. He had worked very hard since then at watching what and how he said things to Sam to ensure he never triggered his underlying insecurities again. He had a few slip ups but Sam and him had established a very good understanding of each other now. Well as good as either one could, both of them were enigmas at times.

Over the years they had built a trust that allowed Sam to open up to him when things were bothering him or to ask for help if absolutely necessary. Sam hated to ask for help or be seen as weak and only allowed a select few he trusted to see that side of him. So Ed fully understood that trust was a gift Sam bestowed carefully and it was valued deeply by him.

Sometimes he thought that although it was so painful and nearly cost Sam his life that whole situation had more good than bad come from it. He looked at Jules. Her vulnerability was showing today too. She didn't look like she slept last night.

A small thought lodged itself unseen and unannounced in Ed's subconscious mind. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Jules and Sam needed each other. Forcing them apart might be wrong. Maybe they were the exception to the rule and could handle a relationship and the team at the same time and not put anyone at risk.

Wordy sighed thinking that Sam and Jules still looked like they would be the perfect couple. Jules was the only one Sam went to for comfort. He saw after every lethal shot that Sam sought out Jules or Jules sought him out. It always appeared professional to a causal observer. But he saw the gentle way Jules would look at him and catch his eye. It was like a promise she was there for him and knew what he needed.

The night they found Sam at Matt's grave after the Langley Towers call Jules was able to get through to him. Without her they would have lost him for sure that night. Sam had latched onto her voice like a life line and would not let go. Sam's head in her lap and her hand stroking his hair was so touching.

Sam had the same effect on Jules. When she lost a subject or a suicide Sam was usually able to calm Jules with a word or a touch. He had occasionally seen Sam slip into the women's locker room after extremely tough calls that sent Jules storming from the briefing room. Jules always exited in more control. Sam always seemed a little stiff and sore afterwards and sometimes supported a bruise or two.

These were observations he kept strictly to himself not even sharing with Shel. A small part of him wished that Sam and Jules would defy the rules again and get together. They both needed someone to care for them. If they ever did and he found out he decided right here and now he would keep it a secret. He glanced at Jules. She was trying valiantly to hold it together but he could see the cracks forming.

What would happen to her if they lost Sam and Spike? Would she ever be the same spitfire? Greg had shared with them how she had become nearly catatonic after the bomb blast yesterday. He was just as worried for Jules as she was for the guys. He would insist she come home with him tonight.

Jules wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. So she and Sam were not the only ones having to follow their hearts secretly because of a job they did well and rules that conflicted with what their souls needed. She was happy that Pat squared had acted on it. She hoped they would be able to continue to work together. Maybe their work record would be proof enough that what Pat and Pat did in their off hours had no bearing on their work.

Her mind started slipping towards private thoughts of Sam and she slammed the door hard on them. She had to focus now. They were Sam and Spike's only hope of being found alive. She could not and would not allow her vulnerable side to interfere with her right now. Sam needed her to be strong.

Wordy checked his watch and found it was near ten pm. He had been so focused he had forgotten to call Shel and tell the girls good night. He felt bad but he knew they would understand. Shel especially since she now knew they were searching for Sam and Spike. He was about to suggest they head home for the night when another Interpol courier arrived.

Greg signed for it and opened the package. He looked it over and his facial expression told them they would not like the information. Greg cleared his throat then started "Rush results on some of the evidence from both scenes."

Looking at his team he shared "The blood on the fishery dock is Sam's. As is most of the blood on the floor of the boat. The stomach contents are his too. The blood on the metal shard and vodka bottle in the boat belong to Spike. As does the blood on the crate and ground in the boathouse."

Despite all the bravado of her mental speeches of staying strong Jules found her knees go weak when it was reported that the blood found was Sam's and Spike's. The blood and vomit worried her "Do you think it was a head wound? I mean we all know how nauseated Sam gets when hit on the head. He's had too damned many concussions. He would need proper care if it is a concussion. And Spike? Where was he hit with the shard? Could be serious."

Greg was out of his chair and to Jules in an instant as he saw her go white and her knees start to buckle. He guided her to a chair and sat her down. Wordy jumped up to get a bottle of water, uncapping it and gently wrapping her hands around it as he softly said "Sip slowly. You haven't eaten or drank enough today Jules. There's nothing more we can do tonight. I'm taking you home with me."

She started to protest wanting very much to be alone so she could cry her eyes out right about now but Wordy became stern "I'm not taking no for an answer Jules. You stayed with Greg last night. Tonight it's my place. Let's go."

Jules nodded slightly. She really did want to cry but more of her didn't want to be alone, especially in her home. If she went home she would breakdown completely.

Sam was in every nook and cranny in her home. It would be hours of torture being there without him. Without knowing how or where he was. That's why last night when Greg was driving her home and he offered for her to stay with him she had accepted.

Ed watched as Greg and Wordy helped Jules up and out of the room, his mind on fire. His guys were out there injured and in need of help and he had no fucking clue where they were. He grabbed the papers Greg had been reviewing. He noted one other piece of evidence. The fingerprint on the vodka bottle had been identified.

Turning to Connor who was the only other one left in the room no he said "I sure hope Pat squared are good because Saul Rodriguez was on that boat. His prints are on the bloody vodka bottle. He might be the only way we find my guys."

Ed stood, walked to the window and handed the report over to Connor. "I'm heading home. I'll see you back here at five am. Do you need a ride?"

Connor looked up from the report "No. I'll call a cabbie when I'm ready to go. Have several more things I need to go over. Thanks for the offer though." Ed nodded and headed out.

Reading the report Connor started to feel a small glimmer of hope again. His hope of finding them alive had dwindled all day long when no clue was forth coming. The first forty-eight hours were the most critical in finding a kidnap victim alive and they were rapidly approaching that time limit.

He agreed with Ed. He hoped Pat squared were good. If they were able to break the man and get useful information from him he would go to bat for them with their bosses. He delved into the evidence reviewing everything again.

Connor was pulled from his thoughts when another SRU team returned from a call. He watched them walk passed. Body language said it wasn't a good ending. One man turned into the briefing room.

"Hi, I'm Dale. Anything new on Sam and Spike?" Dale asked.

Shaking his head no Connor replied "No, no solid leads." He was expecting a downcast reaction. He was unprepared for the one he got.

Dale smiled and said "Well then I guess Samtastic is just gonna have to dust off his Badass Jr. training and get their asses back here without our help then."

"Badass Jr. training?" Connor asked confused.

Laughing slightly Dale said "Yeah. Sam's dad is General Braddock, known as General Badass. Hence the Jr. Badass. Although I'm damned sure Sam is more badass than his dad ever was. People should never underestimate him. I'm a bit scared for the people that took Sam and Spike. I wouldn't want to be them. Sam takes a licking and always comes back stronger and better."

The name Braddock that had seemed so familiar finally clicked into place. He had worked with Air Force Colonel Ryan Braddock several years ago on a case concerning several dead RCAF pilots found in Manchester. He was brother to a General William Braddock who was in charge of Canada's Special Forces.

So Sam was related to those Braddock's. He was the son of the General. Now it made sense why a Special Forces liaison officer had been sent to the party today. It was more about helping his son than any potential threat to national security. He would chalk that up to a protective father, he liked the man already from just that one act.

Connor spent some time talking to Dale about Sam and Spike. He learned about both of them. The more he learned the more his became personally invested in finding them. These were good men. Just like the thirty other men that died at the hand of this killer.

When Dale left he went back to the files. He needed to find something to give them a lead. Rubbing his eyes and yawning he checked his watch one am. He should really get a few winks of shut eye otherwise he was gonna make a real dog's dinner out of this case. He called a cab then went outside to wait for it.


House in the Woods - Basement

His head was pounding and he was so tired. Why couldn't his pa just let him sleep? Why all the yelling? Spike shifted on his bed ignoring his pa's yelling in favor of more sleep and thought for the hundredth time he really needed to invest in a new bed. One that was softer and larger than a twin sized one.

His pa would not stop yelling. He was so tired and he really didn't want to fight with him right now. But he couldn't take anymore yelling it was making his head throb. Spike pushed himself up on the bed and yelled back "Pa I'm up. I'm up. You can quit yelling now. I'll be there in a minute."

Spike opened his eyes and reality came crashing in as his eyes focused on his surroundings. He was not at home in his bed. Instead he was in a crappy basement on a gross mattress. His head was actually throbbing and he was tired but it was not his pa yelling at him to get up. It was Sam yelling.

No not yelling, terrified screaming. Sam was thrashing about screaming 'no don't shoot him, shoot me, shoot me, not him, please not him'. Moving to his knees he watched as Sam was held in the grip of a nightmare. He wanted desperately to wake him and stop the nightmare. But he knew better than to reach out and touch him.

When startled awake Sam could be deadly if not aware of his location or he felt threatened. Jim and Blaze had warned them all Sam could kill instantly in those situations and not to touch him. They said he always choose fight over flight. Spike didn't have a death wish so instead he yelled trying to cut through the nightmare and wake Sam.

After what felt like an eternity Spike broke through to Sam and a little relief washed over Spike as Sam stilled and quieted. Sitting back on his haunches his shoulders slumping as the tension released Spike looked at his watch. No way. It felt like only a few minutes ago he lay down to rest a bit but more than twenty-four hours had passed.

Looking at the watch Sam gave him last Christmas he stared at the date as well as the time. Unless their captors were playing a joke and reset his watch it was actually two pm the following day.

Soft whimpers of pain and movement brought Spike's eyes from his watch back to Sam. He moved forward on his knees quickly toward Sam. Crap.

Sam's face was flushed and beaded with sweat. "Sam I'm going to touch you buddy okay. It's just me Spike. Just gonna touch your forehead. I'm not going to hurt you."

He reached out his hand tentatively to Sam's forehead praying Sam heard him in some way and did not attack. He felt the heat radiating off him several inches before actually making contact. Sam was burning up with fever. Crap, so not good.

Spike grabbed one of their tees and as quickly as possible made his way to the sink. He rinsed the blood out watching the bright red water turn to pink as he soaked the tee and squeezed the water out over and over.

Getting back to Sam he ripped it into several rags. He placed one behind Sam's neck and draped another over his forehead. Spike took a third piece and began to wipe Sam's sweat drenched face and body trying to cool him down.

"Hey buddy, can you hear me? Are you with me?" Spike softly crooned.

He was hoping to get a yes response. All he got was more soft groans and whimpers. Seeing the cup near him a few things entered his head. He was thirsty and hungry. If he was thirsty then Sam had to be thirsty. Sam was sweating so much he would dehydrate quickly. He needed to get Sam to drink something.

Leaving the wet rags on Sam he picked up the cup and headed back to the sink. He dumped out the left over pink tinged water from cleaning the wounds yesterday and rinsed out the cup. He filled and drank two full cups of water then refilled it a third time and made his way back to Sam. Damn his head would not stop throbbing.

He knelt down again and took a moment for his head to quit hammering. Setting the cup off to the side Spike reached down and gently lifted Sam a bit. As he placed the cup to Sam's lips and tipped it allowing a small trickle of water to enter his mouth he said "I need you to drink a bit for me Sam. Just a bit."

At first the water just dribbled out of his mouth and down his chin. Spike sighed with relief when he saw Sam actually begin to swallow the water. "Good. That's good buddy."

As Sam's head tried to turn away he said "Sam I need you to drink more. Come on. You're burning up and you lost a lot of blood. You need to drink."

There was resistance and moans from Sam but Spike did not give up. He tried a new tactic as more and more water dribbled out rather than being swallowed "Sam, you need to drink. Jules says you need to drink. Can you drink for Jules?" A small pleased smile settled on Spike's face as Sam started swallowing again.

Satisfied Sam had taken in enough water for the moment he gently lowered his head to the mattress again. For the next several hours he alternately made Sam take small sips of water and bathed Sam's face, neck, arms and chest with cool water.

But regardless of his ministrations it was not enough. He could tell the fever was rising. Infection had set in.

Spike's stomach rumbled and he felt so drained. Then he remembered the bag that had the medical supplies. He dumped it out and rummaged through the items looking for a fever reducer. None was to be found as he had expected but he had to look anyways. But he did see the sandwiches.

He opened one and took a bite. He slowly chewed, his jaw ached. His mind was working looking at the medical supplies and the food. It appeared to him that their captors did not want them dead just yet. Otherwise they would not have bothered with providing the supplies and food.

But they had some reason for taking and keeping them and would unlikely let them go until they got whatever it was they were seeking. The ransom maybe.

He took a chance on assuming. He could be wrong that they wanted to keep them alive but what could it hurt. They could die but that was already a high possibility and more so for Sam if he didn't get help soon.

Spike looked directly at one of the cameras his face firmly set he demanded loudly "He's gonna die if I can't get this fever down. Bring me something to bring it down NOW."

The disembodied voice of Vlad rang in the basement as he replied "You are in no position to demand anything."

Spike replied "The hell I'm not. If you wanted him dead you would have killed him already."

Laughter pealed through the room. Spike located the speaker and he seethed at the laughter and anger roiled to the surface as Vlad said "Perhaps I just want to witness a slow painful drawn out death."

From where, he did not know, Spike channeled a voice that oozed danger and contempt as he calmly replied "I will not allow that to happen. I will kill him myself before I allow him to suffer a death like that. Then I will seek you out and kill you slowly and painfully, you son of a bitch. So you damned well better bring me something to get this fever down and something for his pain too. Liquid form, because he is in no shape to swallow pills."

Spike was pulled back to Sam as he whimpered in pain and became restless again. Dipping the rag into the water again he leaned down close to Sam's ear as he wiped his brow. Damn Sam was in bad shape, he was delirious with fever and in so much pain he could tell.

Barely whispering his voice compassionate but still demanding "Sorry buddy, no idea where Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry came from. You know I could never kill you. You need to hang on and fight this. You can do this. I've seen you fight in the past. A little fever and gunshot is nothing for you."

He was rewarded with Sam's eyes opening. They were bright with fever and unfocused but at least they were open. Still whispering softly he said "That's it buddy. Show me Samtastic is in the house."

For one second Spike thought that he saw lucidity in Sam's eyes. Like he heard him through the haze of the fever and pain he had to be feeling. Coming down from his adrenaline rush Spike hid his shaky hands by keeping them busy wringing out the rags and wiping Sam down.

He was wondering how his ultimatum had been received, especially since there had been no response not even a laugh. Spike reached down and lifted Sam's head again and offered more to drink. Sam took a bit more and Spike was glad to see his eyes were still open even though they were not focused. He lowered his head again and then dipped a rag in the water and let the water dibble on his forehead.

Sam wrenched his face away and groaned in pain the movement caused. A low barely audible whimper said "No, no more waterboarding. No."

Spike froze. Oh god he had forgotten. Leaning close again he whispered "I'm sorry buddy, no more water in the face."

The look of lucidity was back as Sam said "Spike?"

"Yeah it's me buddy. Hang on." Spike said as he wrung out the cloth so no water dripped and wiped his face again.

"Where?" Sam got out.

Spike replied "Do you remember our Queen's suite?"

Struggling to talk Sam answered "Yeah. What happened?" But a thought came to mind and fear washed over Sam's face as he said "Did he shoot you? You okay?"

His voice saddened Spike answered "No. He shot you though. Beat the crap out of you and shocked you multiple times. And to top it all off you've got a raging fever."

Then trying to lighten the mood Spike rattled off "Just another typical day in the field for you huh. What ya think you need at least one day's sick leave to recover."

It was clear to Spike that Sam didn't hear or register his attempt at humor and his mind was elsewhere when he saw the defeat, shame and hurt expressed in Sam's eyes. Roughly and a bit raspy Sam said "If he didn't shoot you then you know I betrayed you. I betrayed Jules too."

Sam turned his head away and closed his eyes unable to watch Spike reject him again as he continued speaking his peace "I'm sorry I had to lie to you. I wish things could be different and I didn't have to lie to those I care most about. I know you can never forgive me for betraying our trust. Get yourself out of here. I'll just hold you back. Just leave me alone to die. I deserve it for my betrayal."

Shocked at Sam's words Spike's mouth was agape. Sam thought he betrayed him. That he wouldn't forgive him something like that. Sam thought he should die because of it.

Oh hell no! This must be the fever talking. He was going to disabuse him of those thoughts now. Sam had to get rid of those thoughts in order to fight to hang on until help arrived.

Pulling Sam's face back to him Spike said ardently "Open your eyes now Braddock." He waited until Sam complied.

Spike let loose on Sam "Let's get one thing straight here. I made you a promise years ago to never let go. I'm not starting now. Your secret about Jules is safe with me. There is nothing to forgive. I understand you did what was necessary because others will not be so accepting. We can talk about it after we get out of here alive, together. We go together or we don't go. You are too important to me. To a lot of people."

Sam's eyes started to lose focus and Spike hurriedly said with command authority "I'm giving you a direct order Braddock. You will fight, you will live. You are more than just my friend. Now and always. You will fight for your life. Got that."

Just as Sam's eyes slipped closed he breathed out "Copy."

Spike sat on his heels staring a moment at Sam's closed eyes. Dammit Sam, you better follow my order I can't take losing another brother.

He rewet the rag and wrung it out and wiped his face and forehead and down each arm then across his chest and behind his neck. It was a pattern he repeated over and over while his mind silently begged Team One to find them soon.


House in the Woods – Video Room Upstairs

Vlad watched utterly transfixed by this pair. None of this came close to what he experienced with the other pairs. He couldn't hear a lot of what was exchanged because they spoke too softly. But the body language and gestures were very telling. Spike cared a great deal about his partner.

He was partly angered and partly intrigued that the betrayal he had read yesterday was not evident in the way Spike behaved toward Sam today. He had watched for hours as Spike had silently ministered to Sam. What was the driver for that behavior?

When he first started watching today he had formed the opinion that it was just a cop doing his duty. Cops tended not to stand by and let people die. So he thought that was the reason. But as the hours wore on he saw concern increasing and the careful way he handled his partner.

Then that outburst demanding medicine came out of the blue. Whoa that surprised him. He almost believed Spike when he said he would kill him first. But he knew the man didn't have it in him to kill Sam in cold blood. Something in the eyes told him that and the way he was caring for him and begging him to hang on. He still needed to decide if he would chance sending Zhang out to get antibiotics and pain meds.

Vlad wondered why Spike had spent nearly ten minutes yelling at Sam to rouse him instead of just shaking his shoulder or slapping his face to bring him out of his nightmare. Vlad smiled. He caused Sam to have a nightmare. But why did Spike react different than most people would when someone was having a nightmare?

The reaction to the water dripping on Sam's face was also strange. Spike's face looked so guilty and pained after Sam jerked away and mouthed something he could not hear. Since then Spike had been extra careful to make sure all cloths were wrung out completely so they did not drip on his face.

All of that plus now he just heard Sam apologize for betraying and lying to Spike and telling him to leave him to die. That had been fun to watch. But the very last of it when Spike laid into Sam and ordered him to live; it just could not get any more surprising to him.

He rolled back the video to Sam's apology and started watching again. Too good. Then came Spike's declaration. Vlad heard something he had missed before. Secret. He rolled it back a few seconds then clearly heard Spike say 'Your secret about Jules is safe with me'.

Vlad rubbed his hands together. Could this be more twisted than he thought? Did Zhang in his ignorance of the world miss something big? He reviewed the notes again. All three seemed to spend equal amounts of time hanging out together. Was this a lover's triangle?

His twisted mind ran through things and rolled back the video to just after the Queen's suite statement. He saw the fear and concern when Sam asked 'did he shoot you?'. He listened and wrote down snippets of words they said.

Sam: You know I betrayed you. I had to lie to you. I wish things could be different. You can never forgive me for betraying our trust.

Spike: I made you a promise years ago to never let go. Nothing to forgive. You did what was necessary because others will not be so accepting. We go together. You are too important to me. You are more than just my friend. Now and always.

He drew a conclusion from those words. Jules was coming between Sam and Spike. Sam and Spike were a couple, not Sam and Jules or even Spike and Jules. Oh this was so damned good. How the hell did Zhang manage to find him exactly the pair of officers that would allow him to vent his fullest fury?

Pulling out his wallet he stared at Sergei and Alice. He sneered at the picture "Sergei you picked her over me. You picked that slut Alice over me. I always had your back. You were mine. I loved you more than she ever could. You were mine and that bitch took you away. You said you would always be mine. You promised me. I trusted you. But she comes along and you turn your back on me. You betrayed me for her."

Vlad looked back at the monitor watching Spike try to cool his partner. He yelled for Zhang and instructed him to go and find antibiotics and fever reducer and not to be gone for more than one hour.

Zhang nodded and turned to do as bidden when he heard something that scared the hell out of him. He stopped just outside the door unseen by Vlad and continued to listen.

Vlad's eyes never left the monitor as his mind completely snapped. He no longer saw Spike at all. His focus was solely on Sam as he said "Sergei I'm gonna keep you alive but you're gonna wish you were dead. Every day of your life will be nothing but torture. You will pay every day for betraying me and choosing Alice instead of me. I'm going to have so much fun ripping you to shreds emotionally and physically for your betrayal."