Chapter Nine

First, do no harm had been Rudy's credo long before he took the Hippocratic Oath, and now he faced the most horrific, soul-wrenching dilemma of his life. What he was being asked to do was unthinkable, but if he refused and Jason did it himself...

Rudy knew he couldn't do it, but he also couldn't sit idly in a chair and watch while one of his friends was basically murdered. There was only one choice open to him, and that was to try and stop his former partner. Without time to consider the consequences, Rudy dove out of the chair and punched Havilland in the stomach, reaching for the scalpel while he still had the element of surprise.

Jason didn't see him coming, but his reflexes were well-tuned, and he twisted his body and raised his other arm, grabbing the heroic doctor in a headlock. They battled briefly for the surgical tool, but Havilland was a good ten years younger than his former partner and soon had the upper hand. He began to bring the scalpel toward Rudy's throat when the door behind them burst open.

"Let him go!" Jaime demanded.

"I don't think so," the now-mad-scientist snarled. "Anyone not with me is against me, and I will win this one!"

Time seemed to come to a dead stop as Jaime looked from Rudy, in imminent peril, to Callahan, unconscious on the table. Jason held all the cards and he knew it, but Jaime was determined to save her friends. She charged at the arm holding the scalpel to Rudy's throat, pushing it out straight, away from the doctor. As Rudy rolled to the floor and away from his attacker, Havilland began to slash wildly at Jaime. Rudy reached out from his prone position and sent a hard, solid karate-type chop into the madman's legs. Havilland fell to the ground and Jaime quickly grabbed the scalpel. Seeing that she, too was now out of danger, Rudy threw Jaime a length of cord that had been used to immobilize Callahan before she'd been knocked out. Jaime secured Havilland – a little tighter than necessary – just as the lights flashed on in the corridor that led to the lab.

About time you get here, Steve, Jaime thought to herself, poking her head out the door to greet the rescue committee.

It wasn't Steve. The four pseudo-penguins stood shoulder-to-shoulder, blocking any possible exit from the basement as they all brandished their guns threateningly at Jaime. "Move back into the lab, nice and slow," one of them commanded. "You pull any tricks and your friends pay for it."

With no avenue open to her, Jaime walked back to stand next to Rudy. Jason got up from the floor and laughed. "Well, Miss Sommers, since you've seen fit to join us, I guess I don't need Rudy or his files anymore, do I? You can be my blueprint."

Jaime nodded. "That's right – so you can let Rudy go. Callahan, too – you've got me, so you don't need to do this to anyone else."

"Very noble – and courageous – but I need a creation of my own, not one constructed by my oh-so-loyal ex-partner. You'll still be a big help, though, once I have you dissected..."

The penguin gunmen stepped into the lab, still in a neat row inside the doorway, and then began to fall like dominoes, one knocking into the next; Steve and company had finally arrived. A posse of NSB and OSI operatives started grabbing and cuffing their five new prisoners as Steve rushed to Jaime's side.

Rudy glanced at his patient and saw that her pale skin was not the result of make-up and her hospital gown was no ruse; she was really injured. He grabbed her just as she began to sway in place, and eased her into Steve's waiting arms.

"Is everyone alright?" Steve asked anxiously.

"I'm ok," the doctor answered, looking from Jaime to Callahan and back again. "We need to get these two upstairs, though."

The good guys had cleared the room with model efficiency, and Oscar helped Rudy place Callahan on a gurney while Steve swooped Jaime up into his arms. "We'll talk about this later," Steve told Jaime, knowing he wouldn't have the heart to really chew her out. "Let's get outta here," he said, finally daring to smile.

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