Author's Note: So, this is the second chapter that got rewritten, but, as I said before, I think it's made for a better story.

Lisa: LOL! Yep, Aaron's going to get his revenge. :D Eventually. ;)

As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter! ~lg

oOo

Infiltrating the base where Marta was being held was completely different from anything Jason had done in recent years. Every other time, he'd gone alone with no backup and no information save what he'd been able to gather through observation. While he had the skills to use security feeds, he'd never had the equipment. Now, he had an entire CIA team waiting for his signal to move in.

He arrived at the compound via the small car they'd driven back to Chicago and parked out of sight near a used warehouse. With Nicky's voice in his ear, he approached the compound on foot and managed to avoid the security cameras. Taking refuge in a shadowed corner, he waited.

Jason checked his watch. "I'm here."

"Good." Nicky sounded completely focused. "Looping security cameras. . .now."

Jason moved then. Reaching the door, he glanced up at the camera, knowing she'd see him. Having her watching over their operation was something of a comfort. With Landy's assistance, she had eyes and ears on everything going on inside. He stopped just inside and listened for anyone approaching before asking, "Which way?"

"Left." Nicky sounded completely certain. "You'll go twenty feet and make a right. From there, follow the left wall until you come to an office labeled 'Intake.' That's where you'll find the terminal to access their database." She didn't say the office was at the end of a long spiral designed to confuse anyone who arrived, Treadstone or not.

With Nicky keeping an eye on his progress, Jason jogged forward and glanced around the corner that would lead him to the office. Two security guards walked languidly in his direction, unaware that their compound had been breached. Jason pressed his back against the wall, breathing slowly and waiting. He idly noted that Aaron had arrived, speaking to Landy as he got his directions that would take him to Marta's location. It didn't distract him even when the Outcome agent audibly grunted as someone attacked him almost immediately. Jason had come in a back door while Aaron had deliberately walked through the front.

Then, the guards were on him. Jason flung his right arm out, clothes-lining one of them while quickly whirling on his heel to punch the other. The guy he clothes-lined hit the ground hard, cracking his head on the concrete floor and sending himself into a daze, while Jason blocked a startled blow aimed for his solar plexus. He twisted the second guard's arm, hearing a satisfying crunch at the elbow, and the man shouted in pain. Another jab, and he went down, pain and a concussion rendering him unconscious. By this time, the first guard had recovered enough to draw his weapon. Jason kicked it out of his hand and managed to get him in a choke hold, waiting until he, too, had slipped into oblivion.

Hugging the left wall, he started walking. Every security camera he passed, he sent a significant glance upward, knowing Nicky could see him. It felt good to have her watching his back, making certain he stayed on the right path. It seemed familiar, and he shook away the sensation of déjà vu in order to focus.

Three more guard patrols, and Jason found the Intake office. He glanced up at the camera across from the door. "I'm here."

Landy's voice took over. "The flash drive we gave you should automatically start downloading their files once you plug it in. You might have to hold that position for a while depending on how much information is there."

Jason pushed the door open, sweeping the room briefly before moving to the computer. "Any pass codes I need to know about?"

He heard the sound of a keyboard over the open line, then Nicky answered, "Only what they gave you."

He nodded and barricaded the door before sitting down behind the computer. With one eye watching the door, he plugged the flash drive into the USB port and sat back to wait.

oOo

Simply walking through the front door drew attention. Aaron had known it would, but he'd been unprepared for the aggression. He'd had to fight right away when a nervous guard pointed a gun at him and went for the trigger. The next few moments were spent hearing Landy warn him of coming patrols and taking them down two at a time. He took a few hits of his own, one of them in his gut causing him to double over. But he recovered in time to block the syringe headed for his carotid artery.

The number of guards was one thing he had expected. This was Byer, after all, and the man knew what he was capable of almost better than he did. Aaron hated the idea of Marta being in Byer's hands, and he knew just how this would end. There would be no mercy for Byer this time. The man would either die, or Aaron would spend however long it took to hunt him down and end him. He and Marta needed this threat out of their lives for good.

Glancing up at a security camera where Nicky watched both him and Jason, Aaron nodded. "I'm good," he said softly, knowing that the question would be rolling through her mind. He'd just fought off no less than ten armed men, dodging bullets the entire time. They had come at him in waves, the first four arrogant and thinking he couldn't maneuver in a tight spot. They'd been wrong. After they called for reinforcements, Landy had told him where they'd appear, adding to his advantage. Part of him wanted to grin at the mental image of the CIA's techs who'd watched his little display, but he knew better than to get distracted.

He glanced out the front window. "I'm going for Marta," he said softly.

"Acknowledged." Landy's voice was completely focused. "Teams Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie, move in."

A moment later, the first of the strike teams entered behind Aaron. He led the way down the corridor Landy indicated and allowed his mind to narrow to his one objective. Marta. Landy would deal with the other stuff, but he had to get to Marta. Nothing else mattered.

oOo

Byer stood in the security room near Shearing's cell, blinking at the feeds from the security cameras and listening to the guards calling for backup. The cameras had obviously been looped, and the person who had done it was good. He hadn't expected Outcome 5 to come quietly, but bringing a partner wasn't exactly Cross's style. Outcome agents had been trained to work alone, not with a team.

Beside him, Chandler, the asset assigned to watch Shearing in Chicago, stiffened. "Bourne."

Byer turned, his eyebrow raised. "Excuse me?"

"Jason Bourne. He was in Chicago."

Byer cursed. Chandler had informed him of Bourne's presence, and he suddenly realized his own arrogance. He'd ignored a vital resource that Cross could access. With Bourne, Cross's connection to Pamela Landy and the CIA was almost unbreakable. He returned his attention to the monitor. "It doesn't matter. Right now, we need to contain these two and eliminate them. We know why Cross is here. Why's Bourne here?"

Vendel, who had been keeping a quiet vigil in the corner, spoke up. "Information. He's looking for information."

"For Cross?" Byer asked.

Chandler nodded. "Probably."

Byer cursed again. Jason Bourne and Aaron Cross were formidable enemies by themselves. If those two had somehow teamed up and brought the CIA with them. . . .He turned and pointed at Chandler. "Watch Shearing. Make sure neither of them gets to her." He turned to Vendel. "What safeguards have you put in place?"

"Explosives at every vital portion of this structure. It'll destroy the place by bringing it down on their heads."

Byer had to admit Vendel's methods were effective. "Put them on standby. If we can't contain this, we'll accept the losses and regroup." He waited while Chandler left the room. "Vendel, listen to me closely. The near future is where you'll find your destiny.

He watched the change. Vendel's face went blank, and he blinked twice. When he turned back to Byer, his expression had shifted to one that he typically saw on assets' faces. Byer smiled. He'd made no plans for this to go south even though it had. By triggering the asset in Vendel, he gave himself an advantage.

Looking at his chief of security for the compound, he sighed. "Find out what information they're after and, if possible, how they've accessed our feeds and where their tech support is. I want to know as soon as you get it so we can start tracking their movements."

The man nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Byer, followed by Vendel, left the room, headed for the garage and a car he had waiting to take him to a nearby airstrip. He'd drawn Outcome 5 to him, thinking Cross would come alone. He hadn't been prepared for the heavy firepower he brought with him. As the security office worked to undo the video loops, he ducked around a corner and found himself pushed to the ground. Vendel had sensed something Byer had missed, and the asset turned to fire his gun at an approaching CIA operative. Byer blinked as the operative fell. Where had Vendel gotten the gun?

Then, he shrugged it off. He needed to get out of here, and Vendel was his best option for staying alive.

oOo

Finding Marta wasn't hard for Aaron. He'd memorized the schematics of the place during their planning, but he relied on Landy for warnings about guard patrols. Since his rather explosive entrance into the compound, he'd drawn more attention than Jason, which had been their plan. But it went deeper than that. Byer had Marta, and Aaron wanted to make sure no one came after her again. This. . . .this was his message to them.

Still, he knew the dangers of killing indiscriminately. Back in Manila, when those guards tried to kick him and Marta out of the Sterisyn lab right after viraling off the chems, he'd killed a couple men. And the LARX agent. . .That had been Marta, though, and he'd been so proud of her when she told him what happened. She'd used the tools available to her at the time—a motorcycle helmet—and her surroundings—the pillar—to end the threat. Since then, however, Aaron had done his best to minimize casualties. He did kill any assets sent after them, but he also realized that security guards and local police were just doing their jobs. In the end, they didn't deserve to die for following someone else's orders when he'd done the same thing for years.

This entire operation seemed a bit odd for Byer. They knew the man was behind capturing Marta, and Aaron's gut told him Byer was here, but the compound was different. It almost felt as if Byer had taken over someone else's operation and simply used the available resources.

That really didn't matter, Aaron decided. No matter what had happened to Marta while she'd been here, Aaron would make sure she got out alive. Then, the two of them would talk long and hard about their living situation. He already hated having her so far away, but he'd tried to give her the space she needed. Since Nicky's arrival in Chicago, Marta seemed more willing to compromise and work on their relationship, and Aaron had been patient with her. But this. . . .Having her in Byer's custody had only happened one other time, and he'd been right beside her. They'd managed to break out before Byer could touch either of them. Knowing she'd been with Byer for over twenty-four hours made Aaron's stomach turn, and he refused to lie down and let her walk over him again. If it caused arguments, then he'd deal with it. But he couldn't lose her.

"Aaron!" Landy's sharp voice told him he'd allowed himself to become momentarily distracted.

"What?" He couldn't keep the irritated tone from his voice.

"Pay attention!" She sounded just like some of his teachers when he was a kid. Then, her voice softened. "Marta's straight ahead. You're in the direct center of things with a security outpost. . . ." Her voice trailed off as a tech in the background cursed.

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "What?" he asked again, softer this time. He heard the conversation over the comms and tried to be patient.

"They found us." Landy paused to give an order to someone there, her tone unruffled by it all. "They're undoing the camera loops, so they'll know where the two of you are."

"How's Bourne?"

Jason's voice entered the conversation. "Got the files," he said. "Heading to the extraction point."

Aaron nodded. "Wait for me there. We may have to improvise."

No one commented on that.

Aaron leaned his head forward to peek around the corner, seeing the big blond linebacker pacing outside a closed door. To the right of that room, another door opened, and Byer left, followed by a tall man with no hair and a thick beard and mustache. Aaron backed away quickly before he was discovered, slipping into an unused office while the pair walked past him, seemingly unaware of his presence. Back the way he'd come, gunfire erupted, and he grinned. Perhaps he wouldn't have to worry about Byer much longer after all.

Moving back to the corner, Aaron listened in on the security personnel as they discussed what to do about the CIA's intrusion into their systems, and then one guy got real excited. The name "Bourne" passed their lips, and Aaron knew this was it.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped around the corner and boldly walked toward the linebacker. It was the same man he'd seen in the restaurant during his and Marta's first date. The guy turned to face Aaron, a feral grin forming as he drew his weapon. Aaron moved quickly. He was outweighed and shorter than the guy, but he'd fought bigger opponents than this, and they'd always underestimated him.

Rushing forward, Aaron grabbed the gun and pushed it away from his body as it went off. He felt the hammer pinch his palm, but a quick jab to the guy's throat threw off his concentration so that Aaron could wrench the gun from his hand. Tossing it aside, he then slammed the man's head back into the concrete wall. Blondie shook his head to clear it, striking out at Aaron with well-timed punches that he dodged easily enough. He moved close, blocked a strike aimed for his ribs, and pulled. Blondie, not expecting the move, stumbled forward until Aaron brought a knee into his gut.

The fight continued up and down the hallway. Several security personnel slipped out of the room, thinking they could help the asset and wound up either wounded or dead. In the heat of battle, Aaron stopped caring about preserving lives and simply defended himself. All that mattered was Marta, and he had to go through these men to get to her.

So be it.

oOo

Marta heard the fighting. She blinked, her eyes gritty, as she tried to bring the room into focus. After calling Aaron, Byer had injected her with another syringe that left her unconscious for an unknown amount of time. The sound of a body slamming against the door of her cell startled her awake, and she groaned as the nausea took over. But she was gagged, so giving in would be very, very bad.

Slowly lifting her head, she leaned back in the chair in an effort to relieve the pressure on her spine. Her feet stung from the cold concrete, and her hands were numb. She knew she'd struggled against her bindings to the point of drawing blood, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Aaron was here, now, and he would get her out. She was sure of it. And, as soon as she'd recovered and they'd brought down Byer for good, she intended to show Aaron just how seriously she took their relationship.

The door slammed open a moment later, the brightness of the lights outside piercing her eyes and making it hard to see. But she recognized the silhouette that walked toward her. She blinked again, surprised at the relieved tears that came to her eyes. Oh, thank God! Aaron!

He knelt in front of her, his gaze assessing everything about her. He saw the bruising from when Byer had beaten her, the blood on her wrists, the dirty, torn clothing she wore. Then, he saw the tears. Reaching up to brush her hair from her face with a gentle hand, he met her eyes. "Shh," he said softly. Glancing over his shoulder, he made certain they weren't interrupted. "I'm here now."

Marta honestly tried to stop crying. But she couldn't. It reminded her too much of that moment back in her house, when Aaron had originally saved her from the strike team sent to kill her. Only now, she knew him, loved him, and trusted him to get her out. The fingers that had so gently brushed her hair from her face now worked on the gag, removing it just in time for her to lean to the side and heave. There wasn't much to bring up—Byer hadn't exactly fed her—but he waited just the same. When she sat back, he met her eyes. "Good?"

"Yes." Marta felt him slip a knife under the bindings at her right wrist and winced when it stung. He muttered an apology, which she ignored. He was here. That was the only thing that mattered. "He gave me something," she explained as he moved from one wrist to the next. "Some sort of drug. Took a while to wear off last time."

"Symptoms?"

"Nausea, headache, sleeping." She blinked her eyes a few times. "And I think I'm concussed."

Aaron moved back around, taking her face in his hands and staring into her eyes. She knew exactly what he was looking for and let him perform his examination. "Your pupils are dilated. Put these on." He produced a pair of sunglasses. "Think you can walk?"

She steeled herself for the sudden transition in elevation as she stood up. "Yes."

"Good. Let's go." Aaron helped her to her feet, steadying her as the world spun. With one arm around her shoulders, he pulled her toward the door. Outside, several bodies littered the hallway, and she didn't need to ask if they were alive. One—the big blond guy that Byer had brought into the room when he'd interrogated her—lay beside the door with his head at an unnatural angle.

Aaron never looked at the men he'd killed, and Marta dragged her eyes away from them. Instead, she focused on putting one foot in front of the other. His arm around her shoulder was firm but kind, and he seemed to know where he was going. As they walked, he talked into the headset she suddenly realized he wore. "I've got her," he said softly. "Bourne, meet me at the rendezvous point. We'll split up and meet at the office." He paused, obviously waiting for the other person to speak. "Roger that."

It sounded just like the first time Aaron had rescued her. Marta leaned against him, trembling as the cooler air from the hallway penetrated her thin clothes and aggravated her already weakened state. Aaron glanced over at her and stopped long enough to shrug out of his leather jacket. His shirt beneath it was sweat-soaked, but he ignored it as he wrapped the jacket around Marta's shoulders. She shoved her arms into its warmth and did her best to keep up.

Her mind fogged up a little more with every step. Aaron had been in the compound for a while, and he'd brought a team with him. The first time she saw the black-suited man, she'd jumped and nearly screamed. Aaron had shushed her gently, explaining they were the good guys. The man simply motioned to Aaron so quickly she couldn't follow, and Aaron nodded in response. He led her directly for a back entrance, glancing down at her bare feet and again pausing to grab some shoes off of an unsuspecting female guard. Marta wordlessly put them on, sighing in relief at the warmth and protection they offered. Then, she squeezed her eyes shut as he led her into the bright afternoon sun.

Jason skidded to a stop in a small white car that had seen better days. Aaron led her forward as Jason leaned across to open the passenger door. Shouts from behind them told Marta that they'd been discovered, and she knew they had no time to waste.

Aaron pushed her forward. "Get in. I'll meet you. . . ."

"No!" Marta fought to stay with him. "No, please. I'll go with you."

Aaron grabbed her arms and forced her to look at him. "Marta. Get in the car."

"Please!"

"I'll meet you there, but you've gotta go now!"

"Aaron. . .!"

She didn't have a chance to answer him. He physically picked her up and, ignoring her weak fighting and protesting, shoved her into the front seat of the car. She scrabbled for the door handle as he quickly locked the door and closed it, tapping the roof of the car. Jason immediately floored the gas pedal, and the small car shot forward. Marta grappled with the door before realizing that it didn't have power locks. The car was too old. She turned and watched Aaron dodge a few bullets as he ran around a corner and out of her sight.

oOo

Aaron dashed around a corner, lifting one arm and ducking his head as the ground exploded with automatic weapons fire. These guys certainly weren't interested in keeping a low profile anymore. The sound of screeching tires somewhere nearby momentarily drowned out everything else, and he kept running in spite of the men chasing him. Putting Marta in the car with Jason was harder than he'd anticipated.

Relaying Marta's status to Landy, Aaron skidded to a stop next to the motorcycle he'd ridden to the compound. Revving the engine, he spun out of the hiding spot and headed in the exact opposite direction than the one Jason had taken. He heard a few cars behind him and glanced in his rear view mirror to see two sedans chasing him down the deserted street. Taking a sudden right turn at the next intersection, he whizzed forward, hunching over the handlebars in an attempt to make himself a smaller target. At these speeds, all it would take would be a bullet to a tire, and he'd be toast. He'd walked away from one motorcycle chase in his life, and he wasn't certain he wanted to do that again.

Whipping the bike around a left turn and then veering directly into the alley on his right, Aaron dodged around trash cans and stray cats that hissed and screamed at him. One car managed to make the turn, but the other sped on past. He came out of the alley in front of a startled driver who slammed on the brakes and honked. The poor guy wrenched his wheel to avoid hitting Aaron and wound up with his car sideways in the road. The sedan chasing Aaron whizzed by the guy without even slowing down.

One more block away, Aaron braked just enough to pivot the bike back to the left and dart down a busy street. Ahead of him, the sedan that had gone around the alley cut in front of him, creating several more angry drivers and causing shouts to come from those on the sidewalk. Aaron yanked the bike to the right to avoid the car, driving up over the curb and onto the sidewalk. The pedestrians cleared out of the way, and he shifted to get more speed out of the motorcycle. Shooting down the sidewalk as he heard sirens in the distance, he used a conveniently-timed red light to jump in front of the car that had tried to stop him and head down yet another busy street.

Weaving in and out of traffic, Aaron kept one eye on his rear view mirror while watching where he went with the other. Horns blared, and the sirens got closer. Then, he saw the bus. Smiling slightly, he downshifted, changed lanes, and, at the last moment, whipped the bike around the tail end of the bus to reverse his direction. Using the bus as cover, he matched its speed as the two sedans continued chasing a bike they could no longer see. Aaron turned down another side street before the drivers realized he'd vanished and slowed to a more reasonable speed. The cops sent after the car chase passed him, not once giving him a second glance as he rode by.

oOo

Jason spun out of the warehouse district with a frantic Marta in the front seat. She still faced the rear of the car, tears streaming, as Aaron disappeared around a corner. Jason didn't wait for her to buckle in or stop fighting. He simply drove. She'd calm soon enough, and he idly thanked his lucky stars he wasn't Aaron.

Three sedans followed him. Jason reached over and shoved Marta down just as a bullet shattered the rear windshield of the car. He wrenched the wheel to the left, darting down a street and flooring the gas pedal. A quick shifting of the gears helped the car go faster, and he silently thanked Aaron for choosing a standard for this mission.

Marta sat up, shaking hands reaching for a seat belt as she groaned. Jason spared her a glance and saw the pasty complexion of her skin. Byer had drugged her? Or was she just sick from worry? He couldn't know, but having her so weak complicated things even more.

Changing gears, he doubled back on his previous route, trying to lose one of his pursuers and failing. He'd hoped to fool them into thinking he'd left when he actually hadn't. Abandoning that plan, he turned the car toward the CIA office and knew he'd be able to lose his tail between here and there.

The explosion happened when they were close enough to the compound to hear the roar and see the flames. Marta gasped and cursed, a colorful phrase in Hungarian that she probably learned from Aaron, as Jason fought the urge to stare at her. In all the time he'd known Marta Shearing, she'd never been one to use such foul language. The drugs were likely making her a bit loopy and loosening her tongue.

The explosion and resulting fire would attract too much attention, and Jason found the first major thoroughfare he could. Two of the three cars that had followed him were still on his tail, one with an idiot leaning out of his window and preparing to fire. Jason reached for the gun at the small of his back and offered it to Marta. "Know how to use this?"

She accepted it. "Yeah." Swallowing convulsively as if fighting nausea, she glanced over her shoulder. "I don't think I can hit him, though."

Jason gave her a sharp glance. "Why?"

"There're two guys hanging out of the car."

It was Jason's turn to curse. Of course she'd have problems seeing. The more he watched her from the corner of his eye, the more he suspected she'd been drugged. Her hands were shaking, and her reactions were sluggish. He couldn't ask her to drive for the same reason. Taking the gun from Marta, Jason leaned to poke it out the driver's window and fired off a few rounds. His aim went wide, but it was enough to get the guy to duck back into his car.

He needed to lose this tail. Checking his rear view mirror, he spoke softly. "Close your eyes."

To her credit, Marta didn't question him. She simply closed her eyes and hunkered down in her seat. Jason floored the gas pedal, wrenching the car into a one-eighty and darting back the way he'd come. One of the sedans managed to match the maneuver, but the other flew past. Jason shifted gears one more time before dodging a bus and yanking the wheel to take a sharp right turn into an alley. Trash cans went flying, and he came out the other side a block away and headed the same direction he'd been going before the one-eighty.

Somehow, the simple maneuver lost his second tail. He kept an eye on the rear view mirror while winding through Chicago for another half hour. Once he was certain he'd lost the tail, he headed for the CIA office.

The rest of the drive was quiet save for Marta's occasional moan. Her hands shook whenever she pushed her hair from her face, and her pasty complexion didn't change. Jason wished he could reach over and offer some comfort, but he'd never been at ease with physical contact. Not unless it was Nicky, his mind supplied.

All through this entire operation, he'd forced himself not to think of Nicky. She was safe with Landy, watching over their operation from the security of the crisis suite. Not down in the trenches with the rest of them. It gave him the ability to concentrate without having to worry about her safety and what he would do if she was hurt. . .or worse.

That thought made him blink. He still cared for Nicky. A lot. And he intended to talk to her about it when he saw her again. Then, he shook his head. Of all the times to realize something like that, he chose the moment when he couldn't be alone. Though another glance at Marta proved she wasn't worried about his thoughts.

Jason kept his eyes on the road and drove. Aaron had trusted him, and he intended to deliver Marta safe and sound. Once they'd regrouped, then he'd take out his realization about Nicky and examine it. But not until everyone had been reunited.

oOo

On a plane somewhere over Michigan, Byer pulled out a burner phone. A simple call would shut down the Rodeo base, and his arrogance in thinking he could draw Outcome 5 to him without the CIA knowing had cost them dearly. Pressing the numbers, he waited for the other person to answer. Then, he spoke softly. "Shut down everything. Get to ground."

At least Vendel had trained his people well. Looking at the asset now sitting across from him, Byer sighed. If he'd been in charge of the operation from the very beginning, he would have anticipated the CIA's involvement. Maybe not to this extent, but he'd have prepared for the unexpected. Vendel had assured him that all bases were covered, and Byer had foolishly believed him.

Thankfully, that wouldn't happen again. The triggering phrase had changed Vendel from the semi-decent leader into a full-blown asset, providing Byer with skills he badly needed now that the CIA was on his trail. In blowing the compound, he'd killed American agents, and that would result in a manhunt. Right then, Byer needed to disappear, and he needed Vendel to do it. He would think about rebuilding and finding Cross only after he was certain he couldn't be compromised again.

~TBC