Mac looked up as the kitchen door opened. He ended the call as he was shaking all over. He put the phone down and tried to move but it was too late. Howard saw him. He walked over to Mac and stared at him. He could see the fear in Mac's eyes even though he was trying to hide it.

"Do you know what she would do to you if she caught you in here?" Howard whispered.

"Why do you care?" Mac asked. "You did this to me."

"You want me to go get her?"

Howard started to turn but Mac whispered, "NO!"

Howard stopped and folded his arms. "You better not do this again," he said.

Mac realized Howard was going to carry him back to the room. "Don't scream," Howard whispered as he bent over to Mac. "I don't know how you got off that bed and got in here but…"

"Howard, hurry up!" Julie called.

"Stay here!" Howard whispered. He got two glasses and a bottle of champagne from the fridge. He put the phone back on the counter.

Mac sat there and watched Howard leave the kitchen. He knew Howard was right. Julie would probably kill him if she found him there. He could not go back out the way he had come but there was another way out of the kitchen. Just as he was about to try and go that way, Howard came back into the kitchen. He squatted beside Mac. "I have to hurry," he said.

Mac almost cried out as Howard was getting him up, but Howard grabbed his mouth. "Shhhh," he hissed. "You got in here, and you're going to get out."

Mac was shaking all over. Howard got him over his shoulder and went down the hall. He took Mac back to his room and put him on the bed. Mac groaned with pain. Howard frowned. "How did you get off this bed?" he asked.

Mac could not answer. "Why are you helping me?"

"I don't want her to kill you. Don't try that again." Howard leaned over him. "Did you call anybody on that phone?"

Mac glared at him. "If I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"Did you tell them where you are?"

"I don't even know where I am."

Howard got a pair of cuffs from the drawer in the nightstand and cuffed Mac's left hand to the bedrail. "Now, don't go on anymore late night adventures."

"I need to go to the bathroom."

"Don't try that. I'll bring you some more pain medicine."

Just then, Julie walked in. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"He was moaning so I came in to see about him," Howard said.

"Why is he cuffed?"

"He's tough. You never know what he might try."

"Well, I was waiting for you."

"I'll be back in there in a minute. I'm giving him more pain medicine and he'll sleep."

Julie looked at Mac. "He sweats a lot, doesn't he?" she asked.

"I'll get the pills."

Howard left the room and Julie sat down on the side of the bed. "Too bad we can't have a threesome," she said. "I bet you sweat a lot then too."

Mac almost felt sick. "You're crazy."

Suddenly, Julie grabbed his thigh. Mac cried out with pain, but he knocked her off the bed with his right fist before he thought about what he was doing. He felt like his legs were breaking all over again. Howard walked back in and saw Julie in the floor and Mac almost writhing on the bed. He went over to Mac. "What did you do?" he asked.

"She squeezed my leg!" Mac yelled.

"Take these."

Howard picked Julie up. "You better hope that medicine is working when she wakes up."

Mac swallowed the pills which he was sure were morphine. Right now, he did not care. He did not think the call was long enough for Jo to trace it, but at least he got in touch with her.

Don, Danny and Sheldon came into the lab at about the same time. "What's going on?" Danny asked.

"Mac called," Jo said. "It wasn't long enough to trace the call but we got a general area."

"What did he say?" Don asked.

"Come with me."

They all went into the conference room and sat down. "Is Mac escaping?" Don asked. "What's going on?"

"He can't escape," Jo said. "They made sure of that."

"What do you mean?" Sheldon asked.

"He said they broke both his legs."

Danny and the others were shocked. "Broke both his legs?" Sheldon asked.

"Yes, and he didn't know where he was." Jo covered her face a moment. "You just didn't hear him. I've never heard Mac like that."

"What can we do to help him?" Don asked.

"Adam is searching everything he can to find a house like the one Mac described. It has a cellar under the barn and the house with a tunnel. The house is two stories."

"Did he say what color the house is?" Sheldon asked.

"No. I don't think he could think very well."

"A barn?" Danny asked. "That means maybe it's an old farm house."

"He said Julie Brannem and Howard Bailey are holding him captive," Jo said.

Just then, Russ Josephson walked in. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "What's going on?"

They filled Russ in on what was happening. "Farm house," he said thoughtfully. "Outside the city."

"Yes, and Adam is trying to find out if Julie or Howard have any connections with anyone out there," Jo said.

"I wouldn't think they would."

"Why?"

"People who get away with crimes like that are not going to have their names on anything that they're using."

"But Julie is most likely not even her name and she has even changed her fingerprints somehow."

"All of you scientists haven't figured out how she did that?"

"Don't get cute, Russ. This is serious."

"If we could figure out who she was before…"

"She joined the Air Force when she was twenty…at least that is what her records say."

Russ laid the file down. "Wow, this is more complicated than you and me."

Jo looked at Danny and Don. "Maybe you two should go down to Texas and see if you can find out something there," she said. "I'll approve it with the chief and get a request for that information."

"I guess we better go pack," Don said.

"How she got into the Air Force with an assumed name is beyond me."

"Someone has to know about this," Russ declared. "But that was fifteen years ago. She could have gotten a new social security number and a new identity."

"New fingerprints?"

"That's the mystery."

"Something is wrong with this picture."

"All she had to have was a birth certificate and to get that…"

"She had to have her mother sign."

"We'll get on our way," Danny said.

"I'll get your tickets," Jo replied.

Don and Danny left and Jo looked at Russ. "Is it really that easy?" she asked.

"It used to be," Russ replied. "If this woman is a murderer, why hasn't she already killed Mac?"

"Russ!"

"I'm just thinking out loud. It's just curious."

"Howard Bailey. He's not a murderer. He doesn't want Mac dead."

"If they broke both his legs, they don't intend to let him go," Sheldon said. "I can't imagine."

"How did he get to a phone like that?" Jo asked.

"Determination?"

Russ shook his head. "More than that," he said. "That's pure grit."

Julie started to stir out of her stupor. Howard was sitting beside her on the bed. He knew she was going to be fighting mad. She opened her eyes and then sat up. She touched her face. "He hit me!" she said. She looked at Howard. "And you didn't do anything!"

"Now, wait a minute. I picked you up and brought you in here."

"He's going to pay!"

Julie started out of the room but Howard grabbed her. "Now wait a minute," he said. "Wait till morning."

"Fine, but then he's going to get a broken arm!"

Howard frowned as he looked toward the room Mac was staying in. he would not break his arm for her. He was done with that.

The next morning, Mac woke up in pain. He did not know how that pain could be worse, but it was. Not only did his legs ache deep down inside where they were broken, but the pain seemed to be traveling down his legs to his feet. He was sure he had fever now too. He looked at the cuff on his wrist. He pulled at the cuff even though he knew he could not get loose. He felt like he wanted to panic but that would not do any good. He hoped Howard would take him to the bathroom. He was not sure how much longer he could hold it.

Howard was up and dressed. He got up early every morning. He did not intend to let Julie kill Mac. She was stirring too and soon sat up. She looked at Howard. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"Nowhere. You know I'm always up early."

Julie got out of bed. "I have some unfinished business."

"You get a shower and I'll get breakfast."

"I'm taking care of him first."

Howard watched her go into the bathroom. He had to calm her down. He went down to Mac's room and saw that he was awake. He watched him a moment. He thought he was crying and he kept pulling at the cuff.

Howard walked into the room. Mac glared at him. "Still hostile, huh?" Howard asked.

"How long do you think I can lay here without going to the bathroom?" Mac asked.

"You shouldn't have hit her."

"It was a reflex!"

"She wants to break your arm."

Howard thought Mac's face turned a shade whiter. "And I guess you're going to do it," he said.

"No, I'm not, but she will."

"Who is she?"

"I'm not sure."

Just then, they heard Julie slam the bathroom door. Mac glared at Howard. "Maybe I should tell her what you did last night?" Mac said.

"Go ahead. She won't believe you and besides, she might do worse."

"Take this cuff off!"

"Can't."

Soon, Julie came in there. She looked at Howard. "You sure do stay in here with him a lot!" she said.

"So?"

Julie went over to the bed on Mac's right side. He could see the bruise on her face. "You're going to pay for hitting me," she said. She looked at Howard. "Break his arm."

"No," Howard said. "He's suffering enough."

"I'll decide that!" She went to the fireplace and got the poker. "If you won't do it, I will!"

Mac pulled at that cuff. "NO!" he yelled. "Get away from me!"

Julie grabbed his arm and Mac really had no way to fight her, but he managed to jerk his hand away from her. Therefore, she swung the poker at him. Mac blocked it from his face with his arm which was not good for his arm and then she hit him with the poker again. Mac braced himself for another whack but then he heard a gunshot.

Mac looked to see what happened and Howard was standing at the end of the bed with a smoking gun. He realized he had shot Julie. He stared at Howard wondering if he was going to shoot him too. Howard looked at Julie. "I told you that you weren't going to kill him," Howard said.

"You maniac!" Julie screamed but she could not get up. He had shot her in the stomach.

Mac could not believe what was happening. Howard took the poker from Julie and moved her over to the far wall while she tried to fight. "Now, you just sit there," he said.

Howard went over to Mac and uncuffed him from the bed. "What are you doing?" Mac asked.

"I'm helping you," Howard replied.

"If you think…"

"Shut up!"

Mac groaned loudly as Howard got him up on his shoulder. "You can't just leave her there like that," Mac said.

"Yes I can," Howard replied.

"She'll die!"

"She'd die anyway after she gets the death penalty."

"Bailey, you haven't committed murder before!"

"It wasn't murder. I was saving your life!"

Mac could do nothing as Howard carried him into the living room and laid him in front of the fireplace. "Why are you putting me here?" Mac asked.

"They'll be here to get you soon," Howard said.

"Who?"

"Just shut up." Howard put another log on the fire and brought Mac a bottle of water and a pack of honey buns. "That ought to keep you until they get here."

"I don't think I can drink anymore water."

"Oh yeah. You wanted to go to the bathroom. Well I'm not a nurse." Howard stood up. "So long, Taylor. I'll be seeing you around."

Mac glared at him. "If I ever see you again, I'm going to kill you!"

"Is that any way to talk?"

"You're going to leave me here like this?!"

"She broke your arm, didn't she?" Howard squatted to look at Mac's arm.

Mac shoved him with his left hand. "Get away from me!"

Howard grabbed his chin and shoved his head down on the floor. "Don't mistake my actions for friendship," he said quietly.

Mac was full of rage. "I would never mistake you for a friend."

"You're defiant to the end, aren't you?" Howard grabbed Mac's arm which caused Mac to cry out.

"Why can't you take me to the hospital?"

"They would ask too many questions."

"Please. Don't leave me here."

"They'll find you."

Mac lay there on the floor as Howard walked out. He soon heard a vehicle crank up. He was stuck here now. He could not get to the bathroom and he did not know how long it would be before they found him. He knew that Julie was not dead yet either. He did not think he could hold his bladder anymore but he would try.

Mac finally started to doze as the warmth of the fire relaxed him somewhat but then he heard something and he realized it was footsteps. He looked toward the hallway and saw Julie coming that way. Although she was coming slowly and not in a straight line, she was coming. Mac thought he would panic. He was practically helpless. He looked at the fireplace tools. They were his only hope if she got in there to him. He did not hold back his cries of pain as he got himself turned over and reached for the fireplace tools. He finally got one of them into his left hand and then he looked toward Julie who was standing at the end of the sofa now.

"He shot me over you," Julie said. "I'm going to kill you."

"You're going to have to fight for it," Mac replied. He did not know if he would be able to even hit her but he would fight to the death.

Julie laughed as much as she could, but Mac could see that she was still losing blood. She started toward him and picked up a knife from the coffee table as she passed by it. Mac's breath was not coming easy. "Why don't you just stop this now?" he asked.

"You just forced your way into my life and then you hit me. You have to pay for that."

"I didn't force my way in!"

"I told you I didn't want to see you again and you came back."

Mac was not sure what to make of this conversation but he thought she must have had some sort of trauma in her past. She came closer to him and then stumbled and fell to her knees but she was not giving up yet. Mac waited to see what she would do and when she got close enough to him, he swung the fireplace tool at her and knocked the knife from her hand. Then she jumped on him. She was clawing at his eyes and Mac got the tool back enough to hit her in the head with it and she fell beside him. He moaned with pain as his legs let him know that they did not like moving right now. He could not hold his bladder anymore either. He thought he might just die here like this and then it would not matter if they found him that way. He stared at the ceiling wanting to sob but that would do no good. He just wanted someone to find him. He wondered if he could make it to that phone again.

As Mac dragged himself, he thought he was becoming numb all over and he thought he would pass out. It was a very slow, excruciating crawl toward the kitchen but he got through the door and then noticed that the phone was sitting on the floor. His eyes began that watering again, but he was sure he was crying this time. He could call and let them trace the call and no one would interfere this time.