"Where is Jason? I don't get why he's not answering our calls," said Clay as he and the rest of Bravo Team climbed out of their surveillance van.

"Something must have happened," said Ray. "He was angry with us for not listening earlier, but he wouldn't let that affect him during an op."

"Nothing would have happened," said Sonny as he grabbed his radio, "he's probably just not interested in talking right now." He pressed a button and spoke into the radio. "Bravo One, we're coming to your location unless you tell us otherwise in the next ten seconds."

The team went quiet for a full minute, but they still didn't hear anything from their leader. It had now been ten minutes since Jason had last checked in with Ray, and time was really not on their side right then. They needed to know where their team leader was.

"Bravo Two to HAVOC. Any word on Bravo One's whereabouts?" Ray said into his radio, praying for their radios to just be playing up.

"This is HAVOC," came Davis' voice. "No contact from One since you all arrived at the surveillance point. What's going on out there?"

"Jason's missed two check ins. He's not answering his radio at all. Can you get eyes on his location?"

A few seconds passed in silence, then Davis said, "eyes on One's location. There's several heat signatures around a building, and a couple inside the building. None are moving. Be careful, you will be outnumbered there."

"Got it," said Ray before replacing his radio and turning to his team mates. "Jason could be in trouble. Let's go."


Jason groaned as he was punched in the face yet again. The torture had only started forty minutes ago, when he had accidentally tripped over a tree root and been caught by the very people he was trying to spy on, but the methods used on him were severely disorientating him. He had thought at one point that he had heard Ray's voice, and hope had filled him briefly, but nobody had come in, guns blazing, to rescue him.

"What's your name?" growled the man that was torturing him.

Jason ignored him. The man had been asking the same question since he started torturing Jason, but Jason had been taught how to withstand as much torture as he could without caving. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the pain that was developing in his chest. He knew that it was possible that there was damage to his ribs or heart from the electricity that he had been zapped with earlier. But, if he thought about that, he wouldn't be able to cope, and if he didn't cope, he'd never see his two kids again.

Several punches later, and more silence on Jason's part, the door slammed against the wall. Jason was barely keeping his eyes open by now, but he knew, without a doubt, that his team had found him. He could hear Ray's voice, directing the rest of the team, and then his best friend was right next to him.

"I got you, Jase," said Ray as he tried to undo the ropes keeping Jason pinned to the chair.

"Ray..." whispered Jason before he started coughing and wheezing.

"Don't talk, Trent will kill me if something happens before he can assess you. We have to get you out of here." Ray gave his friend a grin and finally pulled the last rope away. "Think you can walk?"

Jason shook his head and grabbed Ray's arm, using it to support himself as he stood up. A moment later, however, and he was on the floor, his vision blurry. He heard barking and smiled a little as Cerberus dropped to the ground next to him, whimpering.

"Hi, Cerb," he whispered as he reached out and touched the animal's body. He could feel the dog's steady heartbeat and it reassured him. "Good boy," he added before footsteps approached and someone bent down next to him.

"Jason, can you hear me?" Trent's voice asked from somewhere above him.

"Yes," said Jason weakly.

"Good. Stay awake. I can't do much for you here, we need to get somewhere safe. Ray's working on getting a QRF out to us, but we may have to walk to it still."

"Not sure... about walking..."

"We'll help you. Come on," said Trent as he stood, bringing Jason up with him.


It was slow going. The QRF was waiting for them, but the team still had to walk to it's location. Normally, the walk would have only taken a couple of minutes, but with Jason injured and Trent and Brock almost carrying him, it was taking a lot longer. Jason was barely conscious now, and his incessant chatter had stopped. Trent was worried- the chatter had at least meant that their boss was awake and coherent. A quiet Jason had never been a good thing in the past, let alone now when he was hurt.

"Guys," said Trent, "we need to stop. I need to check on Jason."

The team came to a stop as one and assumed protective stances around Trent and Jason. Trent gently rested his boss against a stone wall and started checking his vitals. He could only just feel a pulse at Jason's wrists.

"Jason, open your eyes for me," he commanded, glad when he got a reaction, even if it was minimal. "If you understand what I'm saying to you, blink twice."

A moment passed, and then Jason slowly blinked his eyes. After the second blink, Trent let out a sigh of relief. Jason was by no means out of the woods, but at least he was still with them.

"Good. Let's get going." He lifted Jason back up with Brock's help and began heading towards the waiting helicopter.