Note: Continuation of Untethered

Not Beta'd


No. Bobby, don't do what you're thinking. She followed him out the door. "Bobby. Wait."

"Eames, don't try to stop me. They gave me no choice. I have to see this through on my own, for Donny."

"You are already in a lot of trouble. Bobby, please don't make this worse." She walked him to an area away from the cameras and tried to reach out to him to convince him to think first.

"You don't understand."

"No, Bobby. I do. I understand. He's your nephew and you want to do right by him and protect him. I get it! But doing it this way, is not going to make things right."

"And what? I should wait until they retaliate and come after Donny? No, Eames this is what I have to do." He used her last name to remind her they're partners and he needs his partner to follow his lead.

"Please, just think first before you go off on your own." She places her hands on his chest "Going there with no back up, it's dangerous, Bobby."

He reads the concern in her eyes and pulls her in for a hug and kissing her forehead, briefly. "Keep my phone close. I promise to keep you updated. It will be alright, okay. You got my back, right?"

"You know I do."

"Okay. Then, I'll be okay. I trust you."

She realized she's not going to convince him otherwise. He was bullheaded and once he set his mind on something, that was that.

"If this is what you have to do, Bobby, I have your back anyway I can."

The only thing she could do back his play and do everything in her power to keep him safe on her end.

He kissed her and whispered "I love you" in her ear and took off to create his alias.

He found himself going to the Judge's dealership knowing it would put him into the same path to Tate's as Donny. He palmed the brick he purchased from the homeless man. It felt heavy and rough in his hand and he thought about how satisfying it would be to unleash. He cocked his arm back and as hard as he could, aimed for the window display. The glass made a satisfying crunching sound as the brick made its way through shattering it into pieces. The car alarms sounded behind him and he just stood there and waited until the Judge made his report to the authorities. When they arrived, he started his schizophrenic act. He expertly convinced them that he had a break with reality. He's taken to Tates Corrections and questioned until placed in a cell.

Eames was a nervous wreck. She tried to busy herself with paperwork until she got his message that he was embedded in Tates. Of course at the exact moment she got his message, the Captain walked by.

"Is that your partner's cell phone?"

"Uh yeah. He left it. He said he didn't want to be disturbed on his leave."

The Captain was skeptical and knew that Eames would fall on her sword to cover for Goren and that there was probably more to the story. "He tell you where he was going?"

"Just somewhere quiet," She stated convincingly.

He nodded and figured he would let it drop for now.

Her stomach was in knots. Undercover wasn't new territory. Both Eames and Goren were some of the best at doing undercover work. She would always get nervous at first but then the rush would kick in and she'd confidently slide into her role. This time, she wasn't playing a role. She was playing defense for Goren and he was on his own with no team in place and she was beyond terrified at all the ways this could go wrong.

When she was sure that the Captain was gone, she opened the phone and read the message:

10/27/07 1:05pm Tates Corrections.

She logged it in on a blank sheet of notepad. She knew he was capable and definitely had an intimidating presence and hoped that would keep him safe.

"Hey sis. I'm still on my cruise. I thought I'd see Frank's son but I guess he's in a single room below deck. Okay" He finished before he had the urge to say anything else. He had to focus and he didn't want her to worry any more than she was. So far things were going smoothly. He made all his signals and keeping her informed along the way.

She jotted down, 10/29/07 1: 10 pm Donny ISO. Then the messages stopped coming. Two days later, she waited for his call but received none. She noted when an hour had passed without contact. Then she resigned herself to mark it as a no call when it had become clear wasn't going to be making contact.

At Tates, Goren acted out to push them to put him into ISO so he could make contact with Donny and check if he was okay. Armed with a wealth of knowledge of how a person with Schizophrenia acted from seeing it play out time and time again with his mother, he convincingly played the resistant patient knowing that would push their hand. What he didn't realize was that they were taking him to Heaven to be restrained. He started to panic a bit, some was for real because he was very much alone and if things played out like they did for Jay Lowry, he could be a dead man. The rest was for show to maintain his cover. He was left alone with his thoughts next to a boiler room radiating heat and no water. He could feel the heat reflecting off the metal slab onto his skin. As time passed, his lips became dry and cracked and he started becoming severely dehydrated. He did his best to keep them wet sliding his tongue across them until his tongue dried up and felt fuzzy and sticky against his lips providing no relief.

All he could hear was the buzzing of the bright florescent light and the clanking of his restraints against the metal slab he was lying on. He needed to keep track of time or at the very least keep his mind active so he wouldn't start losing himself. He knew isolation could break down a person's defenses and mental faculties. Dehydration added to this. He began counting backwards from 10 in between his shouting pleas for water. He would often forget what number he was on and have to start over. His stomach grumbled. His head ached. His skin was dangerously dry and itchy. He felt the restraints digging into his skin raw. He became hysterical and panicky crying out for relief and bargaining with his oppressors.

Eames began to fidget at her desk worried about the next plan of action. No one else knew where he was. She had to decide when to call the operation over. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. She knew Goren could get himself out of tight situations before and she wanted to gather whatever evidence they needed so it was imperative that she not end the operation too early. But on the other hand, he could be in serious danger right now and no one knows and no one is coming to rescue him. Her stomach was sour. She hated this. This was what she was worried about, the reason she implored him to think it through. She so desperately wanted to speak to him, to know he was okay. Days have passed since he was admitted and she knew his propensity for trouble. Please Bobby. Be safe. She sent up a couple of silent prayers. Her hands came to her face and she told herself she would not think the worse and she most certainly would not cry.

After five hours passed the time of missed contact, she knew she had to put a stop to it. She stopped Captain Ross at the elevator, "It's about Goren."