Chapter 2: Just Visiting

"Hey, take it easy pal!" Cover Girl winced, feeling the bonds on her wrists cutting into her skin. The guard behind her sneered, tugging her wrists painfully higher behind her back until she was nearly walking on her toes down a well-lit corridor.

She arched her head back tilting her chin up defiantly to look at him. She was tall at 5' 11" but he was taller, maybe 6' 5" with a ruddy complexion and black hair, a stark contrast to the man behind them. Donovan was about her height, mouse brown hair with hazel eyes and a fair complexion. He was lean, not bulky like the guard holding her. Maybe that was why he told the guard to take her. She could have gotten leverage against Donovan even with her hands bound behind her; then again, she didn't know where they were and Scarlett wasn't in any shape to make a break for it.

"Slow down, Rory," Cover Girl heard Donovan call out.

She glanced quickly to Donovan to see Scarlett leaning heavily on his arm. The guard holding Cover Girl's wrists jerked her forward, bellowing, "Move!" His face showed nothing but contempt when he looked at her through narrowed eyes. In the back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder when she'd get a chance to pay him back for the kindness he was now showing her. She smirked at the idea of planting her fist in his smug face.

"Watch your step," Donovan said, catching Scarlett as she stumbled over the corner of a raised stone in the floor. He knew she was weak from exposure. Resting one arm around her for support, Donovan guided her behind Cover Girl until he could pass her to another guard. He watched Cover Girl struggling against her bonds while Rory jerked her back and then upwards. He could tell she was hiding her pain until her foot slipped sending her down on one knee. Before Rory could haul her back up, Donovan yelled. "Rory! Let go of her, now! The master was specific. They're not to be harmed. They're our guests until..."

"Guests?" Cover Girl sneered, narrowing her eyes on Donovan. "Where the hell do you get off with that line of..." She stopped, biting her lower lip as Rory tugged her wrists up, bringing her to her feet. "If my hands weren't tied, you sick, sadistic, son of a bitch." She bit each word, struggling to find her footing.

"She's a hellcat." Rory snorted, shoving her ahead of him.

"She's still not to be harmed." Donovan growled, stepping in front of them as she tripped. He caught her by the shoulders, setting her down on the ground. "Damn it, Rory, the master's not going to be happy. Look at her wrists!" Donovan fumed, reaching for a knife. "I'm trusting you not to pull anything," he warned Cover Girl, preparing to slice the bonds. "Do I have your word?" He waited, noticing her eyes dart to Scarlett's.

"Yeah," Cover Girl whispered, closing her eyes tightly at the pressure of the knife against her bonds.

"Good then." Donovan nodded, slipping the blade of the knife up against the ropes that held her. With several rough and tug strokes of the knife, he released her hands only to catch them and turn them over for examination. Her wrists were swollen and raw. "Maude will see to your wrists once you're in your rooms. Come." He pulled Cover Girl up to her feet.

"Rooms?" Scarlett and Cover Girl looked at one another in confusion.

"Aye, rooms," Maude replied. She paused, reaching for a set of keys from her waist and quickly found the one she needed. "Ye both be quiet now. Yer not ta disturb tha Master."

Scarlett and Cover Girl watched hesitantly, unsure of what they'd find on the other side of the heavy door at the end. They watched the older woman turn the lock and push the door; opening it with a creaking protest to reveal a vast hall filled with antique armor suits and weaponry along the walls. A huge fire was burning at the other end of the hall.

"Oh, my God...I've died and gone to Camelot." Cover Girl gasped, surveying the hall before pausing on Scarlett's upturned face. Scarlett, too, was surveying the collection on the wall; her eyes trained on an old crossbow.

"Ladies," Donovan's voice broke their concentration. "Your rooms are this way." He stood with his hand on the mahogany railing of the staircase. Both Scarlett and Cover Girl's eyes traveled up along railing to the top of the staircase, stopping on a man standing there. He was tall, broad shouldered with a stance that commanded attention. The two women stared, trying to discern his features more clearly aside from his build and dark hair. He watched then turned away with a dismissive wave to Donovan.

"Who's that?" Scarlett questioned, looking from the man turning to leave to Donovan.

"That'd be, Master Gabriel," Maude replied with a broad smile. "Now, off wi' tha two of ye. We 'ave ta git ye lasses settled."

Donovan allowed the women to pass him.

Cover Girl was following Scarlett to the top of the stairs when she felt Rory's hand clamp down on her shoulder. "What now?" She grumbled under her breath.

"Yer ta wait `ere, lass," Maude said, reaching for her keys. "I've gotta git tha other lass settled in `er room. Ye wait `ere wit' Rory an' Donovan."

"But..."

"She'll be fine, no one will `arm `er." Maude smiled reassuringly before she turned down the hall, leaving Cover Girl to strain to see which room.

"Don't be getting any ideas," Rory warned, tightening his hand on her shoulder and yanking her back.

"I'm not the one with an alpha male complex," she snapped, shaking her shoulder away from his grasp.

"Rory, go see to the security cameras outside." Donovan intervened, pulling Rorys' hand from her shoulder.

"Keep it up, I can see no one's ever taught you your place." Rory snarled, stalking off towards the stairs.

"Oh, I..."

"Are you always so argumentative?" Donovan shook his head, placing his hand on Cover Girl's upper arm and leading her away from the stairs.

"Actually, most enjoy my sunny disposition." Cover Girl smirked, rubbing her wrists. "Who are you? And, why were we captured?" She glared up at him with icy blue eyes.

"You're not going to be here long...think of it as a short visit." He spotted Maude, returning and turned Cover Girl around to face her.

"Just visiting? Right?" She snorted.

"I got tha other lass settled," Maude called out, approaching the pair. "Yer room's just down the hall," she stepped ahead of them, leading them in the opposite direction of Scarlett's room.

Cover Girl scanned the hallways, looking for lapses in their security. She noted there weren't any cameras on this level. Suppressing a grin, she looked back over her shoulder. "This place is a joke." She laughed to herself. "I'll just wait my time and spring Red."

"This is yer room," she heard Maude's voice, interrupting her thoughts.

"Huh?" Cover Girl stammered, feeling herself shoved forward into the room. "You're joking, right?" She was stunned at the opulence of the room. Walking towards the center of the room, her footsteps were cushioned by the deep plush carpeting. "Wow," Cover Girl remarked, resting her hand on one of the posts of the massive four posted bed piled high with pillows, allowing her eyes to roam over the stonewalls covered with ornate wall coverings.

"Nay, this is yers." Maude stepped past her, flinging the closets open. "I've placed a few of tha lady's things in `ere fer ye. The bath is through those doors." She pointed. "Now, we mus' be off. I'll be back shortly ta check yer wrists, lass."

Cover Girl didn't realize they had left until she heard the door lock turn. She ran to the door, tugging on the handle. "Damn it! It's locked," she groaned, falling back against the door. She rolled her eyes back, scanning the room. Her eyes fell on the drapes, wafting

open with a breeze. "Too easy," she chuckled softly, racing towards the windows. She parted the drapery panels, revealing bars across the windows. "Damn them to hell!" She fumed, grasping the bars in her fingers until her knuckles whitened. She shook the bars in her hands to no avail. "Arghh," she sighed, hanging her head down.

************

"Did you check each of these names against the base personnel rosters?" Duke asked Law, running his index finger down each column of the MPs logs for the day of disappearance.

"I checked," Law replied, cradling Order's muzzle as it rocked against his palm for begging for attention. "Easy, boy," Law coaxed the dog, running his hand down the from the dog's muzzle to his ribs where he vigorously roughed Order's coat. "Down," Law commanded, prompting Order to lie down with his head over his front paws while he waited.

Duke and Law continued going over the log, oblivious to the man rushing towards them.

Perking his ears up, Order gave a low growl and snapped to blocking his handler from the intruder. "Order?" Law grappled for his harness, holding him back. "Easy boy." Law glanced over his shoulder in the direction Order was pointing. "Ah...Duke, looks like..."

"Sergeant Hauser! Sergeant Hauser!" The man yelled out causing Duke to bolt his head up, turning to locate the source. He narrowed his eyes on the man rapidly approaching with a microphone waving in the air.

"What the hell is going on? Is that a reporter? I told you no one gets on the base!" Duke snarled, slamming the logs shut.

"I told the MPs at the gate." Law braced at Duke's scowl while hauling Order to heel.

"Then how did they get inside?" Duke fumed, tucking the logs under his arm before stalking forward towards the reporter with his free arm extended and his hand palm side out in an attempt to block the camera. "Shut those cameras off! Seize the film!" Duke barked at the MPs chasing the reporter and his camera crew.

"Sergeant Hauser, Duke, Hector Ramirez of 20 Questions," the reporter introduced himself with a mic leveled to Duke. "What can you tell us about the murder that took place here, yesterday?"

"No comment, Mr. Ramirez." Duke blanched, recalling his last encounter with the man. He absent-mindedly brushed his cheek with the back of his hand.

"Then you can't tell us about the delivery truck found abandoned at the airport?"

"Delivery truck?" Duke flashed a queried look to Law.

"A white laundry truck actually." Ramirez leveled his mic closer. "We have pictures." He snapped his head towards his producer, stepping forward with a file in hand.

"When?" Duke lowered his voice to a dangerous growl, snatching the pictures from the producer's hands.

"Can you tell us anything about yesterday's incident?" Ramirez raised a brow, watching Duke flipping through the stack of pictures quickly before shoving the file under his arm beneath the logs.

"I can tell you this much," Duke said with a scowl, pushing the mic to the side with his free hand, "your team has interfered with a criminal investigation, jeopardizing national security. So, Mr. Ramirez unless you want to spend some time preparing your memoirs from behind the bars of a six by eight cell, I suggest you hand over all your information now."

"But?"

"But nothing, you there," Duke summoned two MPs closer. "Show Mr. Ramirez to the brig."

"Wait...wait...you can't do this. Freedom of the press!" Ramirez flinched back, avoiding the soldiers.

"ORDER!" Law snapped, pointing towards Ramirez. The german sherpard sprang forth, baring his teeth as he blocked the reporter's retreat.

"N-nice doggy." Ramirez cringed back, raising his shaking hands. "Call him off! We'll give you the tapes!"

"That's more like it." Duke smirked, snatching the proffered tape from the cameraman. "Now, Mr. Ramirez, why don't you come inside and we'll discuss what you've learned?" He slapped the man on the shoulder, leading him towards his temporary office.

"You know I'll get you back for this," Ramirez muttered under his breath.

"Me? I doubt that." Duke shrugged, pulling the door open.

"Really?"

"Yep, especially if you cooperate, I'll make sure you get the exclusive once the report's released." Duke nodded, taking a seat opposite Ramirez. He noticed Ramirez taking the bait. The man's mind was salivating at the possible awards he could earn with an exclusive.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Ramirez grinned, settling himself comfortably in his chair. "I'll call my producer and have her pull everything for you, Duke."

"That would be much appreciated." Duke grinned back as he thought, "I've got you just where I want you."