OUTSKIRTS OF TABRIZ

Nightfall in the desert is cold and dark, and Paree's shack offered little protection from the former, nor much to illuminate the latter. Jamie shivered as she began to remove the chador. There was no more need to preserve the illusion it provided. At this point, the fabric was in the way. She folded the chador and left in on Paree's bedroll. Jamie adjusted the equipment in the pockets of her black cargo pants, and once again pulled out her radio.

Snow White, this is Dopey, do you copy?

The air remained silent.

Snow White, where the hell are you?

Dopey, this is Doc.....boy am I glad to hear your voice.

Jamie recognized Rudy's voice and smiled, Hello there, Doc, it's nice to hear you too.

Rudy's timbre held a tint of reproach in it, We've been worried sick, you know.

I couldn't get reception until now, don't know why. Where's Snow White, is he okay?

There was a slight hesitation before Rudy answered, He's....not available at the moment.

Not available? Rudy was a terrible liar. Something was up.....

Rudy, what's going on?

Nothing. Really. Listen, I'm going to pass you to Russ, he has information for you.

Jamie's brow crinkled: where was Oscar?

Russ' voice was as always, calm and matter-of-fact, Here's the dope, Dopey.....we need to move the rendezvous time up to midnight. Do you copy that?

Jamie sighed, Yeah, I copy it, but I don't like it.



No, I'll make it work. Somehow. It wasn't like I had the luxury of time before.....why the change?

We just want to get you out of there sooner, that's all.

Something was definitely wrong.

Russ....what's going on? Where's Oscar?

He's just not here at the moment, nothing to worry about. And Jamie, whatever you do, bring back the files with Gillespie's notes. You'd better get going. Base out.

The radio went silent, and Jamie's heart leapt into her throat. Something onerous had to have happened, and they weren't telling her. Her mind began to race with the possibilities, none of them pleasant. She put the radio away and quickly headed out toward the city. The least she could do was complete the mission. The sooner she could get out, the sooner she would know what was going on in Washington.

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

OSCAR's OFFICE
WASHINGTON D.C.

Do you think she knows?

How could she?

Rudy pursed his lips together, Keep me posted. I want to know the minute she's on the plane with the notes.

Don't worry, as soon as she is, I'll have you patched in to her.

Rudy started for the door, but Russ stopped him, How is he?

Not good would be a colossal understatement.

Russ nodded and Rudy left the room.

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

TABRIZ

The streets were much quieter than earlier in the evening. Most people were in for the night, and the few still out and about were in one of the two bars in the city. The moon was somewhat bright, but was about to be covered by clouds drifting toward it through the night sky.

Jamie quickly made her way toward the alleyway behind the café. She glanced around and saw no one, certainly not the diminutive figure observing her from the shadows. In a smooth movement, Jamie bent down low and thrust herself up to the second floor balcony. After clearing the railing, Jamie pulled the knob off the French doors and quietly entered the back hallway.

It didn't take long to search the second floor. There was nothing but a few rooms containing restaurant supplies. The first floor yielded nothing of interest either, save for an overly ripe banana that Jamie gratefully devoured.

There had to be more, and the only place left to look was the basement. She prayed that the O.S.I. intel had not been faulty. That thought led her to Oscar. The pensive conversations she had with both Russ and Rudy told her that something was wrong. And she hated not knowing. She recalled the last time she had seen Oscar at the airport.....

He stood protectively close to her as they waited for the plane. She could feel the worry emanating from him, and wished she could do something to calm his fears. Jamie reached down and pulled his hand into hers. Oscar looked down at her and squeezed the hand holding his.

Watch yourself over there, you hear me?

Stop worrying, Oscar. I'll be fine.

He turned toward her, placing his hands on her upper arms, Just remember not to make eye contact with anyone, especially the men. Don't call attention to yourself--

--Hey, I'm not a rookie! I've got it wired.

She smiled at him, trying to lighten the mood, but he wasn't buying it.

Jamie ran a hand along the fabric of his jacket lapel, C'mon Oscar, I'll be okay.

He put his arm around her and pulled her close as the plane taxied to within twenty feet of them. Slowly he walked her toward the cargo door as a lieutenant lowered the steps. Jamie felt him suppress a shiver and tightened her arm around his waist.

Relax, chief, I'll get the goods.

He turned her toward him when they reached the steps, holding her closer still, You be careful, babe. Don't take any unnecessary risks. If it gets to rocky, just get the hell out. Understand?



He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, and his lips felt very warm. Jamie pressed her hand against his face, holding his cheek to hers for a moment.

She looked into his eyes, You feel really warm, you okay?

Yeah, I'm fine. Concentrate on the mission, you're going to need all your wits about you for this one.

Jamie turned and stepped up the first two steps, then looked back at him; his eyes looked so sad. She stepped back on the first wrung and kissed his forehead, which felt very hot.

She frowned, concern filling her, but her voice stayed even, I'll see you in a couple of days, Oscar.

Make sure of it, babe.

Jamie shook her head at herself, and moved to the back of the kitchen. If Oscar was ill, Rudy would take care of him; she needed to hold on to that. The faster she found the Gillespie Project, the sooner she could go home. The bolted door was no match for her right arm and in less than a minute, it was open, and she was carefully heading down the pitch black staircase.

There was not so much as a point of light in the stairwell, and somewhere, in the back of her mind, she remembered some bad made for tv movie where the heroine was killed by something living under the stairs. It made her skin crawl. She felt along the wall, and came in contact with a light switch. She flicked it, and the lone light bulb in the center of the room turned on.

There were several lab tables, and a desk in the room, but there was nothing on them. There were file cabinets in the back, and she headed for them. Jamie diligently opened every drawer, but they were all empty. And at that moment, the solitary light bulb in the room decided to cease it's illumination. It flickered and burned out.



Jamie cautiously moved in the direction of the staircase, and heard a crunching sound under her shoe. Instinctively she looked toward the floor, and was greeted with an odd sight: in addition to the bottom of her shoe, footprints too large to be her own, were glowing in the dark. She glanced toward the staircase, and saw the footprints leading out. The eerie green glow gave her a chill, but it also gave her something to follow.

Jamie traced the luminescent tracks out the back of the café, across the alley and a few doors down, where they stopped at a door leading into what appeared to be some kind of warehouse. She looked up into the sky; thank God the moon had fallen behind clouds, or tracking the footprints would have been much harder. Jamie gripped the large padlock on the door and pulled down until the steel let go. She glanced around and saw no one, so she walked through the door, closing it behind her.

The small figure in the shadows waited a moment, and then followed.

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

WASHINGTON HOSPITAL CENTER
O.S.I. WING

He put his arm around her shoulders, in a gesture of comfort, C'mon Callahan, don't cry.

The petite blonde couldn't help it, she wept harder. In response, Rudy gently turned her around and pulled her to him. Callahan buried her face in his chest, and let all her pent up sadness go. After a few minutes, Rudy softly pushed her to an arm's length, and wiped away her tears.

You don't want him to wake up and see this, now do you? Callahan shook her head, and Rudy smiled, Good girl. He placed a light kiss on her forehead, Why don't you go get some sleep?

He shouldn't be alone.

I'll be here with him.

He has no family to be here for him, Rudy.

Hey, we're his family; you, me, Steve and Jamie.

But Steve and Jamie aren't here right now.

Steve's stuck in Seoul for a few more days it's true, but Jamie will be back tomorrow. Callahan looked at him with skepticism, so he reassured her, I promise to stay right here. Go get some sleep.

Peggy nodded, took one more look at the sleeping figure, and quietly slipped out the door. Rudy moved next to the bed, and checked the occupant's vital signs. So far, Oscar was holding his own, but Rudy didn't want to wager how long that was going to last. The moan of distress snapped Wells to attention. He ran a soothing hand across Oscar's brow, noting how hot it was to the touch.

Shhhh....easy now.

His patient was gradually becoming more and more uncomfortable, and his vitals were plummeting further with each passing hour. The lab had produced nothing from the blood sample. Rudy had run every test he could think of, and still he didn't know what the hell was wrong. He could, however, make an educated guess based on the bizarre computer readouts the lab had given him: Dr. Gillespie's mystery germ. It had to be. The genetic map of whatever bug was eating Oscar alive was nothing Rudy had ever seen before. And it was aggressive.

Another groan of discomfort from the bed stung him as if the pain was his own. He dipped a cloth into the basin of cold water on the nearby table, and wiped it across Oscar's forehead and then his face. For the moment, it seemed to help. Rudy dunked the cloth again, and held it to his friend's throat, then lifted his head and placed it on the back of his neck.

Oscar groaned again, and his eyes fluttered,

Rudy sat on the edge of the bed, She's not back yet, Oscar, but we heard from her, and she's okay.



Yeah, I'm here.

It's too hot....

I know.

Rudy pulled the cloth from behind Oscar's neck, wet it again, and put it across his forehead,

Oscar could barely keep his eyes open,

Rudy's voice grew even softer, Close your eyes, go back to sleep. It'll be okay.

A violent coughing spasm gripped Oscar, and Rudy gently held him still. After a minute or so, it was over, leaving Oscar exhausted.

Do you remember anything odd happening to you?

What do you mean?

Did you eat or drink something that tasted funny? Did you smell something that wasn't quite right? Was there anything at all out of the ordinary that you remember in the past twenty-four hours?

No, I.....I don't know.

It could be important, Oscar, think.

He couldn't fight it any longer, Can't Rudy....too tired.

It was hard for Rudy to watch Oscar like this, and he fought back the emotion rising in his throat.

He softly stroked Oscar's forehead, It's okay. Just rest.





Oscar's speech was slightly slurred,



Goldman drifted off to sleep. Wells carefully stood up, so he wouldn't jar the bed, then he bolted for the hallway.

Russ! Go to Oscar's office, and look through his desk. Make sure you're wearing gloves and a mask. I want you to collect any and all envelopes you find, used, new, I don't care.... Put all of them into an airtight, sealed container and bring them here. Have a Hazmat team sweep the office when you're finished. Hurry.

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