While on the trail, each person kept a sharp lookout for anything that might remotely be a trap of any kind.  Donovan took the lead and made the best time he could while still being cautious.  He was focusing his mind on getting the group out as a whole, so each time a certain individual would break his train of thought, he forced himself to push her aside. 

He hated himself for it; he knew she was hurting, but at the moment his priority had to be the entire team.  He had been tempted to ask her what else she was hiding from him, but from the look of hurt that was clearly reflected in her eyes from Jake's accusation, he had known she was not hiding anything. 

He still had no idea who was out to get him or his team.  It could be any number of individuals from A to Z that the team had managed to take down under his command.  It was even more of a possibility that it stemmed from his less than pristine missions in the CIA.

The paired agents kept in close proximity to Donovan and Quinn and Sam brought up the rear.  Giving her side of the path a good once over, Quinn was startled when Sam leaned in and whispered to her.

"See how easily he turns on you?  He thinks you're behind this."

Quinn frowned and shook her head.  "No he doesn't."

"Sure he does.  He didn't defend you at all," Sam insisted.

"Neither did you, if I recall," she snapped back.  "Shut up, Sam."

He placed a comforting arm around her shoulder as they walked.  "Look, just watch your back, Quinny," he whispered.

Quinn nearly tripped over her feet at the use of the nickname she had not heard in many years.  "Please don't call me that, Sam," she asked, staring him in the face

"Sorry," he stammered.  "I still think of you that way from time to time."

"It's okay, just don't do it again, please," she pleaded, turning her attention from him to their surroundings.  "We've lost sight of the others," she informed him.  "We need…"

"Don't worry," he answered.  "We'll catch up quick.  There's something I want to show you…it's right over here," he insisted.

Quinn shook her head and stepped back from him, but his hand shot out quickly, grasping her by the forearm.  "Sam…"

"Just over here, Quinny…"

"Sam, please," she continued as she pulled against his grip while he dragged her forward.  She opened her mouth to yell for Donovan, but was stopped when Sam pulled her arm roughly behind her back and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Scream for him and he dies that much sooner," he threatened.  "Do you understand, Quinny?"  He pulled his hand away when she nodded.

"Stop calling me that, you bastard!"

"Why…you used to like it," he stated blankly.  "Before him, before you left me for him."

"What in the hell are you talking about, Sam?  You never called me Quinny…that was…ohmygod," she trailed off when she saw the unadulterated hatred that was no longer hidden in Sam's eyes.  "Troy…he was the only one who called me that."

"So, you remember me, then?  I was beginning to think you had forgotten…what with giving yourself to the enemy and all," he accused hatefully.  "How could you?  You're nothing more than a whore, Quinny."

She jerked her arm in a futile attempt to release it from Sam's grip.  "Sam, stop this…please," she pleaded. 

"We're here," he announced jubilantly.  "You can call for him now, if you wish.  I won't push you in until he can watch with his own eyes."

Looking down, she saw that she was standing near the edge of a pit that was approximately five feet deep.  At the bottom of the pit, a dozen or more sharply pointed stakes had been pounded into the earth. 

"Scream for him," he ordered through clenched teeth.  "Scream for your lover.  I want him to watch you die."

"No," she whispered, shaking her head.  "I won't help you.  Kill me…go ahead, but I won't help you hurt him."

"You stupid bitch," he snarled.  "All that time, pretending that he was the enemy, when all along you wanted him.  It's disgusting."

She turned, losing her footing momentarily and cried out as Sam pulled her back from the edge. 

Donovan stopped in his tracks when he heard the faint cry from behind them.  Turning, he discovered he was missing two agents.  "Damn it!  When was the last time you saw Sam and Quinn?"

"Just a few minutes ago," Cody answered.  "They were right behind us."


"Backtrack.  Let's find them," Donovan insisted, taking off at a dead run.  It didn't take long to come upon the struggling agents.  Quinn's frightened, but insistent voice was heard well in advance.

"I was wrong, Sam…wrong!  Can you understand that?  I did not want to admit my part in Troy's death; it was easier to blame Donovan and mask my feelings in hatred!"

"Stop lying," Sam growled hatefully.  "You planned it in advance with Donovan…you wanted to leave me there.  But I'm back…and now…you'll pay."

Quinn continued to struggle against his grip.  "Back?  Back…oh Jesus, Sam.  What's happened to you?"

"Get it right, just once before you die, Quinny," he insisted, twisting her arm and turning her to see the arrival of Donovan and his team.  "Tell them all who was behind this.  Tell them who you betrayed."

Her eyes locked onto Donovan's.  "Troy.  Troy Marchant," she stated dejectedly.  "He thinks he's Troy, Frank."

Donovan stepped forward when Sam pushed Quinn closer to the pit's edge.  His stomach churned at the sight of the exposed stakes.  She would never survive a fall into them.  "Don't do it, Troy," he said, playing Sam's mental game.  "If you want revenge, I'm right here."

"You would like that wouldn't you, Donovan," Sam answered smartly.  "Don't think so, bud.  If you want it, it would be in my interest to do the opposite."

"How can you do this?" Quinn spat, kicking out blindly as Sam pulled her back against him, holding her tightly. 

"I don't answer to you," he retorted, his eyes following the movements of the others closely.  Soon they would overtake him; he would have to finish this quickly and it saddened him to know he would only have time to take one of the betrayers.  "It's almost time, Quinny.  Any last words?"

Quinn stilled and stopped her struggles.  Again her eyes found Donovan's.  "Tá grá agam duit," she said proudly.

"Answer her, Donovan!" Sam demanded.

Donovan took a step closer.  Although his eyes never left Quinn's, he knew the members of his team were almost in reach of Sam.  It would take more than one of them to subdue him.  Donovan prayed that Quinn would not be harmed in the struggle.  "I love you, too, beautiful," he answered with a calmness he most decidedly did not feel.

"Very touching," Sam ground out through clenched teeth.  "Time to go, Quinny."  He laughed harshly as he loosened his grip on her long enough to give her a forceful shove. 

Quinn turned sharply as soon as he let her out of his grip.  She latched firmly onto the front of his shirt when he pushed her.  The force of her turn combined with his movements, caused them to spin, sending Sam into the pit backwards.  He released a gurgled cry as he landed on the stakes. 

Donovan called out Quinn's name as she was pulled over with Sam.  He ran toward the edge all the while hearing her painful cry as she landed.  He pulled up short of the edge when his ears were met with silence.  He closed his eyes momentarily before looking over the edge.  He felt the bile rise in his throat at the thought of the sight he would behold.  He couldn't bear losing her, but, there he was, about to look upon her death.

"Damn it! We were almost to him," Cody cried, dropping to his knees, unable to look over the edge.  Monica and Alex joined him while Jake edged closer to the pit.

Donovan bit back the tears and anger as he lowered himself carefully into the pit.  Blood soaked the ground at his feet and it took all he had in him to keep from vomiting.  He silently damned DeWalt for putting him up to this weekend excursion.  He would rather have lived a thousand unfulfilled lives with the knowledge that Quinn was alive, than one lonely, horrible existence without her in the world. 

He looked down at her prone form.  She had landed face down on top of Sam.  Her long hair blanketed her face, shoulders, and back.  He kneeled down, mindful of the protruding stakes and brushed her hair from her face.  When that slight action elicited a tortured moan from the seemingly lifeless body, he nearly jumped out of his skin.  "Quinn?" he whispered, not quite daring to believe she was alive.

"Oh God, Frank," she cried softly upon opening her eyes and seeing his face.  "It hurts…"

"Shhh…don't talk," he urged while moving her hair away.  A lump formed in his throat at the sight of the stake that had missed impaling her throat by less than an inch.  Getting a better look at the situation, he could see where a stake had entered her left shoulder.  A second stake had barely pierced her right thigh.  She was bleeding profusely, but it appeared as though no vital organs had been hit.  Landing directly on top of Sam had been the only thing that saved her. 

"Jake, Cody…get down here," he yelled forcefully.  "Quinn's alive.  We've got to get the bleeding stopped."

He leaned down and without putting any pressure whatsoever on her, placed a feather light kiss on her temple.  "Stay strong, Quinn.  Moving you is going to hurt like a bitch, but you've got to stay still for us.  Can you do that?"

"I can try," she responded shakily.  "Is Sam…Sam…"

"Yes, Quinn.  I'm sorry…" he whispered as his gaze went Sam.  He reached over and closed the man's lifeless eyes.  He felt like the lowest form of life, not really giving Sam much thought; his only concern was for Quinn.  His heart was doing somersaults because she was alive, but his mind was screaming at him that he needed to get her medical attention…and fast!

"Not your fault," she groaned painfully. 

"Cody, Jake…position yourselves as best as you can to lift her straight off the stakes," he ordered, as he stepped gingerly around the stakes to position himself by her head and shoulders.  He held her by the upper arms while Cody placed his arms under her stomach and Jake under her legs.  "On three," Donovan ordered, receiving a nod from each man.  "One…two…three!"

Quinn released a loud scream as she was lifted upward and freed from the stakes.  No sooner had she been moved away from the stakes than she collapsed unconscious into Donovan's arms.  Monica and Alex hurried to their aid, helping them lift Quinn from the pit and to safety. 

"Pressure bandages from the first aid kit…" Monica yelled fumbling through the few things she had managed to shove into a backpack before they had left the cabin in such haste.

"Thank you, Monica," Donovan said, after she was finished tending to Quinn's wounds.  "Now, let's find that boat and get her to the hospital," he said as he lifted Quinn into his arms.

"We still need to be careful," Jake stated, as they resumed their trek to find the boathouse.  "No telling what traps are out here that we don't know about."

"You're right, Jake," Donovan acknowledged, shifting Quinn slightly in his arms.  Inwardly, he grimaced.  He could see she was still bleeding badly.  They needed to get her to safety quickly. 

Fifteen minutes and a blood-soaked shirt later, Donovan spotted the boathouse.  "Break it down," Donovan ordered, seeing the large padlock on the doors.

Jake nodded and proceeded to kick the door in after a few tries. 

"I'll do the driving!" Alex yelled, hopping into the boat. 

"Alex, do you know where you're going?" Cody asked as she started the engine.

"Well, south sounds like a plan," she answered.

"Yes, head south," Donovan ordered.  "And no screwing around.  The bleeding hasn't stopped in Quinn's thigh.  I'm worried the stake hit an artery," he informed them as he settled in the back of the boat and cradled her on his lap.  As he looked into her unconscious face, he noticed how pale she was and her skin was becoming cold and clammy.  "Jake, check the compartments, look for a blanket."

As Jake, Monica, and Cody scoured the boat looking for something to cover Quinn with, Alex sped them along the river heading toward civilization.  After finding a thin blanket in one of the compartments, Jake switched on the boat's radio and called for help.  Reaching the local police, he was informed that they should encounter a public landing within fifteen minutes and the police would be waiting for them along with an ambulance to take Quinn to the hospital.

Donovan saw the landing come into view.  The flashing lights of the police vehicles and ambulance were easy to see in the distance.  He shifted Quinn slightly to prepare moving her from the boat onto land and heard her weak groan. 

"We're almost there, beautiful.  Hang on," he urged, looking into her barely alert eyes.

"Cold…so cold," she whispered, shuddering violently. 

He held her tightly and kissed her temple softly as Alex pulled the boat alongside the dock.  He watched as several men ran toward them, readying themselves to help transport Quinn to the ambulance.  "Stay strong, Quinn.  Don't leave me," he whispered into her ear.  "I can't lose you again."

"I love you," was the last thing he heard before she slipped back into unconsciousness and was taken from his arms and hurried to the ambulance. 

~*~

Epilogue to follow…