Disclaimer: The usual blather

Begging: Please let me know what you think and if you've already replied thanks. It means a lot.

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One of Those Days

Part VIII

~Devil's Ghost~

Elizabeth never knew Jason could move so quickly. One minute she was standing behind him looking in the direction the voices were coming from, and the next she found herself crouching in a stand of bushes on the far side of the waterfall. He had been, quite simply, nothing but a blur. A blur which was now crouched directly in front of her, peering though the bushes and blocking her view.

In an effort to see around Jason she changed positions, earning herself a glare in response. A glare she promptly ignored and kept shifting as quietly as possible in order to see. She wasn't about to be left out of anything. Jason apparently knew better than to argue because he shifted his focus back towards the clearing.

Elizabeth finally found a spot that allowed her an opening to view the clearing. That it happened to be pressed so close to Jason's left side that she was leaning against him, was all the better for her. Keeping her expression bland she ordered her breathing to settle and focused on the area next to the pool just in time.

Her eyes widened as first one man came out of the bush, followed quickly by another. She should have been thrilled to see other people on this until now deserted island. And she would have been except for one small detail. Both men were armed with guns very similar to what Scarman had pointed at her the day before.

Life on this particular island had just gotten a hell of a lot more interesting.

~Port Charles Underground Lab~

Nikolas made yet another turn in the labyrinth like maze of the building, trying desperately to make sense of the conversation he'd just overheard. The thought of his father being alive, much less walking around, was incomprehensible to him a day ago, was now looking true. Two more right turns and he would know for sure. The question of what he would do if Stavros wasn't in his glass coffin occurred to him but that was as far as it went. The man that was his father just couldn't be alive.

Hesitating outside the door that led to the chamber that should hold his father, he found he didn't want to open the door and find out. As long as he didn't know for sure, he could still cling to a belief that he still harbored down deep in his heart, a belief that his father was not the cold-hearted monster that everyone but Helena made him out to be. Was it so wrong, he wondered, to want to believe that there was a small part of good in the man who had helped to create him?

As a child Stefan had helped foster the belief somewhat. He didn't know why, Stefan certainly had no love for his brother. Perhaps it was because of the way he had been raised, Nikolas didn't know for sure. But for whatever reason Stefan had let him believe that Stavros wasn't a monster. It wasn't until he was older, when his mother had come back in his life, that Nikolas had begun to learn the truth about Stavros. He thought he'd banished the hope that his father wasn't a monster years ago. But now faced with the closed door he realized he'd only buried the hope deep in his heart.

Realizing he could stall no more Nikolas slowly pushed the door open. The room was pitch black, remaining in the doorway his hand fumbled for the light switch on the wall. The harsh fluorescent lighting flooded the room, stinging his eyes, causing him to blink. Clearing the spots from his eyes, he focused on the empty glass coffin. It seemed the monster was in fact back, and on the loose.

~Devil's Ghost~

It was times like this that Elizabeth cursed the fact she had been more interested in staring at Lucky Spencer then she'd been in listening to her Spanish teacher. She'd come out of Spanish with an even deeper crush on Lucky and a D in the course. Her limited vocabulary consisted of asking where a bathroom and a telephone was. Both phrases did her little good at the moment.

Frick and Frack as she'd dubbed the newcomers, were carrying on a conversation in such rapid fire Spanish that all she could do was stare. Judging from the sudden increase in tension in the man next to her, she realized Jason was having no such language problems. And whatever it was he was hearing he didn't like it. Her eyes widened when she realized Jason had his knife open and clutched firmly in his right hand.

Clutching his arm hard until he looked at her she gestured to the knife and shook her head. Narrowing his eyes he purposefully turned back to Frick and Frack. What was with this sudden suicidal need to attack things with a knife? First he wanted to go after a snake and now it looked like he was ready to attack two men who were armed to the teeth. She had been right when she called him an idiot. Swallowing a curse that would do no good, she determinedly worked two fingers through the belt loop of his jeans and kept them there. He wasn't going anywhere.

Jason moved closer to the edge of the bushes and she instinctively yanked him back, by tugging hard on the belt loop. When he didn't even turn to look at her she knew they were in trouble, and she shifted her attention to see what was going on. "Frick" had found her shirtsleeve and was holding it, both of them took a sudden interest in their surroundings. Elizabeth didn't have to speak Spanish to understand that this wasn't a good development. Her suspicions were only confirmed when "Frack" pulled a knob on his gun locking it into firing position.

She couldn't help but jolt when she felt Jason's breath on her face, then his lips against her ear. "Get ready to run. When I say I want you to go out the other side of the bushes and don't stop until I tell you."

Elizabeth shook her head and pointed at him.

He didn't have time to fight with her about this. "I mean it you run when I tell you," he reiterated the order.

Determination settled on her face and Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak. Moving quickly Jason pressed a finger to her lips quieting her. Elizabeth drew back and turned until she could whisper in his ear. "I'm not leaving you."

In spite of himself Jason began to get angry. "You'll go when I tell you too."

Narrowing her eyes she shot back. "Why? So you can be slaughtered when you foolishly attack two armed men with a lousy pocketknife? I don't think so."

"Elizabeth I know what I'm doing."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at that statement causing him to glower at her. "Then why have I been saving your ass left and right for the last day? Remember the redhead? The plane? The snake?" She hissed.

The mere fact that their argument was being held in heated whispers into the other's ears didn't lessen the impact of the words. Neither one budging an inch. Their next volley of barbs was stalled when Frick and Frack caught their attention again.

Frick had unearthed a radio and was reporting his find to someone on the other end. Jason shifted again until he was shielding Elizabeth as Frack moved closer to them to investigate. Elizabeth searched the ground looking for anything she could use as a weapon. All she could come up with was a flat rock about the size of her hand. Between her rock and Jason's knife they were in a world of trouble.

Jason barely breathed as he watched the man poke his gun into a bush a few feet away, lifting the branches in an effort to see in the dense undergrowth. This wasn't looking good. If it was just him he might have taken the risk and tried to disarm the man before he was discovered. It would be risky but with the element of surprise he might be able to take him. But he wasn't alone, the body heat against his back reminded him of Elizabeth's presence, as if he could forget her.

There was no way he was going to do anything stupid, no matter what she may think, not while she was with him. He wasn't about to put her in any more danger than she was already in. So that left him between a rock and a hard place. Preparing himself he shifted his grip on the knife in his hand. Their only option, as he saw it, was to wait until the man decided to explore this bush. When he did, Jason would stick him with the knife, grab the gun, Elizabeth, and hopefully be out the back of the bushes before his partner knew what had happened.

He didn't particularly like that scenario but it was the only option he could come up with. If they tried to sneak out the bushes, they would be heard, so they had to attack first then run. Taking a chance he risked a look back at Elizabeth, she caught his eye and angled her head closer. "Be ready."

Nodding she rested her hand on his back, feeling the tense muscles there. She knew he would be even tighter when he was ready to move and figured every little bit of notice would help. Unconsciously she slowed her breathing until it matched his, and shifted quietly until she was crouching behind him mimicking his pose, her hand never leaving his back.

In spite of Sonny's influence, he had never prayed very much. The last time he remembered doing so was when he had found Michael, safe in cabin. But he was praying now. The man came to a halt directly in front of him, and the tip of the gun began to lift the branch in front of Jason. His mind cleared, and a familiar calm descended upon him. He knew what he had to do, and was more than capable of doing it. Just a little closer and it would be time to strike, just a little…

Abruptly the gun withdrew, then so too did the man, as his partner barked out an order. Another rapid-fire conversation took place as the man continued walking away to join his partner by the water. Narrowing his eyes in speculation Jason concentrated on the conversation of the two men. He didn't let himself take a deep breath until both men turned around and began walking out of the clearing.

Hidden by Jason, Elizabeth had no idea what was going on, but when Jason moved forward she was right on his tail. Stepping out of the bushes Jason brushed the sweat off his brow, taking a final look in the far direction, before turning to face Elizabeth. A reluctant smile crossed his features when he saw her expression. "What were you going to do with that?" Jason whispered gesturing to the rock in her hand.

"Knock you out if you tried anything stupid like attacking," Elizabeth whispered back.

Again he couldn't help the smile.

"What happened?" Unsure of what was going on Elizabeth kept her voice low and looked around.

"Someone found something on another part of the island, they were ordered to check it out," Jason explained. "We have to follow them."

Her eyes went wide at that pronouncement and she immediately shook her head.

"Elizabeth I know where we are now," stepping closer he took the rock from her hand. "We need to get off this island as soon as we can, and we can't let anybody see us."

"Is it that bad?"

"Yes," he hadn't lied to her before and wasn't about to start now. "Those men can lead us to a compound, there we can get a boat or possibly a plane. But either way they know a way out of here."

Sighing Elizabeth studied their clasped hands, what he said made sense, but she couldn't help but remember the guns the men had carried. The sight of the men and the guns were bringing up memories she didn't want to deal with, but she knew he was right.

"Elizabeth do you trust me?"

"Of course," her response was immediate and her focus returned to his face.

"We have to do this," Jason informed her softly.

"We'll stay together right? You won't try to send me away or go off on your own will you?" She hated asking for reassurance but needed to hear it.

Unsure of where the sudden doubt she was exhibiting was coming from, Jason took time they didn't have and reassured her. "I would never leave you alone in this situation. Especially not now that I know where we are. I promise you I won't leave you alone." Giving into temptation he caressed the softness of her cheek. "If I tell you to run I will be on your heels, I promise."

A promise from Jason was more then she'd hoped for and more than enough reassurance. "Then we better go before we lose Frick and Frack."

Blinking at the names she said, Jason turned, his hand automatically taking hers to lead the way.

~Beach~

"Wasn't it thoughtful of someone to leave this fully gassed up jeep for us to use?" Hawk asked shooting a cheeky grin in his boss's direction.

Jessica merely tightened the scarf in her hair. "I'll be impressed when you can get it started hotshot."

"Oh ye of little faith." Sticking his head under the hood he began to fiddle with the engine.

"So what does this do to your theory of the island being haunted?" Pulling the gun from her shoulder holster, she popped the cartridge free to check the load. Even though she had loaded the darts herself, she was professional enough to check her weapon, often.

"Who says ghosts can't be mechanized?"

"Hawk it's a Hummer, fully loaded with bullet holes in the chassis, somehow I think the only ghosts we're going to find on this island are the kinds with guns and a drug problem."

The engine roared to life and Hawk slammed the hood closed. "It's going to make for an interesting hunt don't you think?" Grinning he jumped in the driver's seat next to her. "Who will retrieve the prey? The dopers or us?"

Lowering her sunglasses Jessica aimed a cool look in his direction. "Sometimes Hawk you really do worry me."

"That's a good thing to hear." Hawk leaned closer until their faces were inches apart. "Because you scare the hell out of me all the time."

~Warehouse~

Not caring who saw him, Nikolas Cassadine burst into the Corinthos/Morgan coffee warehouse, and made a beeline for the offices in the back. He came to an abrupt halt just before he ran into a mountain of a man, whose hands were the size of his head. "Can I help you?" The gravel voice that rolled out of the mountain certainly fit.

"I need to see Sonny."

"Mr. Corinthos isn't in," came the reply.

"Where is he?" Nikolas demanded answers and the mountain refused to reply. Having neither the time nor the inclination to be intimidated he moved closer and lowered his voice. "I need to see him now, I have information concerning Jason."

A spark of interest flickered in the mountain man's eyes yet his expression never changed. "Give me the message I'll make sure it gets to Mr. Corinthos."

"No, I'll tell Sonny, but only Sonny," Nikolas backed off the step and waited.

"You might want to rethink that."

Smiling coldly Nikolas went on. "And you might want to rethink your position. What will you do if Jason dies and Sonny finds out you wouldn't let me help him?" It was a gamble, the man before him could probably break him in two. He'd had some martial arts training but wasn't stupid, there was no way he could take the mountain physically, but he could take him mentally. The longer the mountain took to make up his mind the more confident he became.

"Wait here," the mountain said finally before moving down the hall to make a call.

Nikolas swallowed his sigh of relief. It wouldn't be good to look too relieved, he hadn't seen Sonny yet. He was determined to remain strong, and he wasn't leaving until he got some information from Sonny Corinthos. That information was Elizabeth's precise location. If Stavros was going after her there was no way he was going to rely on Sonny to help her. Sometime during the trip from the lab to the warehouse he'd come to the unsettling realization that he would have trusted Jason with Elizabeth's safety. But Jason was missing and he knew, in spite of what Sonny might say to the contrary, that his main concern was finding Jason, not Elizabeth. Whereas, Elizabeth was his primary concern.

"Come with me."

Nikolas jolted at the terse order. For such a big man, he could move softly when he wanted too. Nodding Nikolas followed the mountain out of the warehouse.

~Trail~

Elizabeth had never noticed just how loud a person really became when they were making a conscious effort to be quiet. The more she scanned the ground for noisy twigs, the more she seemed to find that she couldn't avoid them. Jason, she couldn't help but notice, seemed to have no such problems. He was moving as smoothly and quietly as always, every movement the picture of control. Envy was such a pithy emotion, yet she couldn't help but wallow in it at the moment.

Jason set a pace that kept them well back and out of sight of Frick and Frack. At first she'd been concerned that they would lose them, yet quickly realized her fears were misplaced. Frick and Frack had a smoking problem, and whatever it was they were lighting up wafted to them on the breeze every now and then. And even though the smoke was diluted by dozens of yards it was still powerful enough to give her a headrush. Already feeling off-balanced the exposure to the obviously laced pot wasn't something she enjoyed.

"Are you okay?" Jason couldn't keep the question in any longer. Although she had kept pace easily enough her color had steadily decreased until she appeared almost waxy.

Startled at the quiet question for a second all she could do was blink at him. "I'm fine."

Jason noted the way her eyes slid away from his when she answered the question and his stomach clenched in concern. If she fell ill he didn't know what he could do to help her. "You need to be honest with me."

Looking pointedly over his shoulder in the direction of Frick and Frack she avoided his plea. "Shouldn't we be going? We don't want to lose them."

Refusing to budge Jason merely crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

She tried to remain strong, she really did, but she'd never been able to refuse him, when he looked at her like that. And he was right, they needed to be honest with each other. So she would be honest at least to a point. "The smoke it's making me dizzy. I already had a headache because of our less than filling snack earlier, so I guess my equilibrium is a little off."

Concerned Jason placed a hand on her forehead to check for a fever. "You don't feel hot."

If he kept his hand there and kept looking at her like that she soon would be. "I'll be fine."

Studying her eyes he had the feeling she wasn't telling him everything, but he decided to let it go. He'd keep an even closer eye on her and had to trust that she would tell him if she started feeling worse.

Uncomfortable with his scrutiny Elizabeth stepped back then around him. "We better go." Knowing he'd follow she began moving down the path.

~Airport~

"Max says you have something to tell me." Sonny barely waited for Nikolas to enter the private room in the terminal before he pounced.

So the mountain had a name. Mt. Max, somehow it fit him. Shaking off his thoughts, he focused on the mobster. Sonny was a different person then Max. He was going to need to be at the top of his game if he wanted to get the information he needed. "I found out something you need to hear."

"It must be pretty big if you were willing to risk being seen by hunting me down. You do realize that Helena shouldn't know we're speaking," Sonny reminded the younger man.

"At this point I don't much care what Helena knows," Nikolas shot back. "In fact she probably already knows."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that there is good reason to believe that Helena not only knows Elizabeth is alive, she'd already sent someone after her to kill her," Nikolas explained briefly.

The only change in Sonny's expression was his eyes, if possible they grew even colder. "Who?"

"My father."

~Beach~

"You know somehow I thought the island would be bigger," Manny commented.

Francis merely threw a bag at him and clambered off the boat.

"So which way oh wise one?" Manny asked after another minute of study.

"Inland, there's a compound about 5 miles in." Francis shouldered his backpack and began leading the way.

"Won't Jason hug the coastline looking for a boat?" Manny asked what he thought was a logical question. Francis was so convinced that Jason was the one that had survived that Manny was trying to put himself in Jason's shoes.

"No," Francis kept his answer brief. It didn't work.

"Why?"

"Once Jason figures out what island he's on, he'll know to move inland to stay out of sight. Speaking of staying out of sight we better move before Dominguez's welcoming crew arrives," Francis answered.

"How do you know we've been spotted?"

"Because he has lookouts posted around the island," Francis snapped. "Jesus Manny you know he has a major drug factory here. You think he doesn't keep track of who lands here? Hell they cover the airstrip until they want to use it, so there are no unauthorized landings."

Manny moved quickly to catch up with his friend. "How do you know so much about this island?"

"Once upon a time I lived here. Now shut up and come on."

The longer the day went on the more he found out about Francis. Another thought occurred to him and he hurried to catch up. "So you'd know what kind of animals they have here? What are they? Tigers, lions, leopards? Oh I know cheetahs."

Rubbing a hand wearily over his face Francis couldn't help but wish for Johnny. At least he knew when to shut up.

~Jeep~

"Are you sure this is a road?" Jessica demanded.

"Sure. Can't you tell by the ruts?" Hawk answered glibly, even though it did feel like his teeth were about to be shaken loose of his jaw. Triple A would never approve this road.

Deciding it wasn't worth the effort to glare at him, Jessica focused on the only map they had of Devil's Ghost. To say it was crude was putting it mildly. Other than the highest and lowest point and the length and width of the island there was precious little else on the map. At this rate it was going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack. And this time the needle would be aware she was coming. She'd lost the element of surprise with Jason Morgan and she didn't like that. Catching Morgan off-guard had been key in her earlier capture of Morgan. It was a whole different ballgame now that he knew someone was targeting him.

Added to that was the unpredictability of their location. She liked to have all the information necessary before moving on a target. That required research, a lot of it. She hadn't had time to research this island and she'd already discovered something she didn't like. A jeep in this condition in the middle of nowhere could only mean one thing. There were drug runners on the island and that raised the stakes considerably.

"Want to turn back?" Hawk asked suddenly. He knew his boss better than most, and he knew she didn't like rushing into places unless she already had 5 exits in her pocket.

"And give up a bounty?" She glanced in his general direction. "I never quit. Nor do I fail, I still have two days to bring this bounty in and I intend to deliver."

"Just checking, you seem kind of green," Hawk teased.

"Between your driving and your company, it's a wonder I'm upright," Jessica taunted icily.

"Darling you love me, you know you do," grinning rakishly at her he waited until she lowered her shades before winking.

"Keep your eyes on what you call a road or I'll leave you here to rot Hawk," she shot back refusing the impulse to smile.

~Trail~

Exercise must be good for her because she no longer felt nauseous or lightheaded. She must be looking better as well because Jason wasn't looking at her near as often as he had been. But he still had hold of her hand and she liked the feeling too much to let go, even though a part of her knew she should. His rejection of her at the snake pit was still fresh in her mind and in her heart, but even that pain wasn't enough to make her stay away from him. She needed to face the truth here, she'd get as close to Jason as he'd let her get.

"I remember the redhead shooting me, and the next thing I remember is waking up on this island. You said we were on a plane. How did that happen?" Jason posed the question out of nowhere and judging from the way she tensed up, he'd caught her off-guard, which had been his intention.

Carefully choosing her words, Elizabeth answered. "After you were shot, these men in a car showed up, they threw you in the trunk, and headed for the airport.

"You were in the house right?" He saw her nod from the corner of his eyes. "So how did you get to the airport?"

Dropping his hand Elizabeth nervously ran a hand through her hair. "I don't think that matters now. Who cares how we got here. The important thing is the fact we are here, and now, we need to figure out a way out of here."

Increasing his pace to keep up with a decidedly nervous Elizabeth he decided to keep the pressure up. "Did they snatch you out of the house? I need to know if they were only after me or if they wanted you too. It may be the only way to figure out who was behind this."

His brand of logic was difficult to ignore and she had to admit he had a right to the information. "No they didn't grab me. I followed them to the airport. Honestly I don't think they even knew I was with you. The redhead said she had a bounty on you, but in order to collect it you had to be alive upon delivery. Sca…" Elizabeth stopped abruptly she didn't want to talk about him.

Jason noticed her sudden agitation and the way she began to rub her temple. Something she'd said or almost said had spooked her and he was determined to find out what. "How did you get to the airport?"

It was a testament to her agitation that Elizabeth just blurted out the answer, without thinking of the consequences. "I took your bike." When he stilled beside her, those consequences crashed into her full force.

"You what?" Jason asked quietly hoping he'd misheard her.

"I didn't have a choice. They were getting away. They were taking you away from me and I couldn't let that happen. If I'd taken the time to go inside and call Sonny you would have been long gone. So when I saw your bike I took it," she explained quickly.

"And let me tell you, you were concerned about nothing. I had no problems whatsoever in handling the bike." She deliberately blocked out the screams of the nun she'd almost run over, not to mention the curses from the ice cream vendor she'd side-swiped. And she firmly banished the final image of his bike from her mind. Wedging the bike so hard between a concrete wall and a trash bin that it was stuck upright probably wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever done, but she wasn't stupid enough to admit to Jason what had happened.

"Do you realize you could have wrecked? That you could have been hurt or even worse killed?" Jason demanded. Again the unfamiliar mix of anger over the risks she had taken and fear over what could have happened to her mixed inside of him until they were unleashed on an unsuspecting Elizabeth, who was refusing to be intimidated.

"Jason it's yesterday's news, literally. So let it go," Elizabeth snapped. "We better catch up with Frick and Frack."

"To hell with Frick and Frack. How could you be so careless with your life?"

Angered Elizabeth turned to face him. "I was careless as you so cavalierly put it, because I was afraid you were going to die. Why can't you get that through your thick head? Everything I've done in the past 24 hours has been in an effort to save your life."

"Elizabeth lower your voice," Jason warned her.

"No you need to hear this." Anger overrode her common sense and as a result her mouth ran ahead of her brain. "Everything I did, from stealing your bike, to sneaking on the plane, to shooting and fighting with Scarman, to jumping out of the airplane wrapped around you, to the snake pit. Everything I've done has been to help you, and I won't listen to you condemn me for it, especially when I know that if the situations were reversed you would have done the same for me."

"Who is Scarman?"

Elizabeth staggered back at the question. She hadn't meant to let that slip. Unbidden the sound of the crunch of his nose breaking as she kicked him, came to her, followed by the memory of his eyes as he realized he was falling. Horrified by the images her stomach rolled and her head began to throb.

Jason reached out for her when she began to shake, but she stepped quickly out of reach.

"He doesn't matter. Frick and Frack matter, we need to find them," desperate to get away from his question she turned and began to jog in the direction she'd last seen the pair.

Upset at himself for pushing her too hard, and concerned because he couldn't call after her, Jason put on a burst of speed and caught her right as she entered a clearing. Both of them came to an abrupt halt at the sight of Frick and Frack who were standing about 10 feet away from them. Frick had his back to them, while he seemingly pissed in the wind. But Frack was looking right at them.

Jason never even hesitated. Turning quickly, he grabbed Elizabeth's hand and tugged hard, propelling them back in the direction they'd just come from. They managed to reach the relative safety of the tree line when the first volley of bullets hit the ground behind them.

~Jeep~

"Stop the jeep," Jessica ordered.

"What?" Hawk obliged immediately.

"Be quiet and listen," she snapped.

Hawk was about to speak when he heard the distinctive sounds of gunfire coming from somewhere left of their position. "There was a fork in the road about a ¼ mile back." He put the jeep in gear trying to maneuver a sharp turn in the narrow roadway.

"Hurry up," Jessica hissed. She only got paid if the bounty was alive.

~Trail~

"Could you get a fix on what direction the shots came from?" An out of breath Manny asked when Francis paused in their run.

"I think they came from West of here. There's an old bush trail in that area, it could be coming from there." Francis took off leaving Manny to catch up if he could.

~Bushes~

Elizabeth's sides were killing her, and her lungs felt aflame. She'd once considered herself in reasonably good shape, but she wasn't, not really. Even the prospect of being shot wasn't going to be able to motivate her for very much longer.

"Come on Elizabeth," Jason urged from her side. She was tiring badly, he could see it, but they hadn't lost their pursuers yet.

Biting her lip Elizabeth forced herself to go on. Judging from the burning she felt in her throat, she didn't have much left, and at that moment down she went. Jason pulled her back to her feet in a minute. She was even too tired to jolt when a bullet hit the ground she'd just been sitting on.

"Run." Jason yelled, yanking on her arm to propel her in motion.

Running was one thing she knew how to do above anything else. But she had a feeling running wasn't going to get her anywhere, not this time.

~Jeep~

"Watch out." Jessica's warning came the same time the glass windshield exploded.

"Christ." Hawk fought to maintain control of the jeep as another volley of bullets cascaded down on the jeep. Whoever was shooting at them had high ground cover. That meant they were screwed.

~Bushes~

Elizabeth fell for the fourth time, or was it the fifth? She didn't remember or care. She only knew that this time she didn't think she was going to be able to get up. Gunmen or no, she was spent.

"Get up," Jason was breathing hard and his lungs were beginning to burn. "We need to keep going," already he could hear the nearing pursuit of their chasers.

"I can't go on," Elizabeth gasped out the words. "I'll hide, you go."

"No," yanking her to her feet he ignored her scream of pain. "Where you go I go that's the promise I made."

"Jason," she weakly tried to argue. But Jason would have none of it. He took off again, this time he was half carrying, half dragging her, but he didn't seem to notice.

Compelled by his determination Elizabeth dug deep, finding her last vestige of strength she began to move under her own power again.

~Trail~

"Christ that's a lot of gunfire," Manny was bent over at the waist trying to catch his breath yet he still felt compelled to speak. He simply had too. "Francis?"

Frowning he looked around for the man who should have been right in front of him. He'd taken one step forward when he heard the sound of a gun cocking from directly behind him. Next he felt the cold steel of the weapon at the base of his neck. "Shit."

~Cliff~

"Now what? It's a dead end." Fully exhausted Elizabeth sank to her knees at the edge of the cliff. "We're trapped."

Jason looked right, then left. They were on some sort of cliff face, and the sides were too steep to climb down. Looking back the way they came he could already hear Frick and Frack closing fast. She was right they were trapped.

Moving to the edge he looked over the edge into the rapids below. The drop was about 50 feet. "Get up." This time he was gentle as he pulled her to her feet, but gentle or not he was determined.

Leaning heavily against him Elizabeth raised her head. "Now what?"

"We have to jump."

Sure that she'd heard him wrong she merely stared.

"It's our only option," he led her away from the edge before she had a chance to see just how big of a jump he was talking about.

"Are you insane Jason? I've already tempted fate by jumping out of a plane with no parachute. I think I might be pushing my luck if I try cliff diving."

"We're not going to dive, we're going to jump, feet first," Jason explained calmly. "And this time I won't be unconscious, I'll be with you every step of the way."

"Jason," closing her eyes she tried to swallow her fear. "Are you sure there isn't another way?"

"I'm sorry Elizabeth. Either we stay here and get captured, or worse shot, or we jump," he explained honestly. "The choice is yours. I'll do what you say."

Looking in his eyes she realized he would do just that. If she said she wouldn't jump, he wouldn't either. Instead he would probably attack Frick and Frack to they couldn't hurt her. And in doing so he'd probably get killed. "You'll be with me?" She asked shakily.

"I'll be right behind you," Jason vowed. The sounds of crashing through the underbrush were getting louder and he knew they were almost out of time. "What's it going to be Elizabeth?"

"I guess we jump."

Before she could change her mind Jason shifted her position until she was facing the edge. "I want you to run as hard as you can and at the last second jump. Try to keep your feet together. When you hit the water, start kicking for the surface. There's probably a cave at the base of the cliff head right for it and wait for me."

"What? Wait for you? Where are you going to be?" Elizabeth demanded.

"Right behind you, I already told you, where you go I go." Leaning forward he kissed her briefly. "Now run."

Obeying his order automatically Elizabeth took off nearing the edge she couldn't help but scream as she pushed off into nothing. She was free falling all over again.

Jason waited for her to jump before he took off after her. He was about 3 feet from the edge when someone hit him in the middle of the back pinning him to the ground.

~Splash Down~

Elizabeth hit the water hard, harder than she had the day before. Like her last time in the water, for a second she was too stunned to do anything but drown. But remembering Jason's words she began to kick her way to the surface and the daylight.

At least that was what she tried to do. But when she went to kick she felt something latch around her ankle holding her in place. Startled Elizabeth kicked again, and all she managed to do was entangle her other leg as well.

Feeling desperate she began to thrash about in the water, trying to kick herself free. Whatever was holding her responded by wrapping itself tighter around her legs. What breath she had left came out of her as panic began to over take her, and a steady stream of bubbles made it's way to the surface. Trying to calm herself she tried to relax. She didn't need to worry, Jason would be here soon. He'd free her. After all he promised. And Jason always kept his promises.