Babble: Well it is now official, you are as caught up as me with this story, since the next chapter has yet to be written. So please let me know what you think should happen next.
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One of Those Days
Part X
~Water~
Jason dove under the surface repeatedly, always searching, and always, in the end, coming up empty. Feeling the ache settle in his muscles, the pain in his sides every time he tried to take a breath, indicated he would soon begin to hyperventilate, yet he still couldn't stop looking. If he stopped looking then he would have to admit something that was incomprehensible to him.
That Elizabeth was dead.
Down he went again, searching the rocks that littered the bottom of the water, and still he found nothing. Surfacing again Jason turned shadowed eyes on the clear blue sky above him. A faint breeze rippled the water brushing his face. His fists were clenched and were desperate to unload on someone, anyone. Anything to stop the pain and fear he was feeling.
Readying himself to dive again Jason stopped abruptly when a faint sound reached his ear. Kicking his feet to remain above water he listened hard desperate to hear it again so he could pinpoint the origin. The wind changed and sound drifted to him again.
He'd always been a literal man. He'd had to be. He rarely dreamed, he didn't have the capability or patience to imagine. He believed in what he could see, what he could feel, that was what was real to him. Faith was not a concept that had much play in his life. But at that moment he made himself believe.
Surging forward, his strong arms and powerful kick propelled him quickly through the water. Moving with the weak current Jason moved out from beneath the base of the cliff and the slight pooling of water that had formed a mini-lake and moved out into the river. Realistically he knew that the current was much too weak to have pulled Elizabeth from the mini-lake into the faster moving river. Even if she had been unconscious it was unlikely that she could have been carried that far.
But that unfamiliar emotion called faith had him by the throat and he was willing to trust enough to believe that, that was what had occurred. Keeping his strokes steady he moved into the current chasing the elusive noise that filtered to him on the wind.
~Fire Trail~
Jessica's breathing was nice and easy her body relaxed, giving every illusion of being dead to the world, it was a perfect illusion, except for, however, her firm grip on the gun. Cocking the hammer back and putting the gun in firing position Jessica waited for the next move to be made.
The rustling sound came again drawing her focus on a clump of bushes about 10 feet from the disabled jeep. Hawk's heartbeat remained strong and steady under her ear and for that she was grateful. The steady beat indicated that his head wound wasn't serious and he'd wakeup eventually. Given their current predicament she couldn't help but hope he stayed unconscious a little while longer.
The noise came again and Jessica barely breathed, every instinct on full alert. When a deer emerged from the bushes she all but screamed in relief. Not bothering to stop the groan Jessica closed her eyes, and without thinking, buried her face into Hawk's chest.
Pulling back abruptly when she realized what she was doing Jessica frowned in censure and brought a hand up to check the mark on his forehead. She ran a finger lightly over the wound, then shifted abruptly and hit him in the back of the head.
"W-What?" Hawk jolted alert. "What happened?"
"Nice try hotshot, I know you were awake long before now so cut the act," Jessica informed him icily.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Hawk replied grumpily, shifting in his seat he checked his forehead in the rearview mirror.
"Your heart rate spiked a few minutes ago indicating your wakefulness," she leveled a glare at him, tapping his gun on her thigh, and waited.
"You know sweetheart," he drawled grinning in her direction. "Any man's heart rate would spike if they woke up with you draped all over him."
"Why do I even bother?" Jessica wondered aloud and crawled out of the jeep.
Hawk moved out of the jeep a little slower, cautiously checking how his head would react to the movement. The pounding behind his eyes, more than the loss of consciousness told him, that the injury was more than just a bump on the head. Catching sight of his frowning boss he took another breath to prepare himself before joining her. When jousting with his boss he had to be functioning on all cylinders, or she'd ride roughshod all over him.
"So where do you think the shooters have gone?" Hawk asked when he joined her in front of the jeep.
Shrugging Jessica worked on the kinks in her neck. "Does it matter? I don't think we want to be here when they decide to check on us." She pointed to the grille of the jeep that was seemingly embedded in the tree. "Do you think we can free it?"
His eyes moved from the jeep to her. "You mean you're asking my opinion?"
"Brawn," she pointed to the jeep and then squeezed the muscle in his arm. "It's the only reason I work with men."
Hawk whistled under his breath. "Remind me to find Anton when this is all over with and kick his ass."
Perplexed Jess looked at him. "Why?"
"He obviously didn't do a good enough job on relieving your sexual frustration."
Barely restraining the urge to hit him, Jessica's hand tightened on the gun she still carried in her hand.
Knowing how lethal his boss could be and realizing that he'd probably pushed her as far as he should while she was armed, Hawk focused on the Hummer again. "We could probably free it but I think it will take too long. Besides we drew a lot of attention in this baby, we're probably better off on foot."
"I agree, let's grab our stuff before someone finds us." She took a step only to come up short when he touched her arm. Coolly arching a brow she looked up at him. "Yes?"
"Can I have my gun?" He inched closer. "Or do you just want to play with my power some more?"
This time she couldn't stop the grin and soon a matching dimpled smile appeared on his face. "Here," she shoved the gun in his hand and moved to the jeep. "Sometimes I feel like I'm your babysitter not your boss."
Ever the flirt Hawk wasn't about to let that remark slide. "Anytime you want to tuck me into bed, I'm willing."
Sliding back into the teasing, bickering relationship they had was second skin to her and Jessica didn't even bother to turn around, she merely brought her elbow back hard, catching him in the ribs. "I'm sure you say that to every female you meet. And as tempting as that offer is, I'll pass, as usual."
Grinning he stepped back to let her pass before reaching in the back of the jeep and grabbing his bag. She always said that and certainly acted like she wasn't interested in him. But she had a healthy interest in his love life, and also enjoyed brushing against him whenever she could. Smirking to himself he couldn't help but believe she was more affected then she let on.
~Bushes~
Francis stepped cautiously out of the bushes, spying the two unconscious men on the ground immediately, his grip changed on the gun and his eyes sharpened on the area around the men. Keeping the gun trained on the main closest to him he moved forward until he could check the man for a pulse.
Finding it immediately Francis shifted his focus onto the larger man. Even from where he was crouching the man's labored breathing was audible. Spying the empty holsters on both men, he began searching the ground for the weapons. His intent shifted when he saw the footprints.
Getting to his feet Francis moved to study the prints left in the soft earth. A quick scan of the unconscious men, showed that they hadn't made all of the prints. Both men were wearing hiking boots and the most dominant print that was visible came from boots, motorcycle boots. Boots like the kind Jason always wore.
Manny would have argued that Jason wasn't the only person in the world who wore motorcycle boots, and he'd be right. Crouching beside a particularly well-defined print, the first smile all day drifted over Francis' features, taking years off his face. Many people wore motorcycle boots, but not all of them had a slight nick in the heel of the boot. A nick that left a distinguishing mark with each step the owner took. He had seen that mark before. He could remember vividly, a particularly rainy night Jason and him had spent tracking a courier of Sonny's through the mud to get back a missing shipment.
His hunch was right, Jason was on this island, and he was alive, or at least he had been no more than 20 minutes ago when the last of the gunshots had sounded. Francis' focus fell on the prints again and he began to frown, as he followed the path of the prints to the edge of the cliff.
"Jason tell me you weren't that stupid," Francis muttered under his breath, moving towards the cliff. Looking over it his eyes searched the water far below.
Shaking his head he turned around to study the scene again, his attention was then caught by a moan coming from the men. Moving towards them quickly he couldn't help but hope it was the smaller man who was waking up, and for once, luck was with him.
"Ohhh…" the diminutive man groaned. To Hector it felt like his jaw was on fire. Keeping his eyes closed he brought his hand up to check his jaw. He wouldn't have been surprised to find it shoved up past his nose. But the jaw was there where it was supposed to be. As long as he never spoke, or breathed through his mouth again, he thought he might be able to live with the pain.
"Wakey, wakey," Francis ordered, lightly slapping the man on the cheeks.
Screaming in pain Hector's eyes flew open. Closing them immediately he tried to slip back into unconsciousness, but the man who was slapping him wouldn't let that happen. Moaning he shook his head and tried to speak. "It hurts."
"I'll make you a deal," Francis offered. "You answer my questions and I'll make unconscious again."
Hector's eyes flew open.
"Good now that I have your attention." Knowing the gun wouldn't be necessary Francis set it on the ground next to him. Relaxing slightly he kept one eye on the other man who was still unconscious. "Where's the man who did this to you?"
Hector's eyes darted around the small clearing then he shrugged.
"Okay," Francis pulled a picture from his pocket. "Is this the man?"
The question proved to be unnecessary. The man took one look at the photo and began to shake in fear. And even though Francis had known Jason was alive, having it confirmed with a nod of the man's head, still made him feel relieved.
"Did you shoot him?" Francis asked.
Hector's mouth dropped open in shock and he almost passed out in pain. Francis steadied the man before he could fall back to the ground.
Francis hesitated a long time before asking the next question. He already knew the answer, so there was no point in even asking it. There had only been one parachute seen, and Jason was confirmed as being on the island. There were no other footprints on the ground besides Jason's and the men chasing him. But like he had to ask the man to identify Jason, he still had to ask the question. "Was there anyone with him?"
Hector immediately shook his head no. He'd been taking a piss when Jorge had spotted the intruder. The whole chase the only person he'd seen was the tall gringo. He shuddered to think what would have happened to him if the gringo hadn't been alone.
Closing his eyes Francis lost what little hope he had left. Reacting without thought, he swung out sending the man into unconsciousness again. Getting to his feet he moved back to the cliff to search the water. He hadn't seen any blood on the ground. He could see the spent bullet casings on the ground near the edge, but again his focus was on the footprints. He wasn't positive, but all the evidence that he could see pointed to the fact that Jason had ran to the edge and jumped over the cliff.
There was no reason to explain why Jason would have done this, unless there had been someone else chasing him. Moving back to the men, Francis pulled a beat-up walkie-talkie from the belt of the larger man. If Jason had made it to the water, he'd better get out of it as soon as he could. If he didn't, shrugging Francis began moving back in the direction he'd come from. Jason had no idea what he was in for if he didn't
~Shore~
Jason moved along the shoreline as quickly and quietly as he could although he probably didn't have to worry about being quiet. The raft he was shadowing with it's two loud occupants probably wouldn't have heard him if he had been chasing them on his Harley. His focus was trained on the raft, or more particularly on the pale hand hanging over the side of the raft that was barely visible.
The fingers on the hand had never moved, the hand never moved, but Jason couldn't take his eyes off of it. Since finding the raft and seeing the hand hanging over the side, that little kernel of unfamiliar belief inside of him began to grow.
The men brought the raft to a halt, bringing it to a partially destroyed dock on his side of the river. One of the men leaped free to tie the rope off on an old post, then headed to the shore, his partner soon followed. Jason observed them for another minute before moving back into the bushes.
Backtracking to a bend in the river Jason made sure he was out of their line of sight before easing back into the river. Moving out to the middle of the river he took a deep breath and submerged. Keeping underwater he moved in the fast moving current, picking up speed as he went. Surfacing slightly to gauge his distance, he began working against the current and swam until he emerged on the far side of the rubber raft, out of sight of the men on the beach.
Taking a chance he rocked higher out of the water to see where they were, noting they were still distracted he quickly powered himself out of the water and into the bottom of the raft. The raft was narrow, Elizabeth filled most of the space. Coming down hard on her, he began to worry when she didn't move or moan in reaction to his weight. Tensing he brought some of his weight off of her frame, trying not to squash her and listened hard for any sounds from the shore. But the only sound he heard was their laughter.
Easing slightly to the side, he brought his hand up to check her pulse. His hand had barely touched her neck when her fist connected hard with his nose. Caught off-guard he fell back. The stinging in his nose caused his eyes to shock. The shock of her unexpected move faded quickly and he caught her fist before she could swing again.
Seeing the signs of panic he moved quickly pressing his weight down on her and covered her mouth with his free hand. Her eyes flew open and he could see the anger and fear in them but no recognition.
"Elizabeth." Jason whispered in her face and held her down as gently as he could until her struggles stopped and the fear faded from her eyes. "I'm going to take my hand away. But I need you to be quiet. Those men are still nearby." He explained in whispers and when she nodded he took his hand away.
"Are you okay?" Jason asked.
"Where were you?" Elizabeth hissed, her hands balling into fists again.
"Yell at me later." Jason risked a look over the side of the raft. "Right now we need to get out of here."
Trying hard to swallow the fear she was feeling Elizabeth nodded and tried to obey. Taking the first easy breath since she'd awakened from hell into a nightmare, she focused on what Jason was doing. Her eyes didn't even widen when she saw the now familiar knife in his hand. She was beginning to believe that the knife was surgically attached to his palm.
"When I cut the rope we'll start to drift with the current. Keep down and try not to move, hopefully they won't see what is happening until it's too late for them to swim out and stop us." Jason explained as quietly as he could.
"Okay," Elizabeth whispered back, relieved that he wasn't going to attack the men with his knife.
"Put your hand back up on the side of the raft where it was." Jason ordered and when she didn't comply immediately he moved it himself. "Keep it limp, just like you did when you were faking before. I don't want them to know you're awake."
Elizabeth watched as Jason took another breath before positioning himself on the side of the raft, keeping his body between hers and the shoreline. His head was just a little below the arm that was hanging over the side of the raft, and he began sawing on the thick rope.
"Jason."
"Shh."
"But Jason…"
"You have to be quiet." Jason jolted in surprise when a large Bowie knife appeared next to his face. His eyes moved from the knife to Elizabeth whose eyes were narrowed in anger.
"It might be quicker if you used this," she whispered sweetly.
Taking the knife from her cautiously Jason nodded. His nose still stinging where she had decked him, he was relieved that she had chosen to use her fist instead of the knife she'd obviously found. When the blade cut the thick rope after one slice and he was even more relieved.
The raft began to move and Jason tried to shift his thoughts from Elizabeth to the delicate matter ahead. This was the trickiest part. If the men spotted the raft too soon, they could swim out to catch it. If that happened, he could only hope the men would leave the guns onshore. If they didn't it could get a little hairy.
In spite of his best intention his eyes sought out Elizabeth and his breathing grew easier. He'd been so terrified that he would never see her again, that even in this dicey situation, he loved looking at her. Her expression was calm, her eyes locked on his. He'd almost believe she was relaxed, except for the quick rise and fall of her chest, as her breathing spiked, no doubt in fear.
Her latest dunking in the water seemed to have shrunk her sweater even more and it exposed the flat pale skin of her stomach. The sweater clung to her like a second skin and he was a bastard to be thinking about, and noticing the way her breasts moved with every breath she took. She was breathing hard because she was afraid and he was busy remembering a time she'd breathed hard because she was aroused.
Jason wasn't used to feeling so many conflicting emotions at once and he wasn't exactly comfortable with either them, or his thoughts. He needed to concentrate on something else, something he knew how to handle, something…
A cry from the shore distracted him from his thoughts and his grip tightened on the hilt of the knife. Elizabeth didn't move, her hand remained limp over the side just like he'd told her. The sound of splashing water reached his ears and Jason tensed. He really didn't want to kill anyone, especially not in front of Elizabeth, but he may have no choice.
"Close your eyes," he whispered sharply as the sounds of splashing drew closer.
Shaking her head Elizabeth's eyes remained stubbornly open.
Elizabeth knew why he wanted her to close her eyes. She could hear the sounds of the pursuit and she knew what would happen when their pursuer reached the raft. He'd more than likely think that the raft had merely slipped free of the dock. With her position seemingly unchanged he would have no reason to believe she was awake, or that there was someone on the raft with her.
So when he reached the raft he'd probably try to pull himself inside of it and use the paddles to get back to the dock, instead of just pulling the raft by the rope. When that happened Jason would stab him. Oh there was a chance that Jason might just hit him tying to knock him out, but that was a slim chance. Jason wouldn't risk her safety and that's what he'd be doing if he didn't knock the man out immediately.
More than likely what would occur would be quite simple. The man would grab the edge of the raft to leverage himself inside the raft, and when he did that Jason would stick him with the knife. She didn't want that to happen. She had no desire to see anyone die, much less have Jason be the one doing the killing in order to protect her. And yet that was the precise reason she couldn't close her eyes and look away. He would be killing for her and she would never condemn or blame him for that.
The logical part of her brain reminded her that this was probably what Jason would do even if she weren't with him. But that part was easily ignored. She was here and she knew without a doubt that Jason would do anything to protect her. Even if he was a little late at times, she still knew that.
The raft picked up speed and a slight exclamation escaped her lips in spite of her vow to the contrary when it hit something. Expecting to see their pursuer Elizabeth was confused when she realized the jolt had come from the opposite side of the raft. Before she could question it, there was another jolt and then another.
Seeing Jason move and guessing his intent she reached out and shoved his head down while she sat up herself. She was supposed to be on the boat while he wasn't. They needed to keep that misconception going for as long as possible.
Looking back the way they came she didn't see their pursuer anywhere, turning to look ahead her mouth dropped open in surprise. The hand that had been holding Jason's head down, now yanked hard on his hair trying to pull him up. "Jason."
"What?" Shifting to his knees he tried to see what had her so panicked. "Oh man," he muttered when he saw the rapids they were rapidly approaching.
"You've got to be kidding me," Elizabeth yelled in disbelief. "I feel like I'm trapped in the movie Speed, I'm Annie and your Jack, and I have no idea who Dennis Hopper is."
"What?" Shaking the question off Jason picked up one of the paddles and moved towards the front of the raft. "Stay in the middle of the raft and hold on. Try to find a life preserver if you can."
"And to think I once wanted to go white water rafting," she grumbled. Her hand curled around a rope that ran the length of the raft. "Jason I have to warn you, now isn't a good time for us to go swimming."
"Why?" Jason barely even heard her comment his focus on the approaching rocks.
"Because my feet are tied. Whether I find a life preserver or not, I'll sink," Elizabeth gestured to the rope around her ankles when he turned to look. "You better keep us upright."
Frowning Jason focused on the rocks again. Things had just gotten a hell of a lot trickier.
~The Four Seasons~
"Benny why are we in a hotel? I said I wanted to go directly to Unique Services."
"Unique Unlimited," Johnny absently corrected his boss.
"Why?" Sonny shot his guard a quelling stare and Johnny began to move about the spacious suite they were in.
"You also said you wanted me to find a hammer we could use on Unique," Benny calmly reminded his excitable boss. "I don't have one yet."
"Benny."
"Sonny," refusing to be intimidated Benny got to his feet and paced away from his laptop. "Unique is a sole-proprietorship. The owner might as well be a ghost, all I have on her is a name. Margaretha Geetruida Zelle, if you can believe that. I can't even find a picture of her."
"Why do I know that name?" Johnny muttered mainly to himself.
"The company is 8 years old, it doesn't have any outstanding loans, they've been operating at a high rate of profit since their second month. Their security is the best I've ever encountered. I can't even get a confirmed list of current employees much less ex-employees. She runs a tight ship. If our organization ran like this we'd never have a leak or a traitor problem. This Zelle woman knows what she's doing."
"I swear I've heard that name before." Johnny dropped into Benny's vacated seat when Sonny shot him a death glare. "Or maybe not."
"I don't want to hear that Benny." Ignoring his guard Sonny moved to get himself a drink. He seemed to think better when he held a glass in his hand. He hated to think of it as a weakness, although he knew that's how most would perceive it. Except for Jason that is. Frowning at the bitter liquid he'd just poured Sonny moved away from the glass. "We need something we can use if we want to find out who wanted Jason and why."
"I know that and I'm trying," Benny picked up the glass his boss didn't seem to want and swallowed some of the fiery liquid. "Unique is clean Sonny. I can't even pick up a whisper on the owner, unless it's a job offer. All I can tell you is that she's white, she's between 25 and 35, and anywhere between 5'7" and 5'9". I can't even tell you what color of hair or eyes she has, or even what nationality she is, because no one has any pictures of her. She alters her appearance the way some people change their hair color. She's the best example of a human chameleon I've ever come across." Benny's shoulders slumped in defeat. This was the first time he'd ever failed his boss. And with Jason's life on the line he'd picked the worst possible moment to fail. "It's like she doesn't even exist."
"Of course she doesn't exist." Johnny all but crowed in triumph and had both men turning on him in surprise. "She's been dead for almost 85 years."
~Airport~
Nikolas couldn't help but be impressed, they'd breezed through customs in half the normal time. He had a feeling it was due more to the Mountain he was traveling with and his boss, than it was his obscure royal lineage. The Custom's agent's eye's had nearly doubled in shock when they went through the line. He had a feeling the man was already spending the money he was no doubt bribed with, in his mind.
Moving briskly to the waiting Jeep, Nikolas got inside and waited for his companion to do the same, but the man made no move to get in the vehicle. "What's wrong now?"
Max ignored him, his focus on the reflective windows of the doors behind him.
"You know if you continue not speaking this is going to be a real long trip," Nikolas remarked caustically. The Mountain had barely even grunted in his direction the whole plane ride down here. Nikolas didn't mind a little silence, but 5 hours of silence was enough, even for him.
"Wait here." Max ordered abruptly then disappeared back into the terminal.
"What?" Giving up when he realized he was talking to himself Nikolas settled back in the jeep. He couldn't believe he was doing this. This sort of adventure was the kind that Lucky used to tell him that Luke and Laura had gone on all the time. But it wasn't something that he ever thought he would be undertaking himself. He couldn't help but wish that Lucky were here, with him, in this mess. But if Lucky were here there would be no need for them to be here at all. The only reason Elizabeth had ever wound up on this island was because of their plan to help Lucky.
Surprised when the jeep began to rock and his companion climbed inside, Nikolas turned tired eyes on his silent companion. "What was all that about?"
"I thought someone was following us," Max explained briefly.
Nikolas waited but the Mountain merely turned on the jeep and pulled out into the fast moving late day traffic. "And?" He finally prompted.
"I guess I was wrong."
Taking a breath Nikolas tried to center himself and find his Chi the way his uncle had always taught him to do. "Where are we going?"
"The docks."
"Why?"
"To catch a seaplane."
"You know this is going to take a very long time if you don't start answering my questions with a little more detail," Nikolas pointed out in what he hoped was a calm voice.
Max shrugged.
"Look if there is a chance that Elizabeth never got on that plane we need to take that and search this island."
"She was on the plane."
"You don't know that for sure," Nikolas argued a bit desperately. "Until we know for sure I think we should search this island for her."
Max brought the jeep to a halt in the middle of the road and ignored the immediate blaring of horns coming from directly behind him. "We found out that a man fitting your father's description rented a seaplane and followed Francis and Manny to the island chain that we think Jason landed on. I was informed that your goal in this was to stop your father before he could kill anyone. To do that we need to get on a plane and follow him, unless you think your father is wrong."
"Jason wasn't the survivor Elizabeth was," Nikolas corrected the guard immediately. If he had to believe she was on the plane, he was going to believe that she was the one that was alive.
Max didn't even blink he merely waited.
"Fine we'll take the seaplane, but if we don't find anything we are coming back here and searching this entire island until we find Elizabeth." Nikolas conceded sharply.
Turning his attention back to the road, Max began to hum under his breath as he put the jeep in motion.
Nikolas almost groaned when he recognized the song. La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin, a song that Emily used to bombard him with in order to torture him at L&B. This was going to be a long trip.
~*~*~
"So do you want me to keep following them?" The Cabbie asked when the traffic began moving again.
"Yes, and whatever you do don't let them see you," came the reply from deep in the backseat where his passenger was hiding.
Sighing under his breath the Cabbie did as he was ordered. Between the creepy fare last night and now this one, he was thinking it was time to find a new line of work.
~Fire Trail~
Manny emerged from the bushes and took a careful look around before moving closer to the Hummer. Placing a hand on the hood, he could feel some residual heat coming from the engine. Whoever had rammed it into the tree limb in the middle of the road hadn't left that long ago. Fingering the bullet holes in the hood a little thoughtfully he wondered where the occupants had went, and if they had went voluntarily or not.
Tucking the gun back in his holster he squatted by the grille to see if it could be detached from the tree. When given the choice between walking and riding he'd always choose riding. Especially since he'd just about fell in 3 traps that were hidden in the trail on the way up here. Bullet-ridden or not, the Hummer had to be safer than walking on the ground. Wrapping his arms around the limb as best he could Manny tugged as hard as he could trying to move the tree limb. But the limb never moved.
Changing his focus he moved to the Hummer and got in, the vehicle started right off, and Manny put it in gear trying to back it off the limb. The engine gave a loud roar, the wheels began to turn and the vehicle began to shimmy, but in the end it went nowhere. Taking his foot off the gas Manny waited a minute before trying again. This time the engine began to whine and the smell of burning came from either the engine or the tires, yet he still kept his foot on the gas.
The Hummer violently pulled itself free of the limb and took off several yards in reverse. Caught off-guard Manny fought to control the wheel and took his foot off the clutch killing the engine immediately.
"Do you think you could be any louder?"
The quiet question coming from right next to him startled Manny so much he began to curse, any thoughts of reaching for his gun went completely out of his head. Risking a glance he knew why he wasn't dead. "Francis?"
"Jesus Manny I know I trained you better than this. You were so busy trying to move this beast an entire army could have snuck up on you and you never would have heard them. You shouldered your gun instead of keeping it out where you could grab it easily, you didn't move when you heard my voice," Francis lectured. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Let me know I'll be happy to do it for you if you are."
"Enough with the lectures Carny," Manny grumped but the grin on his face gave away the relief he was feeling at seeing his friend again. "Where did you disappear to?"
"I was tracking the shots. I told you to keep up," Francis stepped back to look at the Hummer. "I suppose you want to take this from now on?"
Manny gave his best puppydog look, the one that always worked on his sister.
Sighing Francis moved towards the front. "We need to move the tree out of the way. We have to stick to this road. It's the only one that runs parallel to the river."
Moving gingerly Manny joined Francis. "Why is that so important? I thought you said we had to go inland."
"I found out that Jason is on the island and judging from the evidence I saw I think he's in the river. We need to head him off. Grab the other end," he ordered before picking up his side of the tree.
Thrilled with the news Manny made no move to pick up his end. "This mean that you were right all along then, Jason is alive. This is fabulous news. Wait until Mr. Corinthos finds out he's going to be so happy."
Setting the tree down with a slam Francis looked over to Manny with weary eyes. "It also means that Elizabeth is dead."
Sobering Manny shuffled his feet, he'd only met Elizabeth Webber once so he didn't feel the personal loss that Francis obviously did, but that didn't mean he didn't hate the fact she was dead. He'd just forgotten about her being on the plane. "Fran…"
Cutting off the apology Francis bent over the tree again. "We need to move this out of the way and get moving. Jason needs to get off the river as soon as he can."
Bending Manny tried to get a grip on his side of the limb, his ribs screamed loudly in protest, and he knew one of them was probably broken, but he made no sound. And when Francis said to lift he lifted the limb in spite of the pain.
~The River~
"I don't believe it. We made it," her eyes sparkling in adrenaline and joy, Elizabeth all but glowed. "We have got to do that again."
Jason wearily slumped back against the side of the raft and eased his death grip on the paddle he'd been using to propel the raft away from the rocks. Closing his eyes at her words Jason merely groaned.
"Are you okay?" Shifting through the water that was in the raft until she was next to him Elizabeth reached out in concern.
Feeling her hand on his forehead he stayed where he was minute longer soaking up her warmth, before opening his eyes. "I'm fine."
"Okay," realizing she was still touching his face she dropped her hand and awkwardly shifted until she was sitting farther away from him.
Noting her withdrawal Jason felt a pang of loss. Taking advantage of the now calm river they were on he shifted until he was crouching at her feet, and reached for the knife she had found to cut the ropes off of her. "What happened?"
"When?" Needing a distraction to keep from herself from touching him Elizabeth pulled the backpack she was leaning against around so it was sitting on her lap and began to look inside.
"How did you end up in the boat?"
"When I hit the water I went down hard. Some reeds wrapped around my ankles and I couldn't get free. I figured you'd be right behind me so I didn't panic right away. But you never showed up." Her focus was on the bag so she didn't see the way he flinched at that remark. "I managed to free myself, but by then I could barely think, or move, I didn't see the point in trying to find the surface, I guess I gave up. The numbness was just so appealing to me. Hallelujah," she pulled out a tin of Altoids and quickly popped one in her mouth before handing the tin to Jason. "Fresh breath is a good thing."
Taking the tin from her, for a moment all he could do was stare at the tiny mints. The casual way she had described her giving up, and willingness to drown haunted him.
"Jason?" Elizabeth noticed his stillness and focused on him. "The mint?"
Taking one he handed the tin back to her. "What happened then?" He asked roughly, emotion making his voice, sound rougher than usual.
"I don't really know," thoughtful she tried to puzzle it out. "I remember just wanting to stay in the dark. Then the next thing I know I'm gagging because someone with onion breath is blowing air in my mouth. Let me tell you that was not a very pleasant way to wake up. They must have seen me in the water and got me out. I don't know," she went back to digging in the bag. "Those mints must not have been onion man's."
"Forget about the damn mints," Jason cried out suddenly surprising them both.
"Why are you so angry?" Elizabeth demanded. "I'm the one who should be angry not you. Where the hell were you? You promised me you would be right behind me, and yet the first time you were supposed to keep that promise you were nowhere to be found."
"I know I'm sorry," he tried hard to swallow his unreasonable anger. She was right he didn't have the right to be angry with her. "The men chasing us caught me on the cliff before I could jump. I jumped as quickly as I could, but obviously I was too late."
Anger didn't hold a chance in the face of his obvious guilt and the emotion fled. "Don't worry about it, we're together now. A little more water-logged than before but we're together." She deliberately didn't ask what had happened to the men on the cliff and both of them knew it.
"I am sorry," his eyes sought hers out.
"I know." Getting lost in his eyes was a risky proposition for her, and her self-preservation instincts kicked in just in time. Breaking the look she focused on the bag again. "Maybe the goon squad had food with them."
A little surprised by her withdrawal Jason swallowed the sigh and picked up the protective sheath for the bowie knife and slid the knife in it, before tucking both in his boot. Looking around for any other sort of weapons he saw none.
"Uh-oh," Elizabeth murmured.
"What?" He focused on her and almost groaned when she held out, what appeared to be, a brick sized bag of cocaine.
"Is that what I think it is?" She asked quietly.
"Probably we are on Dominguez's island after all." Taking the coke from her he didn't even hesitate, he just tossed it into the river. "Is there any more?"
"Yes," she held out two more bags and watched him send them both in the water.
Soon the bag only held the box of mints, a blanket and a canteen that had been left in the bottom of the raft. Taking the backpack from her, Jason put it on.
"Who is Dominguez?"
"A man we don't want to meet if we can help it." Jason answered as briefly as he could.
"It would be worse for you if he knows who you are won't it?" Elizabeth asked with sudden insight.
Jason considered not answering her for a moment, in the end felt she had earned the right to know all they were up against. "Dominguez is an old enemy of Sonny's. If he knows I'm on the island, you're right things will only get worse."
"Can he recognize you on sight?"
"Yes."
"Can," she hesitated. "What about the men on the cliff?"
"They didn't recognize me, as far as they're concerned I'm just an intruder." Jason answered. "So it won't matter what they say."
"Good," her nod in relief turned into one of dismay when she realized something. "Are we moving faster again?"
"Yeah we are," growing concerned Jason shifted until he was looking forward again. "Oh shit."
~Fire Trail~
"Jesus Francis where's the fire?" Manny demanded when he crashed heavily into the door for the third time.
"I told you we need to get Jason off the river as soon as possible."
"Why? What is there some sea monster in its depths?" Manny asked.
"No worse," Francis replied shortly.
"What's worse than a sea monster?" Manny asked in curiosity.
~River~
"Is that what I think it is?" Elizabeth moved until she was beside him at the front of the raft.
"I think so." Tightening the straps of the backpack he focused on her. "Did you find a life preserver?"
"No." Was it was strange that she wasn't even surprised anymore? "Jason what the hell is a waterfall doing in the middle of a river?"
"I don't have time to answer that. We need to jump and swim for shore."
Frowning down at the swift moving current Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't think so."
"You'd rather go over the falls?" Jason asked shortly, taking her arm to move her to the side of the raft. "I'll be right with you the whole way."
"That's what you said last time," she reminded him bitterly. "And look how well that looked out."
"Elizabeth…" he began in a pained voice.
"Save it Jason I guess we're jumping." She looked over at the fast approaching falls. "Out of curiosity just how big of a drop are the falls?"
"I know there are two major waterfalls on the island. One is manageable probably only 30 - 40 feet," Jason broke off. "We need to jump now."
"What about the other waterfall?" Elizabeth demanded.
"It's a lot bigger." Jason answered finally.
"You do realize that with my luck, that this is the waterfall, you don't want to tell me about don't you?" Elizabeth cried.
"That's why you are going to swim harder than you've ever swum before and I'm going to be right there with you the entire time." He took her hands and squeezed them in reassurance. "Do you trust me?"
"Always." Sighing when he let go of one of her hands she focused on the water and readied herself to jump.
Noise exploded around them the instant they jumped. Surprise quickly turned to fear when she recognized the sleek silver missiles coming through the water towards her as bullets. Surfacing, she had time for a breath before Jason jerked hard on her hand pulling her under again. Swimming hard, he let go of her hand and she began fighting the current, trying to dodge the bullets, and make it to the shore. She felt rather than saw Jason right beside her, doing his best to shield her from the bullets, his comforting presence compelled her to move her tired arms through the water even harder.
The water around her suddenly turned red and caused her to stop in surprise, looking back she realized Jason was no longer right behind her, instead he was limp in the water. Reaching out she managed to grab the back of his shirt and dragged him to her. Surfacing briefly to take in air she tilted his head back so he could breathe as well. The sound of gunfire came again but she ignored it, and instead tried to keep her grip on Jason. Moving awkwardly, while keeping an arm around his neck, she tried to backstroke her way to the shore.
The attempts were proving futile, the current was moving far too fast. For every two feet she managed in the shoreline's direction they moved another five feet in the direction of the falls. Jason's dead weight was weighing her down but letting him go was never an option. Kicking desperately she tried to keep his back pressed to her chest and moving out of the current.
Without warning the current ripped Jason out of her arms and he began floating to the falls. Reacting instinctively Elizabeth swam after him, she managed to grab his arm right before he plunged over the falls taking her with him.