Chapter Four – Divided and Conquered?

Steve had shifted his body so that it shielded Jesse's, and had then slowly raised his hands before speaking. "I'm Lieutenant Steve Sloan with the LAPD."

"I remember you, slow learner aren't you?" The man stated.

"Have we met?" Steve asked as he carefully glanced over his shoulder. He saw an Asian guard, and recognized him from his previous trip to the military installation. The man had thrown his belongings at his feet once he had been released.

The guard had seen the recognition flash across Steve's face. "I see you recognize me, I'm touched."

"Don't be, I always remember the unpleasant people I meet."

The smile the man offered was humorless. He moved forward and bodied Steve up against the truck. The impact knocked the breath from him, and out of the corner of his eye he could see a frozen Jesse being manhandled in much the same way. "Hey, take it easy with him!" His response was the end of a rifle being jammed into his side just under the rib cage.

"Lieutenant Sloan, you have no authority here, if I were you I would keep my mouth shut," the man sneered.

Steve tried to make eye contact with Jesse, to reassure him, but one look told him that for the moment Jesse had checked out. "Jesse, they won't hurt you." Steve knew he couldn't be sure of that, but he couldn't stand the fear that now practically emanated from Jesse. "Jess, come on stay with me, I need your help." The request for help seemed to penetrate the fog and Steve could see the slight changes in his face and body language. "That's it, Jess," Steve pleaded.

Jesse felt the veil of fear lifting. When he had heard the voice behind them, he had broken out in a cold sweat; it felt as if his feet had been encased in concrete. He heard another voice calling his name, but couldn't seem to respond, when he realized it was Steve asking for help he had fought his way back. "Steve?"

Steve had heaved a sigh of relief. "Welcome back, Buddy."

"Well aren't you two cute," the man commented snidely. He then roughly kneed Steve's legs apart and began a very thorough and excessively brutal body search. His partner did not seem to possess the same degree of animosity so Jesse had been spared the more unpleasant aspects Steve had endured. Both men soon found themselves shoved into the back of a Humvee with their hands cuffed behind them. Steve had leaned across the seat close to Jesse and whispered encouragement. "Jesse, these guys work for the government, and we have done nothing wrong, we are going to be fine."

Jesse had looked at him with a mixture of fear and trust on his face. "I know, Steve, as long as we are together everything will be fine."

Steve felt some of the tension leave his body. He hadn't taken the time to really evaluate their current predicament; he had been focused on Jesse. Now that he had him back his thoughts shifted to what had just happened. The last time they had taken him into custody he had been climbing the fence, this time all they had done was walk along the fence that protected the property. They had not trespassed, so he was curious as to their reasons for detaining them and what exactly their intentions were. He pulled himself back from his thoughts as the vehicle slowed in front of building that he had visited the last time he was here. His door was opened and as he stepped out he heard a snarl from the other side, as he turned he saw the guard who seemed to be holding a grudge grab Jesse by the collar and yank him out and down to the ground. Jesse had been unable to catch himself and landed with a thud and a grunt.

"Jesse!" Steve had shouted and pushed past the other guard and around the back of the Humvee, as he had gotten close to him, he felt a foot clip his ankle and was unable to catch himself as he stumbled and fell into the open door, clipping his head on the frame as he went down. He lay stunned for a moment until he found himself being grabbed under the arms and lifted back to his feet. Jesse stood in front of him slightly hunched over as if his stomach hurt. "Jess?" His response had been a slight nod, and a brief but encouraging smile had touched his lips. They found themselves being propelled towards the building. Once inside they were moved quickly down a bare bright white sterile hallway, and at the end a door was unlocked and both men were unceremoniously shoved inside, unable to stop the momentum they both hit the wall and then slid to the floor. It had taken them a moment to catch their breath and get a handle on the emotions they were experiencing. As he had felt himself calming down Jesse had noticed the blood flowing down Steve's head.

"Steve, your head, I need to stop the bleeding." Jesse had begun to push himself up when he had winced in pain.

"Jess, take it easy, he bounced you pretty hard off the ground, just sit still, I'm fine, my head doesn't even hurt."

"But, I need to stop the bleeding."

"No, you don't, you need to stay where you are, it's not a bad cut, it will stop soon."

Jesse had peered at him closely and could see that the bleeding appeared to have slowed and was trying to clot. "Ok, but if it doesn't stop in a little bit, I will be taking a look at it." He had then paused for a moment while he looked around the room. "Is this where they brought you?"

"No, I was actually in more of a warehouse area; I never saw this part of the reservation."

"Steve, why are we here? We hadn't done anything."

"Jesse, I don't know, I had the pleasure of meeting the one guard my last time here, he seems to be even more unpleasant this time around. The last time I understood why they detained me; I was getting ready to climb the fence."

"You were?" Jesse asked quietly. "To find me?"

"Yeah, it's the only area that hadn't been searched; believe me I wasn't leaving without checking it out."

"But, Steve, you could have been arrested, lost your job, or worse been shot. I can't believe you would do something like that."

"Jesse, it was no big deal, you are more important to me, Dad and Amanda then anything else."

A pleased shy smile covered Jesse's face. "I am?"

The look was almost Steve's undoing. It reflected an innocence that he had thought was gone. Jesse had been changed by his abduction and Steve had feared the young man's personality had been forever altered, but seeing the look of pleasure spread across his face had given him hope that they could get their Jesse back. He took a moment to regain his composure and felt anger begin to burn along his spine. "I should have pushed to learn more about this place and the people who work here."

"Did you ever find out who any of them where?"

"Nope, since officially Cedar Lake Military Reservation doesn't exist I was unable to find names for any of them."

"What are we going to do, Steve?"

"I think they only want to make a point, we aren't in any real danger, just don't give them a reason to exercise their authority."

Jesse had smiled; a genuine smile; that warmed Steve. "I don't think I'm the one that's going to have a problem not making them angry."

Steve had smiled in return. "I promise I'll be on my best behavior."

"Good, cause, I don't think I could do this by myself."

Though he knew Jesse meant nothing by it, the comment had still cut through Steve like a knife. "You won't be by yourself Jesse."

There had been a brief moment of silence before Jesse spoke again. "Hey, Steve, these handcuffs are pretty uncomfortable, no wonder most of the people you arrest are so angry."

Steve had chuckled as he answered. "Jesse, most of them are looking at some serious jail time for murder, the cuffs are the least of their worries.

They shared a brief laugh; that halted as the sound of a key being inserted in the door had caught their attention. When the door swung open, Steve saw the face of the government agent that had been in charge during his last visit.

"Lieutenant Sloan, looking for another lost friend?"

"No." Steve had replied tersely.

"Then why, pray tell, would you be back on restricted property?"

"We weren't on restricted property; we were walking towards the fence. You have some over zealous guards who obviously can't tell the difference."

"Steve, easy." Jesse had whispered quietly.

"Well, Lieutenant Sloan; that is where you are wrong, I am in total control and I am the one who decides what is restricted and what isn't. Now, I think you and I need to have a little chat in private."

Steve had turned and seen the look of panic descend on Jesse's face. "No, anything you need to say to me can be said in front of Jesse."

"Again, Lieutenant Sloan, I make the rules. Gentlemen," he said as he motioned towards the guards. "Help Lieutenant Sloan up."

Jesse had turned fearful watering eyes towards him. "Steve, no, please don't."

Steve had fought the men as they dragged him to his feet, the Asian guard had quickly grown tired of the struggle and had motioned for the other guard to step away, he had then released his hold and placed his stun gun against Steve's side and applied a jolt. Steve had immediately gone limp as his muscles failed him. He heard Jesse scream his name and then the door close behind him.

As Jesse watched the events transpire he felt the anxiety overwhelming him, as Steve had struggled he had felt torn, he wanted him to stop because he didn't want to see him hurt, but he also didn't know if he could stand to be alone. As he watched them drag the limp body of his friend out the door and heard the lock clicking into place he drew himself up into a tight knot and allowed the tears of despair to overwhelm him.