Shalimar didn't know how long she'd been standing there. It felt like hours though she was sure it was only a few minutes, arguably the longest and most painful she'd ever experienced. She remained motionless braced against the screen trying to visualize the psionic's face for fear she might not see it ever again. The sounds of Jesse working on the Helix and conversing with Adam didn't even register to her and it wasn't until the warm hand of the molecular gently cupped her shoulder did she snap herself out of the sudden trance.
"Top gun has done it again," he informed with a smile though she wouldn't have noticed as her eyes remained glued to the screen. "She's up and running."
Jesse sat himself down preparing for take off and Shalimar did the same all the while keeping her focus on the moving "DeLauro" dot on the map in front of her.
"Adam, we're tracking Emma," Jesse informed punching up Emma's readings before him as he took the magnificent craft into the air.
"Good. Keep me posted," he ordered as he uploaded the map to the lab to monitor the situation as well.
"Will do."
Turning to the still silent Shalimar next to him Jess's concern for her ability to hold up was arising again.
"Shal, you gonna be ok?"
"What?" she asked almost instinctively. Her eyes met with his across the Helix and did nothing to hide her fear and anger but she'd never been one to be very discreet anyway. After catching his gaze she quickly brought her worried eyes back to the screen trying to ignore the dozens of scenarios playing through her head, none of which were good.
"I'll be fine," she lied. "Emma, you there?" she tried contacting the psionic again but with no such luck. "Emma, if you can hear me Jesse and I are coming for you ok. I'm coming to get you," she offered hoping the psionic heard the words.
"You're thinking she was kidnapped?" Jesse asked as they continued to track the psionic's trail.
"What else would it be, Jess?"
"Maybe she got another link to Brennan and deployed herself on a rescue mission."
"Without taking the Helix? Why would she do that when we were working as a team to get them back?"
"Maybe she found out something we don't know. It wouldn't be the first time she just took off, Shal."
"No," the feral flatly protested surprising Jesse with the sudden change of feelings towards her. "It happened too fast. She was taken somewhere."
"Hey," he said moving closer to get a better look at the map. "The signal's slowing down."
Shalimar watched as her own curious eyes confirmed that the psionic's link was now moving at half the speed it previously was. With the new speed she was able to zoom closer to the location now able to read the surroundings on the map, noticing that they were also close to approaching her.
"They're in the new industrious part of town. It's still under renovations," Jesse informed looking at the map. "We're gonna have to set her down and go on from foot soon before we reach all the buildings. Shal, I don't know about this."
The sudden change in tone of the molecular furled the brow of the feral as she turned to question him further.
"What are you talking about?"
"I got a bad feelings about this. Like I'm walking into a trap."
Shalimar sighed knowing she was just as in the dark on this one as he was. "I know. Me too but what else can we do, Jess? We can't just leave her. And what about Lara and…Brennan. For all we know they could be here too."
"Whoever this is they know us, Shal. They knew how to target us to get what they wanted. They knew your plans for today." He turned his eyes back to the map to watch the slow moving indicator on the screen. "Why would they leave Emma's comlink on and draw us right to her?"
"I don't know, Jess, but I plan on finding out."
Despite her sure and fearless attitude the molecular couldn't help feel worried at the thought of what was to come as he helped to steady the craft for landing atop a nearby roof.
"Hey, it stopped," the feral informed at the now solid and still indicator on the screen. Punching up the zoom command Shalimar saw that Emma apparently had stopped on the grounds of a nearby church. "St. Matthew's Church," she stated turning to Jesse as if looking for some explanation. "I haven't been there in a long time."
"Let's check it out," he said as he began to rise from the chair.
"Wait," Shalimar protested, her arm wrapping around his to pull him back over to her. "It's gone. She's gone." The panic level in her voice was slightly rising though she fought to let it show. "Where'd she go?" She questioned scanning the blank map for the psionic's indicator.
"She couldn't have gone far."
Knowing he was probably right and reluctant to waste anymore time she stood up.
"Let's go."
"Shalimar, Jesse," Adam's stern voice came through the Helix. "I want you two to be careful."
"We will," he informed opening the Helix door and stepping out as Shalimar followed by stepping onto the roof beside him, the Helix cloaking just after.
"There's someone nearby," Shalimar informed, her feral eyes ready for any action to come. Turning over to a stairway on the side of the building she gestured for Jesse to move over to it as she began to step over to the door to the corner of the roof to investigate where the scent was coming from.
"Go," she ordered him before turning back to the closed barrier as she continued to approach with stealth. "I'll meet you at the church."
A slight groan made it's way to Emma's ears and it took her a second to register she had in fact made the sound. She tried to lift her head but it felt heavier than she'd ever remembered and she let it fall back down towards her chest in defeat. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so weak. She wiggled in the unknown position before realizing something was holding her in her upright position. Twitching her wrists she felt the sharp pain as they rubbed against something hard, blunt, rough and painful. She abandoned the idea of escaping as soon as she discovered her feet were also very securely held in their place as well.
She wanted to call out to Brennan, to Shalimar, to anyone to help her but something was holding her mouth closed preventing her from a rescue call.
Since she couldn't ask for help with her mouth she decided she'd have to go mental and attempt to reach them with her powers. Remembering the pain of trying to connect to Brennan she instantly tried to connect to the first person she thought of, the person who'd always been there for her, Shalimar.
As discombobulated as she was she tried to focus herself to reach far enough to contact the feral. She twisted in her tight hold as she was seemingly unable to leave her own mind. Upon doing so she realized for the first time she wasn't alone in the room. There was another body hanging beside her just far enough off to the side that she couldn't turn to see who it was. Closing her eyes she concentrated on any feelings from the stranger only to discover they must be unconscious as she wasn't able to read anything at all.
Becoming increasingly uncomfortable she tried again to reach the feral hoping she'd sense her signal and know she was in danger. The familiar pain of a failed attempt struck her, hard, in the temple as she realized she'd once again hit a block. She could feel it stronger this time. Almost like it was getting closer to her determined to keep her inside her own mind.
"It's not gonna work," a soft, undistinguishable voice called from somewhere behind the psionic. Somewhere behind and above her she realized and tried to twist around to see who it was but it was useless as her restraints weren't loosening in the least bit.
"Don't you think I took your powers into consideration? I'm not as stupid as she is."
Emma tried to place the voice but the drowsiness overtaking her was clouding her mind far too greatly. The footsteps moved around her with arrogance and a solid pace, making their way around her left side until the small image of a body could be seen out of the corner of her frightened blue eyes. They widened as the smirking woman stepped before her, a triumphant smile across her soft features, all the while grinning wildly at the helpless psionic strapped up like dinner in some meat packing plant.
Emma furled her brow as she looked the woman over trying to get a read behind her motives only to find her thoughts cut short but the sudden sharp pain in her lower stomach. She tried to gasp through the barrier over her mouth but found it useless, her eyes widened, and she turned her shocked eyes downward and watched the dripping knife slowly slide out of her gut, the last image she saw before everything went dark.