Chapter 7

Kendall squeezed her eyes shut, trying to will herself to sleep. She had spent the entire day bearing the scrutiny and whisperings of the other inmates. Not that this was anything new since she arrived, but today it had escalated. Kendall was afraid it had to do with the warning one of the inmates gave her this morning. They suspected she was pregnant. Why would they care? Even if what the other woman said was true, what did it matter to them if she suffered or her…her baby was taken away. Why wouldn't they leave her alone?

Kendall felt someone prodding her in the back. She tried to ignore it, but whoever it was would not let up. She turned around and saw several women standing there. "We help you lose your baby. Guard not around to stop us." Her eyes wide with horror, Kendall scrambled backwards several feet until she hit the wall. "I told you I'm not having a baby! Don't come near me!" One of them shook her head solemnly. "It is best to get it over with quickly, or you will regret it later." Kendall stood up. "You don't know anything about how I would feel. Whether I'm pregnant or not is none of your business. If you come near me, you'll be the one filled with regret." She had no idea if the women understood all of what she said. Whether they did or not, they clearly had their own agenda. They began to advance on her.

Kendall screamed. "Guard! Guard! Help me!" Some of the other inmates awoke to the shouting. One of the women walking towards Kendall began speaking in Thai. Several of the freshly woken ladies nodded their heads in apparent agreement, and stood up. A fresh wave of panic overtook Kendall. She continued to scream, frantically trying to decide whether she should fight them off or minimize the damage by curling into a ball. Despite their diminutive size, there were just too many of them. Sobbing, Kendall dropped to the ground and brought her knees up, wrapping her arms around her shins.

She felt them tearing at her, trying to expose her abdomen so they could punch, kick, do whatever they needed to make her miscarry. She heard laughing and cheering from the women who were not participants. Unable to get her to straighten up by pulling at her, they started to hit and kick, raining blows on her back and the top of her head. One kick to her kidney hurt so badly that she was momentarily stunned. That was all they needed. Two women pulled her arms in one direction, and two others had her by the feet. She screamed at the top of her lungs.

At first she thought she imagined the clanging noise. Then she thought it was the audience, banging on the bars in approval of her attackers. Then she heard a gunshot, and there was total silence. She was unceremoniously dropped on the floor. Had the guards come to break up the fight? She heard the cell door being unlocked and opened. Footsteps came near, and the prisoners surrounding her parted ways for the newcomer. Kendall looked up, and couldn't believe her eyes. Anna Devane stood there, looking down at her, relief and a bit of amusement gleamed in her eye. "Leave it to Kendall Hart to cause a prison riot."

Kendall burst into tears. A man came from behind Anna and scooped Kendall up from the floor. He smiled gently. "Lets take you somewhere safe, shall we?" She had no idea who he was, but she curled her arms around his neck tightly. He carried her out of the prison, Anna following behind, wielding her gun. He reached a car and Anna opened the door. He set Kendall inside. "By the way, my name is Frisco Jones. How are you doing, are you feeling okay?" Kendall took a deep breath and winced. "I took a pretty hard blow to the kidneys, but otherwise I guess I'm doing okay."

Anna took Frisco's arm. "I'll drive her to the hospital. I really want you to meet up with Sean. I trust him and Aidan, but…they have a rookie with them." Frisco nodded. She put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll meet you there after I drop off Kendall." He nodded again and walked off to another car. Anna got into the driver's seat and started the car. Kendall looked at her. "Thank you so much for rescuing me. Since you knew where I was, does that mean you know where Zach and Tad are?" Anna nodded. "That's where Frisco is headed now – to meet up with the team that is breaking them out of their prison."

Kendall leaned her head back in relief. "I'm so glad Aidan is part of the team. I know he'll do a good job. Who is Sean? And who is this rookie you mentioned?" Anna glanced at her. "Sean and Frisco are friends of mine from the WSB – we all lived in Port Charles together." Kendall nodded absently. "And the rookie?" Anna glanced at her again. "I think I'll wait and let Greenlee explain that to you."

Kendall stared at Anna. "Greenlee is here?" Anna nodded. "Who do you think got the ball rolling to come rescue you?" Kendall stared ahead for a moment. "I assumed Aidan got concerned when Tad didn't check in with him." Anna nodded. "That was part of it. But Greenlee was the one who jumpstarted Aidan into action, and came to me to ask for help." Kendall's eyes filled with tears. "I don't know why I'm so surprised. She's my best friend. But she can be a little…" Anna smiled wryly. "Self absorbed?" Kendall laughed reluctantly. "Yes. And she's been going through a lot lately. She's been dealing with Ryan's death, and she just got some terrible news. I figured she would be off somewhere mourning." Anna nodded. "That reminds me. I better call her and let her know I'm taking you to the hospital. She and Bianca can meet us there."

Kendall looked at Anna in surprise. "Bianca is here, too?" Anna nodded. "Just her. Miranda is in Paris with Maggie. Greenlee was visiting Bianca when she decided to come see me about finding you." Kendall cocked her head. "I wonder what made Greenlee decide to go to Paris." Anna glanced at her. "I'll go ahead and call Greenlee right now." Anna took her cell phone out and hit a button. Kendall rested her head against the seat back. She looked out the window and thought about Zach. She hoped it wasn't too late to free him. He had looked pretty bad when she saw him last. Tears welled in her eyes as she remembered hearing him calling her name as she was carried away. She wiped away tears as she prayed that Tad had kept him alive long enough to be rescued.

When they got to the hospital, Anna waited for Greenlee and Bianca to arrive, while Kendall was being examined. When the two women came rushing through the doors of the waiting room, Anna shot to her feet and pointed towards the room Kendall was in. "I need to get going, ladies, and join Aidan. I'll see you later." She rushed out the door before they could question her.

When she arrived at the compound, Anna made her way to the rendezvous point. As she approached, she made a low whistle to alert anyone there. She heard an answering whistle. She came into a clearing and saw Ryan leaning over Sean, who was unconscious and bleeding from his shoulder. Damn it," she hissed. She squatted down. Ryan looked up at her. "We got the guy who did this, so we haven't been made yet. But we need to get this mission over with fast so he doesn't bleed to death." Anna wiped her brow. "We can't wait till the mission is over. You and I are going to carry him to my car, and I'll drive him to the hospital. Lets go quickly." They managed to hoist Sean up and carry him back to where she had parked. Anna felt like déjà vu when Ryan bundled him into the car.

As Anna drove away, Ryan made contact with Aidan through the headset. "Anna took Sean to the hospital. Tell me what I need to do." There was a brief crackle. "We've tranqued most of the guards. Stay out there and keep watch until we've gotten them all, and then move in when I tell you. We'll need your help to get them out quickly before the guards wake up. Let us know if anyone arrives or leaves." Ryan looked around. "Roger that." Ryan found a recess where he could see out, but would not be seen. As he waited, his thoughts drifted to Greenlee. During their trip on the jet, she hadn't spoken a word to him. He did, however, catch her looking at him apprehensively whenever he was discussing strategy with Aidan and Anna. He knew she was afraid for his life. That meant she cared, despite her anger.

Ryan heard shouting, followed by grunts and thuds. Aidan's voice barked in his ear. "Move in, now, Ryan! Follow the first corridor on your left. Go!" Ryan rushed inside. He jumped over a couple of unconscious guards, stopping momentarily to take aim at a large man who was starting to groan. He followed Aidan's directions, and found himself at the end of a block of jail cells. Aidan was having a tense discussion with Tad, who looked disheveled, but otherwise fine. Frisco was leaning over Zach, who looked much worse, as if a bus had run over him and then backed up. "What the hell?" Ryan looked over at Tad, who was staring at him in shock. "Damn it, Aidan, they did somehow get some drugs into me. I'm hallucinating Ryan's ghost." Aidan tried not to smile. "Its okay, Tad. You aren't hallucinating. Ryan's alive." Tad shook his head. "Okay, explanations later. Lets get out of here so I can have a cheeseburger."

Tad stood up, but when he tried to walk he started weaving. Ryan went over and, bending at the waist, hoisted Tad over his shoulder. Aidan helped Frisco drape Zach over his shoulder. Then Aidan led the way as they maneuvered around passed out guards and made it back outside. Finally reaching their vehicles, Zach was placed in the back seat of the SUV, and Tad took the passenger seat. Aidan peeled out in the SUV, and Frisco and Ryan followed.

Tad filled Aidan in on everything that had happened to him. He had just finished, when he felt Zach's arm snake around his neck and tighten. "Did you really think you'd get away with hurting her, you son of a bitch?" As usual, Tad was amazed at the strength that Zach seemed to possess at odd moments, despite his poor condition. Startled, Aidan swerved to the side of the road and slammed on his brakes. When the SUV was completely halted, he attempted to extract Zach's arm. "You can't stop me from killing him. He raped Kendall. He murdered her. I heard her screams."

Zach was momentarily distracted when Frisco, who had stopped his car, flung open the back door to the SUV. Aidan managed to free Tad, who quickly opened his door and scrambled out of the vehicle. Zach grabbed Aidan by the shirt. "Where is her body? I need to give her a proper burial." His face was completely stricken by grief, as he choked out the last word. Aidan grabbed him by the shoulders. "Listen to me. Kendall is not dead. She hasn't been hurt. Tad didn't touch her. He was in the cell with you when the guards took her away. Kendall is alive and fine. I'm going to take you to her, now."

All the fight seemed to drain out of Zach in an instant. He slumped back in his seat and closed his eyes. "Kendall….Kendall is alive. Alive and fine." He seemed to go back into a slumber again. Watching all this, Ryan didn't know what to make of it. Greenlee was apparently right about Zach and Kendall. He looked over at Tad, who was leaning against the hood of the SUV. Tad jerked his thumb at the passenger seat. "Ryan, how about you brave the savage beast this time. I've been cooped up with him too long. I'll go with…um….whatever your name is." He lurched over to Frisco, who helped him to his car. Ryan hopped into Aidan's SUV, and they started again on their journey to the hospital.