Nina's bony fingers cut into Michelle's arm as she was dragged down some moss-covered steps and into a room which smelled of damp and dark, in sharp contrast with the bright fluorescent lights glowing on the low, concrete ceiling. Half a dozen men were standing or pacing around the place, all of whom looked up when Nina entered, pulling Michelle behind her.

Tony was chained to a pipe which ran along the wall not ten feet away. He opened his mouth when he saw Michelle -- and then he noticed Nina.

Nina grinned. "Hello, Tony."

Tony simply gaped.

Michelle was released from Nina's grip and pushed roughly towards her husband. She tripped on one of the chains holding him prisoner -- and fell into his arms.

There was one short moment where they just stared at each other, unable to speak because of the sheer multitude of questions hanging between them... and then Tony kissed her, and the inexplicable apprehension she had been feeling evaporated as she let herself sink into him.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, pulling away just enough to look into his eyes.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Are you?"

"I'm fine," Michelle assured him. She reached out to touch his face -- only to have Nina grab her wrist and pull her away, back up to a standing position and out of reach of Tony's suddenly empty grasp.

"How very touching... but I think you're more fun over here with me." Nina grinned at Michelle and turned. "How've you been, Tony?"

Tony scowled. "I was fine til you showed up."

Nina laughed. "Funny, that's exactly what Michelle said. It's probably why you're so perfect for each other, you're so much alike. You're both computer geeks, you both work for CTU... and you were both pretty good in bed, I have to admit."

Michelle gritted her teeth and forced herself to breathe deep to keep from panicking. She looked at Tony, trying to figure out how he was going to react, watching the wheels turning strenuously in his head as he tried to understand.

"What?" he said finally; understanding obstinately refusing to dawn.

"Oh, your wife and I are old acquaintances. Didn't she tell you?"

"Michelle…" Tony turned to her, silently begging her to tell him it wasn't true.

Michelle just stood there open-mouthed and slowly shook her head, unable to speak. I can explain, she wanted to say, but the only explanation Tony wanted to hear was it's a lie, and she couldn't tell him that.

"Oh yeah." Nina beckoned to one of the men standing nearby, who came over and pulled both Michelle's arms behind her back, leaving Nina free to wander leisurely back to Tony. She hunched down next to him. "There was a time when our darling Michelle here was infatuated with me. Hanging on my every word, following me around like a little lovesick puppy... She actually cried when I told her I was being transferred to CTU. Didn't you, Michelle?" she asked, looking back over her shoulder.

"Screw you, Nina." There were tears in Michelle's eyes now at the expression on Tony's face, but she was damned if she was going to let them fall.

Nina grinned. "Michelle, honey, you already did." She raised her eyebrows. "Or did you forget?" Nina turned to Tony. "Maybe that's why she never got around to telling you. But somehow I don't think that's it." She took his chin in her hand. "Aren't you going to say anything, sweetie?"

Tony spat in her face.

Nina flinched, but only took a moment to recover and calmly wiped the saliva from her cheek. Then she wiped her hand off on Tony's pants, reaching way too far up his leg for Michelle's taste, and she was sure Tony's too.

"Poor baby," Nina cooed, patting his cheek with her other hand. "You're not enjoying this at all, are you? And the thought of two women touching each other used to get you so excited." She shook her head. "Do you want to know how it started?" She glanced back at Michelle, grinning wickedly. "It's a fascinating story, full of blood and tears and alcohol to drown our sorrows..."

Michelle's hands shook behind her back. She wished she could bury her face in them.

"I get the feeling you're going to tell me whether I want to hear it or not," Tony growled at Nina.

She was about to reply when Ton Rees stepped into the room.

-- --

Michelle felt like she was looking at a ghost.

Oh, the man in front of her was undoubtedly not the one she remembered working against so long ago, but the small resemblances in different parts of his face combined to make quite an eerie picture.

This wasn't helped by the fact that he was staring at her with a frighteningly cold hatred gleaming in his eyes.

"So," he said, not taking his eyes off of Michelle, "this is her?"

"Yes," Nina said, coming up beside him. "This is her."

Rees nodded slowly and stepped carefully around Michelle to examine her from the side.

It was a strange feeling, having someone talk about her as if she wasn't there and yet scrutinize her so thoroughly. It was also more than a little unpleasant.

"I thought she'd be blonde," Rees said finally, turning away dismissively. He glanced at Tony. "That's the husband?"

"Yes," Nina confirmed.

"Hmm." Rees looked back at the man holding Michelle's arms. "Put her over there with him and fetch me a chair. I've got a story to tell them."

The man obeyed, and Michelle found herself being thrown down next to Tony. She looked at him uncertainly. He wouldn't meet her eyes.

Rees sat down on the chair which had hastily been provided and looked down on them. A hungry gleam appeared in his eyes as he cleared his throat. "Well," he said, "I suppose you know why I'm going to kill you?"

Michelle swallowed. "You think it's my fault that your brother died."

"I don't think, Ms. Dessler, I know. And you know it too, or you wouldn't be looking so guilty."

Michelle blushed. She knew that Rees must know why she was looking guilty, and yet she couldn't admit to the real reason out loud. Not with Tony there.

Tony who was sitting next to her as if he was completely unaware of her presence.

"Do you know how my brother died?" Rees asked, in much the same tone as Michelle would use to ask for a progress report.

"He burned to death." She didn't know what else to say to him but the truth.

"No, actually, he didn't." Rees leaned forward in his heat, so close Michelle could smell his breath. "Oh, he caught on fire. Did you know that burning is the worst kind of pain a person can feel? So to escape that pain, he jumped into the ocean by the house, and he drowned." Rees snapped his fingers, and one of his men pulled Michelle up again. Rees got to his feet and stepped forward so he was toe to toe with her. "You wanna know what happens now?"

Michelle forced her voice not to shake. "What happens now?"

Rees grinned. "We recreate my brother's death, just for you. First," he said, raising his hand with a flourish and stepping away from her, "Someone you love will die a horrible, painful death -- that's the part where you feel what I've felt, and what that gasoline in the corner is for," -- he gestured at a canister which Michelle hadn't noticed until now -- "And then, we drop you in the ocean and you drown, which is the part where you're my brother. What do you think?" He spun round to face her again.

"I think you should let us go before you get yourself put back in jail," Michelle said coldly, trying to suppress the horror she felt at what he had threatened to do to Tony.

"Well, that's too bad. Nina, take her outside. You two deal with him," he said to the two men closest to him, "The rest of you, come with us."

Michelle felt Nina's hand clamp around her arm again, and looked up into her nastily smiling face. "Say goodbye to your husband, Michelle." Nina began dragging her towards the door. "Bye, Tony!"

"Tony!" Michelle struggled to escape, but one of Rees' men stepped in to help Nina restrain her.

"Michelle!" she heard Tony cry, and she was pulled out of sight.

-- --

Michelle couldn't stop the tears falling now. Nina was sitting across from her in the truck they had bundled her into, looking like she was having the time of her life. Michelle wanted to kill her. If it weren't for the fact that she was surrounded by enemies and her hands were tied together she probably would have.

"Not far to go, Michelle, don't worry. I wonder if he's dead yet."

Michelle tried to kick her, but her foot barely brushed the leg of Nina's pants. Nina laughed, while Michelle shed tears of frustration.

"Why are you doing this to me and not to her?" Michelle demanded of Rees, who was sat at the far end of the truck. "Your brother's death was just as much her fault as it was mine."

"You lit the fire, Michelle," Nina said, grinning.

"I wasn't talking to you."

"She's right, though," Rees replied, reclining lazily in his seat. "Also, I must admit to having a certain... affection for her."

"She seduced you, didn't she," Michelle said, disgusted. "You found her first, and she seduced you and made you think it was all my fault, and then she promised to help you kill me."

"Ah, Michelle, you know me so well..." Nina was still smiling.

"Yeah, well, I really wish I didn't."

"Beggars can't be choosers, Michelle."

"I'm not going to beg you for anything."

"Not like you used to, then?"

"Go to hell."

The truck stopped. Nina glanced out of the window, then looked back at Michelle. "I think it's your turn first."

The doors were pushed open and Michelle found herself being dragged to her feet and out onto a small, grassy precipice. The edge was only a few yards away, and she could her the water underneath them.

Rees' men held her while he tied a weight to her ankles, and then Nina stepped forward.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," she said.

Michelle glared at her. "Just do it."

Nina stepped closer, and reached out to tuck one of Michelle's curls behind her ear.

Michelle did her best not to flinch.

"I'll try to miss you, but I'm sure I'll find someone else to amuse me soon enough." Nina stepped back. "She's all yours, Tom."

Tom Rees stepped forward. "Any last words, Ms. Dessler?"

Michelle glared. "It's Mrs."

Tom Rees nodded, and pushed her into the sea.

She was vaguely aware of a splash, and then she was sinking.

She tried to reach down with her bound hands and untie the rope attached around her ankles, but she couldn't twist to find and angle which would allow her good enough access. She looked around in vain for something to pull herself up on, but already she could barely control her movements for lack of air. She tried not to breathe in, and tried to remember how long it took you to die once your lungs were filled with water.

She tried to pull her legs apart, hoping to loosen her bonds enough to slip her feet from the rope, but she knew it was pointless, her head was spinning and her chest felt like it was going to explode...

She gasped, and water flowed through her mouth and down into her lungs.

Michelle closed her eyes, desperately searching her mind for something which might help her, but there was nothing, and she could already feel unconsciousness moving in on her like a snake through the water...

At least she would be with Tony.

Michelle gave up.

And then a hand grabbed her wrist.