Despite being sat firmly on the floor, John suddenly felt as though he were falling from a great height. It was more than a little unsettling. And nauseating. And, god, how he did not feel up to vomiting right now. Even breathing was becoming a chore.

"John?" Eva placed her hand on his shoulder and her fingers squeezed gently.

John opened his eyes and moaned a reply.

"I'm so sorry." Eva sighed heavily, "I wanted to tell you but everywhere is bugged and … god … I'm so sorry …"

John turned his head towards her and the world continued it's merry dance about him.

"But I can help you – help your family. I can radio my contact, find out who the traitor is in your organisation, and find out more about who is trying to set your family up."

John frowned slightly.

"Your brother." Eva nodded towards the door and where Scott had departed a short while ago. "His concern makes it kinda obvious."

John nodded.

"They'll turn off the damned EM generator and your guys can come in and we can blow this whole mess wide open." She watched John nod again, a little slower this time and then his eyes closed. "John?" She squeezed his shoulder again, afraid to move him too much but wanting to keep him awake. "Come on. Stay with me."

A small smile pulled at the sides of the oxygen mask and John managed a firmer groan of response.

"That's it. Don't make me out to be a complete failure." Eva offered lightly and saw him regard her in intrigue. "This is my first field assignment." She elaborated and then chuckled softly, "Not that you'd know, right?" Eva shook her head and sighed in dismay. "I wanted to pull out after just a few days but my contact kept me focused. Then that Trangh guy turns up and it all goes wrong."

John frowned at the mention of that name and husked an inaudible expletive.

"I wanted to bug out again then." Eva smiled in amusement, "And then there was that fire and I had the perfect plan. Now I knew you guys could enter this region, I could cause another reason for you to return and you could rescue me."

John smiled in understanding.

"But I was told to stick it out. That I was too much of an investment. That we now had to know what Trangh had to do with these guys and that there was a bigger plan." Eva leaned back against the cabinets and shook her head. "And then I'm told that International Rescue are digging around and either you're involved or you're going to make a move or something. I don't know …" Eva sighed, "Sometimes it all gets lost in the translation."

"Translation?" John echoed quietly.

"Mmm. Coded transmissions."

"Oh god …" John groaned, "Navajo …"

"Yeah." Eva sat up straight and turned towards him. "Why?"

John closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "We - "

"Shh!" Eva hissed suddenly, raising her hand before him in warning. She was suddenly alert, peering towards the windows above them and then edging carefully towards the doorway.

John slid his hand beneath the folds of his blankets and closed his fingers around the handle of the gun that lay in his lap. He called out to Eva in a husked whisper but was met with another stern signal to be quiet.

Eva slowly got to her feet and listened at the door. After a moment, she leaned her head around the frame and peered carefully into the corridor.

"Mishka!"

John watched in horror as Ballensky appeared in the doorway. His blood-soaked face was filled with delight and he slapped Eva hard on the shoulder in greeting.

"(Sir.)" Eva responded evenly.

"(Come!)" Ballensky urged excitedly, "(I have set the weapon. No one can get near and when it overloads there will be no evidence, no tracing us.)"

"(But -)"

"(I still have the plans, though. We can start again. Come. Trangh waits for me at the border.)" Ballensky took hold of her arm and began to lead her from the room. It was then that he caught sight of the huddled figure in the far corner and he quickly raised the gun he held.

"(No!)" Eva gasped and grabbed his wrist, urging his hand down. "(He is International Rescue. I had to save him. It will look good for us.)"

Ballensky watched John's still form in interest for a moment. "(Fine. Bring him.)" He grunted and headed from the room.

"(No! He cannot be moved.)"

Ballensky turned back to her. "(But the weapon -)"

"(Can be turned off.)" Eva ventured carefully. "(Let his people come. Let them see we looked after him. It will work in our favour.)"

Ballensky frowned in uncertainty. "(But he has seen our faces…)"

"(And we know his.)" Eva offered, "(It is checkmate.)"

Ballensky searched her tired face and his frown grew. "(Why the concern for him, Mishka?)"

"(It's just as I said.)" Mishka shrugged.

"(No. It is something more. We have held prisoners before. But these two … why so much bother?)"

"(Because of who they are. It will be very bad for us if anything should happen to them.)"

"(Why? They are field agents, spies. They are expendable.)" Ballensky shrugged free of her grip and again aimed his gun towards John. "(Missing in action. Caught in the crossfire.)"

"(No!)" Eva stepped in front of the gun, blocking its aim.

Ballensky grinned and nodded slowly. "(I've always had doubts about women in the military. And I've never completely trusted you. I guess I was right on both counts.)"

Eva watched his finger close around the trigger and suddenly recalled from her training the damage that a close range shot could do to even the toughest of Kevlar vests. She stepped forward to make a move, to somehow grab the gun and capture Ballensky. But the shot came before she had barely twitched.

There was an eerie silence after the noise of the blast. Eva's ears were ringing and then, much to her surprise, she realised she was still standing. And was unharmed it seemed. She glanced down at her chest and saw the lack of new damage to her muddy uniform. And then noted the gun slipping from Ballensky's grasp. She looked back up and watched the man himself falling backwards. He landed with a heavy thud and lay suddenly still on the floor.

Confusion bombarded her senses. Eva looked around the empty corridor and then turned back into the room. And sudden understanding shuddered through her, accompanied by the shock of realising that somehow John had not only got hold of a gun but had also miraculously missed her.

A gurgling choke then caught her attention and Eva looked back to the fallen Ballensky. She slumped to her knees and quickly examined Ballensky's neck, noting at once the slowing spurts from the fatal wound and the expanding pupils in his wide-open eyes. "Shit!" Eva hissed in annoyance. "We could have questioned him!" She spun round to look towards John and saw him staring in horror at the crumpled form.

John's arm was trembling as he still held the gun out before him, paused in shock. He then seemed to realise that he was pointing it in Eva's direction and he looked away from the fallen guard to focus on the weapon. With a gasp, he flung the gun away as if it was suddenly burning hot and then slowly looked up at Eva. Reaching a shaky hand up to his face, he pulled the oxygen mask away and frowned in confusion. "I only wanted to stop him."

"I know." Eva nodded and moved away from Ballensky's body. She crawled back towards John, pausing briefly to collect the gun that she then saw was her own.

"Is he …?" John's frown deepened and he glanced back at the altogether too inactive form.

"It's okay." Eva offered softly.

"Oh god." John closed his eyes and hung his head.

"Hey," Eva closed the gap between them hurriedly and placed her hand on his arm. "It's okay."

John was suddenly sobbing and then clutching at his side as the action tore at his injuries. The pain made him panic more and soon he was shaking and gasping.

"Shh …" Eva moved closer to him, gripping him firmly by the shoulders, "It's okay. You were defending me."

"Oh god – oh god – oh god!" John let his head fall back against the cabinets and closed his eyes, tears tumbling down his pale cheeks as he cried.

"It'll be okay." Eva urged quietly.

"No! No - it's not! It's def- definitely - not!" John argued breathlessly. "I've – oh god – I've -"

"Hey!" Eva ordered, "Listen to me. You had no choice."

"But I – I didn't – didn't have to – oh god!" John was sobbing uncontrollably now but becoming rapidly and worryingly weaker. "Oh god – I can't – I can't breathe!"

"John!" Eva placed her hands on either side of his face and forced him to look at her. "Stop this! Calm down." She commanded sternly. "Come on. Breathe …" She closed her eyes and sighed in concern, trying to quickly think of some way to help him. "Patterns!" Eva smiled suddenly, "Remember patterns? Prime numbers?"

"I – um – oh god – I …" John grimaced and arched his neck, fighting to catch his breath.

"Seven." Eva offered.

"Seven? Um … Seven?"

"Yeah, seven days, seven wonders, seven sins, seven samurai …" Eva looked back at him and watched his face relax slowly as he forced his mind away from panic and pain.

"Nitrogen." John husked after a moment.

"Huh?"

"Nitrogen." John repeated, wincing but, at last, beginning to calm slightly. "Atomic – atomic number … seven."

"Oh. Okay."

"The number – number of objects – objects of the – the solar system vis - visible to – to the naked eye."

"Good." Eva soothed, "What else?"

John suddenly smiled, the action brightening his features for the briefest of seconds. "Messier object M7…" He closed his eyes and leaned forward, his forehead resting against Eva's as he slowly regained his composure and lowered his voice to a gentler whisper. "A magnitude 3.5 cluster … in the constellation Scorpius …"

"Okay, now you're getting freaky." Eva chuckled softly.

John moaned a quiet response.

"JOHN!"

Eva and John both jumped, startled by the sudden shout. They turned towards the door and watched as Scott came to an abrupt halt before the fallen guard. He paused a moment to grimace at the sight and then clambered into the room, quickly followed by two black-clad personnel.

"John!" Scott fell to his knees beside his brother, noting the heaviness of his brother's eyes and the way Eva seemed to be supporting his head. "Hurry!" He glanced up at his companions and then moved aside so the medic could get near.

Penny crouched down beside the body of the guard and frowned in interest at the logo on his uniform.

Scott looked away as the medic lifted John's shirt and the damage was once again revealed to him. He watched Penny examining Ballensky and shuddered as he recalled the torture and also the sight of the man apparently not having his brain fried. "He was the head guy."

"I didn't mean it to be so accurate a shot." Eva added quietly, noticing but ignoring the gentle moan of protest from John.

Scott turned to Eva, a chill running through him as he watched her flicking the safety catch of the gun she held. He then noted that she was carefully wiping one cuff of her jacket over every inch of the weapon and his heart sank. He glanced at John and suddenly he saw it all; the way she had been talking to John, the way she had held him, the tears that stained his brother's cheeks. Scott added it all up and suddenly felt ill.

"It's my gun." Eva offered quietly, "There'll be no questions."

Scott swallowed back the bile in his throat and turned his attention back to his brother, watching him grimace in protest as the medic assessed his injuries.

"Ballensky did give us something interesting, though." Eva smiled thinly as she holstered her weapon. "He's due to meet Trangh at the border."

Scott gasped and spun to look back at Penny, noting at once the suspicious glance that Penny was offering Eva. He had filled her in and she had said she could well understand his doubts but there was no longer any time for second-guessing-games. He shrugged and nodded towards Eva. "This is Agent Eva Miller. CIA."

Penny stood and wandered over to them, offering Eva an outstretched hand. "Gayle Williams, British Secret Service."

Eva shook her hand and smiled warmly. "I take it you landed safely."

"Before the weapon was activated, thankfully." Penny confirmed. "Although now I fear we are all but stranded."

Eva nodded. "Ustin will do his stuff and then International Rescue can get us out of here."

Penny smiled and turned to watch the medic examining John. "Well, Janson?"

"Whoever's coming, they'd better make it quick." Janson replied, checking again John's blood pressure reading and sighing in dismay. "I can't do much more for him here. He needs a hospital. And soon."

As if to emphasise the point, John's head lolled sideways and he slumped against the cabinets. Scott hurried forward and helped Janson carefully lay John on his uninjured side. John was pale and unresponsive; the only sign of life the thin wisps of shallow breath that clouded the inside of the oxygen mask.

His eyes brimming with tears, Scott gently held John's head to keep his airway open and watched the medic preparing intubation equipment in anticipation of the worst. Scott swallowed hard and glanced at Penny, receiving in reply a thin smile that offered little comfort.

tbc …