Jaime's shoulder felt like it was on fire, and yet it wasn't life-threatening. The bullet had sailed clean through the fleshy part of her right shoulder, above the bionic attachment, and while it was painful, she figured she'd be okay. Her mind drifted back to the man who called himself Howard. There was no question that he was military, but was he retired, dishonorably discharged, or some kind of mercenary? She closed her eyes and concentrated on the sounds her bionic ear picked up from far above her cell, and suddenly it made sense. Howard wasn't retired, thrown out nor a wannabe; he was still serving. And worse than that, the familiar noises were such because she had to be on a military base - or under it.
Jaime's face felt hot with anger. It was bad enough to think that terrorists had infiltrated a U.S. military base, but to know that an officer - and Jaime understood he had to be one with clout to make this so - had assisted them in procuring classified secrets; in making a deal with a hostile foreign government to sell those secrets; and killing a high-ranking government official who meant more to her than anyone could know, was unbearable. She felt the flood of tears in her eyes, and she slammed them shut against the emotions that were trying to overwhelm her. The last thing she wanted to do was give the animals holding her any satisfaction from the vile acts they had perpetrated, especially ending the life of Oscar Goldman. Jaime had to find a way to thwart what they were about to do, not only for herself, but more importantly for Oscar; it would be the last thing she would ever be able to do for him.
And then it came to her: the secret of bionics wasn't in the neural nets, connections, limbs, and electronics that had become such a part of her. No, it was in the ability to power them; it was in the nuclear power pack. If she could remove it, and destroy it beyond recognition, then in the end she would win, and in some way, so would Oscar. Jaime took a calming breath. Such an action also meant her own demise, but considering her predicament, she was dead already; at this point there was only the how of her death, not the fact of it. And Jaime Sommers would take control of how and when, and in the process screw the terrorists out of any sale to a foreign government. Her parts would be worthless without the ability to power them; and if no one else had figured out how to use nuclear power in bionics yet, then it was doubtful they'd figure it out from her body parts without the power pack.
She smiled slightly as she opened her eyes: she would be dead, but she was willing to bet that everyone involved in this would be too, and on some level, that was good enough for her. She moved herself over to the steel cot in the room, and tried lifting it with her left arm while lying on her stomach on the floor. It was difficult, but she knew she could do it. With her bionic arm, she pulled a steel slat out from the bottom, and checked to see which end had the sharper edge. Jaime positioned herself close to the heaviest end of the cot's leg and tore at her right sleeve. Using the sharp edge of the slat, she cut into her upper right arm, revealing the small panel beneath. With a slow breath for courage, Jaime removed the power pack with her left hand, immediately feeling the drain from her body. Almost paralyzed, Jaime used her real arm to lift the steel cot's leg up an inch or so, and slide the power pack underneath it. With all her might, she lifted the leg once again, and slammed it on top of the tiny power unit. After several repeats, the nuclear power pack was in thousands of pieces, and worthless to anyone trying to garner its secrets.
With a smile on her face, Jaime lay her head on her left arm, shivering from cold. She knew she had only to wait about an hour, and without the tiny power pack, death would come. Her only regret was that she wouldn't witness the outcome of her sacrifice, but still, there was a victory. All she needed to do now was close her eyes and sleep the slumber of endless dreams.