Determinant: a gene or other factor that determines the character and development of a cell or group of cells in an organism.
Chapter 44: The Black Forest - Between Bark and Tree
After Jackson's abduction and Charles Duncan's return, the team struggles to stay ahead of the impending apocalypse.
"Jamie?"
She glanced up from where she was slumped over the mug on the table in front of her. The once steaming hot tea was now tepid, its surface no lower than when Max had set it in front her an hour ago. She'd managed to revive him moments after Duncan (she couldn't call him Mitch) had left with Jackson, and though it had been difficult to speak over the hard lump in her throat, she relayed everything he'd missed before breaking down and crying on his shoulder. He'd taken her to the kitchen, made her the cup of tea, and left her at the small table against the wall before leaving to check in with the others and make sure Clem was still safe in the tank.
"How is she?" Jamie's voice was harsh and low from an hour spent suppressing the urge to weep again. Max sat carefully in the chair opposite her, and Jamie felt horrible for allowing the responsibility of coordinating with her friends and checking on Clem fall on him. He'd just been knocked out by his own son - or rather, she corrected, an evil alter ego of his son.
Jamie recalled the moment of realization, that sick feeling that had washed over her when she looked in Mitch's eyes and met a stranger's gaze instead. Fresh tears threatened to spill and she closed her eyes against them as she gripped the cool ceramic of her mug in an effort to ground herself.
"She's fine," Max said softly. "The tank kept her safe. Jackson and Abe did a good job securing it to the bulkheads."
Jamie nodded, but said nothing. She didn't know what to say. She felt like she was in a dream and, even though she knew it was a longshot, she willed herself to wake up from this nightmare. When her eyes opened, Max was staring at her.
"Are you okay?" she asked him finally.
"Slight headache," he waved her concern off with a hand. "Nothing to worry about. How are you holding up?" Jamie opened her mouth to tell him she was okay, but it was a lie. Max seemed to realize it, too, and he slid his hand over her wrist and squeezed lightly. "We'll find them. Tessa and Harren went out to see if they could track Mitch and Jackson back to wherever Abigail is. They're due back soon."
She hadn't even taken the time to figure out where they'd landed. She cursed herself for allowing her grief to overwhelm her so completely. Her friends needed her. Taking a deep breath, she sat up straighter and met his gaze. "Where are we?"
"Just outside Copenhagen." Max sat back with a small smile on his face. "You know, the summer before you all came to see me about that saber-toothed cat, I spent a few weeks here on a leisure trip. I met a wonderful young lady from the university. We had a grand time."
Jamie allowed herself a wry smile. "Not sure I want to hear about your co-ed conquests, Max." She stood up and picked up her mug of cold tea. She deposited in the sink and left it there. "We need someone who's familiar with the bio-drives to see if we can track Mit - I mean, Duncan."
Max stood as well. "How are you going to find one?"
"I'm gonna make a phone call."
She left her father-in-law in the kitchen and moved to her bedroom. The sheets were still rumpled from last night, and Jamie clenched her jaw as her throat tightened painfully once more. She couldn't even keep that memory safe from Abigail's destructive influence; all she could think about now was the possibility that it might have been her very last night with Mitch. She channeled her despair and hopelessness into something else, allowing the darkness inside her to feed on those emotions until she felt nothing but seething anger. Anger she could use. Anger was energy. Motivation. She would get her revenge on Abigail, make her pay for all of the hurt and anguish she'd caused her family.
Swiping a single tear from her cheek, Jamie opened the drawer on the bedside table and found her phone. She selected one of the few contacts she'd saved and hit the green dial button. It took a while, but eventually it connected.
"Hale."
"Logan, it's me."
"Jamie," he sounded surprised to hear from her. "What's going on? What's wrong?"
She spent a few minutes explaining everything in short, clipped sentences. She hated rehashing it all, but Logan needed the whole story if she was going to ask for his help. When she was finished he was quiet for a moment, then he sighed.
"That's...unbelievable." She knew he didn't mean anything by it, but his words made her temper flare slightly. She checked the impulse to snap at him as he continued. "So why are you calling me?"
"You've been hunting and imprisoning Shepherds for years," she told him. "I need to talk to one of them. One of them has to know about the bio-drive program and how to track them."
"Jamie -"
She cut him off before he could deny her request. "Logan, please. I'll tear Copenhagen apart looking for him if I have to, but by then it might be too late. Whatever Abigail is planning, it's happening soon. The faster we find her, the sooner we can end this nightmare."
He sighed. "Let me talk to my bosses and see what I can do. I'll call you back soon."
It wasn't a no. "Thank you," she breathed. "I owe you one, Logan."
He snorted humorlessly. "Yeah, right. Talk to you later."
Jamie ended the call and slid the phone into her back pocket. She thought about making the bed, but then she was hit with the ridiculous notion that doing so would somehow erase her last moments with Mitch. She knew it was silly, but she couldn't bring herself to even straighten the pillows. Leaving it a mess, she turned toward the door and went in search of her friends.
She found Abe sitting in the lab looking far more dejected than she'd anticipated. When he looked up he gave her a flat smile and gestured toward the rolling chair next to his.
"Dariela is gone," he said solemnly. "She took Isaac back home."
Jamie tried to feign surprise, but she had a feeling that Dariela was just one crazy adventure away from whisking her son back to the safety of their Michigan home. An octopus hybrid disabling the plane and nearly killing them all probably qualified. So instead she reached out a hand and laid it on his forearm. His other hand came up to cover hers and for a moment they just sat there in silence, drawing strength from one another.
"Max told me what happened with Mitch and Jackson. I'm sorry."
Jamie nodded wordlessly then took a shaky breath. "It just all feels like a nightmare," she admitted. "I keep thinking I'll wake up and he'll still be there next to me." It was a frightening parallel to a conversation she'd had with Jackson almost ten years ago after Mitch had disappeared. She remembered the feeling of helplessness and grief that had threatened to overwhelm her. Her family had pulled her back from the brink then. Now her family was so broken she wasn't sure it was possible.
"We will find them," Abe promised. "Jackson, too."
Jamie scoffed. "Clem's in a tank. Jackson's been kidnapped by his evil sister. Mitch is gone. Dariela's gone."
"We will get them back." He sounded so confident, so sure of his words, that Jamie almost believed him. "When Dariela left, I could have left with her. I fact, I probably should have. But you know why I didn't?" He paused and Jamie shook her head. "Faith. Faith in our mission. Faith in our team. Faith that we are doing the right thing. And we are the only ones who can."
"I wish I felt that way. I wish I had your conviction. But what if faith isn't enough?" It was a scary prospect, failure. Not just because of the global implications, but it would mean that everything they had ever worked for meant nothing.
"Well then, how about a bit of good news?" Abe turned back to the workstation behind him. "I finished running the test on Harren's blood. He is a good match for the baby. We can bring Clem out of stasis and get him the transfusion."
Jamie froze in horror. She was going to have to tell Clem - again - that her father had been taken. She would have to look her step-daughter in the eye and admit her failure. Clem was going to hate her.
"Do we have to?" Jamie wondered aloud. "I mean, isn't she safer in the tank."
"We still don't understand the long-term effects that stasis has on the body. Mitch never submitted to any tests I asked of him, so the longer she is in that tank, the more chance she has of developing some unknown side effects. It would be best to bring her out." He seemed to understand why she'd asked the question, and as he stood up he held out his hand. "If you like, I can tell her about Mitch."
For one second Jamie considered it, then she cursed herself inwardly. Coward, she thought. "No," she said finally. She let him help her stand, then smiled briefly when he pulled her against his body in a one-armed hug. "I'll tell her. Come on."
Now down five members of their team, getting Clem out of the tank proved a little harder than they'd planned. Max helped, but even with the three of them it took almost two hours to make sure they were ready. Max and Jamie stood at the top to pull Clem from the liquid as soon as Abe disconnected her from the tank. They had every piece of first aid equipment they could find on the plane strewn out on the deck just in case something went wrong.
Abe pressed the button and Jamie heard the tank's hum diminish for a moment, then fade out all together. The blue-white light dimmed and she saw Clem's fingers twitch. Then she blinked. Abe pressed another button, and the platform that had lowered her into the tank now rose. Clem couldn't quite manage to stand up on it, so her legs folded beneath her as the platform came up. When she emerged from the tank she was seated cross-legged and arms folded across her body. Jamie pushed her hair away from her face as she took her first gasping breaths.
"It's alright," Jamie soothed. "Take it easy for a minute. Just breathe, sweetie."
"J-Jamie?" Clem shivered once before Max produced a warm wool blanket. He draped it over her shoulders and rubbed them to get some warmth back into her system.
"I'm here." Jamie continued to smooth her hair back as Clem slowly regained some strength back. When she tried to stand, Jamie and Max supported her until she got her legs under her. They managed to get her down the step ladder and onto the main deck without too much trouble. Abe wrapped a second blanket around her and guided her to a chair next to the console.
"I need to do a quick check," he told her. "It will only take a moment."
Clem nodded and huddled into the blankets as long as she could, only presenting what was absolutely necessary for Abe to do his exam. Jamie watched her carefully, and so she saw the exact moment Clem's mind seemed to register who was in the cargo bay with her. Or, more precisely, who wasn't.
"Where's Dad?"
Here it was, the moment Jamie had been dreading. She felt Max at her back and drew some strength from him. "Abigail activated the bio-drive before we could disable it," she said. "Your dad took Jackson to her. Tessa and Harren are tracking them now, and as soon as we know where they are we're going to get them."
Clem took it all in silently. Jamie had always had difficulty reading the girl, and for a just a moment she was afraid that Clem's silence would give way to anger. But then she nodded and stood on shaky legs.
"How can I help?"
Abe gently pushed her back into her chair. "You can rest, for now," he ordered. "Harren's blood will help your baby, but right now things are very delicate. You must not stress your body too much or you could develop complications."
Jamie echoed his sentiments. "The most important thing is your health, Clem." Her hand was still petting the young woman's hair rhythmically, and she felt Clem sag against her slightly. "I know you're worried about your dad, but we're going to get him back."
Clem looked up at her then, and Jamie was struck by the trust and love in her eyes. "I know you will." She let her head fall against Jamie's stomach as the last remnants of her strength gave out. "Sleepy."
"Probably a side effect of the tank," Max said. "She'll be alright after a nap."
"Hasn't she been sleeping this whole time?" Jamie asked.
Abe thought for a moment. "Perhaps it's like when you sleep too long, and you're more tired than you would be if you'd gotten up sooner."
Jamie could already tell he was pondering the science, probably in preparation for a paper of some kind. She smiled at the newly formed similarities between Abe and Mitch, though she wisely kept the observation to herself.
"Let's get her to the lab." Max moved around Jamie to slide one arm under Clem's knees and the other around her back, then in one motion he scooped her up. She laid her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes as Abe led them through the narrow corridors to the lab. Jamie left them to tend to her as she fished her phone out to check in with Harren and Tessa. She didn't have the latter's number, but Harren had been sure to let his new comrades in arms know how to get a hold of him if they needed him.
He picked up on the second ring. "Hello?"
"Harren, it's Jamie. How is it going?"
"Looks like Mitch and Jackson stole a car just outside the airport. I called in a favor to a friend of mine to see if we could get traffic cams, but I haven't heard back."
Jamie thought about her own phone call to Logan and prayed at least one of them would get an answer soon. "Alright. Might as well come back to the plane," she told them. "We can regroup and decide what to do next."
"Will do."
Just before they disconnected, a thought hit Jamie. "Hey," she called a little louder than necessary. "How's Tessa doing?"
"Focused," Harren replied. "She's alright."
"Okay. Be safe, both of you." She hung up and stared at her screen for a while as if she could will Logan to call her. It remained dark. Jamie shoved it back into her pocket and rejoined the two men hovering over Clem in the lab.
"We've got an IV in her to replenish some nutrients she's low on," Max explained as she eyed the long tube running from a liquid-filled bag hanging on a hook all the way to Clem's arm. Clem was still sleeping, or at least resting her eyes, and she didn't stir when Jamie took her hand.
"The baby?"
"He's fine, for now," Abe told her. "I'm preparing everything for Harren's return."
"They're on their way back now," Jamie answered his unspoken question. "Shouldn't be too long."
"Good. Once we stabilize the baby's vitals, we can focus all of our attention on finding Mitch and Jackson."
Harren and Tessa arrived half an hour later, and within ten minutes of their arrival Abe had Harren hooked up to an IV of his own.
"The process will take some time," he told everyone. "You should all get some rest." It was tacitly understood just what they were resting for. If either Harren's contact or Logan came through for them, they could potentially be facing off with Abigail in the next twenty four hours. Tessa left immediately but Jamie lingered. Clem was still sleeping but she wanted to be there in case she was needed. Finally Max came up behind her and slid his arm across her back in a half-embrace.
"She'll be okay," he told her softly. "You should get some sleep."
Jamie didn't budge. She knew he meant well, but she couldn't face her empty bed right now. "I'm alright." She shot him a smile to reassure him, but she could tell he wasn't convinced. "I am," she pressed. "I just...I need to be here right now."
"Okay." In a moment of fatherly affection, Max placed a kiss on her head. "Don't run yourself into the ground, alright?"
"I won't."
She didn't take her eyes off of Clem's sleeping form, but she did notice the absence of his warmth as he walked away. After a few moments of watchful hovering, Abe finally offered her a chair. She rolled it to the opposite side of Clem's bed, well out of Abe's way but close enough to reach out and take her step-daughter's hand. It was pleasantly warm under her touch, and Jamie took it as a good sign.
"I'm here, sweetie," she whispered. "I'm here."
She woke some time later to someone tapping her gently on the shoulder. She raised her head from where it had fallen on the arm she'd draped on the bedside in front of her. As she did she met Clem's bright eyes and smiled.
"How are you feeling?"
Clem glanced at the needle still stuck in her other arm. "I'm okay. Did it work?"
Jamie glanced around for Abe hoping to get the answer herself, but it was just the two of them. "I suppose everything's alright, otherwise Abe would be lurking." Clem smiled at the joke and moved to sit up. Jamie helped her from tangling her IV line with the transfusion line as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Anything feel weird?" Jamie asked worriedly. "You were in tank for just a few days, but we're still not sure about the side effects."
"I feel great, actually," Clem said. "A little hungry."
"I'll go grab something from the kitchen. Any requests?"
"I guess Uncle Bo's gumbo is probably not on the menu?" Clem asked hopefully.
Jamie laughed. "Not really, but as soon as we get home I'll make sure to cook up a big pot just for you."
Jamie left her in the lab and hurried upstairs to make a sandwich, then she made another for herself. When she returned, Abe was back to check on Clem.
"The transfusion is done," he said solemnly. His face gave nothing away, and Jamie could tell Clem was growing worried. She set the plate of food on a side table and turned to her friend.
"Abe?"
He stared at his monitor for a few more moments, then sighed. "The baby will be fine."
Jamie wrapped Clem up in a hug as the girl burst into tears. When she apologized, Jamie just shook her head and hugged her tighter. "It's alright. Part of the hormones, probably."
"I'm just glad he's okay," she pulled away and wiped her eyes. "When Abe said he was in danger I was afraid…"
Jamie saw the embarrassment that flushed her cheeks and with a subtle look at Abe she asked for privacy without saying a word. Abe patted Clem's arm and left them to their chat, but not before extracting a promise for Clem to take it easy for a while until her own vitals stabilized from her time in the tank.
Once they were alone, Jamie sat back down in the chair that she'd fallen asleep in. "What is it, sweetie?"
The girl hemmed for a moment, obviously self-conscious about whatever was on her mind. Then she sighed. "I was afraid that I'd failed. I mean, I haven't even been pregnant for a whole week yet and I already almost lost him." Her breath hitched at the end of her sentence and fresh tears spilled onto her cheeks. "I guess I just thought…what if I turn out to be a horrible mom?"
Jamie's heart broke at the sight of her tears. It struck her then how similar their situations were. Both of them had suddenly become single moms without much warning at all, though Clem's circumstances were a bit more dramatic than her own had been. And she had the added pressure of potentially carrying the savior of humanity; it was no wonder Clem had been stressing about the baby's health.
"Clem, you're going to be an amazing mom. I know you didn't really plan for this, but you're so strong. Sometimes...sometimes life throws things at us that we think we aren't ready for, and we just have to do the best we can and hope it's enough. And you're not alone in this, okay? We're all here to help you however we can."
There must have been something - some hint of insecurity in her voice - that Clem took note of, and the young woman smiled warmly up at her. "Jamie, I know I never really said it before, but you were - you are a great mom. You always looked after me and cared about me like I was your own. Even with Dad gone I never felt alone, and I know this baby is going to be just as loved."
The simple sentiment brought tears to her eyes, and Jamie leaned down to embrace Clem tightly. "We're gonna be okay," she promised. "We'll find your dad. Together."
"And then we can go home right?"
Jamie laughed even as a few tears spilled out onto her cheeks. "You bet. Though your dad has issues with where we chose to settle."
"Well, I had planned on going back to school once this was all over. But I guess this changes everything." Her hand fell to her still-flat stomach in a soft caress.
"It doesn't have to."
Clem's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure your dad is going to want to be near you and the baby, so we could move to Pittsburgh and help out when you decide to go back to school." As she said it out loud, Jamie realized that there was nothing she wanted more than to find Mitch, take care of Abigail and implement this plan as soon as possible. They'd probably even manage to get Dianne to tag along with them.
"That sounds amazing."
Jamie's phone rang shrilly in the beat of silence between them, and she pulled it from her pocket and answered without checking the caller information. "Hello?"
"Jamie, it's me."
"Logan," she stepped away from Clem and turned to focus on the call. "What do you have?"
"Open your door and find out." He hung up abruptly, and Jamie stared at her phone for a moment before dashing to the rear of the lab. She was through the small hallway and into to vehicle bay in just a few steps. She slammed the controls a little harder than necessary, and as the bay door began to lower she saw Logan standing there in slightly more formal clothes than his usual tactical attire. Next to him was a shorter man with gray scraggly hair running from the top of his head down to his chin. His shoulders were slumped, and as the door continued to lower Jamie realized his hands were cuffed behind his back.
"Logan." Jamie greeted the man curtly as he escorted his prisoner into the plane. She waited until they were inside before closing the door, though she made no move to approach them. "Who is this?"
"Jared MacAvey," Logan pushed the other man forward a bit more. "Former Shepherd. He ran security for the Applied Sciences Division. We tracked him down yesterday in New England."
The door to the hallway slid back and Abe came in brandishing a handgun. He lowered it when he saw Logan, but the confusion remained on his face.
"Logan? What are you doing here?"
"Jamie called in a favor," he answered. "Let's get him in a cell and we can talk more."
As they made their way below, Jamie couldn't help but notice the furtive glances from MacAvey. Finally she called him out on it as Logan locked him inside the small metal cage in the belly of the plane.
"I've always wanted to meet you," he grinned. There was something in his eyes that unsettled her, but she forced herself to hold his gaze. She wouldn't show him any weakness if that's what he was looking for.
"Come on," Logan tugged on her sleeve. "We have some catching up to do. Let him rot down here for a while."
"See you soon, Jamie!" MacAvey called after her.
"How does he know my name?" she asked Logan once they were back upstairs.
"I mean, you're not exactly an anonymous bystander in all this," he said. "You wrote a book about it, for Christ's sake."
Jamie opened her mouth to snap at him for his churlish attitude, but Abe cut her off before she could get a word out. "What brings you back to the plane, Logan?"
Logan seemed to recognize Abe's attempt at playing peacemaker and his shoulders dropped slightly. "Like I said, Jamie called in a favor. She seems to think one of them might know how to track the bio-drive." He paused for a moment. "So Mitch is Mr. Duncan?"
"It would seem that way, yes," Abe answered. "Do you think MacAvey can help us?"
"He already said he would."
That confused Jamie. "Why? Why would he help us?"
Logan shrugged. "I don't know. When I went to talk to him, my bosses had a deal all ready for him, but before I could lay it out he said he'd help as long as he got to come along and watch the show. His words."
"And since you were going to bring him anyway…" Abe trailed off.
"Exactly. I figured it was a win for everyone."
"Alright, let's go talk to him." Jamie was chomping at the bit to get any information she could lay her hands on that would help her find Mitch and, by extension, Abigail and Jackson.
Logan and Abe followed her back down the stairs. MacAvey was right where they'd left him, standing in the center of the cell with his hands still cuffed behind his back. As soon as Jamie was within arm's reach of the bars he darted forward and slammed up against them. Jamie felt a large hand clamp on her shoulder as Abe yanked her back away from the man. Logan pressed forward with a sharp kick to the bars.
"Enough," he barked. "Now, Miss Campbell has some questions for you. You're going to answer them, or -"
"Or what?" MacAvey smirked. "You're going to smack me around? I'm still a US citizen. I have rights."
"I'm not sure you fully appreciate your situation," Logan went on calmly. "The world is in the middle of a crisis. It would be no trouble at all to 'lose you' to a random hybrid attack. And the best part is," he leaned in to press his point, "no one will miss you." His words seem to strike home and MacAvey backed away from the bars with a quiet snarl. Logan looked over his shoulder at Jamie and nodded once.
She took a deep breath and stepped away from Abe a few paces. "I need to know if it's possible to track a bio-drive. Abigail implanted one in our friend," Jamie forced her emotions down, away from anywhere MacAvey could see them. He didn't need to know how important Mitch was to her.
At the mention of Abigail, however, something changed in MacAvey. He shifted from smug to contemptuous and Logan pounced on it. "You've been looking for her, haven't you?" MacAvey didn't react to Logan's question, but they could all see his demeanor had changed. "She betrayed you worse than anyone. Her work with the hybrids will probably undo everything you Shepherds have been working for."
MacAvey said nothing.
Jamie lowered her voice slightly, angling her head slightly to make eye contact. "Abigail is going to set her creations loose on the entire planet. They will destroy every ecosystem, wipe out everything until they are the only things left. Help us find her."
MacAvey's lip curled in dark delight. "Your husband goes AWOL and you come crawling to me - a Shepherd - praying for help." His own tone dropped to match hers, every syllable dripping with malice. "I hope he ends up like the rest of the bio-drive subjects, choking to death on his own vomit."
In one swift motion Jamie reached out and slapped the button that opened the cell. Before Logan or Abe could grab her arm, she squeezed through the space created as the door slid back. MacAvey seemed surprised at her speed, but before he could turn his shoulder in defense she was on him. The first punch sent him reeling into the bars and the second doubled him over. She managed to drive her knee into his gut before Abe's large arms hauled her backward.
"Jamie!"
She struggled against him once, lashing out with a foot as MacAvey stood up shakily. It connected with his chin and he grunted in pain as blood poured out his mouth. Logan interposed himself between them before she could do more damage.
"Do you really think the other Shepherds are going after Abigail?" she spat at him. Abe had taken her around the cell to the small space between the bulkhead and the bars. Logan was situating MacAvey onto the small cot inside, but the other man was still conscious. "Who's left?" she continued angrily. "Who's gonna stop her?"
"She's right," Abe said calmly. "If we're both going to get what we want, we're going to have to start working together."
MacAvey spit a glob of blood onto the deck. "Okay," he grunted. "I'll get you the tech stuff to find your friend and you'll let me walk free with Abigail."
"Mitch is the priority," Jamie directed before the others could protest, "and we get Abigail for a conversation." She didn't want to reveal Abigail's connection to Jackson; she had no way of knowing how much the Shepherds actually knew. "Then she's all yours." She knew she should probably feel bad about that deal. It was unlikely the Shepherds wanted Abigail for a civil discussion. But the darkness within her had been growing ever so slowly, and some small part of Jamie relished in the idea of Abigail paying dearly for her choices.
Under the strictest supervision, MacAvey was allowed to work in a small corner of the lab beneath the stairs. Clem had been moved to her room to rest and recuperate, and Logan had found something interesting in Max's work that pulled his attention away for a moment. Harren stood guard over MacAvey and Jamie watched the ex-Shepherd carefully to make sure he didn't try to contact his friends sooner than they wanted him to. Just as closely as she watched MacAvey, Jamie could feel Abe watching her. She knew he was worried about her outburst and her willingness to turn Abigail over to the Shepherds, though he'd never say anything in front of the others. A unified front, she thought. He understood the importance of solidarity, and she thanked him silently for his discretion.
It took almost two more hours for the device to be finished, but when MacAvey powered up the small handheld tracker it beeped rhythmically. According to the screen, Mitch was still in the city. That was a good sign, at least. Maybe it meant things were finally turning around.
"Okay, put him back in the cell." Jamie reached for the tracker but MacAvey pulled it away.
"I'm going with you."
"And give you every chance to betray us or escape?" she scoffed. "I don't think so."
"I want to find Abigail as badly as you want to find Mitch. I know it's hard to believe, but we're on the same side here."
He'd relaxed his posture enough that Jamie could swipe the tracker from his hands. He protested, but Harren's presence stopped any retaliation. "Fine," Jamie relented. "But you are not getting a weapon."
She gathered the others and left Harren and Tessa on the plane to look after Clem and the baby. Logan had stayed behind as well, claiming that something Max had discovered would help them solve their "nest problem," whatever that was. Jamie hadn't argued. She and Max climbed into the backseat as Abe and MacAvey took the front. Her heart was pounding from adrenaline, the pressure of this mission so much greater than any other she'd been on. Max reached over and squeezed her hand in support as Abe backed them out and set off toward the city center.
Luckily it was dark outside, so the arsenal they were carrying was easier to conceal on the walk from the SUV to the rear entrance of the large one-story warehouse in front of them. Jamie reached out to test the knob. Locked. Abe nudged her aside and aimed his silenced rifle at the silver knob. With a spark and a sharp metallic ping the door swung open. Jamie shouldered through and brought her handgun up as she made her way down the darkened hallway.
The first room they came to was empty. The cot and rumpled blankets inside probably meant that Abigail had been using this place as a hideout for some time. Jamie closed the door and motioned for the others to follow her further down the corridor.
A series of soft beeps began to grow louder, and when they rounded a corner they found a large room with two steel cages. In one lay a dead tiger, its blood already drying on the concrete floor. Beyond it Jamie saw Jackson hanging from a long rope by his arms, his head slumped forward. She rushed through calling his name, trusting Max and Abe to protect her if Abigail jumped out of hiding.
"Jackson. Hey, Jackson." She shoved her weapon into the holster at her hip and reached for his shoulder, mindful of the bruises blossoming on his skin just beneath the collar of his shirt.
He lifted his head groggily and blinked as if trying to focus. "Jamie?"
"Yeah," she smiled.
"The beacons," he slurred. "Abigail's...gonna activate them."
Jamie reached up and tried to undo the knots at his wrists, but the tension on the rope was too great. Abe searched for a control that would lower him down as Jamie leaned in to support his weight.
"Have you seen Mitch?"
He looked up then, his eyes just sliding into focus as he licked his lips. "Yeah," he murmured. "Yeah, I've seen him, but it's not Mitch."
Jamie nodded. "We know."
Abe finally found the right control, and Jackson's body weight was sudden and heavy on her shoulders as she fought to keep him upright when the ropes loosened. Abe hurried over to untie him as Max turned from his lookout position near the door.
"MacAvey," he said suddenly. "Where's MacAvey?"
Abe took Jackson's weight from Jamie and propped him up against his left side easily. "I need to get him back to the plane," he said. "Are you okay on your own?"
"We'll be fine," Jamie promised, then glanced at Max. "If MacAvey went after Abigail on his own, he deserves what he gets. We need to find Mitch."
Abe nodded in agreement. "Be careful."
Jamie followed Max back into the hallway, the steady beeping of the tracker keeping her focused. They were close. Max rounded the corner first with Jamie hot on his heels.
At the end of the corridor stood Mitch. No, she corrected hastily, this is Duncan. Before Jamie could speak, Duncan raised his right arm and fired off round after round from his handgun. The sound was deafening in the small space. Max reeled backward, shoving Jamie back around the corner to take cover from the hail of bullets. Duncan kept firing one shot after another until there was only silence.
Jamie risked a quick peek as she pleaded. "Mitch! Mitch, I know you're in there. Please don't do this!" Her answer was another shot, and Max pulled her back just in time. The wall across from them was peppered with holes, and Jamie did a quick count.
"We need a new plan," Max whispered harshly.
But Jamie already had one. "Here." She shoved her gun at Max and, before he could react, stepped out into the hallway with her hands up.
"Wait, Jamie!"
She could feel him at her back, stepping out behind her with his rifle to bear. But she couldn't concentrate on him right now. All of her attention was on the man in front of her. His face was completely blank, devoid of the familiar quirks she'd come to love and rely on. Duncan was in control.
"Do you think I won't shoot you?" His voice was as emotionless as his face, unreadable. It broke her heart.
"I think you're out of ammo," she returned. "I counted seventeen rounds. Or am I mistaken?" She stared hard into his eyes, searching deep for any sign of Mitch. For a moment there was a glimmer, a spark of recognition. She saw Duncan's brow furrow ever so slightly as if in confusion or sorrow.
Then he pulled the trigger.
Pain seared through her shoulder as she spun to the floor. Eighteen, she chided herself. He had eighteen rounds. Sounds of a struggle broke through her haze, then Max's face loomed large in her vision.
"Jamie? Jamie can you hear me?"
She hissed as something pressed hard into the wound on her shoulder, the blood loss and pain making it too hard to really focus. Still, she managed to murmur the only thought tumbling through her mind. "I never thought he'd pull the trigger."
She took one long, shuddering breath and let her head fall back onto the cold floor as her vision swam once more, then faded to black.