When Kate came to, she was resting on what appeared to be a hospital bed in a corner of the room where she was being held captive. She was hooked up to monitors and an IV drip. She was sore and could see the bruises on her arms.

"How are you feeling?" she heard a man say as he came out of the dark and got closer to her. He bent over her and wove a light into her eyes. As he did so, she caught a whiff of the musk after-shave. As he pulled back, she noticed he was wearing a doctor's coat and stethoscope.

She said nothing in response to his question but watched his every move as he checked the monitors, took her blood pressure and listened to her heart and lungs with the stethoscope.

"You recuperated faster than I thought you would. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing."

"How long have I been out?" she dared to ask.

"A couple of days."

"Now what?"

He looked at her. It pained him to know what she was going through. He was a doctor and he meant no harm, but he was only doing his job and he was being extremely well paid for it.

"You endure another round."

"You've got to help me. Please. I highly doubt you became a doctor for this. Please."

"I'm sorry. There is nothing I can do. My hands are tied. If I try anything, they'll kill me. I'm sorry."

Her eyes called out to him. "Please, you've got to help me."

He looked at the IV bag. "You have another couple of hours before the IV drip is done. Save your energy for what will come after."

He turned heels and walked out of the room.

Toll Road stood and yelled out to the team. "They're in Budapest!"

They all came by his side. "Do you know where exactly?"

"No, but I've managed to pinpoint it within a two-mile radius."

Barney nodded. "That's good, it's narrowing down the possibilities."

Lee looked at him doubtful. "They could be anywhere within those two miles and that portion of Budapest is a busy one. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"From the video they don't appear to be in a residential house. They must have their operations in a bigger location. Toll Road, I want you to rule out any houses or apartments within that radius and also stores and shops. They will have picked somewhere discreet, away from curious eyes."

"Got it."

"Gunnar, I want you and Yang to prepare our departure for Budapest. Do we have a contact there?"

Gunnar nodded. "Yes, we do. Dominik Gazda."

"Perfect reach out to him and give him a list of everything we need. We're going to need the big artillery. We have no idea yet, who we are up against and how many of them there are".

Gunnar nodded. "I'm on it, boss". He gave a pat on Lee's shoulder then walked out of Victor's house from the backdoor.

Victor shook his head. "This is all my fault", he said as he looked at Lee. "If I hadn't done what I did, if I hadn't meddled with your relationship, Kate would be happy, I wouldn't have convinced her to join the Department of Defense and she wouldn't be going through any of this".

He paused for a moment. "In the end, she's suffered more than I thought she would have, had she stayed with you".

Lee looked at him. "It is what it is Victor, but if you're looking from an absolution from me, you're knocking down the wrong door. There is one thing however, that I'd love for you to explain to me. If Kate thought I was dead, why was there a letter waiting for me in the apartment saying she was leaving me. That was also your doing I assume"?

Victor bowed his head down. "I knew you Lee. I knew how much you loved her, and you would come looking for her. How could I then explain to her that you had come back from the dead. I would have had to explain everything, and she would never have spoken to me again. So, for her I made it seem like you were dead and for you that she had left you and moved on".

Lee said nothing. But it wasn't because he said nothing that he didn't have terrible words coming into his head for what Victor had done.

Gunnar returned. "I spoke to Dominik. He'll have everything ready by the time we get there. He'll set up operational headquarters. I've got the address. Yang is finalizing the plane. We should be able to leave in an hour max".

Barney stood. "Alright, you all know what to do. I'll meet you at the plane in an hour".

Victor watched as they all headed for the backdoor. "What about the device? It's still not finished".

"We're running out of time Victor. I don't know how much longer Kate can wait. Hopefully by the time they notice they're not going to get it, they won't be an issue anymore".

"Wait, you're going to kill them"? said Victor shocked.

"Victor, right now, my priority is Kate. If it comes down to choosing between her dying or them, please do tell me which one you'd prefer"?

Victor swallowed. Barney was right. It was just that Victor was a non-violent person. The thought of killing someone was unfathomable.

Barney stood, and Victor followed him. Barney turned around. "You're staying here".

"What"?!

"Victor, these guys are going to contact you. You need to stall them as much as possible".

"How long"?

"Long enough for us to get to Budapest. Tell them that you have everything you need and you're finishing the prototype. It will hopefully buy you and us a day, maybe two".

"What if they come after me"?

"They won't. Besides, Tools will stay with you. You'll be fine. He may seem a bit rough around the edges but trust me he's good at what he does".

"What is that exactly? Tattoos"?

"Let's just say, tattoos are his hobby and I doubt you really want to know what he actually does for a living"!

"What about Kate"?

"Let us worry about Kate". With that Barney left the house and headed to the airport. He grabbed his gear and changed before sitting down in the cockpit with Lee to do all the tests, while the others were finishing to load up the rest of the gear and equipment.

When all the checks had been done, Barney maneuvered the plane towards the runway. Fifteen minutes later, they were at their cruising altitude.

It was going to be a long flight, thought Lee as he looked out the window and watched the propellers turn. As he stared at them, it brought him back to a special night.

Flashback:

Lee stopped his motorcycle and waited for Kate to remove herself from behind him. He had taken her out to dinner in a French-like bistro. It was Saturday night and they'd been dating for a couple of weeks. Well, weekends to be exact. He hated the fact that he couldn't see her on weekdays, and as the weeks went by he found it harder and harder, the wait was getting unbearable.

She removed the helmet and her hair cascaded down to her shoulders. It was a simple thing and yet he found it extremely sexy. He loved how it felt to have her behind him on the bike. How she would hold on to him.

He turned the engine off, dismounted as well and took off his helmet.

"I had a great time", she said as she handed him the helmet.

"Me too". He gave her a warm smile. He had dated girls in the past, but for some reason after a while they ran out of conversation topics, but with Kate, it seemed as if they could talk for hours on end and never run out of things to say. Everything was so easy and came so naturally.

She turned her head towards the house then looked back at him. "You want to come in"?

She had never invited him in yet. Even if inside he was overjoyed, he played it cool on the surface. "Sure".

He followed her into the house and had a quick look around as she removed her jacket and placed it on the coat hanger. The place was small but quaint. The decoration wasn't too girly, but rather a mix of modern and country style and he liked it. In the front hallway, stairs led upstairs and on the first floor, he could see the living room to the right and further down the hall a kitchen with a small table and two chairs. There were a few photo frames hanging on the walls or on furniture.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back", she said as she showed him the living room then headed towards the kitchen.

He debated at first whether he should stay standing or sit. In the end, he sat himself down in her black three-seater, cushion fabric sofa, it looked more casual to him than standing up. He found himself immediately comfortable in the sofa, it sure beat some of the run-down couches they had back at the base. He momentarily looked up at the ceiling and saw that the fan was on and turning. It was a hot summer night and the gentle breeze it brought felt good.

She came back with two beer bottles in her hand. She handed him one before joining him on the couch. They talked for a while, joked and laughed about different stories or anecdotes they told each other.

After a while, seeing that Lee had finished his beer, she stood.

"Do you want another beer"?

He looked at her. God she was beautiful. "No. I'm good thanks".

"Can I get you anything else? A glass of water, a coffee"?

He stood and placed himself right in front of her.

"No water, no coffee," he put his hand on her neck and cheek, "just you".

As he pulled her face gently towards his as he moved his in closer. Their lips met. At first it was soft and gentle, then as her lips parted and her tongue met his, his senses were heightened. It wasn't the first time they were kissing like that, but it was the first time he knew it could go further, they weren't in front of the base. He'd had those past times, needed to refrain his desire to make love to her, but this time it was different. There was no holding back.

Their kissing got more and more intense, passionate. She tugged at his shirt and he parted from her briefly enough to remove it. He removed her shirt as well. He looked at the black lace bra, it enhanced the beauty and fullness of her breasts. His mouth was on hers again as he pushed her gently towards the wall.

Once she was against it, he let his mouth, lips and tongue trail down to her neck, then her cleavage. With an unwavering ease, he undid her bra with one hand and once she had let it slip to the floor, his mouth covered one of her breasts. She moaned slightly as he licked her nipple, then slightly bit down on it. He then passed on to the other one. She moaned again as she dug her hand in his hair.

He then returned to her mouth and their tongues danced, teased and played with one another as he unbuttoned her jeans. Once again, his mouth trailed down her body until he reached the top of her jeans. He passed a finger of each hand between the jean and her skin and looked up at her. Her eyes were closed, and her chest was rising in rapid movements. He pulled her jeans off and kissed her left thigh, then left inner thigh. He stopped his mouth over her sweet spot. He removed his mouth and let his finger take over. He could feel it dampen at his touch and he had to admit that he was having a hard time controlling his own manhood. When he had enticed her enough, he pulled down her thong and stood up and looked at her. She was smiling. She put her arms around him and turned the tables around as she put him up against the wall.

She caressed his muscular chest and kissed him in all of the erotic places of his body. If he had been more subtle, she had gone straight for what she knew would send him overboard. She undid his jeans and removed them and his trunks at the same time. She placed her hand and her mouth over his cock. When he felt it wouldn't take much for him to explode, he bent down and placed his hands under her arms. He lifted her up and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around him as they kissed wildly. He headed towards the couch and still with her, wrapped around him, he sat down and let her straddle him. He held her hands as she rode him. They moaned and yelled out in pleasure as they both reached the peak of their lovemaking. She collapsed on his chest and he could feel their hearts beating in sync, as they recuperated both breathless from the exquisiteness of it all.

He shifted and placed himself on his back, in full length of the couch. As she laid there on his chest, with her legs between his and her soft naked skin on his, he looked up at the ceiling again. The fan was still turning, and he knew there was nowhere he'd rather be and nothing he'd want to do more than spend the rest of his life making love to her.

"Everything alright"? he heard Barney ask.

He snapped out of his daydream and looked at Barney.

"No. Nothing is right. Why did I even give her a chance to walk away? Why was her letter, which in technicality wasn't even hers, enough to make me accept her decision"?

"Because you're a good person, Lee".

"No. I should have fought for her. I was ready to marry her Barney and I gave up".

Barney nodded at first and said nothing. He then thought back to all the women he had known Lee to have gone out with. "You know all these years, I never understood, not only the type of women you picked, but also your inability to commit. I understand better now".

"Really? Because I didn't have a chance to commit with Kate"?

"No. Because you undoubtedly still had feelings for her. From the kind of person, I believe she is, you only dated women that weren't even close to her level. It was easy, you knew it would never lead to anything serious".

Lee said nothing. He knew Barney was right, as he often was. He had, over the years, convinced himself that he had forgotten Kate, that his feelings for her were nonexistent… he knew know that it was all a lie.

"Barney, I need for this to work. I can't lose her. Not again".

"I know brother, and we are going to do everything we can to prevent that from happening, you have my word"!