Jacked up 5

Sam paced around the empty warehouse and peered out each window he passed. The building was one of several in Drake's network that served as safe houses for his terrorist friends. Seedy folk as they were, their lack of concern for human life was revolting. Killing those who got in the way was nothing to them. Just an hour ago, Sam witnessed one of Drake's men beat a homeless man to death with a flashlight just for sleeping in the doorway.

The senseless murder threw Molly into a hysterical freak out and a classic girlie struggle ensued. She was a hornet's nest of arms and legs and it took both Sam and Drake's number one, Jim Ballard to contain her. When she refused to calm down, Sam was forced to subdue her in a headlock until she passed out. Based on the way she fought him, Sam had no doubt that Molly thought he was trying to straggle her. For as high and mighty as she pretends to be, Jonas didn't teach her well at all. The ole man didn't teach you any self-defense moves? Sam noted remembering how he taught his girlfriend to stand up for herself just in case. And then there was RedCap. The two of them had played around in the gym one night after training and she practically kicked his ass. She was no slouch the night he attacked her either... Of course, Molly could always talk her attacker to death with that mouth of hers, Sam thought smiling at the imaginary.

He looked over his shoulder to the mattress she was lying on and glanced down at his watch. Three a.m. She had been taking her "nap" for about thirty minutes, which was a little longer than a normal person would stay knocked out. While it concerned Sam, he was sure the adrenaline in her system had something to do with it. Without looking too suspicious, he had checked her pulse twice and made sure she was still breathing.

That would be all I need, Sam thought moving toward the center of the room where Ballard was asleep in the chair. Accidentally killing her while she was flinging her arms around like a lunatic. He shuddered at the words. No matter what the outcome of this jacked up mess, Sam McBride was going to have hell to pay with alpha team and all the orders in the world weren't going to explain it away.

Sam crossed the room in a flash when he heard a rustle on the cot. He stood above Molly as she stirred and put his finger to his lips. Hooking her elbow with his hand, he helped her into a sitting position and then, against his better judgment removed the gag from her mouth.

"What did you do to me?" Molly blurted out the second she was able to speak freely.

"Keep your voice down," Sam whispered back at her tersely. He looked over at Ballard who was still asleep in the chair. "You needed some sleep; you were getting a little crabby."

"So you drugged me," Molly half-asked half stated.

"I did no such thing," Sam said flatly. "Although your neck might hurt for a while."

"You choked me," she muttered turning her neck.

"I hardly choked you. It's a defensive move taught by Special Forces to subdue the opposition and allow them to be taken prisoner later," Sam informed her caustically.

"Why didn't you just kill me?" Molly whispered hoarsely.

"I'm not done with you yet," Sam remarked. "We weren't planning on your arrival, but I think my employer will find you a very valuable asset in the coming weeks." He paced in front of the cot in an intimidating manner, crossing his arms at his chest.

"The unit won't negotiate for my release," Molly retorted shaking her head rapidly.

Sam chuckled right in her face. "That's what you think? You've been watching to many crime dramas on TV." He watched Molly's face as his words settled in, first the flush of her indignation and then the realization that his intention … or perceived intention… was to kill Jonas.

"You're going…" she couldn't even mouth the words. Her voices cracked as tears formed in her eyes.

"What did you think was going to happen?" Sam laughed at her ignorance. "This ain't no picnic lunch lady."

"Jonas will kill you first," she blurted out. "He's better than you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sam quipped. He stalked around the cot and then stepped back to loom over her again. "That's your story and if that makes you sleep better at night, you keep on believing it. I've trained to kill targets that were just as crafty as Jonas Blaine and I've never missed."

"You throw a lot of big words into the air about your skills, so what happened to you at the car dealership?" Molly asked him with a somber voice and crisp words.

Ugh, she's good, Sam thought almost hearing the sizzle in the air. Good on so many fronts, keeping up the defiant attitude of hers, taunting him, sticking the plastic dinnerware into his back. She was playing right into his hand. He needed her to stay tough. Drake would like it and realize the value of keeping her alive.

"I didn't want to kill any innocents," Sam replied quietly, as if he was actually sorry things played out as they did.

"You didn't want to kill any innocents? What about Susan Gilliam?" Molly snapped. "She had nothing to do with this! Yet you and Colonel Ryan used her like a pawn."

"My mother has a word for people like you," Sam said quickly reversing the accusations. Maybe Susan Gilliam was innocent, maybe she wasn't … it didn't matter at this point. What did matter was that Molly Blaine after being told by the US Army to keep her nose out of it, velcroed herself to it. She almost deserved her fate and god forbid if anything happened to her, because General Heath would put that on the official report.

"You're a busy body," Sam continued waving his hands around to make his point. "In the beginning, you're the friendly neighborhood lady and are all nice. But then somewhere along the way, you start to be annoying and stick your nose in where it doesn't belong. You're a meddler," Sam replied with a cutting tone. He caught that sneering expression on her face and suddenly realized what Molly Blaine was desperate to be … why she couldn't heed Colonel Ryan's order to stand down. Molly Blaine was a sheep in wolf's clothing and the revelation completely shocked him. The army life that she had lived with Jonas for the past twenty years wasn't who she was dying to be. Oh, ha ha ha … you think you can tell me about who I am? Sam practically laughed aloud. Let me just give you a taste of your own medicine lady!!!

"Maybe you do it because you're bored with your life, maybe you need some excitement ... is that it? You're trying to live your life through the eyes of others? Is that what the draw was with Susan Gilliam? Her life a little more suited to your society level? Driving the fancy import car, going to the exclusive clubs, and the expensive restaurants sure beats life on the base doesn't it? It's an embarrassment for you to live on the base isn't it? Government housing, paycheck to paycheck, going to the exchange to buy your groceries? I bet you even qualified for WIC and food stamps when Betsy was a baby. You did didn't you? And it embarrassed you …it embarrassed you that you had to rely on others to make it. You grew up that way and suddenly you thought you were above it!" Sam laughed a little more loudly and pointed his finger right in her face.

"So while the other wives were fretting over being uprooted from po-dunk Kansas to beautiful sunny LA, you were in heaven weren't you? When Colonel Ryan ordered you to stand down and get your nose out of things, you couldn't because you were sucked into the lifestyle. The high society world. When Charlie fell in love with a millionaire, you felt threatened and had to make a fuss with the brass because it keep the spotlight on you! You say you did it to protect the unit … but you were really out there protecting your skin!" Sam's words echoed through the room and bounced off the walls as the silence fell between them. Molly's deer in the headlights expression was priceless. He pegged her spot on and for once she didn't have a smart ass come back to him.

Sam looked over his shoulder to check if Ballard was still asleep and noted the man hadn't move a muscle. He turned on his heel to walk away from her just as his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it without checking the caller id. The voice on the other end didn't surprise him much.

"I'm confirming the location of Molly Blaine," Colonel Ryan's surly voice snarked over the line.

"Oh, hi Dad," Sam said with a chuckle. "Don't worry I didn't forget about mom's birthday," he remarked glancing back in Molly's direction. "Yes, I bought her a present," he added flicking a little good son inflection in his voice.

"She's secured?"

Sam knew the question wasn't really a question. It was an order with consequences that he needed to carry out. "Ugh, you want to go to dinner at six? Ahh, I'll have to check my schedule. Today's not good for me. I got a lot on my plate with the job."

"See that you keep it that way."

"Let me get back to you on that, Dad," was Sam's only reply. "I'll call you later." He snapped the phone shut and shoved it back in his pants pocket. Ugh, can my day get any worse?

TBC