Lt. Wellman was not surprised when Chris Owens volunteered to what looked to be a suicide mission to rescue the Dankos. He had kept a careful eye on Officer Owens since his return from rehab.

"So, how do I know this isn't some stupid attempt to end it all, Owens?" He asked.

"You don't." Chris said quietly. "Look, I care about them. They stood by me during some pretty dark days. And I think it is only fair that I should stand by them. I know how it looks, and it isn't as if it hasn't crossed my mind. Look around you! Everyone has a wife and kids. Me? I live alone in a studio apartment."

"You've got kids." Wellman pointed out.

"That don't talk to me. I've got a son who went out of his way to change his name to disconnect from me." Owens leaned against the back wall and folded his arms against his chest. "You could have Ellison or Roberts go in first, but Robert's wife is pregnant, and Ellison has three kids - all under the age of seven." He raised his eyebrows at his boss. "It seems to me, a bachelor like me is your best choice."

"I'll take it under consideration." Wellman said. "We've got a few more minutes to play with. Be ready."

"Yes, sir." Owens said and with a curt nod, he returned to where the rest of the men were preparing for the operation.

"Trying to pay off his guilt?" Deputy Chief Ryker asked as he walked up to Lt. Wellman.

"I don't know Eddie. You had the job. How do you decide? He's got a point. He's the only single man on the team." Wellman said with a sigh.

"That's pretty persuasive, but I always try to pick the best man for the position. Do you think he can get the job done?" Eddie Ryker asked.

"Yeah, I know he can."

"Well, then it sounds like the decisions already been made." Ryker told him.

"I just wish there was one window or one other door! Damn it! We let her walk right into a cage!" Wellman rubbed the back of his neck.

"We did."

"Well, here's praying these boys can get her out." Wellman said with a nod at Ryker. "Excuse me, Deputy Chief, I've got to speak to my men."

Eddie Ryker nodded at Lt. Wellman and watched as he walked over to the officers who quickly gathered around him. He expected to be anxious, but instead found he felt nothing at all. He was completely numb. Listening in on the exchange between the Borden brothers and the Dankos had completely wiped him out emotionally. He had finally left the room, recognizing that he was no longer there as an officer of the law, but rather a family member waiting anxiously. He knew Terry Webster was still listening in, but he found he couldn't do it any longer. The sound of Jill's terrified voice being comforted by her trapped and helpless husband, had shattered him to his very core. He could endure no more.

***R***

Jill sat against the wall on the ground straight across from where Mike sat tied to a chair. His face was badly bruised and as she looked him, she found herself going through a rundown of his injuries - as though he was a patient just wheeled into emergency. The Borden brothers were have a low-level conversation that seemed to be getting fairly heated which filled her with tremendous worry. If they began to fight with each other, who knew what would happen to them.

"Hey, Babe, know what I was thinking about?" Mike asked her.

"What?" She had been staring at the brothers with wide eyes, and now she shifted her gaze back to Mike's face.

"When we took that trip to Santa Monica. Remember?"

"That was a long time ago." She said still distracted.

"Baby, don't look at them. Me, look at me." He said. "Remember? We rented that little cottage right on the beach, and we sat out watching the sky turn dark."

"I remember." And in spite of their dire situation she found herself smiling at the memory. "That was before kids."

"I have a strong suspicion that trip got us a kid." He grinned at her.

"The second night." She said her eyes focused on him now. "It was the second that we made Kate."

"You knew?" He asked her, surprised.

"Well, if you remember, I was suffering from a pretty severe case of denial with Kate, but yeah. I can't explain it. I knew it." She said to him.

"I remember that when I took you to dinner you were wearing that green dress - the short one. God, you were so damn beautiful! It was all I could do to wait until dinner was over. And then later, we walked along the beach - and at one point you were walking ahead of me and the moonlight was all around you . . ." He shook his head at the memory. "I don't know how I got so lucky, Jill. I don't. You are just so beautiful and so sweet! You could have had any man who looked your way - not some old grump like me."

Neither one of them had noticed that Borden brothers had stopped talking to each other. They were so intent and focused on each other.

"She was beautiful." Lee Borden's voice jarred her back to their cruel reality. "Now, she looks kind of thrashed." He knelt beside her and leaning close, kissed her lips even as she tried to back away from him.

"Get your goddamn hands off of her!" Mike yelled.

"Wasn't my hands." Lee Borden said with a grin. "Although, I'll be putting some hands on her in a minute or two." He glanced up at his brother. "We aren't arguing about anything anymore. You do as you were told, and I'll have a little fun 'til you get back."

"You are a jackass, Lee. You know that! It isn't like this can't wait. You're so damn selfish." David Borden told him angrily.

"Selfish?" Lee Borden rose angrily. "I spent ten years in prison for you! How dare you! You ungrateful, spoiled brat!" He drew back his fist and slammed his brother hard in the jaw. "Now get your ass upstairs and mail that picture. 'Sides, I'll save you some." He looked down at Jill.

"Fine. Whatever you say big brother!" David was still clearly furious. "But when it comes to him! I get to kill him! You promised me that I'd have revenge. I don't care about her. She's too . . .you can have her, but he's mine. You got that Big Brother?"

"I told you already. He's yours." Lee told him.

"Alright, I really think mailing this is you being prideful." He turned to go up the stairs, as his older brother called after him.

"Shut your mouth. I want their girls to have some memories - until later when we find them." Lee grinned as Jill turned white with horror.

"You do whatever you want to me; to us. Leave our girls alone, please." Her voice was tight and angry.

"Jill don't." Her husband said, choked with tears.

"Don't worry sweetness," Lee Borden said to her. "I fully intend to do whatever I want to you but your girls will have to wait their turn." He smiled down at her menacingly. He ran his hand along the line of her cheek and down her chin.

"Please, she had nothing to do with any of this." Mike said. "It is me you are angry with. It was me that testified. I put him in prison. She's been through enough. Please just let her go."

"Uh, uh." Borden said laughing. "Killing you would be too easy, but when I'm finished with you; with her." He glanced at Jill who sat huddled against the wall as far back from him as she could manage. "You'll be begging for me to kill you."