Chapter 2:

Rachel had never eaten so much in her life and begun to wonder if she would ever stop eating. Her face that had grown so pale was beginning to show signs of color already. Monroe watched with quiet amusement as she stuffed her face with nearly everything on the table. After the garbage they had been feeding her for weeks, a real meal tasted so much better than it ever had. She was very nervous about Monroes intentions, though. The whole operation was in his name and he did seem to be the leader of it all. Everyone referred to him as President or, "sir". How had Miles been able to keep her captivity a secret from him for so long if he really was in charge?

"How are you feeling? Any better?" Monroe's tone was soft and kind as he looked into her eyes, seeing far too much. Rachel broke eye contact with him as she felt as though he was looking too far into her, she felt naked. She was still having problems talking after being silent for so long so instead she just gave him a curt nod and continued eating. "I'm not sure what I'm going to be able to do with you when Miles comes back. He's already been gone for a month but should be back within the next month or two. You can obviously live here until he returns but I'm not sure if I'll be able to swing it once he gets back, he is still pissed after all."

"He's?" Rachel seemed surprised at her own voice and stopped to clear her throat for a minute, "He's pissed at ME?" She had intended to sound so much stronger, braver than how the words came out. When she spoke it instead sounded like a meek child asking for permission.

"He's…. Disappointed is all. He really wanted Ben to be the one to come, since he seems to think that Ben can turn the power back on." Rachel studied her plate for a minute and muttered something under her breath. "What was that?" Monroe raised an eyebrow and leaned in, hoping to hear what she was quietly saying to herself.

"Nothing, I..I didn't say anything at all." She shrank further into herself and wouldn't look him in the eyes. She could feel her palms sweating and she began to shake again. Why is my body reacting this way? She eyed her palms carefully. He's been nothing but nice to me… Miles is the monster here.

"Rachel, you seem frightened. I promise you, I will never hurt you. You don't need to be nervous around me."

"I just said that… Ben isn't the only one who knows what happened is all."

"Who else knows?" Monroe leaned far too close to her and couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes. They were electric, dancing over her face for any signs of information.

"I don't know, I uh… Just know he wasn't working alone." Oh, damn. Why did I say anything? He can't be trusted.. I'm such a fool.

"Oh, okay. Just…. Don't let Miles know about that, okay? Who knows what he'd do to you if he thought you knew more." Rachel's blood ran cold at the thought. The Boston Butcher, her brother in law, had left her in a small confined cell for weeks and could do more to her if he discovered she had any other information. Best to just keep her mouth shut and never say anything.

"So… Since Miles doesn't want me here, and you uh, seem to be on my side… Why not let me go? Stage an escape, anything Just let me see my kids again." Rachel was hopeful, Bas had been so nice to her so far, maybe if she batted her eyes enough and played the hapless housewife he would actually let her go. She watched as he seemed to consider her request, his icy blue eyes were dancing again. He sighed as he leaned forward.

"Rachel… You know that Miles is my best friend right?" He leaned back and seemed to be suddenly so full of regret that he might explode, "I don't know if I can do something that would betray him so harshly. He wants you here, Rachel. He hopes that having you here will bring Ben in - "

"It won't! He won't come! Not with having the kids, and…. He's never forgiven me. He won't come no matter what Miles does, doesn't he know that?" Rachel was desperate as she searched his face for any signs of empathy, he was so hard to read! He sighed again as his brow furrowed and he leaned forward on his knees. As he leaned his head into his hands, Rachel found herself looking at his hair and thinking about running her fingers through it. What is wrong with me?!

"I feel so badly that you're here," He began with a heavy sigh, "So yes, I will help you. We'll stage an escape but I'll need time to get the right crew together. Many of these guys are loyal to Miles and wouldn't cross him no matter what I asked." Rachel was elated, this hadn't been that bad! She was actually going to be free and she was going to be able to see her children again! Though she didn't know if she would ever be able to get the images of the hallucinations out of her head, she thought with a shiver up her spine.

"I don't want to seem ungrateful, Bas, but how long do you think it'll take to get a crew together?" Rachel asked with her wry smile and eyebrow slightly raised.

"Maybe a month or two? Miles will need to be here to see it, otherwise he'll think I'm lying." Rachel looked downtrodden at the thought of being here another month, "You can stay here though, until he gets back. You'll only have to be in the cell for a night or two, promise."

"And Miles won't be able to stop it?" She seemed so vulnerable on the outside in the three seconds it took for the sentence to come out. Monroe felt a slight tug at his heart looking into the pale blue eyes.

"He usually hits the bottle pretty hard when he returns from a mission, we'll be fine."