Step at a Time

The daze lasted only seconds as Jesse's survival instinct kicked in. Again he tried twisting in the ropes, testing the knots, and again they held fast. Again he tried to phase, but this time focusing on just his wrists, and this time it seemed to work. He managed to free them, though it hurt like hell, and soon he freed his feet.

Once freed, Jesse rolled himself out of bed, and landed in a heap on the floor. He stayed still for a moment, letting his trembling body recover a bit before the next burst of adrenalin pushed him into action. Jesse managed make it to his knees, with the help of the bed, and, before attempting to stand, he made sure his briefs had been pulled back up.

Brennan watched him with critical eyes, looking for any signs of injury or weakness. He was relived to see that Jesse seemed to be alright, though a bit shaken, and was even more relived to see the molecular up and walking.

"Hang on Bren, Jesse said with a shaky voice, "I'll have you free in a minuet…."

'And then what?' Brennan thought. While Brennan was starting to regain some movement back, he doubted that he could walk. And Jesse didn't look like he was up to supporting him. But he was about to find that Jesse was full of surprises.

Positioning himself in front of Brennan, and pressing his length against Brennan's, Jesse was able to ensure that Bren would be supported as he untied him. "Sorry about the close quarters…" he whispered into Bren's ear as he made sure Bren was also covered up.

"Saaaa…kayyyy…." Brennan whizzed, resting his head on Jesse's shoulder. Despite the situation, he found he like Jesse's closeness, and the sent of him….

"Don't go to sleep on me…." Jess ordered softly as he lowered Brennan's right arm carefully. He made sure to rub some life back into it before moving on to the left, though he could still make out the muffled groan from Bren. Soon, the element was freed and Jesse was rearranging Brennan's weight so that he could move him

"Alright Bren," Jesse began as he started to half drag, half carry, the other man towards the door, "I'm still a little off balance and phasing is out for the time being, so we're going to do this the old fashioned way. And you're going to have to help."

"Don….ont….knooow if….can."

"We'll you're going to have to," Jesse said, making his sentence an order, "So pick up your damn feet."

If Brennan had a response, Jesse didn't hear him, both boys just focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

LINE

Shalimar cursed.

That was the second dead end of her search and she was getting frustrated. "Damn it Sam, how's that trace coming?" she hissed angrily.

"Slowly. The rat ass picked a good spot to hide there's electrical interference every where."

Another hiss escaped Shal and it was followed by a string of undistinguished curses. "Well do what you can, and do it fast, they don't have much time."

"I know," Sam said grimly, "I'm going to call Adam, he's got to be close by. If he can met me here, maybe he can tell me what to do or do it for me…"

"Right. Or maybe Emma can find them without any help at all. Either way, do it fast."

LINE

"Helix to Adam, you there?"

Both Adam and Emma were startled out of their thoughts and started down at the com links.

"Who the hell is that?" Emma asked, unease clear in her voice.

"Sam, I'll explain later," Adam said before he spoke into his com, "What is it Sam?"

"Shal and I've found he general area where Jess and Brennan are, but Shal can't pick up any useable scent and there's a problem with the com trace. We need help."

Adam was silent for a moment as he glanced over at Emma, he could already see her opening her mind to locate the boys. "Already working on it," Adam said, "We'll be there in a few minuets.

LINE

Jesse and Brennan were not making good progress. They were stumbling along and had only made about half way up the hall. The good news was that they could see the stairs that lead out of the basement, and Brennan seemed to be walking better.

"We're almost there," Jesse said, "Keep moving."

Brennan just grunted, Jesse had been saying the same thing for nearly a half hour and it was getting old.

"Jessss..." Brennan breathed… "Sh…ut…up…."

Jesse laughed, "I wouldn't have to talk if I didn't have to drag your sorry ass."

Brennan just grunted.

The boys stumbled on, and eventually reached the stairs before they had to stop. Jesse lowered Bren onto the steps before leaning himself against the wall. The focused on breathing for several moments before Bren found his voice.

"Leave me…"

"What?"

"Leave me…"

"No fucking way."

"Jess…"

"No fucking way. We're getting out of this together Bren."

"I…slow…you down…."

Jesse sighed frustrated. It was true, Brennan was slowing him down, and time was essential at the moment. He had no idea how long It would be gone. But still, he couldn't picture leavening Bren behind.

"We'll think of something," Jesse said as he leaned down to help Brennan back to his feet, "But right now we need to move."