Dean made sure she worked extra hard those last three days. She could run those drills in her sleep but there was always the threat that they could go wrong. The night came and she geared up. The infrared goggles were on her helmet, her clothing was dark and form fitting to prevent snags and her parachute had been packed properly into its pouch.
"We are going to be deployed over the base. We will all be tethered together so we do not drift. We have all practiced propelling from a plane so I don't want any of you to be shocked that you are suddenly flying through the air." Dean said to them. "We can do this; it's a quick in and out. If you find anything we can use, take it but do not go out of your way. Follow my orders! Alright load up!"
Everyone entered the stealth craft buckling themselves in. Elizabeth wound up opposite from Dean.
"Do you trust me Curran?" He asked as the craft began to hum as it took off.
"With my life sir." Elizabeth said honestly. Life maybe, but her heart, she'd have to see.
It was a few hours as they flew. Some of the soldiers dozed, others read. Elizabeth sat back and began to run through the steps they would take. First was the deployment, they would land on the roof. They wouldn't have go far, there was an observation balcony they planned to flank down, until they reached the fifth floor. There was a mess hall that they could open the window to. Then they would place the small bombs they brought onto three different locations on one side of the building. They would sequester themselves safely on the opposite side of the building and detonate. They weren't powerful enough to bring it down, just cause damage and confusion. They would make their way back to the roof, incapacitating anyone who was in their way and throw a line to the stealth craft where they would be pulled in.
It sounded like so many things could go wrong, however there were back up plans and double back up plans. Elizabeth felt the hard capsule on her shoulder that held the single pill that would stop her from having to go through pain. She didn't know if she would have the courage to use it.
Finally, Dean stood and signaled for everyone follow. A cord was passed through off of them linking them together and the doors opened. They could see the dark outline of the base.
"Count off." Dean said and he dived out first. In two second intervals everyone threw themselves out of the plane. Elizabeth jumped and then there was nothing but air around her. Everything came into sharp focus at the adrenaline hit her. The building was coming closer and closer and then suddenly there was the quiet whoosh as each parachute opened. She pressed the button on her chest and her own parachute jerked out. Her progress slowed and the group began the tandem movements to bring them down. Too far south and they would land in the ocean or dashed against the cliffs, too far north and they would land right where the convoy trucks pulled up. Her knees buckled as she hit the roof. The gravel stung her hands but she brought her hand up to the button on her chest and her parachute sucked into the little pouch that it was designated for.
They formed a line and began to move to the south side of the building. Elizabeth looked over and could see the waves of the ocean below. The grappling hooks bit into the side and they began to climb over, using the same tether as leverage to pull themselves down. Elizabeth could see lights from some of the windows and she held her breath as they slowly worked their way down. She knew that yards away from her were some of the most wanted terrorists in the world.
Finally they reached the window and Dean brought out the diamond cutter. Elizabeth watched as he cut a square about three by three feet and used a plug to pull it out. He threw it backwards so it fell over the cliff and into the ocean. One by one they each went through the hole and landed noiselessly on the floor below. They detached the cords that linked them together and coiled them to their sides. They would reattach when they were picked up. Dean motioned for them to split and they split into their teams three to a group. Elizabeth was in one and Dean was in another. For one moment she made eye contact with him and he nodded. They checked out to see if the coast was clear and began to travel to the west side but down three separate corridors. Thankfully none of the rooms were occupied, everyone had gone to bed but Elizabeth felt each turn around a corner clamp her stomach. There was their checkpoint. In a stairwell. The bomb was placed and they began to make their way back. One of her group, Todd kept looking behind him.
"What is it?" She breathed out.
"I saw a room back there, it had board full of maps."
"Someone could be in there." Lonnie, Elizabeth's other group member said.
"The light was off."
"We shouldn't risk it, let's just go." Elizabeth said as firmly as she dared.
"C'mon we didn't come here to just blow up some building. We need information." Todd argued.
"It's worth a shot." Lonnie agreed.
"No it isn't!" Elizabeth said angrily. "Let's just get back to meeting point-"
"You do that, and you have fun getting through all the passages on your own." Todd said. He and Lonnie began to back track. Elizabeth couldn't risk getting back through alone. They had a least an hour before they had to meet up but all she wanted was to get back. Reluctantly and knowing she was going to have Dean chew them out when he found out, she followed them. The door was ajar and all three crouched as they pushed the door in. Todd and Lonnie checked the room and stood upon entering. They began to tear the maps off of the board and Elizabeth scanned the desk. There wasn't much, just a phone and some papers that had some writing on them. She picked them up and couldn't see anything important.
The door opened and they all snapped up as a soldier walked in. It was as if it was in slow motion that Elizabeth saw him open his mouth to yell, her gun was in her hand and he dropped to the floor, a bullet put straight through his brain. He couldn't have been more than mid-twenties.
"Let's go!" Todd said. They hurried down the hallways but in their hurry they got sloppy. That shot would bring people investigating, and they had to put as much distance in between that and themselves as possible.
"Hey!" They heard someone shout and they knew they had been spotted. Elizabeth turned back and saw Todd shoot the man to the ground. There were more now. They flung themselves through an opposite stairwell.
"Group three do you copy?" Dean's voice crackled over the walkie talkie.
"We've been spotted sir."
"Get out of there! Detonate the bomb and get to the check point if you can, jump through a window if you have to, just get out!" Dean said, his voice louder. They could hear gunfire over his end. Todd pulled the detonator out of his pocket and pressed it. There was a rumble under their feet and walls shook. The sprinklers came off making their progress slippery. In a few seconds the lights died and eerie red glow replaced them as the emergency lights switched on. They made it up to the door to the roof but they could hear the soldiers behind them just a few stories below. The gunfire was deafening.
"It's locked!" Lonnie said a note of panic in his voice. Elizabeth spotted the small window on top and pulled her gun out. She squinted through the downpour of water that blinded her eyes and aimed, each corner was shot neatly and the glass fell out onto the other side. She and Todd gave Lonnie a boost out the window. She put her boot into Todd's hand and began to lift herself through. There was a shot and Todd's grip on her foot loosened and she saw him crumple to the ground. The sudden loss of support had her grip the edge of the window pane. The shards on the edge cut into her hand. She felt Lonnie's hand on the other side trying to pull her over.
"Lonnie, just go!" She shouted, her grip slipped as she fell onto the ground. She fell on top of Todd's dead body, the top half of his head gone and she was surrounded.
"Get up." One of the soldiers said. The capsule was so close and so far. The soldiers began to move aside and in Elizabeth's confusion she had trouble making out the extremely tall figure that was moving towards her. The red glow from the lights made his eyes look darker than they should have been. He removed his cap and Elizabeth couldn't stop the gasp that left her throat.
Sam Winchester stood before her. Towering over her.
"Take her to the East wing; I'll deal with her there myself." He said. And he turned. Elizabeth was dragged through the halls, the sprinkler system was turned off and water dripped off her face as they moved, with Sam ahead.
The east wing was a series of offices; the sprinkler system hadn't been activated there. Her jacket was pulled off of her along with the precious pill and she was patted down, her knife and gun taken. Elizabeth was thrown into a chair and handcuffed behind her back. The moonlight filtered through the window and then the harsh glare of fluorescent lights. Sam Winchester removed his soaked jacket and turned back to her. His eyes were boring into hers and she could see he was angry. He reached into his jacket beside him and pulled out a long hunting knife.
"Shall we start?" He asked.
Elizabeth didn't answer as he moved forward. His hand reached into her jacket on the table and pulled out her credentials.
"Curran, Elizabeth." He said flipping it closed. "I didn't know the Southern army was accepting women so easily now. It's something we differ on. They don't realize the potential you can have." He motioned with the knife at her. Elizabeth followed the blade with her eyes. Sam noticed and smiled.
"You're a pretty one." He said and he slid the blade of the knife lightly down her cheek. Her heart was pounding and she felt a scream rise in her throat as he traveled the curve of her jaw and down to her neck. A small gasp of air escaped her throat in lieu of the scream but by the way he smiled it was enough for him.
"The bombs that were set off, they weren't nearly powerful enough to bring down the building. So why would they send special ops in here to set off some bombs with no chance of killing any of us unless you locked us in the room with it?" He asked.
Elizabeth felt a sense of dread, where was the rest of her team.
"What happened to my squad?" Elizabeth asked. Her question was reward by a sharp nick on her neck. She flinched and felt the blood drip down her neck.
"That was a warning." Sam said, "I ask the questions."
"Then I won't answer." Elizabeth said staring him down. That got him angry again. He reached forward and grabbed either side of her collar and jerked it, the lightweight cotton giving way. It tore down to her stomach, exposing the nylon tank top she wore underneath. It was such a sudden violent gesture that she jerked away instinctively but his other hand wrapped around her ponytail keeping her in place and bent her head back so he loomed over, seeming to surround her with his presence.
"No one is coming for you, they left you here for me and I am going to get every single useful thing you know out of that pretty mouth of yours and then I will kill you, slowly, and for everyone to see." He hissed. Elizabeth spit in his face. He brought one hand up and wiped it away.
"You're going to wish you weren't so brave." He said with a dark chuckle. "Now tell me, what did you come here for?" His hand clasped around her throat and ever so slowly began to squeeze. His eyes were blank, it was like looking into a dead man's face.
"We knew," Elizabeth began but he was choking her. His grip loosened and her voice rasped out,
"We knew you were up to something, we wanted to distract you." Elizabeth said.
Sam gave a laugh at that.
"You think you are so much more important than you really are. We are working on a plan, but it is so much bigger than some petty raid." He stepped back and trailed the knife down her chest to her stomach the knife making slight scratching noises against the fabric. Then up to her shoulder, every few seconds he would cause a small knick, not enough to break the skin but enough to scratch and each one made her flinch. She thought of Dean, of where he could be, was she really alone now?
"Who were the other members of your group?" Sam said as he trailed the knife back up and to her shoulder. Elizabeth didn't answer and suddenly he stabbed forward and blade sunk into her skin. She screamed as the initial sharp pain became a deep throbbing. Her breath came in shudders as she tried to think about it and moans of pain escaped her. The hot trail of blood slid down her arm and dripped onto the floor.
"Answer me." He said.
"Theodore Stien." Elizabeth shouted out a name at random. Anything to placate him.
"He's dead and of no use to us, try again!" Sam said and he stabbed her again. Elizabeth screamed out, the knife twisting in the wound.
"I won't!" She screamed out. The knife exited the wound and then went to her face. With a quick slash it broke the skin of her lip and blood oozed down her neck.
"If you don't give me a name, you won't have a mouth to tell me." He said. He was terrifying, like some angel of death over her, his hair framing his face and his pupils dilated. Her vision blurred bringing him in and out of focus so he was even more of a specter. At that moment, Elizabeth knew she was going to die, alone and by him. There was nothing else left to lose, no one was coming for her.
"Then you're going to have to take it." Elizabeth said spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Sam looked furious.
"I will then, but first I'm going to take each of your fingers and then I'll take your mouth." The knife set at her pinkie finger and she felt a horrible pain. White hot light shot across her eyes and she screamed until but at the back of her mind, she saw something was different, the light wasn't from her pain, it was coming from behind Sam. Sam stood and glanced over at the window. For a moment all was still and then the window shattered as a tall masked figure smashed through it. Sam stood to grab his gun but then two darts shot out of the gun landing on his neck and the masked figure slammed the gun away from him. The two of them landed on the floor and there was a struggle, but it was obvious Sam was growing weaker. With one last ditch effort from him he reached up and the hood slipped from his attackers head. It was Dean.
"Dean." He slurred before Dean punched him square in the face and he dropped to the floor. Elizabeth let out a low moan trying to find words as her heart continued to pump the blood from her body both the stab wounds were throbbing, but her hand hurt the worst.
"Elizabeth hold on!" Dean said. Elizabeth felt he cuffs give way and she stood trying to focus.
"Just stay awake, focus on me. Please, just don't leave." Dean said grabbing her under the arm and almost dragging her to the window. Elizabeth felt the nylon cord around her waist and Dean jerking it. Then she was airborne, supported only by the cord around her waist. Then they were on solid ground again, the stealth craft began to fly away. She collapsed but didn't hit the floor as Dean held her.
"Sir, you've got to let go of her. She's going into shock." The voice came from somewhere to her left, but she couldn't see the speaker.
Elizabeth was vaguely aware of being lowered to the floor, she tried to focus and find Dean but all she could see were dark shapes and then she couldn't hold on any longer and let herself drop into the black.
xXx
There was a faint beeping noise, but other than that her surroundings were quiet. Elizabeth had woken up and she didn't know where she was. As she struggled and then succeeded to remember how to open her eyes the room blurred around her and she had to focus. She wasn't in any pain, but her brain felt fuzzy. The white room came into focus and she found the source of the beeping came from a heart monitor that attached to a clamp around her finger. Her other hand was encased in bandages. Elizabeth tried to remember how she had gotten here and the past evening, (was it last night, it felt like days) it began to come back in small flashes. Each one grew worse as she saw Sam leaning over her, the knife plunging into her skin, the screaming, Dean punching Sam. The beeping of the heart monitor increased.
"You're awake!"
Elizabeth turned her head slowly and saw Olivia curled up on a chair.
"How're you feeling?" Olivia asked.
Elizabeth struggled to speak but her mouth and throat were bone dry. Olivia got up and brought her a straw and a cup of water. She held it as Elizabeth sipped and finally managed to speak.
"I feel fuzzy." Elizabeth said slowly.
"That'll be the pain meds, you have twenty stitches in your shoulder and arms." Olivia said.
"Sam stabbed me." Elizabeth said. The image of him was back. Olivia bit her lip and nodded. Elizabeth looked around for any semblance of comfort and asked,
"Where's Dean?"
"He's downstairs, I told him to grab some coffee before he keeled over. Ellen was with him earlier but she left when I came. We didn't want to leave him alone."
Elizabeth wanted to see Dean but whatever was being put into her system made her feel drowsy. Olivia noticed.
"Dean will be here when you wake up. You've got to rest, you lost a lot of blood and the shock was bad."
Elizabeth allowed herself to give in and Olivia watched as she slipped back into unconsciousness. After she was asleep, Olivia walked into the hallway and waited for Dean. He came back clutching a cup in his hand.
"She woke up for a little bit, then she fell back asleep. She wanted to know where you were." Olivia said.
The guilt in Dean's face magnified and he ran a hand quickly over his eyes.
"You can't blame yourself for this." Olivia said reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. The sleeve of her cardigan rode up a bit and she quickly pulled it back down again.
"I should have stayed with her, kept in her group but I screwed up and he hurt her." Dean said, his voice unsteady.
"You didn't know that was going to happen." Olivia said putting a hand on his arm again.
"I knew he was there! I know what he's capable of!"
"And you think she didn't? Elizabeth was there every step of the way and she knew the risks! She doesn't blame you I'm sure of that. She's alive and that's the important thing! Now get in there and don't you dare hide from her. She needs you right now more than ever so be there for her like you were for me."
Dean took a breath and looked past her into the room where Elizabeth was sleeping.
"You can go home. I want to talk to her alone." Dean said. "I'll be okay."
Olivia nodded and reached up and kissed his cheek, like she would a brother.
"You're a good man." She said and smiled. The one he gave back didn't reach his eyes but it was a start. She grabbed her purse and left, leaving him alone with Elizabeth.
He sat down in the chair and waited for her to stir. He thought back to him actually seeing his brother again. When he left, Sam had looked like an overgrown boy, his hair falling in a fringe over his eyes and an untidy mop on the rest of his head. Now he almost hadn't recognized him. He'd had flecks of blood on him, Elizabeth's blood. Dean had acted on instinct. He could have killed him, taken the knife and cut his throat. Part of him had longed to, but the other part couldn't bear it. Let someone else kill him but he just couldn't, no matter what he did to the people he loved most.
Elizabeth shifted somewhat and he looked at her. She was still asleep and he put his hand over her uninjured one. The doctors had managed to save her finger but a bit more and she would have been left with a bloody stub. The knife wounds had been deep and she had lost a lot of blood. She had convulsed soon after he had gotten her on board and the medical personnel had held her down while it passed. Never had he felt more useless than watching her bleed and unable to do anything
Elizabeth came to again, her head felt less foggy from the drugs, however where the fogginess ended, the pain began, particularly in her hand. She looked around and saw Dean. He had bowed his head in his hands and Elizabeth lifted her hand and placed it on top of his head. He lifted his head and her hand slipped down so it was resting on his cheek.
"Hey." She said quietly.
"Hey back." He said, Elizabeth saw him try and manage a smile and he failed miserably.
"How are you feeling?" He asked.
"My hand hurts." Elizabeth answered.
"I'll get the nurse." He said.
"No, I don't like the pain medicine." Elizabeth said.
"If you let the pain take over, it'll take forever to get under control." Dean said and he pressed the nurse light.
"Can we talk until then?" Elizabeth asked. Dean nodded waiting for her to begin.
"Todd's dead." Elizabeth said quietly.
"Lonnie told us, he was on a lower roof and he scaled a wall to get to us. He said you were alive, no one wanted to leave you." Dean said smiling a little then he sobered. "He was a good guy Todd. Good soldier."
There was a silence and they both knew what they wanted say. However, who would make the first move? Elizabeth did.
"Sam." She said quietly.
"I'm sorry." Dean said his voice cracking.
"I have never been so scared in my life. I thought I was going to die." Elizabeth said, staring blindly ahead, her face uncharacteristically schooled into a blank expression. Dean listened as she continued.
"I wanted to just tell him what he wanted to know, maybe he would have stopped. I wish I had told him because I'm still scared. He knows me and he knows who I am, he took my credentials. The whole time he was just playing with the knife, and then he-" Elizabeth broke off, the façade cracking.
The nurse came in and Elizabeth braced herself for the return of the fogginess.
"I'm scared that when I close my eyes, I'm going to see him again and I won't wake up." Elizabeth whispered so only Dean could hear.
"I'll be here, he can't hurt you. He won't come back." Dean whispered back. He stroked her hair as the nurse gave her the sedative.
'He can't hurt you, he can't hurt you, Dean said he can't hurt you.' Elizabeth thought to herself.
Dean had said Sam wouldn't be in her dreams.
Dean lied.