Author's Notes: Again, thanks for the tremendous response to the first four chapters. I hope you continue to enjoy the story. This chapter goes back in time to cover what was happening on Sarge's side during the previous chapter. I hope it's not too confusing. Another warning that this chapter has a bit of rough language.
Disclaimer: The show Flashpoint and its characters were created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern and belong to them and the networks who air the episodes. Since the show has ended, our only way of getting new Flashpoint is through fan fiction. This story is my attempt to help fill the void, and the only profit I make is the warm fuzzy feeling reviews give me. Anything that does not come directly from the show is my own creation and should not be used without my permission.
Break Out
Chapter 5
"This can only go well for you if you come clean." Greg Parker insisted to the three inmates standing before him. So far they hadn't given him so much as name, rank, or serial number. Normally he had patience to spare when it came to convincing a subject to talk to him, but this wasn't a normal circumstance. Jules was missing; blood at her last known location showed she or someone else was badly hurt; and they were dealing with basically unknown individuals with very little to lose. He'd long passed his patience capacity.
The three men just stared at him defiantly. Warden Jenkins looked at them in annoyance. "Smithers, Andrews, Flannery, I thought the three of you had at least a little sense. You've been caught trying to break out of here…"
"Ain't true. We were just in the kitchen. Ain't no crime in fixing a snack is there?" Andrews protested.
"When you aren't on KP duty and there's a prison break going on, then yeah, I'd say there is." Jenkins countered. Then he continued. "Now, I don't give you sense enough to have planned all this on your own. For one, none of you have the smarts to rig those explosions. Your best bet is to cooperate with Sgt. Parker here. The longer this goes on, the more likely it is that someone's going to be hurt and it'll be on your heads."
Flannery snickered. "Oh, someone's gonna be hurt all right. Namely that sexy little cop. Getting a piece of that sweet thing is worth anything that happens. A regular little hellcat. Be honest, you guys keep her around because she's so hot in the sack, right?"
Greg took a step toward the three men, his eyes flashing in anger. Out of the corner of his eye, he could tell Spike and Raf - the only other Team One members in the room - were also slowly advancing as well. Jules was more than just a teammate, she was like a sister to them and a daughter to him; hearing anyone speak so disparagingly about her was enough to incense them. The only way it would have been worse would have been for Sam to have been there to hear them speak about Jules in that way.
Before any of them could do anything they would maybe not regret but would at least be questioned about later, Greg stopped and looked at two uniformed officers who were present in the room. "Get them out of here. Take them to the holding area in Detention B."
He waited until they had been led from the room before turning to Jenkins. "Knowing they are involved, can you give us an idea who else we're looking at?"
The warden nodded and pulled out a file folder. "I've got a pretty good idea. We've got a few men housed here that would have the know-how to rig those explosions, but only one that I know of that those three would be involved with." He opened it to reveal the picture inside. "This is Eugene Dogland, goes by Dog for short. Not only is he pretty much a professional firebug but he's also garnered quite a following since he's been here. Unlike most arsonists, Dogland almost delights in burning more than just property. He's been linked to more than five deaths and over twenty fires."
"Nice guy. It's probably more than just him working with the Three Stooges. Who would be helping him?"
"I can think of at least twenty-five to thirty groupies." Jenkins answered as he reached back for two more folders. He opened another one. "This is his right-hand man, Larry Jones. You can't tell it as much from the picture but they call him Bear as much for his size as for his grizzly demeanor. His job as a paramedic helped supply him with drugs to feed his addiction. During medical calls, when a doctor ordered pain medication, Jones would inject the medication into himself instead of the patient. During one call, he was so high he wrecked the ambulance killing his partner and the patient. The patient had family with both money and connections and they got the charges against him raised from manslaughter to depraved heart murder. It took three bailiffs, both lawyers, and several men from the galley to take him down when he tried to go after the jury foreman who read the verdict."
Jenkins then opened the other folder. "Dogland's left hand man, John Smith - and yeah, that's his given name." Almost reluctantly he handed over the folder. "The guys in the block call him Snake. He's serving time for assault."
Greg felt his stomach turn. He didn't look over at Spike and Raf; he was pretty sure the worry he'd see if he did. He also couldn't look at the folder. "Let me guess, you don't mean simple physical assault."
Jenkins shook his head. "I'm afraid not. He was linked to more than 30 sexual assaults; there may have been more they just couldn't connect him to enough to try him for. His victims ranged in age from nine to ninety, but his preference was for pretty brunettes in their twenties and thirties."
Spike swore softly. Greg silently echoed the sentiment. They had all pretty much known the situation was bad but this was even worse than they had anticipated. Now Greg did look at both his teammates. "I know what you are worried about; I have the same concerns. However, we can't lose focus. Until we have reason to assume otherwise, we've got to trust that Jules is okay. Got it?"
Spike didn't respond but Raf nodded. The newest member of Team One rubbed his face. "Copy that. I think it's probably best if we don't let Sam know what kind of men are holding her captive. It's got to be hard enough for him as it is; this kind of knowledge is just gonna drive him crazy until we know what's going on."
Greg nodded; he wasn't a proponent of keeping secrets from the team but he could also acknowledge that it wouldn't do Sam any good to know the history of the men involved. If he could, he'd rewind time so that neither Spike nor Raf would have heard about the criminal history as well. It was hard enough staying objective and focused knowing one of their own was in jeopardy; this knowledge just made it even worse. "Agreed."
The phone on the desk rang. Greg looked from it to Jenkins. The warden gave a slight nod. "Considering all my guards are unaccounted for and probably being held hostage, that's probably our subjects. That phone only connects in-house."
"Spike, record it." Greg ordered, falling back into his training as he picked up the phone. "This is Sgt. Greg Parker with the Police Strategic Response Unit. Whom am I talking to?"
"I'm the one who's going to be calling the shots. There's quite a few people who are going to get hurt if you don't give me exactly what I want."
"No one wants to see anyone get hurt. Why don't you tell me what it is you want and I'll discuss it with my bosses."
"A couple of large vans. Clear passage out of here."
"That's a pretty tall order. That's going to take some time."
"Don't give me that shit. I know there's probably half a dozen vans just like I'm asking for already parked here at the prison. Get a couple of them over here."
"It's not that easy." Greg insisted, sounding much calmer than he really felt. "My bosses aren't going to want to approve anything without knowing how everyone is in there."
"They're a lot better than they're gonna be if you don't make things happen pretty quickly. You got ten minutes to get those vans ready or we'll start throwing out dead bodies. Then what will your bosses say?"
There was a noticeable clunk as the phone was slammed down. Greg sighed as he replaced the receiver on his end, resisting the urge to slam the phone down himself.
"It was definitely Dogland." Jenkins confirmed. "What are you going to do? We can't let him and his buddies out but he won't hesitate to hurt your teammate or my guards if he doesn't get what he wants."
Greg glanced over at Spike and Raf before answering. "We're not going to let them get away and we're not going to let them hurt anyone. Any idea where the call originated from?"
Jenkins shook his head. "I can narrow down where they aren't by marking off which rooms don't have house phones but I can't do much better than that."
"Boss, we've followed the blood trail to the building's laundry. We can't get eyes in without revealing ourselves but we're pretty sure it's where they are holed up."
Greg knew Ed and Sam hadn't heard his end of the conversation, but was glad to hear the update anyway. "Pull back a safe distance and observe only until we have a better idea what we're dealing with."
"Copy that." Ed acknowledged.
"Sarge, there's got to be more we can do." Sam interjected. "Some way we can at least get eyes in so we know what we're dealing with."
Greg heard what Sam wasn't really saying; that the younger man wanted some way to reassure himself that Jules was okay. He couldn't blame Sam; he wanted to know the same thing and he didn't have the same personal relationship Sam had with her. The house phone started to ring again. Before picking it up, he knew he had to answer Sam. "Fall back for now. The two you of you are outnumbered and if our subjects see you, it could make things worse for Jules and the guards."
"Copy that."
It was perhaps the most reluctant acknowledgement Greg had ever heard Sam make. Knowing his two best tactical members would hold position, Greg picked up the receiver again. "Sgt. Parker. I'm glad you called back. We can't work things out if we stop talking."
"I got someone here that's going to convince you we mean business. You might want to listen to her 'cause if I don't start getting what I want, things are gonna change drastically."
Her. He had to be referring to Jules. If she was able to try to "convince" him Dogland and his buddies mean business, then that meant she couldn't be injured too severely.
It was only a couple of seconds before the receiver shifted and he heard the voice he wanted to hear. "This is Jules Callaghan, Strategic…"
He let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "Jules, thank God. Are you okay?" The question left his mouth before he really thought about it. Of course Jules wouldn't admit to anything being wrong; not when it could be on the transcript of a call and certainly not in front of subjects.
"Nothing I can't handle, Sarge." Which of course didn't really tell him anything. She was hiding it well but he could hear the pain in her voice. She might not admit it out loud but she was injured. He wished he had more to offer her but instead assured her they were working toward getting her and the others out. Nothing she didn't already know.
She reiterated the demands Dogland had already made. It wasn't the first time they'd been in this same position, but this time he was more worried than he'd ever been before. Still, he offered her the party line to give to Dogland, reminding her to suggest that he release one of the hostages in a good faith gesture. He expected her to relay the message. He expected her to be the negotiator he knew she was good at being. He didn't think even being held hostage could keep her from doing her job. Therefore her next words floored him.
"Yeah, they're not going to do that. Don't worry about us. Not like these guys are any real threat anyway. I mean they actually think you're going to let them just walk right out of here. Stupid, huh? But I guess that's what you get when you are dealing with the dregs of society."
What the hell? Why was she waving a red flag at a mean and angry bull? He removed his ball cap and rubbed his forehead with his arm before putting the cap back on. "Jules, what are you doing?"
He wasn't sure she even heard him. He heard the phone receiver hit something brutally and he was afraid Dogland had used it to strike Jules. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Raf turn his back to the rest of the team, his fist clenched like he wanted to hit something. Spike flinched as if he had been the one to be hit. He could hear Dogland telling Jules what he expected of her. The malice was clear even though he wasn't actually speaking into the phone.
"Sarge?" She was hiding her pain well but he couldn't help but be reminded of the few times she felt like she was drowning in a negotiation attempt and needed his help. He wished he could do more to get her out of the situation.
"Can they hear me?"
When she assured him he couldn't be heard, Sarge took a deep breath. "Jules, don't antagonize them. We have three in custody so we know who we are dealing with. They are dangerous and have nothing to lose in this. They are capable of anything."
He shouldn't have to tell her that first part. She was not only trained but she was good at what she did. If she was going against protocol now, it was because there was a reason. He trusted her, but at the same time, he couldn't get the sound of that receiver striking something - was it her face, back of her head, what? - out of his mind. He couldn't stand to see her or any of his team in pain. It felt like a failure on his part if something happened to any of them. Seemed like lately he couldn't keep any of his teammates completely safe. He hoped by telling her that they had some of the men in custody she would know they were getting closer to being able to bring this to a conclusion.
"I'm sure by now you've got snipers all in position. It wouldn't surprise me if they already had their laser sights trained right on about three or four of these bozos. You could take out most of them one shot each. Do what you've got to do, Sarge; I'll be fine."
"What the hell is she doing?" Spike hissed out softly but Greg held up his hand to silence him as she continued.
"You can always start off with some good CS gas and flash grenades just to totally disorient them. They don't have weapons so you could put an end to all this without even breaking a sweat."
"Maybe she's trying to tell us how we should proceed." Raf suggested, turning back to them, looking more in control now than he had a moment before. "She has to know we found the blood and wouldn't risk using the gas in a room where someone was injured. Maybe she's letting us know it's okay."
Raf had a good point, but Greg believed it was more than that. Something in her voice told him it wasn't just a hint to them but a ploy of a different sort. It sounded to him like she was trying to throw her captors off their game, make them worried. Something was going on; there was a reason she was risking their retribution. "Jules, I'm sure you have a reason for everything you are saying. Whatever is going on in there, just remember, you aren't alone in this. We've got your back and we're going to get you out safely. Don't forget, whoever you are trying to protect in there, we need you too."
She'd been alone in what was happening since the explosion; she'd had to rely on her own instincts and skills with only the hope that help was close. He needed to remind her that she wasn't alone and that she could trust that they were going to get her out. Then Dogland's voice filled his ear again. It was obvious from the heavy breathing he heard first that the inmate was furious and rapidly losing control. His words confirmed that theory.
"Look, you want your pretty little friend back in one piece, you get me a van and you get it fast. The quicker you do that the better off they'll be in here. You don't have time to waste; we got a guard in here that's not looking too good. He ain't gonna make it if you don't move fast. I'm surprised she ain't told you that; she's been so concerned about him."
So that was it. Jules was protecting one of the guards. Was it the one whose blood they'd found in the hallway? What was she protecting him from and why hadn't she been negotiating for his release? Then the phone dropped. Fortunately, Dogland hadn't hung up the phone and they could still hear everything that was going on. Unfortunately, hearing was all they could do as it seemed the situation had just turned for the worse for Jules.
"Where the hell is he? What have you done?"
- FP - FP - FP -
The grip Dog had on her neck was tight and painful but somehow he hadn't cut off her ability to breathe completely. She'd done it; she'd managed to keep their attention diverted long enough for Barrett to get Parker out of the room. She hoped it was in time for the medics to be able to save him, but she couldn't dwell on that. Her own position was now more precarious than it had been. This was where she should backtrack and de-escalate the situation. Calm Dog and the others down before she or someone else got hurt. Trust her team to do the rest. She knew that was what she should do, but what came out of her mouth was totally different.
"Right, because with my hands and feet bound and being held by your Neanderthal here, there's so much I could have done. Asshole."
With the one hand still on her throat, Dog drew his other hand back ready to deliver a punch. Jules didn't flinch in anticipation of the blow that would probably hurt worse than any of the others she'd sustained during her captivity. Inwardly however, she cursed herself. Her mouth had always gotten her into more trouble. How many times growing up had saying the wrong thing at the wrong time made a situation worse rather than better? Even knowing it was better to say nothing, how many had times had she spoken anyway? It was as if the filter that censored her thoughts before they reached her mouth shut off at the worst possible times. This was definitely one of those times.
"She's got a point, Dog." Bear interjected. "Ain't no way she did anything with him. She couldn't have."
Dog lowered his fist without landing a blow. His expression was hard and furious. "Then where the hell is he? You treated his injuries; could he have gotten up and walked out on his own?"
"Hell no." Bear's answer was instantaneous. "Bastard's lucky if he even lives. Ain't no way he even crawled out. I'm just saying the Bitch cop didn't have anything to do with it."
Snake stepped closer to the three of them. There was a gleam to his eye that Jules didn't like; apparently he'd gotten over what Dog had done to him earlier. He reached out and touched her injured cheek. His touch bothered her more than any punch from Dog could. She wanted to squirm away from it but couldn't. Bear's grip on her arms was as tight as it had been and Dog's hand was still grasping her throat with bruising force. She knew she was in too vulnerable a position with all three of them. Snake leered down at her. "She knows somethin' though. I bet I can get it out of her. Let me have her and I'll find out anything you want to know. She'll probably even like it a little, when she's through screamin' of course."
Suddenly Snake was on the ground, blood spurting from his nose. The blow Jules had been spared had found its mark on Snake. The fist that felled the man switched to a pointing finger as Dog stared darkly at him. "What the hell did I tell you? Stay away from her or I'll do more than give you a bloody nose."
Then he turned back to Jules. She was breathing hard now that his hand wasn't on her throat any longer. He hadn't completely cut off her breathing but her lungs had been screaming for adequate oxygen nonetheless. The hand that was no longer squeezing her neck reached behind her and tugged at her ponytail. He removed the holder so that her hair fell freely around her shoulders. Then he ran his fingers through the loose locks. "Snake is right, though. You do know what happened to him. You gonna tell me or do I gotta force the information out of you?"
"Maybe one of your men slipped him out." Jules suggested, keeping her voice even and calm. She wasn't trying to antagonize him, but if she could cause dissent among the group, then she had to try.
Dog shook his head. "They wouldn't cross me that way. They want out of here and I'm their best chance of that."
Jules angled her head to the side like she was contemplating what he said, but really it was more of a way to pull away from the hand that was playing with her hair. "You sure of that? I seem to remember you sending several of your 'loyal followers' to raid the kitchen when we first came in here. How long does it take to gather a little food? I bet they either hightailed it out of here and left the rest of you to suffer the consequences or else they ran straight to my team and told them everything about you."
"She got a point, Dog." One of the other men stepped a little closer, but not close enough to be in striking range if Dog turned on him. "Where they at? Maybe she's right and they done spilled the beans on us. Who knows what the cop she was talking to told her."
There was a general murmur of discontent among the gathered men. Jules had them thinking, and not in a good way. Better to have them turn on each other. It would make them sloppy and make it easier for Team One to put a stop to their break out attempt. She knew the phone hadn't been hung up and knew Sarge would be listening to everything that was said.
Dog shook his head. "They wouldn't turn coat like that. If they were captured they'd keep their mouths shut but good. They know what's good for them."
Never, not even when she and Steve were trapped in the restaurant with a delusional gunman holding the patrons hostage, had Jules felt so cut off from her team. She missed not having her head set that kept her in contact with everything that was going on. Most of all she missed not having the team in her ear, offering support and advice, keeping her grounded and focused on the task and not the pain and fear.
"Maybe that's why they would talk. They do know what's good for them. Enough to know that you sent them out to be captured. Seriously? You sent them to raid the kitchen when you expected to be out of here in no time. Sounds to me like you didn't really care what happened to them." She glanced over to the rest of the gathered men. "Maybe he'll do the same with one of you next. Can you afford to take that chance?"
Dog stepped away from her and turned to face the group. "She's just trying to save her skin. I didn't beg any of you to sign up for this. You all wanted a chance to bust out of here same as me. If you've changed your mind, if you think you can't trust me to get us out of here safely, then there's the door. But just know that if you walk out there, then you're looking at adding more years to your sentence for the attempt. You stick with me and you'll be out of here. So what's it gonna be? Make up your mind quickly. Leave or shut the fuck up."
"We ain't going nowhere but out of this hellhole." Bear insisted. He gave Jules's arms a good tug, making her wince at the added pressure in her shoulders. He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "Ain't gonna do no good trying to turn us against each other. Not like we got anything to lose."
"We still don't know what happened to the guard." Reminded one of the men. "Wasn't one of us; we're all accounted for. He couldn't have walked out on his own and the bitch couldn't have helped him. So where the hell did he go?"
Jules had hoped the subject of Parker Douglas had been dropped but no such luck. Dog turned back to her, reached into his pocket and pulled out something that flashed in the light. Jules swallowed back her fear as she realized he wasn't as weaponless as she'd suggested to Sarge earlier. She should have known a convicted convict like Dog would have fashioned some sort of shiv or shank while in prison. He held the makeshift blade to her neck just below her ear.
"So how about it? What do you know about him getting out of here?"
Jules stayed silent. Realistically there was no reason to not reveal what she knew. Barrett had gotten Douglas out and they were both safe. It shouldn't matter how he'd gotten away but she couldn't bring herself to admit to anything. Bear gave her arms a shake causing the blade to nick her skin.
"Browning got him out of here." One of the other captured guards, the one who had caught Jules's eye before the escape, blurted out. There wasn't much he could do while being restrained but damn if he would sit by and watch anyone get hurt needlessly. Even if it meant lying a little. "She didn't know anything about it; Browning slipped in while you were on the phone and dragged him out while you were all distracted. Leave her alone, Dogland. You really think her friends are going to give you anything you want if you hurt her? Be smart, the only way you are going to get out of this in one piece is if you all give up right now and let her and the rest of us go."
"No one's going nowhere until we get us a van ride out of here." Dog turned back to Jules, stepping closer to her. She couldn't back up because Bear was right there almost pressed against her back. Dog took another step closer so that she was practically crushed between the two men. Dog was close enough that she could feel the effect her presence was having on him. It only added to her discomfort. Fortunately she didn't feel any of the same arousal from Bear. She was thankful for such small favors. Dog reached behind her and once more ran his fingers through her hair.
Jules looked him directly in the eye, refusing to cower before him. She was pretty sure he was just trying to intimidate her; after all, he'd kept Snake at bay because he hadn't wanted to get everyone stirred up until they'd gotten free. The shiv was still against the side of her face, and felt a little sticky after the earlier cut. However he'd made it, he'd managed to hone the makeshift blade until it was razor sharp. Even if there was room for her to move, she couldn't afford to do so without risking being cut even worse.
"What was Browning even doing sniffing around here? He's not a part of this, didn't know jack shit about it. I can't for the life of me think of a reason why he'd even come around here, let along risk his sorry ass by saving anyone. Do you know why he'd do it? I'm betting you do."
Jules didn't answer him. There was no way in hell she'd give him the satisfaction of thinking she was scared or cowed by him. His eyes narrowed and his fingers tightened on a lock of hair, pulling it sharply. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"
The prison-made knife moved away from her face and the tugging on her head increased momentarily. Then with a sick grin he brought his hand around to reveal a chunk of her hair that he'd cut with his shiv. He brought the hair to his nose and gave it a sniff. His grin widened. "Nice, fruity. Not strawberry though. What kind of fruit flavor is that?"
Again Jules refused to answer even such a unimportant question. Free of the threat of the weapon, she jutted her chin out slightly, defiantly. She couldn't believe he cut her hair, a pretty good chuck from the looks of it. It's just hair she tried to tell herself, just like your bruises are just bruises. Nothing that can't be fixed. Stay strong. Sam's probably right outside the laundry door ready to end things any moment.
"It's not polite to ignore an asked question. Answer me or I swear I'll cut you baldheaded and pass around samples for all the boys to smell until someone comes up with the answer. Now, which would you prefer?"
Jules shook her head. "I thought you didn't want them all excited and thinking with parts of their anatomy other than their brains. What do you think smelling a woman's hair will do to them? Then again, maybe you aren't using your brain to do your thinking either. Here I'm thinking you wanted out of here but instead of working toward getting that accomplished, you're worrying about my shampoo."
"It's a simple question. Not like I'm demanding you tell me how Browning came in here and why he rescued the guard. I just want to know what type of shampoo you use. Do you know how long it's been since I've smelled scented shampoo?" He nudged up against her again so she couldn't help but feel his reaction.
Don't antagonize them. Sarge's words came back to her, as clear as if he was speaking right in her ear. Whatever is going on in there, just remember, you aren't alone in this. We've got your back and we're going to get you out safely. "Pomegranate. It's pomegranate and green tea shampoo."
Dog grinned and sniffed the locks he'd cut off once more. "Lovely. I can't wait to bury my nose fully into your hair and not just the hair on your pretty little head. Who knows, you might even like it. I bet I'll be able to show you moves you ain't never seen before." He pressed himself closer into her. Close enough that he could probably feel the rapid beating of her heart, a beating that had gotten more rapid with his close proximity. She thought she would have more time before she had to once again worry about the prospect of being assaulted. She was acutely conscious of the fact that the house phone was still off its base. She was absolutely certain her team was either listening in to what was happening or recording it if not both. Would they have to listen to her being raped? She could only imagine the hell Sam would go through if he was forced to listen to her degradation. She made herself a silent promise; if the worst was going to happen, her friends - Sam - wouldn't hear her make a sound no matter how much pain she endured.
Before she could do much more than make that promise to herself, Dog stepped back, suddenly looking very angry. "Bear, get her out of my sight and make sure she shuts the hell up. I'm getting us out of here. The sooner we're out of here, the sooner I can show the Bitch what it's like to be fucked by a real man."
"No problem."
Jules was too relieved at the reprieve to care that the big man was dragging her back to the spot where he'd taken care of Parker Douglas. Once there he kicked at her feet, knocking her off balance. She landed hard on her rear end and bit back a groan. Bear knelt down beside her.
He rummaged through the medical supplies he'd used on the guard and picked up a small roll of leftover gauze. "You heard Dog, I gotta make sure you shut up and I don't think you know how without being forced. Open up."
Jules just stared at him, not quite believing everything that was happening. With a growl of annoyance, he grabbed her already bruised and painful jaw and squeezed, forcing her mouth open. He shoved the roll of gauze into her mouth. Taking another roll, he wound it around her head, securing the gag in place. Once he was satisfied, he sat back, admiring his work. He nodded. "That should keep you quiet. I kind of like you like this. Definite improvement. Of course, when Dog finally has his way with you, we'll have to remove the gag. No way do I want to miss out on hearing you scream. It'll make all the time I've spent in this hell hole seem worth it."
Rising back to his feet he turned away from her. Jules continued to sit there. Her hands and feet were bound, the gauze gag was threatening to choke her worse than Dog's hand had when it was closed around her throat, and just about every part of her body ached with a ferocity the likes she couldn't ever remember feeling before. The only thing keeping her from giving in to the defeat that threatened to overwhelm her was the conviction that Sam and the rest of the team would move heaven and earth to free her. She just hoped they got there before anything more could happen to her.