Chapter Five

Jaime landed on her feet – and immediately toppled onto her backside. This brought her at least somewhat to her senses and she got up and began to run. The clock on the bank tower said 7:30pm. She'd apparently been out a lot longer than she'd thought, but even through the fog Jaime's instinct told her Steve was still at the office. At about half-speed (which was all she could manage without stumbling), she made a bee-line for OSI Headquarters.

----

Steve and Jack Hansen had spent most of the day in a staring match, with neither willing to give an inch. "You're making a big mistake, Austin," Hansen had growled at one point.

"No – I'm finally getting it right." For the last hour, neither man had spoken a word. One lone phone line began to ring – over and over with annoying insistence – but Steve ignored it. The ringing continued and Steve glared at Jack. "Don't move," he ordered.

"Like I could if I wanted to," Hansen said, pointedly glancing at the handcuffs.

"What is it?" Steve demanded, finally picking up the phone.

"Steve, it's Rudy. By any chance, is Jaime with you?"

"She's home, with Rose. If she doesn't answer, they're probably both asleep -"

"Uh, no, Steve....she's not. Lynda's with your daughter. Jaime persuaded me to tune her back to full strength today – and then she took off."

"What?"

"I gave her a pretty heavy shot of sedation, so she's in no shape to be out saving the world," Rudy explained. "Hospital Security is already looking for her, but I thought you should know."

"Thanks, Rudy – call me if you hear anything."

"You'll do the same?"

"Yeah," Steve promised, hanging up. He decided to see if his errant wife was wandering the lobby; Hansen wouldn't be going anywhere.

----

By the time Steve was taking the call from Rudy, Jaime had reached the fountain and was heading into the building. The lobby was semi-darkened (normal for that time of night) but, curiously, the night receptionist was not at her desk. And...where was Security? Still in quite a drug-induced stupor, Jaime bypassed the phone and jogged back toward the elevator. She pressed the button – and nothing happened. Puzzled, she stared at it for longer than she normally might have (as though she could make it work by sheer force of will), then Jaime shrugged and turned toward the north stairway.

----

Ironically, up in the executive suite, Steve was staring at the same dead elevator. He swore to himself and returned to his prisoner. "What'd you do to the elevator?" he demanded.

Jack Hansen looked blankly at him. "Now you're just being ridiculous."

"It worked just fine when you rode it up here."

"This morning," Jack pointed out. "Do you know how many people have been in and out of this building since then?"

"Maybe – but no one else has used the express elevator....because we're the only two people up here."

"Austin, think about it," Hansen sighed. "Even if the rest of your accusations were true – and not a single one of them is – why would I disable my only means of getting back out of here?"

Steve started to suggest that Hansen could've been planning to take the stairs, but instead shot him a look of disgust and started out toward the stairway, picturing Jaime staggering into the stairwell and only making it part-way up. He pulled on the metal door, which seemed to be somehow bolted from the other side. One good bionic yank solved the problem.

"Jaime?" he called. His voice echoed down the stairwell.

"Going somewhere, Colonel?" a familiar voice sneered as the barrel of a gun poked its way out of the shadows.

Steve barely had time to process the man's identity and gasp "It's you?" before a fine mist sprayed directly into his face rendered him unconscious.

----

Jaime had made it to the third floor landing when she heard Steve call her name. She was just about to answer (the words forming more slowly than normal in the hazy fog of her current condition) when she heard a male voice she didn't know....and a body hitting the floor. This broke through her stupor enough to allow her to take the stairs a half-flight at a time until she was nearly to the top, where she got one quick look and ducked down out of sight. She needed a plan and she needed it NOW. A large, angry-looking man stood over Steve, his weapon in firing position. Then Jaime heard the cocking of the gun...

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