Come home

by Selective scifi junkie

Pre cannon. When a mission in Serbia is blown open, it will take all of Adam's willpower just to survive, for as long as it takes the rest of his cell to find him in the dust storm. Adam/Fiona. M for violence alone (by far the worst I've ever written). There is no sexual content to speak of.

9. Chapter 9

Come home

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11/5/98

"Chris!" Greg shouted, running in to the centre of the room. "Chris! Sam! Fiona! Look!" Sam got there first. Fiona froze four feet away, Chris beside her, as Sam snatched a piece of paper from Greg's hand and read aloud.

"MI6, in order to protect our homeland, we have captured a man you sent to pry and destroy here. Also, a traitor to Serbia you were helping. Their names are Josif Mihaillovitch and Adam Carter." Sam looked up. Fiona breathed a sigh of relief.

"He's alive."

"Or we are supposed to think he is." Chris said. "Keep reading Sam."

"Though we could reasonably execute both men for crimes against Serbia, we are not barbarians. We will return both traitors to you alive if our demands are met. We demand the release of three courageous Serbian soldiers you are holding without trial: Nikola Karodzitch, Hans Radegan and Sasha Belgrad, also the removal of all English oppressors from Serbian regions. If these demands are not met, our prisoners will be executed." Sam lowered the paper again. There was a long silence.

"Those demands are insane, and he knows it." Sarah said quietly. Fiona nodded.

"So we play for time." Sam said quickly. "The more they communicate, the more likely we are to find them. We demand Proof of Life first, and specify that if we don't get it, they can forget any deal. They should play along with that."

"Unless Adam's already dead." Tash said. Fiona bit the inside of her mouth.

"We always demand proof of life. They'd have just sent us a body if they'd killed him." Sam nodded in agreement.

"Fiona's right. We proceed under the assumption that Adam's alive. Greg, start tracing this note. I want to know exactly where it came from. Tash, Sarah, find out who these men are, anything to tell us who's got Adam. Fiona, report upwards, find out what we could reasonably offer them to keep them talking." Everyone moved off at once.

Fiona was half way down the corridor, almost shaking with mixed relief and fear, when someone called her name behind her. She turned. Sam.

"Yes?" He hesitated just in front of her.

"Look, Fi, I know the last few days have been rough on you, and-" She shook her head at him.

"Oh, you've no idea, Sam."

"Look, I know it's not over yet, but at least we know he's alive, don't we?" Fiona nodded, feeling tightness in her throat again.

"They said `alive`, Sam, not `unharmed`. God knows what they'll do to him." Sam nodded and pulled her in to his arms. Fiona leant her head against him, but didn't return the hold. Her breathing shook, she was fighting tears. She was stronger than this. She had to be.

"It is possible." Sam said quietly. "But if they're trying to ransom Adam, they might not bother if they think we'll exchange him out before he breaks, they won't waste their time. They'd only have to hit him once or twice to figure out he's strong under torture. He'll be OK."