CHAPTER 3 – THE TIGER HAS CLAWS

She must have looked suitably calm because the doctor – Carson? - moved away out of her sight and she was able to put her somewhat sketchy plan into action. Plan? Didn't really have one, just knew that she needed to get out of this place and make good her escape.

She knew this time, that she would have to give herself a few moments to get her precious equilibrium before attempting to actually put one foot in front of the other. The pain meds were already beginning to work, and she surmised that she had likely been given morphine or pethedine – fast working but could be slightly debilitaing. Which meant she would have to move fast.

Huffing a few experimental breaths, she released the hold on the side of the bed and stepped cautiously into the middle of the room. So far, so good. The military man had not returned, nor had the doctor, so if she was going to attempt an escape, now would be the good time.

She made it to the infirmary door and peered around the doorway, noting that long hallways ran either side and were at this time, empty. She drew herself up to full height, intending to look as though she belonged here in case she was stopped.

She managed to get up the length of one hallway and down another before meeting another person. Dressed in similar clothes to the doctor, obviously non military and Nicole smiled a tentative greeting at him, watching as he moved into an small room that looked like an elevator. She scrambled to follow him before the door closed, and upping the wattage of her smile, while attempting to push down the pain that was now returning in powerful waves, she entered the elevator and waited until he had turned to the screen on the wall.

The man, smiling back at her – drew up his eyebrows in query. "Where to? I'm heading down to the labs."

She thought fast, even with the pain medication coursing through her system, she attempted to keep her mind as sharp as she could. Labs, ok – so that meant some sort of research facility perhaps? Keeping her voice as neutral as possible, she brought the first name to mind that she could.

"Ah, storage facility thanks. Need to pick up my equipment." He threw a slightly puzzled look her way, pushed what she hoped was the required indication on the screen and turned to face her.

"Haven't seen you around here before. New recruit? What department?"

His accent was American and that was a relief to her. She also noted that he had an American flag sewn onto his shirt, while the doctor had proudly worn the scottish flag. Perhaps this particular facility was under the control of more than one government, and she saw in her mind, a new story beginning to almost write itself. Perhaps she would not be in such a hurry to escape after all.

She smiled at him now. Nicole Harmon was nothing if not persuasive and not just because of her stunning looks. Although that certainly helped things along more than just a little. She could also spin a good story and pretty much lie her way out of anything – all the prerequsites for a good photo journalist.

"Public relations. And you?"

He gave her another puzzled look. "Public relations? Don't tell me they're opening this place up to the American public. Wouldn't that open a big nasty can of worms. Anyway, I'm Frank and one of the scientists in the biochemistry section. We've been looking into the photo neurons that are being exhibited from that plant Dr McKay brought back from P9T129. Fascinating. The properties are mind blowing, really."

He smiled expectantly at her, and she felt her own smile dim just a little. He spoke another language, and while she had a limited science background, this was beyond her.

"Sounds fascinating, but I really need to be going..."

"No problem, this is your stop." The elevator that was not an elevator – even while she had been listening to him she had known that there was something seriously state of the art about this particular elevator. It made no noise, neither did it appear to move at all. Simply it was there... then here and when the door opened, it was onto a floor similar to the one she had just stepped off, with doorways leading who knew where.

She stepped out, wary about being alone in this strange place, but knew that once the alarm went up regarding her escape from the infirmary, it was unlikely that she would be able to trust anyone that she met.

Once the doors had closed on her new friend, she turned and felt a wave of sickness, accompanied by pain – moved up rapidly through her body. Whatever had hit her was now having another side effect and with the combination of the high powered painkiller, she knew that she should really be lying prone somewhere until the effects of it passed. But she had to find her equipment, and pushing down the nausea and attempting to ignore the pain, she moved down the hallway, wondering which room was the storage facility she was looking for.

She could find no traditional door openings, but noting a control panel beside each door, the simple action of waving her hand in front the panel opened it, and she took a deep breath. This place was more than state of the art, and Nicole was determined to get to the bottom of it.

She had just entered her third room, not finding what she was looking for she was about to enter a fourth, when she heard the sound of running footsteps. Knowing that her disappearance had been discovered and her knew friend had likely given up the information that a strange woman had ridden on the elevator with him, she moved back into the room and allowed the door to close.

The footsteps paused outside and she held her breath and carefully moved back into a darkened corner, looking around frantically for some sort of hiding space. There were shelves, and these appeared to be deep enough for cover, so moving carefully and trying not to notice the raging headache, she pushed herself as far back into the shelves as she could, and like a small child, closed her eyes hoping that whoever came into the room, wouldn't see her.

No such luck. She felt her arm grabbed non too gently and she was pulled unceremoniously from her hiding spot and opening her eyes, saw the military man who had seemed more or less kind, from the infirmary.

"Damn it woman! What is with you? You don't want to get yourself lost in this city... it could be days before you are found … are you nuts?"

She blinked her eyes. City? This was a city? Questions began spiralling around her head, and mixing with the mother of all headaches and the continued nausea, she simple groaned and leaned against the hard body of the man whose grip on her arms was painfully tight.

He muttered an oath and gentled his touch, pulling her against him and wrapping his arms securely around her.

"You need to be lying down, not running around this city making me just about have a heart attack. Damn it..." His voice was definitely softer and she leaned into his touch, wondering why she was attempting to escape... suddenly it did not seem so important anymore.

"Let's get you somewhere safe, and we'll see what we can do about getting you some sort of security clearance and giving you some answers. Perhaps that'll stop you attempting to escape every moment..." There was some amusement in his voice, and as she drifted in and out of awareness, she heard a buzzing, then his voice came from a long way away. Her legs buckled then, and she heard him mutter another oath as he simply lifted her into his arms and peered down at her pale face.

"Back to bed. If I don't have your word that you won't attempt to escape, I'll have to use restraints, and I'd hate to bruise those pretty wrists. Or abuse your first amendment rights..."

She didn't answer, didn't really have the energy or the strength , just closed her eyes and let him carry her out of the room. Felt the comfort of his hard body as it carried her and the security of not having to think for a short time. Then she felt nothing at all as consciousness left her and missed the bemused look he gave her still face and the way he lifted her a little higher so that she fit tightly against him.