Bianca leaned against the shelf trying to keep her balance as she listened at the door to the men just outside. So far it didn't sound like they had found the phone, or even realised she was missing from her room but how long would that last?

"You should see what's happening?" Marissa whispered in her ear.

Bianca though that was a crazy idea. But she really wanted to know what was going on out there.

She turned the handle very slowly and then opened the door just a crack. From where she hid she could see two of the men had taken seats in front of the bank of video screens and were focusing on the image of an expensive black limousine pulling in at the front gate. The third man had picked up the half-drunk mug of coffee Bianca had noticed when she arrived and was carrying it over to a little kitchen area in the corner. So far he hadn't noticed that his phone was missing from his desk.

Bianca's mind was in a whirl, how long would Jesse need to trace the call?

…

"How much longer do you need to find them?" Krystal asked as she anxiously watched Jesse juggling two phones.

"It takes time." said Jesse, but he still turned to his other phone and asked. "Brot, have you got anything yet."

"Somewhere in Mexico," Brot replied, "We don't have an address yet."

"That's okay." said Jesse. He was relieved to know their suspicions were correct and Jackson and the others were at least in the right country.

And as they were so close…

Jesse gave Krystal a smile.

"Krissy, can you get my cell phone from my back pocket?"

"You need another phone?" she asked, although she didn't hesitate to retrieve it.

"Take this." he said swapping the phone Brot was on with his own cell and then dialled a new number.

After a moment the call was answered.

"Jackson…" Jesse exclaimed, "Look, I've got some news and it's very important you listen to what I'm about to say…"

…

Bianca was listening at the door on tender hooks. The guy had been heading back to his desk with his coffee only to be distracted by his colleagues as the monitor showed a sharply dressed man being greeted in a foyer area.

"Are they speaking Spanish?" Marissa asked, speaking Bianca's own thoughts out loud. "Are we in South America? We should tell Jesse!"

"How exactly do we do that?" Bianca mouthed silently; fully aware that she was having this argument with herself.

The guy with the coffee had lost interest in his colleagues and was heading back to his desk. Any minute now he was going to notice his phone was gone…

The guy sat down, took a sip of his coffee and turned on his computer.

"Seriously… he didn't notice?" Marissa exclaimed.

Bianca smiled at Marissa's satirical tone and then staggered back slightly. She was feeling light headed and her good leg was starting to buckle from being stood still for so long. Her movement knocked the shelf and something rattled.

The guy at the desk stopped and looked round. Bianca in her panic stepped back from the door so she wouldn't be seen. Her back hit the shelf behind her and, as if in slow motion, a heavy folder slid sideways and then dropped on the floor with a loud thump.

"Oh no… oh no… oh no!" Marissa exclaimed echoing Bianca's own panic. "You can't let them catch you!"

Bianca frowned? What did her hallucination expect her to do? Run for it? Right now she could barely stand.

The door opened and the guard stood there, armed with a police baton; he had an expression of complete surprise on his face at the sight of her.

Fear was making Bianca's heart work in overdrive all of a sudden. Then, as imaginary Marissa watched with concern in her eyes, Bianca felt her weakened body react to the moment the only way it could; she fainted.

…

Jesse's phone call set Jackson's heart alight. Bianca was alive! That was the best news in the world. He tried to listen as instructed to all the other information that Jesse had. It was patchy but Bianca was calling from somewhere in Mexico and possibly from a hospital.

As soon as Jesse mentioned the word hospital a light bulb went off in Jackson's head.

"Hold on." he said, "An old converted hospital was on one of our local lists as a research facility for Silva's medical company. I should have a name…"

He checked through the file they'd put together for Veracruz but the page wasn't there. He realised it must be in the bundle Kendall, Griffin and Reggie had taken for their search of the city.

"Jesse. I'm going to have to ring you back." he said.

"You're not going to do anything dangerous? We need to coordinate with the local authorities."

"No but I need to call the others. They have the file. I'll call you back with the name and address once we know it's the right place."

"Jack!" Jesse warned but Jackson was already hanging up.

Jackson grabbed his coat and dialled Kendall's number as he headed for the door. They were going to bring their family home for Christmas after all!

…

Guido hadn't been working for the security division very long but he liked the job. The pay wasn't great, but if all you had to do was patrol the grounds every few hours and watch people wander around on tiny screens, it wasn't hard work. It's not as if the scientists ever gave you any trouble. He thought he had a pretty easy life really, with the added bonus that he was helping genius doctors save lives.

Well most days were easy. Today was a little different. Everyone was a little more on edge. An important visitor was arriving to examine the work in C sector and there was a lot a pressure for everything to be perfect for the visit.

Moments ago he'd had an argument with his colleagues over the identity of the important guest. Cedro was insisted it was none of their business but Guido and young Hector thought it was an investor of some kind but they couldn't agree if the guy was American or not. Hector loved all things American.

Now their patrol was done Guido was looking forward to sitting back and enjoying the coffee he didn't get to finish before. He turned on his computer for good measure, to make it look like he was working if any of his superiors came in to check - not that they ever did.

When he heard the noise the stationary cupboard Guido thought it was the mouse that had been bothering them for weeks. The last straw had been finding the rodent blatantly chewing at the edges of their department cookie tin.

Armed with his baton Guido headed for the cupboard to teach the hairy little pest a lesson once and for all. The last thing he expected to see when he opened the door was a dishevelled woman, skin as white as a sheet, starring back at him. He dropped his baton in shock and then caught the woman as she fainted dead away. As he carefully laid her out on the floor he called to his colleagues for help.

Cedro, the old misery, stood well back.

"That will mean trouble." he muttered. "Probably some escaped experiment. She's probably contagious."

Guido let the woman drop at that and stepped back wiping his hands on his shirt in a useless attempt to remove the germs.

Hector, stood there gawping now too.

"Why does she have bits of chair tied to her leg?" the kid asked.

"More importantly, what the hell was she doing in my cupboard?" Guido exclaimed. This was way above his pay grade. He needed to call higher up. He scrambled to his desk only to find his phone wasn't there. He traced the wires and found the phone in the drawer; was Hector playing one of his pranks?

Guido pulled out the phone and replaced the handset that had fallen loose. He checked the telephone list on his desk before dialling the number for Dr Norrell…

…

Jackson's call to Kendal came just as they were pulling in at the first warehouse on their list. She was elated at the news that her sister was alive. She rummaged in the files on her lap for the address of the hospital and read it out to Jackson.

Griffin and Reggie who had been listening to the call shared a look.

"You know, that hospital isn't far." said Griffin, examining the map.

Reggie started the car.

"Then what are we waiting for!"

…

"We lost the trace!" Brot exclaimed down the phone. "They've hung up!"

"But you got them?" Jesse asked.

There was a moment of silence from the other end as Brot conversed with his colleagues.

"It's not exact but somewhere in Veracruz… Veracruz, Mexico…"

"Veracruz the city or the state?"

"Yeah, the city."

Jesse smiled; Jackson really was very close! Now he just had to get the local authorities up to speed and, once Jackson called back with the address, they could mount a rescue. He just hoped Jackson, Kendal, Reggie and Griffin would have the sense not to just go charging in and wait for help to arrive.

"Have you finished with my cell?" Krystal asked; dancing impatiently as Jesse hung up.

"Sure." Jesse said handing over her phone, confused by her eagerness.

Krystal grabbed it and started dialling.

"Who are you calling?" Jesse asked.

"I have to let Marissa know Bianca's alive!" Krystal exclaimed in breathless excitement. "She has to believe me now!"

…