Lex talionis
Chapter 08. Not asked questions

It was just getting light in Ciudad Acuña when Jubal went up to the roof of the hotel. His room was air-conditioned, but he needed a breath of fresh air.

He had had a horrible nightmare. The Juarez cartel had captured Isobel and they were going to give her a gruesome death. He had tried to get there in time to save her... But he didn't succeed. After making her suffer, they had shot her in the head in front of him. He was still trembling inside with anguish and horror.

He was also frustrated that he had not gotten the restful sleep he needed. The fatigue continued to accumulate and his shoulder ached more and more. As he stepped outside, a soft cool wind blew into his face, and Jubal began to clear his head.

Then he stopped in his tracks. He hadn't expected to find her up there, but he wasn't surprised either. Like many beautiful birds, Isobel liked high spots.

It did Jubal good to see her. It erased much of the remnants of his nightmare. She had her back to him, resting her hands on a metal railing that ran along the edge of the building. The breeze ruffled her dress and loose hair. Her silhouette was outlined against the mauve and violet colors of the dawn sky. Although he did so silently, Jubal had to sigh, overwhelmed by such beauty.

He purposely made some light noise with his feet and said good morning to announce his presence; he didn't want to startle her.

Isobel hadn't been able to sleep all night. The gears inside her head had not stopped turning. She could not to stop them. The implications of the false dental records had them fuming.

When she heard Jubal behind her, she turned her face and waved back.

"Good morning to you too. You're up early... We went to bed very late last night; shouldn't you try to get more sleep?"

"I could tell you the same thing," he replied with a slight smile as he approached.

Isobel looked straight ahead again, into the distance. Jubal saw her shiver. He was unsettled by the impulse he had to wrap his arms around her to give her warmth.

"I can't stop thinking about those dental records and what they might mean," Isobel admitted.

To her left, Jubal leaned his elbows on the railing. It was nice there. In truth, he would have preferred to talk about something else, but it was obvious that what Isobel was concerned about.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Jubal advised. "We don't have enough information yet."

"But yesterday you were convinced that there had been a bodies swap."

"Yes, but I could be wrong. As for example, if Jacinta and Elías are still alive and kicking. Let your buddy try to talk to the Civil Registry before get worried."

"Yeah. But if they turn out to be dead, the number of unknowns in this case multiplies rather than decreases. And it was complicated enough already," she protested, exasperated. "Why do something like that? Who would do it? More importantly, are Carlos and Sofia alive somewhere? The only way to check would be to exhume all four graves, and it's not possible for us to obtain the appropriate authorization for that."

The bright red disk of the sun slowly peeked over the horizon. Jubal turned around, leaning back against the railing so he could see her face. Something shrank inside him to see her so distressed. He tried his best to find the silver lining, trying to reassure her.

"Would that be so bad?"

Jubal's eyes, full of green glints from the slant of the dawn's golden light, gazed at her with a gentleness Isobel could hardly resist. She lowered her head.

You don't understand... I want to save you!

Proving to Vargas that his family was still alive -and that he believed it- was even more difficult than catching the culprit. And without that, Isobel would have no bargaining chip. She felt immensely guilty just because a part of her would prefer that those two people were actually dead.

"No, of course not," she agreed with a murmur, but added nothing more, overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, Jubal took a deep breath, gathering resolve. There was something he needed to know.

"Isobel... Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," she agreed without thinking, still immersed in what was tormenting her.

"Why in the hell did you leave by yourself...?"

Isobel couldn't help but tense up. She looked for a way to evade the real reason. Jubal was aiming too close to the target.

"I couldn't put the team…" put you, her heart lamented, "…in any more danger than I already have. This is for me to take care of." Me personally.

"I understand, though I don't agree," said Jubal, thoughtfully, "But why...?" He hesitated for a moment. "Why didn't you count on me? Do you think I would have been in your way? That you wouldn't have my support?"

She looked at him puzzled. And hurt. "Jubal, you were unconscious in the hospital," she said with a lump in her throat.

In spite of himself, he nodded, admitting that he had misjudged her. "I gave that same argument to your father to convince him to tell me what he knew..." he murmured. "But you could have, I don't know... left me... a message, at least," he complained; he still had that thorn in his side. Don't you trust me...?

That lump almost strangled Isobel. All the anxiety she experienced during the days Jubal spent in a coma, away from him, fearing she would never see him alive again, was suddenly unleashed like a painful whiplash. "I didn't even know if you would wake up," her eyes welled up with tears.

In truth, her reply did not really answer the question Jubal cared about the most, the one he hadn't gotten around to asking, but it didn't matter because that raw emotion coming from Isobel left him completely disarmed. The air caught in his throat.

Isobel blinked back and regained her composure. "Excuse me," she said stiffly, terribly embarrassed by how much she had exposed herself.

It was impressive for Jubal to witness that unprecedented moment of her true vulnerability and then to see her equip herself before him in the armor she always wore. Impressive, but it caused Jubal an acute sadness.

"You're right," he admitted. "I'm sorry." He really was. In so many different ways. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.

However, that look had also left him deeply unsettled inside for another reason. He knew that Isobel cared about him; all her people mattered to her, and Jubal also was her friend... But there had been something in her eyes at that moment, such an intensity, that made him wonder if... maybe she felt...

Jubal jerked away from that line of thought. Absolutely not. It was just that he had pushed her too hard and Isobel was already under too much stress. He did not even want to consider aspiring to anything like that again. It was a dangerous path to take; too much risk of getting lost in it... As had happened to him with Rina. The painful memory of losing her burst through him like a freight train.

"It's all right," replied Isobel, serene but very serious.

As she raised her head again, a bright red stain on the top of Jubal's sleeve caught her eye. "You're bleeding!" she said, alarmed.

Jubal looked at himself. "What? Bummer," he replied upset. "I like this shirt..." Especially since she had given it to him.

"'Bummer'?" Isobel repeated, admonishing him with her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I tended to it yesterday after the shower, but it's hard with only one hand..."

She shook her head, exasperated that he was apologizing for that, while he was bleeding, dammit!

"Do you have a cure kit?" she asked impatiently.

"In my room."

"Let's go."

·~·~·

They went down to Jubal's room. He took out the small first aid kit he had bought at the airport. Isobel examined the contents. It didn't have everything, but it would suffice.

She then turned to Jubal and began to efficiently unbutton his shirt. At that, he simply froze, staring at her, not knowing how to react. The very idea that Isobel was undressing him was creating a heated and inconvenient chaos inside him.

As she was already going for the fourth button, Isobel raised her eyes for a moment to find the bewilderment on Jubal's face. Blushing furiously, Isobel stopped and stepped back. She cleared her throat loudly. "You finish."

She began to prepare the things she would need on the bed. But when she saw that Jubal was having difficulty removing his left sleeve, she didn't hesitate to help him. Then Isobel went to the bathroom and meticulously washed her hands, partly to disinfect them as much as possible, and partly because she needed a few moments to get used to the fact that she was going to be in the same room as a shirtless Jubal.

When she returned with some towels, he was waiting for her sitting on the bed. Her eyes couldn't help but roam his torso for a couple of seconds. She sat down next to him and forced herself to focus on the task at hand. The dressing Jubal wore on his shoulder had become soaked. Trying to push out of her mind the images of her nightmares that it invoked, Isobel removed it; she wiped the blood away with gauze and great care.

The wound traced a jagged line resembling a tightly stretched, angular number three; it was going to scar. Isobel sucked in her breath. They hadn't even taken the staples out of it yet; one of them was coming loose... But what worried her the most was that the edges were red and swollen.

"It's getting infected," she reported in dismay. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"Only when I laugh," Jubal joked lightly.

"How did you manage to drive all the way here from San Antonio in this condition?" Isobel wondered worriedly.

"Very carefully," he replied, grinning cheekily, "Ouch!" he exclaimed when Isobel applied a little pressure with her fingers.

"So you will learn..." she teased him, but she didn't say it cruelly.

The look he gave her of mock resentment made her smile in return. Jubal was captivated by that smile.

Isobel disinfected the wound thoroughly and applied some adhesive stitches to help the staples. Jubal's sweaty forehead and slight grimaces told her that it was being quite painful, but he didn't complain again.

Meanwhile, Jubal distracted himself as much as he could, contemplating her as he normally could not do... Her features were harmonious no doubt, but what fascinated him most was the determination in her gesture, the attention in her eyes, the care of her hands. Although also the suggestive promise of the soft skin of her shoulders...

To finish, Isobel covered with a gauze, which she fastened by neatly applying a bandage.

She looked into his eyes. The air around the two of them had become charged with a static that had robbed them both of their ability to speak.

"Thank you," Jubal managed to mutter.

Isobel shook her head dismissively.

He couldn't take his eyes off Isobel's. What the hell is wrong with you? Jubal said to himself in frustration. You're going to make her uncomfortable.

Shaking off his stupor, he stood up. He pulled out another of the shirts they had gotten him yesterday and put it on. "I'm sorry I ruined it," Jubal said in disgust, picking up the stained garment and examining the blood.

"Ruined? It is not ruined. That can be washed." Isobel took it from his hands and went to the bathroom. "All you have to do is put it in cold water as soon as possible."

She first put the stain under the water and then applied the soap. Jubal had come over to look.

"See?" she showed him that the blood was going easily.

"How do you know that? Do you get into knife fights very often?" he joked.

Isobel gave him a sidelong glance, stifling a smile. "Jubal. If you bleed every month, this is something you know."

"Yes, of course." He cleared his throat. Then he rolled up his sleeves. "Let me finish. On top of everything you've done for me, I'm not going to have you here washing my clothes," he said, getting his hands in the sink.

Reaching for the shirt, he inadvertently held Isobel's hands with his own. They were smaller, slender and smoother, but they were strong. Isobel froze for a moment, but then withdrew them as if he had given her an electric shock, terrified of what foolishness that contact might drag her into. Jubal didn't even want to determine where the disappointment he felt at her reaction came from.

"In this heat it will dry right away," she commented casually, trying to conceal all of it by drying her hands on a towel.

Meanwhile, he in turn just nodded his head trying to be natural. The gesture drew Isobel's attention to the fact that there was sweat on Jubal's forehead again. She raised her hand and rested her palm on it.

"You have a fever…" Her concern turned to worry. "Damn it, Jubal. You shouldn't have come..."

"They gave me pills for that. Don't worry," he replied, rinsing the shirt well.

"God, Jubal, why did you come? You could just have warned me about Juárez on the phone," Isobel reproached him almost harshly.

Her tone didn't upset Jubal. He seemed to seriously think over the answer, as he wrung out the garment. He shook it out in the shower and hung it over the screen. He turned to Isobel.

"I couldn't leave you carrying everything on your own. Again." Jubal still felt bad about how little support he had shown Isobel those last months. "And I was very worried…" he confessed, staring into her eyes.

That answer did not strike Isobel as a lie, but it was so undefined that, by contrast, it suddenly emphasized how much his actions spoke for themselves.

Even though he still had an injured arm, even though he was still convalescing, Jubal had dropped everything and traveled thousands of miles to go in search of her. What other measure did she need of how much he cared about her? Isobel swallowed hard. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest. Then Rina's wry smile floated into her mind… reminding her that he didn't care about Isobel in the same way that she cared about Jubal. The one way she had finally had to admit to herself. She had to lower her gaze... Her tone softened. "All right. But take your medication, please."

Jubal really didn't want to know why, but the atmosphere was starting to suffocate him again. "Yes, ma'am. Of course, ma'am," he replied in a joking tone, trying to lighten up.

Isobel almost despaired. "I'm being serious."

"I know." Jubal's half-smile was almost irresistible.

Isobel's impulse was to slap him like a child... Or kiss him like a man. Or both.

Instead, she riddled him with her stare, unable to keep a smile from escaping. She pointed an index finger at him. "If you get any worse, I swear I'll drag you to the hospital..."

The fire in her eyes ignited unexpectedly and roaring within him.

But before Jubal could even figure out what to make of it, Isobel, afraid of doing something stupid, left the room.

Meanwhile, he completely ignored the part of himself that suggested he might already be on that path, well over halfway down.

·~·~·

"I have the results of the border transit records," said Kristen via videoconference. Her worried but determined face was visible on the main screen for the entire JOC room.

Since Jubal and Isobel's cell phones were still inactive, and they could not get a warrant to tap the GPS in Jubal's rented car, they had to think of other options.

It had been Kristen who had made the connection between San Antonio and the proximity of the Mexican border. As soon as she mentioned the three closest crossings, Eagle Pass to Piedras Negras, Laredo to Nuevo Laredo and Del Río to Ciudad Acuña, Maggie and OA knew where best to look.

"I can confirm that Jubal crossed the border to Ciudad Acuña via Del Río yesterday afternoon. Furthermore, in fact, Isobel did it two days earlier," concluded Kristen.

Maggie nodded.

"It's clear that it's related to the attempt on Jubal's life by order of Antonio Vargas..." she reflected. "But why travel to Acuña? And how did Jubal know where Isobel had gone?"

"Maybe she communicated with him...?" Kelly mused, "Did she ask him for help...?"

Kristen winced in frustration.

During the months she had been under her command, Isobel had been a good boss, understanding and fair. But in reality, Kristen barely knew her as a person. She wasn't able to theorize as to why she had left. Especially since her behavior was so out of the ordinary.

Why Jubal had followed her on the other hand... She had a rough idea.

She was very worried about him. When Kristen left for Dallas, they had kept in touch a lot at first. Jubal had been very supportive those first few weeks until she adjusted to her new city, to her new team. But then Kristen became overwhelmed by the day-to-day. They talked less and less often. The last few months had been very hard for Jubal and by the time Kristen came out of her particular maelstrom, he had been dealing with all of it pretty much on his own. She reconnected after Jess Lacroix's funeral, but Jubal was understandably very somber and withdrawn. It had only been a few weeks since he seemed to start being himself again when they talked, now every few days, though a thick layer of sadness still linger within him. Jubal was his friend and Kristen felt a little guilty... That he was now walking around injured and with no backup at all didn't sit well with her at all.

"Well, at least this lets us know where to continue," said Maggie, trying to encourage everyone. "Let's look for them in the hotels in Acuña," to see if we have any luck.

"In the meantime," Kristen decided, "I'll try sending Jubal a personal message. I think if he gets to see it, he will answer me."

·~·~·

Before meeting Darío and Isobel for breakfast, Jubal looked for a moment to call Sam. His cell phone had been off for hours, out of battery because he had forgotten to buy a charger at the airport. He made a mental note to ask Isobel to lend him one and used the cell phone Roberto had given him to make the call.

He found Sam very worried. The last thing she had received from him had been a too short message saying that he had to leave for work and that he couldn't explain any more. The former was not so unusual, although since Jubal had been working at the JOC it was less common. The second, however, was unprecedented and very disturbing. She had texted him and called him; the lack of any response had not exactly helped to reassure her.

With the call Jubal did not answer her questions; he just told her that he would be out of town for several days and would not be reachable. He asked her to please tell the kids, so they would know. And that he loved them very much. Sam grumbled something about how he should be the one to talk to his children, but she seemed calmer and in the end, she agreed to give them his message.

Meanwhile, the professional was able to listen to the entire conversation. It did not bring him anything, although, on the other hand, he did not need it either. The hacker he had hired located the origin of Valentine's call in Mexico without too much difficulty. In a specific hotel in Ciudad Acuña.

The professional find it peculiar that Valentine had reappeared so far away, but he did not think much of it. Now he already knew where his prey was.

~.~.~.~