Travis finally got himself together enough to ask her one more question. "You really can't keep me here against my will. What if I decide to leave?"

Madeline looked at him seriously. "Your grave will no longer be empty. Sherry will answer any questions you have." On that sombre note, Madeline walked out of the room, leaving the threesome behind. Travis sat there wondering what kind of place this was and when he would wake up from this nightmare.

"I'm going to make him pay for this," Sherry muttered as calmly as if she had just announced she was going to take out the trash. She got angrier by the second. Jace worried about her, but he was also worried about Travis. He remembered his own induction into Section and knew what Travis was going through.

Travis had never seen this side of Sherry. Of course she had gotten angry when he had been treating her, but never like this. Not the quiet, cool, tightly controlled anger. He had sensed it was there under the surface, but now he was witnessing it firsthand.

"Sherry, please calm down," Jace pleaded. He didn't want things to get out of hand. She was treading on dangerous ground and this time Michael might not be able to get her out of it.

"Calm down," she repeated tonelessly. "They've just destroyed an innocent man's life. They did the same thing to you, Jace. Maybe you can simply accept your fate, but I will not permit them to do this to Travis." Jace knew from that quiet tirade that they were in serious trouble. Sherry paced slowly, like a caged lion. Both men knew she was gonna blow soon if they didn't do something.

"Of course I'm angry," Jace answered. "I'm angry that they lied and manipulated Travis to get him here. I'm angry that they've hurt you again. And yes, I still get angry at times about how I ended up here. But there's nothing I can do about it, and neither can you, so why don't you just concentrate on Travis. He's going to need your help."

Sherry headed for the door. "We'll see if there's nothing I can do about this. At least I'm going to try." She pulled the door open and walked through it, shutting it very quietly behind her.

"Shouldn't we go after her?" Travis asked, worried about what she might do and what the consequences might be. Jace sighed. "I have a better idea." He pulled out his cell-phone and dialled. "Michael, its Jace. We have a problem." He quickly outlined what had happened and that he was worried about what Sherry was going to do. Michael said he would handle it.

Travis had been listening to Jace. "Do you really think she'll do something drastic?"

Jace sighed. "Yeah, I do. You haven't been around when she gets really angry. When that happens, all bets are off."

Travis frowned. "Well, shouldn't we do something? We can't just let her get into trouble."

Jace shook his head. "Michael will handle it. He knows how to talk her down. He's been doing it for a few years."

Travis nodded. "Michael. They're still together?"

Jace nodded. "Yeah, although sometimes I wonder how long she's gonna put up with him. I know they love each other, but ...." Jace caught himself before he said anything else. It wasn't like him to gossip, especially with a relative stranger.

Travis was intrigued, but decided not to push Jace on the subject. Instead he took a different tack. "So what Madeline said about Sherry's behaviour interfering with Michael's duties. That was all a lie just to get me here?"

Jace smiled. "Not exactly. The part about Sherry needing therapy was a lie. The part about her getting so worked up over Michael's date for the Valentine's Dance, the fight, and her running off to another guy ... that was all true."

Travis shook his head. Another guy? How many men did she have after her? "And you think that's normal, sane behaviour?"

Jace laughed. "So will you once you've been here for a while. Let's just say normal around CLHQ is a bit different than normal on the outside." Nodding, Travis sighed. "I still think we should go after her. Maybe I can help if Michael can't."

Knowing that Travis was worried about her, Jace relented. "Okay, fine. But just do me one favour. Don't pit yourself against Michael to see which one of you can talk her down. She doesn't need that." Travis nodded, knowing Jace was right.

~~~~~~~~~

Sherry walked into her office, locked the door and turned off all surveillance. She would have tossed another thanks at Michael for installing the jamming device, but she was too angry with him at the moment. He had promised her that he wouldn't let this happen. Why had he broken his promise? Why hadn't he at least warned her?

She picked up her phone and dialled. She was only to use this number in case of emergencies, but she considered this an emergency. If anyone could help her, this person could.

"Hello," the voice answered on the first ring.

"I want him out and I want him out now," Sherry stated, knowing that the other party would know exactly what she meant. There was a momentary pause on the other end.

"You know that is impossible. I can't interfere once someone is recruited. Not when they've seen as much as he has," the voice answered.

"That's bull and you know it. If you wanted to, you could get him out without breaking a sweat."

The voice again paused. "You know that's not true. Now calm down. I'm sorry about your friend, but I can't do what you want." There was a longer pause and then "Are you okay?"

She laughed, but it was a sarcastic laugh. "Oh, yeah. I'm on top of the world. Because of me, an innocent man's life has been ruined. And I was just informed that my behavior interferes with Michael's duties and threatens Section's future. Oh yeah, I'm having a banner day. Couldn't be any better."

A sigh issued through the phone. "I wish I could be there to help you. Is there anything else I can do, other than getting Dr. McAllister out?"

Sherry shook her head and then realized they couldn't see her. "There is one thing. I'm going to send you a list of names. I want you to make sure Section never, ever gets their hands on them. I'll have to deal with this situation myself."

Not liking her tone, the voice warned, "Be careful. Don't do anything foolish. I may not be able to help you if you go too far."

"Thanks," she said and broke the connection. She knew she had been rude, but she didn't care at the moment. Everything was stacking up against her and she felt like her head was gonna explode. Getting up from her desk, she left her office and walked slowly but deliberately to Munitions. Walter was working on some new gadget when she approached.

"Hey there, gorgeous," he called to her. Totally ignoring him, she walked right by him into his "office" and began searching for what she wanted.

"Is there something I can get for you?" Walter asked, concerned with her actions. It didn't take a genius to realise she was upset and he knew why. He had heard who had been brought in earlier.

She continued to ignore him and kept searching. She finally found the weapon she was looking for and made sure it was loaded with a full clip. Walter tried to stop her. "Now, just hold on, there. You know I have to account for all my inventory. I'll have to check that out to you if you need it. So let's just put it back until we can get the paperwork done." She continued walking away from him and simply called over her shoulder, "Sign it out to Operations.'

Michael had walked out of his office in time to witness her walking out of Munitions and chambering a round into her weapon. He immediately took after her, knowing where she was headed. Walter watched with concern, although he knew Michael was about the only person who could talk her out of what she had planned.

Sherry walked into the Perch and Operations turned to face her. He had a smile on his face, which only served to fuel her anger. "I've been expecting you," he stated. Sherry stopped a few feet away from him.

"Why?" That one word could have many different meanings, but he knew what
she was referring to.

Operations shrugged. "I don't need to justify my decision to you. I run Section. You may have certain privileges and protections, but that doesn't mean I have to explain myself to you. Besides, it's your fault he's here." Operations knew that she would blame herself. It's what he was counting on. This situation could play out one of two ways and he didn't really care which way it went. She could either simply go nuts and he could rid himself of her, or she could fall for the new doctor and get her claws out
of Michael. He would, of course, prefer the latter since it would be less of a hassle for him. There were people with a deep interest in Sherry and he couldn't afford to garner their wrath.

Her next action, however, took him by complete surprise. She walked up to him, took his hand, and placed the loaded weapon in it. Stepping back, she said. "Go ahead. Cancel me. I will not be responsible for another innocent person being brought into this place. So go ahead and shoot me."

Operations studied her closely. She seemed to be serious. Not that he was going to oblige. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement and noticed Michael entering the Perch. He had never been so glad that she and Michael had some kind of deep connection that let them know when the other was in trouble. Sherry sensed Michael's presence, but it didn't deter her.

"What are you waiting for? Here's your chance to get rid of me once and for all. I won't be a thorn in your side, I won't be a distraction to Michael, and I won't be the cause of any more innocent people getting caught in your trap. So come on, do it."

Michael stepped forward. "Let's go," he simply stated and reached for her arm, but she yanked her arm away from him.

"Let go of me, Michael. I'm not going anywhere," she stated while continuing to stare at Operations. Jace and Travis walked up in time to hear that last exchange. Both men remained silent, however.

"Come to my office," Michael tried again. "We can discuss this."

Sherry smiled. "You want to discuss it now, Michael? After the fact? I don't think so. You should have told me what they were planning. I can't believe you betrayed me like this. You promised me you would never let them get to Travis."

Travis was surprised. She had made Michael promise to protect him? How long had they been after him? It made his heart a little lighter to realize how much she apparently cared for him. But right now he needed to diffuse the situation. It looked as though Michael wasn't going to be able to help her this time.

She still didn't realize Travis and Jace were behind them. Walking right up to Operations, she took the hand holding the gun and placed it directly at her heart. "Come on. I've done all the hard work. All you have to do is pull the trigger," she taunted.

Travis stepped forward. He couldn't let her die. "Sherry, what are you doing? Please don't to this."

She turned when she heard his voice. "Travis, you shouldn't be here. Jace, get him out of here." Travis shook his head. "I'm not leaving. I can't do this alone. Please. Walk out of here with me. I can't be the reason you die."

Sherry sighed. "Travis, I know I keep saying this, but I'm sorry. It's my fault you're here and I won't let it happen again. I have other friends on the outside that this could just as easily happen to. If I'm no longer here, they have no reason to go after my friends."

Travis walked over and took her hands in his. "I know that's how you feel. But I don't blame you. It's not your fault. You know I told you once that I would come to you wherever you were if you needed me. I meant it. I know you didn't want this, but it's happened. Now we have to deal with it. Together."

Sherry looked into his eyes and saw that he was speaking the truth. He wasn't just doing a psycho-babble number on her. One lone tear started a path down her cheek and she nodded. Travis closed the distance between them and embraced her, holding on as if both their lives depended on it. And at that moment, he felt that they did.

The scene in front of them was not lost on the other three occupants of the room. Operations was smiling like the cat that swallowed the canary. His plan seemed to be working. Jace was glad that Travis had gotten through to her, but he also knew Travis had just made, if not an enemy, certainly an adversary, in Michael. And Michael, although not surprised that she was upset with him, had been surprised by her total disregard of him and complete trust in the doctor. He vowed to himself to keep a close watch on that situation. He wasn't going to lose her when he was so close to having her agree to be his wife.

As Sherry and Travis headed out the door, Michael called to her. "Sherry, please stop by my office in a little while. We need to talk." Sherry turned to him and saw the look in his eyes. No one else would notice it, but she saw it. There was frustration, but there was also sadness and hurt. "Fine, Michael. I'll be there in an hour."

Once they were gone, Michael turned to Operations. The older man held the gun out to him. "Get this back to Walter." Michael nodded, took the gun and then pointed it at his superior. "You've just made a serious miscalculation," Michael warned before lowering the weapon and heading back to his office. Once he was out the door, Operations drew a deep breath. He knew he had just made two very formidable enemies. And if they teamed up to take him down ... well, he didn't even want to think about it.