Part 7

Sherry felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach. Pulling away from North, she demanded, "What do you mean he's disappeared?"

"He never came back from the waterfall. Egran and Davenport went looking for him. They couldn't find him."

"No," Sherry moaned and turned her back to them. This was her fault. Maybe he had walked away. She hoped that was the case, although it would get him into major trouble with Operations. She couldn't let herself think that something had happened to him. He couldn't be hurt or even worse ... dead.

Drawing on her years of Section training, she took a deep breath and schooled her expression. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and then nodded to herself. She turned around to face them and the change was remarkable. She was once again the calm, cool, collected Section op in charge. "I'm going to go look for him," she announced and immediately the others began to protest.

She wasn't listening to any of their protests. She could be quite stubborn when she wanted to be and they all knew it. If they didn't help her, she'd do it alone. "I'm team leader. I make the decision. I'm going. Davenport and Mentz, you are with me."

"But it's dark outside," Nahla protested. "You can't see anything in the dark."

Sherry turned to Davenport who nodded. "We have lights we can use. It will be a little cumbersome, but we can do it. I will not rest until we find him. Is that understood?" The others nodded. Sherry quickly went upstairs and donned her mission gear and came back downstairs prepared for battle. Mentz and Davenport had gathered all the equipment and weapons they would need. "Let's go," she said and headed out the door, both men quickly following.

"What just happened here?" Jace asked. "One minute she's devastated and the next she's Superwoman on a mission."

"You've just witnessed her mission persona. Right now I think it's the only way she can deal with this. She's doing something positive and that helps. I just hope they find him," North explained.

Jace was shaking his head. "I'm glad I don't have to face her from the other side. That was one determined lady."

North smiled. "Yes it was. She's one of the best."

Egran was pacing. "I told you this would lead to trouble. Now we've got one operative missing and another on the verge of a breakdown. We need to contact Section and let them know vhat is happening."

North shook her head. "Not yet. Wait until they come back. If they don't find him, then we'll contact Operations." Egran disagreed, but he kept quiet. There was enough tension in this house as it was. He didn't need an argument with North adding to it.

The foursome at the house wandered around aimlessly. They each found little things to do that didn't require a lot of attention or thought. Finally, when they couldn't stand the routine things they were doing anymore, they went back to the living room and waited.

Three hours later they heard footsteps approaching. "They're back," Nahla said, anticipation in her voice. They all held their breath, waiting for the arrival of the others.

Sherry was the first person through the door and her expression said it all. They hadn't found him.

"You didn't find any sign of him?" North inquired. Sherry's face looked even paler than it had on her previous return to the house. "Just this," she replied and held out a rock. On the edge of the rock was blood. "I found it where I left him this afternoon. Everything else is gone -- the blanket, the picnic basket ..."

"Is it his blood?" Nahla asked quietly.

Sherry sighed. "I don't know, but I know it wasn't there earlier. Jace, run a comparison. Petrosian, contact Section, let Operations know we have a missing operative. It looks like he didn't leave of his own free will."

Sherry walked into her office and shut the door. They looked to Davenport for any more information. "That's all we found. We scoured the area and found some trampled vegetation, but that's it. There was no way to figure out which way he, or they, went."

Petrosian made the call and returned to the group. "To say that Operations was upset would be a huge understatement. He's sending a team to assist in the search. He has Birkoff checking all known terrorist connections and activity to see if one of them may have taken Dr. McAllister. He also wanted to speak with Sherry, but I told him she was out of the house and unavailable. I'm not sure how long I can hold him off. He is very
interested in her reaction to this."

North nodded. "Thanks for putting him off. The last thing she needs right now is to get into it with Operations."

That night was a long one. Those who could, slept in shifts. They tried to come up with contingencies, but there really wasn't much they could do until Section got back to them. Around 5 a.m., Sherry knew she had to get out of the house. She got up from the sofa and headed for the door. Davenport simply got up and followed her. No one tried to stop her. They knew it would be useless. She made her way down to the lake where she
simply sat and stared out at the water, praying that Travis was okay and that they would find him soon. If anything happened to him, she would never forgive herself.

Back at the house, Mentz checked the security monitors. "Someone's coming."

"It must be the team," Petrosian noted and everyone gathered so they could get started. Mentz continued to watch the monitor and realized there was only one person. He hoped it was the doctor returning.

Getting out the car and heading for the house, he didn't spare a glance in any direction. He was focused on one thing and one thing only -- finding out what had happened. His long black coat billowed around him as his purposeful stride took him toward the house. He took the steps two at a time and entered the house quickly, the strength of his presence immediately commanding attention.

"Where is she?" he demanded as soon as he was in the door.

"Michael! Thank God," North turned at the sound of his voice. He quickly surveyed the room, noticing Sherry was not there.

"Nice of you to finally visit, Michael," Petrosian snidely commented. "If you had been a day or so earlier, we could have avoided all this." Michael pulled his weapon and pointed it directly at Petrosian before anyone could react.

"I asked a question. Where is she?" he demanded again. Nahla jumped up and put a hand on his arm. "Michael, she's okay. She went outside a little while ago." Upon hearing that, Michael relaxed, although you wouldn't have known it by watching him. His expression and demeanor never changed.

"Thank you," he turned to Nahla and lowered his weapon. "All I received was a very garbled communique that someone was missing and to get here immediately." The others nodded, realizing what he had been thinking. He quickly surveyed the room again. "Travis?"

North nodded. "Yes. He disappeared late yesterday afternoon. All she was able to find was a rock with blood on it. Jace ran a comparison. It was Travis' blood." Michael wanted to go to Sherry and comfort her, but he needed to be brought up to speed as soon as possible since he was now in charge.

"Tell me everything." The group exchanged looks but no one spoke. Michael waited impatiently for someone to start talking. Finally, Petrosian began. "Sherry and Travis went to the waterfall yesterday. Something upset her and she ran back here. Davenport followed her since she is his primary responsibility. The doctor assured Davenport that he could find his way back. He never returned. Once Sherry discovered he was missing, she immediately went looking for him. Along with Mentz and Davenport, she did a thorough search of the area surrounding the waterfall. They found the rock and nothing else."

Michael knew there was more to the story, like just what had happened to upset her. He waited, but no one volunteered. "You notified Section immediately?"

North shook her head. "No. I made the decision to wait until the three of them got back. Once we knew for certain he was missing, then we notified Section. They're checking all known terrorist groups for activity. We haven't heard from them yet." Michael nodded. Still no one volunteered the information he was waiting for.

"What made her come back without him?" he finally asked.

Nahla answered. "Maybe we should talk about this in private." Michael looked around at the group and figured they all knew already. "That won't be necessary." Nahla shrugged, then proceeded to tell him as carefully as she could what had been happening between Sherry and Travis. She knew he wouldn't like it, but she had to let him know what they were dealing with. Michael sat stoically as she explained. He didn't interrupt or show any emotion.

"She's very confused about all of this. She doesn't understand why she's acting the way she is or feeling the things she does. It's like she has no control over her feelings. She doesn't want to hurt you, but it's like she can't help herself when she's with him. It's just not like her and she knows it. She said as much to me. And this afternoon when she realized what she was doing, she got away from the situation as fast as she could.
She didn't want to do something they would both regret."

Michael nodded and tried to clear his head. He would have to find her and talk to her soon. He needed to hear what she had to say. He didn't want to lose her, but if she was having second thoughts, he wanted to know.

"Anyway," Nahla continued, "at first we just thought Travis was buying time to deal with her rejection. Eventually, Egran and Davenport went looking for him. They came back to tell us they didn't find him. That's when we got worried. We waited a little longer hoping he would show up. But we knew something must have happened when he still didn't show. That's when Sherry walked in and overheard us. The rest you know."

Michael nodded, his mind already in mission mode. "North, contact Section and find out what they have so far. I want a report when I get back. Mentz, where is she?"

Checking with Davenport, he reported, "Down by the lake." Michael nodded and walked out the door without saying another word.

Sherry had no idea how long she had been sitting there. If truth be told, she probably didn't even realize where she was. She wanted to shut her mind down. Every time it began replaying the last two months with Travis, she stopped it. She had learned a few psychological tricks during her time with Section and they were coming in handy right now. She needed to run a list of her known enemies though her mind to figure out who had gotten to him. It's the only thing that made sense. Travis was a psychiatrist, not
a master spy. He had very limited knowledge of Section and its secrets, therefore he would not be a prime target for kidnapping. Unless ... it was to get someone's attention. And that someone had to be her.

Obviously, whoever took him knew she was Amani Jensen. That should limit the pool of possibilities, but in actuality, it probably only made the job more difficult. Those who knew were to be trusted. Apparently someone had discovered her identity by accident - someone that shouldn't know. She had to find out who had the resources to breach the exclusive club that knew the truth. Not only did they know about Amani, they also knew about Travis, but how could that be? The only explanation was that someone had
been watching her the past two months.

That line of thought led her straight back to her feelings for Travis. And again, she tried to shut her feelings down, cut them off before she became overwhelmed. It was then that she felt the presence behind her and tensed. She hadn't heard anyone approach, and Davenport hadn't warned her or come barreling in to save her. It must be Nahla or North. She didn't bother to turn around, knowing they would speak soon enough.

"Are you okay?" came the softly spoken question.

"Michael?"

"Yes. Section sent me." And that was all he said. Sherry nodded. She realized from his statement, his distance and his attitude that someone had filled him in - completely. She wasn't ready to face him. She didn't know how to explain any of this to him.

She hadn't yet turned to face him, which worried him. He knew she had a tendency to shut down when things got bad. He couldn't let her do that now. He needed her, ironically, to find Travis. She was their best hope of finding him. And she knew it.

She heard movement behind her, someone approaching, but still didn't look around. Michael spoke. "I can take it from here, Davenport. Go back to the house," he ordered. Once Davenport was out of earshot, Michael moved closer to her, but still did not do what he most wanted to, which was to put his arms around her and pull her close. He wasn't sure, however, that she still wanted his love, and his ego wouldn't allow him to give away something he feared might be rejected. He saw the light glint off of something when she moved and he took a closer look. It was his ring - she was still wearing it. It was a small thing considering what was happening, but it was a shred of hope that he could cling to.

"We will find him," he gently encouraged, "but I need to hear from you what happened."

She nodded, but didn't speak. She continued to stare out across the lake. It was light enough now that he could see her face. He watched her struggle to block the emotions. He saw the cold op take over. He had watched the change many times, but this time it felt different. It was like he was asking her to lose herself and her feelings. She was his
fiancé and she was in pain. She shouldn't have to block her humanity and pretend that nothing was wrong. He wished there was another way to deal with this, but he didn't have the time to try anything else. Each hour Travis was gone, was another hour she punished herself.

"It's my fault he's gone," she finally said, her voice void of all emotion. Michael sat quietly, waiting. He wanted to reassure her that it wasn't her fault, but until he had proof, he didn't want to argue with her. He needed her to get through this recitation quickly. Once she gave him the facts, then they could deal with her feelings.

She sighed. "I told you before I left that you had nothing to worry about. I lied." Michael was stunned by her admission. She had never lied to him, unless she was ordered to. She glanced at him and saw the quick flash of emotion in his eyes. "To be fair, I didn't know at the time I was lying. I thought I knew myself fairly well. Apparently I was wrong." She lapsed into a long silence again. Michael was about to speak when she
continued.

"It started innocently enough, the two of us working together on the book, spending our free time exploring, swimming, or just hanging out. And it's not like we were alone most of the time. But my feelings began to change. His touch suddenly became something I craved, even if it was just holding my hand. I could feel myself falling for him more every day. We shared a few kisses. And I had promised to spend yesterday with him. No work - just the two of us relaxing. We spent the day at the waterfall. In the
afternoon, I fell asleep while he held me in his arms. When I woke up, it was like we were where we were meant to be. We started to kiss, but he pulled back. He didn't want to push me into something I wasn't ready for. But it was like I couldn't control myself. I told him I'd let him know if he was pushing and kissed him again. Things got a little more intense. That's when I noticed something flash. I didn't pay attention at first, but it flashed again. I glanced down and saw it." She looked down at her hand but didn't continue.

"Your engagement ring," Michael prompted. She nodded.

"I suddenly realized what I was doing. The way I was betraying us ... betraying you. I knew that I couldn't stay there with Doc or we'd go too far. I pulled back, told him I couldn't do this, and ran back here. I went straight to my room to try and figure out what to do. I tried to explain to North and Nahla, but how do you explain what you don't
understand? A little later, Jace gave me a light sedative to let me sleep for a couple of hours. When I woke up and went downstairs, I knew something was wrong. North told me Travis never came back. I knew it was my fault. I had to go find him. Davenport, Mentz and I went back to the waterfall. We surveyed the entire area as best we could. I found the rock with the blood on it right where we had been sitting. Jace ran a
comparison, it's Travis' blood. He's hurt, maybe even dead because I left him there."

Her voice broke on the last sentence and Michael saw the tears begin to make their way down her face. The cold op had once again been replaced by the woman. He couldn't stand it any longer. He pulled her to him and held her close. She cried silently for a few moments, as she absorbed his comfort and strength. Then she pushed away from him. "I'm sorry, Michael." He was trying to decide exactly what she was apologizing for when she continued. "I know the last thing you want to deal with is my feelings for Travis. Or his disappearance."

Michael took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb back and forth over it lightly. "I don't believe any of this is your fault," he simply stated.