Part 9

About 4 a.m. Sherry got up. She knew she had to go alone. She had promised Michael she would let him provide backup, but she couldn't risk it. If it was just her life, that would be fine. But not when someone else hung in the balance. She dressed quietly in mission gear. It would help conceal her in the dark. She threw one of Amani's pant suits into a bag for her transformation when the time came. She checked to make sure her weapon was loaded and also the weapon in her ankle holster. Her knife was sheathed along her hip and she was ready to go.

As quietly as possible she made her way downstairs and outside. She had taken two steps off the porch when a figure emerged beside her. She quickly drew her weapon and wheeled to face the intruder.

"Michael!" she whispered. "I nearly killed you! What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied, gently sliding her weapon away from him. She quickly re-holstered the gun. A few seconds later, Mentz, Davenport, Jace and Northstar appeared behind them. "I knew you would try this," Michael explained. "I told you I wouldn't let you go alone."

"He's right," North said. "It's too dangerous."

She was angry, they all knew it, but she didn't fight them. "Fine. Let's go. I want to get there before he shows up with the next note. I want to follow him, show up before he's ready."

"Smart plan," Davenport agreed.

"Gee thanks," she answered and took off at a rapid pace. After a short distance, Michael pulled her back. "You might want to slow down a little. Jace isn't trained for this."

Realizing he was right, she nodded and slowed her pace, even though she didn't want to. She had to get there before this guy showed up again. They all took cover around the location where the last note was found. They were quite good at blending in with their surroundings. No one would know they were there.

Michael leaned in close to whisper in her ear. "Don't you want to take him now, before he has a chance to get away?"

She shook her head. "No. He might not tell us where Doc is. I want him to lead us there." Michael nodded, agreeing with her strategy. He was actually just trying to keep her mind in the game and not let her worry run away with her.

It was about two hours before they heard someone coming. Sherry peeked out around the bush that was hiding her and saw a man approaching the tree. She watched as he placed a note in the same spot as the previous one. The man looked around carefully. She didn't know if he was just very cautious or if he felt their presence. Either way, it wasn't long before he took off. She got up quickly to follow him. Michael motioned for North to get the note and he took off after Sherry. They had to space themselves far
enough apart so that they didn't make too much noise. Six people wandering around the woods together, no matter how well trained, would make enough noise to alert someone to their presence.

Sherry wanted to hurry, but knew she couldn't. She had to hold herself back so as not to give them away. They walked for about an hour when she spotted a cabin up ahead. She stopped where she was and watched the man enter it. Michael quickly joined her as did the others.

"He's inside. What does the note say?" Sherry asked. North handed the note to her. She opened it slowly. "There's an old cabin about an hour's walk from here. Keep goin' north and you should find it. Sorry to make you hike all that way, but the only other way to get there is four wheel drive. You ain't got one. You're fancy limo won't make it. Oh yeah, you're lover is still alive, but he's in lotsa pain. Remember, come alone. You're devoted servant."

"He's escalating," she said. "The spelling is getting worse, the English is a bit worse. I've got to get in there." She grabbed her bag and moved back behind another stand of trees to change her outfit. Michael followed.

"You've got to wait a little while. If you show up too soon, he's going to know something's up."

"Michael, he said that Doc is in pain. I can't simply stand here and let him suffer. I won't wait around out here and let him die," she argued vehemently. "Besides, waiting will only give him time to get ready for me. I don't want that."

Michael nodded, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. "Okay, but let us get into place first. I want you covered as much as possible." Sherry nodded, conceding the point.

Once she had changed they went back to the others. Michael quickly outlined where he wanted everyone posted. The four operatives moved out and Sherry gave them enough time to get in place. She told Jace to stay where he was and then walked out of the woods. She headed for the door, looking carefully to the right and left, taking in every possible avenue of escape in case they needed it.

Slowly she approached the door and knocked. It was a few minutes before the door was opened. The stench in the cabin turned her stomach, but she managed to hold it together.

"Hello, I'm Amani Jensen," she introduced herself.

The man beamed from ear to ear. "I know who ya are. Come on in. Sorry I didn't get the place cleaned up for ya. I wasn't expectin' ya so soon. It's an honor to have ya here in my place. By the way, I'm Leroy Perkins. I'm a huge fan. I've read all a your books."

Sherry smiled at him, knowing she had to play her part, even though she wanted to throw him across the room and demand to know where Travis was. She knew she could take him, but she needed to find Travis first. "Thank you. That's nice to hear."

"Would ya care for some coffee? Like I said, I wasn't expectin ya so soon, or I'd a had it ready," he explained.

"No thank you. I just came to find my friend. We have to leave today. You said he was here?" She could tell that had been the wrong thing to say. His facial expression changed although he tried to cover it up.

"Well, yeah. He is. I told ya he had to be punished. He should'na come on to you like that. Tried to make you break your promise to your man," Leroy explained.

"It's nice of you to look out for me that way, but it's really not necessary. I'll have a talk with my friend and let him know that it can't happen again. He really knows it already. I just need to remind him. Now if you can show me to him?"

"Oh, a course. He's right through that door. Go ahead on in. I'll be right there." She wasn't sure whether to wait or to go ahead, but she had to get to Travis. She had no idea what she would find on the other side of that door. She walked over to it and slowly opened it. She walked in and gasped at what she saw.

Travis heard the door open and moved his head to the left to see who had entered. That small movement caused spasms to run through his back and arms. He groaned as the pain reverberated through his body.

"Travis, what has he done to you?" she asked quietly as she hurried towards him.

"I punished him. And now it's your turn," Leroy said as he followed her through the door. Sherry had her back to him and couldn't see what he was doing, but Travis saw it all.

"Look out - knife!" he yelled just as Leroy grabbed her arm and whirled her around. The knife came slashing toward her face.

"No!" Travis yelled, causing yet more pain to pass through his body. He was on the verge of collapsing and he knew it, but he had to stay alert to make sure Sherry was okay. He couldn't pass out - not yet.

The knife came slashing toward Sherry's face and she instinctively put her arm up to shield herself. The knife came down and slashed across it. The pain was intense. Her arm then came down and she pulled it in close to her body. She could feel the blood running. The knife was coming her way again when every door and window in the place seemed to implode.

The sound startled Leroy long enough for Sherry to get some distance between them. Still not aware of what was going on, Leroy raised the knife again. "A good woman wouldn't let another man touch her the way he touched you. A good woman is chaste and faithful. You had me fooled. I thought you was faithful. So you gotta pay. You should'a been faithful to me." He started towards her again when a shot rang out and he crumpled to the ground. Mentz had crashed through the nearest window and now stood up in the corner of the room with his gun trained on the now unmoving man.

Michael entered and moved immediately to Sherry. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. We've got to get Doc out of here. Someone get Jace, quickly." Davenport went out to get Jace and returned in no time.

Jace quickly surveyed the scene in front of him and pulled a syringe out of his bag. "Travis, this is a sedative. I'm gonna have to knock you out to get you down. It's gonna hurt like heck and you won't want to feel it. In fact, I'm gonna keep you sedated for the next day or so, until your body has had some time to recover. You'll still be in pain, but it will be a lot more manageable by then."

Travis nodded. "Just do it. But make sure you check Sherry. He cut her pretty good."

Michael swung around and saw the blood dripping on the floor beside her and noticed her pale complexion. "Why didn't you tell me!" he demanded.

"Michael, Travis is more important right now. Get him down and then we can look at my arm." North moved to Sherry's side to begin removing the jacket from her suit so Jace could get a good look. Michael, Davenport and Mentz carefully helped Jace get Travis down from the rack as soon as he was out. Davenport threw him over his shoulder fireman-style to carry him back to the house.

"Let's have a look," Jace said as he turned to Sherry. He could see immediately that she had been cut very deeply. "This is bad. I don't have the proper equipment to stitch it up. We'll have to make a tourniquet for it until we can get back to the house. Then I can sew it up. But we need to get these two to Medlab asap."

Michael nodded and immediately pulled out his cellphone. He called Section and told them to expect the group back as soon as they could get the jet off the tarmac. He called Petrosian to have Nahla pack up Sherry's things and to make sure everything else was collected by the time they got back. Michael also instructed him to have a chopper pick them up and take them to the airport. They couldn't afford the time it would take to drive. And he ordered a housekeeping team to take care of Leroy and his place.

Jace and Northstar had the tourniquet around her arm by the time Michael was done with his calls. The group headed for the door to retrace their steps back to the house. As Sherry was passing by Leroy's body, he suddenly lunged at her with the knife again. He managed to stab her in the leg near her ankle before Michael reacted and finally put him out of his misery. There was no way Leroy would ever hurt anyone again.

Sherry almost fell, but North caught her. Jace quickly sat her down and checked her leg. It wasn't quite as deep as her arm wound, but it was bad enough. He quickly designed another tourniquet and wrapped it around her leg.

"Can she walk?" Michael asked.

Jace sighed. "I'd rather she didn't, but yes, she can."

Sherry knew what he was thinking and put an end to the discussion. "I will walk, Michael. I can make it. Let's go." Jace gave her a quick injection for pain and they headed out once again. They moved as quickly as possible, which wasn't very quickly at all, what with Sherry limping along with an injured leg and arm. Michael stayed right next to her in case she stumbled. Mentz stayed close on her other side. The last thing they needed her falling and breaking an arm or leg.

When they finally reached the house, Nahla was pacing on the lanai, waiting for them to return. She ran down the steps when she saw them. She noticed that Davenport had to carry Travis, so she knew he was in bad shape. And then she saw Sherry. She ran up to her and hugged her. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Sherry returned the hug as best she could. "Yeah, I'll be okay. Just had a little run in with a fan," she said and then proceeded to pass out. Michael was standing right behind her and caught her.

"Get her inside," Jace ordered. "She's losing way too much blood. I need to sew her up and she needs a transfusion." He looked to Nahla who nodded.

"Of course. I know we're a match," she said, for the benefit of the others. Michael and Jace knew they were sisters, but the others didn't. And it would forever remain that way.

Michael hurried inside with her and gently laid her on the table. Jace grabbed his medical gear and got to work. Michael hovered, Nahla paced, and Jace wished they would both go outside and let him do his work in peace, but he couldn't ask them to leave. He knew they were both worried.

A few moments later they heard a helicopter. Their transport had arrived. Jace sewed up both of Sherry's wounds while the others loaded their gear into the helicopter. Mentz and Davenport returned with a stretcher. They moved Sherry onto it as soon as Jace was finished and then everyone got into the helicopter. The ride to the airport was thankfully short. Davenport carried Travis onto the plane and Michael and Mentz carried
Sherry. The rear of the plane had been converted into a make-shift medlab for their journey. Jace would be spending the duration of this flight watching over his patients.

Once the plane was airborne, Jace asked Nahla to come back and he started the transfusion. He had given Sherry a sedative which would hopefully keep her out until they were back in Medlab. He knew Travis would be out at least that long. Once the transfusion was finished, he sighed and sat down, rubbing his hands over his face. He was exhausted. He didn't know how these people did this 24/7. He was glad he had a relatively normal schedule and routine.

Nahla noticed his fatigue and once she was sure she could stand on her own, she moved to sit down next to him. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"What was that for?" he smiled.

"Just a small gesture of appreciation. You done good, Jace. Thanks."

He laughed. "Well, in that case, maybe you can come by and watch me every day. I like your little expressions of gratitude."

Michael moved to the rear of the plane to sit by Sherry. He held her hand the rest of the way, even though he knew she was asleep. He wanted her to feel he was there for her, as much as he needed to reassure himself that she was alive and okay.