Revelation (M/F) (F/M) - A sequel to Devastation

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wolfman
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Post by wolfman »

Sasha carefully carries the tray, towards Dani's room. The loose cotton of her dark blue blouse and beige trousers, swishes gently, as her low heeled sandles click down the corridor.

The dark grey suited guards step aside and open the door, as Sasha approaches with a covered food tray. Nervously, she breathes out, as she steps across the threshold. "Well Sasha. Here goes."



Dani sits staring out of the window, "I want to believe he is ok, but Malcolm, was so open about what he did and when I said how the others died, he showed me times when my father had used similar methods on operations. I wish I had stayed away. I hope I haven't just condemned Sasha and I to a slow death each."

She paces the room, looking for a way out, as quiet waves of panic build within her. "The only way is the balcony, but we are fifty feet up."‎, she takes off her camouflage shirt, leaving on a grey tank top and camo fatigues, her boots left by the bed.

She hears the door unlock and her heart sinks, "Well Dani. Here goes."



"Dani?", Sasha asks, gently as she enters the room. 

Sasha smiles gently, as she sees Dani take a boxers stance in the middle of the room. "That's fair.", she says setting down the tray. "I am sorry about hitting you after you were handcuffed."

Dani watches her suspiciously, as she takes the covers off of the stir fried vegetables and noodles, topped with beef stir fried in Hoisin sauce and prawns in sweet chilli and lime. "We have not had a great beginning, can we start again?"

Sasha set the bowls of food out and pulls a beer each from the mini fridge, offering one to Dani. She tentatively takes the bottle and sips it cautiously. 

Sasha raises her bottle and says, "New beginning?" 

Dani nods softly and taps Sasha's bottle with her own, "New beginning.", she confirms, "Thank you for the food."

"I figured you would be hungry and I really wanted to say sorry.", Sasha says, nervously.

"I would probably have done the same in the circumstances." Dani admits, "I am sorry I jumped you."

Sasha hugs her, "I forgive you. Can we be sisters?"

Dani hugs her back and says, "Can we eat while we talk? The smell of this is driving me crazy."

"I was just thinking the same thing." Sasha giggles, letting Dani take a seat.



"Do you really think we are in danger here?" Sasha asks, taking a seat and claiming a bowl of steaming food. 

"I just don't know. I have seen some of the things he has done. He is a scary guy. All of our siblings are gone and it makes so much sense that he is behind it." Dani says, opening the balcony door to let some of the fresh evening air in. 

"Kate told me a few things about him when we were waiting for him and Lou at the airport. She is lovely by the way." Sasha says, warmly. 

"Kate or his wife?" Dani asks, suspiciously. 

"Both actually. Kate drives like a demon and fights like a champ. Lou is sweet and badass. He is er, intense.", Sasha explains, before taking a mouthful of beef. 

"So, what did Kate say about him?" Dani asks, wondering if she should trust Sasha. 

"Do you remember a few months back there was a shootout in a Southampton warehouse?" Sasha asks. 

"Yeah, was all over the news, two dozen employees tranqillised and about thirty dead." Dani responds. "Was some kind of war. I saw the reports, it was crazy."

"They kidnapped Louise and were holding her there. He had two snipers backing him up. Base jumped onto the roof and tore through the place single handed. Then evaded the south UK counter terrorism team at the docks and stormed a yacht to get her back.", Sasha says, trying to remember what Kate said. 

"Really? That can't be right." Dani says, surprised. "He did that?"

"You remember the siege at MK hospital. Well the two mystery operators, were our father and Lou. They were there to protect a friend of theirs.", Sasha adds.

"I knew from what his old boss said, he was good. But that is next level." Dani says, remembering the news reports.

"They are all tough and sweet in their own way. I haven't known any of them long, but they seem on the level." Sasha says, warmly.

"But what if it's an act to keep you onside until I got here and then he can finish whatever it is, he's doing?", Dani suggests, watching Sasha's reaction closely. 

Sasha mulls over the suggestion as she chews a mouthful of beef and rice, "I don't know, nothing I have seen shows that kind of agenda. They all seem nice and they seem to care for each other. Before you jumped me, Steve was quite sweet, told me a bit about our grandparents."

"I want to believe he is on the level, but I don't know." Dani thinks, before asking, "What are our grandparents like?"

"They were lovely by all accounts, granddad was a soldier and nan was a great cook. He fought in the Falklands and all over the world. He was as brave as she was loving." Sasha explains, gently. 

"Was? Are they still alive?" Dani asks, innocently.

Sasha shakes her head, solemnly, "No. They were killed two years ago, by the man who hurt me."

Dani lays down her fork and looks at Sasha, "I saw the scars, what happened to you?"

Sasha explains her attack and the aftermath to Dani's growing distress, the room rests in shocked silence as she finishes. 



Dani shakes her head in open mouthed horror, "My God. That is awful. I am so sorry. I had no idea."

"Kate, Lou and Steve have said they will do what they can to get rid of the scars.", Sasha advises, draining her beer, "They mean well, but, I have looked into it and there is not much that can be done."

"There must be something that can be done." Dani says, weakly.

"The only option is really expensive and there is a five year waiting list." Sasha says, down hearted. 

"Well they seems to have money, I am sure if you ask he would pay, if he is serious about being there for you." Dani says, watching for Sasha's reaction.

"I asked him what I should call him and he said Steve, as he hasn't earned the right to be called dad. I am not sure I have earned the right to ask that of him.", Sasha says, awkwardly.



They sit in silence, lost in their own thoughts as they finish their meal. Sasha lays down her fork, "So. You know about me. I wanna know about you."

Dani sits back on the sofa, unable to shake the images of Sasha's torment from her mind. She takes a sip of beer and looks up at her sisters smile and relaxes her shoulders, "What would you like to know?"

"I dunno, how has life treated you?", Sasha asks with a shrug. 

"Not much to tell to be fair," Dani says, wearily, "I had a good childhood, mum and dad doted on me. I got a few A levels, but not enough for uni, so joined the Royal Navy Police."

"Really?", Sasha says, brightly, "So you are a cop, like aunt Kate, but in the Navy?"

"Not quite.", Dani says, with a touch of sadness, "I passed basic and was assigned to a base. My Corporal decided that I should recieve special training in getting groped. I had enough one day and when his hand landed on my ass, I spun round and broke his jaw. He was court martialed for harrasment and given a slap on the wrist and I was court martialed for striking a superior and dishonourably discharged."

"That sucks. I am so sorry.", Sasha says, warmly, reaching across and squeezing Dani's arm. "That is so unfair."

"It is, but it probably saved my life in a strange way.", Dani says with a shrug.

"How come?", Sasha asks, confused.

"I had free time on my hands so I decided to use my skills to trace my biological family. I discovered the fate of our siblings and decided to disappear, when I found out that only you and I were left.", Dani explains. "If I was in the service I would have been none the wiser."

"What was it like being on the run?", Sasha asks, in wide eyed curiousity.

"Not as exciting as it sounds, mostly involved, hitchhiking, camping under the stars and avoiding everyone. It has been lonely, for the past three months, the only contact I had was with a fishing boat crew, who brought me to France, Malcolm Harris and the person I bought my car from.", Dani confesses, "This is the first real conversation I have had since running."

Sasha joins Dani on the sofa and hugs her, gently. "That sounds pretty awful."

"I am really sorry about trying to kidnap you, I should have just talked to you. I guess I had convinced myself, it was the best way.", Dani says, unable to meet Sasha's gaze.

"To be fair most people would bring flowers or chocolates, as opposed to handcuffs. Although I did have a couple of dates that started that way.", Sasha admits, blushing.

"Really? Were you ok? What happened?", Dani asks concerned. 

With a knowing smile and a shrug, Sasha says, "Well, you know."

They lock eyes for a moment, Sasha trying not to laugh and Dani in a state of confusion, until they both start laughing.



"Do you fancy another beer?" Sasha asks, as Dani drains her bottle. 

Dani eyes her sister with a grin, "Are you trying to get me to lower my guard?"

Sasha looks away, hurt, "Sorry, I was just trying to be nice. I have never had a sister and I am still getting used to the idea. I was kind of hoping we could be friends."

"Ah hell, I didn't want to upset her." Dani thinks, before she says, "Sorry, I was teasing. This place unsettles me, I don't like being shut in. A gilded cage is still a cage.", se smiles at Sasha, "I would love another beer and a sister too. Why don't we forget everything else and just talk about us." she warmly squeezes Sasha's arm. 

Sasha's eyes sparkle, "That sounds great to me. I will get us some more drinks, I won't be long, I promise." she hugs Dani warmly, before heading out of the room.



Dani looks at the door after it is closed, "She is sweet, I hate to use her.", she wraps her arms around herself and shivers, "It is not safe here, I have to make her see it. I need to protect her."
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
Caesar73
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Post by Caesar73 »

In some ways I understand that Dani does not trust Steve, Kate, Louise and Sasha ... the conversation between Sasha and Dani? Impressive.
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wolfman
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Post by wolfman »

The grey suited door guard doesn't bat an eyelid, as he holds open the door for Sasha upon her return, laden down with bags.

Dani looks up surprised, "You have been gone almost an hour. I thought you were just getting a beer."

Sasha looks sheepishly at her sister, "Well I figured that you might like a change of clothes, as well as a beer. I hope you don't mind."

Dani smiles at Sasha, "That is really sweet of you. Thanks sis."

"You are welcome.", Sasha smiles back, then nervously continues, "Look, I have been thinking, if you want to get out of here, I will help, but only if you take me with you."

"What?", Dani double-takes, "Why would you help me?"

"I know how horrible it is to be held against your will.", she pauses, taking a deep breath, "In the past two days I have been tied up, beaten up, shot at, involved in a kidnapping, whisked away to another country, discovered I have a sister and that all of our siblings are dead. Steve, Lou and Kate are lovely, but their life is just nuts. I think if you go, I will be safer with you.", Sasha explains, hopefully.

"I would be so glad to have you with me.", Dani says, warmly.

Sasha passes her a bottle of beer and a bag, "Black jeans, hoodie, gloves and facemask."

Dani accepts the beer and checks the bag. "Thanks Sis." Dani says realising that the clothing is in her size, "How are we going to get out of here?"

Sasha turns her back on Dani and removes her blouse. Dani raises her eyebrows when she sees the rope wrapped around Sasha's body. Sasha works quickly, unwinding and coiling the rope. Before donning a black hooded top from one of the other bags. "That should be enough to climb down."

Sasha takes out a small back pack from another bag and puts it on. "Some clothing for me, until we can get settled."

"Wow, you really have thought of everything." Dani says with an air of suspicion. "I thought you wanted to stay because you felt safe here."

"Over the past two days, things have gone beyond crazy. Finding out all our siblings are dead, has made me think that the longer I am here, the more likely I am to join them.", Sasha admits, her eyes moistening slightly, "I genuinely believe they want to help, but this is all too much. I just want to run and hide."

"It's ok.", Dani reassures her, "My car is in the woods and we can be in Germany before they realise we are gone."

Sasha's expression sinks, "I haven't got my passport."

Dani smiles and winks, "Not a problem."

Sasha smiles brightly back at her sister, "Thank you, I will try not to be a burden."

"Don't be daft, we will be fine.", Dani reassures her, before picking up the rope, "Shall we? It seems like a nice night for a stroll."

"I am ready if you are.", she says, pulling an envelope from her pocket and placing it on the table, "I didn't want to go without saying goodbye."



Steve smiles as he feels Louise nestle against his chest. "What a day." he thinks, to himself wearily, "Arrive back from honeymoon, thwart Kate's kidnapping, discover most of the children I have fathered have been killed and the two who remain are here, one of whom is terrified of me. What a mess."

His body was at rest, but his mind raced. "Something doesn't feel right and I can't put my finger on it.", he rests his head on the back of the sofa and closes his eyes.



Dani crouches at the foot of the wall, as Sasha descends from the rope. She watches in silent readiness, alert for any signs that they had been spotted. 

The air is still and quiet save for the call of nightingales and the chirrup of insects. "All quiet.", she thinks as she maintains her vigil.

Sasha eases herself silently to the ground and reaches up, flicking the rope to dislodge it, coiling it and stashing it in her backpack. "You never know when it might come in handy.", she remarks.

"My car is about half a mile that way.", Dani whisper, pointing to the treeline. 

"We can cut past the tennis courts, the hedges will stop anyone from seeing us from the house.", Sasha says, slowly moving forward in a crouch.

Dani smiles to herself, thinking, "It feels nice not to be alone."



Dani and Sasha crouch panting at the treeline, looking back towards the house, "All clear." Dani whispers, "If you have changed your mind, I understand."

Sasha squeezes her sisters shoulder and sadly says, "No. I need to do this."

"Are you ok?", Dani asks concerned.

"I just feel bad that I have crept out like this, without saying goodbye." Sasha says, downheartedly. 

"They will understand.", Dani says, hugging Sasha, "When we get settled, we can let them know we are safe."

Sasha smiles, with a faraway look in her eyes, "That sounds good."



"Steve." Louise says gently, from her comfortable position, restin her head on his chest, "Steve are you awake?"

He rouses, slowly and stretches slightly, kissing her on the top of her head. "Must have dozed off."

"It has been a long day.", she smiles up at him, "Sasha is still with Dani. Should we check on them?" Louise asks, concerned.

"No, there are guards on the door and besides, I think Sasha needs this. She has been through so much. She needs to reach out.", he says, gently. 

"She is tough." Louise says, biting her lip, "I spoke with Dr Bryce. He looked at her injuries after the beating and thought that they had happened a few days before.", she pauses, wary of continuing, "What if she had been dosed with this drug mentioned on that phone?"

Steve smiles gently, "I got shot through the leg with a crossbow and dragged for miles under a helicopter. A month later, I danced a pretty stellar Argentine tango at our wedding. Kate was shot in the stomach and wa on her feet and being awesome in three weeks.", he says, calmly, "My family have always been quick to recover from injury."

"So you think Sasha inherited that from you?" Louise asks, whilst she considers the implications.

"Probably. Would explain how she recovered from her attack with just some scarring." Steve responds.

Louise suppresses a pit of dread in her stomach and closes her eyes, "What if all of them did?"

Steve sits up, jerked to full wakefulness by the words and something in her tone, "How do you mean?"

"What if they could all heal like you and someone wanted to find out how?" Louise asks in a somber tone. 

"Someone hurt them in terrible ways to see how they heal.", he says, more than asks. "What if that drug is not artificial? I think we need to pay Medteqniq a house call."

Louise sits up, "It makes sense, in a horrible way. We need to tell Kate." she says before shouting, "Sis!"

The nagging at the back of Steve's mind resolves at the shout. He gently grips Louise's arm, she looks at him concerned, seein the colour drain from his face, "When Sasha hit Dani, she said 'Screw you, sis.' But we hadn't told her the names on the list, she had no way to know she was her sister."
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
Caesar73
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Post by Caesar73 »

Riddle upon riddle .... :) If Sasha thinks she is secure with Dani ... than she will be in for surprise, I guess :)
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wolfman
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Post by wolfman »

Steve sprints from the room he shares with his wife and bursts through the door of Dani's apartment, ignoring the guards. "Dani! Sasha!" he calls out as he goes room to room. 

He assesses the situation, "Sasha knows us and a bit on how we work. She gained our trust and lied about knowing who Dani was and I have no idea why. Now they are both gone. Not the best start to fatherhood."

"Steve? What's going on?" Kate asks, as she and Louise join him.

"Sasha has been lying to us. As soon as she heard Dani say her name, she knew she was her sister. Now they are both gone.", Steve says, continuing his search. 

"Why would she lie?" Kate says, her voice tinged with hurt. "How could she know?"

"I don't know. Maybe she tried to trace her family and knew the name from that, or maybe she is not as innocent as she appears.", Steve says bitterly, spying a note on the table.



"How much farther is it?" Sasha asks, sipping water from her bottle. 

"We are nearly there. It is just at the bottom of this dip." Dani says quietly. 

"Cool." Sasha smiles, "How will we get over the border?"

"I think I know a route across the border where we can cross without being stopped. I scouted a couple of times, in case I had to do a bunk.", Dani explains. 

"Ok. Cool.", Sasha nods, "Thank you for this."

Dani pulls aside the branches she used to camouflage her dark blue Opel Astra and lifts a stone by the back wheel to retrieve the keys. "Thought, I would hide the keys here, rather than risk losing them." She says with a smile.

"Good thinking, can I dump my stuff in the boot?", Sasha asks, softly. 

"Sure." Dani smiles unlocking the car, "I'll just make a space for it."

She opens the boot and reaches inside, rearranging bags, as Sasha removes her backpack.

Dani straightens with a nod, "That should -"

She is cut off by the staccato rasp of the taser in Sasha's hands. The insidious black box in her sisters grasp, lances her body with pain and robs her of any control over her muscles. Sasha barely catches her and struggles to ease her to the ground. 

"What the fuck?", Dani thinks through a mask of pain. She feels her arms gently pulled behind her and is unable to resist, as Sasha winds rope tightly around her wrists, binding them tightly. 

Sasha drags Dani over to a tree and sits her against it, before wrapping a rope around her waist, pinning her to the trunk. Dani struggles weakly, whilst she helplessly watches her sister, tightly wrap a rope around her ankles. 

She glares at Sasha, who cannot return her gaze. "Why?" she asks, feebly, still dazed. 

Sasha closes her eyes and swallows hard, taking a microfibre towel from her backpack and rolling it into a ball. "I'm sorry, Dani." she whispers as she stuffs the waded up towel into Dani's mouth and holds it in place with several wraps of rope. "This is the only way."

Dani frantically screams, when Sasha stands before her and pulls out her phone. Sasha cannot understand her sisters muffled cries, but even the towel in her mouth cannot stifle the anger in her tone and the hurt Dani feels. 



A tall man in his sixties, exits a glass and steel building on the outskirts of Paris, dressed in a charcoal grey tailored suit. Unconsciously, his steps are measured and precise, each the same length as the last, while he approaches his chauffeur driven luxury saloon.

His driver opens the door without speaking and takes a seat behind the wheel once his employer is seated. He does not speak, he merely waits for instruction. 

The tall man settles back into the soft leather of the rear seat and reaches for his phone. He does not recognise the number, but chooses to answer the call, "Good evening."

"Dr Lund?", the female caller asks.

"Yes, to whom am I speaking?", he says, impatiently, with a hint of a German accent. 

"My name is Sasha Turner. I don't know if you remember me. We spoke a little while ago outside your offices in London.", she says, nervously, with muffled moans in the background. 

The doctors eyes flash with recognition and a cruel smile, curls his lips, "Ah, yes. The young lady with the terrible scars. What can I do for you this evening?"

"When we spoke you said that treatment was possible but expensive.", she pauses, taking a breath to focus herself, "But if myself and my sister Dani came in for a medical trial, you would do it for free."

He raises his eyebrows and shifts in his seat, "Yes, I remember the offer. I recall that you didn't know who she was at the time."

"I have recently made contact with her.", Sasha says unable to look at her furiously struggling and angrily grunting sister. 

"So are you saying you are both looking to come in for the trial?", Dr Lund asks without emotion.

"I am, but my sister is less than willing.", Sasha says, trying to keep her voice level. 

"Shame, both of you would need to attend.", the doctor, says calmly.



Sasha switches to a video call and turns the camera on her sister, thinking, "Here goes."

"I said she was less than willing, I didn't say she wouldn't be there." Sasha says, firmly, ignoring Dani's pleading moans into the camera. 

"You really are a determined young woman. You are calling from a French number, can you get to our facility outside of Paris?", he asks, nodding to his driver. 

"Yes, I think I am a couple of hours away.", she looks guiltily at the ground next to Dani, "I trust you and will only deal with you. If you are not there, we walk away.", Sasha says, directly.

"No problem, I will see you at the front gate.", the doctor says, calmly. 

"We will see you soon." Sasha says, firmly, ending the call. 



Dr Lund looks up at his driver with a cold smirk, "Looks like we will be staying here for a while. Have the helicopter on standby and alert the clinic that we will soon have two new subjects for extraction."

"Very good sir.", the driver responds, with a Glaswegian twang. 

The doctor exits the vehicle and begins walking back to the buildings foyer, thinking to himself, "Excellent, with the new process we can harvest these two for months.", he scoffs, "Stupid girl."



Sasha crouches beside her sister, cupping her cheeks, "It's ok. Everything will be ok. I know you must hate me right now and I am sorry it has to be this way."

Dani's pleading eyes bore into Sasha's soul, as they gaze into hers. Her garbled moans, unintelligible, but the pleading tone is unmistakable. 

"Please listen to me, there is not much time.", Sasha begs, "That was Dr Herman Lund, the clinical director of Medteqniq. When I said about an expensive treatment, that is what I was talking about. He said you were my sister and if we went in to take part in a trial, he would help me.", Sasha grips Dani's face, forcing her to focus, "When I saw the names on that list and read how they died, I knew he was behind it somehow and the way he didn't flinch or react when he saw I had you tied up and ready to come in, confirms he wants us both at any cost."

Dani starts to cry, as she listens to Sasha explain. She shakes her head weakly and tries to free her hands, but has no leverage to move her arms. 

"They ruined my body, are responsible for my parents death, murdered my sibings and they took my child. They have taken everything from me.", Sasha says, firmly, "I have shed enough tears for what they have done. Tears won't stop this, but I can.", she turns and pulls a handgun from her backpack, "I will go to the meeting and kill him. I will not let them hurt you.", she speaks firmly, before smiling, "In a way it is funny, of all the guns in this place, the easiest to get was yours. It will be like both of us killing him."

Dani's eyes widen at the sight of her gun and she shakes her head furiously, pleading madly. She desperately tries to dislodge the towel from her mouth but to no avail. 

"Hey it will be ok. I am so sorry we didn't have longer together, I wish things could have been different. My note tells Steve what I will do and that you are in the woods. Don't worry, you will be safe.", Sasha pauses, fighting back tears, "There is nothing left of me to save, but by doing this, I will stop them from taking you. I love you Dani."

Without looking back Sasha activates a strobe light and hangs it from a branch above Dani's head, before she walks towards the car, ignoring Dani's protests.

"Sasha, please don't do this. There must be another way.", she tries to scream, but the towel is too good at its job. 

Dani watches helplessly, as Sasha gets into her car and slowly drives away.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
bje
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Post by bje »

Wow, already 4 new chapters since I finally caught up 4 days ago. The new development is intriguing and the children (Sasha and Dani) seem both very action-minded. The new chapters were excellent as usual and I look forward to see what happens next.
Caesar73
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Post by Caesar73 »

Sasha is bent on Revenge. And I understand that. But I think, Sasha underestimates her opponent. What I still not understand: Why was Kate targeted? As leverage? As bait???
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Post by wolfman »

Steve snatches up the note and tears it open. Speedily reading it's contents, he shakes his head, before passing it to Louise, as he runs from the room. 

"Steve, wait." Louise calls after him. 

"Don't worry, I will go after him.", Kate assures her before bolting from the room. 

Louise looks at the note in her hands with dread, building in her stomach. 

"Dear Steve, 

I am sorry I did not say goodbye. I am sorry for so many things. 

I approached a company called Medteqniq about help with my scars. They said if I could persuade my sister to join me in a medical trial, they would treat me for free. That is the first I knew of Dani. 

When I saw what had happened to the others, I guessed they had all done the trial. 

I have had so much taken from me and now, is my turn to take something back.

By the time you read this, I will have contacted Dr Herman Lund and be on my way to see him. I have Dani's gun and am going to kill him. Don't worry, Dani is safe, you will find her tied up in the woods. Please look after her and keep her safe. 

Tell aunt Kate I love her so much and wish I could be more like her. 

I am sorry for the lies and I hope in time you can forgive me. I wish I was worthy to be your daughter.

With love,
Sasha,
X X X"

"Oh shit." Louise says, "If anything happens to her, I don't know if I will be able to stop Steve."



Steve hastily returns to their room and dons a jacket and snatches up a torch and a plastic bottle of water. In his haste to leave, he nearly knocks Kate off of her feet. 

"Steve, slow down.", Kate says winded, "What's going on?"

"Sasha and Dani are on the run. Sasha is armed and going after some guy at Medteqniq. Dani is somewhere in the woods. I have to find them.", Steve says, firing out the words.

"Let me help.", Kate says, putting a hand on his arm.

He slows his breathing down and calms himself, "We need to find Dani. She mentioned something about a car nearby. My guess is that Sasha will use that to get where she is going.", he says, calmly, "Can you gather some security people and get the tranq guns, I will go north."

"Why tranq guns?" Kate says, trying to keep up with him as he makes for the chateau's giant sweeping staircase. 

"Because we may still find Sasha, and if she is spooked, I don't know what she would do with that handgun." Steve warns. 

Kate turns to head to security, but Steve stops her, "Kate.", he begins, "Sasha wanted you to know that she loves you and she wishes she could be more like you."



Dani shivers uncomfortably at the base of the tree, as she looks up at the clear night sky. 

"Why didn't you just talk to me Sasha?, she thinks, whilst trying to find some slack in the rope binding her wrists, trying to force her cold fingers to pluck at her restraints. "We could have done this together."

She rests her head on the trunk of the tree and starts flexing her legs, attempting to loosen the ropes binding her ankles. "Fuck it.", she thinks as she feels the ropes dig deeper into her leg. "That was a bad idea.", Dani decides, settling back against the tree.

"It is so cold.", she tries to shuffle her body to keep warm, "At least she let them know I was here."

An image of Steve's face flashes in her mind, "If Sasha is right, then I got it all wrong about dad hunting us down. Why would Malcolm lie like that?", Dani starts to cry, "Sasha is armed and out of the Chateau and it is all my fault. He will be so mad with me."



Steve sprints to the wall under Dani's window, shining his torch on the ground. He backs away from the building and crouches looking back to a spot where the ground has been disturbed. 

"There." he whispers to himself, as he sees a small shadow cast by the lights of the building, in a shallow footprint in the dirt. 

Estimating the height of his daughters and their stride length, he searches nearby, till he finds another print, then a third. 

Steve starts walking backwards to the right of the possible course of the tracks and keeps searching for more signs. 

"Trampled grass.", he whispers, "Bent branch on bush. This is good. As I get further away, the glare from the lights is reduced, but the shadows, still show true."

"They are moving in a straight line. Probably knew they were short on time", he determines, turning around, and working out where the track lead. "Interesting, Dani must have camped hear the lagoon. Would have been handy for water. But far enough out to stay out of sight. Good location."

He begins to jog towards the woods, thinking to himself, "That has turned cold since it got dark, it can't be much more than about seven celcius. I hope Dani is under cover."



Dani shivers, "This is not good.", she thinks, as the cold of the night seeps into her bones. 
The strobe above her head casts an eerie light, presenting the forest around her in a stark almost photographic series of images, as it flashes. 

She tries to shuffle her body and limbs to keep warm, but the ropes confound her, "Damn it Sasha, I am going to freeze to death before anyone finds me.", she thinks.

Dani angrily screams in frustration, as the ropes continue to hold her, before hanging her head defeated.

Her eyes flash open, when she hears something move in a bush near by. She sits motionless, holding her breath, staring at the source of the noise. 

"I just imagined it.", she tells herself, "There is nothing there." Dani relaxes her body slightly and allows herself to breath again. She closes her eyes and tries to swallow, but the towel has sucked the moisture from her mouth and forces her jaws open, hampering her efforts.

Her blood runs cold, as she hears the noise again and a large adult boar, slowly emerges from the bush, appearing to move in slow motion in the strobe light and begins sniffing around her feet.

Dani's breath quickens, as the large beast approaches her. The short quick breaths through her nose, fail to give her enough air. She begins to panic and when the boar brushes her leg, her breath begins to quicken.
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Caesar73
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Post by Caesar73 »

The finish of this Chapter is dramatic !!!
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Post by wolfman »

The boar opens its mouth and prepares to bite down on Dani's leg. The dull thud of a small stone striking it's head, causes the beast to turn to face the man behind it. 

"That's it you big bugger, look at me. Leave her alone.", Steve says, softly as he stares into the two hundred pound animals eyes. "Wiry hair, teats, big infection laden tusks. All things considered a female wild boar is not the worst thing I could be facing." He thinks, assessing his foe.

The beast stares back with feral brown eyes. Steve holds its gaze and slowly circles left, as the boar mirrors his movements. Steve uses his peripheral vision to check on Dani, whilst he keeps the animal fixed in his gaze. "Barely conscious. Well tied and her mouth looks fully stuffed. Hard to tell in the strobe, but her skin looks pale. I hope I am not too late."

"Dani. Are you with me?" Steve asks softly. Dani moans weakly in return. 

"Be strong Dani, this will be over soon.", he says firmly.

The beast circles never taking its eyes off of Steve. He watches the animal closely, it's powerful muscles highlighted by the flashes of the strobe. "On your way now, nothing for you here tonight." he says, in a gentle tone.

The boar huffs a steaming breath through its nostrils and Steve witnesses the muscles on the creatures back bristle and tense, "Oh bugger. I think it is going to charge."

Steve breathes out slowly and relaxes his body, preparing for an attack. He hears the breeze rustle through the canopy above him and smells the sweet scent of a nearby orchard and the muted squeak of young pigs, snuffling for food.

"This would make a nice place to raise piglets.", he thinks to himself. "Got to keep her focused on me. I can't let her turn on Dani."

"Ok now, how do you want to play this? We are just two parents, trying to protect their kids." Steve says softly, holding the boars gaze. 

The proud parents stand their ground unmoving, staring at each other. Steve watches Dani from the corner of his eye, "She is pale and seems to be fading fast. But at least her breathing has slowed down.", he thinks, warily.

The boar huffs a heavy breath and shakes his body and head. "Easy girl, let's call this one a draw.", he says softly, "You look after your young and I will look after mine. Neither of us needs to be a threat to te other."

The boar sniffs the air and huffs again, turning slowly away and stalking towards the bushes. The beast turns it's head at the last moment to look Steve in the eyes one last time before disappearing into the undergrowth.



Steve rushes to Dani's side, drawing a locking knife. "Shhhhh, it's ok Dani. You are safe now.", he says softly, reaching behind her head to untie the rope around her mouth and unwind it. 

He gently pulls the towel from her mouth and discards it. The cool water, instantly refreshes her mouth as she sips. "Thank you.", Dani mumbles.

Steve cuts the rope around her waist and supports her, while he bends her forward and cuts her wrists free. Dani struggles to moves her arms and shaking fingers, but manages to hug her shivering body. Steve rapidly pulls his coat off and wraps it around his daughter, "She has been out here too long already.", he thinks feeling how cold she is. 

Dani mumbles, softly, but Steve cannot understand her. He cuts her ankles free and puts away the knife. "Don't be afraid. I have got you. You are safe. We are going back to the Chateau to warm you up now."

"Can't make it.", Dani mouths, silently. "Too far."

Steve scoops her up un his arms, holding her tight. "You have been so brave hanging on this long. I need you to be strong, just a little while longer. Can you do that?"

Dani nods weakly, barely able to keep her eyes open. "I've got you. You are safe now.", he whispers, beginning the long walk back to the Chateau. 

Bouncing gently against her fathers chest, Dani feels herself fading. She struggles to force out the words, "I'm sorry. Malcolm was wrong about you.", before she passes out.



Steve charges through the foyer of the hotel and up to the suite, finding no one there. He carries an exhausted Dani to the spare room and gently lays her down on the bed. "I am so sorry for this." he whispers, as he draws his knife again and cuts off her damp clothing. He works quickly wrapping the duvet around her body, watching her closely. 

He hears the door to the suite open and calls out "Lou?"

"Steve, you're  back. Did you find her?" Louise asks, hopefully, dashing towards the sound of his voice.

"Yeah. We are in the spare room.", Steve says, checking Dani's pulse, "She will be ok."

He turns and smiles, when she enters the room and stands to greet his wife. She hugs him warmly and kisses him before resting her head against his chest, "I am so pleased she is ok.", she looks down at Dani with a look of gentle warmth.

Steve squeezes her gently, before wearily saying, "I had better get looking for her sister."

"She kept Kate's ring. Security are tracking it now, she is en route to Paris.", Louise says, in a serious tone, "Collins is warming up the helicopter. A tactical load-out for us and Kate is on board."

"Oh Lou.", he sighs, kissing her tenderly on her forehead, "Thank you. You are the best."

Steve looks down at his daughter and turns back to Louise, "I don't know what to do with Dani. I want Sasha safe and sound, but, I don't want Dani to be here on her own, without family."



Steve and Louise looks sharply at Dani, startled by her saying, "I am going with you."

Steve releases Louise from his embrace and crouches by Dani's side, "I am sorry Dani, but you are in no fit state."

"You don't understand, she will get herself killed and it is my fault.", Dani says weakly.

"Shhhhh, it's ok." Steve says, stroking her hair, "We are not going to let that happen.", Steve says, firmly. 

"She has my gun." Dani mumbles, struggling to form the words before she passes out, "It is only loaded with blanks."

Steve kisses his sleeping daughter, gently on the cheek, "You rest Dani. We will bring your sister home."



Steve closes the door to the spare room softly behind himself and Lou. "Someone needs to stay with Dani?", Steve says, pensively.

"She doesn't know me." Louise says, raising her eyebrows, "I know you are Kate can handle this, but I am worried. You are too quick to jump in. You would never charge off without talking to me, like you did when you ran to the woods. You didn't even take a weapon. That is not like you."

He hangs his head and nods, "I am sorry for that. I was just so worried."

"It's ok, but please promise me you won't do that again, you really worried me.", she says, squeezing his arm.

"I'm sorry Lou. I promise, it's just,", he pauses, trying to find the right word, "When I became a donor, I did it to give life and all it has brought to the children I fathered, is pain misery and death, because of what is in my blood. They don't deserve this. I have to protect them. I need to end it."

She hugs him warmly, holding him tightly, "I know you do, you are a good man and you are right. But you are not thinking clearly. You barely slept on the plane and have only had a couple of hours since we landed."

Wearily, he hangs his head, "You are not wrong. I feel knackered. I will have a good sleep after I get back with Sasha."

"Maybe, you shouldn't go. Sit this one out, Kate and I can get her. You need to rest." Louise says, gently, holding up her hand, "You see this ring.", she wiggles her wedding ring, "This says, that we are in it together and I will do anything and everything, I have to. Kate and I will bring her back to you."

"But what if something goes wrong?", Steve asks, raising his gaze to meet hers. 

"Even if it does, we will have the best and most well rested operator to come and rescue us.", Louise says with a smile. "Sasha needs a rescue, Kate and I can handle that. But right now, Dani needs a father. That is your job. It will be better for her to have you here, when she wakes."

Steve thinks for a moment, "You are probably right. I will monitor everything from here. I know my limits and I am reaching them fast.", he pauses, looking at the door to his daughters room, "I am so lost. I have no idea how to be a father."

"There is no guide or training. First step is to be there, second is to listen. You can make up the rest as you need to.", Louise says, gently.

"Thank you, Lou. You are amazing. All this and you don't bat an eyelid.", Steve kisses her tenderly, "Thank you, for everything."

"Marry the man, marry the family.", she winks, "I love you Steve."

"Promise me you will be careful.", Steve begs, staring into her eyes.

"I promise. I will come back to you safe and sound with your daughter.", Louise smiles, warmly.
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Post by wolfman »

As Louise leaves the suite and heads for the helicopter, Steve takes a tablet and boots up a monitoring program. It shows the internal and external feeds from the helicopter and the body cameras from the crew. He nods to himself, I might not be there physically, but, I can keep an eye. 

He sets up the tablet on Dani's bedside table and pulls out a phone he hasn't used for a while. He passes it from hand to hand, wondering about making the call. 

He looks down at Dani and thinks of Sasha and dials the number.

"Was beginning to wonder when you would call.", the recipient of the call says, as soon as the call is answered. 

"You were expecting me.", Steve says, with an unsurprised smile. 

"Gun battle and helicopter at a UK airport. I am guessing that was you.", Mike says, "How bad is it?"

"Was a sperm donor twenty years ago, someone hunting the kids down, only two are left. One with me, one en route to do something stupid. Kate and Lou en route to intercept. Something bad is afoot old friend, where are you?" Steve says, in an even tone. 

"Ok mate, I know we use codes a lot, but I can't decipher this one. Help me out." Mike asks, confused. 

"No code. Not this time." Steve says, calmly.

The line goes quiet for a moment, before Mike exhales slowly and speaks again, "That is monstrous. I have been awaiting your call since I saw the news about the helicopter. I figured you might need help. Is everyone ok?"

"Yeah, all ok so far, someone tried to take Kate, but we stopped them." Steve explains. 

"Any idea who?" Mike asks, focused. 

"Company called Medteqniq is in the frame." Steve says, "I need a massive favour."



Kate tightens the combat webbing of her assault gear, when she sees Louise enter the hangar. She waves at her half sister, wondering, "Where is Steve?"

Louise smiles and waves back at Kate, "Steve is knackered, he will stay with Dani. Just us girls."

Kate raises an eyebrow, "Really? How did you get him to stay put."

"He is knackered and he knows he could make a mistake that would cost. He trusts us to do this." Louise says with a warm smile, as she begins to get ready for departure. "More importantly, he can bond with Dani."

"We can do this.", Kate says, more for Louise's benefit, than a statement of fact, wondering.



The helicopter streaks through the late night, French skies like a high speed wasp chasing down prey. "This is going to be tight." Louise says over the comms, "Looks like we will arrive around the same time as Sasha. I am not sure we will be able to do an intercept."

"If she is in the open, we can do a sweep and grab, then extract her. This bird has the speed to make it happen.", Kate says, calmly, before her tone darkens, "If she is inside, I am not sure about charging in. The facility is huge and we have no idea on numbers."

Steve's voice comes over comms from the Chateau, "We need to get her back, but, if the risk is too great, we find another way."

"Agreed.", Louise says, relieved that Steve is not pushing for extraction at all costs, "There is another thing we need to consider.", she looks at Kate for support.

"What if she is trying to get herself killed, because she knows, I will sweep in and burn them to the ground?", Steve offers.

"Something like that." Louise says, biting her lip and hoping it doesn't come to that.



Sasha parks the car and looks at herself in the rearview mirror. "This is a stupid idea."

She pulls out her phone and calls Dr Lund, "I am about five minutes away, will you meet us at the gates."

"Of course, my dear. I will be in an ambulance parked outside the gate, please knock when you are ready for me.", he says, calmly. 

"No, you wait outside of the ambulance for me and come over to the car when I pull up. I don't want any tricks.", Sasha says firmly. 

"No problem at all.", the Dr confirms. 

"Thank you doctor, we will see you soon." Sasha says, hanging up.

She starts the car and checks the handgun, before setting off on the final leg of her journey. "Here goes, Sasha.", she says to herself. 



Dr Lund turns to his driver, "It is a trap.", he says in a matter of fact tone. 

"Are you certain?", the solidly built man says, calmly. 

"It was too quiet. The sister was not protesting." the doctor, confirms, "When the vehicle pulls up, shoot the tyres, shatter the windows and have her dragged out."

"Consider it done. I take it you want her alive and as unharmed as possible.", the driver, speaks in a firm professional tone. 

"Yes please, you did well with the others, let us see if we can get the one Price screwed up.", Lund says in a low tone. "Once we have her, we can use her as bait to lure the other subjects in."

"If it is a trap, and the other show up?", the driver asks casually.

"Do not worry about them, I have a means of neutralising the Marks family.", Dr Lund says, with a cold grin
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Post by wolfman »

"We have a visual.", Singer says over the helicopters comms system.

Kate extinguishes a cigarette and dons her helmet. She and Louise are dressed identically, black fatigues, made with a kevlar interweave, bullet defeating vest with blunt trauma shielding, combat webbing with spare ammunition, a fighting knife and a machine pistol strapped to each of their thighs. 

Louise snatches up her carbine and watches the monitor. "Can't tell if it is her." she says, unable to see the figure in the vehicle. 

The dark blue Astra has halted approximately twenty metres from the check point covering entry to the large buildings car park. A spot light shines on it and an ambulance is parked nearby. 

"We have a helicopter winding up at the rear of the building.", Singer advises, cautiously. 

"This feels off." Steve says over comms, "Can you stop take off, if need be?"

"Shouldn't be an issue.", Garvey says from his position by one of the helicopters door guns.

"Movement.", Singer calls out, "Two by two man teams, converging on vehicle, weapons drawn."



At the first sound of gunfire, Sasha ducks behind the wheel and slams the vehicle into reverse, gunning the engine. 

"Well, I have lost the element of surprise.", she thinks, as the vehicle lurches backwards, "Gunfire, no tyres and surrounded by maniacs. Feels familiar."

She whips the wheel to the left, spinning the vehicle sharply around and slamming into one of the shooters. He lands in pain a few metres away, staring at the vehicle, as it skids and sparks along the street. 

Glass rains down on Sasha under a hail of gunfire. With her head down, she drives blind, swerving wildly. Her heart is racing and breathing rapid, as she begins to panic, "This was so stupid, I was never going to get close to him. If they take me, they will kill me and still go after Dani." 

Crouched behind the steering wheel, he pulls her phone and activates the camera. Holding it up slightly, she uses it as a periscope, as she drives, seeing the rapidly approaching wall too late to stop.

She staggers from the shattered automobile, bleeding from cuts from dozens of glass splinters. Staring through a haze of blood at the three masked men, advancing towards her with assault rifles levelled. 



"Messy, but tell your men well done, please.", Dr Lund says as he picks up the radio on the seat next to him, as they observe proceedings from the roof terrace.

"We are about to take the girl, please dust off as soon as she is aboard.", he commands. 

"Affirmat-" the pilot voice is cut of by a high velocity round penetrating the fuel tank and engulfing the helicopter in flames. 

Dr Lund and his driver duck, involuntarily at the sound of the large explosion, that gives the large building a halo of light. 

The driver places a hand on Lund's back and pushes him down with his left hand, whilst the right draws a large Desert Eagle and scans the night sky. 

The wind changes direction and above the chaos, he hears the blades of the Falcon. "There." he says softly, seeing the outline of the craft, slightly darker than the night sky. He closes his left eye and takes aim. "Too far." he thinks noting it's two hundred metre range. 

"We are exposed here sir, would you mind going inside please?", he requests, almost casually.

"That sounds like a plan. Will you be joining me?", Lund asks, heading for the door. 

"Shortly, sir.", the driver says, holstering his pistol and putting a long thin case on the table. "I will watch events unfold from here and feedback."



Louise lowers the sniper rifle from her eye, as the helicopter on the ground detonates.  She switches her aim to Sasha and the men advancing on her.

Sasha stands her ground as the men approach and puts the gun to her head. "You want me alive. Back the hell up, or I will shoot."

The men pause and exchange confused glances, before raising their weapons once again and focussing on Sasha, as one of them radios in. 

The security team all nod to each other and turn to sash before slowly advancing. She whips the handgun in their direction firing wildly. 

They all roll for cover, until the weapon clicks empty. The men laugh at the poor skill, of their now helpless target and advance again.



Louise takes careful aim and speaks rapidly over comms, "Rapid advance, drop and drag when the last man falls." 

"Affirmative.", everyone on board the Falcon echoes, drowning out Steve, "Wave off, drop zone not secure."

Louise's rifle coughs softly, three times and Sasha jumps, startled as the men drop. She looks skyward, to see the source of the screech above her head. 

"I hate this part." Kate says, letting out a slow breath and stepping from the helicopter, to freefall towards Sasha. The automatic arrester on the spindle engages around fifteen feet from the ground, slowing her decent, until the point of impact where she lands in front of Sasha with the like a feather on a pillow. 

Sasha looks scared at the battle dressed figure before her and freezes. "Hey kiddo." Kate says, stepping closer to Sasha and wrapping a harness around her and clipping it to her webbing. "I've got you, Sasha."

Sasha beams as she recognises Kate's voice and she throws her arms around her aunt. Above the rotor noise, she shouts, "Love you auntie Kate."

Garvey sets the winch to bring them up and bangs on the bulkhead between the cabin and cockpit, to signal Collins that it is safe to move off.



"Two hundred metres, northern cross wind, twenty miles per hour, localised vortex from downdraft.", the driver says to himself in a reverential tone before firing a controlled volley of shots from his semi automatic sniper rifle. 

Two rounds hit the winch motor, rendering it useless. The rest of the volley ricochets around the cabin, striking Garvey in the left hip and right shoulder, Singer in the arm, whilst Louise feels the dull sting of two ricochets in the back of her left thigh. "That stings, I'm glad they are only ricochets.", she thinks to herself, as her leg is lanced with pain. "The kevlar weave stopped the rounds, but the force of impact still hurts like hell."

Collins' ears are ringing from the ricochet to the back of his helmet. He fights to focus, hitting the power, pulling back hard on the joystick. The Falcon ascends rapidly between two tower blocks, seeking safety. 

With wide eyes and a sinking feeling in her gut, Louise sees two muzzle flashes from the roof of the Medteqniq building. A miasma of dread engulfs her, when she realises the shots weren't meant for the cockpit. 

Kate holds on to Sasha for dear life. The pair slowly spin under the helicopter, as they hurtle along. "This is not good. The belt should hold her, but she could still slip." Kate thinks, a moment before she feels two hard thumps against the back of her armour. 

Dazed, she loosens her grip on Sasha due to the wave of pain passing ruthlessly through her and coughs up blood inside her helmet.

Sasha senses something is wrong after Kate jerks twice and doesn't grip her as tightly. "Kate are you alright?", Sasha shouts, unheard above the noise of the aircraft and the wind keening past them.



The driver nods to himself, "That should put a dampener on their day." His hands work with practiced efficiency, unloading and stripping the rifle. 

He does not need to look at what his hands are doing, his eyes do not leave the pair hanging from the receding aircraft.

"Always better to injure than kill. The dead can be so easy to abandon.", he says, without emotion. "Next time, we bring the fight to your door."
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Post by Caesar73 »

Amazing, I hope, Kate does make it. Coughing blood, that does not sound good ... again very dramatic.
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Post by wolfman »

Steve watches in stunned silence. "Sitrep." he calls over comms. 

"Winch inop, two on the line status unknown, multiple injuries on board. Area too hostile to risk touchdown for recovery." Collins announces. 

"Garvey down, Singer administering treatment. Manual winch operative, I will try to bring up passengers." Louise says, bracing the foot of her good leg against the base of the winch and grasping the handle. 

"Principle secured, carrier injured.", Kate says weakly over the comms. 



Steve hears crying and realising that it is not from the comms, he turns slowly. Dani is still tightly wrapped in the duvet, her arms pinned inside it. Her head is turned and her eyes transfixed to the tablets display. 

"It's all my fault.", she cries, twisting her body, unable to free her arms, so that she can wipe her eyes. "If I hadn't come, Sasha wouldn't have got the gun and the car and no one would have been hurt."

Dani watches Steve with dread, as he turns to her and stands. She closes her eyes as Steve climbs onto the bed beside her and slips his arms under her, "He knows it is down to me and he is going to kill me.", she thinks, as she waits for death. 

Steve unwraps her from the duvet and holds her close. His left arm around her back, his right hand supporting her neck, he cradles her gently and softly rocks her back and forth. "Oh Dani. This is not your fault.", he whispers, "You have not done anything wrong."

Dani relaxes realising Steve is not trying to kill her. Tentatively, she puts her arms around him and hugs him back. "I am sorry."

With a heavy heart, Steve says, "If I had gone, I would have pulled everyone out. My children have been made to suffer for the part of me that is in their blood.", he softens his tone, "The truth is, that the people that have been hunting your siblings down is responsible. All blame traces back to them."



Louise's shoulders burned from the effort working the crank for the winch to get Kate and Sasha aboard. 

"Jesus Kate, you could have dumped the gear at least." she says to herself nervously, conscious that she had not her from her half sister for at least twenty minutes. 

Desperate to think about anything apart from the condition of the people on the line. She closes her eyes and grits her teeth and loses herself in the feel of the crank biting into her hands, the smell of aviation grease with a hint of fuel and cheap aftershave, the rhythmic pulse of the helicopter blades and squawk of Collins on the radio to Nirvana arranging medical support when they land, "ETA two hours eh? I had better pick up the pace so Kate can have a G & T and a smoke before we land." the smile on her lips, is at odds with the nerves she feels as she continues to crank.



Turn after agonising turn, Kate and Sasha inch closer to the helicopter. 

"Must have been armour piercing rounds." Kate thinks, fighting to breath. "At least Sasha is safe, for now." 

She gazes through the eye holes of her faceplate at the young woman strapped to her and smiles weakly. "If this is it and I don't make it. I am glad I gave my life for you Sasha." she says weakly, the words swallowed by the noise of the rotors. 

Sasha feels Kate's grip on her weakening and stares at the helicopter, willing the winch to move faster. "This is all my fault. I should never have come.", Sasha's eyes sting from the wind and her guilt, as she looks at Kate's facemask as her aunt goes limp, "NO." she screams, before begging, "I am so sorry Kate. Please don't die."

She feels hands pulling her backwards and guiding Kate and herself into the helicopter. She watches as Amy slams the door of the helicopter with her unbandaged left arm. Sasha stands numb, holding Kate, as Louise fits a headset.

"Sasha you need to let Kate go.", Louise says softly.

"No, I can't. I am pressing on where Kate was shot.", Sasha says, exhausted and pleading.

"You brilliant girl, it's ok you can let go Amy is a medic, she is need to take a look at Kate's wounds." Louise says, putting her arm around Sasha. 

Reluctantly, Sasha removes her hands from Kate's back and helps Louise lay her down before stepping back, to let Amy work. "Well done Sasha. You may have saved her life.", Louise says, warmly.

"It is my fault. All my fault." Sasha says, weakly, unable to tear her eyes away from Kate, watching Amy remove her blood soaked armour and shirt. 

Louise steps between Sasha and Kate and looks the young woman in the eyes. "No.", she says firmly, "This is not your fault. You didn't force us to come and you didn't pull the trigger. We need you to get through this."

Sasha blinks, "What do you mean you need me?"

Louise holds up the palms of her hands. They are bloodied and cut from the winch. "Can you start by bandaging my hands?"



"Can I talk to her?", Dani asks, hopefully. 

Steve weighs up the options and decides to trust Dani. He takes off his headset and puts it on to loud speaker, "Go ahead."

"Sasha? Can you hear me?", Dani says, seeing the confusion on her sisters face, via Louise's body camera. 

"Dani?", Sasha says confused, before a moment of realisation, "Dani! I am so sorry are you ok?"

Dani sees the hurt on her sisters face and chooses her words carefully, "A little achy but ok."

"I am so sorry Dani." Sasha says, weakly. "I am sorry I left you tied up like that. Do you think you can ever forgive me?"

"Well to be fair, I did try to kidnap you. We can talk when you get back.", Dani says, gently, "I just wish you had told me what you were planning."

"I couldn't tell you, I needed it to look real.", Sasha explains, feeling foolish, "I have ruined everything."

"No Sasha, this is not on you. This is on the people responsible for making you feel this way.", Dani corrects her sister, "This is not your fault. The people that hurt you started this. Whatever their reasons, they did this."



"Sorry to cut in.", Singer says, solemnly, over the comms, "I have completed my preliminary examination of Kate."

Steve recognises her tone and places a hand on Dani's arm, "Go ahead Amy."

"Armour piercing rounds. One nicked her side and lodged in the inside of the vest after exiting the body, it will need suturing but should be ok. The other punctured the chest cavity, has no exit wound. Kate is bleeding into her chest cavity.", Singer explains, before the words catch in her throat. "She needs urgent surgery, that I cannot perform. without it, she may not make it to the Chateau."

Louise embraces Sasha tightly as the young woman breaks down in tears. "Shhhh, it's ok, we are going as fast as we can. Kate will be ok."



Steve puts his arm around Dani, as much to comfort himself, as it is to comfort her, before speaking into gently over the comms, "Sasha. I need you to listen to me. Very carefully."

After a few tries, she acknowledges him, "I am so sorry for all this."

"Dani is right, this is not your fault.", Steve says softly, "Right now, I need you to listen. Can you do that?"

"Yes." she says weakly.

"Kate is hurt. Her chest cavity is filling with blood. If it fills up, the blood will crush her lungs and she won't be able to breath." Steve explains, as calmly as he can manage. 

Sasha whimpers as Steve speaks. Louise holds her close, knowing where Steve is going. "Shhhh it's ok." she whispers. 

"She needs a chest drain to relieve the pressure and the bullet needs to be found and removed. Amy can't do it, because of her arm, Garvey is down, Collins is flying the helicopter and Louise's hands are too damaged for the delicate work needed.", Steve explains, softly. 

"Please don't let her die.", Sasha says, weakly.

Steve closes his eyes and takes a long slow breath, "You are the only person on board who can help her. Amy can tell you what to do, but you would have to do exactly what she says."

"B-but." Sasha stammers, "I can't." her voice trails off. 

"I wouldn't ask, if I didn't believe in you, Sasha. Kate loves you very much and she needs you.", Steve says softly, "I am not going to tell you to do this. If you feel you can't, I understand and it is ok. I know how frightening all this is."

Sasha stares at Kate, remembering the feeling of helplessness she felt laying bound, gagged and blindfolded in the courtyard, the feeling of hope she felt when Kate rescued her, the joy of driving like a pro with Kate's help, the relief of her aunt rescuing her less than an hour ago and the warmth of her aunts smile. "I can do this." she says shakily, turning to Amy, "What do I need to do?"
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Post by Caesar73 »

Wow, this is soo dramatic ... Sasha must save Kate. What an intense Situation! Dear [mention]wolfman[/mention] you are a Master of Drama and Suspense!

You put Kate really through the wringer :) She got shot at the End of the last Story, got nearly kidnapped and is now in mortal danger again. Poor Kate.
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Post by slackywacky »

Great story, so different in intensity from mine. Very good read.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
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Post by Caesar73 »

You are right [mention]slackywacky[/mention] : Intensität is the key word. Much more precise than dramatic.
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Louise watches helpless, as Sasha tentatively picks up the scalpel, for the first time. "I feel so useless." she thinks. Her hands grip an absorbent pad each and her fists has been tightly wrapped in bandages, to contain their bleeding, until she can be treated at the Chateau. 

She turns away from Amy and her new student, unable to watch any longer, instead choosing the view from the window, losing herself in the beautiful northern French landscape below. 

"Kate's going to be ok.", Steve says on a private channel, tearing her from her reverie. 

"I hope so." Louise says quietly, "There is so much blood. She looks so pale."

"The clinic here is on standby, they have a good stock of blood for her. She will be alright.", Steve assures her. 

"She has been through so much. I am so worried for her." Louise says, softly. 

"Kate is the queen of bouncing back. She will be on her feet in no time. Don't worry, you will still be able to steal her smokes.", Steve says, with a smile. 

"Yeah, I guess so. She recovered fast from the last time she was shot.", Louise says, thoughtfully, before realising what else Steve just said, "Wait, you know I smoke sometimes?"

"Yes, I can sometimes smell it and see flecks of ash on your clothing.", Steve confirms. 

"I only have them when I feel stressed. I am sorry.", Louise says, meekly. 

"Don't be. It's ok. If anything I am sorry for not helping you enough to de-stress.", he says, warmly. 

"You are wonderful, just as you are.", Louise says with a smile. 

"So are you.", Steve says, with a heartfelt tone, "Lou, I don't want you to feel like you have to keep thing from me. I am here for you, always." 

"I know, my love.", Louise says, warmly, "We have better not get too soppy. We'll make Dani ill."

"Don't worry, she can't hear you. She's having a bath at the moment. Is it ok if she borrows some clothes?", Steve says, looking at the bathroom door. 

"No problem at all. How is she?" Louise asks, concerned. 

"A bit sore, a little lost, blaming herself needlessly, and still a bit scared of me, but I think she is ok. From what she has said, she is genuinely concerned about Sasha.", Steve says, thinking back over the time since he found her in the woods.

"Has she said much about herself?", Louise asks, thinking aloud. 

"Not yet, I think she is still wary of opening up.", Steve admits, "In some ways, I wish I knew what Harris said to her, so I could undo the damage. But, I am worried about pushing to hard. As it stands, every time I move she flinches, like I'm about to kill her."

"She will come around, give it time.", Louise says warmly, "I seem to remember I was scared of you to start with too."

"Yeah, not sure I can win her round the same way.", Steve says, remembering the early days with a smile. 

"Probably not the best idea.", she giggles, "Have you rested?"

"Not really, I will keep going until you are all back safe and sound.", Steve admits, stretching a little. "Looks like Collins is zig zaging around a bit before returning, but I can hang on. How are you holding up?"

"I was wrong. We shouldn't have gone in.", Louise whispers, looking over her shoulder at Sasha. "This is my fault. I didn't hear your objection, until I had dropped the first man."

"If you hadn't gone in, there is no telling what they would be doing to Sasha right now. You made the right call.", Steve softly assures her, "Now we have tipped our hand, there is a chance they will try to come for the girls."

"Do you really think that they will?", Louise wonders. 

"They know we have Sasha and likely suspect Dani is with us. If they want them, they will need to come for them.", he says thoughtfully, "And if they do, I will do everything I have to, to keep them safe."



Listening from the bathroom, Dani lays back in the bath. She closes her eyes and relishes the hot water caressing every inch of her body, allowing herself to relax, for the first time since going on the run. She slowly swirls in the water, cherishing warmth penetrating her muscles.

She drapes one arm over the side of the bath, brushing a large button and gasps as the water comes to life. She sighs as water jets, pummel every muscle in her body and sinks down into the bath. 

"This is heaven.", she thinks to herself, "After so long, on the road, this is amazing."

"He is so different to how I imagined. Malcolm said he was a cold blooded psychopath and Louise was some simpering handmaiden, who is like his slave. Nothing I have seen supports that so far"

Dani plays through the events of the day, shivering at the thought of being tied up in the woods. "He was so calm. He talked the boar down. I have never seen anything like it.", Dani shakes her head in disbelief, "That thing was going to kill me, before the cold did. He saved my life. I can't forget everything Malcolm said, but, I can give Steve a chance."

She settles down into the bath, feeling as if a weight has been lifted and closes her eyes. 

Half an hour later, she climbs out of the bath and towel dries herself, before using a hairdryer on her long dark hair. She takes a soft fluffy robe off of the back of the door and exits the bathroom, feeling ready to face her father with fresh eyes.



Steve looks up from the tablet, a weak smile, chasing the worry from his face, when Dani enters, "Did you have a nice bath?"

"Yes thank you, that bath is amazing." Dani says, with a smile, "How is Kate? How is Sasha doing?"

"Sasha has fitted the chest drain and the bullet appears to be lodged in the wall of her lung, she is just trying to extract it.", Steve says exhaling slowly. "Garvey bandaged but needs surgery when he gets back. Lou is getting some sleep. Amy is hurt, but doing a great job of talking Sasha through the operation. She is full of surprises." 

"‎I won't disagree with that. She is at that.", Dani smiles, thinking of their 'escape from the Chateau'. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Steve says with a smile. 

"Why didn't you kill the boar? I know you had a gun, I could see it strapped to your ankle.", Dani asks, watching him closely. 

"I have never been comfortable killing animals. Especially those with live young. Besides, it is the boars wood, we were just passing through.", Steve explains, "I would have killed it if I had to, but it wasn't my first choice."

"How did you know it had young?", Dani asks confused.

"I heard piglets on the wind and smelled the Orchard nearby. We must have been close to its home." Steve says, warmly, "I didn't scare it with a gunshot, because I was worried that it would drive it away from its young."

Dani raises her eyebrows, "You aren't lying are you?", she says as much as asks.

"Nah, I have no reason to lie." Steve says shrugging, "I tend to stay honest with people I respect."

"Don't take the piss.", she says dismayed, while thinking, "I still think he is being honest."

"Far from it. You made yourself disappear, crossed into France undetected and have been camped under the noses of security here.", he pauses, looking her in the eyes, "Then you confront someone you are convinced is the devil, with a gun loaded with blanks and refuse to back down because you are protecting your sister." he shakes his head with a smile, "Finally and most importantly for me, after being part frozen and almost eaten because of your sister, you let it go. You have more strength, capability and character than you know. So yes Dani, I respect you."

Dani feels her eyes moisten as he speaks, "I hadn't thought of it that way."

"Things are a little hairy right now. I think trouble is coming.", Steve speaks gently, "I would like you to stay with us for a bit, at least until things calm down."

"So you can protect me?" Dani asks, raising an eyebrow. 

"Lou is injured, Kate is injured, Amy and Garvey are injured. At this rate, when trouble comes, I will be facing it alone.", Steve confesses, "I know you have had training, let me guess Royal Navy Police, intelligence and counter insurgency."

Dani stares at Steve, "How did you know?"

"The walk, the way you hold a gun, finger on the trigger, the way you seem to operate.", Steve explains. "Who trained you, Cutter?"

"Yeah. I won't lie, that is quite unnerving.", Dani says, biting her lip. 

"Sorry, I do that sometimes.", Steve says, feeling guilty.

"So you need me as a back up in case the others come?", Dani asks, with a smile. 

"What others?" Steve asks, concerned. 

"The others like you and Price.", Dani shrugs, "When I was talking to Malcolm, he said Price was his biggest failure, but the program had produced a lot of successes like you, but not as crazy."
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Post by slackywacky »

"Kate is the queen of bouncing back."

Until she doesn't...
Great chapter.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
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Post by Caesar73 »

slackywacky wrote: 3 years ago "Kate is the queen of bouncing back."

Until she doesn't...
Great chapter.
Honestly, I cannot imagine these stories without Kate being there. She is such a great character, her development .. after all she has beeb through, she deserves a happy ending, imho :)
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Post by wolfman »

The next chapters of this tale will be delayed a little.

sadly my phone containing all my notes has died and I have to rewrite a fair bit, before continuing.

Fear not, normal service will resume soon
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

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Post by wolfman »

Unable to use her heavily bandaged hands to steady herself, Louise hops down from the cabin of the helicopter onto the tarmac, of a concealed helipad in the grounds of Nirvana's Chateau. "We look like we have been in a war." Unable to tear her eyes from her sister, whose body has been wrapped in bandages from her waist to her armpits.

She steps back as medics lift Kate's stretcher down from the cabin of the helicopter, aided by sasha holding an IV of plasma aloft. 

"Poor thing looks exhausted." She thinks, seeing the dark circles and faraway look in Sasha's eyes. Louise calls over another medic, "Can you take over here, please?"', she asks, gently.

"No.", Sasha protests, " I can't leave her. I have to make sure she is ok."

"Its ok, Sasha. Let them do their job, she is in good hands." Louise assures her, spotting Amy disembark from the Helicopter with Garvey's stretcher. "You have done a great job, but you are shattered. You need to rest."

"Don't worry Sasha." Amy says brightly, "I will look after her.  It will be just like when she was shot in the stomach.  I had to check her every night as she kept popping her stitches. I promise, I wont take my eyes off of her."

"Are you sure?" Sasha asks, with an air of hopeful exhaustion.

"Yeah, it will be no problem at all." Amy says smiling, taking the IV from Sasha.

"Thank you so much.  Please take care of her for me." Sasha pleads, as they all walk alongside Kate.

"I will, I promise. It will be just like old times.  Only problem will be that due to the bruising on her lung, I will have to stop her from smoking." Amy frowns.

"Good luck with that." Louise chuckles, limping beside them, "Your only hope is to strap her down before she wakes up."

With a look of exagerated thoughtfulness Amy nods, "Hmmm.  It might stop her popping her stitches too."

"Harsh." Sasha Chuckles.

"Well, I cant have her ruining your good work now can I?" Amy, nudges Sasha, "On a serious note, you handled yourself very well. If you are ever interested in training to be a medic, I will support you any way I can."

"Thanks Amy, I dont know if I am cut out for it. Out of everything that happened, that was the most terrifying thing I have ever done." Sasha admits, shivering involuntarily.

"Well if that is how you act when you are scared, you must have ice water in your veins." Louise says with an admiring nod, whilst she limps alongside the stretcher, carrying Kate, "You didn't show it at all."

Sasha blushes, "I felt it inside.  I just kept asking myself, what would Kate do?"



Louise and Sasha wave as Kate is wheeled through the doors of the clinic. With heavily bandaged hands, Louise hugs Sasha, "She will be ok, Sasha. You saved her life today."

Sasha smiles weakly and Louise notices how pale she is. "Come on lets get you settled." Louise says warmly.

As they turn, they see Steve and Dani running along the corridor towards them, smiling. Steve throws his arms around them both and hugs them tight, "I am so sorry, we went to the main heliport. How is she?"

"She is stable.  The bullet was lodged in the outer wall of her lung and Sasha was able to fit a chest drain and stem the flow of blood." Louise says, squeezing Sasha's shoulder.

"Thank you Sasha, you saved her.  You are so brave." Steve says, with a touch of pride.

"'You were pretty awesome, sis." Dani says, standing a little back with her hands awkwardly at her sides. Looking a little lost in the folds off her oversized cardigan..

"Dani!" Sasha exlaims, extricating herself from Steve and Louise's embrace and making a beeline for her. Steve smiles at the sisters reunion, "That is a warming sight.  I am so pleased that they are both ok."

Dani catches her sister, returning her warm embrace and holding her tight. Dani looks concerned when she feels Sasha gently shaking, "Sasha?"

Tearfully, Sasha whispers, "It's all my fault. I hurt you and tied you up, tried to stop everything and Kate nearly died. I did this. Everyone keeps saying how great I am, but I did this."

Dani struggles to hold onto her, as Sasha is wracked with body shaking sobs.  Sasha feels her knees go weak and despite her light weight, sinks to the floor taking Dani with her. 

Steve scoops Sasha up in his arms, softly saying, "Shhhhh. It is all going to be ok. This is the fault of those who drove you to this, not you.", Sasha buries her head into his chest and cannot cannot contain her tears as she weeps uncontrollably. Steve looks concerned, at Louise an Dani and mouths the words, "I will get her to the room." 



Dani and Louise try to keep up with Steve's pace, but Louise stops sharply almost falling, from the pain in her leg. Dani extends a friendly arm allowing Louise to steady herself. "Steady on, are you ok?."

Louise straightens herself and tentatively limps forward, "Thanks Dani. My leg really hurts, I will need to slow down." Louise smiles at the young woman and extends her hand, "We havent met yet. I am Louise, Steve's wife. It is nice to meet you."

Dani tentatively takes her hand and gently shakes it, "Nice to meet you too.",  she smiles at the older woman, "So, are you my wicked stepmother?"'

"Oh yes, I am the wickedest." Louise says, pursing her lips with a smile.

"That is good to know." Dani says, warmly. She pauses, looking Louise in the eyes "Steve has asked me to stay. I know that this place is yours and I wanted to make sure that you are ok with it."

Louise turns to her and gives her a hug, "Bless you. Of course you can stay as long as you wish.  I will set up an account here so you get any clothes, or anything else that you need."

Dani shakes her head slightly and shies away a little, "I havent got money, I cant afford the prices here."

"Don't worry, we will cover any costs, our treat." Louise explains warmly.

"Are you sure?" Dani asks, looking surprised.

Louise stops and turns fully to Dani, "You are family. I have no idea what you have been through, but I know it must have been tough on you.  You don't have to be alone anymore. If you want to stay, there is a place for you here."

"Thank you Louise, I really appreciate that. I wont lie, the thought of a night in a warm comfortable bed after three months either in my car or camping, sounds amazing." Dani says, with a gently, bright smile.

"If you ever need to talk about anything you went through, or anything at all, I will always listen." Louise says, in a sincere tone. "And call me Lou."

"Thanks Lou." Dani says, shaking her head, "Malcolm was so wrong about you."

"What do you mean? What did he say?"' Louise asks curiously.

Dani awkwardly looks at Louise, "He said you were weak willed, selfish and damaged, unable to function without Steve due to Stockholm syndrome."

"Bastard. How bloody dare he?" Louise says furious, "When did he say this?"

"Around three months ago." Dani estimates, before placing a hand on Louise's arm to stop her walking, "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. You are none of those things. You led that assault like a boss, you are so together, you have welcomed me into your home without asking for anything in return. It really is nice to meet you."

"Well, there is something you can do for me." Louise asks with an inscrutable smile.

"Name it." Dani says. Without hesitation.

"When we get back to the room, if Steve is still busy settling Sasha, can you please help me take these boots off?" Louise asks, holding up her bandaged hands, "I will never get them off otherwise."

Dani chuckles, "Bless you. I can do that."



"Steve." Louise calls. As she enters the suite with Dani in tow. She is about to call out again when shears the sound of soft snoring.  She and Dani follow the sound of snoring to Sasha's room and they quietly open the door.

Louise smiles as she sees Steve sat on the bed, with his back against the headboard, cradling Sasha in his arms. Both of them fast asleep. She pulls out her phone and takes a couple of quick photos, before turning to Dani, "They are both exhausted, lets leave them to sleep."

Dani nods and steps back allowing Louise to quietly close the door. Dani helps Louise to sit and gets to work on the laces of her boots, eliciting a sigh of relief when they are removed.  "If you want to get changed and cleaned up, I can take the bandages off and wrap your hands again whenever you need."

"Thanks Dani, that would be really helpful. I think I might have to have a shower." Louise says, warmly.

"No worries. Shall I order a pizza from room service?" Dani asks, with a smile.

"Now that sounds like a plan. I like the way you think." Louise winks.

"I figure that if there is any left and they wake in the night, the leftovers will be good." Dani says warmly.

Louise picks up the phone and places a call to the kitchen, "Dario, any chance of sending a couple of large pizzas up?"'

As he responds unheard, she gives Dani the thumbs up, "What do we want?"

"Standard four cheese margherita on a thin crust, with roast duck, char sui pork, spring onion, roasted courgettes, chopped green peppers and drizzled with hoisin sauce." Dani says looking sheepish, "Sorry have been dreaming of it."

Louise repeats the pizza description and requests an order of hot wings and a Greek salad on the side.

"If this is as good as I think it will be, I will get this put on the menu." Louise says, with a smile and a wink.



They sit back on the sofa, leaving the remains of their meal on the table safely sequestered in the refridgerator. Louise sits with her hair in a towel, fresh from the shower in electric blue silk pyjamas, next to Dani in shorts and a t-shirt. "That was everything I imagined and more."

Louise pulls her phone and calls the kitchen again, "Hi Dario, can we add that pizza to the bar menu?" She pauses, while he answers, "Yes, call it the Danielle, trial it for a month and if it is a success, roll out to all sites."

Louise sees Dani blush and with a smile says, "Credit where it is due. That was lovely."

"Thanks Lou. While I was camped out in the grounds, I looked up the menu here and dreamt of those things on the same pizza." Dani admits.

"I am so pleased, it lived up to expectations. How are you holding up?" Louise asks, gently.

"I am tired and full up, might have to sleep it off." Dani smiles, wearily.

"I think I might turn in soon, to be fair." Louise says, yawning, "Would you mind bandaging my hands?"



"This is the best bed ever." Dani thinks, settling under the covers, inhaling the scent of fresh silk sheets.

She reflects on the day as sleep bgins to creep up on her, "Whisking Sasha away, didn't go as planned, but it is clear that everyone is commited to keeping her safe. I have been wrong about everything so far, Steve and Louise are nothing like Malcolm said and Sasha is so much stronger than I gave her credit for." Dani smiles as she snuggles down, "Kate is awesome too, she must have icewater in her veins to jump out of the helicopter like that. I really hope she is ok.  I would love to get to know her better."

Her last thought before she sleeps makes her shudder as she curls up, "What will tomorrrow bring?"
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To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
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Post by Caesar73 »

Good question, Dani! What will tomorrow bring. The interactions between characters were great as usual. I licked the "wicked stepmother" part of the conversation.
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Post by slackywacky »

This story keeps pulling you in. Another great chapter and I suspect we'll find out what tomorrow does bring :-)
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Post by wolfman »

Kate's eyes flutter open dreamily, her weak attempts to stretch are thwarted by the straps around her ankles, wrists and over her body keeping her in place on her back. Gingerly she moves her body to realise that a section of the modular mattress has been removed, under her back where she was shot. "Hands by my sides, about six inches from my body, ankles about a foot apart and body pinned. Not the best start to the day."

Her gaze sweeps the dimly lit room and she rests her head back on the pillow, listening to the Clockof a nearby church strike six o'clock,  "Bad news, can't move. Good news I am in a Nirvana treatment room. At least whatever pain meds they have given me are working."

She tries to shift her body slightly to get comfortable. After a few tries, ahe gives up, "Where is everyone?" She wonders, "'It is about six so I guess the majority of staff will be in shortly." 

She shakes her body and head furiously trying to get loose, only succeeding in making her hair spill over her face. She lays back frustrated trying to blow the hair off. "Great."' she thinks confounded, "Well, I am still alive at least."



Her head snaps towards the door, when she hears it softly open. Kate smiles as she sees Amy tip toe in wearing a grey t-shirt and black multipocket trousers, "Morning."' she says, weakly.

Amy looks up surprised and rushes to her side, gently brushing the hair from her face. With a touch of sadness, she softly says, "I am so sorry, only stepped out for a moment. How are you feeling?"

"It's ok. No harm done." Kate assures the medic, 'A little groggy and sore, but ok. How is every one?"

"Garvey will be out of action for a while, but will recover, Collins took a knock to the head but is ok, Lou's trousers stopped two ricochets and she badly bruised but can walk still. Main problem is she cut her hands on the winch when she was pulling you and Sasha up." Amy holds up her bandaged arm, "I took one to the arm and have some tendon damage so no operations for me for a while. Sasha is ok, just really upset and shaken up by everything."

"Bless her." Kate says shaking her head in disbelief, "What a mess. We got hit bad but at least we are all alive." She pauses, with a contemplative look, "Hang on, if your arm is hurt and Lou's hands are damaged, who operated on me?"

Amy smiles, pouring a small glass of water from the jug on the bedside table, "Sasha. Honestly, she was brilliant, She pulled out the bullet, fitted a chest drain, tied of a severed vein and stitched you up. Nerves of steel."

"Bless her. She is something else. Love her." Kate says, with a fond smile, glad that her niece is safe.

"She was terrified of leaving your side. Even when we landed she insisted on carrying the IV bag. She was so worried about you." Amy says with a smile, "'In the end I promised to stay with you and not take my eyes off of you."

"You poor sod. I wouldn't wish that on you." Kate chuckles.

Amy's smile fades a little, "You nearly died today, you have bruising on your lung and you need complete rest at least for a few days. Sorry about the straps, but any movement could set back your recovery considerably."

Kate looks at Amy seriously, seeing the lines of worry around the pretty blondes eyes, "Is it really that bad?"

Looking drawn, Amy nods, "We nearly lost you in the helicopter. You lost a lot of blood and there is a chance that you could pop your stitches and be in real trouble. You really need to rest Kate." She places a gentle hand on Kate's shoulder. "You will be short of breath for a little while and you cannot smoke for a few days. I should have given you a patch." 

"I should probably cut down to be fair." Kate say lightly, looking Amy in the eyes, seeing the first flush of tears in them, "'Amy, is something wrong?"

"Just a rough day. Not had a day this bad in a while." Amy says, drying her eyes, "It's hit me hard, that's all."

"I can understand that." Kate says, softly, "Next time we will go in full handed with Steve and they wont know what hit them."



"There wont be a next time. Not for me." Amy says, unable to look Kate in the eyes. 

"What do you mean?" Kate says shocked.

Amy sits on the edge of the bed, staring down at her hands, Kate sees the turmoil in her eyes as she struggles inside. "If you are in trouble Amy, I can help." Kate says gently.

"Its nothing like that." Amy whispers.

"Then tell me, it is ok, I am here for you." Kate says softly, realising that the alarm button is no where to be found.

"I can't." Amy says, putting her head in her hands.

Kate shifts uncomfortably, "Amy, why am I really strapped to this bed?"

Amy looks fearfully at Kate, before speaking in a weak "There is someting about me, that I have kept from everyone. When I stepped out of the room it was to take a phonecall. Someone has found out and is threatening to expose me, unless I do something in return."

"You are beginning to scare me Amy. I need you to let me go and tell me what is going on." Kate says in a quiet firm tone.

"I can't." Amy whispers, barely audibly.

Silence hangs in the air between them, Kate reaches out to comfort Amy, thwarted by her restraints, unable to reach across the chasm between them. Amy sits, weeping, "Such a mess." She says hanging her head and weeping freely. 

"Amy, please. Whatever it is, tell me. We are friends. I wont judge you." Kate says softly, "You are not alone."

As the silence returns, Kate pleads, "Amy, please. Let me help you."

Amy rocks slightly back and forth, her eyes closed, crying softly.  Kate looks on, helplessly, wishing she was not restrained so that she could comfort Amy.



Amy dries her eyes and rubs her hands over her face, brushing her hair aside. She looks at Kate with tear reddened eyes, her pretty looks, sallow by fatigue and marred by shame. "It was the night of my eighteenth birthday. I went to a club with some friends we had a few drinks and tore up the dance floor. I was really going for it when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and there she was." Amy dries her eyes and smiles at the memory, "She was like a goddess, twenty years old, tall, toned, with iridescent purple hair. She took my breath away with that first glance and took my hand with the second. We danced into the early hours." She sighs with a smile, "It was like no one else existed in that club. We only had eyes for each other."

Kate's expression softens as Amy reminisces, "Poor thing, she looks agonised by this. I hope when she is finished, she will let me help her."

"She invited back to her place for a drink and I happily accepted. As soon as we were inside, she pulled me close and gave me my first real kiss. We practically tore each others clothes off then and there in the hallway. She opened my mind and made me a woman that night. I had never done anything like that before, it was perfect in every way." She looks down and blushes to herself, "We were inseparable, we made love every day, even made a few videos of us together. But we knew we were on borrowed time, I had signed up to the Navy and the date for me to leave was looming large. The weeks flew by and it was amazing, but we both knew it wouldnt last." 

Amy pauses, taking a deep breath and continues with a touch of sadness, "We tried to keep it going, but, I was never there when she needed me. We lasted for six months, before Jen had enough. I was about to be deployed and would be away for months. She told me that she didnt want to be waiting for a phone call from my superior officers, or hanging on for whatever time I was on leave. She needed more. I loved my job and I was so good at it. It broke my heart, leaving her."  She holds up her right wrist, showing a thin bracelet threaded with a chunky charm. "This is all I have to remember her by. I keep it, because I have never stopped loving you."



Amy closes her eyes and slowly breathes for a few moments.  Kate tries to stretch her aching muscles without jarring her back. Amy opens her eyes and looks Kate in the eyes, "I recieved an email earlier this evening with one of the videos we made, attached. Telling me to secure you and wait for a phone call.  When I went outside, it was to take the call. The called said that they had more of the videos and unless they do what they ask, they will release them."

"Oh, Amy, I am so sorry."' Kate says gently, before becoming concerned, "What did they ask you to do?"

"They said I would need to abduct you and wait for contact." Amy says unable to look Kate in the eyes.

"What are you going to do?" Kate asks, with her heart sinking.

"Jen is a prominent women's rights advocate and these videos would ruin her. I still care for her even though I havent seen her in years. She has worked so hard to get to where she is and she has helped so many people." Amy says, turning her back on Kate.

"Amy listen to me, once they get their hooks into you they, will never let you go.  Let me help. We can try to trace who is behind this. We can save her reputation and get these scumbags." Kate says, pleading.

"We wont be able to do it fast enough." Amy says down hearted, "I have no idea what to do."
View my latest story, Revelation, here;

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719


To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
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