Radclyffe - Honor Bound

Her anxiety disappeared at the sound of Roberts' steady voice. "I copy."

"Proceed through the gates," Doyle's voice ordered. "You are clear to approach the rendezvous point."

Roberts' voice repeated the order, "Proceed through the gatesonly . Hold inside and give us a visual."

Grant spoke softly as she walked forward. "I can see into the arcade now," she informed them as she pushed wide the tall iron gates and stepped through. "There are pieces of equipment all over the place, most of them large enough to hide someone." She looked across the grounds for the building that Loverboy had designated as the place where they would meet. The refreshment stand sign hung askew over the boarded up door. "No sign of activity."

"We have no hit on the thermal sensors. There is no evidence of occupation," Cam advised her. "Advance slowly but do not - I repeat - do not enter the building."

Looking right and left, Grant moved forward, trying to ignore the cold stream of sweat that ran down between her shoulder blades underneath the heavy vest and pooled at the base of her spine. She was very aware of the fact that her head was unprotected, and that the body armor she wore could be pierced by ammunition available to anyone over the internet. She had to trust that Doyle and his technicians had done a thorough sweep of the surrounding buildings and grounds, because she was a sitting duck. She pushed the thought from her mind and concentrated on the still, quiet night around her.

Nothing.

If it weren't for Cameron Roberts' voice in her ear, she might have thought she had awakened from a dream in an uninhabited world. She couldn't remember ever having felt so alone.

*****

"Anything?" Doyle barked at one of the men next to him who was searching the field below with night vision glasses and thermal sensing equipment. They had set up on top of a warehouse just beyond the amusement park. From there Doyle could direct all the action.

"Nothing except the decoy," one grunted as he slowly panned the area. "Not even a stray cat."

"Somebody should radio the State boys and tell them that their perimeter is too close," someone else remarked. "I can see movement and we've got State Troopers almost on top of our people."

Doyle laughed derisively. "They're just looking for a little piece of the glory. It must get pretty boring riding around in those bubble cars stopping speeders all day."

The men laughed.

"Well," Doyle remarked in disgust. "I guess we're going to have to sweeten the pot if this boy is going to stick his head out of whatever hole he's hiding in."

He checked his watch and then keyed his transmitter to Grant's frequency. "Five minutes, Grant. If he's still a no show by then I want you to find a way into that building. If he's around, he might be waiting for you to commit yourself."

*****

Cam heard Doyle's order and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Something wasn't right. Lindsey Ryan had been certain that Loverboy would be here, because otherwise there was no point to any of this. If he didn't want to establish physical contact with Blair, then this was all a ploy to get her out into the open where he could make an attempt on her life. The refreshment stand was the obvious place for him to have set a trap. If he wanted to kill her, that would be where he would do it. Either way, he would want to be able to watch. He was here and they were missing him. And Ellen Grant was already too exposed.

"Doyle," Cam said, transmitting on his private frequency. "If we don't have a position on him, you can't send Grant inside alone. We can't cover her from here, and the place could be rigged."

"He didn't bring her all the way out here just to kill her," Doyle said, making no attempt to hide his scorn. "He'll show once he's certain that she's really going to go through with it. I'm not debating this, Roberts. She goes in."

She heard the click in her ear and knew that he had switched off. He was doing what he had wanted to do since the beginning. He was baiting the trap, and he was using her people to do it.

"Grant," Cam ordered sharply, "proceed on my signal only. Do you copy? Grant? Grant!"

Blair stared at the blank computer screen, her mind miles away. She tried to imagine what it was like for Ellen Grant, walking alone into the darkness to face someone she knew had already killed with impunity. Despite her concern for Grant, in her heart, Blair hoped that Loverboy was waiting. She hoped that tonight would be the end of this nightmare.

She thought about Cam, watching Grant and trying to protect her. If anything happened to someone else Cam was responsible for, Cam would never forgive herself. It would tear another hole in the fabric of her being and kill another piece of her heart. Blair did not want that to happen, and most of her reasons were selfish. She was afraid that eventually, Cam would close off those parts of herself that bled for the wounds of others. And if that happened, Blair would lose the part of Cam that she needed the most. No one had ever been able to reach through the bars of her invisible prison to touch her the way that Cameron Roberts had. No one else had ever really seen her, not the way Cam did. She needed that, because without it, she was so hopelessly alone.

She did not know how long the words had been there before she noticed them. She gasped and pushed her chair back as if to escape from the reality of what she was seeing. "Oh my god."

Instantly, Mac, Felicia Davis, and Lindsey Ryan turned toward her in concern.

"What is it?" Mac asked urgently.

Blair's voice shook as she responded, "I'm not sure. Look at what just came up on the screen."

The other three crowded behind her, peering over her shoulder to see the message.

Egret. Are you there?

"Is it him?" Blair asked breathlessly. "Could it be a timed message he sent earlier?"

Mac looked at Lindsey Ryan, whose face was a study in concentration. She was furiously assessing everything she knew about him, mentally forming and discarding theories, trying to read his distorted mind.

"Maybe a stand-in?" Mac asked. "Someone helping him?"

"No, it's him," Ryan said softly. "He'd never let anyone share in this."

"What should I do?" Blair questioned.

"If she answers, he'll know she isn't in the amusement park," Mac warned.

Lindsey stared at the question on the monitor, considering their options and trying to predict the consequences. It was almost impossible for a rational mind to predict the irrational mind of someone like Loverboy. On the other hand, she, more than anyone else, had been trained to do just that, and her opinion was the best information they had to rely on.

"Lindsey?" Mac asked quietly. "I've got to advise the Commander. It's your call."

She looked calmly at Blair. "Answer it."

Hands trembling, Blair typed,Yes

I always knew you wouldn't come

"Ask him where he is," Lindsey instructed, her eyes riveted to the screen.

Blair complied.

I'm watching them look for me

"Jesus Christ," Mac cursed. Immediately, he switched to Cam's frequency. "We have communication from the subject," he said sharply. "You are compromised. I repeat - you are compromised."

Cam didn't hesitate. "Grant, evacuate now. Repeat, evacuate now."

On Stark's frequency, she ordered, "Institute retrieval. Retrieve your package now."

Switching yet again, she said, "Doyle. We've been made. He has visual. We are evacuating."

No one answered. She frantically opened all frequencies. Nothing.

She stepped to the edge of the platform and dropped to the ground. She landed a few feet from Savard. "Anything?"

Savard shook her head, her expression grim. "Commander, I don't see her. I'm getting no response on any channel. Com links are all down."