The blonde blushed. "Yeah, I guess you know me well enough by now. I did have a few cla.s.ses when I thought I might like to become a doctor. A little pre-med looks like it might come in handy right about now."

She opened Addison's s.h.i.+rt and took a look at the damage done by the bullet. "It's only a flesh wound, but Addison, I think it needs st.i.tches to hold the entrance and exit wounds closed. There's not a d.a.m.n thing around here to use to do it though." She rose from the mattress and moved to the sink to dampen sc.r.a.ps of the fabric she had torn.

Addison appeared thoughtful. She looked Skyler up and down with an appraising eye. "How are you, Skyler? How has Agnes treated you?" The words were unspoken but Skyler knew what Addison was referring to.

"She didn't touch me, Addison. I'm fine. I guess being your girlfriend had its positive aspects." The scientist returned to the woman on the mattress, settling next to her.

The agent frowned in confusion. "My girlfriend?"

Skyler dropped her eyes from Addison's questioning ones and began gently cleaning her facial cuts. "Um, yeah. I sort of realized that Brodie has a thing for you and I thought if she believed I was your girlfriend, she would wait for you to show up before she...before she touched me. I guess she thought it would torture you to see her use me like that."

Addison's jaw clenched briefly before she spoke softly, "That was good thinking. You've got the instinct for survival. I'm glad you told me because now I can make a better show for Agnes while the rest of my plan takes place."

For the first time in many hours, Skyler felt a sense of hope. "What is the plan? Please tell me it has something to do with Agnes Brodie getting a can of whoop a.s.s opened on her!"

Addison chuckled at Skyler's words, and then grimaced as the split lip moved painfully. "I'll tell you what, you will be the first to know about the plan after I think it up."

The words sunk in slowly, but they finally made it into Skyler's mind. "You came here without a plan? You don't know how we're going to get out, do you? Why did you do that?" she asked incredulously.

This time it was Addison who dropped her eyes. She shrugged and said, "It's my job. There was something here I wanted out and nothing was going to stop me. Granted, I could only pre-plan my entrance because I didn't know what I would find once I was inside, but make no mistake, I will get us out of here. After I settle a score with one pain in the a.r.s.e Irishwoman that is."

Skyler accepted Addison's word. She had no choice but to trust the agent who had tracked her down against what Skyler had a.s.sumed to be enormous odds. Something about the agent's mere presence made her think Addison could actually pull it off. She went back to work on the wounds.

"How was I anyway?" the British woman asked.

Skyler thought Addison referred to her physical condition. "Well, except for the bullet wound to your side, the injuries are relatively minor. I thought your ribs might have been broken by the look of the darkening skin there, but I think now that they are probably just bruised. Did you know you actually have a boot tread mark on your skin?"

Addison raised her head. "No, I mean how was I as a lover? Certainly you had to convince Agnes that it was the case."

Skyler blushed again. She was beginning to believe Addison was doing it on purpose. "You were okay."

Addison raised an eyebrow. "Just okay? d.a.m.n, I must be slipping. I've really only had rave reviews before this." She raised the uninjured side of her mouth in a gentle smile.

Skyler rolled her eyes. Even injured, the woman before her could engage in banter. Skyler could at least play back as that's what Addison seemed to want, rather than serious concern over her well being. She took a fresh cloth and began to gingerly work her way around the slightly oozing bullet wound in Addison's side.

"Oh, you were good, d.a.m.n good if the way I described it to Brodie was the truth. I was a well-satisfied woman and you were an attentive and possessive lover. It was short, but our affair was very exciting and very hot."

"That's more like it. I was about to think my reputation would suffer!" Addison watched as Skyler frowned at the wound in her side. "It's that bad, is it?"

"Hard to say, but I'd feel much better if I could get it closed properly," Skyler replied.

Addison considered this a moment. "You look good in my jacket," she said as her eyes roamed Skyler's body. "Then again I suppose after what you told Agnes that you would be used to being inside my clothes." She waited as Skyler laughed lightly at her jest. "I don't suppose she left you un-searched?"

"No, she took the pistol you gave me right away and she had a lot of fun looking for other weapons too." She shuddered as she remembered how revolting she founded Brodie's barely disguised groping. The redhead had not hidden the fact that she knew there would be nothing concealed in Skyler's crotch, yet she took great delight in exploring that area thoroughly. Agnes might have found her ministrations exciting in some way, Skyler found them repugnant.

Addison reached out and placed her hand on Skyler's upper arm. "I see you had the pleasure of Agnes' attentions. I'm sorry that happened to you, Skyler. She will pay for it, I swear that to you." Addison let her eyes show the truth of that statement.

As Skyler looked into those eyes, she noticed for the first time how red-rimmed they were. The whites were irritated and bloodshot. "What happened to your eyes?"

"Smelled like mace at the time, but it might have been a combination of mace and pepper spray. It will be all right, my vision has cleared up almost completely now," the agent said off-handedly.

"Almost! As soon as I get these cuts cleaned up and figure out something to do with those holes in your side, I'm going to help you over to that lab sink and flush your eyes for a while. You never know what long term problems might occur if you don't get all of that stuff out of your eyes now." Addison was amused at Skyler's tone, but didn't show it. She knew this was how the American needed to feel helpful and, in her present state, Addison wasn't going to be protesting too much.

"Yes, Doctor," the agent said with mock meekness.

"Good, I wouldn't want to have to get tough with you," Skyler said with a smile. She felt responsible for every blow that Addison had suffered. If she'd only done as the agent asked back on the Isle of Skye, the Brit wouldn't be in agony now. Skyler felt her own eyes sting, but it was from tears and not the noxious substance that had a.s.saulted Addison.

The black-haired woman moved her hand up from Skyler's arm and reached to touch her face briefly. Skyler felt a s.h.i.+ver pa.s.s through her at the very gentle touch, a reaction so unlike the one she had to Brodie's hand. She closed her eyes as Addison's hand left her face and slipped down to the collar of the black jacket.

"Skyler, I need to ask you a question," the agent said in a voice barely above a whisper. Skyler opened her eyes and met the warm brown ones of the woman in front of her. Skyler felt a tug on the collar of the jacket and she was pulled slowly forward.

Skyler went with the urging and leaned toward Addison. As she came nearer, she swallowed thickly and replied, "Yes?" Addison pulled the scientist a few more inches closer to her and moved her hand around to the back of Skyler's neck. Skyler's eyes closed again and she tilted her head ever so slightly as her lips parted. At this range she could feel the warmth radiating from Addison's body.

In a flash, Addison's hand left Skyler's neck where it had rested and moved in between them. Held between her thumb and index finger was a gleaming silver needle.

"Can you sew?"

Several corridors away, Brodie sat behind her desk in the office. In front of her stood two trembling men. The pair were the lone survivors among the guards at the front gate and they were held at gunpoint by more of Brodie's soldiers.

"I realize you are fairly new to the organization, gentlemen, but incompetence simply cannot be tolerated."

The bolder of the two dared to offer an excuse. "But ma'am, you said we should let her get past us into the compound where you would be waiting."

Brodie slammed a fist down to the desk. "I know what I said! Do you think I'm a f.u.c.king idiot? When I showed you her picture, didn't I say she was extremely dangerous?"

The men nodded quietly.

"And yet you let her practically destroy the area inside the gate and cost me the lives of eight very good men. Well, seven very good men and that useless f.u.c.k-up that was with you outside."

Brodie extracted the large knife that she had menaced Addison with earlier. "Your guilt is not in question, only your punishment is. What to do, what to do?" Agnes tapped the knife on her chin as she thought. "You know, you're lucky I'm shorthanded right now until the replacements for my dead men arrive. Maybe I'll let you live after all."

The men slumped a little in relief; they knew they had been fortunate.

"No," Agnes reconsidered. "I guess I just need one of you and I don't give a good G.o.d d.a.m.n which one it is." She tossed the knife up, handle first, between the men.

They grappled for it and the chance to live. Finally, the smaller of the two men planted his boot in the crotch of the larger man. As the second man doubled over, he lost his grip on the knife. The smaller man wasted no time in cutting the throat of his vulnerable foe.

"Very nice work," Agnes complimented. "You are forgiven and may return to your duties after you remove this eyesore from my presence. Have it done by the time I get back." She indicated the body on the floor.

"Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am! I won't fail you again," the victorious guard groveled.

"I know you won't," Brodie said as she rose and walked past him, heading for the door. Moving behind him, she pulled her pistol out and calmly fired a single shot into the base of his brain. He died instantly and crumpled to the ground without a word.

"Clean this s.h.i.+t up," she barked at her men. "I have more important fish to fry."

Skyler sat upon the mattress, legs crossed as she began poking the black thread through Addison's needle. The agent looked on, fairly amused by the comical expression Skyler held. Deep in concentration, the tip of her tongue poised above her bottom lip, eyes focused upon her task. Getting thread to st.i.tch up Addison's wound hadn't been a problem; Skyler had simply removed some of the st.i.tching from the inner lining of the soldier's jacket.

Sitting to the side, with one hand bracing her weight, Addison looked around the room. It was basic and obviously intended as a room of occupation. The walls were a sterile white and above them, diffused light illuminated the s.p.a.ce perfectly. There was a sink in the corner. Its white porcelain and crisp pipes proved this room had never been used.

Addison closed her eyes. The irritation in them was getting stronger yet she resisted the urge to rub them. As soon as Skyler st.i.tched up her side, she intended on bathing the irate area.

"Got it," Skyler declared triumphantly as she pulled the thread into the needle. She looked up at Addison. "It's probably going to be best if you take your s.h.i.+rt and top off. The less obstruction I have the better. Plus I'll be able to check the rest of your torso too."

"Okay, Doc, but you may have to give me a hand. I'm not sure it's a good idea to lift my arm so much." Addison shrugged her shoulders out of the black s.h.i.+rt as Skyler a.s.sisted her on the opposite side. Addison then un-tucked her dirty, bloodstained tank top and the blonde helped her in slipping it over her head. Once free of the hindrance her clothing provided, the British agent lay down upon her uninjured side.

"Is this where you offer me a shot of whiskey or a piece of wood to bite upon?"

Skyler smiled as she shuffled into position. "Sorry... but you were a tough Marine Commando type, this is one of those times when you have to act all butch and impa.s.sive. I wish I could help you more but we have nothing." Skyler positioned the needle. "Are you ready?"

"Go for it." Addison kept her body relaxed. Eyes upon Skyler, she watched as the blonde attempted to close the first wound. "Have you ever done anything like this before?" she asked, just as the blonde was about to make her first pierce through the skin.

Skyler jumped. Her eyes slid to Addison in a glare of accusation. "Does my jumpiness provide you with an answer?" She sighed, calming her nervousness. "I know how, but let's just say my practice is a little limited." She turned back to Addison's wound and proceeded to pierce her flesh with the needle. She worked precisely, attempting to make the joins as neat as possible.

With each pa.s.s of steel though her flesh Addison winced. She could feel every action, from the p.r.i.c.k of the needlepoint, the slide as it moved through her skin and the tug as the cotton was pulled through and tied. She had to admit... although it wasn't the first time she had been injured in the field, it was the first time she was without even the basics of medical supplies. Addison knew asking Brodie would be pointless. The redhead would take great pleasure in refusing. She planned on killing them anyway; this would do nothing more than provide her with added sport.

While attempting to close the bullet's exit wound, Skyler pushed the needle into Addison's flesh a little too far. The soldier closed her eyes and released a grunt of pain.

"f.u.c.king, b.l.o.o.d.y, b.u.g.g.e.r, b.o.l.l.o.c.ks, b.a.s.t.a.r.d, b.a.l.l.s!"

"Oh I'm sorry," Skyler gushed. "With the oozing it's difficult to judge the position of the needle. I keep having to wipe the blood away." Skyler stopped for a moment to give Addison time to calm.

The soldier took a breath, blowing out through pursed lips. "No, don't stop. The sooner this is over the better. I sure would kill for a bottle of J.D. right about now though."

Skyler smiled. "Oh I don't know... going through the list of swear words you know is quite an amusing education." She paused in thought for several seconds. "Well it would be if not for what I am doing and why I have to do it."

Opening her eyes, Addison laid her arm out straight and placed her head upon the extended limb. "Sorry. I know it's a bad habit but some things you just don't grow out of. It's kind of like my favouring towards Jaffa Cakes!" Addison turned her vision back towards Skyler and watched as the doctor leaned forwards and bit the cotton, severing it from the st.i.tching. She felt the warmth of Skyler's breath upon her skin. The pleasant sensation made her smile.

"And your parents didn't wash your mouth out?" Skyler grinned as she checked over the wound. "I only swore once when I was a kid. My dad heard me and said if he ever heard me use language like that again he would wash my mouth out with soap!"

Overlooking Skyler's question, Addison asked, "What did you say?"

The American snorted. "a.s.s! I'd heard my dad's partner say it once when he was talking about some guy they captured and 'sent his a.s.s to jail'!"

"Oh yes, your dad was a police officer!"

"Uh huh." Skyler moved away from Addison's st.i.tches and began inspecting her other wounds. She rolled Addison gently onto her back. "What about your parents, what did they do?"

"Ah... well..." Addison paused, finding herself in a curious predicament. She had forever averted questions about her parents. However... Addison found she didn't want to lie to Skyler, it felt easier to ignore the question or divert the conversation. As she battled between conflicting thoughts her attention was captured when she felt a tug on her black combat trousers. She looked down at Skyler curiously. "I don't think I was injured down there!"

Skyler looked up into the agent's eyes, surprise and embarra.s.sment clouding her expression. She blushed and looked away. "Sorry... I um... I saw this tattoo on your stomach and I guess I just forgot myself as I tried to get a better look at it."

Addison lifted her head and looked down at the line of Chinese characters that went from beneath her belly b.u.t.ton and disappeared under her trousers. They ended just above her pubic bone. The small words were written in red and outlined in black.

"What does it say?"

"Do you want to know what it really says or what I tell people it says?" Addison smirked, careful of her cut and bruised lip.

"Both," Skyler said with intrigue. "What do you tell people it says?"

The soldier tried not to smile too wide for fear of breaking the cut that had began to knit on her lip. She had given every woman she had bedded the same explanation for what the quote said. "This way to heaven," Addison stated simply.

Skyler blinked, then snorted, lowering her head as she chuckled quietly. "You don't!"

Addison shrugged and nodded.

Shaking her head, Skyler asked, "and what does it really say?"

Sobering quickly, Addison licked her upper lip. What it really said was a far more personal quote and came from Psalm 126:5. "Tears may linger at nightfall, but joy comes in the morning."

The smile on Skyler's lips lightened. "That is beautiful," she said sounding almost surprised, yet her brow crinkled in a frown. "Not what I would have expected though. It's from the Bible, right?"

With a nod, Addison attempted to rise, not wanting to venture further into explanations of the reasons behind such a quote. She rolled onto her side, Skyler helping her. "Yeah well, that's why I stick to the more common explanation!" Addison rose to her feet and Skyler handed over her black s.h.i.+rt. It seemed natural for them to a.s.sume the white, bloodstained tank top was no longer an option for wear.

Fastening the b.u.t.tons, Addison watched Skyler fill the corner sink with water. There was no hot running water so they had to make do with cold.

Skyler dipped her fingers into the water. "Time to soothe your eyes." She scowled at the chilling temperature. "I guess the best thing to do would be to cup handfuls and hold them against you."

"Hmm," Addison said and leaned forwards. She held open her right eye and took out the single brown contact lens. Instantly her vision cleared completely and she blinked a couple of times, looking down at the lens that had obviously been damaged by the a.s.sault spray. Throwing the useless eyepiece to the floor, Addison righted her position and looked to Skyler. The blonde had been watching her movements curiously and now looked at her in confusion.

"You wear contacts?" she asked.

"Contact," Addison replied. "Just the one." She stood awkwardly under Skyler's open stare.

The American stepped forward and placed her hands upon Addison's shoulders, looking into her eyes. For the first time it became apparent that the dark eye was indeed very dark. Her other eye was a deep blue. "I don't..."

"Just one of those things," Addison stated off handedly and moved past Skyler to the sink. "An accident caused a paralysed pupil."

"So why the contact?"

Addison dipped her hands into the water. "It's a distinguis.h.i.+ng feature, the contact hides that. I could have gone blue as usual but I think the darker eyes add to my character!" She chuckled throatily. Cupping pockets of water in each hand, Addison placed them over her eyes. She felt an instant relief as the cool water soothed her skin. Skyler remained behind her and the ex S.A.S soldier could practically sense the unspoken questions flying around inside her mind.

Cupping more water, Addison splashed it over the rest of her face. The st.i.tched wound on her side felt warm and she resisted the urge to splash the cool water on the throbbing bullet hole. Skyler had done all that could be done and she just had to wait it out. Addison was sure it would heal rapidly. She always had in the past.

Shaking the remaining water from her hands, Addison turned back to Skyler. The blonde handed her a torn piece of the sheet she had used to dress the soldier's wounds and Addison patted her face dry. It felt a little better to wash some of the grime off her flesh. Dropping the sheet upon the side on the sink, Addison looked up at her 'cellmate'. She was surprised to find the blonde still gazing at her.

"What, did I miss a spot?" she joked.

Skyler smiled. "No...it's just going to take me a while to get used to looking at you again."

"Hmm," Addison supplied her limited smile. "That will wear off pretty quickly I am sure," she joked.

For a moment they stood in silence, staring at each other as the reality of their situation began to sink in. They were trapped together in this room for an indefinite amount of time. Addison had been formulating plans and ideas in her head, but it would take her a while longer to learn all she need to about Brodie's facility and Addison hoped she had enough time to accomplish that before Brodie decided she was ready to play.

Walking over to the mattress, Addison sat down and patted the s.p.a.ce beside her. She looked up at Skyler in expectation and the blonde got the message, taking a seat next to her.