"Problem?" Skyler sighed. "I don't have a problem... I just don't much appreciate being treated like a kid." She increased her pace, seemingly unaware as Addison took her elbow and adjusted her direction as they neared the jeep. "You dive in to that place, shooting people left, right and centre. The information you give me is sketchy at best and you won't even say whom you work for. I still have only a rough idea what the Gemini Project really is. I wasn't expecting any of this. A quiet visit with my mom before I started on my next job was all I wanted."

Addison spotted a familiar group of trees. "Oh well, excuse me if I was too busy saving your a.r.s.e while trying to get mine out alive, to stop and answer all your questions!"

"It's not that I'm not grateful..."

"Uh huh," Addison interrupted.

"I just don't like to feel out of control. I like to know what's going on."

"You want to know what's going on?" Addison shone her light towards the trees and emerging jeep. "That is our transport. We are going to get inside it and I'm going to take you to a plane where some nice big men will take you to your mother. I am sure you and she will have plenty to talk about then. My job is to save your a.r.s.e, not bow down to every whim." Addison felt that last remark was a little low, maybe it wasn't deserved but she was getting cold and feeling anger towards Brodie and her antics. No doubt that anger was misplaced, but Addison was occasionally too pigheaded to admit she was wrong.

Both women stopped beside the camouflaged jeep and Skyler shone her torch into Addison's face. "You're quite rude, you know."

Addison smiled as though being given the greatest of compliments. "Thank you, and believe me..." she pulled the rucksack and shotgun from her back. "It didn't just happen over night." Addison unhooked her submachine gun and along with the shotgun and rucksack, she opened the back door and tossed them into the vehicle. "It took me a long time to perfect this." Re-closing the back door, Addison walked to the driver's side where Skyler was still standing. "You driving?"

"You don't think I could?"

Addison shook her head. The tone of 'almost indignant' amused her. "I am sure you could. I never go into any situation with preconceptions." She moved to open the door. "If there's one thing I've learned it's..." as the door opened a high pitched beep echoed from underneath the vehicle.

"Oh f.u.c.k!" Addison grabbed Skyler's hand and began to move. "RUN!" she yelled, still holding Sky's hand as she pulled the shocked woman with her. Skyler ran, trying only to keep up with Addison. They managed to get no more than eight strides away from the jeep before the entire vehicle exploded into a ball of hot, orange flames. The force of the blast jolted Addison and Skyler into the air for several seconds before they fell onto the cold, hard ground and rolled further away from the fire.

Addison hugged Sky against her body, s.h.i.+elding the doctor from flaming debris falling around them. The heat was palpable, a stark contrast to the intense cold of moments before. She remained still, protecting Skyler, while realising that she was going to have to rethink her plans. Addison looked towards the flames that brightened the dark night. Tiny explosions continued to erupt from the burning wreckage. Skyler jumped every time one rung out into the night air and it alerted Addison to the woman in her arms. She pulled back slightly to look upon Skyler. Shocked green eyes glittered with unshed tears and the fire's orange hues flicked upon her features. Addison had completely wrapped her body around the doctor upon impact to s.h.i.+eld her from injury. They lay on their sides, Skyler within the embrace of the soldier's arms and legs.

"Are you okay?" Addison asked.

Skyler's breathing laboured. Her chest rose and fell against Addison. She shuddered and whispered, "I think so." Sky blinked. "How did you know?"

The agent's eyes scanned the tree line. "I heard the activation sequence. It's a..." Addison paused as movement within the trees and warning beep from her watch drew her attention. "Don't move," she whispered.

Beginning to understand Addison's instincts, Skyler froze. "What is it?"

"There's somebody out there." Drawing one hand behind her back, Addison pulled a pistol from its holster. "Keep still and try not to move a muscle." Black watched intently as the figure emerged from the trees and began to close in upon them. She knew instantly Brodie sent this person and was probably out there to make sure Addison failed in her mission. If the blast hadn't finished them off then the high-powered weapon with laser sighting would. Addison's eyes ran over Sky's body and she spotted the glowing red dot trained upon the doctor's body, positioned over her heart.

"What's going on?"

"Don't... move," Addison pressed. She watched and waited as the figure drew ever closer. By the firelight she could identify the uniform Brodie's men had worn. "Listen... when I say 'now' I want you to roll out of my arms but stay on the ground, okay?"

"Okay," Skyler whispered with uncertainty.

Addison breathed shallowly. She held the Baretta pistol with her finger resting lightly on the trigger. Her eyes remained focused upon the cautiously approaching figure. He drew near.

"Ready?"

"Yes."

Addison waited a little longer. As the man reached five paces away from them Addison whispered, "Now!"

In swift succession Skyler rolled from Addison's embrace as the agent aimed and fired two rounds at their a.s.sa.s.sin's weapon, knocking it clean out of his hands. She jumped to her feet, holstering the Baretta, and as he attempted to regain possession of his Uzi, Addison charged him. They collided with a heavy impact and fell to the ground, Addison on top of him. Astride his back she instantly captured his flailing arms and grabbed a hand full of think blonde hair with her other hand. He was trapped.

Behind her, Addison heard Skyler scramble to her feet. She remained a distance away from them but picked up the torch and shone it upon the man underneath Addison's grip.

Yanking his head back harder, the soldier spoke firmly and to the point. "First of all you have five seconds to give me your name."

"Myers," was his strained but rapid reply.

Addison nodded saying, "Good boy." She lessened her grip a measure to show the young man his willingness to answer her questions would be beneficial. "I see you understand it would be wise to comply. Now tell me... who sent you?"

Myers declined to respond but struggled once again.

A groan escaped from Addison and she released Myers head, punching the side of his face. She then regained possession of Myers' hair and pulled him roughly, ignoring his yelp of pain. "Wrong answer," she seethed. "Try again."

"Okay... Miss Brodie, Agnes Brodie sent me." Myers breathed nervously and rapid puffs of air billowed past his lips. "She ordered me to watch out for you... just in case."

The cogs of Addison's mind began to turn. "One? I find it hard to believe she sent just one of you. How many of you are out there?"

"Two," he answered.

Addison tugged his arms tighter.

"Alright, six. I swear there were just six of us sent out to sweep the area for any sign of you." Myers groaned in relief as Addison loosened her grip upon him. "Our orders were to bring you to her... dead or alive."

"And what of Professor Tidwell?"

Skyler stepped closer on hearing her name. The torchlight shone directly into Myers' eyes, forcing him to squint in the glare. A blooded nose glimmered red in its beam.

"I don't know... honestly." Addison knew on this, he was telling the truth. It was doubtful Brodie would share her plans with her men, men she considered disposable. "All I know is that Miss Brodie is scheduled to report back to some foreign alliances in two days. We were to go with her. If she hadn't obtained the information she wanted by then she was to bring the Professor along."

That confused Addison. "Where was this meeting?"

Myers didn't answer. The only sound to greet Addison's ears was the cracking and popping of her burning jeep.

Due to her position upon Myers, Addison's foot was closest to her hand. She pulled the baby Browning pistol from its holster on her boot and thrust it against Myers' head. Skyler gasped but remained silent. "I held no qualms in killing your comrades back in the mines... want to test whether that has changed?"

"Skye..."

Addison frowned and Skyler jumped upon hearing her name.

"They're meeting on the Isle of Skye. There is a place within the Cuillin Hills; I have never been there so I don't know what it is."

The agent silently processed Myers' information. She knew he was telling the truth. Although there was probably plenty he was neglecting to tell, it was still enough to help the mission. Addison re-holstered the Browning pistol. Then with a rapid thrust, she delivered a harsh blow to the back of Myers' neck. His head fell limply.

"What did you do?" Skyler asked, now approaching.

"Don't worry." The agent climbed to her feet. "I just put him to sleep for a while. He will keep nice and warm by the fire." Nudging the inert body with her booted foot, Addison stepped over Myers. She looked at the burning vehicle. Orange flames flicked harshly in the wind, refusing to relent under the strong easterly gusts. Dark grey smoke spiralled into the atmosphere. The aroma was overpowering but it was a scent Addison was used to. She shook her head as she realised that most of her equipment had been destroyed. "b.o.l.l.o.c.ks," she whispered and turned to Skyler.

Sky looked at the burning vehicle hopelessly. Addison thought she saw a glimmer of emotional despair, but with the darkness and flickering light, she wasn't sure. "Umm... Skyler, are you alright?"

Skyler nodded.

"You didn't receive any injuries, did you?" Addison had tried to s.h.i.+eld Skyler's body as they fell, receiving the majority of the impact herself.

She shrugged. Skyler did hurt, especially considering the beating she had also received not long ago. That, together with the explosion, made the doctor feel like she had tussled with a wild animal... and lost. "I'll be okay," Sky insisted. "What are we going to do now?"

Forcing out a weary breath, Addison checked her pockets. All she had now was what was on her person. She took the radio from her pocket and walked closer to the flames. Skyler followed. Addison tried to test the communication device and attempted to turn it on. It failed to respond and she realised it had been destroyed. In her fall Addison had broken the radio. She knew she had felt something give upon impacting the ground.

"No 'COM' with HQ," she said, throwing the radio into the fire. Next she checked her other pocket and pulled out the electronic handheld map. That was still intact. "Well, we have a map." She placed it back in her pocket. "Night vision specs." Addison briefly lifted a pair of regular looking dark sungla.s.ses from her top pocket. "Plenty of ammo, although some useless shotgun cartridges." Running a hand through her s.h.a.ggy black hair, the soldier folded her arms. "We have plenty of money and cards... what is important is that we get to a phone." Striding back over to Myers' unconscious body, Addison took his weapon and spare magazine. "We must keep moving now. It might not be safe to make camp tonight. We should get to the next town and a phone ASAP. I'm going to head towards Skye though. If Brodie is having a party, I'm going to gatecras.h.!.+" Readying Myers' Uzi, Addison jerked her head. "Lets go."

Casting one final glance at the burning jeep, Skyler followed Addison into the night.

The door to General Blithe's office swung open and the statuesque man strode into his secretary's reception. He had been working late, very late indeed. It was a quarter to five in the morning. Though Headquarters never ceased to remain in operation, Miss Bakersfield worked a simple nine to five job. She wouldn't be in for another four hours. Antonia Bakersfield lived with her aging father; she cared for him during the night while a nurse, provided by HQ, cared for him during the day.

The General rubbed his tired eyes. He had been waiting on Addison Black to contact him with confirmation of Skyler Tidwell's liberation. He thought she would have been in contact by now, but he held little worry. His faith rested squarely on the agent. She wouldn't fail in the mission.

Striding over to Miss Bakersfield's desk, Blithe opened the bottom drawer. There he found a silver keypad. He punched in a code known only to Antonia and himself. From behind came a familiar mechanical 'click', as filing cupboards built into the wall were unlocked. He turned to the middle drawer, slid it open and flipped through the slim black expense folders. After setting up Marlene Tidwell's accommodation he'd filled out the appropriate form for all expenditures needed for the temporary living arrangements. He had then given them to his secretary to file away. Unfortunately, Blithe had been unable to sign the doc.u.ments until confirmation had been received from the P.M.'s office. It was simple red tape forcing him to wait, although he knew there would be no problem. Now that confirmation had arrived, he could finalise the doc.u.ments.

Scratching his signature upon three forms, Mark placed them back into the drawer and re-closed it. Still sitting at Antonia's desk his eyes slid to the white telephone sitting by a computer screen. Although it was still quite early in the morning, he felt the need to check upon Marlene Tidwell. Regular checks were supposed to be carried out, so he took it upon himself to fulfil the deed.

He picked up the receiver, dialling a secure code, an outside line; second secure code and finally Marlene's apartment number. It began to ring and Blithe waited for her to answer... and waited... and waited. Finally after a minute had pa.s.sed Mark disconnected the line and dialled another. This was answered immediately.

"Security."

"This is General Blithe... I want you to check upon apartment A2 in section B, right away. I need confirmation that our guest is okay... I'll wait on the line."

"Right away, Sir."

The line fell silent as Mark's orders were carried out. Resting one hand upon the desk he drummed his fingers on the thick wood, in rhythmic beats of three.

Moments later the voice returned. "General... the guest in apartment A2 isn't there. I have detected signs of a struggle and the back door was open. We have a situation, Sir."

"What?" Blithe rose from the chair instantly, wondering how this could be possible. "I'm on my way."

Slamming down the telephone, General Blithe dashed out of the office.

Keeping on the move had been the only way for Addison and Skyler to keep relatively warm. Skyler was exhausted. With the exertion and excitement, if she could call it that, every inch of her body felt weary and in desperate need of rest. Unfortunately for her, Addison had refused any request to slow down, stating it was in their best interest to keep moving. Skyler didn't care at that point; all she wanted was hot food and a warm bed. The blonde doctor was beginning to think she resented Addison, greatly.

Leading several paces ahead, Addison reached the summit of a large rocky hill and looked into the valley below. "Well it's about s.h.a.gging time."

Scowling at the agent's use of language, a sure sign of limited vocabulary in her eyes, Skyler asked, "What is it?"

"Civilisation." Addison swept her hand over the view in an introductory gesture as Skyler reached her. "Or as close to it as possible. There are even a few street lamps out there. I am betting we could get to a phone in no time."

Skyler looked down at the small village within the valley. It wasn't particularly large, she estimated. By the amount of houses and buildings scattered over the area she presumed there was less than a thousand inhabitants. The sight alone, however, was enough to fill her with hope. "Food and a place to rest, here we come."

"Telephone and transportation," Addison countered. "You can do the food and rest once we have that sorted." She began to trek down the rocky hill.

"Don't you ever rest?" Skyler called after her in weary exasperation, and then muttered, "Or is that an Energizer battery you have stuck up your a.s.s?"

"Yep," Addison chuckled for the first time. "And it powers my hearing too!"

Skyler winced as she followed the soldier towards 'civilisation'.

A worn wooden signpost proclaimed the town was called Innisbeth. It swung in the cold night breeze on squeaking hinges, a not so silent sentinel at the town's edge. Addison and Skyler moved up the narrow main road, wanting both to race to the nearest shelter and yet remain necessarily wary of running into more of Brodie's men.

"I wouldn't think Agnes would be so stupid as to show herself in the open. Her ilk seems to prefer the shadows, like most vermin," Addison observed with repugnance.

There were precious few lights on in the small town at such an early hour. Approaching one of the nearest homes with a light on, they were surprised when the door opened just as they were about to knock.

An older gentleman fully dressed against the Scottish elements and carrying an antique metal lunch pail, jumped in fright. Ascertaining that it was only two women outside his cottage, he relaxed and leaned against the doorframe.

"Jesus, girls! You nearly took my life in surprise." The man's accent was thick and Skyler was glad she had studied dialects as well as languages. "There ain't usually a soul about when I leave for work in the morning." He took a deep breath and brought a steady pair of gray eyes to bear on them. "And who might ye be and what are ya doin' rummaging around at this hour?"

Addison took control of the conversation. "We're sorry to disturb you, sir, but we've run into a bit of car trouble several miles back. We're on official government business and would appreciate the use of your phone."

Skyler could see the gray haired man's mind working as he tried to reconcile "official government business" with the rough and bedraggled look of his visitors. Addison seemed to sense his hesitation also and she removed a small white card from a cargo pocket on her black trousers. Skyler saw it contained only one line of print.

"If you'll just call this number, sir," the agent continued, "and mention the name Addison Black. I'm sure everything will be explained to your satisfaction."

The man took the card, looked at the number and back at the pair. "I'll be late for work."

"We won't keep you but a minute, sir"

"My telephone bill..."

"You'll be generously reimbursed for any expense, Mr..."

"MacSwain," he supplied. "Well...wait here." He closed the door and the sound of a deadbolt being thrown was heard.

"Something you said?" Skyler asked.

"More likely something you wore, killer," Addison replied as she indicated blood stains and burns on her jacket that Skyler still wore.

"What was that number you gave him?"

Addison shrugged. "Well, normally I would have let my rapier-like wits and good looks secure my pa.s.sage out of a situation like this, but I have you to think about. I merely gave him a contact number that should allow us..."

The rest of Addison's explanation was cut off as Mr. MacSwain re-opened the door. "What are ye standing out in the night air for? You'll catch your death. Please, come right in." He moved away from the door, motioning for them to enter. The cottage was small but homey and blessedly warm. It was all Skyler could do not to let slip an audible sigh as she was shown to a comfortable floral print overstuffed chair.

"There's a man on the phone for you, Miss Black. He says it's urgent. I'll just put on the kettle to make you a nice cup of tea."

Skyler was amazed at the change in MacSwain's att.i.tude and raised her eyebrows at Addison. The agent merely moved to the phone that rested on the top of a small bookcase just inside the main room and said over her shoulder, "My credit card must have been approved."

s.n.a.t.c.hing up the receiver, Addison said only, "Black." She listened for a few moments, glancing over at Skyler as she did.