Raven stood up and tweaked her companion's nose. "Anything you want. But not right now, cause once we start I don't want to be interrupted." She smiled lewdly, kissed Kris pa.s.sionately and headed for the door.

Kris licked her lips at the thoughts that were running through her head, then spent a minute shoving her libido back into it's cage. "If she keeps throwing those images at me, I'm gonna need a bigger cage." She informed the empty room then followed her lover out.

"Sergeant, you needed to see me?" Raven noticed the difference in the man's att.i.tude towards her immediately. His body language indicated to her that something was most definitely different. Gone was the hero-worshiping soldier and in his place was a suspicious individual.

"Captain." He came to attention and saluted. "The Colonel sent me." Herman wiped his sweaty palms on his trouser legs when Raven motioned for him to be seated. He hoped that he could remember exactly what he had been told to recite to the woman seated across from him. He knew that if he made a mistake she would pick up on it and would be forewarned that they were on to her.

"And why would he do that, Sergeant?" Raven glanced at Kris who entered the room and quietly sat down on the far end of the couch.

Herman also glanced that way and watched the young woman sit sideways and tuck a leg under her in order to face them. "I...ah." He turned his eyes back to the Captain and cleared his throat. 'I have to concentrate, Kris' life is in my hands.' He took a deep breath. "We received a message from one of the informants. Some of the members of the terrorist group have managed to enter the country. They're targeting Kris, I mean Ms Whitfield." He grinned sheepishly at his slip up. He had been told to keep things professional, by the book. "We were told that they think she would be an easier target since she's not under the protection of the Secret Service with the rest of her family."

"Does Colonel Albright want me to bring her in?" Raven's sixth sense was jumping up and down, warning her that things were definitely not as they seemed. "Maybe I should call him." She started to stand.

"No." Sergeant Hardly yelled. "I mean...he told me to stay here and help you protect her. He didn't want you to have any contact with The Division. He still doesn't know who the traitor is and he doesn't want to take any chances of them intercepting the phone call."

'Bingo!' Raven forced her body to return to her chair and stay seated when all she wanted to do was beat the s.h.i.t out of this guy. Other than John, Albright and herself the only other person at HQ to know that there's a traitor, would be the traitor him or herself. She was willing to bet that Hardly was just a p.a.w.n in the plan to take Kris. She didn't think anybody was a good enough actor to play dumb as well as the Sergeant did. And she knew that whatever lies he had been told were ones that prayed on his obvious feeling for Kris, so he wouldn't be so easily convinced to turn over the person behind the scheme. She decided playing along would be the safest option for Kris.

Raven saw the puzzled look on her companion's face and discreetly shook her head, signaling Kris not to question anything. "Okay, Sergeant, let me show you the security measures that I've installed."

Herman couldn't believe his luck, since before this most of it had all been bad. 'It's about time I caught a break. I'll get to show my uncle that it wasn't a mistake to get me a job with The Division and I'll get to save the beautiful damsel in distress at the same time.' He almost jumped for joy when he stood up to follow the Captain. 'I wonder if Kris will fall in love with me after I save her?'

He had a grin on his face the entire time Raven led him through the house showing him the main security system. She did not show him the back-up system that was programmed to sound an alarm directly to John and Colonel Albright.

It took several hours before Kris finally cornered Raven alone in the bathroom; it was the only place Herman didn't follow her. "Explain to me just exactly what is going on. I know something's bothering you."

"I don't know, exactly." Raven saw Kris take a deep breath that meant she was about to explode and hurried on. "But I do know that the informants that supposedly gave them the information were killed before we left the emba.s.sy. And that Albright would be the only one to contact me. And that John and the Colonel were the only other people at The Division that knew of the leak." She watched as her companion took in the explanation.

"Oh G.o.d." Kris was scared but tried not to show it. "You mean he's in on it?" She studied her serious partner and realized that Raven was scared.

Raven pulled Kris to her and held her tightly. "I don't think he's aware that he's in on it." She explained her theory of the Sergeant being used.

"That doesn't make me feel a whole lot better, Taz." She lifted her head form where it rested against Raven's shoulder. "What are we going to do?"

Raven had to smile despite the circ.u.mstances. It had always been her and the team, even where John was concerned. She had never been part of a 'we' before. "We are going to catch this s...o...b.. before he or she has a chance to get within striking distance of you." She tilted her head down and lightly touched her forehead against her companion's.

"And how pray-tell, are we going to do that?" Kris pulled her head slightly back from Raven's when she felt her eyes going cross-eyed.

"First of all we need to get you to Granny's without our friend out there knowing."

"He acts like we are joined at the hip. He'll know if I disappear." Kris paced the best she could in the confined s.p.a.ce. "And most importantly, I'm not going to leave you here by yourself to face G.o.d only knows what." She stopped in front of her friend and lover. "Don't ask me to do that." Kris placed her hand over Raven's heart. "Please." She realized that the fear she saw in the blue eyes gazing into hers was for her safety and that her partner would do whatever it took to keep her safe, including sacrifice herself.

Raven cradled the pleading face, lovingly in her hands. "Sagira, I can't concentrate on catching this b.a.s.t.a.r.d if my attention is on keeping you safe." She rubbed her thumbs across Kris' cheeks to wipe away the single tear that fell from each eye. "Besides, you have to warn Granny and make sure she's safe. You can call John from her house, he'll get both of you out of here and send someone to help me."

Kris sighed deeply. "I don't want to leave you but you're right about Granny. She could walk in on the middle of this and get hurt." She wrapped her arms around Raven's waist. "But you better keep yourself safe, Captain, otherwise I'll kick your b.u.t.t."

"Yes, ma'am." Raven chuckled.

"Captain Chandler?" Herman called out. "I think there's someone outside the house. I heard a noise out back." He looked at his watch. He had to get her out the backdoor so he could let the Major in the front. Otis had already been waiting and he knew that the Major wouldn't be happy if he blew the plan now. "Captain?" He called out again.

Raven shook her head. "Supposedly we're trying to catch these people off guard and he is yelling loud enough to warn them." She whispered to Kris. "Here, Sergeant." She opened the door just wide enough to squeeze her body through, then closed it behind her. She didn't want him to know Kris was in there.

Kris had her instructions. She was to wait five minutes before heading for the kitchen and the side door. Raven had surmised that if Hardly wanted her in the back of the house that whomever was out there would most likely be coming in the front. Kris would then be able to sneak across the area between houses without being seen. Kris hoped Raven was right. She checked her watch and seeing that it was time, slowly opened the bathroom door and stuck her head out. Complete silence greeted her. She cautiously made her way into the kitchen and to the door. She opened the door and peered out into the fading twilight. She thought she heard a faint noise coming from in front of the house and had to stop herself from heading that way to make sure Raven was safe. Instead she sent a silent prayer up to the heavens for her lover and ran towards the small house and the phone that meant help for her and the most important person in her life.

Raven let the Sergeant lead her towards the back of the house. "What did you hear?" She whispered as they both stood by the back door.

"It sounded like gla.s.s breaking." He hesitated, unsure of what to tell her.

"Hmm...I wonder why the alarm didn't sound?" She walked back towards the front of the house and the hallway where the panels for the alarm system were located. She was now sure in the knowledge that he didn't want her in the front part of the house, she was also sure that he would follow her and leave Kris a clear path to escape.

"Maybe he cut the wires." Herman thought that sounded logical. "Where are you going? The noise came from back there." He had turned and pointed towards the backdoor. When he turned back towards the Captain, she had made her way to the front door and was in the process of pa.s.sing through it.

Raven kept one eye on the Sergeant and one eye scanning the area ahead. She was less concerned with Hardly and when she noticed movement behind the Sergeant's car, it drew all her attention. She was trying to determine how many people she was dealing with, when her body felt a threat coming from behind her. Her instincts reacted quickly enough to keep the club from making full contact, but not quickly enough to have it miss her completely. She collapsed to the ground unconscious.

"What the h.e.l.l happened?" The Major asked. "You were supposed to keep her busy."

"She wouldn't cooperate." Herman explained. "I didn't know what else to do." He looked down at the unmoving figure with blood streaming out of the cut on her forehead. He turned rather pale at the thought that he might've actually killed someone.

Otis glared at the Sergeant as he knelt down to check for a pulse. 'There better be one. I get to kill the b.i.t.c.h, not some buffoon that can't follow orders.' His fingers pressed into Raven's neck. He grinned s.a.d.i.s.tically as he felt the strong and steady drumming against them. "Go find the Captain's wh...Ms Whitfield and bring her here, hurry." He yelled at Herman to bring him back from his haze. The Major grabbed Raven's ankles and pulled her beside the car to shield them from prying eyes.

Chapter Sixteen:.

Kris knocked frantically on the door. "Granny, open up." She was trying to convey urgency without raising her voice.

"Hold your britches." The older woman yelled. "I'm coming." She looked out the small window on the door then opened it quickly when she saw it was Kris and the state she was in. "What's wrong."

Kris shut the door and locked it behind her. "I need the phone, now." She said as she rushed by the older woman and into the kitchen. She yanked the receiver off the base, nearly pulling the whole thing off the wall in the process. She reached John at home and explained the situation.

Granny stood by and listened to one side of the conversation. When the young woman hung the phone up the older woman put her arm around Kris' waist and just held her, giving her a chance to calm down.

After a short time Kris was able to catch her breath and settle down. "John said that we should lock ourselves in the bas.e.m.e.nt and wait for him to get here." She wiped her eyes that had tried to tear up when talking to him, with the napkin Granny handed her.

"Sounds like sage advice to me." The older woman said. But instead of opening the door that lead to the small root cellar, she opened a broom closet and pulled out a double barrel shotgun.

Kris stared at the gun that was probably longer than the woman wielding it. She picked her jaw up off the table, where it had landed at the sight of this little woman and this really big gun. "What..." It came out as a squeak so she cleared her throat and tried again. "What are you going to do with that?"

Any reply was silenced by the sound of a gunshot coming from the direction of the main house. Both women froze and stared in that direction. Kris moved first but was brought to a stop by a surprisingly strong hand gripping her arm.

"We can't just go running out there." Granny pulled the young woman around to face her.

"Let me go." Kris tried to pull free from the two strong hands that now held her. "I have to go, she could need me."

Cautiously Raven opened her eyes. She wanted to see what the situation was, hopefully without alerting the Major and Sergeant to the fact that she was conscious. She discovered that she was in a bad position, flat on her back with the Major kneeling in front of her by the side of the car. He would surely notice any movement on her part. She couldn't see or hear Hardly and a.s.sumed that he was searching the house for Kris since that's where Otis' attention was riveted. Raven knew that she would need to make a move before her companion was discovered. There was no way she would wait until Kris was found and placed in danger.

She moved as quickly as she could, but there was too much distance between her and Otis to cover before he noticed. He raised the gun in his hand and fired once. Raven's right leg crumbled under her and she hit the ground again. This time at least she was conscious.

"That was pretty stupid, Captain." He stood and closed some of the distance between them, taking care to stay out of her reach.

"Why are you doing this, Otis?" She pressed her hand over the hole in her leg, trying to slow the bleeding. "I always had you pegged as a company man. The real gung-ho type."

Before he could answer her, Hardly ran out of the house in a panic. "She's not in there, she's disappeared."

"Calm down, Sergeant. She couldn't leave without us knowing. Are you sure you looked everywhere?" He kept his eyes and gun on Raven while questioning the agitated man.

"Yes, sir. I checked everywhere, twice." He paced ringing his hands. "What if she hurt Kris? They disappeared for a few minutes right before I tried to get her out the backdoor like you said to do."

"If that was the case, then you would have found the body." He was beginning to panic a little himself, then he remembered. "She's probably being held in the other house by the old woman. Go find her and kill the old woman while your at it, she's got to be in on it too."

"But Major, I've never...I mean she couldn't be any trouble, can't I just tie her up?" Herman begged.

"Hardly, she's innocent." Raven yelled before Otis could stop her. "Major Otis is the traitor. If you listen to him, Kris is as good as dead." She finished just as Otis delivered a kick to her injured leg.

"Shut up." He pointed the gun at her. "Or I'll kill you now instead of later." The Major threatened in a voice that was hushed so Hardly couldn't hear. "Go, Sergeant, you have your orders."

"Please, Sergeant." Raven ignored the threat and called out, but Hardly continued around the side of the main house towards the smaller one.

Major Otis was laughing. "This is even better than I could've imagined."

"Why?" She asked again. 'Maybe if I get him talking, he'll screw up and give me a chance at overpowering him. Don't all psychos like to sing their own praises?' She tried to remember what she had learned from the psychology cla.s.ses she had to take when she was in training.

"Why?" He leaned casually against the side of the car. "I'll tell you why. You, Captain are the why. You get promoted instead of me. You get fieldwork instead of me. You get commendations instead of me. You get everyone praising your work instead of me. That's why." His voice was steadily being raised with each point he made and his face became redder and redder. But he never gave her a chance to jump him.

'He's gone off the deep end. The G.o.ds only know what he's going to do to Kris.' She continued to watch, hoping for an opening.

"This way I can set you up to be the traitor and get back at The Division by making them all look like the fools they are." He had settled down and again leaned back against the car. "I'll kill Hardly with your gun, kill you and come out looking like a hero for figuring it out. It'll be too bad that I couldn't get here before you turned the girl over to the terrorist. Can't leave her around to blow the whistle, though." He grinned. "Is your wh.o.r.e any good? Maybe I can spare some time to have some fun with her before they take her." He grabbed his crotch. "She's got a nice a.s.s, I'll bet it's real tight. I'd love to hump that."

Raven was blinded to the precarious position she was in by her rage. She got to her feet in a flash and charged the grinning b.a.s.t.a.r.d before she could think things through. She might have had him too, but she hesitated a split second when she heard a gunshot come from Granny's house.

Herman headed for the house, all the time mumbling to himself. He really didn't want to kill anyone much less an old woman, but an order was an order.

Granny let go of Kris' arms. "I know and we'll go see if she needs us, but we have to be careful. It won't help if we go charging in and get caught."

"I know." She admitted. "But I'm scared something bad has happened to her. I feel it in my gut." Kris closed her mouth and tilted her head towards the door, listening. "Someone's coming."

Granny quickly hid in the hallway just outside the arched entranceway to the kitchen holding the shotgun in a death grip. Kris grabbed the first thing she could find to use as a weapon and ducked behind the door. Both were taking deep breaths trying to calm their racing hearts.

The Sergeant slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside. He crouched down to peer under the table that was in the breakfast nook to his left and saw nothing but stars before he collapsed.

Granny entered the kitchen in a crouch; gun ready, after she heard the deafening shot. "Are you alright?" She shook her head wishing the ringing in her ears would go away. She had forgotten how loud a gunshot could sound in an enclosed area.

Kris sat the frying pan on the stove. "Yeah, his gun went off when I hit him." She was sticking her fingers in her own ears trying with little effect, to lessen the ring. "Is he dead?" She peered over the older woman's shoulder as she knelt down and checked for a pulse. Kris audibly exhaled when Granny a.s.sured her that he was still breathing.

"He'll have one h.e.l.luva headache but he'll live." She reached over and opened a drawer, pulling out a pair of scissors. "Get me that duct tape off the pantry shelf, would you. We wouldn't want our friend here to get away before the cavalry arrives." She proceeded to roll him onto his stomach and tape his wrists together behind his back. She taped his ankles together, then bent his legs at the knees and taped his ankles to his wrists. "That should hold him." She reached for the Sergeant's pistol and stood up. She held the gun out, offering it to Kris. "Do you know how to use it?"

Kris took the gun. For some reason it was lighter than she thought it would be. "No, I've never used one before." She continued to stare down at the weapon in her hand.

"If I show you how, do you think you could shoot someone if you had to?" She knew that if she let Kris carry the gun, the young woman would have to be willing to use it. If Kris faltered at all, it could mean all their deaths.

Kris raised her head and looked her friend in the eye. "If that someone was hurting Raven, I wouldn't hesitate to use it."

Granny nodded her head once, satisfied that Kris meant what she said, then quickly showed her what to do. They paused as they started out the door and looked at each other as another shot was heard. "Let's go." They said at the same time and resumed what they now considered their mission at a brisker pace.

The split second hesitation is what cost her the upper hand, although she managed to knock the gun out of the Major's hand. Otis recovered from his surprise and drove his fist into the side of her face with enough force to knock her to the ground. Raven tripped him with her good leg as he went for the gun he dropped, instead of her. He landed hard on his stomach but turned over and kicked Raven in her ribs when she tried to crawl past him towards the elusive gun. By the time Raven had managed to recover enough to make it to her knees, Otis had gotten to his feet and picked up the gun.

"As much pleasure as it would have given me to torment you, I think you're way too dangerous to keep alive any longer." He aimed the gun and smiled. "I will enjoy sending you to h.e.l.l, though."

"I'll be sure to save you a seat." Raven replied just before she felt the impact of the bullet.

Granny was sure that the shot they heard had come from in front of the main house. By using the trees and shrubbery as cover, they where able to make their way to the edge of the garage without being seen. She peeked around the edge and saw the man on the other side of a car, but couldn't see Raven. "Stay here in case I need you as backup. Kris nodded her head as Granny moved slowly and as silently as she could. She had moved closer and could now see the dark-haired woman lying motionless on the ground. She raised the shotgun to her shoulder. "Drop the gun." She called out. "And move away from her."

Otis jerked his head around and laughed at the sight that greeted him. "Or what?" He spread his hands out to his sides. "You think you're going to shoot me?" He laughed harder. "d.a.m.n, woman, that gun is bigger than you are." He started moving the hand that was holding his gun in her direction.

There were two blasts in quick succession. "No, a.s.shole, I know that's what I'm going to do." Granny replied as she lowered the now empty shotgun. There was no need to see if he was dead, one of the cartridges of the buckshot had caught the Major in the face.

Kris was at Raven's side almost before Otis. .h.i.t the ground. "Oh G.o.d! Raven...love?"

Granny hurried to the other side of their very still friend. "Easy, Kris, she's still with us but she's losing a lot of blood and we need to try to stop it." She checked Raven's pulse and then her breathing as best she could without a stethoscope. "Kris." She used one hand to shake the young woman; the other was busy trying to stem the flow of blood. "Don't fall apart on me now, she needs our help."

Kris swallowed her fear and anxiety. "Okay, what do I do?" She concentrated on taking deep, even breaths and on what Granny was telling her.

"Good girl." Now that she had Kris' attention, she could focus on Raven. "Go get towels or sheets. Anything that's clean that I can pack the wounds with." She yelled since Kris was off and running into the house before she could finish.

Raven rolled over from her side to her back and groaned. She opened her eyes and started to panic when she saw the older woman hovering over her.

"Be still. You shouldn't be moving around. You'll make the bleeding worse." Granny scolded her.

"You need to get out of here. Where's Otis? Where's Kris? Is she okay?" Raven's eyes darted around looking for answers.

"Calm down, Raven, Kris is fine." She rea.s.sured the distressed woman. "Otis is dead, if that was the guy with the gun's name. The other one, the dark-haired man, he's tied up in my kitchen." She glanced up, willing Kris to hurry. "Help is on the way, but I need for you to stay still so you aren't bleeding as much."

Kris ran out of the house and skidded to a stop beside the now conscious woman. She handed Granny the makeshift bandages and gazed into blue eyes. "Please don't leave me." She pleaded as tears streamed down her face. She gently grasped Raven's hand and held it to her cheek.

"Hey." Raven brushed her fingers against Kris' wet cheek. "I'm not planning on going anywhere, love."