"These Three Remain, Part 3: Love"
June 23, 2008 Outside of Newton, NJ 1210 hours The rain was coming, he could smell it, feel it, know it. The birds had vacated the area with the sudden movement of Himself and Paige. No civilians were any nearer than the scenic overlook from which she had come. The trail was hard, packed, and a little rough under the soft soles of his moccasins. The dart impacted Her shoulder, right where he had aimed it, and Paige responded, recognizing it for the tranq dart it was. Anger, surprise, shock, pain, frustration, disappointment. She was going weaker, beginning to fall. She should not fall, not hit the ground. That would be bad. The wind was picking up, preparatory to the coming of the rain. Which meant he had to move; to keep her from hitting the ground. He launched himself forward, planting a shoulder under her midsection, going down onto one knee under her sudden weight. He grunted with the effort of stopping it, of lifting her onto his shoulders, standing under her weight. The ribs weren't entirely healed, and the expansion of his lungs to accommodate the oxygen he needed for the action proved painful. The wind picked up more, a sudden gust, and the first drops began to fall. She'd been missing for what? An hour and a half, including her drive here? She would have provided an excuse or alibi, but, worst case scenario, he'd have another hour before they'd start the search for her. That was if she was called in for a mission or something. He wouldn't assume the worst, but he would prepare for it. Neither he nor she would do well here, as they were, with the weather, civilians, and potential searches. He didn't feel safe running back and forth for supplies, or to build a shelter, get food, water that he had stored elsewhere. She would recover in about two hours, and might take it into her mind to leave. He couldn't have that, which meant he had to take her with him. He couldn't carry her, so he'd have to drag her. He had the only harness, so he'd have to rig the dragging system. His jacket, a couple of poles, some parachute chord he always carried, and ten minutes later Paige lay on an improvised travois attached to the back of his load bearing vest. He took a deep breath, as deep as his injured ribs allowed, bore down, and began to haul. It would be a long, difficult trip, but he would have her secured in the ranger station by the time she recovered. He had to. Self analysis and other thoughts could, and would wait till he'd taken what action he could. As he started off, he reached down and scooped up her clip, minus two rounds, and empty pistol, pocketing both. Ranger Station 809 1400 hours Her throat was on fire. It was the first thing she was cognizant of. Even as the memories of the clearing, the argument, the tranquilizer dart in her shoulder, even as these things rushed into her awareness, more alarmingly did the realization that she could not move. Kihn sat across the room from her, watching. She was taped to the chair, which was tied from four points out to permanent fixtures in the cabin, about as comfortably as possible without sacrificing security. The chair wasn't going to move, and neither would she, unless she ripped the tape. That would require quite a bit of leverage, considering the ten wraps he'd used. It felt wrong, but he'd yet to think of a better solution, and the life of his daughter was at stake now! Until and unless this god told him otherwise, he would continue where his prior choices now led him. Something had happened in Kihn during the walk there. As physically demanding as it had been, mentally, too, as he tried to find the easiest routs for the travois, he'd still had enough left to think. To think, and to listen. What he'd heard, felt, come to believe had been unexpected. At any rate, he would stick to the plan, at least for a while, and they would see. So he sat, watching her, blinking every so often but otherwise motionless, tranq pistol resting in his lap. He could have rigged an IV, but never really liked those. It removed whatever sense of dignity and control that might have remained with the prisoner, and such were not his intentions for Paige, not in the least. So, if she did something he could not tolerate, it would have to be either the hypodermic needle resting on the table at his left elbow, or the tranq pistol, should she somehow find a way out of his bindings. It looked like she was waking up, but she wouldn't be able to talk for several minutes. Although he'd not used an IV on her, he had hung, from string from a rafter, a camelback water pouch with a drinking hose . She could drink from it if she reached a little. Kihn let her wake up more and assess her situation before he spoke, taking advantage of the inevitable pain in her throat to say his piece. "Paige, or whatever you call yourself now, I am not the Kihn that hurt and betrayed you before, and nothing could prevail upon me to do that sort of thing again. Nothing but defense of my daughter, anyway." He gestured apologetically to her bonds. "If you wanted me out of your life, you could have considered me out, until you quoted my instructions to my daughter. But if I would risk killing my daughter to keep her from Section, I certainly won't give you the chance to give her to them. It appears that you have secured our continued dependence upon each other's presence." She glowered at him, her bonds, then back, clearly not happy with the situation. She'd expected otherwise, had everything planned out, and would remain in control of the situation. And yet here they were, him again in control, with those hands that so skillfully wrapped the tape, that voice that so skillfully wove its arguments. Yet her position, her real position, once she changed the physical, remained the same. A little sip of water, and she replied in the only way she really could. She ignored him for the moment focusing instead on her bindings. Tape. Lots of it. Sticky, all purpose, you sure in hell ain't going anywhere...tape. She could see the two ties of rope leading from the chair she sat on outwards to fixtures of the enclosure. She imagined, though she could not see, that two more did the same from the back of the chair. She was flattered, in a way, that he would go through such measures to secure her captivity. It had been raining as evidenced by her wet hair she could feel down her neck and shoulders. It was not raining now, though it had been recent as the air still smelled of wet trees and leaves. She could see lines of sunshine fighting their way through the slats of the shuttered windows. She tested her muscles systematically and except for the general soreness from the sedative and throbbing in her wrist everything was status quo. Which was a good thing considering the situation she was in, that being a precarious one. He sat across the room from her and as she scanned the...cabin, no...station...ranger station. There was radio equipment stored on one of the shelves along the far wall. Just above that was written the station number, 809, and she immediately began pulling up maps in her head. They were closer to High Point now and about 4 miles from the trail and the clearing. It had been a long haul for him, with his injuries and her additional weight, he would be in worse shape now then before. She also spied the bag that hung near her head knowing instinctively that it was water. That was nice of him, and thoughtful. Kihn fell silent as he watched her. She was too tired, or physically pained, drained, still half sedated, to react in anger to his actions, and her current situation, as much as she thought she ought to. Instead, she drank a little, coughed, and drank some more, and then spoke, or more like croaked. Her throat was still very sore, expected side effect from the tranquilizer, but the water helped. "I haven't given her up in all these months since..." she coughed a little, "...since Stratus. All that we've been through since then. This isn't about Section. This is about you and me." "Okay, I will deal. Why have you held such a powerful hand for so long? And what would prevent you from giving her up if, say, they put you through the white room?" Paige shrugged, as much as the tape binding her arms allowed. "What's the difference? And if I make it to the white room I won't be making it out...I certainly wouldn't give them the satisfaction. They're still my enemy, too." Kihn smiled a little, but the mirth didn't reach his eyes. "Cliché as it may sound, they have their ways." "So do you." Paige said quietly, not so coldly as she had spoken before. Kihn sighed, sheathed his pistol, and extended his hands from his sides a moment, as though in resignation, though to what, was uncertain. "You have no reason to pursue my daughter, or to give her up, aside from me. If I have power or ways over you, I have no reason to use them. I told you, I have changed. Everything I used to be, I now hate. All I used to despise, I now long to be." He shook his head laughing to himself. "You will not believe this, but I have become a voluntary slave to the white man's God. I used to serve Section, and so I betrayed you. I now serve Him, and so I will let you alone. Do you have such a reason to leave my daughter alone?" "I think keeping you at bay is good enough reason." "You still think I would come after you?" She tilted her head slightly, "it's the only card I got and I'm playing it. We can't go back and erase what's gone on, much less what's going on, between us. We can't mend the fences and be buds again. It's just not gonna be that way. As if this," she nodded to the tape, "would help matters." Kihn sighed, bowed his head. "No, I do not suppose the current situation would help. But you removed me of options. Thus we are bound together until we arrive at an agreement." She arched an eyebrow at him and relaxed herself into the chair. She hated this situation though she knew it was a necessary exercise. There was no trust between the two, no wish to be friends; but there was no hatred either, or animosity. There was only a deep ache, a reminder, of a bond that had once been and what could have been. It was a quiet understanding lodged somewhere between unspoken words and broken trust, that their lives would always be intertwined no matter what they did, didn't do, or wished. Others had made it so, and they suffered because of it. But her objective was still within reach, it was still obtainable. And as long as that fact remained true, she would strive to reach it. And though Kihn was a challenge, someone special, not easily duped or swayed by her conventional means, she knew, eventually the horse would drink once led to the proper watering hole. Then she began to talk, and it became quickly clear that she meant only to talk, and for him to listen, rather than to converse with him. So be it. He still had time. "Do you remember our first mission together?" There was no malice in her voice. No threat or intent. He thought for a moment before answering, "Germany?" "Yes." She smiled thoughtfully remembering the mission. Her first mission with him...and Jaime for that matter. "Lemgo. Remember the river? Jaime, you, and me, floating the anthrax. We thought we were doing something good that night." Kihn nodded, an affirmation, perhaps, of their good deed gone unrewarded. "Few months later they killed a couple hundred people. We tried though." She shrugged. "And the holodome, do you remember?" He nodded again, "decent training mechanism." Paige smiled slyly. "You enjoyed the dome with me. And Switzerland… man, that was some crazy shit with you whacking Operations and all. Oh, and who could ever forget Stratus?" She smiled brightly, the sarcasm evident in her voice now, "that was a fucking hoot!" "Oh, and your buddy? Pichalski?" Kihn watched her carefully now. "Remember him? Turns out he found God, too. Just like yourself. Yeah, he told me he'd pray for my soul." Her expression faded into blankness. "Right before I put a bullet in his head." He remained silent as she continued to gaze at him. "Guess you got a lot more in common then you thought." And the threat was put out on the table again. His face remained passive, as it usually did, but she knew he was reassessing her, yet again. So she'd spoken it at last. Not only her objective, to control, but her means of maintaining it. She could, had, and would kill. Somehow he'd known it already, but it was refreshing, in a way, to hear her say it. She had become Section, fully one of theirs, whether she or they knew it or not. She was no longer a part of the 5% club, but they had stolen her soul. Her demeanor changed then, the anger dissipated for the moment. "Will you pray for me...still?" That being the case would not affect his attitude toward her, not if it was genuine. He nodded without hesitation. "I still love you. It is a different love now, though, I care." And after all was said and done, no matter the continued pain they caused each other, he would. "I envy your conviction," she said very quietly. And she meant it. They fell into silence again as the shadows from the boarded windows moved across the wall. She tensed and relaxed her muscles more rapidly now, hands, arms, shoulders, back, legs, feet...had to be ready. What was she doing? It was as though she expected to move soon, had to get blood circulating. Kihn double-checked his tape job, mentally, as he continued to watch her. No, she wasn't going anywhere without his permission. Not any time soon, anyway. The sound of vibration filtered through the air. Though she could not see it, she knew her cell phone lay on the table near him. Probably with her car keys. She hoped with her car keys. And her eyes met his. "They're looking for me," she said evenly. So what time would that make it then? She was expected back early afternoon. With the 'intended' stop off she thought she'd make it back by 3pm the latest. Now, it had to be later then that. But she could not get her bearings or know which way the sun shone to guestimate the time. And the sun stayed out so much longer now as the summer approached. "Gray has the CIA looking for you." Like before, there was no malice in her voice. It was a simple exchange of information, if anything, to break the oppressive silence. Besides, she knew he would be amused as they both knew the CIA didn't stand a chance of catching him. Kihn smiled. It seemed she was now into conversation after all. He would play along. "I think everyone not agency despises them. My CO and Operations certainly did." Paige smiled back, "Yeah, they're an interesting if not incompetent lot. But at least you know what you're up against." "I would not presume so much. What of Joshua? Does he not care about the threat I may pose, should I turn? Or the SIA, if I go rogue? And that is assuming they do not persuade you to lead them. But more importantly, I know who I am up WITH." Paige stretched her neck, "I'm sure the Section will be getting involved now." "I have wondered how closely you remained tied to them. They made no further contact with me, after we left." All appearance to the contrary, the Section was still a sore subject with her. "Unfortunately, they make sure our ties are intact." She clenched her jaw before relaxing herself. "They won't let me go." And as pathetic as it sounded...it was true. Which, in a round about way, was why she was here: to continue her plans. "And you do not want to go?" Paige laughed. Not a sarcastic laugh, or a condescending laugh, just a laugh. "That's so not an option anymore. It's gone too far, too deep." She shook her head, "I have objectives now. My own objectives. And I need to stay on the inside to complete them. But that doesn't mean anything to you, nor should it. I'll do what I have to and then reassess my situation." "It means something to me. It means that you are trying to play them, just as they have played you...us. But you can not succeed that way. Fire does not defeat fire, nor can the masters be beaten at their own game, on their own turf." He moved, grimacing with the necessary motion. "But no matter, you are here and until we agree, I think you may have to pause your games for now." That was what she had been baiting for. "Speaking of pausing, I have to go to the bathroom." Kihn raised an eyebrow. Of course he'd considered that inevitability. He concluded that it was such an obvious means to try escape, that she'd be foolish to use it as such. Thus, she might actually need to go. But it had only been three or four hours, maximum, since she'd last had the opportunity to do so. She could hold it. Yet she continued to look at him, demanding an answer with her eyes. He relented, a little. "It will not kill you. But I will give you some privacy while you do so." He turned away from her. He had the presence of mine to turn his back though that was not exactly what she wanted. "Um, yeah, could you take these off?" "Um, no. Remember training?" That was playful of him. "I do remember training. Especially with you...I'm pretty sure you'd be able to catch me if I tried to escape." He considered for a moment, and the words came back to him, the words that had, seemingly occurred to him on the trail back to the cabin. One DID have time to ponder while traveling. It was as if the Great Spirit had said, "Don't worry about her. I'll take care of it. Just trust me." It went against his nature, his training, his instinct, everything in him. To trust was anti-thetical to the Kihn he'd grown to accept as himself. Perhaps his closest teammate, with whom he'd been through combat, but even then one had to wonder, especially after Section. He was, himself, a case in point. Paige might have trusted him, they'd been close, in combat together, and he'd betrayed her. You couldn't trust anyone, not really. But the Great Spirit was not just anyone. He COULD be trusted, and Kihn WOULD trust Him. "Very well. Wait a moment." He came around behind her, the tranq pistol tucked into its shoulder holster, and cut the tape, beginning at the back of the chair. If she tried to pull free before he was done, she'd still have to get through the chair to get to him. Of course, the same stood against him, but he had the gun. Paige eyed him carefully. He was on tilt. And those on tilt were often forced to make bad decisions. He cut her bindings. That, she thought, was a very bad decision. At any rate, she made it a point not to move whilst he cut the tape and it was only after he was done and his full attention on her that she attempted to stand. After a moment, he was done, stepped back in front of her, and she stood. A little stiff, a little shaky. That was to be expected. Flexing her muscles had done wonders and the blood flow was sufficient enough not to bother her at all. "Ugh...my leg's asleep." But he didn't have to know that. She stumbled forward a little, and reached out her casted hand toward his shoulder to steady herself. Kihn responded, half in a nearly automatic self defensive move, half in the deliberate attempt to steady her, catching her wrist before it reached him. As she expected he reached out to steady her leaving his injured ribs exposed to her. She pulled back her wrist and sent her knee into his side, and once the initial contact was made, she pulled the tranq gun out of its holder. Immediately she took advantage of the contact, yanking back on the held wrist, pulling him into her, while jabbing her knee hard into his injured ribs, and yanking the pistol from his holster with her other hand. Her uninjured hand. The cast wrapped wrist was the one she'd reached out with. Why'd he tried so hard to stop it? It wasn't like she would hit him with it. He stumbled backward away from the impact, gasping in pain and doubling over. All the while he kept his eyes on her; Eyes filled, not so much with surprise as with sorrow, disappointment, and a guarded wariness. She had his pistol, and hers was empty in one of his larger pockets. Not like he'd use it anyway. Better for her to kill him, than he her. At least he knew where he would be going. It wouldn't do to give up so quickly, though, so, as she raised the pistol to take aim at him, he flipped the knife, now holding it by the blade, ready to fling it into her good; gun wrist, should she move to fire. She raised the weapon on him as he readied his knife. Shoot the tranq, slit his throat, shoot the tranq, slit his throat; like a mantra those words ran through her head. "You still do not try to kill me, only to hurt me?" He asked. "Section did not teach us that. What is your objective, Paige?" Breathing hard, sweat running, legs flexing and releasing to restore blood flow. Yet the immediate demand was for action, quicker than re-action. Again flipping the knife to something more similar to a fencing grip, as he leapt forward, but more slowly now due to his pain and weakened state, trying to close the distance. If he could get to a grappling position, he'd re-gain the advantage. Just as her finger was tightening around the steel of the trigger (shoot the tranq, slit his throat), he moved. Lunged at her, really. She wouldn't let him reach her and she saw the angle of attack quickly shifting her weight at an angle and sending a hard side kick at his ribs. "STOP doing that!" she yelled at him. Expecting it this time, Kihn was ready, bringing his arm down to knock it back. The impact was sufficient, though her foot failed to reach his side, to knock him backward as he shifted his feet to keep them under his center of mass. She didn't pursue her advantage immediately, so he spoke. "You have the greater weapon, but you do not expect me to give up so easily, do you?" He flipped the knife back to hold it by the blade again, a projectile weapon. That move saved his life because just as a chant went through her mind, so did, too, another thought. "Yes, yes I do. Just...just stay there." She needed time to process this thought. One she had thought of and dismissed time and time again if only because she did not want him to live. It never occurred to her until now that he must be allowed to live. That wasn't the Section way. Maybe there was something here he could deal with. "As long as you stay there," he spoke back. As bad as it looked for him, he wouldn't let her walk out that door behind him, not with the information she had, and no assurance...Except His assurance. Was he, then, just to let her go? But it wasn't an issue yet, as she simply held her ground, breathing hard, her mind working, trying to determine her next action. He waited defensively, also uncharacteristic. It was her intention to keep him out of her life. She was to use her knowledge of his daughter to keep him close, under control, until she was ready to kill him. Until she was able because she knew the 'killing him part' would be the hardest. She wasn't sure if she would, even. Now, the thought she had dismissed so many times before came to the surface again: keep him alive. Yes. Alive. They had waited long enough, and it was time to re-assert his authority, such as it was. Pushing his luck, so to speak, he took a step toward her, flipping the knife back to the fencing grip. "Why do you not use that? It would not be murder." It was a dare, a challenge, something to change up the stalemate that had been forming, to force her hand, or perhaps his. What DID he have to gamble, after all? Superior fighting experience or skill? His injuries more or less canceled those out, as had already been demonstrated. Weapons? She had the better piece, unless he stopped to load her pistol, and that would be rather obvious and take a second. In that time, she could take him out. So really, he had no way of knowing the outcome of the confrontation, but it was better than waiting. She stepped back, unable, it seemed, to act just yet. He could see the anger, the bitterness, and perhaps the hatred in her eyes, and yet she simply stepped back against the wall, extended the gun, and held it there. Steady aim, considering, but not firing yet. Why not? More than anything, now, Kihn just wanted to learn. She took a step backward feeling the wall against her body. She needed time to make a decision but he was demanding one now. She had to keep him alive for later. Later when things were better under her control…when they would need him...his help. But he demanded of her again. "Paige. You have killed before, not long ago and in cold blood. If I have become to you just another target, then what is the matter? Which way will you go? The Section way, or the right way?" Section way? Right way? There wasn't a right or wrong anymore! Only deceit, anger, betrayal, lust, hate, rage, passion...all of these things, never at once, and always at the same time. Why didn't he ever see that? How could it always be so black and white for him? She stared at him in unbelief, as though he'd just spoken of tunneling through the earth and finding flying pigs swimming happily in the magma. A shake of the head. She was visibly upset. "There is no right way. Not anymore. I just...I just want you to stay out of my life. I don't want you to come after me anymore." "No right way? Any more? What changed it?" And yet, he spoke of things from the outside, things which, being on the inside, she couldn't understand. He couldn't have understood it, when he was inside. He sighed and shook his head, deflating visibly. There was no use anymore, he'd done what he could, and the rest was up to the Great Spirit. "Never mind what is going on with you. I can not understand. I have changed, and will not come after you. What does the light have to do with the darkness?" With that being his closing statement, he shrugged, sheathed the knife, and began to gather his things from the table and around the chair upon which he'd sat earlier. She watched him suspiciously, all the while. He couldn't understand? What in the world was HE doing? She couldn't understand this. It was very out of character. She didn't need to see his file to know that if this was genuine, then he really HAD changed. But she still couldn't risk it being an act. He was such a good actor, always those hands, those words. "What?" The question was clear not only in her word, but also in her voice. He kept his back to her, obviously a bad move, either baiting, confident she wouldn't move against him, or not caring anymore. "Figure it out, Paige. Figure yourself out. I want nothing to do with you, or with your life, any more. I tried and failed to save you, now I give up." He turned back to her, a hardness covering his eyes. "But I will know if you begin to search for my daughter, and might, then, change my mind. Consider, then, how valuable your life is to you. Otherwise, may God have mercy on you, and even save you, one way or another." "That's it? You give up?" She didn't believe him. "You went through all this...and you're gonna just walk away?" She laughed at him, out loud. "You're crazier than I am." He just shrugged, smiling a little, genuine this time. He got a far away look in his eyes, remembering. "Probably, but then, sanity was not satisfactory. And when I give up, He is more able to take over." He hoisted his pack and continued. "Paige. Figure it out. Find some peace. It won't happen as a result of murder, but...have a good life." He started toward the door. Could this be any more perfect? The best laid plans, and here, he goes and makes them better. It was time to seal the deal. "Ok, but remember Kihn...what will happen." That stopped him, a little. Though they'd already been over it, he turned back to her something approaching a sneer on his face. He'd become far more expressive, than before, if nothing else. "Paige, you are still trying to threaten me? I could kill you if I thought you such a threat, or if your threats made any difference to me." Maybe he should make the point, so to speak. His fingers were wrapped around the pack strap, over his shoulder, but that only slowed him by, maybe, a tenth of a second as he drew and flung his knife in one smooth motion, watched it imbed itself half way to the hilt in the pillar beside Paige's center of mass. He walked over to retrieve it, ignoring any reaction she might show, and spoke again. "So if you come after my daughter, or send anyone else after her, I suggest you put a little more thought into your eternity." She didn't even flinch, as she expected another reaction from him. Just the mention of his daughter got a rise out of him. She fixed her gaze on him as he approached, ignoring her, to retrieve his knife. "I'll take that under advisement," she said with a smirk. He moved back towards the door. "Oh, and Kihn?" She had to be fair, right? After all, she had to keep him away long enough until her Objectives were ready. "Yes?" He didn't turn toward her, just stopped and waited, listened. Her footsteps, to the table. an item lifted, a click. She'd opened her cell phone. "You have a 20 minute head start before they come...I suggest you put some thought into that." He just shook his head. "I will never understand you." He walked out the door, smiling, and turned around the corner of the cabin, making his way in near silence into the brush. As Paige looked down to dial on her phone, she saw the message on- screen, "No Signal." Return