I had to get out of there.

Walking down the street, I tried to understand how the "Uncle Gustavo" Maya spoke of with such affection could be so harsh in his judgment of her character.  Jim I could understand—his background and training made him suspicious of everyone.  Often, he's right…but not this time.  Maya.  Maya was not in league with Francisco.  She couldn't be.  Maya isn't like that.  She's sweet and funny and…

Abruptly, a car cut across the road in front of me, practically jumping onto the sidewalk. A dark-haired man dressed in an expensive wool coat jumped out.  Before I could react, he grabbed the front of my jacket and shook me, pushing me hard against a kiosk. I grunted as the air left my lungs.  I knew I was really in trouble when Francisco Rivero Alconte joined us with two men in tow.  Or I suppose it could have been the guns they were all brandishing.   Guns always were a dead giveaway.  Instincts honed by working with Jim screamed "run!"  but Francisco and his gun were in my face before I could even turn.

"Where is the other cop?" he demanded, shoving the gun into that tender spot under my jaw.  "Where is Gustavo Alconte?"

Since there was absolutely no way I was going to answer his questions, I shut my mouth and shook my head.  He must have discovered that the codes were false.  I thought we had more time.

"Tell me, damn it," he snarled, the cold muzzle of the gun pushing against my throat.  I swallowed hard.

"Let him go."  It was Jim, his voice implacable, his gun pointed unwaveringly at Rivero, despite his grip on me.

Unfortunately, Francisco seemed confident in having the upper hand.  "How good a shot are you?" he sneered.  "Good enough to drop me before I blow your friend away?"  Testosterone was vibrating in the air as Jim and Rivero stared at each other.

I nodded.  Jim could take him, I knew he could.  I willed him to read my thoughts.  Shoot him, shoot him, shoot him!  Jim met my eyes, his own gaze bleak.  I was willing to take that risk; he wasn't.

Instead, he wasted his time trying to talk.  "Give it up, Rivero.  We all know about you and Maya."

Francisco almost looked pleased.  "Really?" he said, a definite smirk on his face.  "Huh.  Then it's lucky we have another hostage."  He pulled up the gun and gestured to his men.  "Put him in the car," he said in Spanish.  Guns poked holes in various spots on my body as they hustled me into the car.

Rivero faced off with Jim for a second, handing him a piece of paper before jumping in beside the driver.  "What did you tell him?" the man beside me asked.

"He has four hours to get the real codes, or we start shooting pieces off his little friend."

As they drove away from Jim and Gustavo I pressed my face to the window.  My eyes drank in the sight of my best friend standing on the corner, staring after the car, his eyes promised wordlessly to find me.  I knew he'd do his best.

The thug driving turned onto a highway and Jim was left behind.

Francisco turned in the passenger seat to look me over from top to toe, his gaze assessing the faded, baggy chinos, long hair and wool jacket.  He sneered; obviously, I still didn't measure up to his designer standard.  "So, you're Maya's Blair."  His voice caressed her name, his eyes shining with delight as I stared longingly out the window, trying to ignore my surroundings.

Rivero was reveling in his audience.  Lucky me.  "She's told me all about you…and how you helped put my dear Uncle Hector in jail."  I gasped as he leaned over the seat and grabbed a fistful of hair.  He pulled my head forward, forcing me to look at him.  "You made her betray her family and gave her nothing in return.  Maya told me she offered herself to you, and you walked away.  You'll never know what you missed."  He waited, and so did I, knowing that he wouldn't leave it there.  "But I do."  His bodyguards made appreciative noises.   I closed my eyes to shut out the lewd grin on his face.

Oh God.   Gustavo was right.  Maya had taken Francisco into her life and into her bed. She had lied to me from the minute she got into town.  I had thought she was the same innocent student I had known a year ago.  Evidently, I was wrong.   Rivero threw my head away from him.

************

When the car stopped beside a sleek yacht, they dragged me out.  "I'm perfectly capable of moving on my own," I told them.  Francisco didn't like that, his arm swung out almost lazily, but because of the hold on me, I couldn't duck.  Ow, ow, ow.  He waved a finger in my face. I was grateful it wasn't the gun.

"Be quiet.  We wouldn't want to disturb my dear Maya…she's probably napping in our room right now."  He kept his eyes on me as I tried not to show any reaction.  A small smile tugged at his lips, so I had probably failed.  "Put him in the engine room," he ordered.  "Tie him tightly, from what I hear, he's good at getting away."

Two of the bodyguards grabbed my arms and hustled me though a hatchway and down some stairs.  They weren't gentle as they pushed me against a pole; my head hit the heavy metal with an audible thud.  "Look, guys," I started, but they weren't interested.  They didn't even talk as they efficiently tie me to the pole, the ropes tightened cruelly.

"Listen," I said, desperately.

A hand flew out, and my head rocked back against the pole again.  "Shut up, or we'll gag you," the taller thug growled.   I shut my mouth firmly.  Don't make things more difficult if you're given an option.  Rule one…two?…of being kidnapped.

They left and I relaxed my flexed muscles.  The ropes loosened only slightly.  It was probably my imagination, but I was sure I could feel the flow of blood halting as it tried to pass under the tight bindings.

There's not much to do when you're stuck in that kind of situation except think.  I desperately didn't want to think about Maya, so I tried to remember my next lecture and put my mental notes in some kind of order.   If…no, when…it was time for the lecture, I would be grateful for the preparation time.  Yeah, right.  Think about something else.  The Yanomamo Indians…

Man, it was hot in there.  I was in the engine room, and that engine had to be putting out some serious heat.  As usual, I had dressed in protective layers against Cascade's unpredictable weather, and after only a short time, my T-shirt was soaked through.  I tried to wriggle the wool jacket off my shoulders, but there wasn't enough space to maneuver.  I wondered if anyone has ever suffered heatstroke from too much layering.  Never thought I'd see the day when I'd be wishing for a cold breeze.

Boredom has got to be the worst thing about being held captive.  Oh, what I would have given for a book to read...  Boredom, and thinking about what happens next.  But Jim would find me before anything else happened, right Jim?  I would be ready any time he showed up.

******

The door squeaked and I braced myself, expecting to see Francisco or one of his thugs.  Instead, Maya slipped in, leaving the door open behind her.  "Maya," I breathed, hoping that she was here to let me go.

She approached me and my heart sank.  She looked much too serene for a woman involved in kidnapping, murder and extortion.  "I brought you some water," she said, her voice soft.  She kept her gaze on my face, avoiding looking at the ropes that kept me captive on her new boyfriend's boat.

"I don't want any water," I said, astounded that she was treating this as a petty inconvenience.  Last time she found me tied up somewhere, we both almost died.   I didn't know what to say to her, so I probably said the worse thing possible.  "Look, I don't know what's going on between you and Francisco..."

She interrupted me, cutting me off with a gesture.  "Look, everything is going to be all right, okay?  As soon as Francisco get the codes he'll let you go."

She couldn't actually believe that, could she?  But she met my eyes, and there was no deceit there.  She actually believed that.  I had to set her straight, for both our sakes.  "No, he won't," I said firmly, willing her to believe me.  "He's going to kill me, Maya, and your uncle thinks he's going to kill you too."  My voice cracked with emotion.  I had to get her out of there.

Maya waved my concern off.  "He's wrong," she said angrily. "You both are.  Francisco wouldn't hurt anyone."  Her faith in him would be touching, if it weren't so dangerous.

"He wouldn't hurt anyone, huh?" I said, laughing in disbelief.   "What about the cops at the safe house?"  She had to have seen what had happened there.  Both officers must have been killed while she there.

But she only looked confused.  "What about them?"

"He killed them."  Oh, God.  I had to convince her.  She had to believe me.  Francisco was not who or what she thought.

"No."  Was that denial a little too quick?  A little too painful?

"Yes, Maya. I saw the bodies."

Maya shook her head in confusion.  Maybe she wasn't as blind to Francisco's thoughts as I feared she was.  But her words were a refusal.  "Blair, why are you telling me these lies?"

Lies.  Despite what I felt for her...what I had hoped she felt for me, there were always lies between us.  "I'm not lying to you this time, I'm trying to save your life."  She had to believe me.  Time was running out.  "Now untie me and let's get the hell out of here!"  I let desperation show in my voice.  If this didn't work, then we were both dead.

Maya glared at me.  She backed away from me and placed the water out of my reach. After one disdainful glance, she ran out of the room, not looking back.

"Maya?  Maya where are you going?"  The door shut firmly.   "Damn it!" I kicked the post.  I was determined not to lose control.  With a sigh, I tried to pull my hands out of the ropes again.

******

A lifetime later, Maya returned.

She looked sad as she reached for the ropes.  "You were right about Francisco," she said.  I could hear tears in her voice.  She didn't let that stop her as she untied me.  She caught my hand and pulled.  "Come."

Heaving a sigh of relief and gratitude, I followed her up the ladder and through the hatch.  Cautiously, she edged her way through the doorway.  I almost ran into her when she abruptly stopped.  The door swung open wider, and I saw what had halted our escape.  Francisco.

"I'm disappointed in you Maya," he said, his glare deadly.  The gun wavered between the two of us.  "I should shoot you both right now."  We were interrupted by one of his men.  Evidently, Gustavo had arrived.  There was no mention of Jim.  I hoped he was doing something covert, and that Gustavo hadn't given him the slip.

Francisco grabbed Maya and took her away.  He told his goon to watch me.  My hands automatically went up as I leant back against a railing, and yet another gun was pointed at me.  I would bide my time and wait for a chance.

There were gunshots in the distance and Francisco was shouting at someone, threatening Maya.  The voice I heard responding was not Jim's…it was probably Gustavo.  I tried to pick out the words while still keeping an eye on the thug holding his gun on me.  He didn't have that problem, he just stared at me like he was a shark and I was dinner.  Oh, that was so not an appropriate thing to be thinking.

It surprised both of us when shots rang out from the deck overhead.  He flinched, instinctively turning to see if his boss was in danger, and I made my move.

Grabbing the wrist holding the gun, I pushed it upwards, rendering the gun useless.  Encouraged with my good fortune, I landed a solid right across his jaw.  Even though he outweighed me by at least twenty pounds, my actions took him by surprise and he lost his balance.  We struggled for the gun.  I was holding my own due to the surprise, but my fighting technique probably left a lot desired.  All I could think to do was to keep the gun away from me.  I had both hands on his wrist, keeping the gun in the air when his bodyguard training must have taken over.  He used the other hand to punch me in the stomach.  Suddenly, I was gasping for air. I folded, both hands moving instinctively over my stomach.  Then the gun came out of nowhere, hitting me on the left temple.

Everything went black.

**********

"Sandburg?  Blair, talk to me."

I recognized Jim's voice.  He sounded worried.  What happened this time?  Hands ran over my head, stopping momentarily on the lump where my head hit the post; gently touching a painful spot on my temple.  The hands moved down my body, searching for…something.  Breath gently hissed out when Jim—I finally knew that skimming touch—reached my wrists.  "Come on, Chief."

I opened my mouth, meaning to make a joke, but it came out as a groan.  I batted the hands away and reached for the painful spot on my head.  "Jim?"

"Yep.  Come on buddy, let's get you up."  Gentle arms supported me as I was assisted to an upright position.  It couldn't be called standing, because I wasn't really supporting my own weight.  Drawing in a deep breath, I lurched away from Jim's embrace and attempted to gain control.  It felt like the ground was moving, and my stomach roiled with it.  Jim grabbed me before I went down again.

"Why is the ground moving?" I asked, hating the helpless tone in my voice.

"We're on a ship," Jim answered, pulling open both eyes to look at my pupils.  They must have been even and reactive, because his voice stayed concerned, but not worried.  It still surprises me that I can recognize the subtle differences in his tones.  "Come on, Chief.  Let's get you on solid ground."

"'kay."  I accepted his support as we wobbled down the ramp.  Once on solid ground I felt about fifty percent better.  I allowed Jim to lead me, but steadily gained more autonomy.  "Where we goin'?"

"There's an ambulance over here, I want the paramedics to check you over."

I submitted to being cleaned, anti-bioticized, and bandaged while I pulled myself together.  Jim stood there watching as the EMT's took care of me.

"Better, Chief?" he asked when I was done.  He put a hand on my arm.  Maybe he needed the contact as much as I did.

Yes.  No.  Maybe…I wasn't sure how to answer his question.  A lot depended on what had happened when I was out cold.  But Jim's expression didn't lead me to believe that anything…permanent…had happened, so I picked the standard Sandburg answer.  "Yeah, I'm fine."  I hesitated before asking what I really needed to know.  "Is Maya okay?" I asked, not quite looking at him.  "She tried to free me Jim, she didn't know what Francisco was doing.  She thought that the money was to help her people.  I know that doesn't excuse what she did, but she was doing it for the right reasons.  She didn't mean…"

"Whoa, Chief, slow down.  Simon's talking with Maya right now.  She's okay."

"Will she be charged with…" my voice trailed off as I contemplated the various felonies Maya could face for her part in this crime spree.

Jim pressed his lips together and frowned, staring off into the distance.  It was his listening look, the one he gets when he's trying to hear something specific far away.  "She won't be charged with anything, Francisco's goons pretty much cleared her of any blame."  He pulled his hearing back in and looked down at me.  "Sandburg…" he shifted uncomfortably, suddenly awkward.  "Simon's pretty sure that she'll be deported as an undesirable."  His eyes filled with concern.  "You gonna be okay with that, Chief?"

I shrugged, not able to find the words.  I wasn't, really, since realistically it meant that Maya would never be part of my world.  But there are consequences for doing something that hurts others, and even though she hadn't meant to, Maya had hurt a lot of people.  My stomach churned as I remembered the two dead cops at the safe house, and thought about their families.  Jim's grip on my arm tightened; I hadn't realized that he was still waiting for a verbal response.  "Blair?" he prompted.

"Yeah, Jim.  I'll be okay with that."  After all, I have my friends to help me if I'm not.

*******

It was dark by the time the police, immigration and the AFT were almost ready to wrap things up.  We had heard that the FBI was enroute to pick up Gustavo.  Something about outstanding charges against him.  It was raining, and Jim had given me the leather jacket he kept in his truck to keep the rain off.  Cold and wet…you can't get away from it in Cascade.

Maya had been questioned by every agency involved concerning her role in this disaster.  She would be held by immigration temporarily, with the understanding that she would be available for interviews about the case.  She'd be under house arrest for the next two days before being put on a plane for Chile.  Simon had done that for me, and I knew that he would brush off any thanks as unnecessary.  Friends.  They're more valuable than gold.

 Since I had also been questioned by everyone from Simon on down to Jim's old pal Drennan, I hadn't seen Maya since she freed me and Francisco grabbed her, before the shooting started.   As I was dismissed for the night, with the "suggestion" that I be at the station first thing in the morning, Jim caught me by the shoulders and pointed.  "Maya's over there.  I think she could use a friendly face.  I have to take Alconte."

"Thanks."  Maya looked absolutely miserable as her uncle was led away; hunched over, her arms wrapped around her stomach.  I knew that pose.  She was trying to keep herself from falling apart.  Wondering what I was going to say, I joined her.

"Am I going to go to jail now?"

Hastily, I reassured her.  "No, no you're not going to go to jail."  That was the good news.  Now for the bad news.  "The captain thinks they're going to deport you.  And, uh, bar you from ever coming back."

Maya looked away, staring into the night.  "So I guess this means we'll never see each other again."  She sounded lost, and alone, and very young.

"Oh, I don't know about that," I said, trying to stay positive, for her.

Turning back, she kissed me gently on the cheek; a tentative, sweet kiss that said 'thank you' and 'goodbye'.  Flashing blue lights reflected the sheen of extra moisture in her eyes.   She pulled away before the tears could spill over.

I couldn't let her go like that.  I put one hand on her cold cheek and turned her face so that I could see into her eyes.   Bending forward, I touched my lips to hers.  I tried to put everything I felt for her into the kiss.  I hope it was tender, and grateful, and passionate.  Most of all I hoped she took it for what it was: a promise.  A promise that this wasn't the end and that someday, we would be together again.  I broke it off and looked into her flushed face.  "Maybe not."

Something that looked like hope filled her eyes.  "Maybe not," she agreed, he lips curving into a smile.

I smiled back, and despite the lights and the noise and the sound of people all around us, we were the only two people in that dark, rainy night.
 

Not the end…