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Missing In Action
Part Four
By Aeris Jade
aerisjade@worldnet.att.net

Rating: R.
Pairing: KW, KL, JC, PB
Beta Reader: Scotty Welles
Spoilers: Season Seven

Disclaimer: They belong to TPTB, I'm just taking them out for a much needed work out.

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Kerry let out a piercing scream as her body flew out into empty space. The dark of night blocked the drop she knew was there from her eyes. The bitter wind ripped at her screams as she plummeted down, faster and faster. She struggled to control the overwhelming fear....

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" ... During the sixties, the world's top governments created a secret squad to battle terrorism. It was known as UAIA. United Anti-Terrorist Intelligence Agency. It worked well enough at first, but sometime during the late 70's, early 80's, they began to notice that several major factions they were after seemed to know all their moves in advance. It was finally speculated that someone had infiltrated their top ranks, but they couldn't figure who it was, so they did the only thing they could, they flushed out the agency and started from scratch...Dr. Carter, are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah, I'm - ULP! - fine..."

Robie paused as the helicopter lurched under a sudden gust of wind. He hid the smile that was playing across his lips as young Carter went from a light green to a forest green. The young man was dedicated to Kerry, he had to give him that.

"After that they didn't have anymore trouble," he went on, as casually as if they were idle conversation in a café, "except they still couldn't penetrate the IRA. At first they thought it was simply that the group was one step ahead of them."

"What happened?"

Robie glared playfully at Dr. Legaspi, his eyes falling to her legs for just a moment. "Well, being the brilliant fellows they were, they posed as weapons dealers. Needless to say it ended with three high-ranking agents dead, and five others wounded."

"What does all this have to do with Kerry?" Kim couldn't help interrupting. This guy had the personality of a cat eyeing up a large juicy bird.

"One of the original agents, an ex-thief and French resistance member, realized that the only way to fool the IRA was to fool the agency, so he secretly recruited a young doctor who just happened to be dating an IRA member."

"Kerry." Peter glared at Robie, his hand involuntarily crumpling the coke can he'd been nursing.

"Of course, at the time she wasn't aware of Dr. Campbell's...hobbies. At least not until the agent in question approached her. Naturally, she had some reservations, but in the end she agreed to help."

Kim heard the low crunching of the can turn into a louder screech as Robie continued to talk. She glanced over at the surgeon and saw that he had ripped the can into three pieces. His dark eyes had murder in them as he kept them locked on Robie.

"This...'agent' who recruited her," she said with the trace of a sneer. "Anyone we know?"

Robie just smiled pleasantly.

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The raging whirlpool engulfed her body, ripping at her body violently. The churning depths slamming her carelessly against the jagged boulders that seemed to appear from nowhere. Each breath felt like a thousand knifes to her lungs. She tried to swim for shore, tried to grab something, anything. Each movement was overwhelming and sluggish.

The roar of the river in her ears became a mere whisper against the distant thunder. The crashing wave filled her vision with foaming white and blues, then quickly retreated, letting her head come up for another breath.

The thunder was closer now, the water speeding up and becoming more violent. She felt the subtle change in the water and searched for the source. Straight ahead she could see the water disappearing...

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"...The agency confirmed everyone on the plane to be dead, yet only three of five bodies were found. Kerry was not one of them. They also neglected to report that two of the parachutes were missing."

"That doesn't make sense. Surely they know people will notice that sort of thing." Kim knew from experience just how dumb the government could be, but this was extreme, even for them.

"Yes, well, the plane just 'happened' to explode before any outside people could come in."

"My, that was convenient," Kim said, her face and tone flat.

"Wasn't it, though?" Robie turned and kneeled behind the pilot checking the small computer screen between the pilot and co-pilot's seat.

Kim glanced at her two companions from County General. They were obviously as out of their depth here as she was, but neither one seemed inclined to say so. Peter Benton had that graven-in-stone face he did so well, saying he wasn't backing out of things no matter how tough they became. Carter was trying to muster a similar look, but his mild face wasn't really built for that particular expression. Besides, it's hard to look tough while carefully closing the seal on a used air-sickness bag.

She moved to the seat that Robie had abandoned and spoke quietly. "What exactly are we doing? Assuming that Kerry is still alive, it's too dark to try and find her."

Robie simply grinned as the red circle on the screen beeped twice, then stopped moving.

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The water felt like a dark grave sucking the last of her energy from her body. The pressure of the waterfall pushed her further under. She pushed with her legs trying to get to the surface. Her left leg not responding to her commands.

The world around her began to fade as she lost the ability to fight.

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Kim followed Robie to the shore. She could see a waterfall next to the pool. Slowly, she traced it to its top. If she had to hazard a guess, she'd say it had to stretch over thirty stories. 'I should keep this in mind the next time I want to go rafting.'

"The signal's coming from over there."

Kim glared at Robie's back as he briskly walked toward a large boulder next to the river. He refused to say why he knew she was alive or what that signal was, and frankly, she was getting put out.

She fell into step automatically, aware of Peter and John acting as their shadows. She was getting tired of Robie's games. Deciding to put an end to all these questions and games. She walked around the boulder...

"Oh God..."

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She ended up working late again. Three hours... four... maybe it had been five. All she knew was that it had seemed to drag on forever. Gradually draining her until she was a zombie, to tired to even yell at Randi.

At the same time she didn't want to go home. It was a large house and since Carter had moved out it had seemed enormous to her. Enormous and lonely. It wasn't from a lack of friends, she had plenty of those. More like from a lack of a lover.

She wasn't one of those women who believed that she had to have a man in her life to be happy, but it was always nice to have someone waiting for you when you got home. The problem came in with her job. Long hours, little benefits, and no time for anything else.

She dropped her suitcase next to the door, too tired to drag it into her office. Throwing her coat and gloves in the general direction of the closet, she quickly went up the stairs. Unbuttoning her blouse on the way.

All she wanted was to strip down and climb underneath the heavy African quilt her mother had made for her. She frowned slightly as she took in the open bedroom door. She also made a habit of keeping it closed, but she'd also been in a hurry when she'd left.

She entered the dark bedroom and propped her crutch next to the bed, simultaneously stripping off her blouse and shoes. The light material fell softly to the floor next to her discarded loafers.

She reached down and began to unbutton her pants. Her right hand cramping slightly from all the writing she'd had to do. She let her hands drop to her sides and sighed. It looked like they were staying on tonight... this morning.

Warm arms encircled her waist from behind. A tall, lean body pressing into her back. Slender graceful hands took up where her hands had failed. "Let me..."

She knew that voice, a voice that shouldn't be there, it didn't belong there. Not in her bedroom. Then why did it fill so soothing? So right? She felt herself leaning back into the strong arms and moved away.

She turned to those icy blue eyes. They were so alive and passionate, and right now questioning. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, making it impossible to tell her friend to leave. Not that she really wanted to.

A gentle breeze slide across her chest causing her to remember that she was topless. Her arms started to rise to cover her chest, but her friend took hold of her wrists. Holding them down, pulling her into her friend's chest.

She could feel the way their bodies seemed to mold together, could smell the soft baby powder, could feel her friend's heartbeat. She couldn't... she wasn't... she leaned forward, feeling the gentle brush of their lips.

There was a groan of pleasure... Oh, those hands...

"Oh, Kerry..."

She reached out and entangled her hand into the thick curls of blonde...

.... and brought Kim closer until they were all that there was. The kiss becoming deeper, but without the bloodlust she was used to.

She took pleasure from the warmth of her lithe body pressing her into the soft mattress. Her left hand began to go for Kim's waist, stopping as the pain shot through her body.

Kim gently broke the kiss and sat back on the mattress. "I'm glad to see you, too..."

Kerry blinked with embarrassment as she took in the three men in the motel room. Peter simply shook his head with a little smirk, letting her know he was greatly amused. Robie was next to him, clearing his throat while giving them both an appreciative look. John was standing away, holding a tray with soup and hot tea. He was slightly red and the look in his eyes let her know he didn't like what he'd just seen.

Kerry tried to sit up, wincing as her muscles protested the action. Kim leaned over, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and helping her up. Kerry found her face inches from Kim's. She found her heart racing faster as the blonde smiled at her.

Settling with her back against the headboard, she saw John glare at Kim before moving to her side and planting the tray in front of her. "Here, this should help get you warm."

Kerry careful raised a spoonful of broth and swallowed it. The burning liquid hit her empty stomach hard then rumbled loudly. She dived into the soup, enjoying the warmth that it brought to her body.

"I know you've been through a lot, but we need to know what happened?"

Kerry scowled at Robie. She didn't want to have to deal with him right now, but understood the necessity behind it. "I'll tell you what happened. Boyd called and said that I had to get to Fort Nelson. That it was a life or death matter. Then the only flight I could find was with some Irish guy that would make Romano look like a kitten. Not to mention the two passengers that had red dove tattoos who started shooting at me while we were still in the air."

"And you parachuted out," Robie finished softly. "Now are you sure that it was of red doves?"

Kerry didn't bother answering him. If he didn't get it the first time then that was his problem. She downed the last of the soup starting to feel warm inside. The baggy sweat suit and thick socks taking care of her outside. Peter took her bowl and quietly left the room.

She settled back, becoming aware of Kim sitting right next to her on the bed. Feeling suddenly self-conscious and more than a little chilly, she pulled the thick comforter tighter around her body.

"Damn. This smells of a conspiracy. The UAIA is sealed too tightly for there to be just one or two breeches. The only way they could get away with any of this was if..." Robie trailed off murmuring to himself.

The yawn took Kerry by surprise as her eyes became too heavy to keep open. Her head rolled to the side, searching for a pillow, and came to rest on something soft that smelled of baby powder and the mountains after a heavy rain. She snuggled closer as two warm arms engulfed her, holding her safe from the past few days.

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John stared blankly as Kerry snuggled into Kim's arms. That didn't mean anything, though. She'd just been through a tough ordeal, she was tired and needed to feel safe. Kim was there, she was available, that was all.

If he'd been the one sitting next to her, than it would have been him she'd have kissed. Him that held her while she'd slept. He wanted her to be happy and she would be happy... with him. She wasn't gay, she wasn't bi, she wasn't even bi-curious.

He turned away from the sight before him and left the hotel room.

"Hey, you okay?"

John leaned against the beam between the catwalk and the roof, trying to ignore that all-knowing look that Peter tended to get. "Fine."

Peter nodded thoughtfully. "I'll tell you, that was some kiss in there. Going to be dreaming about that for a while. Two beautiful women going at it like that. Firm and lean, with just enough curves to make a man sweat. You know, even back when I first knew Kerry, she had the kind of body that..."

"You're REALLY not helping, Peter," Carter broke in, irritably.

The older man grinned, glad to get a rise out of Carter. He had a great affection for his former student, but it was so much easier to express it by needling and aggravating the kid. "Had a different effect on you, though, didn't it?"

John nodded helplessly. "I'm in love with her."

"Legaspi?"

"NO! With...!" John nearly choked on his exasperation before he realized that Peter was kidding him. He just hoped his blush of embarrassment would cover the heartbreak he was feeling inside.

Peter sighed. He'd suspected that the young man had a thing for Kerry, but he'd always assumed it was just a crush. The way a pupil would feel about a teacher. What made it worse was the fact that John believed that Kerry felt the same way about him. "Carter..."

"I know what you're going to say." John smiled brightly at him. "I already know that Kerry isn't into women. Kim doesn't stand a chance with her. Tonight was just exhaustion mixed with shock. Once she gets some rest, she'll let Kim down and then... Anyway, I should probably try and get some sleep. Goodnight."

" 'Night, Carter." Peter shook his head. Sometimes Carter's naive nature was a major drawback, and this time there would be consequences.

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Aeris Jade Orion
AIM: Aeris Jade
ICQ: 51496263
AT&T/Pow-Wow: Jade
Pow-Wow Community: Orion

Web Site: http://www.geocities.com/aeris3996

" This act hasn't been seen in 20 years, and if i'm any judge of talent it will never be seen again."
- Theres no business, like show business