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Late that night, no one seemed to notice that the cruise ship's engines had gone silent. Drifting quietly on the ocean's waves, it was soon met by a much smaller motorboat filled with shadowy figures. These figures swarmed onto the seemingly-dead cruise ship, crossing the deck and heading straight into the area containing the guests' rooms.

"I don't like this..."

"Oh, shut up, ya' pansy."

"Why'd we get stuck with this idiot again?"

"Because the boss hates him even more than we do?"

"Oh yeah..."

The whispers and resulting laughter were quiet and one poor man lingered behind the others, face burning with mixed emotions. He really didn't want to be here. Sure, it was the first time he'd been off the island in years, which would have been nice...if not for the nature of this little 'trip.' He'd never been sent out on a 'retrieval mission' before with the special ops squads...so why now? Even he didn't know the answer, though he suspected a petty reason like Dr. Hakan liked to see him squirm.

And squirm he did. He hated this sort of thing. How many times had he regretted getting tied up with CRONUS and their dirty work? Too many to count or remember, that was for sure.

"Rutherford! Keep up!"

He glared back in response to the harsh order, but obeyed nonetheless. It wouldn't do for them to get caught in any case, no matter what he thought about all this business. As much as he hated it, he still preferred remaining alive and continuing to hate himself and his work.

What a coward.

The duplicate key slid easily into the lock of the door leading into Room Twenty-Four. It turned with a soft click, and the leader eased the door open silently. He gave hand motions to the men in his squad to slip into the room without noise. Their target would be alone and with luck, they could be in, out, and gone before anyone else noticed.

Hayden Rutherford lingered toward the back, fiddling nervously with the cuff of his guard uniform sleeve...

The squad leader was barely able to contain the whispers and snickers of immature amusement from his team. The fools were going to get themselves caught if they couldn't control themselves. Still...she wasn't exactly hard on the eyes, was she...?

Realizing that things were about to get ugly if they didn't act soon, the leader silently signaled his men to use the darkness to their advantage and move now. Two men had made it into the room already, the rest were still outside.

Rushing the girl, one wrapped an arm around her chest from behind, clamping his hand over her mouth before she could scream and alert the rest of the ship to their presence. As the other leapt in to help restrain her, the rest of the special ops force spilled into the now-restricted-feeling room, followed by a greatly-uncomfortable Hayden Rutherford and the squad leader who shut the door behind him.

Hayden fidgeted, obviously aggitated by this whole affair. This just wasn't right. Not that anything CRONUS did was ever right...but this was worse than anything he'd ever been a part of before. Something was gnawing at him about this mission and he'd have given anything to be out of here and absolutely anywhere else right now....even back on CRONUS island, and that was saying something.

"Listen, isn't there another way...?" he started, sounding almost as desperate and hopeless as he felt.

Instead, he was shoved roughly aside and otherwise ignored as the squad leader pushed his way forward to confront the girl. "Now, listen here, little missy," he snarled, voice quiet, but harsh and vicious. "You're going to cooperate with us or else, you hear me? You're coming with us whether you like it or not. That much is not up for debate. The only question is whether you're going to cooperate so we can do this the easy way...or not...and we do this the hard way. You get me?" His eyes narrowed dangerously as he forced her to look him in the face. Obviously, he didn't care which way they had to do it -- he was going to get the job done one way or another.

A satisfied and malicious smirk crossed the squad leader's face as he acknowledged the prisoner's easy defeat. "Smart choice, sweetheart," he sneered, turning back to his team. He motioned to one soldier in particular. "Gag her and let's go."

There was a general murmur of amusement through the soldiers, though one man remained quiet. When the strip of cloth appeared and the appointed soldier advanced on the young woman, that was the last straw.

"That's enough!" Hayden shoved his way forward angrily, glowering at the disapproving looks being aimed in his direction. He couldn't meet the girl's gaze any longer; it was tearing at his insides and he couldn't take much more. "Can't you see the poor girl is terrified?!? This is completely unnecessary! Just let her g--"

Perhaps, if he hadn't been so upset, so emotional, so distracted...he might have seen the fist coming before it connected solidly with his jaw. As it was, his vision went momentarily black from the explosion of pain and he didn't even see what he collided with as he fell. All he knew was that there was a secondary explosion of pain from the general area of his left eye, then he hit the ground like a limp rag doll.

It was a good minute or two before he could even attempt to pick himself up off the floor. His vision was blurry, but at least he could see again. His head throbbed and he could tell his eye would be swollen by morning...probably black and blue as well by the feel of it. Within seconds, the squad leader's haggard face hovered before his wavering vision. "Now you listen, Rutherford, and you listen good. I don't know why the hell you're here or why the hell I gotta' put up with you, but I'll tell you this. I'm still in charge here and what I say goes! If you got a problem with that, I can take care of your questions about my authority later." His hand inched towards the firearm on his hip almost unconsciously as he snarled at the fallen guard. "If I'd had any say about it, we'd have left you back at the lab. You'd have never even made it past basic training for any of MY special ops forces...you haven't got the right guts...but for this mission, you'll follow my orders, or you'll suffer the consequences. You understand me, boy?"

Hayden was silent, concentrating on just breathing correctly through the excrutiating pain. Barely able to focus, he forced the simple words through his lips.

"Yes...sir..."

"Good," the leader leaned in closer, almost whispering now. "Because trust me, boy, if you don't listen to me, you won't have to worry about what Doc Hakan might do to ya', because you'll never make it back to that hellish island." Patting his firearm with a gruesome smile, he stood and turned back to the group, nodding with approval at the now-gagged young woman. "Now that our new friend is sure to keep quiet, I'm pleased to announce that our buddy, Hayden, has graciously volunteered to be responsible for her. You'll not find a more capable escort, my dear," he winked, drawing quiet laughter and snorts from some of the soldiers. "Afterall, he knows what happens to those who fail." He chuckled and shot a pointed look back at the fallen guard.

Hayden resisted the urge to aim an obscene hand gesture in his direction.

Leaning in close to the terrified young woman, the older man sneered derisively at her. "Now you be quiet and be a good little girl and we'll let you walk on your own two feet. If you want to act up, however...well, let's just say we came prepared to do more than just keep you quiet, understand?"

Whirling on his heel, he stalked back towards the door. "You," he snarled at Hayden, just now climbing to his feet. "If she makes a single noise, you both pay the price, you got me?" He opened the door quietly, signalling the squad to move out.

Hayden grimaced, taking a deep breath as he stumbled slightly on his way to Sarafina's side. The soldiers followed their leader out the door, only a couple hanging back to pick up the rear guard after the lowly security guard and their target. Hayden reached up to rub his aching jaw, wincing in the process. Okay, bad idea.

He started towards the young woman, then paused, noticing her bag. She'd probably want that, if it contained any personal items...and there wouldn't be a second chance to get it later. Crossing the room as quickly as he was able, he knelt to close it, then tossed it over his shoulder. He knew they'd check it for cell phones or any other forms of communication before giving it back to her, but she'd be allowed to keep any personal items it contained. It was a small comfort...but a comfort nonetheless, he thought as he returned to her side.

"Looks like we're both stuck in this mess, like it or not," he muttered apologetically, wrapping what he hoped was a reassuring arm around her shoulders. "The best I can do is to make this as easy as possible for you. I..." He hesitated, a mixture of fear, self-loathing, and sadness in his eyes. "I'm so, so sorry..."

Hayden was almost ready to rip his own heart out of his chest, if only it would stop the horrible, wrenching pain. Only seventeen? For Lugia's sake...

"I...I'm sorry, I really am. You have to believe me." He was practically pleading with her now, trying to keep his voice low enough that the soldiers wouldn't hear his obvious desperation. "If there were anything I could do at this point to get you out of here and away from these people, I'd do it. I swear I would."

He tried to help her with the blanket, adjusting it so that it wrapped snugly around her shoulders. He wanted to offer her comfort, but he wasn't sure how he could do so under the current circumstances. He couldn't lie...he'd lost all hope of that long ago. So, he did the best he could otherwise.

He could barely swallow for the lump in his throat.

"It's nothing you've done...I swear," he continued whispering, arm around her shoulders again as he tried to guide her towards the door. The squad leader was shooting him angry, impatient looks from outside. "Please...it's all I can do to make this easier for you. They're taking us both, no matter what I do. All I can do is make sure that we both go quietly and without further harm..." He trailed off, his own hollow words making him feel sick to his stomach. Fat lot of good he had done. All he'd managed to do was get himself knocked around and still they were taking the girl. And what did he have to show? An aching jaw and a black eye. Great.

"I really am useless," he muttered, half to himself without realizing he was voicing his thoughts aloud.

'Yep, you pretty much are,' agreed the tiny voice in the back of his mind. He could almost picture it nodding casually in agreement.

It was as if every tear was a new stab from some jagged knife into Hayden's heart. He couldn't even meet the poor girl's gaze any longer without being overwhelmed with shame and self-hatred.

'For Lugia's sake...have mercy on us all...'

Even his thoughts were desperate and bitter as he tried to steer Sarafina along the hallway behind the others, three soldiers picking up the rear behind the unlucky pair.

He couldn't be the only one with some remaining moral fiber...could he? From the look of things, it seemed so. Every once in a while, one of the soldiers would mutter something to another, glance back, then start snickering.

Heartless bastards.

Hayden started entertaining thoughts about what would happen if one of them was 'mistakenly' locked in a room with #003 back on the island. That was the Gyarados, right? The hint of a grim smile started to creep over his face before he froze, shaking his head to clear the thought away. If he wasn't careful, he'd start becoming more and more like these sick creatures...if he hadn't already.

The thought terrified him to the core.

He noted with a mixture of foreboding and relief that the open deck was within sight now, the boat not far away that would take them from the ship and back to CRONUS' remote island. He risked a glance sideways at Sarafina, chest tightening in the process. Poor thing...if only there were something he could do to save her...but what? He was useless...even his mind agreed. He couldn't even find a way to save Karen...why would that change now?

Hayden was torn out of his daydream as he felt Sarafina's movement. Glancing over, he squeezed her shoulder gently in reassurance as he tried to interpret her strange actions. Shampoo? What in the world did she want with that...?

Then he noticed her pointed looks over her shoulder at the remaining guards and it all clicked. s**t...

"No, no, no, no, no!" he insisted hurriedly, keeping his voice low as he placed his hand over her wrist. "You don't understand...you can't escape now. They'll kill us both for sure!" Okay, that was partially a lie...they'd kill him. He wasn't sure what they'd do to her, but they wouldn't kill her. He'd rather not ponder on what they would do to her though up to the point of killing...

Yeah, he was a coward through and through...but he really didn't want to put her through any more than she'd already been through tonight. Honestly, he wasn't sure if she could take it.

Hell, he couldn't take it.

The fear was shining in his eyes as he pleaded silently with her not to try anything, his grip tight on her wrist, but not enough to hurt her. "Please...this is a horrible situation we're in...but it's better than being dead. At least when you're alive there's always a chance for escape later..." It was the best he had and it was belief he'd come to live by. It's all he had to cling to for now.

Relieved, Hayden felt he might collapse. He was shaking harder than the poor girl for a moment there.

'Once a coward, always a coward,' echoed the irritating voice in his head, sounding almost cheery.

He couldn't help it. What was he supposed to do? Frowning, he reached up and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his free hand. "Just hang in there, kid," he murmured in what he hoped was an encouraging tone. "You'll be alright. I'll look out for ya'...promise."

Swallowing hard at the lump in his throat, he willed the pain in his chest to dull as he pulled Sarafina against his side in an almost protective manner. The boat was in sight now, many of the soldiers already inside. Maybe he couldn't save her...but maybe, just maybe, he could ease her suffering a bit. For the sake of his own soul, or what remained of it, he hoped so.

Looking in curiosity, Hayden smiled at what she apparently wanted to show him. "Sarafina, hmm? That's a beautiful name," he murmured, low enough that only the young woman could hear. "I'm Hayden. Err...if you hadn't already picked up on that," he added sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. He'd certainly heard his name yelled enough tonight.

Time to ship out.

Hayden sighed, offering Sarafina an apologetic look as he dared not say anything else with the squad leader this close. He climbed over the rail and into the boat, turning to offer her a hand to help her in as well. No turning back now...not that either of them had really had a choice in the matter to begin with...